McCollum's Column: A decade ago, many college players were carved apart by Hazeltine

Ten years ago, I witnessed the brutality of the Hazeltine golf course.

It tore apart some of the best players and best teams in college golf.

Hazeltine, in a Minneapolis suburb where Tiger is growling and prowling this week, is typical of many Midwest golf courses. Water is understated but villainous the few times it comes into play. The major weapons are wind and sand, punctuated by long, narrow fairways. Many greens have trick contours. You better hit the right spot.

There are few places to safely lay up on the par-4s and par-5s. Most of the par-3 holes demand both length and precision.

Bob Rosberg, a former golf commentator, once described the course, “There are so many doglegs that Robert Trent Jones must have laid this out in a kennel.”

Georgia Tech, with the one-two punch of Matt Kuchar and Conway’s Bryce Molder, was favored to win the NCAA golf title in 1999.

“Your stomach churns on every shot here,” said Barry Molder, Bryce’s father.

This tournament was full of indigestion for the proud Georgia Tech team.

Kuchar, the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world, was 11-over for his first round. Molder, the most consistent player in college golf at the time, had one birdie on an opening-round 77 and never recovered.

Georgia Tech, falling near the bottom of the team standings, never made the final 16 to play the weekend and was stunningly sent home early.

Hazeltine stung the Yellow Jackets and unnerved other top teams.

One of the things that happened was golfers who were used to being 3- and 4-under par on a round, found themselves 3- and 4-over and they were thrown into an unfamiliar zone and mindset.

It was hard for them to get used to that par was a good score on many holes. Hazeltine is the type of course that you play for par, cross your fingers and pick your spots.

There was a whole lot of risk and not much reward.

“Every course makes you think, in a sense,” Molder said after his first round. “But not many of them punish you for making bad decisions. Most of the course we play, if you hit a bad shot, you can get out of it OK.”

But Hazeltine sets up for Tiger Woods’ game with his length and course management. From the beginning, he threatened to chew up the field.

Some very good college golfers were turned into pussycats during that May week on the course carved out of rolling pastureland.

It took a Tiger, and he was growling after two rounds, relatively silent Saturday. There’s some excitement looming today with Tiger and Padraig Harrington, the dream matchup, in the picture.

Hazeltine can has a way of unraveling a field.

Just a golfer seems like he’s riding a crest of a wave, Hazeltine throws up a dam.

(Sports columnist David McCollum can be reached at 505-1235 or david.mccollum@thecabin.net)