July 4, 2009;
Round three at the AT&T Tournament hosted by Tiger
Wood's tested the two Brights Grove golfers in the
tournament. Both veteran Mike Weir and rookie Matt
Hill did not have their best rounds of the
tournament.
Mike Weir started the day tied in
the 63rd spot and improved slightly to at a 59th
position carding a two over 72 third
round. The highly ranked Weir has not had an under
par round in his three tries. His par first round
was followed by his two over second round leaving
the likable pro at four over going into Sunday.
Rookie Matt Hill suffered a drop from his 39th
position to take over Weir's vacated 63rd spot.
Hill's five over third round 75 was a take away from
his usual steady play.
After making the cut on Friday
in his first professional tournament the amateur
Hill maybe relaxed a little as he started the day
off with bogies on the first and second holes. But
again the eleventh proved to be a tournament nemesis
as he carded his third consecutive double bogey.
Eliminating the eleventh hole from Hill's tournament
scorecard would leave the Sarnia Golf Club member
under par for the tournament. His hot putter on
Friday that put him in the cut didn't seem to be as
friendly to the 20 year old. Hill recorded 34 putts
in his third round after getting by with only 27 the
day before. Hill did put tournament fans in awe
with an incredible shot on the 15th hole from behind
a tree. Hill sliced a 220 yard iron from an
impossible position landing on the green 20 feet
from the pin and a birdie try.
Weir finally found his driver
which was his down fall the day before but
uncharacteristically
only hit 50% of the greens in regulation.
Again his ever present short game was his best play
and kept him close to par.
The two Canadians were not
the only players who came away disappointed on
Saturday. Tiger Woods finished a round at even par
after going 6 under in round one and 4 under in
round two. Wood's himself recorded a double bogey
on the eleventh as well. Los Angeles native Anthony
Kim has matched Wood's at 10 under although he also
had bigger expectations after setting the course
record at 8 under 62 on opening day. This sets up
the tournament and long awaited duel on Sunday
between Kim and Wood's. Kim at 24 and full of
talent has been waiting to prove himself against
Woods. Many have touted Kim as the next Tiger but
that billing has proven a detriment to others. This
will be Kim's first ever trip around the course with
the Tiger roars and will be quite a test for the
youngster against the legend.
If indeed the youngster Hill
could join fellow Bright's Grove and hero Mike Weir
someday on the tour it would be nice to have that
second true Canadian on tour. But before the
Canucks in the crowd start getting excited consider
the Aussie's contribution to the golf world. At
this tournament they are present and have ten
golfers having made the cut with a number having
been on the leaderboard as the three rounds have
progressed. Interesting to this fact is that most
Aussie's do not follow the American system of
developing golfers through the college system.
Instead the young Aussie's are showing up having
come through a system of sport institutions with
government involvement.
Local golfers might dream of
having two Canadians in the final pairing someday.
On Sunday the Canadian golf dream will not happen.
For Canadian fans it will be nice to see the rookie
Hill tee it off at 9:15 a.m. and will be directly
followed by his hero Mike Weir.
