May We See You In March: Webb Simpson Wins The Players

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The final Players in May went out in a blaze of red number glory, with winner Webb Simpson's -18 under total in no way undermined by the 71.275 scoring average, a whopping two strokes lower than 2017’s 73.291.

Immaculate conditioning, humidity keeping the turf moist enough and a course that Tiger Woods noted for playing incredibly short all week, did well to stand up to today's finest. Though noteworthy is May's 63 trend with Webb Simpson and Brooks Koepka posting course-record tying 63’s in 2018, meaning six of the eight 63s were posted in May. 

Webb Simpson will defend next March when the course is overseeded with rye grass, the wind is blowing more and in less predictable directions and likely plays faster. While this won't address the incredible vulnerability of the par-5's, the course may play effectively narrower when the Bermuda grasses role is muted.

Steve DiMeglio's USA Today game story notes that Simpson wasn't at his finest Sunday but the best and most impressive work was behind him.

Mike McAllister on how the long Sunday wait, the pressure, TPC Sawgrass, the early charges all made a seven stroke leader much harder to hold on to than Simpson imagined.

Brentley Romine at Golfweek with notes, quotes and shots of the final round.

Simpson's mixed bag of sticks courtesy of David Dusek. 

Ben Everill went deep on Simpson's remarkable putting week and how it's now a strength of his game. 

Simpson spoke frankly all week about issues he faced in changing his putting style as a result of the anchor ban, admitting after the win how, in a roundabout way, he's grateful now for the anchoring ban as I write for Golfweek.

Tiger Woods finished at 11 under and was in a tie for 11th, but gave the crowd a thrill and continued to assert that he's well ahead of schedule. DiMeglio's Woods roundup is here. 

Dan Kilbridge with a Golfweek wrap on Tiger's week that started out ok and almost evolved into something epic. 

He sure moved the ratings needle.

Mom: Webb's 19-Under-Par And Leading By An Insurmountable 7, But Hey At Least Tiger And Jordan Are Playing Together!

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Webb Simpson has a seven-stroke Players lead over Danny Lee, and as Garry Smits reports in the Florida Times-Union game story, it's a Webb-inar in great play.

There is also a clever new approach to greens that is working quite nicely (I detail here for Golfweek). There is also some incredible putting: 9.773 strokes gained to lead the field, and a Tim Clark-inspired grip detailed here by GolfChannel.com's Ryan Lavner.

Since no one has ever coughed up a 7-stroke lead in PGA Tour history according to Justin Ray, mom's across the country will undoubtedly ask what they usually want to know on Mother's Day: why is it we are watching this golf?

Great news!

This is the last time the Players will battle with Mother's Day--and the historic final May Players. Goose bumps! Maybe Dan and Johnny will cry as they sign off and say goodbye to May memories. 

Okay, that didn't work.

So try this: Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth are -8 and teeing off at 2:05 ET! 

And Ian Poulter's raging! All is right with the world. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Coverage begins on NBC at 2 pm but Golf Channel and PGA Tour Live Under Par have plenty of pre-telecast coverage as well. 

Roundup: A Better Than Most Players Championship Day One

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With light rough and a golf course that changed pretty dramatically as the day went on, the mega-pairings wheeled out some so-so play while an impressive six rounds of 66 were posted in the 2018 Players.

Steve DiMeglio of USA Today on the more fizzle-than-sizzle Woods-Mickelson-Fowler opening day grouping that saw Woods shoot even par, Mickelson 79 and Fowler 74. Tiger thought the course was gettable and hopes for a big Friday morning, writes Golfweek's Dan Kilbridge.

Woods' day was highlighted by this eagle at the 9th.

One of those 66ers, Dustin Johnson, turned to AimPoint to solve the TPC Sawgrass greens and longtime user of the method, Adam Scott (69), as I write for Golfweek along with details on Johnson's new Taylor Made putter.

Randell Mell wonders if Dustin Johnson is underappreciated.

Defending champ Si Woo Kim is lurking after an opening 67, notes Will Gray.

Jordan Spieth felt constrained by the dome that is TPC Sawgrass, writes Rex Hoggard for GolfChannel.com.

Brian Wacker with the freak Brooks Koepka injury update and explanation for Golf World.

Dylan Dethier at Golf.com isn't a fan of mega pairings, sensing this was more of a PGA Tour Live play than anything else.

Rory McIlroy sees no cause for concern in Spieth's struggles here, writes Eamon Lynch for Golfweek..

Phil stumbled to a 79 due to fatigue but defended his new shirts with his usual dry wit, as I write for Golfweek.

ESPN.com's Michael DiRocco followed the group and has some of the better gallery comments directed Phil's way.

Mr. Style shared his thoughts:

Round 2 TV times and groupings.

Grayson Murray (72) shared his special way of bypassing traffic. AKA, Living Under Par. A screen capture of his Instagram story:

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The first round highlights:

Players Instagram Special: Who Showed And Who Didn't For Furyk's Ryder Cup BBQ, Pageantry At 17, LPGA Players At The Players, Ponte Vedra Inn's 17th

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Hmmm...the Masters Champ, Captain America, had something better to do than attend the Ryder Cup bonding dinner at Captain Jim Furyk's house. Looks like some of the guys wore their very best t-shirts to impress the Captain!

Tuesday's concert and military appreciation day...

Some fine LPGA players spent the day at the Players, posed for photos with their male peers and took a blimp ride above TPC Sawgrass.

I stopped by Ponte Vedra Inn and marveled at Herbert Strong's 17th hole.

Horschel, Thomas See An Uptick In (Good) Fan Behavior

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Or at least, fewer PGA Tour incidents between fans and players. 

After reaching dreadful depths in March, the combination of the Masters and perhaps some awareness that telling players what losers they are is really not cool, has dissipated according to Billy Horschel and Justin Thomas.

From Garry Smits in the Florida Times-Union, writing on the fan behavior issues in past Players and quotes two players who have been subjected to abuse.

“I think some fans are coming to a point where they’re policing themselves,” Horschel said. “I’ve seen that already where a fan will tell another fan, ‘hey, that’s out of line ... you need to stop that.’”

Thomas said he’s surprised that he hasn’t been the target of comments at tournament sites similar to the social media flak he took for having the fan ejected at the Honda Classic.

“It seems to be getting better,” he said. “I haven’t had any issues, which is surprising. I would have thought I would have maybe heard some here or there. I feel like everybody is learning and the fans are getting better. Not that they were bad in the first place. It’s just that you don’t want those couple here or there to ruin it for the rest of them.”

With high temperatures forecast for Friday, a 6:30 pm alcohol sales cut-off and the young stars out, the limits of good behavior will be tested.

Rare Vintage Tiger-Phil Pairing Nears, And The Talk Leading Up To It Is Just As Fun

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Thanks to the PGA Tour making the rare move to pair Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, accompanied by the equally rare sight of Phil Mickelson making his way into an interview room, we have some fun stories and revelations to amp up excitement for Thursday's 1:52 pm ET grouping with Rickie Fowler. 

Tiger remains upbeat and seems even more unphased by any burden to win, which I noted in this Golfweek assessment that also includes a few other fun comments from Woods' press session.

Maybe most surprising of all was Tiger's revelation that Phil offered short game help in 2015 during the chip-yip phase.

Shoot, at this pace we'll soon find out Tiger spent days Googling holistic arthritis remedies for Mickelson and that Phil offered to visit Orlando to help find Tiger's Escalade the right auto repair shop. After that, it could be the ultimate sign of a bond: sharing jet rides to tournaments. Sky's the limit!

ESPN.com's Bob Harig focuses on Phil's assertion that Tiger's peak will never be repeated by any golfer ever, and reviews the head-to-head match up, which this time around lacks some of the creative tension of past pairings.

In all, they have played in the same group just 35 times, with Woods holding a slight edge in their round-by-round scores at 16-15-4. Woods' scoring average is also slightly better, 69.60 to 69.91.

Woods won five of the tournaments in which they were grouped at some point, including the 2006 PGA Championship and the 2008 U.S. Open. Mickelson won three.

 

Brian Wacker notes at Golf World that the harmony is all the more touching giving where these two have been at times, though this is also hardly Ali-Frazier kissing and making up, either.

It's Alive! The Dreaded Fifth Major Debate Briefly Resurfaces...

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Poking around Google News, I found one story from the last four years wondering about possible major status for The Players Championship. Or, as we knew it many years ago before seemingly disappearing from all known radar screens: the fifth major debate. 

Today's resurfacing was the first I've seen or heard outside of Monday's Live From segment devoted to whether golf's Grand Slam should expand by one. Both Brandel Chamblee and David Duval declared the event a major (already), while Frank Nobilo was the dissenting vote over the course of nine minutes. 

This debate seemingly died several years ago from fatigue and almost no demand for major status. The tournament has never actively campaigned for the status and in recent years, millions have been poured into improving the fan experience and course.

Furthermore, when The Players moved to May it gained an enhanced, stand-alone identity that will carry over to a new, one-week earlier March date.

Perks were added for the winner, including a huge purse.

The World Golf Hall of Fame now gives Players wins special recognition. It is one of the most prestigious titles in golf. And as the LPGA's Evian event has learned the hard way, forcing major status can actually do damage. 

Which is why I argued on today's Morning Drive with Damon Hack and Eamon Lynch, that even suggesting this is a major undermines the case that could be made some day for a major new place in the record books.

National Teacher Day Lets Famous Golf Instructors Say What They Really Think

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The Forecaddie on two of golf's very best saying more than normal about their pupils. Nice work by Morning Drive's Damon Hack pulling these nuggets from today's guests.

Pete Cowen on Henrik Stenson's focus levels (hint, he's not jazzed).  Here's the clip from GolfChannel.com.

Butch Harmon on wanting to see Dustin Johnson work harder. 

And the Harmon clip.

Quail Hollow Draws Best Rating Since '15, Second Best Sports Event Sunday

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Another positive ratings story for the PGA Tour, as CBS's final round broadcast of the Wells Fargo Championship drew a 2.2 overnight rating for Jason Day's win over Aaron Wise, reports SBD's Austin Karp. That's up from a 1.6 last year when Brian Harman outlasted Dustin Johnson and Roberto Castro.

The rating put PGA Tour golf behind only the NBA Western Conference Semifinals game four between the Warriors and Pelicans (4.1).

Saturday's Kentucky Derby on NBC won the weekend with a 9.1 overnight rating.

Jason Day By The Numbers: 2 Wins In 7 2018 Starts, 231-Yard 7-Iron

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Reading over John Turner's Golfweek account of the Wells Fargo Championship, it's hard not to be struck by a second win on a very limited schedule for Jason Day, and that shot of the day at 17.

No typos here...

The most stunning shot of the tournament came at its toughest (playing more than half a stroke above par Sunday): the par-3 17th. Following his birdie at 16 to pull one ahead of Wise, Day opted for 7-iron staring down at a green he said looks “real tiny” from 231 yards away with water short, left and long. The plan was to fly the ball into an upslope on the green, killing the momentum and letting it settle near the pin.

In Day’s words, here’s what happened next:

“When I hit it, it was on a cracking line, it was beautiful,” he said. “And then it just had this massive bounce, hit on the downslope and fortunately hit the pin, which was nice, and went to about two or three feet. Things like that are what you need to win golf tournaments.”

The final round highlights from PGA Tour Entertainment:

Tiger Can't Figure Out Quail Hollow's Greens, Heads To Players For Marquee Pairing With Phil, Rickie

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From Bob Harig's ESPN.com account of Tiger's mediocre Wells Fargo Championship appearance in advance of his return to the TPC Sawgrass, where Woods has a two wins, a runner-up and a U.S. Amateur win.

For the fourth straight day, Woods needed more than 30 putts in his round, taking 126 for the week. And after hitting 15 greens in regulation on Saturday, he managed just 10 on Sunday and hit only four fairways. He hit just 25 of 56 for the week.

As well as Woods is hitting the ball off the tee -- he averaged 313 yards from the tee -- he's not been accurate enough to give himself chances to hit it close. And when you're putting poorly, even hitting it close is no guarantee.

Statistically, it was Tiger's best ballstriking week in his return, writes Golfweek's Dan Kilbridge.

He was inside the top 20 in stokes gained: putting at Torrey Pines, PGA National and Bay Hill. He was 39th while playing Innisbrook for the first time as a professional at the Valspar Championship, but he pulled off a runner-up finish due to his superior iron play.

Woods set season highs in strokes gained: off-the-tee (2.997) and strokes gained: approach-the-green (4.530) at the Wells Fargo, which illustrates just how uncomfortable he was around the greens while finishing T-55.

Tiger Tracker's round-up of notes features a fairly blunt assessment: great distance off the tee, too many wayward drives and way too many birdies, an inability to adapt to the green speed, but great spirits after the round. 

Now The Players awaits, where Tiger is excited to be playing with Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler, writes GolfChannel.com's Nick Menta and Rex Hoggard. 

As for his light birdie week, including Sunday's shutout, master statistician Justin Ray offered this:

More Changes To Quail Hollow, With A Lemonade Twist

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Preparing to host the Wells Fargo Championship, last year's PGA Championship host underwent yet more design modifications on top of modifications made to the previous modifications. 

The good news: Quail Hollow's green speeds and rough are more subdued this week thanks to a ryegrass overseed and elimination of some teeing grounds from consideration.

The one tee someone said was better suited to a lemonade stand is not available according to club chairman/host/lead tinkerer/comedian Johnny Harris. From Rex Hoggard's GolfChannel.com report:

“I had a number of my friends who were playing in the tournament tell me that tee was better suited as a lemonade stand,” Harris joked in the video of the new tee box on the fourth hole. “I doubt we’ll ever see that tee used again in competition.”

True to his word, on Tuesday as players made their way around the course to prepare for this week’s event, there was an actual lemonade stand perched on the back of the fourth tee box.

George Savaricas reports for Golf Central on player reaction.

Walk-up Music: It's Not Just A Way To Play...It's A Way To Be...Lame

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My phone was ringing off the hook with non-golfers totally engaged by this weekend's walk up music, so I saw little of the Zurich Classic.

Actually that's not true. The only people who saw wealthy golfers take practice swings to music were in person or watching on Golf Channel. And they all really like golf already. 

Nonetheless, the poorly executed "walk up" music that played between first tee announcement and tee shot was "awkward" at best, as Ryan Lavner noted, or a symptom of something far more peculiar. I'll take the latter and call it good old-fashioned desperation coupled with poor execution. 

But the Commissioner Jay Monahan, on hand to witness this historic moment at least tells us who thought of something he claims brought in new fans: Daniel Berger.

From Ryan Lavner's report at the Zurich:

“I think we need walk-up music on the PGA Tour,” he said. “Every other sport does it, and it creates a really good energy. I’d like to see that happen one day.”

Less than three years later, the Zurich Classic became the first Tour event to use walk-up music on the first tee – even if Berger wasn’t around to experience it, after missing the 36-hole cut here with Gary Woodland.

“That was the authorship right then and there,” Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said Sunday at TPC Louisiana. “It made sense when he said it, and it’s proven to be right.”

Mercifully, the tour social accounts posted only one walk-up moment from Sunday's play. Now that's living under par.

Zurich 2018: How Will An Alternate Shot Final Round Play Out?

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Given that alternate shot is better suited for match play, two rounds at the Zurich Classic is a tall order. Installing the pressure-packed format will test the bond between players Sunday. That's why the bond between last year's runner-ups Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown may play a bigger role than normal with Sunday's revamped format.

As Dan Kilbridge notes though, it may not matter to sponsor Zurich, which has seen solid momentum and bigger Saturday crowds in 2018 following the two-man format's debut in 2017, despite most of the big names faltering.

The walk-up music experiment Saturday was a bit strange given that music was not played when players were walking up to the tee.

This is very awkward and needs work:

There was at least Charley Hoffman, walking up and hitting his ball as the walk-up music played:

@charleyhoffman knows how to party (swinging on beat too!) #LiveUnderPar

A post shared by PGA TOUR (@pgatour) on

Duval: "This was about being with a friend, reuniting, having our wives together for a few days"

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Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk and former world No. 1 David Duval cobbled together a fancy 7-under-par 65 Thursday in the Zurich Classic.

Now a full-time Golf Channel contributor, the 46-year-old spoke to Ryan Lavner about what exactly he's trying to do at the Zurich, making a run at the title all that much more fun if he and Furyk can keep it going, plus other stuff.

One highlight:

And that could have been the extent of his season (save for his annual appearance at The Open), but he was drawn to the idea of the team format at the Zurich, to the idea of playing with Jim Furyk, with whom he’s been friends for the past 32 years, dating to their days in junior golf. So Duval reached out, asking the U.S. Ryder Cup captain if he wanted to team up, for old times’ sake.

“This was about being with a friend, reuniting, having our wives together for a few days,” said Duval, who estimated that he’s played more than 100 practice rounds with Furyk over the years. “Expectation-wise, I don’t know what they are for me. I don’t get to participate out here and compete.”