Weekend Wrap

I turned on the golf tournament and coverage had been preempted for a short game clinic.... who knew?  Who needs Michael Breed or Martin Hall?

First, Gary Van Sickle sees a future for American golf:

PALM HARBOR, Fla.—The future of American golf is in good hands whenever the day 

comes that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are done winning. 

The only problem with Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth is deciding exactly which former legend they most resemble. 

When Reed poured in a must-make 30-footer on the Valspar Championship’s final green, his eyes got wide as saucers, he pumped his fists and he bellowed some kind of war cry.

He’s brash and cocky and damned good, but is he more Raymond Floyd or Lanny Wadkins? Either way, he’s got Hall of Fame pedigree working. 

When Dallas-area native Jordan Spieth got to the Copperhead Course’s last five holes, he stated pouring in putts like strawberry-banana smoothies out of a pitcher. He sprayed some shots, sure, then he got up and down for amazing pars on the last three holes to get in a playoff, including a super-clutch 15-footer at the last. 

Spieth, still only 21, putts like Mickelson—better from 20 feet than from five feet—scrambles like a young Jose Maria Olazabal and wills the ball into the cup like a young Seve Ballesteros. His great skill is getting the ball in the hole from anywhere and everywhere

Oh, I'd definitely go with Lanny.... Raymond had way too many friends.  Randall Mell focuses on the winner:

He’s learning how to command a stage. 

Watching Spieth win the Valspar Championship Sunday, with his confident stride, his certainty of gesture, his fist pumps, and even watching the way he corralled and wrestled disappointment over mistakes, that was more than fun to watch. It was fun to listen to as he made his way around Innisbrook. 

There was entertainment value listening to Spieth think out loud the way he likes to do under pressure. The way this young Texan talks to his golf ball, the way he chastises himself for bad shots, there can be danger in that with live microphones catching just about everything nowadays, but this observer dididn'tetect anything objectionable. Just the opposite. There was almost something Palmer-esque in the way Spieth drew us out there on to the stage with him.

I gather that some folks are put off by Jordan, though I don't see why.   In fact he's kind of what we wanted Tiger to be all those years, he wears his emotions on his sleeves buy absent the F-bombs that make it a bad fit with kids in the gallery.

As is often the case, I found myself rooting for Sean O'Hair because he needed it the most.  How difficult must it be to put a career back together, especially since playing privileges are so scarce these days.  But he looks like the real deal, again, and one hopes he can hold onto his new attitude.

And our Patrick, who had been having a gosh darn awful week PR-wise, reminded us that he's the real deal...  And did so on a week when he wasn't playing all that well, at least tee-to-green.  

As for our winner, he was the subject of the first question to the Tour Confidential panel, though I thought the question was framed kind of oddly...see if you agree:

1. Jordan Spieth birdied the third playoff hole to defeat Patrick Reed and Sean O’Hair and win the Valspar Championship. Spieth joins Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia and Robert Gamez as players since 1940 to win twice on Tour before age 22. Does Spieth have the talent to win multiple majors or does his relative lack of power mean he’ll only be able to pick off wins here and there on shotmaker’s courses?

Jordan's not the longest guy out there, but he's what's known in the trade as long enough.  To amplify, here are some of his current ranks from his PGA Tour statistics page:

• Driving Distance - 44th
• Driving Accuracy - 133rd
• Strokes Gained: Tee-to-green - 8th

Now it's only that last one that surprises me, but I'm guessing the numbers are somewhat skewed with a small sample size and coming off a win.  But otherwise it confirms what my eyes tell me, that he's long enough but hits the ball alarmingly crookedly...let's call it Luke Donald disease.  

There's lots of interesting stuff to be found on that stats page...for instance, he's 91st in average clubhead speed, therefore clocking in at 44th in driving distance demonstrates good efficiency in his swing (he's obviously familiar with the sweet spot).  He's also surprisingly low in scrambling, currently ranked 42, and I'm guessing you'd have guessed he was higher after that demonstration of short game skills yesterday.

The event itself seems to be on increasingly solid ground.  Nice to see top players turning up based upon the quality of the venue. That's especially encouraging given my opinion of the other Florida swing venues.