Hell yes!

Congratulations to Billy Horschel on his maiden victory on the PGA Tour, which many thought was a long time coming. In some ways this win was predictable, as Horschel had been knocking on the door for a while (three straight top 10s), although that didn’t stop me from accidentally leaving him on the bench for Fantasy Golf (not that I’m bitter or anything). But how did Horschel get to the winner’s circle? And how good has Horschel’s start been this year?

Without further ado, the Zurich Classic, By the Numbers (and we’re not talking about how many fried oysters were consumed). (continue reading…)

Look who is at top of leaderboard: The hottest player on the PGA Tour in early 2013: Sneds!

What a rollercoaster. What a day. What a week. Oh, just another non-controversial Masters. I totally jinxed it earlier this week when I thought I was going to get to watch this year’s Masters relatively stress-free from my couch with an easy workload. And of course, Tiger Woods was going to cruise to victory for his 15th major and all would be right in the world.

I should have known better. That doesn’t happen. In fact, it never does, especially when you think it will. Duh. (continue reading…)

After Deadspin posted this legendary picture of Jason Dufner hanging out with kids at a charity event in Irving, Texas, #Dufnering has become a trending meme on the internets. Here are some of the best from the pros, along with others around the Twittersphere…

I’m baaaaack. I missed you all and the #WUPHangouts (even though it hadn’t been that long). Thanks for your understanding of my mini-hiatus.

Michelle Wie high-5s Lydia Ko for being absolutely awesome

Sorry I’ve been MIA. I’ve had some personal issues to sort out the last few days, but I’m back, and I’ve missed you all!

Not to get all sappy and cheesy, but I’m going to go there. Just wanted to give a quick shout-out to the few friends who have gone above and beyond to help a damsel in distress. A friend who asks his friend to take in a total stranger, no questions, is so underrated. I’ve expressed my undying gratitude to these wonderful people, but again, your kindness and friendship and support mean more to me than words can express (and have outweighed the crappiness or at least helped loads).

Alright, now let’s get on to what we’ve missed in golf news this week. Oh, by the way, I am in the L.A. area, and I will be at Riviera starting tomorrow (hopefully — I probably shouldn’t promise that given the way things have gone this week). It was just kind of difficult to pull myself away from refuge here.  (continue reading…)

Snedeker quenches the thirst for first

After taking a back seat to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in the last two events, Brandt Snedeker had the spotlight to himself — well, he kind of shared it with his pro-am partner and friend Toby S. Wilt since the duo won that portion of the tournament. Snedeker, who has played solidly, ran into two guys who just happened to be unbeatable the last two weeks.

This week he was the one that was the man to beat, despite entering the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am tied for the lead with PGA Tour rookie James Hahn.

If anything, being the bridesmaid for two straight weeks made him even more hungry for the victory.   (continue reading…)

I know it was Saturday night on the East Coast, so many thanks to those who took the time to submit questions and/or actually watched the live-stream.

Good news is you can always check it out later if you were busy with fun weekend activities (and I hope many of you were).

One thing: I made a mistake during the Hangout. Apologies to Jesse. For some reason — even though I knew he shot 68 — I thought Snedeker broke his streak of rounds in the 60s. In 15 of his last 16 rounds, Snedeker has scored in the 60s. His lone over-par round in that stretch was in the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open when he posted a three-over 75.

Eyeing a win after finishing runner-up to Tiger and Phil the last two weeks

There’s a name that’s been gracing the first page of the leaderboard who is tied for the 54-hole lead: Brandt Snedeker, who finished runner-up the last two weeks to Tiger Woods (Farmers Insurance Open) and Phil Mickelson (Waste Management Phoenix Open), respectively. PGA Tour rookie James Hahn birdied his last three holes at Spyglass (the hardest of the three venues) to fire a six-under 66 and tie Snedeker for the lead at 12-under through 54 holes.

Good news for Snedeker – Mickelson, who triple-bogeyed the 18th at Pebble Beach today after knocking two in the water (if you haven’t seen the GIF of his slip, then here’s a link), made the cut on the number (one-under), so he’s not a threat. And Tiger isn’t in the field. (continue reading…)

Yes, that is indeed Bill Murray, sporting an interesting beard!

Of course that’s a reference to Bill Murray’s facial hair. The Pebble Beach National Pro-Am regular is making a scene, per usual. He’s partnered up with D.A. Points, who won the event in 2011 — the pair were also victorious in the pro-am portion of the tournament.

Murray and Points played at Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Shore Course on Thursday, and posted a team effort of five-under 65, putting them in a tie for 51st after the opening round.

Here’s a closer shot of Murray’s beard: (continue reading…)

And it’s good!

The last two weeks on the PGA Tour have had a turn-back-the-clock feel. First, Tiger Woods won at Torrey Pines in a Monday finish, and then on Sunday, Phil Mickelson won in Phoenix. What year is this again? 2001?

Phil ran away with his wire-to-wire victory at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and dominated from a statistical standpoint. Here now is this week’s By the Numbers.

(continue reading…)