Weekend Wrap

There's a major storm brewing her i n the Wasatch for my grand send-off, though it looks like just rain for the time being....

Day Dominates - When last we visited, I had these pearls of wisdom for you:

• No weatherman required to see that Jordan, Zach and Patrick were on their games;
• Zach has the easiest path forward;
• Watch out for Kooch coming up on the outside;
• Jason Day will be better off losing Saturday morning.

I know, it's just a gift....And for The masters I like....I know, avert your gaze.

Steve DoMeglio with the arc of Day's last few weeks:

AUSTIN — Two weeks ago Jason Day’s game was AWOL. Then last week he won the

Arnold Palmer Invitational.

On Wednesday his back was out of whack and his future was in doubt. Then on Saturday he became No. 1 in the world. 

And on Easter Sunday, he won his second consecutive tournament, capturing the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Championship at Austin Country Club. Day first defeated No. 3 and defending champion Rory McIlroy in a heavyweight tussle Sunday morning in the semifinals, 1 up, and then beat down Louis Oosthuizen in the final, 5 and 4. 

Now he’s a big favorite to win the Masters in two weeks.

I don't know about you folks, but I tend to tune out when people speak of "big favorites" in our sport, because you know how that typically turns out.  But this was a dominating performance demonstrating the full range of skills necessary to win at the highest level.  And he doesn't intend to back off:

"... I can’t get complacent with how I’m playing right now. ... I am looking forward to (the Masters). It’s one tournament that I’ve always wanted to win. It’s one tournament that I’ve always wanted to put the jacket on and go back every year. So the motivation and the want is there.

"I think the biggest thing to me is to get the rest and recovery. Take the first part of this week off, go down (to Augusta) Thursday, start prepping Friday and go through that whole stage of getting ready for the tournament."

Fair enough, though I'd let Colin or others deal with the luggage before April 7th.  Our friendly Confidentialistas took on the issue of whether Day is the best in the world, and here's a couple of sample responses:

Alan Shipnuck: We need the Masters to help sort it out. Day has clearly been the best player over the last eight months, but it's not fair to discount what Spieth did the first half of last year. Of course, Day did blow him away on Sunday at Whistling Straits. If they tussle again at the Masters the victor is the undisputed heavyweight champ. Failing that, we need to let this season play out and then make the call.

Cameron Morfit: I've got to go with Day right now, given what I saw at the Dell. He seems to have more self-belief than the other two guys, and self-belief is so huge. He seems to have total trust in his short game, which sees him through the good and bad ball-striking days. And when he's on he's going to beat most of the field in strokes-gained tee to green. It's a potent combination.

He's certainly the hottest player on the planet.... and since he's indisputably one of the 2-3 most talented players in the world, and thus on a hot streak will look unbeatable.

Will the hot streak continue for two more weeks?  Why would you ask me, I'm the guy that told you to keep an eye on Kooch.

The TC panel unfortunately lumps the venue and format into one up or down question, and predictably the guys are all over the place:

Shipnuck: The course is great for match play and on TV and had a much livelier atmosphere than that track Finchem found in the wilds of Tucson. It's great to see so much more golf in with the pool but the first day has been rendered mostly meaningless and by Friday more than a third of the field were lame ducks. Most damning is that the win-or-go-home urgency has been lost. So, put the old format back in play but keep the event in Austin and it's a home run.

Ritter: Didn't enjoy seeing all those halved matches on Wednesday-Sunday. Can we at least go to sudden death and get a winner each day? The new format has watered down the event, and I miss the old blood-and-guts, single-elimination setup. Agree that Austin CC was a worthy venue, especially that driveable par-4 13th, where bombers banked it off the grandstands (or found the lake) while others laid up. Perfect hole for this event.

I'm going to go with unqualified praise for the venue.... Pete Dye just screams match play, and the tributes to Harvey Penick were quite the bonus.  Most of the talk was about the driveable-but-not-holdable 13th, but I enjoyed watching the boys figure out the short finishing hole as well.

The format is a hole 'nother can of worms, which I'll now dwell too long on.  Instinct is the compare this to March Madness, but our game is far fickler..... No doubt Wednesday intensity has lessened, but Thursday and Friday benefit thereby....  And in a large sense it's all moot, because this was the compromise necessary to land the el primo sponsor.

In addition to awe at Day's performance (and remember that I was in Scotland during the PGA, so only absorbed that through second-hand smoke), I found Rory and Jordan's weekends to be quite curious.  Rory remains capable of inspiring Day-like awe, but equally capable of missing far too many four-footers to win.  

There's a surprising lack of ink spilled on Jordan's bizarre Saturday match against King Louis... no doubt you heard his post-match interview to the effect that he showed up on the range and was hitting weak fades.  WTF Jordan, that's kinda weird at this level....

You Ko, Girl - Speaking of top players rounding into form before the first major of the season:

CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) -- Lydia Ko won the Kia Classic on Sunday at Aviara, reaffirming her position as the top player in the world heading into the first major championship of the season.

Ko birdied the final three holes for her third straight 5-under 67 and a four-stroke victory over second-ranked Inbee Park.

"I just kind of peeked at the leaderboard and saw Inbee was making a lot of birdies - Inbee doing her Inbee things," Ko said. "I knew that I needed to focus up until the last moment and fortunately I made some birdies down the stretch." 

A week after finishing second in Phoenix in the Founders Cup, the 18-year-old New Zealander headed to Rancho Mirage for the ANA Inspiration with her first LPGA Tour victory of the year and 11th overall. She also won the Ladies European Tour's New Zealand Women's Open in February.

I'm not overly optimistic about her chances at the Dinah Shore Kraft Nabisco ANA Inspiration, as it's a long golf course for the ladies.  And our Lydia is still a growing girl...

Say It Ain't So, Joe - It looks like we won't have Nurse Ratched to kick around much longer:

AUSTIN, Texas -- PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said Sunday he will likely step 

down by the end of 2016 after announcing that his contract has been renewed for an extra year through June 1, 2017.

Jay Monahan, who was named deputy commissioner in 2014, is expected to take over, pending approval by the PGA Tour's policy board.

"For every organization there is a time,'' said Finchem, 68, who began his tenure in 1994 and is just the third commissioner in the PGA Tour's history. "I could probably go on another five or six years. But I don't think that is best for the organization. I don't consider myself old. But I'm getting old.''

Excuse me, I need a moment to go curl up in the corner with my blankie.... 

This is so sudden and I haven't even begun to consider a nom de blog for the Monahan fellow...

Life can be so cruel.  Not sure if he's throwing me a bone here:

"The only remaining thing, candidly, when we named him two years ago was relationships, honestly, because relationships take a while to transfer,” Finchem said of Monahan’s professional development upon being named deputy commissioner. “So we've been working hard on that for a couple of years. You all know Jay. Making a relationship is a slam dunk for him.”

He needs a minimum of a few years to work on those relationships....

Note To Readers - Don't expect to see much of me until the end of the week.  Not only is there that storm for me to chase, but it's time to close down things here in Park City.  I fly home Thursday and have much to jam into lockers and suitcases, so I'll recharge the blogging batteries and be back in full snark mode to guide you through the Masters.