Backspin: Let's see where Bradley, Donald go next

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I don't even know what to make of what happened this weekend. Two playoffs, two players hitting it into the water to seal their fate.

Has that ever happened before? Not as far as I could remember, or tell in my research.

The result of those miscues was pretty significant with Keegan Bradley getting his first career victory and Luke Donald his third since 2010. The latter has elevated Donald to best-player-in-the-world status, while the former signaled yet another surprising winner on a ridiculously difficult weekend of scoring at TPC Four Seasons.

Now it will be interesting where both players go from here.

Bradley will turn 25 next week, is now 20th in the FedExCup standings, and of course has some pretty good lineage in his Hall-of-Fame aunt Pat Bradley.

Donald will be one of the favorites at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance. He'll also be a popular pick to win his first major at Congressional next month and surely a favorite again later this summer at the British Open at Royal St. George's and the PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club. The FedExCup also appears well within his reach.

"I'm obviously playing well," Donald said after his victory at the BMW PGA Championship.

But that's not good enough for Donald, whose journey to this point has been long and not without a ton of hard work.

"The goal for me is to always continue to focus on the processes of getting better," Donald continued. "I have a lot more to accomplish, hopefully many more victories in me, and hopefully I can at least be somewhat of a worthy No. 1 for a few weeks."

Can anyone really dispute that Donald is the best player in the world right now?

In addition to his win last week, Donald has seven top-10s, including a win, in eight starts on the PGA TOUR and is second in the FedExCup. That's already as many top-10s as he had all of last year when he had three runner-up finishes and two third-place finishes.

Donald's success can be attributed to more than hard work, though.

"Looking back to the birth of my first child, Elle, my golf has only gone from strength-to-strength," said Donald, whose wife Diane is expecting the couple's second child this November. "It's been a real blessing to become a father. It's given me a lot more responsibility I think as a person. I've grown up. I've become a better person."

And a better player.

"It's nice to come home even when you finish second or don't quite close out a tournament; when you've got her little face smiling back at me, you're able to forget things pretty quickly," Donald added.

"She really is an inspiration to me, just watching her grow, and every day, learning new skills, adapting, becoming better and better at what she is; that's all I'm trying to do at golf, too. Just every day, just try and figure a way to improve."

Stock up

Jason Day: Another week, another strong performance by Day, who had the best weekend of anybody in Dallas with rounds of 69-67 on a totally windswept course that blew the leaders backwards. Day has now finished in the top 10 in four of his last five starts, which includes his fifth-place finish at the HP Byron Nelson. FedExCup rank: 23 (25 last week). Nick Watney: A tie for eighth in Dallas gives Watney his seventh top-10 of the year and second in as many starts. Watch out for Watney at the U.S. Open. He's playing the best golf of his career and he hits it just straight enough -- and certainly long enough -- to be a contender at Congressional. FedExCup rank: 4 (6 last week). Jason Dufner: Very quietly Dufner has put together a nice stretch of golf over the last month with three top-10s, including a tie for eighth at the HP Byron Nelson. That good play has also benefited his Birdies for 'Bama foundation with $3,500 raised ($100 for every birdie; $500 for every eagle) for tornado relief efforts. FedExCup rank: 22 (22 last week)

Stock down

Justin Leonard: There was a time not that long ago, like in 2009, when you could pencil in Leonard for a top-10 or top-15 finish at stops in his native Texas. No more. Leonard has missed four of his last five cuts and eight of 15 this season, including at Colonial and last week at TPC Four Seasons. FedExCup rank: 113 (106 last week). Michael Sim: A three-time winner on the Nationwide Tour two years ago, Sim is discovering it's a little more difficult on the PGA TOUR. In 12 starts Sim has missed nine cuts, including seven of his last eight. In his 30 rounds this season, Sim has broken 70 just three times and two of those came in his first start of the year at the Sony Open in Hawaii. FedExCup rank: 218 (214 last week) Shaun Micheel: A year after finishing with five top-25s, including three top-10s, Micheel has struggled. In 14 starts, he's missed the cut seven times (four in the last five starts) and withdrawn from another. He has been suffering from endolymphatic hydrops, an inner ear disorder and a form of Meniere's disease that leads to dizziness, headaches and other side effects. FedExCup rank: T184 (T180 last week)

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:

1. Keegan Bradley became the fourth rookie on TOUR to win this year, joining Jhonattan Vegas, Charl Schwartzel and Brendan Steele. Rickie Fowler, now in his second year, is still looking for his first win. But that's golf.

2. Lee Westwood's water ball on the first extra hole against Luke Donald was just cruel. Westwood said afterward he couldn't believe the shot ended up in the water and neither could I. The ball landed past the flag, which was on the back left side of the green, spun back and off the side and into the water. "It wasn't a bad shot, just had a little bit too much spin on it. It was just unfortunate, you don't like to see that," Donald said. Tough way to lose but not an unfamiliar one to Westwood.

3. Stat of the Week: One. That's the number of birdies Sergio Garcia had over his last two-plus rounds at TPC Four Seasons, where he tumbled from second going into the final round to a tie for 20th after shooting a 7-over 77. Here's another one: 67. That's the number of putts Garcia had over the weekend. Yikes.

4. Stat of the Month: Five. The number of playoffs on TOUR in the last six weeks. Of those five, only one player who began the day with at least a share of the lead actually went on to win -- David Toms at Colonial.

5. Be careful with any comparisons between Jordan Spieth and Matteo Manassero. For one, Manassero already has two career wins on the professional level. For another, Spieth was playing a TPC Four Seasons Resort course that he's very familiar with. Not taking anything away from Spieth's performance, which was impressive -- he had 20 birdies for the week -- but course familiarity had at least a little something to do with it. That said, it looks like Texas is getting a heck of a player.

6. Last week it was the caddies getting sacked. Well, this time it was apparently the caddie doing the sacking with Jason Hempleman dropping Colin Montgomerie for Francesco Molinari. "I have usually done the sacking in my life, now it's the other way around -- sad but true," Montgomerie told reporters. "Jason is a lovely guy and did a super job for me and I wish him well with Francesco. Now I don't know what to do." Montgomerie used Thomas Bjorn's caddie, Dominic Bott, last week but the search for a full-time replacement is on.

7. I'm not sure if this unidentified 4-year-old is the future of American golf, but the kid definitely can swing the club as you'll see when he hits the driving range cart four times.

8. Congrats to fellow golf scribe Mike Buteau from Bloomberg. He was part of an eight-man relay team that ran 260 miles across Georgia over Memorial Day weekend in the Run for the Heroes, which benefits the House of Heroes, a nonprofit organization serving military and public safety veterans and spouses. To donate, click here. Or to help out the Birdies for Brave or the Wounded Warrior Project click here. Even if it's just a buck, it all makes a difference.

9. Happy Memorial Day.

Forward Spin

A year ago, Justin Rose got his first career TOUR win at the Memorial tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance. Rose has played well this year, but he's struggled with the putter (he ranks 115th in strokes gained-putting). The putter of course was the difference for Rose last season in what was a career year with two wins. Who else might have a big week at Muirfield Village? Rickie Fowler. He was second there last year after opening 65-66 and wants to get that first win out of the way. Muirfield Village would be a pretty good place to get it.

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

TOURNAMENT: the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance HOLE: The par-4, 363-yard 14th at Muirfield Village ABOUT THE HOLE: Muirfield Village's Kodak hole is a downhill tee shot, once again into a wide, tree-lined valley. The green is long and narrow, and heavily guarded left by several bunkers. Kodak Challenge standings