Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship tournament director Peter German on Friday played down player concerns about “dangerous” rough at this weekend’s event, saying the thick grass is no deeper than normal.
The rough came in for heavy criticism after the first day’s play at the National Course on Thursday, as it left players such as Sergio Garcia with injury worries so early in the season. The Spaniard labelled the course “dangerous” after injuring his shoulder on the 13th hole and needing physio.
American Phil Mickelson, though he praised the venue, also said: “One has got to be careful. Maybe just wedge out and not risk any injury.”
World No 3 Henrik Stenson came into the tournament as firm favourite, but he won’t be there to fight it out over the final two days after failing to make the cut. On the rough, he said: “The funny thing is you don’t get stuck in the rough. It’s like, everything just comes out and one could almost build a nice bird’s nest. The roots don’t hold and it just comes out with the club — it’s like a bunker shot.”
Others chose to play the problem down, merely saying it was “tough out there”. But in short, very few of the players were happy.
But German was smiling when looking at the low score of nine-under-par at the end of Friday’s second round.
“I can understand a player who has just shot four-over-par being slightly unhappy with the rough,” he told Gulf News. “It is fairly thick, I will agree. But it is interesting enough as it is not deeper than it has been in previous years.”
However, German did admit that the rough is thicker than previously because it was over-seeded in October. “When we over-seeded, the weather after that was quite wet,” he said. “It meant that the seed took it very well, so the growth was much better and last weekend it rained again.
“When the sun comes out, you know the grass shoots. The rough was thicker but it was not higher — it was consistent.”
Many golfers were also upset with the cutting of the rough in a green-to-tee direction, which they felt minimised their recovery chances once they missed the fairways.
But German said: “It is cut in the same way we have always done in the past. In fact, for the first time, we cut it again on Wednesday after the pro-am and all the comments. It was something that we have never done before.
“At the end of the day it is the same for everybody. That’s what most have to understand.”
European Tour tournament director Miguel Vidaor endorsed German’s comments in a statement he released to the media on Friday.
