That sound you hear is the heads of millions of Brady-haters exploding.... I did, though, manage to watch a bit of the golf. Just not much of this one...
But we get to that, just a heads up that the promised long-form piece, focused on architecture and history, can be found below.
Tony Finau in a familiar spot. Can he close this time at the American Express?
I'm gonna go with "No", final answer. See how easy this game can be, if you just have the good sense to play it Monday morning.
So, horses for courses?
Si Woo Kim wins on another Pete Dye course, taking title at American Express
LA QUINTA, Calif. – Si Woo Kim staked his claim to the presidency of the Pete Dye Fan Club on Sunday.
Kim, who had won his biggest title, the 2017 Players Championship, at Dye’s most infamous house of horrors, the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 in the final round of the American Express at PGA West’s Pete Dye Stadium Course to edge Patrick Cantlay by one stroke.
Kim’s fondness for PGA West dates to 2012 when he passed PGA Tour Q-School here at age 17.
“That’s why I feel confidence whenever I come to this course. So, that helps a lot for me this week, especially I try to focus on the memories that gave me good scores, so that’s why it drove me to the win,” he said.
It was the 25-year-old South Korean’s third career victory and first since the 2017 Players Championship.
Like anyone else that plays our sick game, it doesn't always go according to plan:
That wasn’t the only sign of Kim’s growth as a player. A year ago, Kim withdrew from this tournament, citing a back injury after shooting 15-over 87 in the first round on PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament Course, one of two courses this year in the tournament rotation.
We know what the next Pete Dye course they'll play, so the Live Under Par™ brigade have until March to get their betting strategies devised. Lots to unpack from the week, just none of it having to do with the outcome or the winner. In fact, it's one of those weeks where Golf.com's Tour Confidential panel fails to even acknowledge this event, except for a rules controversy that we'll get to in a sec.
If we're looking for actual significance, did you happen to catch Patrick Cantlay's weekend pyrotechnics? After making the cut on the number...
LA QUINTA, Calif. – Patrick Cantlay’s magical weekend fell just short of an unforgettableending.
Cantlay shattered the course record by two strokes with an 11-under 61 at PGA West’s Pete Dye Stadium Course. After making the cut on the number at 4-under, he exploded for 20 birdies over his weekend 36 holes, tying the best score in relation to par in the final two rounds of a 72-hole event on the PGA Tour (18-under).
It took an equally flawless round of 64 from 54-hole leader Si Woo Kim to edge him out for the trophy at the American Express.
“I did everything I could,” Cantlay said. “He just played unbelievable too.”
Amusingly, this is how Geoff lads his post on Patrick's weekend:
Let’s table the whole PGA West Stadium Course-has-turned-into-Indian-Wells discussion for another day
Geoff, you feel OK? Must be a closet Packers fan, because I don't remember him ducking this...well, ever.
But this is the course that for years was too difficult to be used for the tournament. And while that might have something to do with the amateurs, this was a year when they didn't need an am-friendly set-up. For years, one of the serious arguments of those against regulation to curtail distance was that scoring hadn't decreased accordingly. While I thought there explanations for that in agronomy and set-ups, I also think that we are now seeing these distance gains (not that there aren't other factors) reflected in lower scoring.
Did you happen to catch the penalty assessed against Matthew Wolff?
Wolff, who shot 5-under 67 on Friday, was assessed a one-stroke penalty from Thursday’s opening round of the American Express for violation of Rule 9.4b (Ball Lifted or Moved by You – Penalty for Lifting or Deliberately Touching Your Ball or Causing it to Move).
Here’s what happened. On the first hole at the Stadium Course at PGA West, Wolff drove his ball 336 yards into the left rough. Wolff’s ball moved during his back swing and Rules official Slugger White discussed the situation with Wolff.
It was originally addressed by Wolff with the PGA Tour’s Rules Committee on Thursday, with the decision subsequently reversed on Friday after the Rules Committee gained access to video evidence not available at the time of the ruling that showed Wolff was responsible for the movement of his ball. With the one-stroke penalty, Wolff’s first-round score was bumped up to 72 for a 36-hole aggregate of 5-under 139.
“The incident was filmed on PGA Tour Live and was not brought to our attention until Matthew was well into his second round today,” said PGA Tour Tournament Director Steve Rintoul. “Once we realized there was video evidence, we had to look at it. Matthew was extremely professional and initially thought he was in a disqualification situation. But, fortunately for him, it was not.
“He was acting under the jurisdiction of an official yesterday and understood how the penalty applies when a ball is moved by the player. Matthew said he didn’t feel like he caused the ball to move, but certainly understood that he could have. He was extremely professional about the entire situation.”
In the bad old days he's have been DQd for signing an incorrect scorecard, so there's progress of a sort. I still have a lingering concern, but let's first see what our friends from the Tour Confidential panel think:
5. On Friday, Matthew Wolff was hit with a penalty stroke at the American Express for an infraction he committed on Thursday. Any qualms with retroactive rules reviews?
Sens: Back when viewer call-ins were allowed, absolutely. But now, no. They make a lot of sense. I appreciate Michael’s point about owning your card. But if not all players are going to be equally willing to own their cards, I’d rather have a system in place that helps.
Josh, remember that logic class you took in college? What? You didn't? Yeah, we guessed...
A viewer call-in vs. new video footage coming up after the fact seems to this observer a distinction without a difference. The question is whether scorecards remain open to further adjudication or not, the source of said information being rather secondary.
Bamberger: I much preferred the old system. When you sign for your card, you own the card. It made the player responsible, as the player should be. This is completely different.
Zak: We’re stuck in this spot where players do things, explain themselves to rules officials and then the official takes them at their word, despite clear video evidence in hindsight. I don’t see a way to make the system better. From the video, it appears nothing but Wolff could have made the ball move. But what he says goes. Beyond that, I’d prefer that what happens on a Thursday be applied on Thursday, and not ensuing days. In other words, when the sun comes up, those scores yesterday are finalized.
Dethier: Use video at the end of a player’s round to try to get it right, but don’t drag it out. I’m with Zak: When the clock strikes midnight, the former day’s penalties should turn into pumpkins.
So, dear reader, consider how events would unfold if the same set of circumstances occurred on Sunday, instead of Thursday. On Monday morning, Mr. Rintoul is informed of this new Golf Live footage and immediately adds a stroke to Mr. Wolff's score.... Except, no, the tournament is over when they sign their cards, so there's effectively different rules Thursday-Saturday, than on Sunday, arguably when it's most important.
Did you catch Phil's Friday round? Not exactly Faldo at Muirfield:
Phil Mickelson did something he had never done in 2,200 previous rounds on the PGA Tour. Hemade 18 consecutive pars in the second round of the American Express.
Eighteen pars for golf’s wild thing? Think about how many U.S. Opens he would’ve won if he’d ever done that in a USGA event. But golf in a dome as defending champion Andrew Landry describes it, isn’t about making pars; it’s supposed to be a birdie-fest.
When informed that he’d achieved a first for him, Mickelson responded as only Mickelson can: “Which is surprising,” he said, “because I really try to hit fairways and center of the greens and just make easy pars and for that to be the first time it’s really shocking.”
We love the tongue planted firmly in cheek, but wrong event, Phil. Guys are shooting 61's, which has Phil slamming trunks.
One last bit... Did you catch this?
Well, this is a new one. 🤷♂️#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/5Ufc6mb0F4
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 22, 2021
It's called the snail:
Mark Hubbard, through 35 holes at the American Express, had taken 56 putts with his two hands on the grip of his putter.
He took his 57th with one.
And his right pinkie finger — and only his right pinkie finger — wrapped around the bottom of the shaft, inches from the ground.
Which was after he had taken his right hand off the grip.
And extended his right arm out to his right. And extended it forward. And lowered it.
While gyrating.
I eagerly await Brandel's detailed analysis of the stroke and set-up, but I thought Trevor nailed it:
“That is next level right there,” analyst Trevor Immelman said.What it was is what may come when you double-bogey your 14th hole at PGA West. And bogey your 17th. And your tournament is one made putt from being done.“So everything looks good right about now — posture looks great — but the extension in the right arm is where it’s at, and the pinky, the pinky just sticking out there, and now wrapping around the lower part of the shaft, that’s just textbook technique,” Immelman, playfully, analyzed.“I’ll tell you what: The playing of the stroke was spot on. He’s clearly done this before.”
As did Curt:
“You think this game doesn’t drive people crazy, or what?” Byrum said on the broadcast.
The TC panel wouldn't miss this one:
6. Mark Hubbard, on his last hole at the American Express during Friday’s second round and not close to making the cut, employed one of the more unusual putting strokes we’ve seen, when he putted with his left hand on the grip and just his pinkie on the bottom part of the putter shaft. What’s the wildest putting technique you’ve seen in action?
Sens: Mike Hulbert putting one-handed back in the day comes to mind. So does Bernhard Langer’s yip-prevention grip around the time of his second Masters win, when he took to clutching his left forearm with his right hand. He looked like a guy trying to prevent himself from falling off a cliff.
Bamberger: Snead, croquet style.Zak: That’s the one — Hubbard’s. Easily the winner here. At first glance, I thought he was injured! I’ve never seen anything like it.Dethier: A friend of mine is convinced that the ideal putting strategy is just to change grips every time you play, just to keep your brain guessing. So crazy it just might work!
Haven't heard Hulbert's name in a million years, though I need to give Dylan's comment much thought.
Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend - The aforementioned Dylan Dethier watched the ladies kick off their season, and declares it the best start imaginable:
If you were building an ideal start to the LPGA season, it would look an awful lot like the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions did on Sunday.
Let’s start at the end, because every great golf tournament should have a dramatic finish. That’s exactly what happened when Jessica Korda poured in a 30-footer for birdie at the first playoff hole, punctuated by a top-tier fist pump. (That’s an important element, too. The best tournaments have celebrations to match.)
Of course, it did have that interesting final group:
The Intriguing Cast of Characters
Check. Big-time check. Sunday’s final group put Danielle Kang, Nelly Korda and Jessica Korda in the same threesome. Over the past year, the former two have separated themselves as the top American stars in the game. Last summer, Kang won the LPGA’s first two events post-hiatus, while Nelly has racked up top-fives.
But Nelly’s older sister, Jessica, reminded us of her presence in the very first nine holes of 2021, shooting seven-under 30 to jump out to the Tournament of Champions lead. She bettered that nine on Saturday, when she shot nine-under 28 on the back nine to cap off a preposterous third round of 60. Then came Sunday.
“You guys finally get your wish,” Jessica told reporters, referring to the star-studded group. She was right.
Folks tread carefully on this subject, but the LPGA desperately needs American women to step up, and by now we should be resigned to the fact that it won't be Lexi... It's probably better as well that the older sister reminded us that she can play a little as well. Shall we see what the TC gang thought?
4. A day after shooting 60 (!) at the LPGA’s 2021 season opener, the Diamond Resorts event, Jessica Korda fired a fourth-round 66 to advance to a playoff, where she beat world No. 5 Danielle Kang on the first extra hole. Korda played in the final group on Sunday with her sister, Nelly, the fourth-ranked player in the world, which served as a nice reminder of the sisters’ combined firepower. What most intrigues you about these super siblings?
Sens: The way they seem able to switch it on and off in a snap, from loose and laid back to fiery in an instant. You see Jessica today bopping to the music on the 18th tee, and then fist-bumping moments later? They both have that higher gear they can shift to in an eyeblink, but neither ever seems at risk of blowing a gasket.
Bamberger: The role that the athletic gene plays in determining who makes it and who does not. All that nature, in conjunction with all that nurture. The whole family is gifted. Mom, dad and bro, too.
Zak: What intrigues me most is we don’t know who is better! A great problem to have. Could we get two Korda majors in a single season? For sure. We’ve spent 2020 waiting for Nelly to break through in a major, but perhaps Jessica’s win could come first? They’re fun, that’s the bottom line.Dethier: Jessica pointed out on Saturday that she’d been winning plenty — five times, to be exact — before Nelly got on Tour. It was a lighthearted comment, but with some truth to it, too. This week’s victory was particularly intriguing because it flipped the recent script of Nelly as the ascendant talent and Jessica as the supportive older sister. Shooting 126 on the weekend is serious business.
Of course, most of the best Korean women were elsewhere this time of year, so hold that triumphalism. But still, as per Dylan, an awfully good start.... Except, you know, for Danielle. Had to be a tough, or at least weird, pairing for her.
The Euro Beat - This guy seems to be coming up fast on the outside:
A day in the desert supposedly set up to endorse Rory McIlroy’s chances of claiming an elusive Green Jacket at Augusta National in 11 weeks’ time instead delivered only further evidence thatTyrrell Hatton should be targeting majors of his own.
Hatton brushed McIlroy aside at the Abu Dhabi Championship, thereby delivering a fourth worldwide success since late 2019. When golf’s world rankings are published on Monday, Hatton could find himself above McIlroy and as high as fifth. The 29-year-old from High Wycombe is worthy of more widespread plaudits than have arrived this far.
Rory winning the Masters? Heh, that's a good one, Ewan. But just a word of caution... If you're inclined to lay a few bob on the event, I do hope you "Know when to lay up™. But Hatton ranking higher than Rory in the OWGR is a shocker for sure.... hopefully it shocks some urgency into the Ulsterman.
But Hatton is one of those guys that's demonstrated he can win, though his play at the biggies hasn't been up to his standards:
Hatton has all but secured a place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team for later this year already. He isentitled to further, lofty goals. “Everyone in their career, their goal is to win a major and I’m no different,” said Hatton. “Obviously the majors last year for me were disappointing, I missed the cut in all three. But golf’s a funny game. You’re trying your best every single week, and some weeks, it sort of works out better than others. So I’m hoping that in 2021, the majors fall in good weeks for me.”
Hatton has struck up a wonderfully successful partnership with the charismatic Scottish caddie Mick Donaghy. “Mick has won four times the amount that I have,” said Hatton with a smile. That point relates to experience. “I love our partnership and working together. I’m hoping that continues for a very long time.”
Not only do I assume that will change, but he'll be a beat at Whistling Straights for sure...
In posting on the event, Geoff ties it to the Englishman's Tuesday obligations. What were those? I guess you missed this from the amusing folks at the Euro Tour's media ops:
These guys are good, to coin a phrase... The problem is... well, you know the humorless bunch from Ponte Vedra Beach? Geoff articulates the same concern that I feel:
I know, we should enjoy these until the PVB Fun Police pounce and scrub from the internet.
Video comes down in 3,2,1....
But methinks Alistair Tate way overinterprets with this:
Want to know where that huge intangible called team spirit comes from that’s helped Europe win nine of the last 12 Ryder Cups despite often having weaker teams? Watch the European Tour’s latest social media success: Angry Golfers.
The European Tour social media team has once again produced a vignette that’s not only entertaining, but helps explain why European Tour players come together every two years to form a cohesive unit to take on the might of the United States.
The European Tour social media team has obviously scripted and planned this brilliant vignette, but they wouldn’t have had to cajole the players into taking part. In fact, I bet there was no need to go through management groups to get to the participants. The players would have been up for it right from the get go. It’s just an extension of the banter, the practical jokes, that never stops on the European Tour.
Making putts is also good... I'm not saying this isn't a factor, but I think the far bigger issue is being the underdog.
Tait's premise would go down better, had he not used it in connection with this guy:
“I started to think it was a bit of a fallacy all this talk about the camaraderie about the European Team, that maybe that idea was over-played because half the guys play in America and the other half play in Europe but it’s real,” McDowell said. “It does exist. I saw it this week in front of my own eyes. I saw Rory McIlroy lift Tyrrell Hatton’s spirits. I saw Justin Rose being able to lift Thorbjorn Olesen up to his level. I’ve seen it happen. I know it’s real.“European players naturally gel together without thinking. They become different people every two years. It comes naturally. Rory McIlroy’s a different person this week than he is week to week on the PGA Tour when he’s looking after himself. Seve was the same. So was Ollie (Jose Maria Olazabal).”
Really? Because the Rory we saw yesterday in Abu Dhabi looked remarkably similar to the Rory that went out first in singles against Patrick in 2016 and against JT in France... As for comparing Rory to Seve? People have forfeited their commentary license for less...
The TC panel considers Tyrell, though with this rather over-the-top framing:
2. In the past 14 months, Tyrrell Hatton has won the Turkish Airlines Open; the Arnold Palmer Invitational; the BMW PGA Championship, the Euro tour’s flagship event; and, on Sunday, the Abu Dhabi Championship. Is Hatton the most dangerous player in golf right now?
Not even close, no disrespect intended.
Sens: Not as long as Dustin Johnson is still walking the planet.
Bamberger: No, but he is most underrated. Until all those wins were put together in one sentence rich in semicolons, I had no idea.
Zak: He’s dangerous in the sense that we won’t take him totally seriously … and then he’ll bag another big victory. Could he win the Masters? TOTALLY. And then he’d seem even more dangerous. But as Sens said, DJ owns that title until he finishes outside the top 20 in any big event.Dethier: Hatton is among the 10 most dangerous players in golf right now, which seems like a high level of danger. There are still times that Hatton doesn’t seem wholly comfortable — he missed cuts at all three majors in 2020 — but hoo boy, when he’s in the zone, flagsticks get scared.
He's a nice little player, but until he starts showing up in bigger events, I'd have him just a little lower than that world ranking.
Of course, these two things are not at all alike:
3. Among the players Hatton beat in Abu Dhabi was Rory McIlroy, who led by one going into the final round only to do something we’ve seen time and again from him in recent months: come up short on Sunday; McIlroy shot an even-par 72 that left him five back off Hatton, in solo third. Meanwhile, at the American Express, in Palm Springs, 54-hole co-leader Tony Finau, who also has struggled to close out events, shot 68 to finish four back of Si Woo Kim. (Finau’s fourth-round score was two worse than that of any other player who finished in the top five.) See any similarities in this duo’s Sunday struggles?
Sens: Sometimes the obvious answer is the right answer. And the obvious answer is that it’s become a mental issue for them both. No one is immune to the hobgoblins in this game.
Bamberger: I would agree. To paraphrase Bob Jones, there’s Thursday, Friday and Saturday golf, and then there is Sunday golf, and it is not at all the same thing.
Zak: I definitely do not want to equate the two. Finau can’t get it across the finish line anywhere. Rory contends so much he’s going to struggle to seal the deal at times. He’s probably thinking about it a good bit. I’ll get worried if he doesn’t win by summertime.Dethier: What’s most similar about their Sunday struggles is that they’re generally still playing solid, if unspectacular, final rounds of golf — and getting beaten by ridiculous performances by other golfers. It would be easier to criticize these guys if they were shooting, like, 79 every Sunday. But Finau shot 68 this afternoon! He’s hardly going to change careers anytime soon.
Yeah, the bit about it being in their heads is likely true enough, but they're quite obviously at different stages of their careers. There's no reason to over-react to Rory in Abu Dhabi the first week of the year. The far bigger issue, and I'm not sure what the comparables would be, is that he plays his worst when he wants it the most ( see, for example, Augusta and Portrush).
One last bit from this event, az worthy contender for the title, worst lie ever. I'm just going to show you the lie:
Sheesh, looks like that ball is wearing a toupee. Here's the skinny:
Miguel Vidaor was called for a ruling. Jorge Campillo, during Friday’s second round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, had hit his drive down the 1st fairway at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Vidaor, the tournament director, saw Campillo. Vidaor saw Campillo’s clubs.“I got close to him, and I said, ‘Jorge, what’s the problem?’ because I couldn’t see any balls lying around,” Vidaor said on a video on the European Tour’s social media feeds.“And he said, ‘Well, that’s my problem.’”
For sure.
Campillo’s ball had hit about a 3-golf-ball-long divot left by a previous player, and upon contact, it improbably, completely covered the front of the ball and provided shade for the rest. So particularly placed was the strip of grass and mud that Vidaor, at first, thought it was done purposefully.“Obviously that wasn’t the case because there was evidence to that,” Vidaor said on the video, “so I spoke to the scorer who was scoring the hole, and he saw it all live, and basically what happened was the divot was left in an awkward position, and the ball actually went at the divot in speed, and the divot kind of wrapped the ball and ended up on top of it.”
But who doesn't like a story with happy ending?
As hard as that might be to do, the ruling is easy.Campillo could hit the ball, but Vidaor estimated that he’d have to hit three or four inches behind it in order to not move it ahead of time. Campillo could also remove the divot without penalty, as it’s a loose impediment. But, according to the Rules, if “your removal of a loose impediment causes your ball to move, your ball must be replaced on its original spot (which if not known must be estimated). If your moved ball had been at rest anywhere except on the putting green or in the teeing area, you get one penalty stroke.”Campillo, Vidaor said, “decided because it was so bad, the amount of divot he had between him and the club, he thought, ‘Well, this is like a penalty stroke so I might as well take the risk of moving the divot and hopefully the ball won’t move.’”
Campillo, under the eye of Vidaor, grabbed both ends of the divot, and after about 15 seconds, had moved it without moving the ball. “I would have to say he would be a good surgeon,” Vidaor said.
Alas, not THAT happy, as Campillo missed the cut.
That's all for today folks, and we'll gather again later in the week.
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