Players Championship running thread....

ha, i know. it just seems like everything is so planned out by phil. I know a lot of guys on Tour feel the same way. But he's a great player. And yes, have to respect O'Hair for going for two. Too many players these days are playing to finish near the top (and the $$$ that comes with it) instead of trying to win a championship.

Well played by both players today. Great golf on a Sunday.

Love you, mom!

 

O'Hair's got game ... and a ton of length off the tee. Sergio's gotta like sliding into second, too. Nice little payday there.

 

At their next meeting, which could be going on right now, Harmon is telling Phil, "see how easy it is when you let the other guys try to make every shot?"
That was the most boring Phil Mickelson win ever, so it may be his most important. He played a great final round in which nothing particularly memorable happened.

 

Right on, Michael. The only reall "phil shot" of the weekend came saturday when he snuck it through that little break in the trees. Simply amazing.

 

The O'Hair kid is one of the biggest dumb asses I have ever seen implode. He cost himself 700,000 because he wanted to "go for the win" which, he need only look at his partner for today and realize that isn't always a smart or sound strategy.

On 17, had he hit first I could see his rationalization of going for the pin -- I wouldn't have agreed with it, but I could at least almost get there. The problem is, Phil hit first and was already on the green, which basically meant O'Hair wasn't likely to pick up a stroke on that hole nor was he going to put pressure on Phil to make a perfect shot over the water.

I think his second shot into the water was just a bad break for him combined with some nerves -- but it all could have been avoided had he just pulled out the wedge in the first place and hit it into the middle of the green.

It is real admirable to say "I was going for the win I'll make plenty of money" but the road to greatness is paved and littered with a whole lot of guys who never recovered from an implosion like this.

 

One could argue that te "Phil shot" came from O'Hair.

 

So we're going to slam players for trying to win now? Jeez......

 

yeah, no kidding. he had to put it inside phil and give himself a very makeable birdie putt. he was pumped up and just jacked it over the green. he's young, the money will alway be there for him. But how often will he have the chance to make something magical happen in the last group on the 17th hole of The Players?

Good for him. He's living the dream.

 

It will be what it is -- a great tournament on a challenging course

Beat me to it. Well said.

That said and speaking of the most recognizable hole in golf, I'm curious to solicit sandbox views on the infamous 17th.

Gimmick or great hole?

My take on that hole is this. In its context, it's quite reminiscent of the 6th at Riviera, the famous par-3 with the doughnut-shaped bunker in the middle of the green. Design one of these now and you've jumped the design shark into gimmick land.

However, George Thomas (who designed Riviera in the 1920s) and Pete Dye (who designed Sawgrass in the 1970s), were ahead of their time.

I have no problem with either hole; as far as the 17th at Sawgrass, it's once a year the tour pros see this and it's a 137-yard shot. Sack up and hit your garden-variety 9-iron or pitching wedge -- and control your spin.

Along with the wind factor, the last four words are the key.

 

His caddy needs to tell him to hit wedge. He was luck to keep it on the green with a 9 on Saturday. As jacked up as he was on Sunday, he needed to hit a hard wedge.

 

I'd say both. It certainly lends to drama at the end of a round, and in a close tournament that's what the public wants to see. They want to see who can stick it on the island, and who loses it and goes splash.

If you've got it in you, you can go two-under over the last three. Or you can go four-over. It's what makes it a great tournament to watch.

 

Absolutely.

I didn't understand, even as it was happening, why O'Hair was hitting a 9-iron. Johnny Miller may be a prick, but both he and Roger Maltbie knew what they were talking about. Under pressure, in between clubs, you always take the higher lofted club and swing hard. You never take the lower lofted club. And if you can hit 350 off the tee, you can hit a pitching wedge 150 yards easy. Hell, I can hit a pitching wedge 140-145. A 9-iron from 138 is/was madness. He hit a good shot; his caddy should have made a better club choice.

Also, say what you will about Mickelson, and many have, but I'll say this: I don't believe that it's all genuine, but I don't think for a second that it's ALL phony. Phil's detractors want to pretend the entire thing is an act, and that he's really an asshole. Well, I'm not sure an asshole would have thanked Rick Smith and Dave Pelz when Costas so desperately wanted him to suck off Butch Harmon. I'm not sure an asshole would give out high-fives and actually acknowledge the fans on the way to the 18th tee. I think he's a guy who legitimately loves his wife and kids, legitimately appreciates the fans, and really does care about winning golf tournaments and not just collecting a check. Was the mother's day thing phony? I don't know, maybe. But oh well. There are worse sins than pretending to be the guy who loves his mother unconditionally. And there are worse things than, oh, actually acknowledging the fans who shelled out hundreds of dollars to watch you play golf, but not really meaning it. Genuine or not, it's a nice gesture that most of these millionaires can't even be bothered with. I just appreciate the fact that Mickelson is actually driven enough, at 37, to keep pushing and trying to keep up with Woods. Ernie Els has just as much talent as Mickelson. Sergio Garcia might too. What's have they done lately to keep Tiger from steamrolling over the record books? All these other guys on tour who snipe at Phil behind his back, how much work have they put in the last few years to challenge Tiger?