Blixt’ing
Jonas Blixt overcame a four-shot deficit and shot a three-under 67 to secure his second-career victory at the Greenbrier Classic. It was an emotional win for the Swede, who earned a spot in the field for next year’s Masters — he won the Frys.com Open last fall, which didn’t come along with the coveted invite because it was a Fall Series event.
Where in the world is Jim Justice?!?
U.S. Open champ Webb Simpson, the only top-ranked player in contention on Sunday, fizzled on the back nine at the Old White and shot 40. Simpson, who led by two going into the final round, bogeyed four of the last six holes to drop to 11-under and a tie for 7th. What the heck happened? My guess is the pressure of winning quickly after his first major victory got to him. Happens to the best of ’em.
Nationwide Tour Web.com Tour grad Ted Potter Jr. beat Troy Kelly on the third playoff hole, making a four-footer for birdie on No. 18. Now I always root for the underdog, so it was cool to see two relative unknowns go to head-to-head, not to mention Kelly is a fellow Washington native (and when I was 13 in ’96, he was 17 and I remember thinking he was like Tiger Woods because, well, he was older and definitely one of the top players in WJGA).
Good job, good effort!
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, the star attractions of The Jim Justice Show, will not be playing this weekend at the Old White. However, they are still walking away with heavy pockets. Greenbrier owner and tournament chairman paid Woods and Mickelson appearance fees to add the event to their schedule. In fact, Woods reportedly will earn a larger paycheck than the eventual winner (at least $1.5 million) and Phil will take home about the same ($1 million), according to CBSSports.com’s Steve Elling.
Tiger and Webb: just thrilled to be here.
Steve Elling of CBS Sports published an article this week titled “Greenbrier is example of hosting a tourney the American way — throw money at players” in which he took issue with the readiness of the resort’s multimillionaire proprietor, Jim Justice, to hurl vast sums of money at high-profile players in the hope of guaranteeing his tournament’s future.
The Old White
Great news for the PGA Tour and West Virginians! — well, at least Jim Justice and the folks that run The Greenbrier Resort. I n a media conference on Tuesday, Justice, along with PGA Tour chief of operations Andy Pazder, a fellow West Virginia native, announced that the pertinent parties had signed a six-year extension to keep The Greenbrier Classic on the Tour schedule through 2021.
Here’s part of the media blast before I go on a mini-rant.
Watson's true blue to Greenbrier
Tom Watson is a man of his word. At first, it seemed peculiar that the 61-year-old Watson was entered to play in The Greenbrier rather than the US Senior Open.
Watson, the pro emeritus at Greenbrier, couldn’t play in the inaugural PGA Tour event at the West Virginia resort because he was already committed to competing at the Senior Open. But he promised Greenbrier owner Jim Justice that he would play this year.
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