Backspin: Another lay-up; Crane's best win; mailbag

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For a second straight week, a player trailing late in a golf tournament had a chance to tie or take the lead and instead chose to lay up on a par-5. Strange.

It's always about risk vs. reward in those situations.

As Bubba Watson told me last week, his shot from about 240 yards with water left was too risky.

Ditto Michael Sim this week at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he had a slightly longer shot to clear the water fronting the pin on the 18th hole at Torrey Pines.

Champion's Replay

Want to hear what Ben Crane said about his win at the Farmers Insurance Open? Click here Shot Tracker Replay Crane's final round MORE PLAYERS • Final-round highlights • Shot of the Day • Final wrap-up • Complete tourney coverage

"I think I could have got there, but it had to be all of [my 3-wood]," Sim said. "I had to hit it flush, and I wasn't swinging that well and just decided to lay up to a comfortable number."

Essentially, Watson made the same decision on the 14th hole of the Bob Hope Classic.

Unfortunately for both players, laying up to that comfortable number perhaps spoke more to just how uncomfortable they felt coming down the stretch trying to win for the first time on the PGA TOUR.

As a three-time winner on the Nationwide Tour, Sim has been in this position before, so he knows how to win. But you can't help wonder if he'll take the same approach next time he is in the same spot, which he certainly will be given his talent.

"I didn't really sleep that well [Saturday night], but it's just part of experience," Sim said. "Next time around I think I'll be better prepared."

Stock up

Ben Crane: His win Sunday at Torrey Pines was by far the biggest of his career -- his other two victories came at the BellSouth Classic and U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. Crane played his best, too, leading the field in greens in regulation and ranking eighth in fairways hit. FedExCup rank: 3 (T97 last week) Michael Allen: A 7-under 65 in the final round was a pretty good way to celebrate his 51st birthday. Allen is still 0-for-346 on the TOUR, but he now has two top-5s in three starts this season, including a third-place finish at Hualalai on the Champions Tour. FedExCup rank: 23 (T72 last week) Rickie Fowler: Now this is the Fowler we all expected to see. It just took a couple of weeks. After two missed cuts, Fowler finished in a tie for fifth and was challenging for the lead Sunday until making a costly double bogey on the 17th hole. FedExCup rank: 43 (N/A last week)

Stock down

Phil Mickelson: This certainly wasn't what we were expecting from Lefty given how he ended 2009. It didn't help, either, when he hit 57, 14, 36 and 57 percent of his fairways. Mickelson is at his best when he drives it well and he's not doing that right now. FedExCup rank: 83 (N/A last week) James Nitties: The Aussie who lists clubbing, girls and parties as his interests in the TOUR media guide shot 66 in the second round in San Diego. The problem was he shot 80 in the first round, and he's now missed the cut in four of his last five events dating to last year. FedExCup rank: N/A Steve Marino: Is Marino ever going to win on TOUR? Maybe, but he hasn't looked like it lately. He finished in a tie for 54th at Torrey Pines after a final-round 77 in his first tournament of the year. Marino really hasn't come close to winning since the playoff loss at Colonial last season. FedExCup rank: T129 (N/A last week)

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. Who would have thought the new grooves rule would center around Ping Eye 2 wedges from 20 years ago? It's become a major hot-button issue as you know by know, and it will be discussed at length in Tuesday's Player Advisory Council meeting. Stay tuned.

2. I don't buy into conspiracy theorists who think John Daly's bizarre post-round exchange with GOLF CHANNEL producers about how he was "done with golf" was some sort of publicity stunt for his upcoming reality show with the network. For one, they run enough promos for it. For another, it doesn't air for a month.

3. I do think Daly's somewhat emotional interview in which he said he just "can't do it anymore" and that his financial situation was putting too much pressure on his game was just another twist in his often tumultuous career ... which obviously isn't over just yet.

4. Four weeks, four one-shot wins with a lot of jockeying late in the final round every time. That's a pretty good start to the season, don't you think?

5. It's been more than two months since we've seen Tiger Woods, but the world's No. 1 golfer is still No. 1 on the Bloomberg Businessweek list of most powerful athletes. LeBron James was second and Phil Mickelson third, Albert Pujols fourth and Peyton Manning fifth. For the complete list, click here.

6. I've always wondered why the folks who run the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando don't open it up to the public for a day and sell some sort of general admission ticket. Having been there in the past, I can tell you it's extremely impressive. I can also say with a fair amount of certainty that avid and even semi-avid golfers would happily make a weekend of it, playing golf and spending a Saturday morning or afternoon attending the Show to see all the latest and greatest gear. It would also generate some much-needed buzz.

7. Lots of debuts this week in L.A.: Padraig Harrington, Anthony Kim, Adam Scott, Ryo Ishikawa. Long term, I like Kim and Ishikawa to win a bunch of times between them. Right now, I'm curious to see what kind of start Harrington and Scott get off to.

8. Two starts in the U.S., less globe-trotting, and two finishes in the top 12. Ernie Els said he's going to focus on playing more in the U.S. and so far it appears to be working.

9. As I reported last week, Bubba Watson will be on the Ellen DeGeneres Show this week (now set for Wednesday). Set your DVRs for that one. If you've seen some of his recent videos on his Twitter account, you'll understand why. Or, just click here.

FROM THE MAILBAG

"In the words of Mark O'Meara years ago, when you get in position, you have to go. Never know when you'll have another chance." -- Pete Marco

"What's up with all the big guys laying up when they have a chance to win the tournament? We need Tiger back, he'd go for it." -- Morgan Bell

It's funny how the readership sways. A week ago, I was getting blasted for thinking that Bubba Watson should have gone for the green in two on No. 14 during the final round of the Bob Hope Classic. I'd say 65 percent of the e-mailers disagreed. Now? Most seem to think Sim should have gone for the green. I think if you're David Toms, you lay up. If you have the length these guys do, you give it a go.

(To submit your question for the mailbag, click here.)

Last week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-4, 435-yard 14th at the Torrey Pines South Course THE LEADERS: A dozen players are tied at 2 under after four weeks. LAST WEEK: Chad Collins sunk a 37-foot putt for birdie during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open to join the leaders of the Kodak Challenge. Collins' birdie was one of only nine scored on the Kodak Challenge hole during the final round. Click here for results

The Forward Spin

The Northern Trust Open marks the second week of the Phil Mickelson experiment. He said Sunday his final-round 73 didn't feel as bad as the score might've indicated, but it's clear he has a little work to do. As reported by my Sirius-XM colleague Mark Carnevale, Mickelson had a 90-minute session with Butch Harmon 7:30 Sunday morning. We'll find out what Mickelson learned at a tournament he's won the past two years.