The Loop
Video: Bill Haas steals the show in Hollywood
The PGA Tour has been set up for potential monotony with tournaments every week and golf having been stretched basically into a year-round sport. The fantastic finishes 2012 has brought so far, though, have left fans wanting even more.
The streak of a golfer coming back from at least six shots back on a Sunday may have ended at an incredible three weeks (though the winner wasn't the 54-hole leader yet again), but Riviera's conclusion topped everything we've already seen in this exciting season.
Bill Haas stole the show this time in a dramatic plot fitting of the Northern Trust Open's Hollywood setting. The reigning Fed Ex Cup champion made a 45-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to stun Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley and claim his fourth PGA Tour victory.
What made the tournament's ending so special was the fact that Mickelson and Bradley were even around for the playoff. Both made unlikely birdies on Riviera's demanding 18th hole just to have a chance in extra holes. Check out the highlights, which also include a spectacular round by Sergio Garcia in his 2012 PGA Tour debut:
The tour's excitement isn't about to die down either. On the schedule this week is the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, which always draws interest for its unique format.
It also marks the first of three-straight weeks in which the game's biggest star, Tiger Woods, will tee it up. Such a stretch is rare for the 14-time major winner, but perhaps an indication of how badly he wants to get back to finishing off events the way Haas did at Riviera. If Woods can do that, then this already very entertaining season will only get better.
-- Alex Myers