Weekend Wrap

And quite the weekend it was, one game better than the previous.  I might have flipped to Golf Channel a half-dozen times during commercials, but that was the extent of my golf consumption.

The Hope - The hype (Yeah, I know, not much hype at the Hope) was about the trio looking for their first Tour wins.  Alas, grizzled vets Rodgers and Brady came up short, but this one got across the finish line:

Saturday felt like 2017, and no, we’re not talking about the Green Bay Packers losing in the NFL’s postseason, though that happened again, too. (Sorry, Packer fans.) But as Hudson Swafford walked

off 18, fresh off a ball-striking-rich 66 and sitting three shots out of the lead at the American Express, it was all reminiscent to five years ago, when he broke through and won his first PGA Tour tournament.

“Yeah, I might have drove it a little better in ’17, it’s been a — haven’t hit quite as many fairways, but really hit my irons beautifully, putting great, doing everything else pretty good,” Swafford said.

“It’s kind of got that feel the way I feel like I’m rolling it.”

If he had just a feeling on Saturday, then Sunday was full-blown goosebumps. In 2017, he fired a five-under 67 at the PGA West Stadium Course to win by one. In 2022, he was three better in the final round, as Swafford shot an eight-under 64 — the day’s low round — for a 23-under total, a two-shot win and his third Tour victory.

Aren't most of the courses they use in this event about a Par-64?  I know the PGA West Stadium Course was terrifying in the day, but that day was the the Paleozoic Era in a golf sense.

We've covered this event's standing in the golf eco-system, so marginalized that I'm surprised that American Express wants its name on it.  Given that, I'm always surprised when a top player shows up, and the Tour Confidential panel uses a hot mic form one of those top players in its framing question:

1. At the PGA Tour’s American Express (won by Hudson Swafford), world No. 1 Jon Rahm, in a fan video published to social media, was overheard saying to his caddie: “Piece of [expletive] setup. Putting contest week.” This comes on the heels of record low scores at the year-opening Tournament of Champions and a birdie blitz last week at the Sony Open. Is Rahm right? In scorable conditions, do PGA Tour events simply come down to who’s putting best — and, if so, is there anything wrong with that?

Sean Zak: Yes, he’s right. And this is bound to bother Rahm more than any other player in the world, simply because he’s the best player in the world. He has routinely shown that when conditions are tough, when courses are difficult, he’s going to finish in the top 10. Cream rising to the top, they say. There’s nothing wrong with this happening at a handful of events over the course of the season. The issue is that it happens too often. Where players are not asked to work the ball both ways, to make difficult club choices off every tee box, to use different trajectories into greens. Organizers of the event seem to love the PGA West setup, though. This isn’t changing.

Michael Bamberger: No, all golf scoring is interconnected. The putting contest is grounded in how close you hit it. How close you hit it is related to where you hit your tee shots. BUT I totally understand what Rahm is saying. The harder the course, the smaller the number of people who can win. These desert courses are as easy as it gets, on Tour. That’s OK.

Josh Sens: And on that note, remember when PGA West first hosted a Tour event in the ’80s? A bunch of pros thought it was tough to the point of being unfair. They wanted no part of it on a Tour rota.

Nick Piastowski: I get what he was saying. It should first be noted that his putting misses in the third round were particularly brutal — shoot, even the Tour tweeted out a video of them — so he was running hot. But I agree with Michael. The putts were dropping more, because players were hitting fairways and greens more. It’s easier to do so on some courses, and that becomes a different style of golf. Not every course is supremely difficult, nor do I think we want every one to be. Now, if they’re all easy …

As a wise man once noted, it is what it is...but the real question is why is John Rahm even there, especially with Torrey (where I hear talk he's had some success), The Wasted (where he likes to trot out that ASU jersey) and Pebble/Riviera on tap?  

The bigger issue, it seems to this observer, is that this used to be about the only place where they'd go so deep under par.  Now they do it everywhere, which troubles some of us.  Off to Torrey which one hopes will provide a titch more resistance, but remember that Wednesday start (and, the purpose thereof, the Saturday finish to avoid the NFL Conference Championship games).

Lake Nona No-No's - I did watch a bunch of the ladies' season-opener, which had quite the odd vibe.  Like many, you've no doubt long wondered what it would be like to see Nelly Korda play golf in an anorak, perhaps an unintentional homage to the puffy jacket episode of Seinfeld.  Quite the curious format, and quite the curious header here:

Danielle Kang kicks off 2022 with dominant victory at Tournament of Champions

Dominant?  

Sunday’s final round at the Tournament of Champions finished how most fans expected: An

American star lifting the trophy, starting off her 2022 LPGA season in style.

It just wasn’t the American star most people expected.

Danielle Kang was T2 entering the day, a shot behind World No. 1 Nelly Korda. But Kang rode a red-hot stretch in the middle of her round into the lead and never looked back, leaving Korda and the rest of the field in her wake.

In the end Kang’s final-round four-under 68 got her to 16 under for the week, three shots clear of runner-up Brooke Henderson. Gaby Lopez finished third at 12 under, while Korda faded to T4 at 10 under alongside Celine Boutier

I'm not the only one critical of the use of the D-word:

The three-shot final margin looked like a dominant victory, but the result wasn’t always so certain. Korda entered the round with a one-shot advantage, the top ranking in the world and a gold medal to her name. In other words, she was the betting favorite. But she started slowly in the chilly Orlando morning. When she made bogey at the par-3 fourth hole, she lost the lead. Up ahead, Gaby Lopez made birdies at 5, 6 and 7 to seize that position for herself.

It's a good win and perhaps even an important win, I just think we should be a little more judicious in our use of hyperbola, especially given that it's the opening event on the calendar.  So, why might it be an important win?

Luckily, Danielle Kang has been preparing for that exact weather. During the off-season, the 29-year-old LPGA veteran (and California native) made a point of working on her cold-weather game, in part because she wants to contend at an AIG Women's British Open. Who knew it would come in handy a bit early.

A wee bit silly, perhaps, but it's always nice to see one's work pay quick dividends.  Though the bigger significance is that, despite her reputation as a big-game hunter, this girl needed something good to happen.  She didn't win in 2021 (yeah, they let her in the field based upon those two wins in 2020 when they resumed play after the shutdown), and this event was the worst of it last year.  As you might remember, she got paired with Nelly and Jessica in that final round, and pretty much cratered down the stretch.   She also failed to live up to her rep as match-play savant, proving to be quite beatable in the women's match-play event and at the Solheim Cup, where her lackluster performance was a major factor in the U.S.'s upset loss.

If an American woman outside of Nelly is to challenge the Asian juggernaut, I sure like Kang's chances a whole lot more than Lexi's, but 2021 was surely a step in the wrong direction.  Back to the Tour Confidentialistas:

3. On the LPGA Tour, Danielle Kang, behind a final-round 68, held off a star-studded field to win the season-opening Tournament of Champions. Also of note on Sunday, world No. 1 Nelly Korda, who entered the round with the lead, stumbled to a three-over 75. Takeaways from week 1?

Zak: Kang has an infectious personality, and I’d love to see her fight for the No. 1 spot in the world ranking. So it’s hard for me to have a takeaway that doesn’t involve wanting this to be a 2022 launching point for her. My only other takeaway is that the frivolity of music playing in the background and all the celebs getting involved kinda makes it feel like an all-star showcase. Why can’t we bring it to Hawaii during the first week of the year, alongside the men?

Sens: That Nelly is human.

Bamberger: And golf is hard, and four days of it harder yet.

Piastowski: The depth of the women’s game right now is fantastic. Nelly will win her share, but I think we’re going to see a lot of winners this year.

I'm glad Sean mentioned it, because this is the Tour That Can't Shoot Straight.  You're trying to present as a tour of world-class athletes, then you allow horrible music to intrude on the broadcast to create a member-guest vibe?  Seriously, if you're objective was to make the event look Mickey Mouse, what would you do differently?

But let me also put in a good word for their format.  While none of us can get enough of Ray Romano at Pebble, this was quite the upgrade in your humble bloggers opinion.  These were guys (yeah, there was that one exception) that can actually play, and none of the sandbagging issues involved with a handicap amateur event.  I even liked that the guys were playing for the cash, $100,000 large to the winner.  Watching guys that good handle the pressure was interesting, though the modified Stableford was perhaps a titch too forgiving.

Kudos also to Golf Channel for cutting back from the AMEX to at least capture that bomb Derek Lowe sank to beat the local girl.... Good fun, I thought, excluding the gratuitous recitation of that 2004 playoff series....

Abu Dhabi Dhoings - A name from the past won the event, though that's barely the third-most important story from the emirate.  But some of us are concerned about the European Ryder Cup team remaining competitive, and this might help:

Despite holding a three-shot lead near the turn of his final round, Thomas Pieters had to grind out a win down the stretch at the DP World Tour’s 2022 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

“I just hope all the juniors back at home are watching this,” said the Belgian. “I used to watch as a kid and think it was impossible for me but then Nico (Colsaerts) came on the scene and started winning. It’s stuff like that that inspires kids and hopefully I can do that back home.”

Pieters was briefly tied by Rafa Cabrera Bello but held on for his sixth win on the circuit thanks to an even-par 72 Sunday at Yas Links in Abu Dhabi to finish at 10 under. Cabrera Bello was joined by Shubhankar Sharma in second at 9 under, with Viktor Hovland and Victor Dubuisson T-4 at 8 under.

It wasn't too long ago that Pieters looked scary good.  Of course, Victor Dubuisson resurrecting his career would be even more fun, so stay tuned.  But that's not what's caught our eye, because I wasn't aware that the Euro Tour DP World Tour also had a PIP program:

Tyrrell Hatton goes full Tyrrell Hatton

Kids, never go full Tyrell Hatton!  So, it seems the combustible Englishman is now an architectural critic:

Tyrrell Hatton is never shy to speak his mind. Which is something the defending champion at the

Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship did loudly and clearly on Saturday and Sunday as he discussed the finishing hole at the new home for this DP World Tour event, Yas Links.

Suffice to say, Hatton’s play exasperated his frustration, explaining why he came close to vowing he would never return should the 646-yard par 5 not see some modification in time for next year’s event. On Saturday, the Englishman finished his third round by making a quadruple-bogey 9, which was only two shots more than he had needed to hole-out in Round 2.

“It must be one of the worst par 5s that I’ve ever seen in my life and, over the last two days, I’ve clearly played it about as well as it was designed,” Hatton said on Saturday.

So, what's wrong with the hole?

“What’s wrong with it? Where do you start? It shouldn’t have a bunker in the middle of the fairway, and it shouldn’t be over 600 yards from a forward tee. If you hit a good drive as a pro you should have at least a chance to go for the green in two, otherwise the hole becomes a par 3 and that’s if you play it well.”

First, quite obviously not a fan of centerline hazards, so who wants to break it to him that it's the hottest concept in golf architecture these days?  This is obviously not the time for this debate and I have mixed feelings here as well, but mostly I feel that centerline hazards are an issue for recreational golfers.  

But it's that second point that reeks of entitlement and cluelessness, that it's unfair to make to touring professional play an actual three-shotter.  Yes, Tyrell, it becomes a Par-3 if you play it well, but a Par-3 with a wedge, as opposed to the actual Par-3's, which are all over 200-yards these days because of all that kale you guys eat.

And I'm just not sure what to think of his violent imagery:

“That I would love for a bomb to drop on it and blow it up to oblivion to be honest,” he said. “It's just such a terrible finishing hole. And the fact that they moved the tee back today is ridiculous. I hit a really good tee shot and still got 290 front. I could peg-up driver up and still not get there. It would be a much better finishing hole if you're actually rewarded for hitting the fairway, which as it stands, you're not.

“I'm obviously not a fan,” he confirmed, just in case anyone was left in any doubt. “If we're coming back here next year, it would be nice if they redesigned it. But I think that's a bit of an ask. Perhaps I may not be back.”

So, you're suggesting that we bomb Muslim countries?  I'm guessing they won't miss you next year, Tyrell.  But if you have that week free, there's a putting contest in the Coachella Valley that sounds right up your alley, just remember that everything breaks towards Indio...

The TC gang took on Tyrell's hissy fit:

2. On the DP World Tour, more course-setup consternation! After making a 9 in the third round on the 646-yard par-5 18th hole at Yas Links, Tyrrell Hatton said of the hole: “What’s wrong with it? Where do you start? It shouldn’t have a bunker in the middle of the fairway, and it shouldn’t be over 600 yards from a forward tee. If you hit a good drive as a pro, you should have at least a chance to go for the green in two, otherwise the hole becomes a par-3, and that’s if you play it well. Hardly anyone will get there in two with the wind even slightly against you.” Let’s set aside Hatton’s gripe with this specific hole and instead discuss his wider point about par-5s. Should all pros, with a good drive, have a chance to reach every par-5 in two?

Zak: I have no issue with a true three-shotter, so long as each of those shots have some level of difficulty layered within them. If the setup that day implies that it’ll take three good ones to reach the putting surface, so be it. The player’s placement anywhere on any hole should always leave some question remaining, whether it’s a risk-reward decision or a discussion on the best angle to hit the approach from. I’m not sure if Yas’ 18th does that, but this YouTube clip says it routinely plays into the wind, so perhaps it might need to be altered from 646 yards. That’s a lot.

Bamberger: The par-5 is dead. It had a good run.

Sens: Hatton’s frustration was clouding his thinking there. Nothing wrong with a three-shot par-5, as long as the second shot requires some thinking and execution. The worst par-5s are holes that ask you only to advance your ball on the second shot, with no other considerations.

Piastowski: Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with a three-shot par-5, but like Sean and Josh said, it should have some creativity mixed in, and not just driver, iron, wedge, putt, putt. And from just a look at the scoring, the hole did play difficult — after all, Hatton took the nine on it.

So, last time I looked, everyone plays the same hole...

I've deliberately not focused on this actual hole, because I can't take the risk that I might actually agree with the guy, though with one huge caveat.  This is a course artificially built in the desert, so I expect it to be tricked up.

But Sean Zak makes the important point on architectural merit, that the hardest part of designing Par-5's is to keep some risk-reward aspect to the second shot.  The guy I've always thought did this best was Pete Dye, who cleverly used angles to sow confusion on the lay-up, for example the second hole at TPC Sawgrass.  An otherwise indifferent hole (and one of less notable on that golf course), but the second shot there is really dicey for the amateur. 

Let me also note that buried within Hatton's bitchiness is the kind of criticism one should acknowledge:

There was more. Hatton won this event at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, meaning his desire for it to return there is perhaps logical. “Also, this place for spectators is just awful,” Hatton added. “Seeing where the rope lines are and where spectators have to walk, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear a lot of people have hurt their ankles and all sorts this week.

So, and actual touring pro demonstrates concern for the paying customers, but no one knows because it gets buried beneath his temper tantrum.  Good work, Tyrell. 

The other fun bit from Abu Dhabi is this in which Spaniard Santi Tarrio out-Phils Phil:

Spaniard @santi_tarrio hit this backward flop-shot during his final round today 🤯#ADGolfChamps | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/TbD7sKNrqy

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 23, 2022

That's in competition, kids.  But shouldn't his caddie have helped line him up?

We Have A Sacrificial Lamb - Pity Luke Donald, as he seems to be the only professional golfer not worth $30 million large to the Saudis.  

Luke Donald looks set to be named as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain for the match in Rome next year after a ringing endorsement from current skipper Padraig Harrington.

Donald has moved into pole position after Lee Westwood, hitherto an overwhelming first choice, ruled himself out, with Henrik Stenson thought ready to follow suit.

‘As players, we’ve certainly discussed who will be the next captain,’ the Dubliner admitted to Sportsmail.

‘It was assumed it was going to be Lee but I can see where he is coming from, he is playing good golf and he wants to concentrate on that. His decision certainly put the cat among the pigeons though, didn’t it?

‘All I can say is that Luke would be great. Behind the scenes he does a terrific job. His management style... he knows.

We'll start moving towards the exits with this reaction from the Golf.com writers:

4. Luke Donald, according to an exclusive report from the Daily Mail, is in line to be named the next European Ryder Cup captain. The report claims that 2020 captain Padraig Harrington, a key member of the five-man committee that chooses Europe’s captain, has given “a ringing endorsement” to Donald’s potential captaincy. Wise choice? And who’s your early pick to helm the American side?

Zak: Donald is a sound choice. He’s squarely in that aging-out-but-still-around-to-compete

bracket that seems to bode well for captainship. They weren’t going to make a bad choice. European temperaments are too kind. As for the Americans, the game would be better off with Fred Couples as RC captain, even if that ship has sailed. Zach Johnson seems to be next in line, but he’s still playing a very full schedule. Phil Mickelson is showing no signs of stopping. Tiger is, I think, incapable right now, all due respect. I think Jim Furyk has my vote, huh?

Sens: Sean’s right about Donald. He’s in that sweet spot. Respected veteran. Ryder Cup experience. Past his peak, competitively. Unless he’s been living in the U.S. so long that we can count on him as a double agent? Agreed that Johnson will be at the American helm.

Bamberger: Oh, that’s funny. I’d have preferred to see Rory McIlroy as a playing captain, and Johnson — Dustin Johnson — doing the same on the other side. The event should require playing captains, and no assistants. As is, the captains and the “vice” captains clearly have way too much time on their hands.

Piastowski: Donald is fine. Does Lee Westwood then make the team at 50? As for the Americans, Fred Couples would be my choice. The team will need a cool head in the room when it heads to Italy. But no matter what happens, the captains for the 2025 event have to be Mickelson and Poulter. Those two, with a New York crowd. Love it.

Solid guy.  Not the greatest player, though that's not uncommon with the Euros, see Paul McGinley, but a very unsung Euro Cupper.   My strongest memory was of the first tee on Sunday at Medinah, when he paired against Bubba.  Bubba was riling the crowd up before they teed off, but all I could think was that I knew instinctively who would win the match, and it certainly wasn't Bubba.

But MVP honors to Sean Zak who had a strong day of insights, not least the laugh-out-loud funny thought of an Alas, Poor Furyk encore.  What, Sean, is Hal Sutton unavailable?

That's it for our wrappage, but we'll have more as the week progresses.