"It's never much fun, but I've had it before. When you play in the same group with Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer or any of the big names in America, certainly the Ryder Cups, I've played 10 Ryder Cups, five on American soil, you get a lot more of this. So I knew what was coming, which doesn't make it any easier." -Bernhard Langer on not being the fan favorite during his victory over hometown hero Fred Couples at the U.S. Senior Open at Sahalee Country Club (Sammamish, Wash.). Here, Langer celebrates his birdie on No. 18 at the end of the third round.
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EmailSAMMAMISH, Wash. – I understand the hometown thing.
There will be 40,000 spectators at Sahalee Country Club for the final round of the U.S. Senior Open, and 39,988 will be rooting for hometown boy Fred Couples.
How do I know this?
Bernhard Langer, the machine-like German golfer, told me so.
“I’m sure there are many, many people rooting for him,” Langer said, “but I’ve heard a few Germans out there and I might have my own 12 people cheering for me or whatever. Who knows?”
Earlier Langer was asked if his head-to-head duel with Couples might have a Ryder Cup feel (U.S. against Europe).
“That could well be,” he answered. “He’s a local boy, and he has a lot of following no matter where we play in America, but especially being from here, the background from here.”
This matchup has another interesting perspective: It will be one former Masters winner against another. Neither has won a major (on the PGA Tour) outside Augusta, Ga., although Langer did capture the Masters twice.
Because of the homecourt advantage, everybody seems to be giving the nod to Couples in this two-golfer shootout. Couples and Langer are tied at 5-under, while the nearest contenders (Tom Kite and Chien Soon Lu of Taipei) are at even par.
Fearless prediction: I agree that Couples and Langer will lap the field, but I don’t agree with the premise that hometown fans will provide Couples with an insurmountable edge.
I believe Langer has been striking the ball more solidly and more accurately than Couples, and I believe he will win the Senior Open.
Let’s look at the stats. Couples and Langer both have hit 27 of 42 fairways in the first three rounds (14 holes per round). but Langer has a decisive edge in hitting greens (39 to 35).
Meanwhile, Couples has offset his GIR disadvantage with fewer putts than Langer (83 to 88 through three rounds). In fact, no player in the field has less putts than Couples.
From my perspective, ballstriking more than putting is the key factor in the final round of any big tournament. Don’t get me wrong. I am not claiming that putting is unimportant.
What I am saying is that solid ballstriking is the foundation of steady play. On a golf course this difficult (75.949 average score through three rounds), steady is the primary objective.
An even par score of 70 in the last round could win this tournament for Langer or Couples.
I am a huge fan of Couples, but I believe Langer has emerged as the toughest competitor in senior golf. He is coming off a victory in the Senior British Open, and I feel he will add a U.S. Senior Open title to his collection.
I know, I know: 39,988 people say I am wrong.
