Weekend Wrap

Better late than never for our weekend wrap, as there was golf to be played this morning.... admittedly sleepwalking golf, but a letdown is inevitable right after winning the first major of the season.

Colonial Rain - I only had time to watch the conclusion of one of the golf tourneys, though I was intrigued to see whether Kevin Na or Ian Poulter would cough up the event.  Little did I realize the answer was all of the above...

Chris Kirk is the PGA Tour’s most cool, calm and collected player. His pulse is flatter

than the brim of Rickie Fowler’s cap. When he took the lead at the Crowne Plaza Invitational with a 5-foot birdie at the 15th hole, he wore the expression of a guy who just saw his dog run over. 

Yet to hear Kirk tell it, looks can be deceiving. 

“That was the most nervous I’ve ever been on a golf course,” he said.

Kirk later explained that he didn’t have his ‘A game’ but he showed some grit after making an eagle at the first and played his final 11 holes without a bogey en route to a 4-under 66 and a one-stroke victory over Jason Bohn, Brandt Snedeker and Jordan Spieth.

How wet was it in Fort Worth?  This wet...

It was the first time in recent memory that a competitive round was played under preferred lies (lift, clean and place) through the green.

Really not much of an event if the lads can put their hands on the ball in the rough.  'Tis a shame...

Hail Monty -  I would say that I made the correct viewing choice:

By successfully defending his Senior PGA Championship title Sunday at the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort, Montgomerie joined one iconic name, Jack Nicklaus, as the only players to claim their first three Champions Tour victories at majors. Each of Nicklaus’ first six wins as a senior came in majors. 

“It was a difficult position to start the day, having a three-stroke margin,” said Montgomerie, “because there’s nowhere to go but down. 

“I made a mess of 1 again, then I really started to relax. When I holed the (birdie) putt at 12, I felt safe, and 1 over from the 13th tee is not bad here.”

He really played extraordinarily well, seemingly not missing a shot during the TV window.  He's found something that I wish he'd share with me, as he's playing very relaxed golf.  And when Monty is on his feed, he's a ball-striking machine.

I've long proposed Monty for a TV commentary gig, and this round-belly tour roll can't hurt those chances...

BMW PGA - A snore-fest at Wentworth, enlivened only by Miggy's ace:

Byeong Hun An shot a 7-under 65 to win the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth

on Sunday with a tournament record total of 21 under. 

The South Korean made five birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free round to finish six strokes clear of Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand (69) and Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain (67). 

The 23-year-old An captured his first European Tour victory after Francesco Molinari, who had at least a share of the lead for the first three rounds, only managed a 74. He finished fifth, nine shots back.

For a tour looking to reclaim past glories, this had to be a disappointing week for its flagship event.  Lots of grousing about the greens and weak play by the marquee names....not how you would dial it up.

Though if you're in the market for a longshot pick for Chambers Bay, Scott Hanson provides an interesting factoid:

Anything seemed possible when An was one of the big stories entering the U.S. Amateur in 2010. The year earlier, he had won the event, becoming its youngest champion at age 17.

He proved his title was no fluke at Chambers Bay, making it all the way to the semifinals before losing to David Chung. He played six competitive rounds at Chambers Bay, which will give him an experience edge at the U.S. Open.

But it has not been a straight line of success.

I'll need a ruling from Mike Davis as to how many practice rounds he needs, but he's one of the few that has seen the joint.

TV/DVR Alert -  Lots of interesting golf to be found on TV in the next two weeks, it's just not the usual suspects.

Golf Channel is covering both the men's and women's NCAA Championships, and the ladies have the stage beginning later today.  At 4:00 they'll show the women's individual championship, but then tomorrow and Wednesday will be team match play.

The men take the stage next week under a similar format.

Now in the unforced error category comes this from Ryan Lavner:

BRADENTON, Fla. – The numbers are jarring. 

The 54-hole cut at this women’s NCAA Championship will fall somewhere around 65 over par. No player is in red numbers. The scoring average for the 24-team field is 78.47. 

There has been one round in the 60s – and seven in the 90s. 

No wonder this place is nicknamed Concussion.

 I don't understand the logic there, especially with match-play coming...

The place is actually called Concession, and here's Lavner with the explanation of how it got out of hand:

Concession is a relative newcomer, having opened in 2006, and there have been no significant women’s events held here. Officials at host sites the past three years relied on ample data for how the course played for a women’s event. Not so here. All Lemieux had to work with were discussions with the club, chats with a few LPGA players who are members here, and then visits to the course last September and then again a week ago. 

Another factor: Players and coaches always had two practice rounds in the lead-up to the championship. But with the women’s move to match play, visiting teams weren’t allowed to see the course until Thursday morning, the lone practice round. To adequately prepare for this championship – and specifically the severity of these green complexes, which are 9,000 square feet but with only about 500 square feet of usable targets – they needed more than a six-hour tour with their teammates.

Still doesn't quite explain it, but hopefully they'll learn from this.  And it's worth watching, especially the team portion of the competition.