Weekend Wrap - Sudden Death Edition

I keep hearing that this was the first ever to go to overtime, though I'm pretty sure that Hidecki's win last year was also in sudden death.... Everyone loves OT, that is until it goes past kickoff.

Scenes From The Wasted - OK, Matsuyama v. Simpson isn't exactly Brady v. Ryan, but still:

Hideki Matsuyama was the last man standing at golf's biggest party -- again. 

Matsuyama won the Waste Management Phoenix Open on the fourth hole of a playoff

for the second straight year, outlasting Webb Simpson on Sunday at TPC Scottsdale. 

Matsuyama won with a 10-foot birdie putt on the short par-4 17th, the same hole where the 24-year-old Japanese star finished off Rickie Fowler a year ago. 

"I just had faith and believed that my chance would come again, and I just waited and waited, had patience," Matsuyama said. "Finally, that last one went in."

First, who knew that Webb Simpson was in the field, or even still on Tour?   But be honest, when the Pats won the coin toss you knew that the Falcons' defense coudln't stop Brady from taking it to the house....  In Phoenix, it didn't feel like either of these guys could make a putt, or even get a putt to the hole....

There's little doubt that the Japanese star has raised his game, and deserves to be on our radar for the coming majors.  I'll just lay down a marker and then we can move on, but I still see a tentative putter under late-Sunday pressure.... But this amused me no end:

Matsuyama broke a tie with Shigeki Maruyama for the most victories by a Japanese player, and became the first to win playoffs in an event two straight years since Ernie Els in the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2003-04.

If you watched the playoff broadcast (I'm speaking to both of you, though I in fact watched the last three holes of the playoff after you-know-what), Jim Nancy-boy was trying to convince Sir Nick that he was the last to win back-to-back in playoffs, specifically the 1989 and '90 Masters.  CBS peddling fake news?  Who woulda thunk it?

Now comes the Point-Counterpoint portion of our programming, beginning with this query from AZCentral.com:

Golf tournaments rarely transcend the sport. Few appeal to the masses. Only one can

thrive on a party vibe alone, where the best golfers in the world are merely bit players. 

The Waste Management Phoenix Open is the exception. And after another record-breaking event in 2017, only one question remains: 

How big can it get?

Maybe a better question is how big should it get? 

“It’s hard to know where it’s going to go,” tournament chairman Andy Markham said. “It’s hard to imagine it’s going to get bigger and better. But it’s been getting bigger and better consistently for 30 years.”

Those two words are not necessarily synonyms.... This event is clearly a major success story, and all credit to the Thunderbirds for that.  It's a the most attended golf event on the planet, and accomplishes the impossible of drawing non-golfers to the spectacle.  Let's also acknowledge that they succeed in succeeding on a weekend that other events would turn their nose up at, competing with that one football game that non-fans actually watch.

The linked piece you should read in full, including this answer to a question from Shack earlier in the week:

There is also the issue of growth. In 2017, the Phoenix Open doubled the size of the Bay Club, an opulent destination that abuts the 17th hole. Ten more skyboxes were added to

the 16th hole, along with 500 more general-admission tickets. Internal debate continues regarding the construction of a permanent stadium on the tournament’s signature hole, which now holds more than 16,000 people and still can’t meet the demand.

“The tough part is the agronomy because it’s such a massive structure,” Markham said. “We drop the first load of steel on October 1. It takes four months to put up and six weeks to pull down. If someone can figure out how to grow grass in the shade, then we might think about it.”

Wow!  They spend almost half the year assembling and disassembling..... 

They've been awfully clever, making Saturday the ultimate party day, knowing that on Sunday they're lucky to finish before kick-off....

But Phoenix, you ignorant slut, as you know all that alcohol has to include a darker side...  And Brian Wacker has the rather disgusting details:

It takes not much longer to confirm through a police officer who spoke on the condition

of anonymity because he’s not authorized to speak on such matters that last year one female had passed out from intoxication near a porta potty having defecated on herself. That was the least of her problems as she had a certain white, powdery substance around her nose that is illegal in all 50 states. 

Speaking of the porta pottys, more than one officer also confirms the biggest complaint from fans is people having sex in them. Later, I overhear this very complaint from a woman to a friend after returning to her seat. The officers also confirm these will actually be the least of their problems among the liquefied masses of 204,904 at TPC Scottsdale this day, a record crowd for the event.

Ick!  You couldn't pay me to do it there, even with Gisele Bundchen.... Oh, there's lots more, though mercifully we're past the bodily function portion of our programming:

The most popular items? Foam curly fries from Andrew “Beef” Johnston and actual cans of Guinness from Shane Lowry (it should be noted that in the wee hours a day earlier,

player Steven Bowditch was arrested for “Extreme Driving Under the Influence” after being found asleep at the wheel at a nearby intersection).

With every group comes action, too. Bets on everything from closest to the pin, to who will win the caddie races, another activity banned by the Tour but often disregarded by the caddies, including Camillo Villegas’ brother Manny, who face plants just short of the green in his footrace in the third group of the day.

Foam french fries seems kind of clever, though the frisbees noted earlier seem a bad idea for rather obvious reasons.  As for Manny, his brother's career has kind of morphed into a face plant as well...<rim shot>  I'll be here all week folks, please don't forget to tip your server.

Golfweek had a listing of sights you won't see at any other Tour stops, including these on point:

*Bag room attendants placing bets on what time they will see their first stretcher of the day.

*One concerned spectator checking the pulse of another spectator who had passed out in his bleacher seat Saturday afternoon.

Only one? 

Lastly, don't miss this wonderful Instagram video (still need a teenager to teach me how to embed).  #foreleft indeed!  Just click through, you can thank me later....

Who Doesn't Like a Happy Ending? - Add this to the list of things you never expected to see, a happy Sergio:

Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Sergio Garcia presented fiancé Angela Akins 

Get a room, preferably not a porta potty

with the perfect engagement present. The happy couple will leave the Middle East with a check for $441,660 after Garcia won the $2.65 million Omega Dubai Desert Classic. 

Garcia, who got engaged to Akins on Jan. 7, won the tournament for the first time with a 19-under 271. It was good enough to see off 2007 winner Henrik Stenson by three shots. England’s Tyrell Hatton continued his fine run of play with a third-place finish at 14 under along with Denmark’s Lasse Jensen.

Is it me, or is that a surprisingly small winner's purse?  There's probably an appearance fee on top f it, but still....

I'm sure it doesn't grate on Sergio in the least that all we're talking about at this point is Tiger's WD....Shack says he doesn't know how to interpret this Rex Hoggard item. though I actually thin what he meant was, "That's an awful lot of lipstick for one pig."

Without further ado, I give you Make-up Artist to the Stars, Peter Dawson:

Peter Dawson, the former chief executive of the R&A and current chairman of the

Dubai-based Falcon Golf, told GolfChannel.com that despite Woods’ withdrawal after just 18 holes, his aura still drew fans and sponsors to Emirates Golf Club. 

“Obviously there is huge interest in his comeback from injury and so on, the fact he was in the field proved to be a massive draw in terms of ticket sales and hospitality sales,” Dawson said. “People still want to see Tiger Woods.”

I'm sure it did, Peter, but at the end of the week do those folks feel they got their money's worth? 

I am, however, pleased to report that Tiger and Steiny decided to make it up to those sponsors that ponied up his seven-figure appearance fee:

Dawson also said that it was Woods who offered to participate in a Q&A on Friday at the course after he’d withdrawn from the competition. 

“When he withdrew, he and [manager] Mark Steinberg discussed it and thought, 'What a shame we haven’t done everything the tournament was hoping for,' and they offered to do it, which was nice,” Dawson said.

“He came in clearly in a little bit of pain, but sat down and soon had a smile on his face and we had a few jokes,” Dawson said. “He responded well, cracked a few jokes, he’s a pro.”

Maybe I'm a bit too quick to criticize Tiger, as that shows an obligation above and beyond his own needs.  What?

The Q&A, which was emceed by Dawson, lasted about 20 minutes for an estimated 60 sponsors and officials.

Never mind.

The Tour Confidential panel dealt with Tiger right out of the box: 

1. Tiger Woods fired a birdieless 77 in the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic, said his back wasn't an issue, then withdrew less than 24 hours later, citing back spasms. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being he's done), how concerned are you about Woods?

I'm gonna go with 11.  Per Nigel Tufnel, that's one higher than 10....

Alan Shipnuck: 10. How long can he keep doing this to himself?

Himself?  Sheesh, how long can he keep doing this to US? 

Josh Sens: 10, though I wonder if the mental issues aren't just as big of an obstacle as the back. Only Woods knows the depths of his confidence issues, but I can't help wondering whether this isn't the Seve warning coming true: once a golfer loses his nerve …

There were few athletic declines as ugly as the great Seve's.... 

One last visual item from Dubai:

Speaks for itself, doesn't it?  

Wither Jaime - I was recently bemoaning that fact that the great Jaime Diaz hadn't been heard from on Tiger's recent travails...  And right on cue he pops up, but with this:

HOW SERGIO GARCIA GOT US BACK TO THINKING HE WILL WIN HIS ELUSIVE MAJOR (AND WHY YOU SHOULD THINK IT, TOO)

Don't go there, Jaime!  Please!

As a guy who called all six of Sergio's zero Open Championship wins, perhaps it's just too soon....  Here's a trip down memory lane:

More close calls and failures ensued, until Garcia went darkly fatalistic after losing the

2007 Open Championship in a playoff to Padraig Harrington. “I’m playing a lot of guys out there, more than the field,” he whined, seeming to suggest he was being singled out by the golf gods. The woe-is-me got worse in 2008, when after seeming to achieve a breakthrough by winning the Players Championship, he was again nipped at the wire by Harrington in a mano-a-mano clash during the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills. 

After a bad weekend at the 2012 Masters, Garcia melted down, telling the Spanish media, “I’m not good enough. ... I don’t have the thing I need to have.” Asked what he was missing, he said “everything,” adding that “I need to play for second or third place.” Did he mean merely at the Masters? His reply was chilling: “In any major.”

 And that doesn't even cover Bethpage....  but let Jaime make his case:

Long popular among his playing peers, Garcia has also grown more personable with the world at large. A key might be his impending marriage to Angela Akins, a former

University of Texas golfer (above). When Woods signed with TaylorMade, Garcia took the high road, putting aside their longtime differences to welcome him to the playing staff. Garcia even responded in the lighthearted affirmative to an Englishman who begged his favorite golfer—through more than 200 Twitter requests over several months—to let him caddie for him in a tournament. Garcia has agreed to let Mark K. Johnson carry his bag during the pro-am of the British Masters in September.

The cumulative effect is that Garcia is freer than ever to take full advantage of his greatest strength: ball-striking. Among insiders, Garcia is renowned for the way he can compress a golf ball, especially with his irons. It’s a product of the extraordinary lag Garcia achieves on his downswing, a move that was criticized as too extreme, especially as he failed to fulfill his early promise. But with time, Garcia has become a model for the wisdom of staying with a natural swing over chasing textbook perfection.

Given how Sergio labored under expectations for El Nino, I'm not sure this is helpful.  I think it's great that he's found happiness in his personal life and seems to be able to let go of that turbulent past and play more freely.  He has always been one of the better ball-strikers out there, and still is to a great extent.

But playing freely in Dubai in February is something quite different than, say, June in Wisconsin or July in Southport.  I personally think the time has passed....  It's not inconceivable, of course, especially in difficult conditions where the purity of his ball-striking would be at a premium.  I just suspect that in the crucible of a late Sunday at a major, enough of the old demons would revisit....

Last Licks - So this was the last question to the TC panel linked above:

6. The Tour heads to the Monterey Peninsula for the game's most-celebrated pro-am. Who's the best celebrity you've crossed paths with during your journey in golf, and if the folks from the Clambake called and offered you a spot in the field, which pro would you like to be paired with?

I know, not even subtle....  But you gotta prime the pump.  Anyway, this last answer caught the sweet spot on my funny bone:

Bamberger: Best, as in most interesting to watch? Bill Murray. I've watched him, as most of us have, up-close-and-personal. I've been awed by the quickness of the wit and (now and again) have also been struck by the meanness of his spirit. The deep reserves of cool are a good and convincing act, until the shot means something to him, and then the great Murray is just like the rest of use. I'd like to be paired with Vijay. I caddied in groups with him in Europe in ‘91 and have always liked him.

I agree completely with Mike's assessment of Murray....  But Veej?  Really? There won't be much competition for that pairing....

It's a twofer, our second Spinal Tap reference of the day, this time from Ian Faith, who notes that Vijay's appeal is becoming increasingly selective.