Alexander Delivers Third Blog Installment From Barbados
Sunday, December 10, 2006 | Men's Golf
Editor's note: Buddy Alexander, who is the men's golf coach at the University of Florida, is caddying for one of his former players, Camilo Villegas, as he represents Colombia in the World Golf Championships-Barbados World Cup this week. Alexander will be writing about the experience daily for PGATOUR.com. This is his third installment.
ST. JAMES, Barbados -- Today was exciting, especially on the front nine where they shot 31. Camilo made five birdies and actually three-putted the third hole for a par from 60 feet or their score could have been lower. The back nine was the exact opposite. There were so many holes that either of the two of them could have made birdie. They'd miss from long distance. They'd miss from short distance. It was tough to watch. Everyone's got a war story, though. But they had so many chances.
Caddying today was a little easier than it was Thursday when we played the first round of Four-ball. It never rained, so I didn't have to mess with the umbrella. When we finished up, someone asked me if it was hot out there, but I honestly didn't feel it. There was a good breeze all day to cool you off. It's fun getting to know Camilo in a little different way, too. I've learned more about his little idiosyncrasies. He's pretty predictable in a lot of ways. He's kind of a perfectionist. He likes to do things in a certain way. He's a little superstitious, too. I can tell when he's going to switch balls. If a ball has a couple of bad holes, it's coming out. I can see how he and his caddy Matt get along so well. Matt been with him and knows what to expect.
This is an interesting course. There are not a lot of trees to block the wind. It's been pretty steady this week, and constant. The wind makes this course a little more interesting. The bunkering is a little unusual and sort of sporadic, too. You look at some of the holes and you're not sure why the bunker is there. It almost has a little bit of a links feel. If the wind's against you, the bunker might be in play. If the wind's behind you, the bunkers you thought might be unreachable suddenly are. We've had the exact same wind all three days. Maybe it seldom changes. I just don't know. Putting in the wind can be tough, too. Most guys widen their stances to steady themselves. The wind can really have an impact on the shorter putts, especially those about 4 or 5 feet. A couple of those made me nervous, but Camilo made them all.
There was one time today where I feel like I might have helped him. Yesterday on the ninth hole, which is a par 5, he had a tough lie in the rough. I mentioned that he might want to get it in the fairway because these guys are so good with wedges. If they can put their hand on the ball with lift, clean and place, they're going to hit a good shot more than likely. He hit a 5-wood and it went in the rough again. They had to chop it on the green about 25 feet. We had a similar situation today, although the lie was worse. He wasn't going to reach the green. I said, “Why don't you make sure you can get your hand on it?” So he hit a 7-iron instead of a 5-wood into the fairway and a 7-iron for his approach. He was playing well. He'd hit a lot of good shots. I felt like if he hit it in the short grass where he could get his hand on the ball, he'd have a chance to make birdie, and I was right.
The back nine was frustrating. Camilo hit a big drive at No. 10 but left it short of the hole about 25 feet and missed the putt. Manuel hit a good shot at the 11th and just missed a 20-footer. Then Camilo hit an awesome putt that ended up behind the hole at No. 13. The ball spun out at No. 13 and then at the 14th, they had it 10 and 12 feet and they both missed. At No. 15, Camilo hit it over the green. They both hit pretty good putts at the 16th hole and at No. 17, he missed a 10-footer. It happens to everybody. They had some real good opportunities but they couldn't capitalize. When you've played such a good, solid front nine, though, it can be disappointing. But I am expecting more good things from them tomorrow.
