Monday Backspin: Wild season on TOUR continues in Vegas

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The way the 2010 season is going, someone is going to win the PGA TOUR season finale with a double eagle in a six-man playoff.

Seriously, this season has been, to borrow a Vegas term, sick. Bubba Watson came within a millimeter of closing out the Travelers Championship on the 72nd hole, but his pitch somehow stayed out of the cup. Steve Stricker nearly matched Paul Goydos' 59 by sinking an approach shot at TPC Deere Run. Two weeks ago, Rocco Mediate jarred an approach shot on the 71st hole to to get his PGA TOUR card back, now this.

They call it a walk-off because that is all one can do. Walk off ... and smile.

On Sunday, Jonathan Byrd picked the quickest route between victory and darkness. When in doubt, hole out and get it over with. It was a bad beat for Martin Laird and Cameron Percy, only this one was the equivalent of someone winning the World Series of Poker with a royal flush on the final hand.

It's never been done on the PGA TOUR -- until now. Thirty years from today, Byrd will be the answer to a trivia question: Who came the first player to win a PGA TOUR event with an ace? I'll take great finishes for $2,000, Alex. Cue the Daily Double music.

Seriously, what could Laird and Percy do after watching Byrd sink a tee shot to win the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open? Not much, except shake his hand, which is exactly what they did.

The only way they could have topped it was by duplicating his feat, but they didn't even hit the green. It wouldn't be fair to compare Byrd's shot to a walk-off homer, because he didn't even see it go in. It was easy for viewers on The Golf Channel -- the ball tracked into the cup like Byrd had putted it -- but Byrd wasn't wearing his night-vision goggles. Even if he did, he wouldn't do a Carlton Fisk or Kirk Gibson impression.

"You're not really sure until you can go down there and look in the bottom of the hole and you can see it," Byrd said, "I didn't have that luxury. But like I said, when everybody was just kind of yelling and screaming, then I knew."

But Laird and Percy knew right away. After the event, Byrd admitted that he had a sense of what was going on. But he had hit first. Golf is a gentleman's game, right? Byrd knew he had to play this reaction close to the vest even though Percy and Laird knew it was over.

"[Percy and Laird] were pretty excited, I think. I mean, it's pretty hard to follow that," Byrd said. "They came over and were very gracious and congratulated me and told me, 'great shot.' Both of them did and the caddies. And everybody was smiling. I think when something like that happens that's out of their control, there's not much they can do about it. They've got to figure out a way to follow it up."

Follow that up? Both Percy and Laird hit it in the water. If one has to lose a golf tournament -- something with so much on the line -- it's better to go out like that. At the end, both Laird and Percy must have felt like the horse who finished second to Secretariat in the Belmont Stakes.

In reality, Laird had three chances to close Byrd out, but couldn't. He had a putt to win it in regulation and two putts to win it outright in the playoff. To his credit, Laird mentioned that fact repeatedly in his post-round remarks.

"I hit good putts on every hole, and they really just didn't go in," Laird said.

Stock up

Ryuji Imada: The 34-year-old has been one of the biggest surprises in the Fall Series. He slipped a little with a 70-66 weekeend last week, but his two top-10s in a row are a good sign for 2011. Money list rank: 83 (103 last week) Spencer Levin: The quiet Californian played with a lot of fire down the stretch in Vegas. His strong 66-66 finish on the weekened secured his PGA TOUR card. Money list rank: 95 (115 last week) Graham DeLaet: This q-school grad had four top-25s entering the Fall Series. Four weeks later, he has eight. His decision to play in Vegas was another solid one for the Canadian. Money list rank: 98 (102 last week)

Stock down

Woody Austin: Made the cut at TPC Summerlin but will enter Disney as the 123rd man on the money list. Finishing tied for 68th won't cut it at Disney. Money list rank: 123 (125 last week) James Nitties: The Aussie was well on his way to securing his 2011 card before a 72-70 finish at TPC Summerlin that included 65 putts. Nitties is down to one event ... or its back to q-school. Money list rank: 152 (150 last week) Joe Ogilvie: The Duke grad is staring at another trip to q-school after missing his fifth cut in a row. He navigated q-school last year with ease, and it looks like he will have to do it again. Money list rank: 139 (135 last week)

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. Right before Jonathan Byrd jarred his tee shot on the fourth playoff hole, I said to a co-worker, "There won't be a Monday playoff if someone can put it in the cup off the tee."

2. It got lost in the playoff-ace shuffle, but Webb Simpson was two pars away from his first victory on the PGA TOUR. His tee shot on the 71st hole found the water -- and drowned his hopes -- but he wasn't the only player to find the water on No. 17 late Sunday.

3. Troy Merritt acted like a pitcher who'd clinched the World Series on Sunday. His eagle on the 16th hole gave him a one-shot lead in the Kodak Challenge with one week to go. Rickie Fowler, who is one shot back, admitted he might not play the final event at Disney after watching Merritt's eagle putt. In the second year of the Challenge, players are adjusting their schedules around it. They know where they stand.

4. Cameron Percy has to feel good. He didn't play golf until he was 16, didn't turn pro until 25 and it took him until age 36 to get a top-10 on TOUR. He played fantastic down the stretch Sunday. Who cares if he struggled in the playoff? He secured a lot of starts for 2011.

5. As usual, Justin Timberlake was there all week. Percy: "Justin at the end there, he came up to me and that was fantastic. That was pretty cool. To be that young and to put on a PGA TOUR event and raise as much money as he does for charity, it's pretty cool to meet someone like that."

6. John Daly made another cut but continued to play poorly on the weekend. He shot 66 in Round 1, but 78 on Sunday even though he teed off early, a big advantage. He's near last on TOUR this year in final-round scoring. Why?

7. David Mathis is back on TOUR after winning the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open Presented by Planters at TPC Sawgrass' Dye's Valley course on the Nationwide Tour. It will be interesting to see if Mathis will play well early in 2011 and qualify for THE PLAYERS and take on the other course at TPC Sawgrass.

8. Kenny Perry's Champions Tour debut didn't go as planned. He finished 18 shots behind winner Fred Couples at The Woodlands, one of the toughest courses of the year. Putting has hurt him all year, and it didn't get better when he turned 50. Of course, Couples' first-year on the Champions Tour is going just about as expected. His seven-shot win was his fourth this year.

9. Matteo Manassero's win on the European Tour capped off an exceptional year for Italian golf. Italy is a nation of 60 million people, and their golf is only now starting to catch up with the rest of the world. The 17-year-old Manassero should make a splash on American shores before too long. With the Molinari brothers leading the way, Italy might have three Ryder Cup players in 2012.

Last week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-560-yard 16th at TPC Summerlin LAST WEEK: Troy Merritt eagled the hole on Sunday to move into the sole lead ahead of the season finale Children's Miracle Network Classic. Click here to tour the Kodak Challenge holes | Current Kodak Challenge standings

The Forward Spin

CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia: CIMB Group signed on as title sponsor for the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic, Malaysia, the first-ever PGA TOUR sanctioned event in Southeast Asia. This premier golf tournament will be held at The MINES Resort and Golf Club. The field includes Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler and Ernie Els. There will be no 36-hole cut.