Par 3 Shootout 2006 - Tuesday Notes

IF IT'S AN EVEN YEAR, IT'S FREDDY'S TURN

With his victory in the ING Par-3 Shootout, Fred Couples captures his third title, joining the titles he won in 2002 and 2004. Aside from being the only multiple winner of the ING Par-3 Shootout, Couples' $300,000 haul pushed his career ING Par-3 Shootout earnings to $1,120,000 and vaulted him past Phil Mickelson ($960,000) into second place in career earnings in the eight-year event, behind Lee Trevino's $1,390,000. Event rookies Craig Stadler ($110,000) and Chris DiMarco ($110,000) enjoyed fine debuts. And while defending champion Andy North finished fourth with $20,000, he can take solace in the fact he climbed over Ray Floyd for fourth on the career ING Par-3 Shootout list with $370,000.

FROM THE HOME OFFICE IN GAYLORD, MICH...

Fred Couples' 4-5 tee shot on No. 18 and Craig Stadler's 2-11 shot on No. 5 Monday were the closest to the pins in the 2006 ING Par-3 Shootout, but neither came close to cracking the top-five closest-to-pin shots in event history. The rest of the top five is as follows:

5. Fred Couples	No. 7	2003	1-foot, 5-inches
4. Phil Mickelson	No. 3	2003	1-4
3. Phil Mickelson	No. 4	2000	1-2
2. Fred Couples	No. 14	2005	10 inches
1. Lee Trevino	No. 7	2001	Ace

NOW WE CAN MAKE THAT DINNER RESERVATION

For the second straight year, event organizers moved up the start time of the event to beat one of those Midwestern squalls that come through the northern Michigan area. Start time went from 1 p.m. ET to 11 a.m. ET to avoid a predicted storm coming through central and northern Michigan in the afternoon. In 2005, the ING Par-3 Shootout endured its first weather delay – a 1-hour, 45-minute stoppage during Monday's round that necessitated a one-hour advance for Tuesday's time. As it turned out, it was a fortuitous decision, as the skies opened up nearly upon completion of play.

PERHAPS HE'S DISCOVERED A NEW TRAINING REGIME

ING Par-3 Shootout rookie Stadler arrived at Treetops around 10:30 Sunday night and immediately got the lay of the land. "I practiced for an hour in the pub last night," he said. "That was my practice round. There wasn't much wind, no elevation. It was pretty calm. ... It worked." Indeed it did; Stadler won five of the first nine closest-to-the-pin titles, seven overall, and $110,000.

PUT HIM ON AUTO PILOT

Stadler's seven closest-to-the-pin shots ranks second on the event's all-time list, trailing only Ray Floyd's eight in 2000.

WOULD A JASON HOCKEY MASK WORK, ANDY?

It was a rough two days on the course for 2005 ING Par-3 Shootout champion North, who struggled with distance control, the tricky winds and the undulating greens of Threetops. "The competition must be better this year than it was last year. Six pars and three bogeys isn't going to scare a lot of people," North said. North started to throw a few scares into his competitors with two closest-to-pin bonuses and several other shots inside 20 feet on Tuesday.

PRO-AM RESULTS

Even without his special Threetops bag of half-clubs that stayed home this year, Couples still helped the amateur team of Dave Hinz, Michael Cohen, Kevin Fitzpatrick and Bill Gardner capture Tuesday's pro-am title with a score of 7-under-par 20.

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