The Punter / Steven Rawlings / 07 February 2009 / Leave a Comment

The Punter wasn't sure which Lefty would turn up to the Buick Invitational. That is, until round two when he bogeyed himself out of contention. Meanwhile, can Charley Hoffman win an event he considers 'as big as a major?'

Starting on the easier North course Camilo Villegas spread-eagled the field on Thursday with an impressive nine under par 63.

Fortunately, my main pick, Davis Love, was his closest pursuer, just three shots back and nicely placed. Or so I thought.

Best of my other picks on day one was last week's runner-up, Charley Hoffman. After shooting one under on the South course, he was eight shots back but the South was playing almost four shots harder than the North, so he was by no means out of it.

I kept a close eye on Phil Mickelson who was playing the tougher South course and he seemed to be back to his brilliant best at times but just when he looked like he might be a possible play, up would step the new Phil. The one who can't drive, pulls the occasional iron and can't putt for toffee. He ended the day on two under par, not a bad effort on the South course and he was trading at around [7.6]. I felt that was a tad short on the evidence of his play.

On day two, Camilo picked up where he'd left off and shot a respectable two under par on the South course to reach 11 under. He was a bit erratic with his driver over his last nine holes but kept the lead, courtesy of some great scrambling and the fact that none of those who started day two within striking distance played anywhere near their potential. My man Davis Love was disappointing to say the least. He looked dejected and disinterested as he limped round in five over par to play himself right out of the event.

As if watching Love wasn't bad enough, I also had to endure seeing John Rollins take the South course apart, shooting 64, despite bogeying his last hole. I've backed Rollins in this event for the last couple of years, following his fourth place in 2006, and I even backed him to win the US Open here at [650.0]. But I'd turned my nose up at the [360.0] available before the off because he hasn't exactly shone here since '06 and appeared quite badly out of form. He's a perfect example of how certain courses can ignite certain players. He's also not particularly reliable, which was another reason he was overlooked, so I'm not interested in him now, a shot back and trading at around [8.0].

After he'd started poorly, I took a very small interest in Mickelson at an average of [30.0] just in case. He then bogeyed the 14th hole, his third par 5 bogey of his second round! It may look like a ridiculous bet now but at the time Villegas was five clear of the field and it was tight after that and I felt he was worth a saver. Taking Villegas out of the equation and assuming he'd mess up over the weekend a strong Lefty finish would have made the [30.0] a value play but Mickelson continued to struggle. He drove poorly all day and missed eight putts from inside six feet, now at around [46.0] he looks too far back, even if he starts rolling some putts in.

I'm not completely out of the game though; Charley Hoffman had a decent day and will join Rollins and Villegas in today's final three ball after shooting six under yesterday. With the threat of poor weather, play has been brought forward today and that final three ball tees off earlier than expected at 17.55.

I don't like the way the tournament's shaping up. I'm not entirely convinced by Villegas and couldn't take the [2.20] with his driving being so inaccurate but I haven't got much confidence in the chasers either, so for now I'll just see how it pans out.

Hopefully Charley Hoffman will keep going but it's a big ask. He has to overcome the pressure of winning an event that he describes as being 'as big as a major' for him on the back of last weeks disappointment and following the distraction of his own charity event, staged on Monday. So for now its fingers crossed for a Villegas stumble and a Hoffman charge but I can't say I'm overly confident.

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