Mediate marvels at how easily Els won it
| • | Els easily prevails |
| • | PGA notebook: Galleries drop at Mercedes |
By Bill Kwon
Special to The Advertiser
KAPALUA, Maui — Rocco Mediate looked at Ernie Els' PGA Tour record-setting victory of 31-under-par 261 for a 72-hole tournament in the Mercedes Championships yesterday and shook his head.
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"Shocking, phenomenal," said Mediate, who shot a personal low of 23-under and still finished tied for second with K.J. Choi. They were eight strokes behind the three-time major champion from South Africa, who collected $1 million in winning the PGA 2003 season opener at the par-73 Plantation Course.
Rocco Mediate said Ernie Els' PGA Tour record-setting victory was "shocking, phenomenal."
"This course is not that easy. It really isn't. I don't know what's going on. I don't want to know why," said Mediate, who finished with a 10-under 63 for 269 in sharing the runner-up pot with Choi, each earning $450,000.
It was an outrageous four rounds of eagles and birdies, leading Mediate to ask playing partner,Vijay Singh, "What happened to par? Where'd it go?"
Els was in a different world this week — Tiger's World, if you will — but the other 35 winners from 2002 in the field also posted eye-opening scores that led credence to the PGA Tour's slogan, "These Guys Are Good."
"For us to come out as a tour, as 36 guys that play out here, that play this good of golf, that means we as a whole are getting a lot better," Mediate said.
"We're getting so much better, we're so much more prepared," added Mediate, pointing out that in past years a lot of guys didn't do much during the offseason. "Now, everybody's ready to go."
The low scores in golf's opening week reflected it as everyone in the winners-only field broke par. Obviously, some a lot more than others.
The low numbers were flying so fast and furious yesterday that Mediate didn't know he had a chance to tie Choi's course-record 11-under 62 when he rapped a 7-foot birdie putt past the final hole, not even hitting the cup.
"Usually these scores are silly. I didn't even know what the heck I was doing," said Mediate, who told his caddy when he got done, "I almost shot 10-under."
"No, you did shoot 10-under," his caddy told him.
"Oh, it's almost 11-under. Then I was mad," said Mediate, adding that galleries enjoy seeing low scores instead of a string of pars. "I guess we're entertainers."
Never one lost for words, Mediate won't be entertaining the gallery at Waialae Country Club this week. He'll be skipping the Sony Open in order to play the next four weeks.
Jonathan Byrd, the 2002 rookie of the year, also shot 10-under 63 with a 7-under 30 on the back nine to better his personal low score in relation to par. He's posted a number of 9-under 63s on par-72 courses.
"It was pretty special today," said Byrd, who finished in a tie for sixth with Jim Furyk, Chris Riley and Bob Estes. "I had a lot of fun ... a different kind of fun. It's a come-out-of-your-shoes, swing-as-hard-as-you-can fun."
Jeff Sluman, the inaugural Sony Open in Hawai'i winner in 1999, finished with a 9-under 64 that didn't get him a top-10 finish, but brought personal satisfaction.
"Mentally, it helps that you know you're capable of shooting a low score. It's the kind of frame of mind you want to be at the start of the year." he said.
Correction: The wrong photo was used with a previous version of this story.
