Everyman

Matt Every's breakthrough win at Bay Hill makes him the man of the hour, justifying his very own Unplayable Lies post.  If his career ended tomorrow, that'd be something to tell the grandchildren about, no?.

It turns out that Matt Every was Patrick Reed before there was a Patrick Reed.  Per John Strege:

Matt Every once was so cocky that he would have had to spot Patrick Reed two aside in a

Matt Every finally has something for the mantle.

boast-off.When he was 21 and vying for low amateur in the U.S. Open, Every declared himself just as good as anyone else in the field and "probably better." 

When he turned pro a year later, he complained that the dearth of sponsor exemptions was not commensurate to his resume, which included the Ben Hogan Award as college's top player. When detours kept him from his destination, the PGA Tour, he grumbled that he belonged there, that he was a better player than many of those who got there ahead of him.

There's usually nothing wrong with the brash confidence of the young, but in this game it's simply not wise to challenge the golf gods. It can also be interpreted as disrespectful of those with more experience, and there's a certain unavoidable schadenfreude at it taking so long for Every to break through. I'll let Johnny Miller take us out on this cautionary tale:

"When you come right out and say that, when you're really just making a name for yourself, you're putting a little bit of pressure on your back," NBC's Johnny Miller said on Sunday. "You can wait until you win eight or 10 times and then you can say it a little easier. He does believe it, but he doesn't have to go say it out loud. He could have kept that one between his family and his caddie."

While I missed virtually all of the television coverage, apparently there was a bit of a kerfuffle about  Every's caddies using something that looked like a distance measuring device.  Turns out per Missy Jones that it was, in fact a compass, which is thoroughly legal:

I got lots of emails, texts and tweets asking about the device that Matt Every’s caddie had with him out there. I just asked Matt and he told me it is a compass which was made legal with the Amendments to the 2012-2013 edition of the Decision book. Decision 14-3/4 says:

Use of Compass During Round 

Q.A player uses a compass during a stipulated round to help determine the direction of the wind or the direction of the grain in the greens. Is the player in breach of Rule 14-3?

A.No. A compass only provides directional information and does not gauge or measure variable conditions or assist the player in his play. (Revised) 

Just wanted to ease everybody’s mind and give you the text of the Decision in case you don’t have it. Bravo to his caddie for knowing the rules! Cheers and congrats on your first win Matt!

OK, I'll sleep better at night knowing that.  Not sure why he needed the compass, but at least it's kosher.

Lastly, apparently Matt Every was born with a genetic abnormality that precludes him from laying up on a Par 5, even with a substantial lead.  Emily Kay provides the description of Every's ill-fated attempt to salvage his Tour winless streak:

With a three-shot lead and standing on the tee of what was formerly one of the PGA Tour’s most difficult holes but is now one of the most accessible, Every knocked his drive into a clearing in the woods and ricocheted an errant second shot backwards off a tree in his line to the fairway.

With the ball in the rough and stymied behind the tree, Every eventually laid up in front of the water hazard and settled for a bogey. But not before his caddie colorfully convinced him of the need to play it safe and forced NBC broadcasters to apologize for Derek Mason’s animated, persuasive approach.

And for those of you who like salty language (and who amongst us doesn't?), here's Every's caddie utilizing a couple of f-bombs to save the day:

Of course the PGA has tried to remove these videos, so don't dawdle.

Lastly, and of greatest interest to me, was this from Stephanie Wei that hearkens back to my Moneyball post with this:

The key to Every’s victory might have been a tip he received from stats guru Mark Horton, who primarily works with Brandt Snedeker. Earlier in the week, Horton and Every sat down together to discuss why he wasn’t winning when he was in contention. After all, Every had four top-10s — and six top-25s — in 10 starts in the 2013-14 season. 

“He goes, let me tell you something, ‘If I was a betting man, every time you get in contention I would bet against you,’” recalled Every. ”And I was like, what? It kind of took me by surprise a little bit. 

“Then he gave me a couple of tips and it was kind of nice to hear something like that, because a lot of people out here just pump your tires. And depending on who it’s coming from, it doesn’t even mean anything. 

“But when he said that it kind of it hit me pretty good. And I was like, part of me was, like, screw him, I’ll show him. And part of me was like, he’s right, you know? One of the reasons he said was I am way too aggressive on Sundays. That was the main thing.

Good stuff, and as Shackelford notes here, it'll be interesting to see how Every handles the Par 5's at Augusta.