Laird Wins Texas Open, Earns Last Minute Masters Invite

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The American dominance this season on the PGA Tour has officially ended, thanks to an incredible final round of golf that seemingly came from out of nowhere. Last week it was D.A. Points who somehow overcame a very rough start of the season to turn things completely around with a win at the Shell Houston Open, and on Sunday at the Valero Texas Open – it was Martin Laird’s turn. Laird began the final round Sunday 5 strokes back of Billy Horschel, who enjoyed a 2-shot lead heading into the final day of the tournament and seemed ready to pick up his first-ever PGA Tour win. But by the time Laird entered the back nine Sunday afternoon – it had turned into a 3-man race, with Laird and Horschel tied for the lead at 10-under par, and Rory McIlroy charging up the leaderboard at 9-under. Thanks to a birdie by Laird on the 13th, his 6th birdie of the round, and a bogey by Horschel on the 12th – Laird suddenly enjoyed a 2-shot lead and the only challenge at that point was to hold off McIlroy’s late charge.

A few wayward swings off the tee on two of the easier holes coming in would ultimately squash McIlroy’s bid to pick up an unlikely win on Sunday, but Laird took no chances. The Scot delivered the knockout punch by closing out his win with 3 consecutive birdies on the final three holes, shooting a remarkable final round of 9-under 63. McIlroy would finish solo 2nd with a solid round of 6-under 66, 12-under for the tournament, and Horschel’s lackluster 1-under on Sunday would ultimately leave him in a 3-way tie for third with Jim Furyk and Charley Hoffman.

Coming into the Valero Texas Open on Thursday, Laird had missed 4 cuts in his last 7 starts, and noted that his putting was the major struggle in his game so far this season. He went on to say that the difficult poa greens from the West Coast Swing earlier in the year really took a toll on his confidence, but all of that changed with his decision to go back to a putter that had previously served him well. Between the familiar feel of a reliable putter and putting on greens last week that he deemed “absolutely perfect,” Laird’s return to form was never more evident than on the putting surfaces. “This week, I went back to my old faithful putter that I won Bay Hill with a few years ago and probably had my best putting spell with,” he said. “Now I’m wondering why I ever stopped using it. But that was kind of automatic comfort with that putter on these greens.” The return of a confident putting stroke will be crucial this week when he tees it up at the Masters, as Laird will attempt to become only the 6th player in Master’s history to win the first major of the year after winning the week prior. The last player to do so was Phil Mickelson, who won the event prior to the Masters back in 2006 – the BellSouth Classic.

As big as Laird’s win was Sunday with regard to jump starting his season, the same could be said of Rory McIlroy’s last-second decision to play last week at the Texas Open. McIlroy not only got more comfortable with the new Nike equipment, but a final round of 6-under 66 on Sunday that put him just a few strokes shy of his first win this season seems to have sparked his competitive juices once again. “Everything I wanted to accomplish this week, I accomplished,” McIlroy said. “I’m very happy that I’m going into next week with my game in good shape and my confidence level pretty high.”  

Top 10 Standings @ Texas Open

1st @ 14-under – Martin Laird (9-under 63 Sunday)

2nd @ 12-under – Rory McIlroy (6-under 66 Sunday)

T3rd @ 11-under – Billy Horschel (1-under 71), Jim Furyk (3-under 69), Charley Hoffman (3-under 69)

6th @ 9-under – K.J. Choi (4-under 68)

T7th @ 8-under – Daniel Summerhays (3-under 69), Jeff Overton (3-under 69), Bob Estes (2-under 70)

T10th @ 7-under – Martin Flores (4-under 68), Marcel Siem (3-under 69), Padraig Harrington (2-under 70)

(All Players Quotes courtesy of PGATOUR.COM)

 

John Merrick’s Win at Riviera

AP Photo

For those interested in knowing which equipment Merrick was playing last week at Riviera, you can get that information HERE. I find it incredibly difficult to believe that as smooth and effortless as his swing is – he still needs extra stiff shafts. Then again, maybe I don’t know as much as I pretend to know about equipment and how it’s supposed to compliment an individual golf swing, and more to the point – how a smooth, effortless golf swing can deliver a massive amount of power and clubhead speed into the golf ball at that precise moment of impact.

Anywho… it’s always great to see the first-time winners on Tour getting all misty eyed and at a loss for words after they’ve finally realized a dream. Especially when they’ve spent nearly 6 years and 168 starts coming so painstakingly close on a few occasions, only to watch that dream fade away with one bad swing or a few missed putts on Sundays over the years. Nothing against Charlie Beljan, who I think is a great character for the Tour and it’s good to see him following up that miraculous win last season with his continued good playing. But I’ll most always be pulling for the underdog on Sunday if one is in the hunt, because I think it’s not only great for the game, but more importantly because it underscores the real values of dedication, patience and hard work that come with achieving something important in life.

John Merrick was the benefactor of a few good breaks Sunday, for sure. A couple of pushed tee shots midway through the back-nine happened to find enough space between the trees to afford him the ability to advance the ball to the green, and the players who were in a position to win up ahead squandered numerous opportunities to score on the closing par5’s. But as every great player will tell you – you need a few good breaks along the way. And when they come, you’d best take advantage of them.

Merrick’s composure was never more obvious than when he made the decision to lay up on the 2nd playoff hole – the infamous short par4 10th. He had more than enough length to hit his tee shot up around the green, but he also had the wits about him to know what the percentage play was. With everything on the line at that very moment, Merrick stuck with his game plan and decided that he wasn’t going to throw the tournament away with one careless decision. The same degree of patience and discipline that he’s shown over the past several years was once again front and center Sunday afternoon when destiny came calling. Merrick’s approach shot from 70 yards wasn’t your typical garden variety 3/4 lob wedge. A yard too far, a yard too short, a yard too far right or left – the tiniest miscalculation would spell disaster on this little slither of a green that is guarded like Fort Knox by the deep menacing bunkers protecting it. Knowing what was at stake, John stepped up and hit the shot of his life, which in the end would be more than good enough to get him that first big win.

Congrats on your first Tour win, John Merrick. Well played.

5 Things: The Week in Golf

AP

(1) – The Pre Bomb and Gouge Era Revisited

Brian Gay’s win on Sunday at the Humana took us back to a refreshing time and place in the game; a time when a player wasn’t required to deliver 130 miles per hour of clubhead speed with driver to stay competitive, and a place where holes that stretch 500+ yards are still considered par5’s instead of par4’s. Indeed, Gay’s 4th career win on Tour last Sunday was helped considerably by Scott Stallings’ inability to manage his game coming down the stretch and Charles Howell III’s lack of confidence on the putting greens, but we can’t overlook the fact that Gay’s final round score of 9-under 63 came with an average driving distance of only 279 yards last week. His ability to keep the ball in play (tied for 2nd in driving accuracy @ 81.48 percent), finding the heart of the greens (tied for 4th at 83.33 percent) and a final round void of a single bogey to go along with 9 birdies… all of those things remind us how the game used to be played many moons ago, a time when accuracy mattered just as much as distance.

Streeter Lecka / Getty

(2) – Charles Not in Charge, Yet…

It’s tough getting a read on Charles Howell III. He never struggles retaining his card each season, earning more than enough money to keep his playing privileges on Tour. He’s always had a very efficient golf swing that has more than enough power, and he can definitely get on a streak and post some low numbers from time to time. But his real nemesis was revealed once again last Sunday, as his putting and scrambling deficiencies on the weekends continue to keep him out of the winner’s circle. It’s hard to believe that in his 11 years and 366 career starts on Tour, Howell has managed to win only twice, with his last victory going all the way back to 2007. But despite coming up short in the playoff with Gay on Sunday, Charles is off to a really good start this season with back-t0-back weeks finishing inside the top-5. And although his short game work in the off season is still a work-in-progress, he seems pretty anxious about improving his play around/on the greens and trying to capture his 3rd win this season. “I’m thrilled with the start of the season… I would have taken that for a Christmas present wrapped up nicely and had it,” he said. “I hope it does continue on. I like the work that I’m doing, I’ve made more of a commitment to work on my short game. It’s up to me to stick to the plan that I’ve laid out throughout the whole year, as opposed to having a couple good weeks and then focusing a little bit more on something else. But, yeah, I surely hope it continues on.” Sunday marked the 14th time in his career that Howell has finished runner-up.

Matthew Lewis / Getty

(3) – 2013’s First Official Flop

I guess they weren’t paying attention to the sports headlines last week, Tiger and Rory. Because had they read the script, they would’ve needed an extra day for the 18-hole playoff to determine which one of them would win the HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi. Instead, Nike’s Dynamic Duo ended up writing their own scripts, one of which included an ending that would’ve made even Quentin Tarantino wince in utter disgust.

Woods, who pretty much all but assured himself the weekend off with his sporadic playing through the first 27 holes, finally found a little mojo on the back nine Friday afternoon. His four birdies coming in got him safely inside the weekend cutline, but there was an issue that needed to be addressed before signing his scorecard, an issue that occurred earlier in the round on the front nine. European Tour official Andy McFee confronted Woods about his decision to take free relief from an embedded ball right of the fairway on the par4 5th, a decision that Woods felt he was entitled since his ball had plugged into an area of vegetation right of the fairway. Except Woods wasn’t entitled free relief, per the rules. McFee explained the rules breach, stating that the vegetation with the sand base underneath didn’t constitute a closely mown area, and further informing Tiger that his incorrect procedure would assess him a 2-stroke penalty. As it turned out, instead of being safely inside the cut and playing the weekend, the penalty assessment put him one stroke over and heading back to the states.

As for the newly knighted Nike convert, McIlroy seemed completely at odds with his new Nike equipment. In fact, he became so disenchanted with his new Nike Method putter after Thursday’s round that he left it back at the hotel Friday morning, opting to go back to his old Titleist Scotty Cameron putter he’d used prior to signing the lucrative $200 million deal with Nike earlier in the week. Unfortunately for Rory, putting was the least bit of his worries, as he struggled to find his golf swing either of the two days and wasn’t anywhere near playing well enough to move into the weekend.

While it’s indeed much too early in the season to be pondering any notions that maybe McIlroy made an error in judgement switching equipment at this stage of his career, some are wondering aloud that McIlroy might’ve rushed into the Nike stable full steam ahead, with little regard to the equipment adjustments that can completely change a player’s confidence with his game. Nick Faldo, who himself isn’t a stranger when it comes to switching equipment companies in the middle of a promising career, is one of those who seems to be wondering the loudest. “As professional golfers we get a millisecond of feedback from impact. And if you get that lovely feedback and the ball goes where you want it, that’s a tick in the confidence box,” Faldo said. “But if you think ‘oh, that felt different’ and the ball doesn’t go where you want it to go, it starts to eat away at your confidence.” But besides the risks assumed with changing equipment, Faldo seemed just as surprised that McIlroy, who is clearly the top player in the world and arguably the Tiger of his generation of players, would play second fiddle to anyone as it pertains to brand identity. “I’m surprised he’s going to Nike. Tiger has made that his brand and to join someone else’s brand really surprises me, as I thought he would stick to his own thing. Rory could easily start ‘The Rory Brand’ and build his own identity,” he said. “He’s that popular, he doesn’t need to be a Nike guy, or adidas guy or whatever. When you’re 23 and world No 1 – what a great time to build ‘The Rory Brand’ – a true brand, not somebody else’s.”

Whatever the case, McIlroy’s debut with Nike last week was certainly not what he was expecting. But whether his start to 2013 was equipment related or simply the buildup of rust from a few weeks off during the holidays, obviously it’s much too early to tell. As I said in the latter part of last week, we’ll have a better take on these questions come March and April, as we move closer to the first major of the season.

(4) Phil Mickelson, You Greedy Bastard… 

It’s taken me over an hour to edit what I originally wrote about this non-story regarding Phil Mickelson and the comment he made earlier this week about paying too much in taxes. In my attempt to not piss off some of my liberal friends, I decided to delete the whole damn thing. It’s not worth arguing my point with them, because no matter how much I justify why I feel the way I do, I’ll still be looked at as someone who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the plight of the underprivileged in my country back home, which I can assure you is not the least bit true. So I’ll keep it short and to the point.

(1) Mickelson expressed concern about being taxed at an enormous rate of 60%

(2) Mickelson expressed those concerns (he felt) off-the-record, but has been around long enough to know that they would be in the headlines the next day.

(3) Mickelson issued an apology to those who felt insulted because of his concerns. (that story HERE)

(4) Tiger Woods, who many have considered to be unfriendly with Mickelson, actually attempted to defend Mickelson’s comments. (that story HERE)

(5) If there’s anyone who in their right mind feels as though the government should be entitled to take 60% of anyone’s salary, click HERE.

(5) This Week’s Event at Torrey Pines

If the final round of this week’s Farmers Insurance Open offers us even half of the drama and excitement that we experienced last year, it’ll be something we’ll definitely want to tune in for. Most of us recall Kyle Stanley’s incredibly humbling stumble on the final hole that Sunday that led to the heartbreaking playoff loss to Brandt Snedeker, only to bounce back with his first Tour win in his very next start the following week. But unlike last year, this year’s field looks to be even stronger, with both Mickelson and Tiger headlining a very good field this week, easily the strongest field thus far in the season.

The marquee pairing on the South course is Nick Watney, Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler, teeing off Thursday at 10:30 a.m. local time.

The marquee pairing on the North course is Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, and defending champ Brandt Snedeker, teeing off Thursday at 9:30 a.m. local time.

PS – Phil Mickelson will be holding a special press conference prior to Thursday’s round, talking about his new sponsorship deal he just signed with H & R Block.

Thanks for your time, as always.

May you hit your tee balls long and straight,

but hide your winnings, cause the tax man waits.

Nike Begins McIlroy Era

Matthew Lewis/Getty

Years ago it was the Big Three in Golf, as Nicklaus, Palmer and Player threw the game on their backs and carried it when there was little else for the golf world to really talk about. “It wasn’t about the money” as they say, at least not incredible life-changing gobs of it anyway. But of course – that was back when any of the aforementioned three had to drive from venue to venue in a beater with 200,000 miles on a gas-guzzling 8 cylinder engine, and they didn’t walk the fairways looking like walking billboards, unlike the players who came after them a half century later. Sure, endorsement contracts existed back then. Companies like Lucky Strike and Pennzoil knew a good opportunity when they saw it, but they weren’t doling out endorsement checks greater than the GDP’s of many third-world nations.

Alas… that was back when the Big Three in Golf were players and not golf equipment manufacturers.

Things being what they are, Nike’s decision to woo Rory McIlroy into a long-term contract deal, which was made official just a few days ago, appears to be a mutual gold mine for both parties, as Phil Knight’s second biggest thoroughbred to enter the Nike stable now has more oats than Quakers have money. The Guardian news agency here in the UK  is reporting that McIlroy’s 10-year, mega-millions arrangement with Nike is worth $250 million, and when he tees it up in his first event of the season later today in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship – he’ll have an entirely different bag of new Nike toys to play with. Golf magazine online quickly points out that McIlroy’s power induces a lot of spin on the golf ball, which might make the changeover to the new Nike 20XI-X ball a bit more difficult. But Rory attempted to shrug off any immediate concerns. “You know me, I don’t overthink things,” he said. “I’m not going to get overwhelmed by changing my equipment. In all honesty, it’s been a pretty seamless transition.”

One thing is apparent in all of this: despite the current economic climate that is still reeling from the 5-year tailspin that the entire world has had to endure, big corporations are still eager to hitch their wagons to winners, especially the young, unassuming and likable types. McIlroy’s presence indeed offers Nike both the talent and the image they desire, and neither party seemed to have any qualms joining forces to capitalize on the current “heir apparent to Tiger” storyline that has been in the works since the 23-year-old won his first major and ascended to the top of the World Golf Rankings. In fact, Nike wasted little time presenting their new partnership with McIlroy this season with a new commercial that was released just yesterday (video below).

“I chose Nike for a number of reasons,” McIlroy said. “It’s a company and a brand that really resonates with me. It’s young. It’s athletic. It’s innovative. They are committed to being the best, as am I. Signing with Nike is another step towards living out my dream.”

A dream that continues to get bigger and better with each passing year, one that at some point truly “isn’t about the money” any longer.

But then again – we already knew that.

 

 

Dial-a-Captain Debacle Underscores Continued US Ryder Cup Failures

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He’s a 10-time winner on the PGA Tour, including 3 major championships. He knows more than enough about dealing with the stress and pressure as a player in the Ryder Cup, as his impressive 9-3-1 playing record in the event reveals. And not that it matters, but while many of his soon-to-be Tour peers were traveling from city to city and playing a game for a living back in 1967, he accepted his draft notice to go fight in the jungles of Vietnam as an infantryman.

Then again, maybe that should matter.

But for whatever reasons, Larry Gene Nelson’s accomplishments inside the ropes of a golf course and his honorable service on the front lines of an unpopular war continue to be overlooked by those in charge of deciding who will lead the Americans in golf’s patriotic battle better known as the Ryder Cup. On Thursday, PGA of America President Ted Bishop will announce that Tom Watson will be the US Ryder Cup captain in 2014, yet attempted to cover his tracks in a mixed-signals sort of way by calling Nelson’s snubbing over the years “an injustice.” “There is nobody more deserving of a captain’s spot than Larry. I think it was an injustice that he was passed over in the 1990s for a spot,” Bishop said. Yet in the same breath, he admitted that the PGA had “decided to go in a different direction” when explaining why both he (Nelson) and David Toms (who requested consideration earlier in the year) were no longer in the running for the 2014 US captaincy.

Interesting.

Despite how Ted Bishop truly feels, it’s become apparent that the selection process to determine a US Ryder Cup captain has become just as much of a frustrating circus as the lopsided event has digressed to itself. Not that Tom Watson isn’t worthy to take the lead in another US Ryder Cup gig, which is clearly not the point worth debating… but the fact of the matter is that if there truly are “worthy captain selections that don’t get the nod every other year” which is the common defense that the powers that be conveniently use when explaining why some other qualified candidates (who’ve never had the opportunity, mind you) continue to be ignored for a 2nd-term candidate – then obviously the process is seriously flawed.

Not that Paul Azinger is always popular with his outspokenness, but his recent commentary about this latest Dial-A-Captain debacle certainly provides some food for thought. “We see the PGA of America once during an off-year, at the PGA Championship. We don’t know who they are. I just feel like more participation is needed at this time, that they need to get the players more engaged in the process, embrace the players more, and I believe there should be a small committee put together like they do in Europe,” Azinger said.

But regardless of whether or not one agrees with Azinger’s, small committee proposal, his parting comment was no less spot-on. “It’s a razor-thin edge between winning and losing these matches. The captains can get the guys prepared, create an environment for success, deliver a message. But come Friday, there’s not a whole lot you can do. Wipe your hands of it, step back and hope they play great.”

That advice isn’t exclusive for Ryder Cup captains alone, however. Wipe the tears, step back from the ledge, and hope for a win next time. It’s become the frustrated motto of the American Ryder Cup fans as well.

Rush Limbaugh Offers Take on Golf, Tiger Woods

Courtesy of Golf Channel

Although I’m indifferent to some of his political opinions, I found some truth in Rush Limbaugh’s musings on Tiger and the difficulty of Golf in general.

“And the aspect of the media making Tiger was in the fabrication of an image of Mr. Perfect. Mr. Perfect Husband, Mr. Perfect Father, Mr. Perfect Workout Guy, Mr. Perfect Man, Mr. Perfect Golfer, Mr. Perfect Corporate Spokesman, Mr. Perfect Everything,” Limbaugh said. “Tiger was one of these guys that every man wanted to be like and every woman wanted to be with, right? But none of it was real, as we have learned. None of it was real. “He wasn’t the best father. He wasn’t the best husband. He was the best golfer for a while, but it was all a manufactured image. This is the danger of these kind of things.” He said that now Woods “knows wherever he goes that everybody knows this” and that is has become a “mental thing.” “It’s gonna take some time for him to overcome (that) … I mean, the cure for Tiger would be to become entirely absent of any self-awareness. If he was totally able to not think about himself, then he’d be able to overcome it. Sure, I think the ability is still in there,” Limbaugh said.”

Limbaugh plays golf.

“Golf is such a mental game. I think they ought to make prisoners play it,” he said. “It’s so frustrating. It makes you so mad at yourself. It can make you so irritated. It would be the best form of punishment for people behind bars I could think of, to make ’em play the game and actually make ’em care about wanting to be good at at it.”

Olazabal’s 22-over Nets $621 Fine

Somewhere in all of this there’s a joke surfacing about Ben Crane getting fined for driving slower than the posted speed limit.

But I won’t go there…..

“Speeding between the Masters and his next tournament cost Jose Maria Olazabal $621 when a Georgia sheriff’s deputy pulled him over for driving 97 mph on a rural highway. Olazabal, the Ryder Cup captain for Europe, agreed to follow a deputy to the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office and pay the speeding ticket in cash. The Spaniard was stopped Monday afternoon traveling from Augusta to Hilton Head, S.C., for the Heritage tournament, sheriff’s spokesman David Ehsanipoor said. Ehsanipoor said Tuesday that Olazabal “apologized, he was cooperative and after the paperwork was done he went on his way.””

Good Read on Rory McIlroy

Courtesy of Irish Central

“Last year’s Masters was definitely a defining moment for me. It could’ve been a crossroads in my career. I could’ve  done what I did on Sunday at Augusta and let it affect me and let it get to me, and maybe go into a slump, or get down or feel sorry for myself. But I had enough good people around me not to let that happen. It was a big crossroads for me in my career, and I was able to go down the right path and put things right by winning the next Major. All I wanted to do was put myself in that position again just to see if I could handle it better – and I proved to myself that I could.” ~ Rory McIlroy

He’s not afraid to talk to the sports writers, and speaks candidly. He’s got a boatload of confidence, but not so much that he comes across as arrogant and cocky. And the manner in which approaches the game mentally, as well as physically, is refreshing, exciting, and leaves you wanting for more.

There’s nothing to like about this kid, Rory McIlroy, and I do think that he’s a product of good people that he hangs around.

May we hope that fame and fortune doesn’t change him.

Cinderella is Dead: Q-School Changes Approved by Tour Policy Board

PGA Tour Moves Ahead With Q-School Restructure, Schedule Changes

Let there be no doubt about this, regardless of whether or not it ends up making the Tour more competitive or not in the end, but this is all about money, finding a sponsor for the Nationwide Tour, and shifting the focus to the FedEx Cup.

“I think this process clearly makes the Nationwide Tour the primary path to the PGA Tour,” Finchem said. “And in doing so, it will tie the Nationwide Tour, in the minds of fans, particularly, much more strongly to the PGA Tour, to the PGA Tour brand and to what the PGA Tour is all about.”

Q-School as we know it is dead, and I find that rather disappointing as someone who enjoyed following the Tour’s true “5th Major” every fall. It just won’t have the appeal for me anymore.  As for the bottom dwellers on Tour and the top dwellers on the Nationwide competing in a 3-tournament series? No star power = no interest. That’s ultimately how I see it.

Oh well….