Weekend Wrap

Employee No. 2 is boarding her flight East and, where were we?

Day's Day - Jason Day took an extended break over the winter to welcome his second child and take time out to have his wife flattened by Lebron James.  he looked clueless for a bit upon his return to competitive golf, but I'm thinking he'll have more in the tank than certain others (coughJordancough) as we get into the heart of the schedule,  Here's VanCynical's take:

You know it's a new era of golf when the tournament winners admit that their boyhood

golf idol was … Tiger Woods. That's Day, a 28-year-old Australian, and that's why he's so enthused about his position in the game and his friendly relationship with Woods.

They've been texting on a regular basis. Woods sent Day texts Saturday night and again Sunday morning. "It's just the same stuff," Day said. "He always says things like, 'Just be yourself' and for some reason it means so much more. It gives me so much confidence that a person like him would believe in me, especially as I was idolizing him ever since I was a kid and watched him in the '97 Masters and now I’m playing the tour and pretty close with him now."

Just keep the talk on the golf, Jason, as you seem to have a pretty stable family....  Elie....Elin...no, let's not even think along those lines.

Gary called Day's win scratchy, which is a scary thought for the other guys.  We've seen him run and hide from the field, but if he realizes that he can win while scraping it around, turn out the lights.

The Tour Confidential mob sorted through whether Day is now the Masters fave, and here's the yin and the yang of their responses:

Alan Shipnuck: I loved his resiliency on Sunday. He made some costly mistakes early in the round but never stopped battling, and then he did what he had to do down the stretch to get the win. We know Day is a momentum player and when he has his A game he's going to cruise to victories. If he learns to grind out wins with his B game on Sundays that's a very potent player. Given Bubba's back and Jordan's funks, there is no clear Masters favorite, which makes it more fun. I fully expect Day to be in the mix on the back nine on Sunday.

Joe Passov: I'm with Josh on this one, in that it's hard to bet against Adam Scott. He owns a pretty stellar Masters record in his own right, and with two wins and a runner-up already this year, that's pretty strong stuff heading to Augusta. Of course Augusta's greens aren't regular tour greens. Maybe that's where Scott stumbles. All credit to Jason Day, however. I chided him last week for being MIA as a Big Three member and then he does this. To close in this fashion, when he hadn't been in the hunt in what feels like ages, is impressive.

It's really very simple.... Day is the odds-on favorite, at least until we see how he fares in his first round match this week. In the process of winning, guys often look like they can't lose.  Problem is, they only win infrequently...

As for Rory, I wouldn't be betting the house:

About the only thing you could say for certain right now regarding Rory McIlroy's tilt at completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters next month is it will not be dull. 

In terms of rounds with a card in his hand, McIlroy finished off his preparations on Sunday by recording an adventurous final-round 65 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational that included two eagles, a holed 60ft putt on the 18th and, on the other side of the equation, yet another double bogey. 

That made it two 75s and two rounds from near the top drawer to complete a rollercoaster event.

Two 75's and I believe six doubles....but he's upbeat, with lipstick at the ready:

At least this fine round left him in good spirits for the defence of his WGC-Match Play Championship in Texas this week. 'I'm playing perfect golf for that event, given I can only lose a hole for each double bogey, and I'm making bags of birdies,' he commented wryly.

That's great Rors, your game is perfectly suited to one week on the calendar.  But don't be expecting anything outside a foot to be conceded....

That early morning pairing I touted yesterday seems to have worked for both the young men:

ORLANDO, Fla. – Amateur Bryson DeChambeau may still be a little uncomfortable

playing PGA Tour events, but that didn’t show Sunday during his round with World No. 2 Rory McIlroy. 

The pair fed off of each other during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge, going toe-to-toe as McIlroy carded 7-under 65 and DeChambeau notched a 6 under. 

“I was hitting great shots, he was making some great chip shots as well,” DeChambeau said. “… He’s a great player, and, shoot, it was a lot of fun getting to play with him, get some great experience.”

With all the talk about the Class of '11 and all, DeChambeau is going to be a hoot to watch.  

Martin Kaufmann notes some disjointed moments in Johnny Miller's commentary, though the only surprise should be that it comes as a surprise:

I found it odd that Johnny Miller posed this question to Roger Maltbie on Saturday:

“Does Jason (Day) work the ball much, Roger, or is it pretty straight?” 

Maltbie informed him “there’s not a lot of curvature in his ball flight.” 

Given that Day has been playing on Tour for a decade and was ranked No. 3 in the world at the time, Miller shouldn’t need to ask anyone about Day’s ball flight. He should know it because he is presented to viewers as NBC’s foremost authority on the PGA Tour.

Yeah, but these days he's working like six weeks a year... 

Johnny has always been a stream-of-consciousness commentator, and I've always thought Dan Hicks was therefore underrated.  The problem is that as he's gotten older, and perhaps his hearing isn't what it was, it's become increasingly obvious.  I'll still take him over the smug Sir Nick any day, but as Tiger recently reminded us, Father Time is undefeated.

Did You Sei Young Kim? - I doubt anyone did, what with March Madness and the like.  But the young lady went way low:

PHOENIX (AP) Sei Young Kim turned an anticipated Sunday shootout into a record-tying blowout. 

The 23-year-old South Korean player matched Annika Sorenstam's LPGA Tour scoring record of 27 under, closing with a 10-under 62 at Desert Ridge for a five-stroke victory in the JTBC Founders Cup.

Sorenstam set the mark in 2001 at nearby Moon Valley, shooting a record 59 in the second round. Kim also matched the tournament record of 62 set Thursday by Mi Hyang Lee. 

Kim missed a chance to break the marks when her 18-foot birdie try on the par-4 18th slid left.

Here's all you need to know:  Lydia shot 22 under and lost by five.

Aquaman Soars - The artist formerly known as the Woodman had a good week:

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) Woody Austin holed out for eagle from a greenside bunker on the

par-5 15th and held on to win the Tucson Conquistadores Classic on Sunday for his first PGA Tour Champions title. 

''The greatest bunker week of my career, no question,'' Austin said.

The 52-year-old Austin bogeyed the par-4 final hole after driving left into the water and ended up beating Jim Carter by a stroke on Omni Tucson National's Catalina Course.

OK, but I'm pretty angry at this point... A Google image search reveals the absence of the obligatory silly hat photo, like this one of Marco Dawson last year:

Some things are just wrong...

Udder Stuff - Trick-shot artiste Wesley Bryan proved he's more than a one-trick pony:

BROUSSARD, La. – Wesley Bryan fired a final-round, 3-under-par 68 to come from one stroke back and win the 25th annual Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by NACHER, the largest victory of his professional career. 

Bryan elevated himself to the top of a crowded leaderboard when he drained a 15-foot putt for birdie on the par-4 17th hole. 

“Coming into the season, I felt like I was really in good form,” said Bryan, after he collected a first-prize check worth $99,000. “I felt like I was playing really well. I felt really good coming down here.”

His brother and trick-shot partner was on the bag.... Shack called it vindication on Morning Drive, but Bryan was a very good collegiate player at South Carolina....

And how about that Tim Hart?  Never heard of him?  And you call yourself a golf fan....He started the week as the No. 918 ranked player in the world....  here's the set-up:

Standing on the final hole at the Coca-Cola Queensland PGA, Hart not only had his first PGA Tour of Australasia title within his reach, but also a glorious chance to break 60. Unfortunately, neither happened.

So he needs a par to shoot 58.....You know how this will end, as the lad goes full-Van de Velde: 

Hart hit his drive out-of-bounds left on No. 18 at Toowoomba's City Golf Club. Incredibly, though, he still had a chance at both milestones until his second drive went right and into the trees. The resulting triple bogey forced him to settle for a 61 and dropped him into a playoff, which he eventually lost to David Klein. 

“It was a rollercoaster . . . after hitting the driver so well I put the worst swing of the week on it right there,” Hart, 26, told reporters after the round. 

If by "rollercoaster" Hart meant an exhilarating ride all the way to the top of the world's tallest rollercoaster before one swift fall, then yes, it was a rollercoaster. Check out this incredible scorecard for his back nine in which he was nine under through eight holes (After a 30 on the par-33 front nine) before the disastrous finish:

Note to readers:  You never want to go full-Van de Velde.  Here's that colorful scorecard: