Monday Backspin: Garrigus' win a microcosm of season

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- What a long, strange year it's been. Naturally then it was fitting that a guy who literally leaked away a three-shot lead in Memphis, which nearly cost him his PGA TOUR card, won by three strokes at the Children's Miracle Network Classic on a Sunday that was sort of a microcosm of the entire year.

I'll get to Robert Garrigus and his victory at Disney, but in reflecting on the year that was I can't remember one that was as strange and surprising as this one.

From Tiger Woods' at times startling play, to a couple of major winners no one saw coming, to one rules violation after another, it added up to produce a season that was as compelling as it was weird.

And on Sunday, it concluded in similar fashion with one player knocking another from the top 125 on the money list -- or in the case of Brett Wetterich, going from contending for a win to still being outside the top 150 on the money list with just one start left (next year) on his major medical extension.

That's why golf is a four-letter word, goes the cliché. But clichés exist for a reason -- they're usually true.

As for Garrigus, he began his week in a precarious position at 122nd on the money list. Of course, had he won in Memphis he wouldn't even have been at Disney in the first place or even played a Fall Series event with a newborn baby at home.

But as Garrigus put it, "if Memphis didn't happen, I don't know if this would have happened.

"It's a dream come true to win this week and be able to plan my year for the next two years."

And with that concludes this year -- except for events like the Chevron World Challenge, the ADT Skills Challenge and the Shark Shootout.

Stock up

Jim Furyk: Three victories, second in money and the FedExCup title. That pretty much sums up the year for Jim Furyk, who was his usual consistent self with those victories spread out across the season. He should win Player of the Year rather easily and deservedly so. Matt Kuchar: While it's true that Kuchar's $4.9 million is the lowest total to lead the money list since 1998, the former Georgia Tech standout had a career year with 11 top-10s, including a win, a runner-up and three third-place finishes. The adage about a player's best years coming in his 30s seems to be true in Kuchar's case. Rickie Fowler: The only box Fowler didn't check off was a win. He did, however, have seven top-10s, including a pair of runner-up finishes, play in his first Ryder Cup, to which he contributed a point with two ties, and will likely be named Rookie of the Year. Fowler looks like he'll be one of those rare players who lives up to or exceeds expectation.

Stock down

Tiger Woods: To call this year a waste would be short-sighted. It will likely end, however, without Woods winning for the first time since 1995 -- though he still has a his own event to play and his final-round 65 in Australia was the latest step back toward his former greatness. Still, Woods had a year of firsts: First time he'd lost his No. 1 ranking in 281 weeks, first time he finished 18 over par in a tournament, first time he failed to break 70 in the opening round of a tournament for an entire season, etc. Phil Mickelson: It's not exactly fair to call Mickelson's season disappointing, it's just that the expectation was so ridiculously high. First, we though he and Woods would stage some sort of epic battle based on the way last season ended. Then, we thought Mickelson would take advantage of Woods' prolonged absence. Neither really happened, but Mickelson did win his second career Masters. His $3.8 million in earnings, however, was his lowest total since 2003. Sergio Garcia: The Spaniard had just one top-10 all year and that came in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he reached the semi-finals. Garcia earned under $1 million on TOUR for the first time since 2003 and disappeared from the U.S. after the PGA Championship. The time off may due some Garcia some good in the long term, but obviously the short term was highly disappointing.

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. When does it not stink to finish second? When it gets you into the top 125 on the money list. That's what happened to Roland Thatcher, who was 177th on the money list coming into the week at Disney, made a two-putt par from about 40 feet and Spencer Levin made bogey on the 18th hole Sunday. That broke the tie and gave Thatcher the runner-up he needed. Not a terrible consolation for a guy who blew a five-shot lead. "I couldn't imagine having a more stressful moment in my life, up to this point," Thatcher said. "To be able to come out on the other side of that, on the good side of it is just amazing for me."

2. As much as TOUR players pull for each other, there are situations when they don't. Like Thatcher's. "That's just the truly awful thing about the situation that we're in from time to time," Thatcher said. "It's really horrible to say you're rooting against your friend in that situation, but I was rooting for [Levin] to miss it, and he did."

3. Don't tell Troy Merritt winning the Kodak Challenge didn't mean anything. Yes, it was more important, and more nerve-wracking, for Merritt when it came to securing a spot in the top 125 on the money list, which he did very late in the day Sunday. But that million bucks will go a long way and it was evident both meant a lot when he won with a birdie on the first extra hole. "It was a tear-fest after the final stage at q-school, and I kept my emotions in check pretty well, and once my wife came out and I saw tears in her eyes, that's when it kind of hit me," Merritt said. "I might start tearing up here a little bit just thinking about it, but I stayed on pretty much one level the whole hole, and I think that really helped." What will Merritt do with the $1 million? Buy his wife a new Lexus SUV to replace her Toyota Corolla, among other things.

4. I know I've said this before, but Rickie Fowler is going to have an impact on the game for a long, long time to come. He's mature well beyond his 21 years (except apparently when it comes to mini golf, during which he said he felt like he was 13 again) and so is his game. He has all the shots and the ability to win at least 10 times on TOUR. All that's left for him is to do it.

5. Stat That May Only Interest Me: Robert Garrigus is the first player since John Daly to lead the TOUR in driving distance and win in the same season. In other words, distance, at least at a certain point, is overrated.

6. Stat That May Only Interest Me II: Charles Howell III had 13 bogey-free rounds this season, the most of any on TOUR. How many wins did that add up to? Zero.

7. That said, for all the jockeying going on last week, Thatcher, Michael Connell and Mark Wilson, who was already previously exempt, were the only players to move into the top-125 on the money list after Sunday. On the other hand, Michael Allen, Troy Matteson, who was already exempt, and Woody Austin did drop out of the top 125.

8. The bigger concern, of course, is dropping out of the top 150. That's what Will MacKenzie and Nicholas Thompson did, falling from 148th and 150th, respectively, to 152nd and 153rd. They can, in part, thank Charles Warren for that. He went from 157th to 149th after tying for ninth at Disney.

9. On a programming note, this will be the last Monday Backspin column until Jan. 10 of next year, the day after the final round of the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Between now and then, however, there will be plenty of season in review stories along with a preview of 2011.

Merritt wins 2010 Kodak Challenge

WINNER: PGA TOUR rookie Troy Merritt HOW HE WON IT: It took a three-man playoff, but Troy Merritt made quick work of the 17th hole at the Magnolia Course, hitting his approach shot on the first playoff hole to two feet to win the $1 million. Full story | Click here to tour the Kodak Challenge holes | Final Kodak Challenge standings