Nerves, passion and strong emotions are already running high amongst the 30 players in the field at East Lake — and no, unfortunately, these feelings aren’t necessarily inspired by the absolutely thrilling Tour Championship after the first round, and the kinda tacky $10-million FedExCup prize to the winner of the year-long contest. It’s all about next week’s Ryder Cup at Hazeltine in Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis. And it’s already getting all Mean Girls!
Almost immediately following the conclusion of the Tour Championship, the fourth and final leg of the FedExCup, U.S. Captain Davis Love III will announce the fourth of his captain’s pick to round out the U.S. Ryder Cup team. The other week, Love, who was also the skipper in 2012 during the biennial matches, which has been dubbed “the Miracle at Medinah” selected three of his wildcard picks, who didn’t make the team on points –Rickie Fowler, J.B. Holmes and Matt Kuchar.
With all sorts of crazy arguments made recently about DL3’s fourth pick, like that he should use it on vice-captain Tiger Woods (which isn’t one that I feel like I’d find compelling at all, but try me), the practice sessions at Hazeltine this past Sunday and Monday may shed light on DL3 narrowing it to three possibilities: Bubba Watson, Justin Thomas and Daniel Berger.
If you wished you could have watched the first round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont, don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything. With the heavy showers that fell Wednesday night and into Thursday, the course was soggy and soppy and completely different from the treacherous Oakmont — considered the most difficult of all U.S. Open venues, which says more than enough — that the players experienced in their practice rounds.
Some were critical of the USGA’s decision to not allow the players to warm-up again on the driving range and practice putting green (OK, that’s a little extreme) after a weather delay that lasted 79 minutes on Thursday. (I mean, look, I get it, golfers are very OCD, and even a few years ago, the idea of NOT hitting balls before a casual round almost gave me a panic attack, but I’m sure the USGA was just trying to get in as many holes as possible.)
Bubba Watson is a complicated guy. We’ve seen so many sides of the two-time Masters champion that my head is spinning just thinking about the many versions of him. He’s charming and lovable one second and then he’s acting like a world-class jerk and whining about all his #progolferproblems the next.
Sharyn Alfonsi of CBS’ 60 Minutes profiles Watson for the show on Sunday, April 3 (7-8pm ET/PT). A longer version of the segment that includes Watson at play in a fun, friendly golf match will appear on the next edition of 60 Minutes Sports Tuesday, April 5 (9-10pmET) on Showtime.
In a drama-filled final round at Doral, playing in super tough conditions, Adam Scott navigated his way to the top of the leaderboard for the second straight week, securing his second WGC title at the Cadillac Championship. It certainly wasn’t the easiest victory in the world, with Scott finding himself six shots off the pace with 13 holes to play after dumping balls in the water that led to double-bogeys on nos. 3 and 5. However, he showed last week in his win at the Honda Classic, that he could win with a quadruple-bogey on his card — though it was in the third round.
That’s just how good the 35-year-old Australian is playing. Oh, and don’t forget — as no one will let him — he’s doing it all while putting with the short putter since anchoring, the technique that he won the 2013 Masters with and rose to the no. 1 ranking for a period of time, was banned at the start of 2016. Looks like Scott is going to be just fine.
Hideki Matsuyama outlasted Rickie Fowler in a playoff, making par on the last hole in sudden death to capture his second PGA Tour victory at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Well, I certainly put my foot in my mouth, so to speak (when I tweeted that Rickie had locked up the win after his tee shot on 16, but hey, I wasn’t the only one!). That’s why you don’t call golf tournaments with two holes to play, but really, those holes aren’t very hard. I, like others watching, figured he’d play it safe on the risk-reward drivable par-4 17th and tee off with an iron — or at most, a fairway wood. Right?
Apparently not. That’s where it all went awry.
36-hole leader James Hahn sat down in the man-of-the-hour chair in the interview room at the Phoenix Open Friday evening and quipped, “You know I’m not Danny Lee…right?” Hey, totally fair comment from him — I mean, they do kind of look alike! Maybe? They’re both Asian? But I digress. I’m late for dinner and there are probably about three people who are going to read this (Hi, Dad!), so I’m going to try and make this as speedy as possible. Fingers crossed!
Hahn, who essentially lives down the street from TPC Scottsdale at Greyhawk, fired a six-under 65 in the second round for a two-day total of 10-under to take a one-shot lead over Rickie Fowler and his twin Danny Lee. The 34-year-old American, who secured his maiden victory on the PGA Tour last year at Riviera, is a member here and played and practiced at the facility until recently. He feels so comfortable at TPC Scottsdale that he didn’t even play a single hole in practice this week.
Over the years, Bubba Watson has had a well-documented habit of putting his foot in his mouth. Earlier this week in his pre-tournament presser at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the two-time Masters champion said he didn’t like the golf course (TPC Scottsdale) and he was only playing in the event “because of my sponsors.”
Following his second straight two-under 69 Friday, Watson, who happens to have an excellent record at this venue, apologized for his comments.
Hello from the Phoenix Open! It’s a little chillier than we’d like as it was only in the high 50s today. Okay, okay, I can feel the dirty looks from everyone who is buried in the snow and cold. It was indeed a beautiful day at TPC Scottsdale — as long as you were in the sun.
The crowds and drunks were out in full force at the famed — or notorious — par-3 16th Stadium hole. It was especially crazy for a Wednesday, but per usual, the atmosphere was absolutely electrifying. Before I launch into some odds and ends from the day, let’s start with the juiciest (or most obnoxious, depending on how you see it) of them all…
Happy New Year! Before I get started with the meat of this column, I’d like to pass along my best wishes for everyone in 2016. As I’ve mentioned, 2015 was a bit of a strange year, but it was also one of the greatest, and by far, it was the most memorable season for all four majors that I’ve witnessed in my young career. That said, I’m back covering PGA Tour events (along with as many European Tour ones I can do) and I’m ready for the new year.
As many often do when a new year rolls around, I’ve done some reflecting in the last couple of months, particularly when it comes to WUP. It’s no secret that my priorities have changed a bit in the past two years since I started doing more on-camera work (which I enjoy greatly and broadcasting has always been the ultimate goal for me when it comes to career development). Unfortunately, that’s taken time away from writing and looking after WUP with the passion that I have in its earlier years.
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