A bogey on the 72nd hole kept Paul Goydos out of a playoff in the Valero Texas Open. But his stock is still up this week.
May. 19, 2009
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What are our writers thinking about after the Valero Texas Open? David Duval's continuing comeback, a close call by Bill Haas, early candidates for the Player of the Year race and the LaCantera finale.
DAVID BEING DAVID: David Duval is on the way back. How far back, we don't know. But probably not back to being one of the top 10 players in the world, even if that's what he still considers himself.
"I'm on the precipice," Duval said during Saturday's rain-delayed third round of the Valero Texas Open. "I've put all the components back together, and now I'm gaining confidence. I did it entirely to play great."
And that's exactly what Duval did for two rounds in Texas, where he finished T63 after shooting 72-71 on the weekend. But for Duval to get back to the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking or in the eyes of the fans, it's going to take a while and a lot more 66s and 69s than 71s and 72s.
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Duval questions those who doubt his commitment, and who can blame him? He is wired a little differently, and when it comes to knowing David, no one knows better than, well, David.
Here's what I know: It sure would be one heck of a comeback story. -- Brian Wacker
BILLY BALL: It was nice to see Bill Haas make a run at the Valero Texas Open on Sunday, even if a bogey at the par-3 17th dropped him back to 14 under and caused him to miss out on a playoff by one shot.
Hopefully this is a sign of things to come from Haas. Sunday's tie for third matched the best finish of his PGA TOUR career, which -- believe it or not -- is already a shade over 4 years old. It's been a decent year for Haas so far with five top-25 finishes, but he needs more consistency -- evidenced by his seven missed cuts in 14 starts. It's feast or famine out there.
A win in Texas would have been particularly special for Haas. Not only would it have been his first TOUR win, but it also would have come at an event that his father, Champions Tour star Jay, won in 1993 and 1982.
Maybe this was the confidence boost he needed to become a more regular contender. -- T.J. Auclair
AT HALFWAY POINT, STILL PHIL: We're already more than halfway into the PGA TOUR Regular Season, so it's not too early to start thinking about who should be Player of the Year. A third player stepped up on Sunday when Zach Johnson successfully defended his Valero Texas Open title and joined Geoff Ogilvy and Phil Mickelson as two-time winners this year. Johnson also overtook Ogilvy for the lead in the FedExCup race with his playoff victory at La Cantera.
All three players are worthy candidates, and what happens over the next six months will prove pivotal. Had Johnson closed the deal in Charlotte, we might not even be having this discussion. Right now, though, Mickelson, albeit erratic two weeks ago at THE PLAYERS, has made the strongest case for himself.
In addition to the two wins, including his first in a World Golf Championships, he's got three other top-10s -- including a tie for fifth at the Masters. That's pretty strong. Of course, we've yet to really hear from the perennial champ, Tiger Woods. -- Helen Ross
THE OL' SWITCHEROO: Zach Johnson has won the Valero Texas Open twice in the last seven months, which would seem to make him the prohibitive favorite in 2010 when the TOUR returns to San Antonio.
Of course, there will be one slight change. The event no longer will be held at LaCantera but will move to its new home, TPC San Antonio. That's unfortunate news for Johnson -- who is a collective 34 under in his eight career rounds at LaCantera -- but good news for the rest of the field, since everybody will essentially start from scratch.
Having grown up in Dallas, I watched Tom Watson dominate the then-Byron Nelson Golf Classic, winning four times in a six-year span at Preston Trail. But when the tournament moved to TPC Four Seasons Resort in 1983, he never won again (although he did have seven top-10 finishes in 17 starts at the new venue).
Who knows how many more times Watson would have won in Dallas had the change not been made. It'll be interesting to see how Johnson deals with the San Antonio switch next year -- although with the way he's playing now, the FedExCup leader appears capable of winning on any course. -- Mike McAllister
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| Stock up |
Paul Goydos: In the media, you don't often root for players, but Goydos is one of those rare exceptions. He's a great guy, a great story and, at least sometimes, a great player. He had 14 birdies the first two days at LaCantera and even though he didn't win, his T3 finish was his best since last May.
FedExCup rank: 77 (142 last week) |
Bill Haas: You can only hope the extra work Haas put in on the range early last week with his swing coach becomes habit more than happenstance. It seemed to pay off. Haas hit the ball well, made a bunch of birdies on Sunday and matched his career-best finish with a tie for third.
FedExCup rank: 54 (91 last week) |
Justin Leonard: There was no fourth career Valero Texas Open title for Leonard, but he continued to shine in the Lone Star state -- in 42 career rounds at LaCantera, he's 134 under. To put that in perspective, the next closest guy on the list, Loren Roberts, is 43 shots behind him.
FedExCup rank: 34 (46 last week) |
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| Stock down |
Anthony Kim: The two-time TOUR winner has way too much natural talent to keep missing cuts or finishing T71 like he did at the Valero Texas Open. He is taking steps to break some bad habits, but until he actually breaks those bad habits, the struggles are going to continue.
FedExCup rank: 53 (51 last week) |
Alex Cejka: It's feast or famine for Cejka, who seems to either finish somewhere in the top 15 or miss the cut. He did the latter in Texas, a week after what was a draining loss at THE PLAYERS Championship. He followed that final-round 79 there with a pair of 73s in San Antonio.
FedExCup rank: 95 (89 last week) |
Jesper Parnevik: It doesnt matter if Parnevik introduced Tiger to the future Mrs. Woods, he is never going to hear the end of how his 53-year-old caddie, Lance Ten Broeck, looped for him at the Valero Texas Open, then went out and beat him by three strokes. (More in Quick 18).
FedExCup rank: 206 (198 last week) |
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| A Quick 18 |
| Front Nine | Back Nine |
| You have to start putting Zach Johnson in the conversation with the other top players on the PGA TOUR. The new FedExCup leader has now won six times, including a major, and consistently puts himself in contention. In an era of bombers, he's doing it with incredible precision and has proved he can win anywhere. | The Oops of the Week goes to Francesco Molinari, who shot a then course-record 63 in the opening round of the 3 Irish Open only to be disqualified after signing an incorrect card following Round 2. Belfast's Michael Hoey gets to share the honor, though, since he was DQed for carrying 15 clubs.
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| Johnson was one of only two players among the top 10 in Texas -- Charley Hoffman was the other -- to shoot a round of 70 or higher. It helps when you shoot a third-round 60, though, and Johnson is now the only player in PGA TOUR history to record two career rounds of 60. The other came at the THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. | The Ouch of the Week goes to Graeme McDowell. A day after setting the course record with a 61 at County Louth Golf Club, McDowell withdrew from the 3 Irish Open due to shin splints. McDowell said he was disappointed with the injury, but also didnt want to jeopardize the next couple of weeks. |
| Johnson also joins Phil Mickelson (Northern Trust Open) and Tiger Woods (Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard) as the only players this year to successfully defend a title from 2008. That already equals the number of players able to do so in all of the 2008 season. | Paul Lawrie might be the least-remembered British Open champion of all time for his victory over Jean Van de Velde in 1999. Last Friday, though, he won what looks like a pretty awesome Audi A5 Cabriolet for making a hole-in-one at the 3 Irish Open. |
| Over the last 50 years of the Valero Texas Open, 42 of the 49 winners shot a round of 65 or lower at some point during the week. The last player not to do so and still go on and win was Hal Sutton in 1998. As a side note, this event will move to the new TPC San Antonio next year after being at La Cantera since 1995.
| Ian Poulter was pretty happy Thursday night. That's because he had a good seat at the Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics game to see the Magic beat the Celtics. The Magic went on to win the series Sunday. Also seen there: Tampa Bay quarterback Byron Leftwich and Hulk Hogan's ex-wife, Linda.
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| Lance Ten Broeck gave new meaning to the term "double bagging" when he caddied and played in the Valero Texas Open. It's the first time in TOUR history that's happened, and in case you are wondering how Ten Broeck got in the field, he qualified under the Veteran Member category with more than 150 career made cuts. | Annika Sorenstam and husband Mike McGee announced last week that the Hall of Famer is due to have a baby girl this fall. If I were that kid, I'd take up water polo before I'd take up golf, given the expectations that would be on her. Sorenstam retired last year with 72 wins, including 10 majors. |
| It was only the 12th career TOUR event for Aussie Marc Leishman, but his T5 finish was his best career result, surpassing his T12 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Oddity of the week: His win at the Nationwide Tour's WNB Classic last year came the same day as Johnson's win at the Valero Texas Open. | Let's not make too much of Rory McIlroy's comments about the Ryder Cup being not that important to him or that it's just an exhibition. European captain Colin Montgomerie didn't. Even if Monty had some angst, he didn't show it. And McIlroy didnt mean any disrespect. It is what it is.
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| Coming into this season, one of the biggest points of emphasis was on the game's 20-something players. Yet here we are, a little more than halfway through the season, and only three guys in their 20s have won, while 13 guys in their 30s have. There are any number of reasons behind that, but experience is the biggest. | Dont be surprised to see Alex Cejka dump the belly putter soon. He spent last week practicing with a more traditional length putter and said he's trying to find "the right tool to work." After 31 putts in each of his two rounds in Texas, the switch is going to come sooner rather than later. |
| Speaking of the season, we're 19 weeks into the FedExCup, and we have had just three different leaders all year -- Geoff Ogilvy, Kenny Perry and Johnson, who is back atop the standings for the first time since Week 5. Ogilvy, meanwhile, has held the top spot the longest this year with 12 weeks at No. 1
| Pat Perez, the winner of the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer, could be out an extended period of time with an injured right ankle, according to his caddie, Mike Hartford. He injured the ankle while running with his dog. |
| One other interesting note on the season: Of the 19 tournaments played, only once -- Geoff Ogilvy at the season-opening SBS Championship -- has a player gone wire-to-wire. Five times, however, a first-round leader or co-leader has gone on to win. |
Anyone who stands anywhere other than behind Charles Barkley when he plays golf might need to have their head examined. Playing in the pro-am for the Regions Charity Classic last week, Barkley reverted to his old swing and hit a spectator in the neck with a tee shot on No. 6. Apparently, Hank Haney can't turn water into wine.
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| The Forward Spin |
This week, the TOUR heads to TPC Four Seasons Resort for the HP Byron Nelson Championship, the second leg of the Texas Swing and also the last place Adam Scott recorded a victory.
That win, which came in a playoff over Ryan Moore, must seem like ages ago for Scott, who has struggled on and off the course since. He was plagued by injuries much of last season and then again at the beginning of this one, causing him to take all of February off.
When Scott did return, things didn't get any better. He's missed his last five cuts, something that's never happened before in his career, and continues to work on some swing changes that haven't taken hold yet. Scott says the time away did him some good, especially mentally, and that this is the best he's felt in a long time. Successfully defending his title this week, however, is probably too much to expect right now. |
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PGATOUR.COM's Brian Wacker wrote Stock Up, Stock Down, A Quick 18 and Forward Spin. For more news and insight from him, http://www.twitter.com/pgatour_brianw.
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