Gay has his eye on the prize…

I probably shouldn’t admit what I’m about to say, but it’ll give you an idea of just how glamorous my life on tour is. On Saturday evening at dinner a few friends and I were chatting about golf (what else? /eyeroll) and we were guessing what 54-hole leader Scott Stallings had to shoot or the other guys that we thought had a shot at catching him.

See, thing is, a five-shot lead at the Palmer Private isn’t much of a lead. There were tons of guys who were in range to catch him– with some help from Stallings — because you have to assume at least one or two guys will shoot a 62 and/or 63. One friend said, “Four-under. Scott needs to shoot four-under to guarantee a victory.” I agreed.

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James Hahn, aka “The Asian Brad Pitt”…

Recovering from nearly two weeks of flu-like symptoms — which, from personal experience, in case you were wondering, really stinks — Phil Mickelson shot five-under 67 on Friday at Nicklaus Private in the second round of the Humana Challenge.

However, Mickelson, who carded five-under through 36 holes after his opening 72, is still two strokes outside of the cut line. 77 players posted scores of six-under or better. Good news for Phil and others? The cut is made after 54 holes in this pro-am format, where amateurs are paired with the pros for three rounds, and then Sunday’s final is pros only. (continue reading…)

Wilson celebrates with his family on the 18th green with just a glimmer of sunlight remaining

Mark Wilson methodically played his way to a two-shot victory over Robert Garrigus, Johnson Wagner and John Mallinger, on Sunday at the Humana Challenge. This is Wilson’s fifth career PGA Tour win (2011 Waste Management Phoenix Open, 2011 Sony Open in Hawaii, 2009 Mayakoba Golf Classic and 2007 Honda Classic).

Dating back to the start of the 2011 season, Wilson and fellow Wisconsin native Steve Stricker have the most wins on the Tour, with three. Wilson has the same number of career wins as Tom Lehman. Kinda surprising the ’96 Open champ doesn’t have more, no? — considering Lehman was in contention so often, especially at majors, in the mid-to-late nineties.

So, is Mark Wilson underrated or overrated? (continue reading…)

Scoreboard knocked down next to 18 at Palmer Private

For nine-and-a-half holes, President Bill Clinton shook hands, posed for pictures, signed autographs, kissed babies, etc. He also played some golf with Greg Norman, Scott McCarron and Humana CEO Mike McCallister at PGA West’s Palmer Private course.

While walking from eight green to nine tee, Clinton stopped to oblige some fans who wanted autographs. He looked around and called to one of his secret service agents and said, “Help me…” Not that he didn’t want to sign (he did for a few minutes), but because he’d be there until the sunset if someone didn’t intervene at some point. The fans all thanked him for supporting and reviving the tournament — which he sure has achieved. (I was here last year and the energy and buzz are like 20 times greater this time around, which is awesome.) (continue reading…)

Camilo put a belly putter in play...I know, I know -- what belly?! /ba-dum-ching

Some notes and highlights from the first round of the Bob Hope Classic the Humana Challenge… (continue reading…)