Players size up Royal Montreal: Old school, undulating greens, ‘boring in a good way’
Royal Montreal Golf Club in Ile Bizard, Quebec, will host its second Presidents Cup this week. The Blue Course, designed by Dick Wilson in 1957 and renovated by Rees Jones in 2004, will play as a par 70 and at a length of 7,413 yards, 260 yards longer than it did for the 2014 RBC Canadian Open.
Here is what the competitors are saying about the course:
Collin Morikawa
“I didn’t really know what to expect. A lot of small greens and undulations. I think when it comes to that you got to put yourself in the fairway. Rough is not crazy long. You can hit some and run it up. With just undulation you can hit some small targets and hit your irons really out here. Greens are running amazing. So just being able to make putts like that.”
Russell Henley
“I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s definitely just a bunch of drivers for me. I think there’s one or two holes where I might hit less. It’s just a bunch of drivers. I’m comfortable with my driver, and the greens are great.
“I feel like there’s a lot of little ridges in the greens I’m not used to seeing on a lot of courses that’s just different. Yeah, I really like it. I think it’s very fair. It’s pretty much in front of you. I think it’s fun.”
Sahith Theegala
“The course is great. I saw a different side of the course today. It was playing a lot tougher. Front nine was playing long. Just kind of a heavy wind. Hit a lot of, like, 5- and 7-irons into the greens and a 4-iron as well. It’s playing long.
“Great track, though. The front nine I would say, I wouldn’t call it forgettable but a little more in front of you and almost boring. But it’s boring in a good way. It requires good shots. You have to place your ball. You have to hit the shots. So it’s rewarding for good golf and punishing for bad golf.
“But the back nine is so – I love the back nine. The greens are all dissected by these ridges, and you can tuck pins there’s water on almost on every hole. It feels like a match-play back nine. I hope they move 14 up. But it’s a sweet track.”
Scottie Scheffler
“Definitely a little bit of an understanding of where to be and where not to be. It’s a pretty simple golf course for the most part. We played it the first time, and it wasn’t really like there were many holes where guys were discussing what to hit off the tee or what line to take. There wasn’t a lot of confusing stuff. The golf course kind of presents itself to you, and you just have to go out there and execute.
“There’s some holes where you can make birdies, but there’s some pretty good long par-3s that are challenging and some long par-4s. This is a week where we’re going to get, I think, a different wind direction each day, and that will provide another challenge to playing a golf course for the first time.”
Patrick Cantlay
“It’s very much a northeast old-school golf course, but with the poa annua greens and most of them being back to front, it reminds me of some of the golf courses I grew up playing in southern California. I love the golf course. I think it’s going to be a good test.
“I think it’ll be important to leave your golf ball in the right spots, especially coming into the greens. There’s a lot of slope on these greens, mostly back to front, but there’s little sections in each and every green for the most part. Getting it in the right direction, and then if the green speeds pick up, being below the hole I think will be key to holing putts.”
Corey Conners
“The greens are in great shape. I think you can get hot with the putter, but it’s going to be important to get the ball in the fairway. You kind of have to do everything well. There’s no kind of hiding any weaknesses out here. Got to strike it good and hopefully hole some putts. I like how the course sets up. Like I said, it’s in amazing shape right now. It’s playing great. It will be a fun challenge.”
Mike Weir
“I think the golf course presents a great challenge to all the guys, but it brings in a great mix of players, I believe. That’s what to me is a sign of a great golf course is that players – like Scott Verplank, players that probably hit the ball the same, our length (talking to Jim Furyk), won here a number of times, it’s advantageous to long players too. It’s a great golf course in that way, that all players can be relevant around this place.”