Pete Dye Too Tough for Rory McIlroy

Kathy Bissell

Rory McIlroy has announced via Twitter that he will not play The Players, which, by the way, is the tournament with the biggest purse in golf.  The only person happy about this, much to McIlroy’s chagrin, is Pete Dye, who had said his mission in life is to provide today’s players with the same kind of golf challenge as Ben Hogan faced when hitting the famed 1-iron at Merion to win the US Open in 1950.  Then Pete Dye kind of laughed a soft cackle, like you knew he was daring the best golfers to make par or birdie. 

"For everyone who is interested, the reason I'm not playing TPC this year is because I've never thought the golf course has set up that well for me. Hence 2 missed cuts in 2 years.” McIlroy said via Twitter. “ I have no sort of vendetta against Tim Finchem or the PGA Tour. I love playing in the US and have always found the people very welcoming. I'm sure one day I'll join the PGA tour again, but right now I want to put all my efforts into Europe and the race to Dubai. Hope this clears a few things up!"

His actual tweet was: "I've decided no holes at Sawgrass is better than my usual 36 holes."

In other words, Pete Dye 1. Rory McIlroy 0.

McIlroy should maybe know a little about Pete and Alice Dye.  Pete became a golf course designer kind of by accident.  He was an excellent amateur in Indiana, winning the Indiana State Amateur Championship in 1958. He also played in several US Amateurs. His score at the 1957 U.S. Open was better than Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. However, as he will attest, Pete is not nearly as good as his wife, Alice Dye, who has nine state amateur titles in Indiana and  three in Florida and USGA Senior Amateur victories in 1978 and 1979. ( She was second in 1977, 1981 and 1989, all stroke play.) 

Pete and Alice Dye have played golf everywhere there is golf to be played. Pete brought the links style design to may locations in the US and other non-Scottish places around the world.  He has adapted the Redan green style from the famous 15^th par three hole at North Berwick, for example, and placed it into his designs so that others may experience that challenge.  

He makes pot bunkers to resemble the ones made by sheep in historic British links courses.  He uses railroad ties because those were used by the Scotts when they made golf courses next to railroads, the primary means of transport in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.  Those who complain that Pete Dye is not traditional do not understand that he is taking his designs from the most traditional architects in golf: nature and the Scotts and Irish.

Perhaps McIlroy needs to rethink how he views the TPC Sawgrass.  If he were to imagine it placed by the Irish Sea, for instance, he might gain an appreciation. 

McIlroy has just increased Pete Dye’s legendary status by saying that the course is too hard for him.  Somewhere, Pete Dye is having a laugh McIlroy’s expense. 

If it makes McIlroy feel any better, he should know that the PGA Tour players hated it at first, too. They have made the course easier than it used to be.  Imagine what it was like when it first opened. 

Now ask just how good Greg Norman’s -24 winning score was?  How good were the 63s shot by Greg Norman and Fred Couples?  Pretty good.

No one wants to see McIlroy decline a tournament.  He has no obligation to the PGA Tour, and by declining the opportunity to play, he opens up a spot for someone who really wants to be there. As they say, every shot makes somebody happy.