Weekend Wrap

The holiday weekend schedule at Willow Ridge is not conducive to viewing televised golf, as our mixed events are typically played on Sunday afternoons.  My Tivo is set to record pretty much all golf  on offer, with the possible exclusion of Tour Angle 144 infomercials (though given my current form, perhaps there's something there for me).  Though for some reason it didn't record the Senior PGA, which would have been my preference to watch when we got home.  But in a pinch the flagship Euro event from Wenworth filled in nicely... Shall we see how everyone did?

The Big Boys - No sooner had I tweaked Adam Scott for his desultory play as new World No. 1 than he makes the cut on the number and shoots a tidy 66-66 on the weekend to win the damn thing in a playoff over Jason Dufner.  Good on ya mate for hanging tough and validating your new exalted status, and for the record I was just trying to motivate the lad.  From Stephen Hawkin's game post:

It's hard finding a sports jacket that clashes with a white shirt.

Only days after officially overtaking injured Tiger Woods at No. 1, Scott bogeyed four of his first nine holes in the first round at Colonial. Midway through his final round, Scott had a double bogey that dropped him three strokes off the lead. 

"Maybe added a little pressure for myself, trying to play like a No. 1. But I think the important thing was I realized that didn't mean playing perfect, and I certainly didn't play perfect all week," Scott said. "But the way you come back and get it done, and I felt like I certainly played like one of the best players in the world out there on the back nine."

And it's even more important than it might seem at first, as Mike McAllister fills in:

That completes the career Texas Slam. Scott has won in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Fort Worth. That's four of his 11 career wins in the Lone Star State. It's both a nifty parlor trick and a pretty impressive feat.

 OK, not on my list of top ten slams, as the tournaments are all decidedly secondary or tertiary-tier events in the modern game, though this speaks well of the man:

Scott said he learned something this week about clawing back into a tournament after a poor start. He also showed he can handle the pressure of being No 1, of making big putts, of responding at the big moments.

He bounced back from his double-bogey at the ninth hole Sunday with a flawless back nine. His birdie putt from 14 feet on the second playoff hole to stay in the alive was huge. His approach to 7 feet to set up his winning birdie on the next hole was even bigger.

I still consider Scott a significant underachiever, though that's something of a compliment in that I think his game should have produced far greater achievements.  Normally I'd note that sometimes guys just take a bit of time to put it together, but in Adam's case he's unfortunately on the clock.  January 1, 2016 will be here before we know it, and he needs a Plan B.

Big Boys - Euro Division - No sooner had I consigned Rory to a week of sobbing into his hanky than he comes storming from seven back at the start of the day to win the BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event of the Euro Tour.  From Ewan Murray:

The finest sporting scriptwriters would have struggled to come up with this one. Rory McIlroy,

ashen-faced and on the verge of tears because of personal upheaval before a Wentworth ball was struck, surged to an astonishing victory at the BMW PGA Championship. Even in the 25-year-old’s dramatic life to date, he has not had a five-day spell remotely close to approaching this one.

Had to be a tough weekend for Caroline, no?

This is no doubt a big win for Rory, and he certainly deserves credit for continuing to grind, but here's James Corrigan's take:

There can be no questioning Rory McIlroy's competitive character - not after this. 

On a course where he had previously struggled, with his emotions in turmoil after calling off his wedding, the young Northern Irishman won his first professional title on his own continent.

I certainly give him credit for holding it together early in the week.  I don't necessarily think he deserves bonus points for the competitive instincts on a Sunday in the hunt for a big tournament, as isn't that what we expect of a show pony.  To sprinkle lightly on the parade, there were still far too many missed short putts and the wind doesn't happen without an epic collapse by Thomas Bjorn.  Here's Corrigan with the grisly details:

Both Bjorn and Donald were to rue the par-four sixth where, as playing partners, they both bizarrely made triple-bogey sevens. Bjorn's was the most obvious capitulation. The 43-year-old had led from the first day and had looked all over the winner when he reeled off six birdies in succession on Saturday afternoon. 

But there he was failing to get out of a fairway bunker and from there locating another bunker. Thus, a seemingly impregnable advantage was gone within 90 minutes with Lowry coming on strong with eagle on the fourth and a birdie on the fifth. 

And when Bjorn's putter started to misbehave on the back nine, his nightmare had come true - again. Alas, the demons so evident when he blew the 2003 Open and then when he walked off the next year's European Open after just six holes, had returned.

That's something you don't see every day.  Two tour pros, in the final group on Sunday no less, both making triples... But the Bjorn collapse was really hard to watch, a slow-motion train wreck for which the only adjective sufficient to the task is Normanesque.

The Round Bellies - No sooner had I recommended His Montyness for a network analyst gig (sorry, not digging through the detritus to find that link) than he wins the Senior PGA Championship.  Talk about things you never thought you'd have to deal with...Monty winning a major, in the U.S. in this lifetime.  Last I checked, pigs had not received FAA clearance for takeoff nor are winter clothes useful in Hades, yet we have this from the AP report:

Colin Montgomerie won the Senior PGA Championship on Sunday, finishing with a 6-under 65

for a four-stroke victory over 64-year-old Tom Watson. 

It marked Montgomerie's first victory as senior, his first win in seven years and his first in an official event in the United States. He also claimed a senior major in his fifth attempt, something he didn't accomplish in 71 majors in his regular tour days.

Gotta be a huge relief for Monty.  Not the same as a real major, but it's still a monkey off his back.  He does get a somewhat unfair rap, as no one on the planet remembers that he lost two majors in playoffs.  But the enduring images that we're left with are the chunked 7-iron at Winged Foot, the hook into the water at Congressional and the rabbit ears.  Oh, and the fact that in the Ryder Cup he'd suddenly putt like Bobby Locke.

The Ladies - No sooner had I realized that I don't have a "No Sooner" gag for this one, than Jessica Korda birdied four of her last five holes to snatch the Airbus LPGA Classic.  From the AP:

Notice that the ponytail is perfectly on plane.

Korda made a breaking 15-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th for a 7-under 65 and a one-stroke victory over Anna Nordqvist. 

Also the winner in the season-opening event in the Bahamas, Korda played the back nine in 6-under 30 to finish at 20-under 268 on The Crossings course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail's Magnolia Grove complex.

Happy to note that it was another good week for the LPGA, with a number of their attractive young stars such as Miclelle Wie, Stacey Lewis, Lexi Thompson and Anna Nordqvist playing well, not to mention 44-year old Scot Catriona Matthew.  Though with so many meaningful men's events taking place, not sure anyone noticed.

Grizzled veteran Michelle Wie had this bon mot about her day:

"I love playing with Korda," Wie said. "It's also really great playing with Charley as well, too. You feel old but it was a lot of fun."

Wie of course is all of 23.  

College -  Rain, followed by more rain and then, for a change of pace, a thunderstorm.  Stanford was leading by four after two full rounds of play, but it was dicey getting a third round in (and the Monday round to crown an individual champion has already been cancelled).  here's where things stood as of late yesterday:

The teams that finished two rounds in 16th place or worse – a group that includes three top-10 teams in No. 4 Cal, No. 6 Georgia and No. 10 Virginia Tech – were sent out in a shotgun format at 5:40 p.m. ET Saturday to begin the third and final round. They likely won’t be able to finish before dark, so the 15 teams will complete the rest of the third round in the morning, weather permitting.

And check out this statement from the NCAA:

Teams 16-30 on the scoreboard after the first two rounds and high three individuals had played approximately two hours into the third-round before the weather forced play to halt. Weather permitting, the 15 teams and three individuals will attempt to complete the third-round in a limited time window tomorrow. If unable to do so, all scores in round three would be declared null and void and round three will be repaired to include only teams 1-15 and the six low individuals not on those teams (based on non-sudden death tie breaking procedures) to determine the eight teams for match play and the individual champion on Monday, with Golf Channel providing coverage beginning at 1 p.m. CT (see full schedule below).

They've been warned...no reading putts.  Quite a shame, given the great venue.