Great Scott!!!

It had been a long time since Adam Scott was ranked in the top 5 of the WGR’s, and even longer since his break through win at the 2004 Players Championship. After that win at Sawgrass most expects had this Burberry clad Australian as one of the contenders to test Tiger in the decades to follow. This has not exactly been the case. Although Scott has 17 professional wins worldwide (7 on the PGA Tour) his bout to be one of the top players in the world hit the skids following his 2008 win at the Byron Nelson. That win was a peak before a very large valley.

This downfall started shortly after his Nelson victory with a finger injury that seemed to bother Scott maybe more than it should have. Although respectable showings at the US Open and Open Championship that very same season, his MC at the PGA started a disturbing trend of four missed cuts in the next five majors. His only unblemish in that stretch was a less then impressive T36 at the 2009 US Open, not exactly the kind of performances those expects predicted out of Scott. Some explained his poor play on his injury, while others blamed it on his inconsistent and sometimes downright awful putting; while even others talked about his personal life and breakup with his long time girlfriend as the major distraction. But one this was for sure Scott was not playing the kind of golf he had been expected to play.

Although Scott was Greg Norman’s final captain’s pick for the 2009 International Presidents Cup squad, he did not exactly step up as he finished the weekend 1-4 in his matches leading to the US blowout victory. But maybe this confidence that one of the best Australian’s of all time placed on Scott did something for the young man entering the 2010 season. No one would confuse his season thus far as something of genius for Scott, but it has been a step in the right direction. It started with a much-improved T18 performance at the Masters and lead to his outstanding 54-hole weekend in San Antonio.

Rain battered much of Central and Eastern Texas washing out Friday at the Velero Texas Open. But the guys tried their best to play catch-up with a 36 hole Sunday effort. What they didn’t realize is that they had to play catch-up to Adam Scott who’s magical 36 hole Sunday of 66-67 paved the way to his one stroke victory over hard charging Swede Freddie Jacobson. Scott totally found his game, and more importantly found magic in a place that had toyed with him for so long…his flat stick. Aside from a par miss at the 72nd, which slightly opened the door for Jacobson, his Sunday putting was as good as ever. This win marked Scott’s 3rd victory in the state of Texas (08 Nelson and 07 Houston). He will have the chance to clinch the career Texas-slam in two weeks at Colonial.

But for now, he has reintroduced himself on the world stage and may be primed to make a major championship run. He is just 2 months shy of 30, but will get that final chance to cash in that major win in his 20’s at Pebble Beach next month. If he could somehow pull that one out, he could start the prime of his career the way many expected. Either way, he will be teeing it up at the Tradition Unlike Any Other next Spring and who knows, maybe just maybe he’s bound for something even greater. If not, he’s still dating Ana Ivanovic, and that’s great too!

Sad Story...Erica Blasburg

On a very sad side note…my condolences go out to the family, friends and all who knew LPGAer Erica Blasburg who was found dead in her Las Vegas home on Monday. This is an extremely sad story and took the golf wold by surprise. Thoughts and prayers from everyone in the Jimothy family are with all in mourning.

Not In’Tim’idated

It is the ultimate risk reward golf course. It has fairways lined with man-made ponds, lob lolly pines, rough filled mounds, and 50+ yard sand traps. It poses some of the most nerve-racking and manhood swallowing shots in all of golf including an island green. It is the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedre Beach, FL and is the annual home of the PGA’s often called 5th major The Players Championship. And with all that laid out in front, along with one of the season’s deepest fields, South African Tim Clark manned up and did not bat an eye.

Thursday and Friday posed an eerily calm Sawgrass environment for the players. The wind was down and the course was susceptible, as approach shots were not rolling off the greens resulting in exceptional scoring. It was a sleeping giant that help rise a different sleeping giant to the top of the leaderboard. Lee Westwood has been one of the most successful players in the world in global golf events. He finished 2nd at the 2010 Masters, 3rd at both the 2009 Open Championship and PGA Championship, and also was one shot out of the Tiger and Rocco playoff at the 2008 US Open. Despite all of these high finishes, he has yet to cash one in at a major and even more surprising, only one of his 31 professional wins came on US soil (1998 Zurich Classic). This is a feeling Tim Clark is also all too familiar with.

Nowhere near the ammeter status of Westwood Clark took a more conventional way to the PGA Tour ala South African Tour, Canadian Tour, and Nationwide Tour; but now has been a fixture on tour for over 5 years. He has been notorious for close calls, but had yet to win a PGA event. He even has exceptionally high finishes in majors with a solo 2nd at the 2006 Masters and 3rd place finishes at the 2005 US Open and the 2003 PGA Championship; among a bevy of 2nds and playoff losses in Tour stops. Tour vet Robert Allenby can be tossed into that very same boat.

Allenby boasts four career wins on the PGA Tour, but has fallen into consistent mediocrity, as he has not been in the winner circle since 2001. But his consistency and golf ranking has kept him afloat all these years. In fact he has not missed a start in a major championship since the 2001 US Open, which is extremely impressive for any player. But in all those years he has never finished better than T2 (twice) and only has five-career top 10 finishes. But Allenby’s solid play left him one stroke back of leader Westwood going into the final round, and Clark was three shots back after a blistering 66 on a windy Saturday.

As Sunday began the big headline came early as the controversy swirled world number one Tiger Woods withdrew from the tournament on the 7th hole with a bothersome neck injury. And then world number two Phil Mickelson has a flurry of bogies ruining any shot at a Sunday charge, so it was up to the leaders to make things happen. And the direction of the tournament changed in the late stages of the opening nine as Tim Clark birdied #7 and then #9. He followed those up with hot putting which led to birdies on #10, #11, and #12. Before you know it he opened up a two-stroke lead over Westwood and Allenby. After a disappointing par on #16 Clark steadied it coming in with a solid par on the famed par 3 #17 and clutched up with a lengthy par putt on the difficult #18 to post a 67 and tournament total of –16.

With the beast (Sawgrass) angered and conditions and pin positions much tougher, Clark exceeded his goal of posting a solid number and threw up the best round of the day and said ‘come and get me boys!’ Westwood was not able to get anything going, and in fact threw away some strokes coming in, including being waterlogged at the island 17th resulting in a double and another uncomfortable top 5. Allenby on the other hand made a birdie on #16 and struck a perfect wedge on #17 to about 15 feet and a legitimate chance to tie Clark. But it wasn’t to be. That coupled with a vanilla par 4 on the 18th gave Tim Clark his first win on US soil, and his biggest championship of his career.

This win will officially put Clark into the 2011 Masters among many other things. Although once again there was no real doubt on his chances without this, but its good to lock it up. As for Westwood and Allenby, I feel at least one of them will have their day in the sun sometime in the near future. My bet’s on Westwood winning a major within the next two years! But for now, it’s the diminutive Tim Clark, who outshined all.

The ‘Rory’ing 20’s

In a week where Tiger Woods non-Augusta bubblicious return to the Tour was the headline, by tournaments end a new young up-and-coming sensation was all anyone could talk about. Since his rousing entrance as a pro and his 2009 win in Dubai, there has been a tremendous amount pressure on 20 year old Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy to not only contend in ‘The States,” but win. And who would have ever thought that after a mediocre first 36 in the Quail Hollow Championship, McIlroy would end up stealing the show.

Tiger Woods was the talk of Charlotte Thursday morning, but was unable to back anything up as he fired a very pedestrian two-over-par 74. He slept on a nine shot deficit after Bo Van Pelt’s amazing opening 65, but still few were skeptical about his chances of contending. And then he hit the back nine on Friday and something went insanely wrong. After turning in one over 37, Woods dug himself a deeper hole with two bogies on the first three holes on the back nine, and was sitting at +5. After putting disasters on the easy 14th and 15th leading to back to back doubles, he had only 3 holes to play and was all of a sudden +9. He finished with a 43 on the back and missed the cut by a whopping 8 strokes. This performance marked only the 6th time in Tiger’s professional career that he missed a cut, which in itself is astounding.

With the Tiger exit it put World #2 Phil Mickelson in the driver seat as he sat fully in contention entering the weekend. And as the sun went down Saturday he was tied for second with Davis Love III only two shots off the pace of tour veteran Billy Mafair’s lead at nine-under-par. There were a lot of other contenders still in the mix entering the final round with guys like Van Pelt and JJ Henry along with global stars Angel Cabrera, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim and red hot Rory McIlroy. Rory’s Saturday 66 brought him from on the cut line all the way to the top 10 and oddly enough into contention. But his Sunday, was stuff of legends.

He got out pretty fast on the outward nine posting four birdies on his way to carding a masterful 32 and jumping further into the mix as Mayfair and Love struggled. But no one had any idea that this jaw dropping 32 was just a warm-up act for McIlroy’s inward nine. Although posting level on the par five 10th, he picked up two birdies on the first five back nine holes to take a one shot lead on the par five 15th tee. After a crushing a 352-yard drive McIlroy pounded a five-iron up the hill 206 yards nestling up three feet from the cup. This eagle catapulted him to the lead and although he drove it into the trap on 16, responded with a nine-iron chop out to six feet and another birdie moving him to five-under on the back nine and 14-under for the tournament. But his act still wasn’t done quite yet.

After nearly holing a 50-foot putt on the intimidating par three 17th, he stepped to the 18th tee with a very comfortable lead, considering the difficulty of the 18th. After finding the fairway with his drive McIlroy did as his caddy would want and stay away from the creek on the pin side and hit a conservative iron to the middle of the green to 45 feet from the cup. Cue his victory walk up the hill. After an amazing greeting from the Charlotte faithful and a tapestry of superlatives from my hommie Jim Nantz he lined up a birdie putt that would give him a back nine 30 and break the course record by two shot. As he struck the putt up the hill it started to curl left toward the cup and had perfect pace as it turned in the last three feet and disappeared into a backdrop of a roaring gallery. This putt gave McIlroy a course record 62, a four shot win over Mickelson and his first career professional win in the US despite making the cut on the number on Friday afternoon. What a week!

Amidst the excitement of Tiger and the contention of Phil, one of the most electric young players in the world made his mark. On the same day that 18 year old sensation Ryo Ishikawa fired a blistering 58 on the Japanese Tour in route to victory, the soon to be 21 year old (Tuesday is his birthday) would take that big leap in the big boys Tour. As if there it was in question anyway, he will take his Masters invite for 2011 and will move forward this week to Tour’s 5th Major The Players Championship. I’m sure he may sneak in a quick couple of shots at a pub in Ponte Vedre Beach. One for his birthday and one for his big victory.