Pretty in pink at The Players
There are always a bunch of leftover tidbits from talking with players about whatever topic or observing something interesting/weird/funny/sad that I wish I could have shared, but for one reason or another, I didn’t have time to post or write it, or it just didn’t fit anywhere else. Maybe I’m an ultra geek and no one else cares, but that’s too bad. I’m not forcing you to read on…
Matt Kuchar co-leading the Sea Island crew at Sawgrass
The crew of golfers that reside just about 80 miles up the eastern seaboard on Sea Island in St. Simons Island appear to have conspired a takeover of The Players Championship at the halfway mark. Neighbors Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar, along with “outsider” Kevin Na, shot a 36-hole total of eight-under for a three way share of the lead.
Just behind them, rookie Harris English, another Sea Islander (or to be more specific, St. Simons Islander — still not exactly sure), trails by a stroke, after a birdie-birdie finish to get him to seven-under for solo fourth in his first start at the Tour’s flagship event. Jonathan Byrd is also lurking at six-under to complete the coastal Georgian occupation of four of the top nine names on the leaderboard going into the weekend.
Freddie is making his 30th start at Riviera (that's longer than I've been alive!)
With winds gusting up to 35mph at Riviera Country Club, Thursday’s first round has been a wild ride — well, for just about everyone besides J.B. Holmes, who had brain surgery last September. Doctors at John Hopkins University Hospital removed quarter-sized chunk of Holmes’ skull to repair a Chiari malformation that gave him vertigo-like symptoms.
Holmes is five-under through 11 holes this afternoon and currently leads by one over Phil Mickelson, who is four-under through 11 and coming off his spectacular win last week at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
(*Update, 4:19pm: Holmes made two consecutive bogeys on Nos. 4 and 5, his 13th and 14th holes of the day, to drop to three-under. Mickelson birdies three of the first four on the back nine and is now alone atop the leaderboard at five-under.)
Always happy to see Stricker hoisting the trophy
Steve Stricker began the day with a five-shot lead going into the final round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, but it didn’t turn out to be as much of a runaway victory as we expected. The 44-year-old veteran (who turns 45 next month) encountered a few bumps before shooting three-under 69, 23-under total to win (for the ninth time in his 40s) by three shots.
Martin Laird, Webb Simpson and Jonathan Byrd all got off to hot starts, while Stricker looked shaky (similar to Sunday’s third round), missing short putts early in his round. He failed to hit the green on No. 6, pushing it in a “gnarly” area and then fumbled the short putt to post a bogey — at which point his lead had dwindled to just one stroke. Standing behind the sixth green, he shook his head in disappointment.
It's hot in Dublin...Ohio, that is.
Steve Stricker is off to another hot start on another sticky day at Muirfield Village, posting two consecutive birdies on Nos 1 and 2. Going into the final round of the Memorial, Stricker held a three-shot lead over Jonathan Byrd. The two played in the last group together on Sunday at the first tournament of the year, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. Stricker didn’t have his best day and Byrd ended up carrying the day after winning a playoff against Robert Garrigus.
Who’s your pick to win? Oh, and a few other things to note:
Fly like an eagle!
Going into this week’s Memorial Tournament, Steve Stricker had carded two eagles in his last 592 holes this season. In a stretch of seven holes at Muirfield Village, Stricker has three. He kicked off his eagle spree with his ace on the par-3 No. 8 (his 17th hole) during the second round. The following afternoon, Stricker got off to a hot start, holing out from 114 yards with a 53-degree wedge on the par-4 No. 2. And then on the par-5 No. 5 he knocked his second shot to seven feet and rolled in the eagle putt.
Fear the Beard!
Ed note: I didn’t intend for “A Short Game Saved My Life: the Lucas Glover Story” to turn into a novel. Forgive me, it was late when I finished. I’ve split the original post into two separate ones, but I’m also now realizing it’s rather long. My apologies, but hey, there was some pretty exciting action happening at Quail Hollow on Sunday. Go here to read the first one.
Lucas Glover overshot the 16th green at Quail Hollow and ended up in the collection area behind it. Barely a second after Glover struck his chip, a group of local fans, who may have had a few too many adult beverages, roared, “Beard Power!” His ball rolled down toward the front pin location and came to a rest four-feet from the cup. Several guys in the gallery reacted, yelling, “Go Tigers!”
Beard Power!
When Lucas Glover last hoisted a trophy — a major one, no less — he was one of the game’s 20-something rising stars. Nearly two years later, his finesse around the greens and top-notch putting were instrumental to his victory Quail Hollow, outlasting best friend and former Clemson teammate Jonathan Byrd in a sudden death playoff to capture the Wells Fargo Championship.
Pat Perez is used to waiting in between shots on the PGA Tour
Ask Pat Perez the last time he played in the final group on a Sunday. “F—, you tell me,” said Perez during his post-round presser at the Wells Fargo Championship on Saturday evening. “I couldn’t tell you.” Was it perhaps a couple of weeks ago? “No, I was close, third to last in Hilton Head and third to last in — no, second to — what the hell was it? Second to last at San Antonio,” he replied.
*insert 'Byrd soaring' comment here*
The morning starters are meandering their way towards the close of their first round and the leaderboard at the Wells Fargo Championship is beginning to take shape. Jonathan Byrd (underrated) and David Toms (underachiever) have both made it to five-under and sit on top of pile.
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