Levin tied for 4th at last year's Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The award for the day’s most unintentionally amusing headline probably goes the way of the Sacramento Bee, whose interview with this week’s PGA Tour hard-luck story is titled “Levin hopes he learns from Phoenix collapse”.
You can’t beat that note of uncertainty.
That one's for you, fans!
Spencer Levin is usually seen smoking darts like it’s his job, but this week at TPC Scottsdale, he’s also hitting darts. The fiery Levin teed off in the final round of the Phoenix Open with a six-shot lead through 54 holes.
Spence has got this in the bag, right? Well, if we learned anything last week at the Farmers Insurance Open, NO lead is safe. Not even a seven-shot advantage with 11 holes to play. The tournament is 72 holes, not 71, etc.
The soundstage: a panoramic view of the 16th.
Buoyed by my complimentary words last week*, Spencer Levin is charging away from the pack during the second round of the Legitimate Businessmen Phoenix Open.
The WM Phoenix Open organizers, the Thunderbirds, a charity secret society group, are known for having a great sense of humor (and throwing wild parties). They’ve also had some fun with the parking signs, like in 2010.
Mark Wilson: stand-up guy
As you may remember, I wrote on Wednesday that I hoped to run into Mark Wilson this week and tell him the story of my clumsiness unfortunate mishap during his playoff against Jason Dufner at the Phoenix Open last Monday. The perfect opportunity struck on Thursday afternoon while I was perusing the range and speaking with some players, caddies and Marty Hackel, golf’s “Mr. Style,” and Wilson set up shop right next to us.
The Wild Side of Golf
You’ve probably read it by now, but if you haven’t checked out the latest edition of PGA Tour Confidential, you can find it here. We held the e-mail chain earlier than usual because of the Super Bowl and because of the Monday finish, obviously we didn’t discuss the results. However, we chewed over the the rowdy crowds at the Phoenix Open and the antics on the 16th — should other events adopt the model? What do you guys think?
Well, here’s an excerpt from our discussion:
Tommy: I never take off my gloves, mwahaha!
After Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey putted out on No. 18 at TPC Scottsdale, he first patted Mark Wilson, who was reading his birdie putt for the win in regulation, on the back for encouragement. Then, he pointed at the crowd all around the green and clapped, thanking the fans for their support at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Only ten minutes earlier, Gainey had tripled No. 17, putting a costly blemish on an otherwise great week and squandering away $246,000. But Tommy Two Gloves walked away with at least 246,000 more fans and became golf’s latest folk hero.
The gallery at the 18th green
13,033 fans enjoyed free admission and parking for the first Monday finish at the Phoenix Open since 1978. That’s more than some tournaments see during the weekend. I was so impressed by the turnout that I couldn’t stop tweeting pictures of the gallery.
Mark Wilson: the hottest player on tour right now
Cheesehead Mark Wilson captured the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Monday for his second victory in three starts, beating Jason Dufner on the second playoff hole. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to watch it in real life because ironically, I was in such a rush to get from No. 18 (first playoff hole) to the 10th tee (second extra hole). It’s actually quite a funny story — in a morbid, laugh-at-myself kind of way.
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