Sips of Maginnes: The infamous 16th, Ex-Gators, Snedeker

text size

Martin/Getty Images

Chris Couch was just one of a host of former Florida Gators in contention at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Mar. 1, 2010
By John Maginnes, PGATOUR.COM Contributor

The Waste Management Phoenix Open has been dubbed "the greatest show on grass" and the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale is a major part of that story line.

To the Thunderbirds, the civic group that has made the tournament what it is, the hole is the coliseum. This year the grandstands held somewhere around 20,000 revelers. One look on the weekend suggested the predictions might have been a bit conservative.

• One more thing about No. 16, the loudest hole in all of golf. Phil Mickelson doesn't get booed -- especially at a tournament in the town where he went to school. And certainly not at a tournament where he attracts enormous crowds and the lion's share of attention. But when he missed a short putt for par on Thursday the unimpressed gallery let Phil hear about it with some good-natured ribbing.

Phil, of course, took it in stride, smiling and waving to the crowd because that's all you can do. (Trust me -- I once made a double bogey there.) The fans aren't quite like the Philadelphia Eagles faithful who threw snowballs at Santa Claus in the 1970s ... but they are close.

• It is not often that Rickie Fowler shows his age. The 21-year-old phenom is mature beyond his years -- on and off the golf course. But t he truth is Fowler is still learning. Early last week, he was asked to describe the 16th hole at the TPC Scottsdale and he said it was a solid, short par 3. By Friday afternoon, though, Rickie probably had a different description. Something along the lines of Robert Allenby, who described it as the "most intimidating shot in golf."

• There were four former Florida Gators high on the leaderboard going into the final round. (And they will tell you: "Once a Gator always a Gator.") Led by the elder statesman Mark Calcavecchia, who turns 50 this year, the Gator contingent included, Matt Every, Camilo Villegas and Chris Couch. Every was on the team Villegas' last two years in Gainesville.

Calcavecchia

* Mark Calcavecchia could only chuckle when he saw the names ahead of him on Saturday night. He is nearly 30 years older than his playing partner (and neighbor ) Rickie Fowler. To put things in perspective, the five guys ahead of Calc on the leaderboard had a combined 281 starts and had made 181 cuts coming into the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Calc was playing in his 728th PGA TOUR event and made his 513th cut. If Fowler, Matt Every, Camilo Villegas, Scott Piercy and Brandt Snedeker each play 25 events a year their combined total will pass Calc sometime in 2014.

• Ian Poulter deserved a party after he won the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. But he had a previous obligation -- a commercial shoot for Cobra on Monday. So his celebration after winning the most prestigious match play event in the world consisted of "half a beer." That was all he could muster.

• It was no surprise that he was exhausted when he teed it up in the first round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open and opened with a 1-over 73. After the opening round he even inquired about flights out of Phoenix on Friday afternoon. He wouldn't need the ticket, though. Poulter shot 63 in the second round and had to work on the weekend.

• Quote of the week: Brandt Snedeker on his rejuvenation, "the secret is in the dirt." Ok, so what if he borrowed the line? It is just as true today as when Ben Hogan said it more than a half century ago.

Former PGA TOUR player John Maginnes is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.