Weekend Wrap

Back in Park City after the Grand Tour....But there's fresh snow, so time is of the essence.

DJ In Full - I managed to see a bit of it, though when I crashed our hero was down a shot to John Rahm:

That got more interesting down the stretch than we may have expected, but Dustin Johnson held on for victory Sunday at the WGC-Mexico Championship. That makes it

two straight wins for the World No. 1 after Johnson blitzed the field by five shots two weeks ago at the Genesis Open. Johnson, who started the final round one shot back, played the front nine in 4-under 31 to reach 15 under and a four-shot cushion. But he would actually lose the lead all together with four holes to play after a serious charge from Jon Rahm. But Johnson birdied the par-5 15th to co-lead again and then the Spaniard sputtered down the stretch. Johnson parred his last three holes for a 3-under 68, 14-under total and a one-shot victory. This was Johnson’s first win while holding the World No. 1 spot. The 32-year-old has now won five times (including a major) since last June.

The Spaniard sputtered....  Wow, that's like a double alliteration.   Johnson had this concise summary of his game:

“The game's very good right now,” Johnson said. “All aspects of the game, driving, putting, chipping. The only thing, my bunker game's definitely improved a little bit.”

Ya think?  

I liked what I saw of the course, and the feedback from the players was universally positive as well.  The Tour Confidential panel had its usual allotment of astute comments on the week:

Jeff Ritter: The excitement Alan experienced in person translated beautifully on TV. Big crowds, crazy shots, stellar leaderboard. The single biggest takeaway is probably that DJ solidified what could turn into a long run atop the World Ranking. But this tournament was a home run all the way around.

You mean just like the long runs experienced by Spieth, Rory and Day?  Human nature is such a funny thing, although one might expect a professional golf writer to understand that guys look unbeatable when they're not beaten, but maintaining that over the long term is so very difficult.

The good news, though, is that DJ is reportedly staying away from the jet skis these days....  and by jet skis I mean, well, you know.

Some other comments of interest:

Josh Sens: The new venue also got me thinking about the old venue, Trump Doral, which some players notably griped about, saying that it gave unreasonable advantage to bombers. No such complaints this week, yet a bomber still won. Sure, there are courses for certain horses. But here was another reminder that when a thoroughbred like DJ is at his best, there aren't a lot of guys who can keep up. On any track.

Two reactions....  As for Doral, the course hadn't really had a chance to fully grow in after the Gil Hanse renovation.   But of greater import, it's South Florida, how ya gonna control these beasts with water and sand as your only weapons?  Secondly, power is always a huge advantage on any track....  even if all it does is allow a player to club down.  

One last amusing note from Mexico, Rory tweaked Justin Thomas about his club toss in this tweet:

JT with the tip-in:

Good stuff.

Inbeing Inbee - Is this girl amazing or what?

Break? What break? Inbee Park popped into the winner’s circle after taking six months

off from the game like it was nothing. Putts fell from everywhere on Sunday. She poured in nine birdies to come from three back and hold off the hottest players on tour with a closing a 8-under 64. 

The reserved Park made statement in Singapore: She’s back in a big way. 

“Today was pretty much, everything I looked at, it wanted to drop in,” said Park, who hit 17 greens (her first miss coming on the 18th hole) and took only 27 putts. 

It wasn’t that long ago that an ailing Park struggled to finish tournaments to even qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame. A lingering thumb injury made her future on tour seem doubtful. But then she shocked the golf world in Rio by taking Olympic gold after a two-month break.

To paraphrase Chi Chi, she's a legend in her spare time...  It seemed the nagging thumb injury plus a natural desire to start a family might end her career prematurely, but perhaps she'll entertain us for a while yet.

Except for the inevitable time zone issues, it was a great week for the ladies, with a leaderboard including names like Ko, Jutanugarn, Henderson and someone named Michelle Wie.  Joking aside after her seven years in the desert, a resurgent Michelle Wie would make things more interesting out there.

Though am I the only one that thinks that this isn't a great look?

I'm told that you can buy shirts like this that say "Husband Beater."  Not that I'm taking sides...

Those TC guys had these reactions:

Ritter: Inbee is awesome, and I will never be shocked when she wins, but I was pleasantly surprised to see Wie contend--she hasn't won since the '14 U.S. Open and has one Top 10 since the start of '15. Four-putt and Sunday fade aside, her T4 finish was a positive step.

Passov: Wie's stellar play was by far the bigger surprise. She's done virtually nothing since her 2014 U.S. Women's Open win, so this was a massive step in the right direction for both her and for the LPGA. She is a legitimate needle-mover, and golf -- not just ladies golf, but the game of golf -- could benefit from her resurgence.

The parallels between Wie and DJ, the obvious physical talent, are quite apparent, though Michelle's putting has always been suspect.  

The passing Parade - Two losses of note in our world...  First, a great friend to college golf:

Mark Laesch, founder of Golfstat and friend to college golf, died March 4 in his home in Noblesville, Ind., after a lengthy battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, an

incurable disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. He was 62. 

Laesch founded Golfstat in 1984, and his programs essentially took the guesswork out of college golf. From live scoring to detailed statistics and rankings, Golfstat provided new methods for NCAA coaches and committees to advance the game. 

“I think what he did simply was a labor of love for him,” said Florida State men’s coach Trey Jones. “He changed college golf.”

Also a collaborator and friend of Jack's:

Ken Bowden, one of the most important golf writers the game has ever known, has died at 86 after a long illness. 

Born in 1930 in Brooklyn to British parents, Bowden grew up first in Australia and then

England, where he became a plus-handicap golfer. In 1962, he became the founding editor of Golf World UK, then returned to the United States, and from 1969-’72 served as the editorial director of Golf Digest, where he enlisted Jack Nicklaus to contribute what would become a long-running monthly instructional feature called “Jack Nicklaus’ Lesson Tee.” 

Soon after, Bowden collaborated with renowned teacher John Jacobs on Practical Golf, the instruction book often cited by Butch Harmon, Jim McLean, Hank Haney and many other top teachers as foundational. Bowden, along with Dick Aultman, would also write The Masters of Golf, which offered in-depth analysis of the swings and personalities of 18 great players from Harry Vardon to Seve Ballesteros. 

The highlight of Bowden’s career was collaborating on 12 books with Nicklaus, including Golf My Way, which has sold more than 2.5 million copies since 1974, and, in 1997, the Golden Bear’s second autobiography, Jack Nicklaus: My Story. 

Said Nicklaus upon learning of Bowden’s passing, “Beyond writing all my instruction books, he was a terrific guy. Ken was a very good friend, a very good player, a very good writer, and a confidante.”

RIP.

TC Stuff - A couple of other interesting notes from the lads, first when asked about the proposed rules changes:

Bamberger: Well, the one-inch drop. It's just so -- can you still use this word? -- unmanly.

You can share a bunk in the reeducation camp with Karen Stupples, but yeah!  It just looks silly, doesn't it?

Passov: I think the "reasonable judgment will not be second-guessed" amendment will find many players who will take this to the extreme in big-money, big-time golf, leading to ill will among fellow competitors, and ultimately fans. The whole idea of golfers being such exemplary, self-policing sportsmen was so appealing--think Bobby Jones, who was commended for calling a penalty on himself for a violation only he saw, and who then scoffed, "You might as well have praised a man for not robbing a bank." Now, I think there's more incentive to fudge a little on your judgment. I never liked snitches who ratted out players by watching TV, but a little honesty by the player himself is one major trait that separated golf from the other sports.

You mean that every guy out there isn't an honorable gentleman?  That's so disillusioning....

And lastly, this query:

5. After a heavy dose from CBS, NBC has the honor of taking us to the Masters with its golf telecasts. Which network do you prefer?

None of the above?

Shipnuck: Twitter. 

Bamberger: CBS for pictures, NBC for sound. (Michael Jordan coached me here.)

Pretty much.  I'll just note that no one offered up Fox, though Josh Sens did mention Zinger.... 

Catch you tomorrow?