18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…
- Tiger Woods has made six official starts since his 2021 car accident, and he’s finished 72 holes just twice. That small dose of competition includes a missed cut and three WD’s.
- Tiger’s goal of playing once a month seemed ambitious to many when he made that declaration last December at the Hero World Challenge and even though his inability to even finish 36 holes was attributed to the flu, it just appears that his progression toward something significant becomes increasingly more tenuous.
- For me to believe that Tiger can possibly contend somewhere at some point will require him to progress forward from wherever the previous starting point appeared to be, psychologically and physically. There is simply no way to declare that his week at Riviera was progress. So where is the next place to possibly achieve progress? Bay Hill or the Players?
- Scottie Scheffler squandered a great opportunity to win in Phoenix and added another distressing week of putting at Riviera in an event he never contended in. The historic statistical season of 2023 is following an eerily similar pattern in 2024. Top three ball-striking with putting stats outside the top 100. Scottie doesn’t need to putt great to win because he hits more good shots than anyone, but putting poorly will cost him more wins and Augusta is appearing now on the horizon.
- David Puig, 22 years old, and currently one of the youngest players on LIV golf won again on the Asian Tour. Last year he started outside the top 1000 in the official world golf rankings but his willingness to play Asian Tour events outside of his LIV schedule has given him a huge boost. His win this week in Malaysia is added to his win last fall in Singapore and he’s now projected inside the top 150 in the world. Another example of the insane depth globally of players under 24.
- Jordan Spieth was rightfully disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. The question is whether the rule is too punitive, and should it even exist altogether in today’s world of digital transmission? One, the rule is most certainly too punitive. Disqualification should not be the punishment for a clerical error. I’ve heard many people declare that signing the card is a time-honored tradition. It’s a time adhered to practice; I have never considered it one of the game’s great traditions. With the level of redundancy now at the professional level maintaining the scorecard practice is romantic and I’m fine with it continuing but the sport of professional golf NEVER wants to find itself in a position to explain why the person with the lowest score was disqualified from the Masters because of a scoring error. Times change and the penalty of disqualification should be changed.
- Chase Johnson was in the Genesis Invitational on a special invite and made the cut. The 28-year-old from Kent State is trying to keep his dream alive and whatever the balance of 2024 looks like, he made the cut in a signature series event on the PGA Tour.
- Gary Woodland was in the field at Genesis on a special invite as well, and he too made the cut. The 2019 U.S. Open champion is TRULY one of the most sensible and real dudes on the PGA Tour. I wrote about his candor a few weeks ago regarding his brain tumor and Gary having success and making progress is just good.
- The end of the west coast swing, Mexico is a different category, makes me melancholy. It marks the conclusion of the best, in my opinion, stretches on the PGA Tour for golf courses and contrast. The nostalgia of the California desert, the allure of Pebble Beach, the regality of Riviera and the enormity of Phoenix. It’s top of class despite the proliferation of buffoonery at Waste Management this year.
- I played the new Crossroads at Palmetto Bluff this past week. The 9-hole, multiple routing on 52 acres from Rob Collins and Tad King. It has a decidedly Sweetens Cove bent to it, especially the communal nature of the experience. Fire pits, food trucks and soon enough a dock for boats to drive right up to the course. The holes are a blast for 17-, 37- and 77-year-old golfers. Dramatic landforms, enormous greens with countless pin-able areas and so many angles to play all the holes from. This a massive gift for the membership there and I hope they create a pathway for outside play. It’s too good not to share.
- Getting a couple days at Congaree allowed me to learn even more about the nuance of the best Fazio golf course I’ve played. The edginess is uncommon for Fazio and the turf conditions are the firmest and fastest in the USA. So much ground game can be employed, and the club is anxious to host great events. It will play host to the 2025 Palmer Cup, and it would be in the USGA’s best interest to find bring a senior open there especially with Tiger turning 50 in under two years. The PGA Tour had an ambitious bid from Congaree to host the 2026 Presidents Cup and decided on the uninspiring choice of taking it to Medinah. Congaree is making real impact on young people using golf as a pathway in life and it is a fabulous site for championship golf.
- I don’t think it’s the clothes, but Jason Day looks ten years younger. Clean shaven every day may be a factor, but he looks youthful and energized. There is real value in having your own look, which he finally now has, and he is going to be a trendy Masters pick with a building of form and his record at Augusta National.
- Our 5 Clubs book club, which we conduct on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio every two weeks, is honoring the 30th anniversary of Michael Bamberger’s “To The Linksland”. It is being republished and I highly recommend everything Michael writes and if you have not read this memoir on his journey to Europe as a newlywed to caddy on the European Tour do it now. I believe Bamberger and Jaime Diaz are the two greatest golf writers of the last 40 years.
- Hideki Matsuyama remains an enormous global star in the professional game and his final round 62 was as scintillating a round as you could construct on a Sunday at Riviera. He’s destined for the World Golf Hall of Fame and his victory at the Genesis is bold type on his resume. When Hideki starts taking his hand off the club in his follow through it means he’s staking it. His 9th career PGA Tour victory is among his absolute finest.
- I had sensible people who cover golf ask me if I was concerned with Will Zalatoris after his first start of the year. Those folks have gone into hibernation. The broomstick looks quite comfortable in his hands and his golf swing looks fantastic. He’s a superior ball striker with an absence of fear in the best fields and on the best courses. He’s trending big time.
- Patrick Cantlay is painfully slow and when he plays poorly it becomes a complete drag. Cantlay and Schauffele were beyond flat together on Sunday and their combined winless streak is at 37 months. You add with that the longshots who have already won this year and you wonder how achievable a 5-win season is anymore on the PGA Tour and that’s considering the quality of player who has departed for LIV.
- Eric Cole finished tied for 10th. When he cashes a fat check, which is regularly, I smile. The pro’s pro. I’m so all in on Eric Cole.
- Kira K. Dixon is a rising star. She’s exceedingly likable and totally comfortable asking questions of all players. She’s earned the assignment of covering swimming this summer in Paris on NBC and she’s fast-tracking for the biggest assignments in all of NBC’s sporting portfolio.