Monday Backspin: Same Allenby, new spin on grooves

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Some things never change, while others do. Two very interesting things came out of the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Champions replay

Want to hear what Ryan Palmer said after his last-minute victory at the Sony Open? Click here Shot Tracker Replay Palmer's final round HIGHLIGHTS • Final-round highlights • Shot of the Day • Sunday wrap-up • Complete tourney coverage

First, you saw exactly why Robert Allenby hasn't won on the PGA TOUR since 2001 when he missed his birdie putt on the low side on the 72nd hole.

"We read probably half the cup outside right," Allenby said. "I know that's where I was lined up, and I know that's where I hit it because the stroke felt probably the best stroke of the week and it just went sideways. But that's golf."

That's been Allenby's last nine years, too. Two of the last three years, for example, Allenby has ranked outside the top 100 in putting.

"The last two tournaments prior to this event, I've had a lot that have gone in for me," he said Sunday night. "If that's the worse thing that's going to happen to me, I'm going to be pretty good."

Fair point, but he's too good not to have won since 2001.

Second, the grooves issue isn't going away anytime soon. Dean Wilson and Bob Estes had a bit of a dust-up over it (more in the Back Nine), and Allenby was affected by it on his second shot on the par-5 18th hole Sunday. Hitting out of the rough, Allenby hit what he called "a lot more of a jumper" on a shot from the same yardage he had a day earlier, only with one less club in the final round.

"That's the beauty of the grooves today," he said. "It's changed the game of golf. Now we have to all of a sudden manufacture our way around the golf course."

That's something Allenby thinks is better for the game, by the way, though I'm sure he'd like to have that one back.

Stock up

Retief Goosen: The South African is playing as well as anybody on TOUR right now with a T6 and a T4 the last two weeks that included a 62 Sunday at Waialae. He closed with a back-nine 30 at the Sony Open and is now a combined 29 under his last two events. FedExCup rank: 6 (T6 last week) Steve Stricker: Coming off what was a career year in 2009, Stricker hasn't slowed down any this year. He's played basically one bad round -- the first one at Kapalua -- and with the way he's driving and putting the ball, he could be headed for a monster season. FedExCup rank: 5 (T10 last week) Rory Sabbatini: A messy final-round 73 took the luster off what's been a very good two weeks for Sabo. Right now, he's striking it well and making putts in the early going and could be headed toward the first multi-win year of his career. Watch out for him come the Texas swing. FedExCup rank: 3 (2 last week)

Stock down

Rickie Fowler: The hype machine was cranked up so high, anything short of a top-10 would have been a disappointment in Fowler's first event as a full-fledged member of the TOUR. He didn't even come close to that, shooting 75-72 to miss the cut. Seven birdies and eight bogeys wasn't exactly a welcome to the TOUR moment. FedExCup rank: N/A Lucas Glover: I'm not going to push the panic button on Glover just yet and neither is he, but since those first two rounds at Kapalua, he's shot 71, 76, 75 and 69 with a missed cut at the Sony Open. He should still have a good year; we just may have to temper the expectations a bit. FedExCup rank: 33 (T14) John Daly: To be fair, no one is really sure what to expect out of the slimmed-down Daly, other than those mythical drives and pants that look like they were once a shower curtain in an old Holiday Inn. Sure enough, Daly missed the cut in Hawaii in what will be one of a limited number of appearances with Daly playing without a TOUR card this year. FedExCup rank: N/A

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. As my boss said to me, "I'm just glad someone from Dallas had some success today." He was referring, of course, to Ryan Palmer, who is not only from Texas, but a Cowboys season-ticket holder. "It was a little rough to watch," Palmer said of the Cowboys loss to the Vikings on Sunday. "Obviously I came out with a good attitude, excited to play, revenge."

2. The shot that really won Palmer the Sony Open wasn't his chip shot that hit the pin and stopped next to the hole on Sunday. It was his bunker-skipping shot on No. 16 on Saturday. Palmer went on to save par in what otherwise could have easily cost him a stroke or two.

3. Nick Price told me last month that the days of guys being ranked 180th in driving accuracy and winning are over. Well, they're apparently not over for guys ranked 128th, which is what Palmer was last year. At Waialae, Palmer only hit 46 percent of his fairways (84th in the field). The point is, hitting fairways will matter, but only on certain courses or in certain situations.

4. Bob Estes told GOLF.com that Dean Wilson's decision to play 20-year-old wedges that have u-grooves was "maybe a little bit against the spirit of the game since they passed that rule." That prompted Wilson to respond in the Honolulu Advertiser with: "Bob has not come up to me and said anything about it. But if he came and asked me, I'd tell him what I told you. It's not a groove issue for me. It's a comfort issue. I'm not trying to gain advantage with the grooves. I think Bob is completely wrong. Maybe he should think about what he says." The two played together on Sunday and no, the grooves issue isn't going away.

5. It didn't take long for the injury bug to bite. Sean O'Hair, Vijay Singh and Robert Allenby all suffered varying levels of injuries last week with O'Hair's being the most serious -- he has a stress fracture in his left forearm. Singh, meanwhile, tweaked his back and Allenby twisted his ankle. As for O'Hair, he'll get his forearm examined in Philadelphia and will probably be out until Pebble Beach or the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.

6. Maybe I'm making too much of this, but it certainly seemed odd that Tom Gillis was the only player not to finish their round Thursday at the Sony Open. With darkness descending upon Waialae, he chose not to putt out from 27 feet. Granted, it was an eagle putt, but how many guys would want to go to sleep thinking about that putt? At least his playing partners didn't need to return the next morning.

7. John Daly isn't the only one who has dropped a few pounds. Rocco Mediate has reportedly shed about 20 pounds, which is a good thing, since they say television adds about 10 pounds. Mediate will not only make his season debut at the Bob Hope Classic, he'll be appearing on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" Thursday night, along with Duffy Waldorf, Kevin Na and, more importantly, Natalie Gulbis.

8. Musicians always want to be golfers (see this week's Bob Hope Classic) and golfers always want to be musicians (see John Daly). Add Kevin Streelman's name to that list, too. The video is from last month, but it's worth a look as Streelman plays at a church in Scottsdale, Ariz. Streelman's pretty good on the guitar. Vocals? Don't quit the day job. Click here to watch.

9. Jack Nicklaus will turn 70 on Thursday. Happy birthday, Jack. You've given us a lot of good memories and continue to be arguably the most insightful golfer in recent history. I know I mentioned this last week, but if you haven't had a chance to listen to his recent State of the Bear teleconference with the media a couple of weeks ago, you should. Click here. (Special note: PGATOUR.COM will have special coverage devoted to Jack's birthday on Thursday.)

FROM THE MAILBAG

"Does anybody other than me think that Jason Day is going to have a breakout season in 2010? He seems to have been overlooked with the arrival of other young guns like Rickie Fowler, yet he just turned 22 in November." -- Scott Shelton

Nope, it's just you, Scott. In all seriousness, though, you're right. Day has been a little bit of a forgotten man with the arrival of Fowler and others. That's what happens in our what-have-you-done-for-me-lately society. Day still has his entire career ahead of him, though, and a lot of players don't reach their prime until their late 20s or early 30s. Day has shown flashes, however, with a runner-up in Puerto Rico and a fourth-place finish at Colonial. (Click here to send your question.)

The Forward Spin

The Hawaiian vacation is over as the TOUR heads to the mainland and the West Coast Swing for the Bob Hope Classic, which will be long on birdies and short on players ranked in the top 30. Still, there won't be any shortage of celebrities (click here for the list). Pat Perez will be there, though, and if he successfully defends for his second career TOUR title, the party should be pretty good. And just look at some of the numbers that have been shot in this tournament: 59 by David Duval in 1999, 60 by Robert Gamez in 2004, three 61s, including one by Perez in 2003. Even Jesper Parnevik shot a 62 there.