Well, he knew he could hit his3 wood near the green, there was no water around the green and only grandstands. Kostis said it was not an easy layup shot because of the bunkering around the the layup areas. I know I feel very comfortable hitting bunker shots around a green and he had already holed one bunker shot. I think he was just tryng to get into a bunker for the most part. I haven't heard his thought process yet, just a guess. FYI. Van de Velde got probably the worst break of any major championship in history. His second shot hit the railing of the grandstand and then bounced into the burn.
van de velde never should've hit driver off the tee. He got an incredibly lucky break when his tee shot found a sliver of land. At that point, a smart player would've taken his medicine and hit a lay up iron shot and then wedged on, made bogey and won by 2. But no. He pulled the most idiotic stunt probably in major golf history. After all, his name is now a verb.
Personally, I think Walker wasn't too smart to hit a 3 wood (or whatever that was) for his second. He hit iron off the tee to get it in play and dry. Why hit it anywhere but the fairway at that point. If he misses the bunker and ends up in the rough, he could've drawn a bad lie in the wet rough. And even if he does hit it in the bunker, he could've plugged it. He needed to be in the fairway where he could've put his hand on the ball. He was guaranteed a perfect lie. But, he got away with it. After having to make a knee-knocker 2nd putt to win, I bet he'll never do something so stupid again.
By the way, it was really cool to watch this event having stayed at Baltusrol a couple nights last fall and evaluating both courses. In my opinion, the Upper is the better course. Both are top 100. Incredible place, Baltusrol.
