In case you were too busy searching for pictures of Tiger Woods new son, Charlie — cool name, huh? — all afternoon, let me serve reminder to Nick Watney's second career Tour victory at the Buick Invitational Sunday.
Chasing John Rollins and Lucas Glover, Watney birdied two of his last three holes and took the Buick with a clutch three-footer on No. 18.
Needless to say, the putt didn't have the drama of Woods' victory at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, but it was significant, nonetheless.
Watney became the fifth different winner in five events on Tour this season and took home a $954,000 paycheck — maybe one of the big ones, like in Happy Gilmore — and also outran Camilo "The Painter" Villegas down the stretch.
He is also making his name as one of the top American players under the age of 30 early in 2009, which is always refreshing with so many international players dominating on the PGA Tour.
Along with Woods' baby news, one of the bigger byproducts of the weekend is the mainstream media's interest in Phil Mickelson's struggles.
ESPN.com's Bob Harig says Mickelson hasn't taken advantage of Tiger's absence enough, missing fairways and even cuts early this season on the West Coast. PGA Tour columnist T.J. Auclair says Mickelson's struggles are glaring, and agrees that Mickelson is failing to meet expectations as the best player in the world not named Tiger.
Back with Hitting the Links, Part III, on Wednesday and some predictions for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this weekend.
I am watching the final round of the Buick Invitational and jotted down some random thoughts that may only interest me.
* Camilo Villegas' swing is hard to watch in high-definition. While it's obviously efficient and he is one of the top 30 players in the world, his position through impact and his finish appear terribly unorthodox. Also, his white spikes/white pants/white shirt/tan hat wardrobe makes him look very much like a painter.
*I think it is hilarious that Nike is using a marketing/product campaign — "Victory Red," as symbolized by the cool graphic V on their players headwear — that is entirely derived from something Tiger Woods does. Does Lucas Glover really enjoy wearing a symbol representative of Woods' trademark red shirts on Sunday? It is really amazing how they are able to make people think about Tiger when he hasn't played since the 2009 U.S. Open. People like me might even blog about it online and make people like you think of Tiger. The marketing is realy quite viral. If Glover wins, you can bet Nike won't release a commercial that starts "Victory Red… Play like Lucas Glover, win like Lucas Glover…"
*Rollins just followed a bogey on 12 with an eagle on No. 13, taking back a 3-shot lead. Earlier, Jim Nantz informs us that Rollins is attributing his strong play to a new set of shafts in his irons and the fact that he recently lost 30 pounds. That putt may have clinched the tournament with Glover and Villegas chasing…
*CBS showed Phil Mickelson, at 3-over-par for the tournament, nearly every shot on his back nine today. I realize that with Tiger out, Mickelson is the most polarizing figure on Tour, but I will never get over how the networks continue to show the top five players in the World no matter where they are on the leaderboard.
*My roommate just got home and informed me that the Pro Bowl is on today. He changes the channel. End around to Falcons receiver Roddy White… and raise your hand if you care. The Buick and Lakers-Cavaliers are on right now. Who is watching the Pro Bowl?
*Nantz follows the description of the PGA Tour's new "Kodak Challenge" by saying the scene at Torrey Pines is a bit of "Kodak Moment." Great stuff, Jim.
Back tomorrow with a reaction from Sunday's final round.
Camillo Villegas leads the Buick Invitational following an opening-round 63 complete with eight birdies, one eagle, and a really sweet argyle sweater (left) that even matched his belt.
In all seriousness, that is some scary-good golf and a stunning head start for Villegas, who tees off at 8:50 a.m. on the much tougher South Course at Torrey Pines today.
Aussie youngster Aaron Baddeley and Davis Love III each posted 66 on the North Course Thursday to fall three back and remain in the hunt for the Buick title.
Of the top 15 players on the leaderboard Friday morning, 14 will play the South Course today, meaning the Tour could be in for a pre-weekend shuffle with its traditional two-course, four-round event.
DL-Three has been playing as well as anyone in recent weeks and I think Villegas must be careful protecting a substantial lead before Saturday.
Remember when that regular guy from Cedar Rapids, Iowa won the 2007 Masters ranked 162nd in driving distance on the PGA Tour?
The statistic is undoubtedly less memorable than Zach Johnson's astounding victory at Augusta National, but his winning formula of short, accurate driving and striking iron play is equating to a scorching start in 2009.
Now the No. 27 player in the world, Johnson leads the FedEx Cup points (647) through three events and has already accumulated more than $1.2 million on the money list.
Not bad for a guy who currently ranks 123rd in driving distance (286.3) heading into this weekend's Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines. That's over four yards shorter than the PGA Tour average (290.5) this season.
A closer look at the stats — Johnson ranks 30th in driving accuracy (%70.3) and 18th in greens in regulation (%75.9) — reveals that Johnson is relying more on his approach game to move up the scoreboards. His unimpressive putts per round average (29.0, 108th on Tour) has been counteracted by four eagles in 216 holes, or more simply, an eagle every third round.
I was fortunate to watch his third round at the Mercedes Championship in person earlier this season, and it definitely seems like Johnson has regained whatever confidence was lost in 2008. When he's playing well, Johnson hits fairways, attacks pins, and rarely forfeits a bogey back to the course. As a short hitter, he became notorious during his Masters win for his conservative strategy on Augusta's longer Par-5s.
He made 14 birdies that week "playing safe," and the formula seems to be working just fine in 2009. Albeit a tad late, here is a article recapping his Sony Open victory and praising Johnson's grit.
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This week, the PGA Tour is back at Torrey Pines for the first time since Tiger Woods' remarkable 2008 U.S. Open victory. What a better way to kick off Round 2 of weekly links than with the latest on Mr. Woods, who said Wednesday morning that he's back to practicing full strength and speculated possible return dates. Also, mentioned in Tiger's blog entry for PGATour.com, Woods says he hopes to soon play golf with President Barack Obama.
In case you forgot how insane Tiger's last competitive week was, let's cue the video:
Using Brandt Snedeker as an example, PGA Tour correspondent Helen Ross' notebook today highlights the growing pains often experienced by rookies, many of whom who struggle with patience. Within the notebook, there is word that Phil Mickelson will be using a different, now-legalized Callaway FT-9 driver this week after missing the cut at the FBR Open. If you want a full transcript of Lefty's interview at the Buick Tuesday, click here. For 13 years in a row, a major champion has won the Buick Invitational, the longest streak among all PGA Tour events. This week's field includes a dozen such players, most notably Mickelson and 2008 poster boy Padraig Harrington. In an exclusive interview posted on Golf.com today, Harrington spoke about his aspirations for 2009 and the possibility of a "Paddy Slam" coming off his British Open and PGA Championship victories in 2008.
The feeling around Tour is that Torrey Pines will feel quite different without the defending champion Woods — who has won the Buick six times including in 2008.
TaylorMade continues to headline the new equipment buzz early in 2009, and J.B. Holmes crazy eight-legged putter — the new Spider Balero, an off-shoot of the company's Monza Spider and Itsy Bitsy spider models from 2008 — appeared at the FBR Open.
Woods' close friend and Tour veteran Mark O'Meara said last week that Irish phenom Rory Mcllroy, who won the Dubai Desert Classic, is actually better at 19 years old than Tiger ever was. Quite a statement.
Lastly, sad news out of 18-year-old phenom Tadd Fujikawa's camp, as his father plead guilty to second-degree drug trafficking on Tuesday. Hopefully Tadd can overcome such a devastating situation and continue his blossoming young career.
I apologize for my lack of posting lately, as I was in Las Vegas for Super Bowl weekend. A few buddies scored $120 round-trip plane tickets last month and, judging from the scene at Caesar's Sportsbook Sunday, people will bet on just about anything related the game, economic crisis be damned. Upon returning tonight, I thought I'd share my favorite Super Bowl advertisement from E*TRADE, which features their signature baby talking about golf. Notice the subtle advertising by TaylorMade Golf, who managed to score a new visor complete with the "R9" logo on the side when the baby turns its head.
Back tomorrow with discussion on Zach Johnson, the current FedEx Cup points leader, and this week's PGA Tour stop, the Buick Invitational.
In case you were too busy searching for pictures of Tiger Woods new son, Charlie — cool name, huh? — all afternoon, let me serve reminder to Nick Watney's second career Tour victory at the Buick Invitational Sunday.
