What would YOU do?

3 wood, short wedge, birdie, game over.
 
Only thing worse than losing that way would be losing because you play to conservative :)

Of course I lay up, take trouble out of play and preserve the victory. The stupidest thing ever is working your ass off to have a lead then give something away by being reckless.
 
Driver all day long
 
It's great to speculate as to what one will do. No ones what they would do because being in that position isn't going to happen. He could just easily made a number with a layup. They don't play guarded golf on your, they never have. The talking heads live to second guess but these make a living hitting shots most can't dream of. He got a bad break.
All true. But also true is that we very often talk about the importance of course management and mental game. The fact these guys hit shots the rest of us only dream of doesn't necessarily mean they should hit those shots in every situation does it? I am honestly surprised this one is even debatable.
 
Where's the trouble? Green side left and long behind the green. ALWAYS take the trouble out of play, rip a 4 iron short right of the green, chip to the front left pin, one or two putts. Easy, peasy.
 
I think if he lays up and is coming in from the right side of the fairway he dunks his second shot about as often as he dunks the driver off the tee. The first bounces on the greens were getting pretty big.
 
There was no need to try and drive the green with a 2-shot lead. Asinine decision IMO ... but hey, it's his money. Maybe he just feels comfortable with the "Go for broke" & "no let up" mentality. But that's what separates the men from the boys as they say. Myself ... lay up with a club that I knew, even if I pulled it, was not going to be in the water. Even if I'm in the rough I can still make par.
 
We can second guess. He'd been hitting his driver well. 332 yd par 4. Having a good round and leading? Layup. Needing it to win? Go for it.
 
I would play to my strength and not even think twice of it.

My common miss is a draw, and that's simply not an option on 17. It's pretty much never a green light and I'd be hybrid - short wedge all day long. If that water was on the right side, it'd be a totally different story.
 
I don't think a half wedge shot would have been any easier, based on the hole location.

I'd be curious how many players during the week made bogey by driving through the green and into the water? My guess is not very many.
Harris English made par driving through the green into the water. Granted that was the back left hole location, but these guys are so good that even with a penalty, they can get up and down for the par easily.
 
Only thing worse than losing that way would be losing because you play to conservative :)

Oh, I completely disagree with that. There is nothing imo worse than losing because you risked your own lead and failed at it while you were already winning in the first place. You see.... He has no choice but to take the risk. You have the lead. You just cannot allow yourself to go backwards. Its far worse to lose by giving up your own lead (going backwards) than it ever would be if your opponent was successful with the higher risks he just had to take. Giving up your own lead and you will kick yourself terribly whereas the other way you simply tip your hat to your opponent for succeeding at the risk he "had to" take.
You have the lead, and its the other guys job who is already losing to try to steel it from you. Your job and priority has to be to protect your lead imo.

Unless extenuating circumstances are present. Like perhaps you just have no chip/pitch game that day at all and do have a great driver that day. But with no chip/pitch game your probably not in the lead in the first place so that point is kind of moot.
 
I watched again that drive on the 17th. That was a real stroke of bad luck. For all the bunkers and rough around, the ball had to scoot all the way through a narrow green to the very end to fall into water. If it was reachable, I'd still go for the drive. If all the bad luck for me to lose has to happen, so be it, the win really wasn't meant for me. There's a difference between "shooting careful" and "shooting scared".
 
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