18th hole not tough for Toledo
He all but duplicates the eagle at Doral that won for Craig Parry last year - and he needs it on a low-scoring day.
By BOB HARIG
Published March 4, 2005
MIAMI - It was the best shot of the year on the hardest hole in golf. When Craig Parry holed his approach to Doral's brutal par-4 18th for an eagle to win a playoff over Scott Verplank last year, it was the stuff of highlight reel dreams.
Esteban Toledo saw the replays a few times. In fact, he happened to be viewing them again on the eve of this week's Ford Championship at Doral, watching Parry's 6-iron shot from 176 yards land on the green and roll into the cup for the stunning end to the tournament.
So what did Toledo do Thursday?
He all but duplicated the unbelievable shot.
It wasn't nearly as dramatic, and certainly not as important. But it sure was remarkable. Toledo's was the first shot of the day to the 18th, meaning two approaches in a row on the hole in Doral competition found the bottom of the cup for an eagle.
"Best shot I ever hit in my life," said Toledo, 42, a longtime pro from Mexico who has never won on the PGA Tour and seemed about as stoked by his shot as he would be if he captured the tournament.
"I was watching Craig Parry on TV last night and, wow, amazing shot. Then I got almost the same shot, and I thought about it, and it was, "I gotta make this shot.' There was no way, but I just couldn't believe it went in."
Who could? You would have a very difficult time getting odds on such an occurrence. Before Parry and Toledo accomplished the feat, there had not been an eagle at No. 18 since the 1997 tournament.
The eagle helped Toledo shoot 68 on the 7,266-yard Blue Monster course at the Doral Golf Resort. And it was a day you had better go low.
Phil Mickelson, Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal, England's Brian Davis and Marco Dawson shot 8-under-par 64 to tie for the first-round lead. Tiger Woods was a shot back after a 65. The top-heavy field composed of nine of the top-10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking did not disappoint.
In addition to No. 4 Mickelson and No. 2 Woods, No. 1 Vijay Singh shot 68, No. 5 Retief Goosen was at 67, No. 6 Sergio Garcia had 68, No. 7 Adam Scott had 69, No. 8 Padraig Harrington had 68 and No. 9 David Toms had 69. No. 10 Mike Weir was the only top-10 player not to shoot in the 60s, finishing with a 73.
(No. 3 Ernie Els is not here; he is competing in the PGA European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic, where he leads after the first round.)
The finishing hole at Doral has long been one of the most feared in the game. After a lengthening last year, it now measures 467 yards, with a narrow landing area pinched by water on the left and rough on the right. The approach to a narrow green is scary as the front slopes toward the water.
Last year, roughly 10 percent of the players hit into the pond. Nearly half the field could not hit the fairway off the tee and only a third hit the green in regulation. The average approach shot came to rest 64 feet from the hole. With an average score of 4.48, it ranked as the most difficult on the PGA Tour for the entire season.
Although it played over par Thursday, averaging 4.3 strokes, it was a day to get the 18th. Mickelson birdied it, hitting an 8-iron to 6 feet, as did Dawson. Woods made a 7-foot par-saving putt on the hole. Singh birdied the hole. Benign conditions reigned, and players were mostly hitting mid to short irons into the green.
Parry was unable to duplicate his feat from a year ago, settling for a par. But it still remains a huge topic of conversation.
"We're 12 months later and I'm still ecstatic about what happened last year," he said.
Toledo's shot was also with a 6-iron, but his was from 186 yards. He started his round on the back nine, the first group out along with Billy Andrade and Kevin Na. Andrade actually should have been first to play to the green, but he needed a ruling before he could hit, so Toledo went ahead.
"I never saw it," Toledo said. "I hit the shot, it was right at the hole, and I thought, "Carry, carry.' And all of a sudden it disappeared. I was looking for the ball and couldn't find it, and my caddie said, "It went in.' It was pretty awesome. For Parry to hit it in with a 6 (iron), and then I did the same thing. It's something I can tell my kids, when they get bigger.
"I was watching one of those highlight shows and (Parry) hit the 6-iron and it was beautiful. When I got there, I said I was going to do the same thing. But I was joking. I know how he feels."