Greetings From Los Angeles, Final Thoughts Edition

While the 2008 edition couldn't top last year's classic in the thrills department, Riviera was the winner again thanks in part to wild weather, the best course conditioning I've ever seen (credit goes to Matt Morton and his hard-working crew), along with a stellar field that struggled despite decent scoring conditions over the weekend. If nothing else, the week proved Geoff Ogilvy's insistence that no rough and firm greens can give the best a great test.
Stuart Appleby approaches No. 1 Sunday (click to enlarge)

Larry Dorman in his New York Times game story saw the 10th hole as a key turning point, and while Jeff Quinney was pleased with his par salvage there, it really was a deflating way to start the back nine. When I get a chance to catch my breath I'll post some fun stuff on the 10th hole, including the ShotLink data. 

Doug Ferguson focuses on Mickelson's odd transformation at Riviera, where he went from not really liking the place to embracing it's subtleties with help from Amy Alcott.
Mickelson approaches the 3rd (click to enlarge)

You can check out Mickelson's post round exchange with the scribblers here where he talks about Amy as well as an interesting equipment adjustment that he credited.

Phil was not checking where he stood on the FedEx Cup points list (Click to enlarge)The predicted leaderboard issues thankfully never materialized since it was a two-man show, but the PGA Tour has a serious problem on their hands with the new board content (visually they are fantastic and a huge improvement).

Every time I tried to get scores today, I was met with a litany of ads, thank you's and worst of all, Fed Ex Cup points. If you want to do that stuff early in the week, fine, but not during the final round.

No. 16 Sunday (click to enlarge)Finally, I've decided that the best job in golf belongs to the dude who runs around the course carrying David Feherty's monitor. While Peter Kostis goes with the strap on, Feherty is accompanied by the lucky soul who gets to hear an endless stream of one-liners and sarcastic jabs at the telecast. I would repeat the parts I overheard, but why endanger that lucky soul's chances of hearing Feherty unplugged?
Sunday's final round hole location on No. 10 (click to enlarge)