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Can He Keep The 'Ha' In Hahn?

Jaime Diaz — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

James Hahn has all the makings of that increasingly rare breed on golf's professional tours: the genuine character.

West Coast trifecta: Woods, Mickelson, Snedeker

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 23:27:00 GMT

CBS' Konica Minolta Bizhub SwingVision Camera has never been necessary to identify the weakest swing in golf, historically a distinction belonging to the West Coast portion of the PGA Tour schedule.

The couch in January and February is a popular destination for many of the game's elite who toil into December. It wasn't that long ago that the tour season was said to start at Doral, at one time the opener of the Florida swing that served as the run-up to Augusta. And back when half-a-million dollars meant something, the tour attempted to lure them back to work with a $500,000 King of the Swing bonus to the player with the best record on the West Coast.

Today, no one is maligning the Arizona-California swing. Brandt Snedeker's two-stroke victory in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Sunday helped lay waste to the notion that it's golf's equivalent of spring training.

Snedeker's victory follows those by Tiger Woods in the Farmers Insurance Open and Phil Mickelson in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, a trifecta of America's three best players and three of the top 10-ranked players in the world.

The bonus, then, has been replaced by a penalty for those who chose to take two months off. They're now having to play catch-up, chasing a formidable triumvirate in a season that is only six weeks old.

At that, they might be chasing Snedeker all the way to September and the FedEx Cup playoffs. Already this year, Snedeker has finished third (Hyundai Tournament of Champions), tied for second (Farmers Insurance Open), second (Waste Management Open) and first. He also has finished in the top 10 in seven of his last nine tournaments dating to late August, with two victories, three seconds, and a FedEx Cup championship.

"He believes in himself now," NBC's Johnny Miller said the week before. "I think he's got a shot at maybe being the best in the world at some point. I think he's just a notch away right now."

Heady talk, but not off the mark. Snedeker arrived in Pebble Beach sixth in the World Ranking and was expected to move to fourth with his victory. CBS' Jim Nantz noted that since the start of the 2011 season, Snedeker is tied with Woods in PGA Tour victories with four, second only to Rory McIlroy's five wins.

"To think what's happened the last four months has been pretty crazy," Snedeker said. "Finishing a tournament like this off with the lead gives me a ton of confidence going into the Masters, the U.S. Open, all the great venues we have. That's next on the list. I've won five times out here now. The important thing now is to win majors."

Snedeker closed with a 65 that was borderline flawless to match the near perfection of the winter weather at Pebble Beach. His round on a sun-splashed day included six birdies, an eagle and a lone bogey to extend the tour's streak of marquee winners.

Woods to Mickelson to Snedeker is an emphatic and impressive reminder to those on the sidelines that the season starts in January, not in March.

Follow @JohnStrege

Golf World Monday: Caddie races, pro and con

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:20:00 GMT

By Dave Shedloski

From the February 4 issue on Golf World Monday:

It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. The latest wrinkle to the alternate entertainment lineup at the Waste Management Phoenix Open is the caddie races at the par-3 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale, the "stadium" hole surrounded by grandstands that seat more than 20,000 boisterous fans.

Photo by Getty Images

Caddies race from tee to green, a distance up to 162 yards, a decent jaunt, especially with clubs on their backs. We think they're fun to watch, frankly. Whether it's Kenny Harms sliding head first into the green or Brent Henley body-checking older brother Kip after stumbling and falling head over heels, the races are something completely different.

Even players Y.E. Yang and Kyle Stanley got into the spirit yesterday. Hey, we're for just about anything that brings more paying customers to golf, so we have no problem with caddies adding to the festivities with wind sprints. But that spill Brent Henley took could have resulted in a serious injury or damage to the clubs belonging to Robert Garrigus.

Just something to think about. Perhaps next year the loopers should at least put down the clubs before leaving the starting blocks. Less risk to life, limb and graphite.

Follow @DaveShedloski

Phil wrests golf news from deer antler spray

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 22:33:00 GMT

By John Strege

The week in golf began with deer antler spray in the news and Vijay Singh invoking the George Costanza defense ("Was that wrong? Should I not have done that? I tell you, I gotta plead ignorance on this thing"). A more credible explanation might have been a twist on an old cliche, that it takes a five-point buck to make a buck.

Singh subsequently withdrew from the Waste Management Phoenix Open, depriving the large and raucous crowds there the opportunity to render their vocal judgment on one of the game's oddest controversies. However the PGA Tour views his transgression, Singh playing the 16th hole at the TPC Scottsdale might have been punishment enough.

Phil Mickelson greets fans walking up the 18th fairway at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Photo: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Into this void stepped Phil the Thrill, Mickelson his own three-ring circus, wresting the news from deer antler spray (and beam-ray lights and hologram chips, the other accoutrements of Singh's training regimen).

Mickelson was dazzling all week, opening with an 11-under par 60 that came within an 18th-hole lipout of 59 and leading wire-to-wire in winning for the 41st time in his PGA Tour career.

Nick Faldo once won the British Open by making 18 straight pars in the final round. The odds of Mickelson ever playing with similar efficient monotony are roughly the same as deer antler spray curing your slice. Or your rheumatism.

It is what makes him the greatest show on turf. You never know what to expect, other than to expect something special when you least expect it. For instance, a week after struggling to make the cut in his hometown, he exhibited his Hall of Fame bona fides at the Phoenix Open.

The desert hare that he pulled from his hat was a first-round 60 that he followed with a 65, a round that included a double-bogey on the 18th hole, for those who might have been given reason to expect sustained brilliance. His third-round 64 included birdies on the last four holes and he hit it stiff at 16, thrilling the stadium crowd there that never requires a reason to raise a ruckus.

The big tease carried over into the final round, too, where he allowed his six-stroke lead to be halved by Brandt Snedeker, before closing out his third career victory in this event, this one by a margin of four.

Mickelson and the Phoenix Open were made for one another. An Arizona State graduate and former resident of Scottsdale, Mickelson is akin to a favorite son here, and the manner in which he connects to crowds has further endeared him.

"Phil has picked up where Arnold [Palmer] left off," NBC's Peter Jacobsen said, alluding to the man who set the standard in developing a rapport with crowds. "He really embraces the whole atmosphere, not just this hole, but he does it every week. He's consistent."

The Phoenix crowds, meanwhile, provide an annual and necessary reminder that golf needn't be a funereal experience, that fun has its place. And they never have more fun than they do when Mickelson is in the middle of it, though they might have proved otherwise had Singh elected to play.

One can only speculate what the volatile mix of sun, beer and deer antler spray might have produced, but suffice it to say that it would have been memorable.

Follow @JohnStrege

Counting Down Best of Buddies-Trip Destinations. No. 8: Scottsdale

Matt Ginella — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:48:00 GMT

If I were planning a buddies trip to Scottsdale, I’d go during the week of the Waste Management Phoenix Open (Jan. 28-Feb. 3). Often referred to as “the greatest show on grass,” some would argue...

Podcast: More on the WM Phoenix Open

Matt Ginella — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:44:00 GMT

I talk to Sam Weinman, editor of GolfDigest.com, about my recent blog post and more on why the Waste Management Phoenix Open is good for the game. Listen to the podcast--Matty G.(Follow me on Twitter...

Golf Requires The Hardest Thing To Pull Off In All Of Sports

Jaime Diaz — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

As Spencer Levin and Kyle Stanley have shown us in this early season, the pressure of closing a PGA tournament might be the hardest of any sport.

How They Hit That: Bombs off the tee, by Kyle Stanley and Jamie Sadlowski

Roger Schiffman — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:51:00 GMT

Editor's Note: Every Monday Kevin Hinton, the Director of Instruction at Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley, N.Y. and one of Golf Digest's Best Young Teachers, tells you how a tour player hits a great...

J.B. Holmes takes another positive step in his comeback

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:51:00 GMT

After failing to reach the top tier of the putting surface from only 116 yards on the third hole of last week's Waste Management Phoenix Open, J.B. Holmes threw his club.

It was a sign of great frustration, obviously, and who could blame the guy? Here, after all, was the kind of vulnerable par 5 the long-hitting Holmes, a two-time winner of this tournament, usually tames with little difficulty. Now he'd have to struggle to make par, which he didn't.

Yet the reaction was also a sign of great encouragement -- a sign that Holmes, five months after brain surgery to repair defects in his cerebellum, is inching his way back toward normal. Forget all the talk about the surgery lending him a new perspective on life. Holmes gets all that. He also gets that he is a professional, a proud one at that, which means he is focused on returning to the player he was before, and as quickly as possible.

"It's no fun playing bad," said Holmes, 29, who tied for 45th in his first 72-hole finish since last July. "I'm not hitting the shots I normally hit."

Video: Kyle Stanley's remarkable rally

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:14:00 GMT

For a second straight week, a golfer collapsed down the stretch of a PGA Tour event. Amazingly, last week's victim was this week's benefactor.

Kyle Stanley started the final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open trailing by eight shots, but a 66 combined with 54-hole leader Spencer Levin's 75 added up to his first tour win. More importantly for the rising star, it washed the bad taste out of his mouth from a final-hole meltdown at Torrey Pines the week before. Here are the highlights from this remarkable turnaround:

Now it's Spencer Levin who is left winless after two close calls (He also lost in a playoff at the Mayakoba Classic last year). Getting over blowing a seven-shot lead on a Sunday will be hard, but as we saw yesterday, it doesn't have to take long.

-- Alex Myers
Follow @AlexMyers3