Before we get to the ruling controversy that will no doubt be the hallmark of this 92nd PGA Championship when we look back years from now, let me first state this: Sunday’s final round at Whistling Straits was the single most scintillating day of golf we’ve witnessed this entire season. The amount of world class players who either led or were within just a shot or two of the lead at some point during the round was phenomenal: Nick Watney, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Zach Johnson, Camilo Villegas, Steve Elkington, Jason Day, Jim Furyk and of course eventual champion Martin Kaymer. Congrats to Kaymer by the way – the playoff with Bubba was awesome. Bubba birdied the first hole, then Kaymer birdied the second hole to pull even, and it all came down to No. 18, named “Dyeabolical” in reverence to course designer Pete Dye, where Bubba blinked first.

Unfortunately Dustin wasn’t able to be a part of that playoff thanks to the two-stroke penalty he incurred on the 72nd hole for grounding his club in a fairway bunker. It was such an odd sight to see him hit that shot while hundreds of fans stood around him, many inside that bunker with him. Because there are so may bunkers (over 1,000 by most estimates) at Whistling Straits, if the PGA roped off all of them there’d be no room for patrons. The penalty was enforced correctly based on the rule the PGA had in place this week. Problem is that rule should have been changed. All of the bunkers outside the ropes, which are exposed to spectator traffic, should have been deemed waste areas instead of hazards. At the very least it’s unfortunate that the PGA of America’s walking official with the group, David Price, wasn’t able to get over to Dustin before he played his shot to remind him his ball was indeed in a hazard.

But of course Johnson is a big boy, and should have thought to check with an official, or at the very least should have been mindful of the fact his ball was laying in sand of some sort, bunker or not, and thus avoided grounding his club. This doesn’t make it any easier to swallow for millions of fans worldwide watching who no doubt feel DJ was robbed of a chance to win his first ever career major.

Maybe the fact that Dustin’s T-5 finish at Whistling was still good enough to boost him into the top eight automatic qualifiers for the U.S. Ryder Cup team will soften the sting. Congrats as well to Bubba, who also played his way onto the team. Will Tiger Woods be donning red, white and blue in Wales? The entire golf world now waits with baited breath for that answer, as Corey Pavin will announce his four captain’s picks on September 7. Tiger’s T-28 finish at Whistling dropped him to 12th in the points standings. Pavin’s easy way out could be to simply pick the next four players in the standings, in which case Tiger is in. I don’t think he’ll do that however. There’s no doubt in my mind if Tiger wants to play, he will be on the team. And I think he wants to play.

Listen to Russ Evans every Sunday morning at 8am on Golf Exchange presented by The Honda Classic. You can email him at revans@thehondaclassic.com.

When PGA TOUR journeyman Paul Goydos shot 59 at the John Deere Classic, common thought was the record tying score couldn’t have come from a more unlikely person. Fast forward three weeks, and we have found a more unlikely person – a guy who hadn’t won in four years, was ranked 159th in the world, needed a special exemption to keep his card this season, and was playing his 11th straight week on TOUR. Stuart Appleby won the Greenbrier Classic with a 59 in his final round, becoming just the fifth man in PGA TOUR history to go below 60. The Aussie finished 147th on the money list last year and needed a one-time career money list exemption to keep his playing rights. He had played 23 previous tournaments this year, missing 11 cuts and finishing in the top-10 just twice.

The same day Goydos shot 59 at the John Deere, Appleby was paired with Steve Stricker, who shot 60. Appleby also played with D.A. Points Saturday at the Greenbrier, when he shot 61. Should we keep an eye on Jimmy Walker, Appleby’s playing partner during Sunday’s 59? Maybe. Maybe all these guys need is to see others going really low and it rubs off. Perhaps that’s why we’ve seen 59 popping up so frequently as of late: it took 24 years for Chip Beck to shoot the Tour's second 59, after Al Geiberger did it first in 1977. It took Appleby only 23 days to follow up Goydos.

It’s beginning to feel like par is only a benchmark a handful of times a year, mostly at the majors. Appleby shot 59 at the Greenbrier the day after J.B. Holmes put up a 60 and Points shot his aforementioned 61. We also saw a 62 from Jeff Overton earlier in the week. Was the course too short? It was playing to just over 7,000 yards, which isn’t long by PGA TOUR standards. But length isn’t the biggest issue, as we’ve seen short courses (Harbour Town, Pebble Beach) give players fits. The issue is overall course setup – pin placements, width of fairways, bunkers, green speeds, rough height, etc. Rain is also a big factor in going low. Appleby’s 59 came in very soft conditions, and two other 59’s (Geiberger, Goydos) came under lift, clean and place rules. 

We’re accustomed to superstars holding the records in sports: Michael Jordan is the career scoring average leader in the NBA; Emmit Smith is the all-time career rushing leader in the NFL; Babe Ruth and later Hank Aaron set the career HR mark in MLB. That’s what I find most interesting about the scoring records in golf. The names are not superstars. Jack Nicklaus never broke 60. Tiger Woods doesn’t hold the 72-hole scoring record, Tommy Armour III does. Maybe that’s why major championships are so important in golf, why debates over greatness start and end there. If we left it up to the record books, greatness wouldn’t truly be great.

 Listen to Russ Evans every Sunday morning at 8am on Golf Exchange presented by The Honda Classic. You can email him at revans@thehondaclassic.com.

Maybe I should blame the ridiculously early 4am television starting times. If not for that, I could have slept and perhaps wouldn’t be so grumpy. But I’m ticked, and I’m going to rain on Louis Oosthuizen’s parade. What an incredibly disappointing Open Championship! There wasn’t much happening at St. Andrews that excited me: the weather was too big of a factor, giving one side of the draw (late Thursday, early Friday) a huge advantage; many of the biggest names (Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, Jim Furyk) missed the cut; the world’s top two players (Tiger Woods & Phil Mickelson) were non-factors; and another no-name wins a major.

A couple of tips for the Knee-Jerk-Reactionaries in the crowd:

-Stop calling Oosthuizen the “Real Deal”! I’m so tired of the golf world anointing the major champion of the moment as “a guy who could win many more of these over his career”. Why can’t we just be happy he had his moment in the sun and move on? For every Angel Cabrera (a guy who actually did surprise and repeat his major triumph), there are FAR MORE One-and-Dones: Davis Love III, Paul Lawrie, David Toms, Rich Beem, Mike Weir, David Duval, Zach Johnson, Ben Curtis, Trevor Immelman, Todd Hamilton, Michael Campbell, Shaun Micheel, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink…and the list goes on. There’s a reason Oosthuizen had only one previous win in nearly a decade as a pro. I refuse to believe he’ll ever again factor in major.

-Stop writing Tiger off! I can’t believe how many times I’ve read that Tiger is finished. At least wait until someone wrestles the #1 ranking from his hands before throwing dirt on his grave. I realize it’s now been over two years since his last major victory, but twice previously he’s had longer winless streaks, and bounced back both times in spectacular fashion. He might never again dominate his peers like he once did, but I still believe he passes both Jack Nicklaus (18 majors) and Sam Snead (82 total wins).

Believe it or not, I actually did find a few positives from the events in Scotland:

-Lee Westwood once again plays runner-up. This guy has become the surest bet in major championships over the last couple years – this marks his fourth Top-3 finish in the last five majors. And here’s a twist – I’m betting on him to win multiple majors instead of the champion of the moment, and he hasn’t even notched the first one yet. Look for him to follow a similar path as Harrington – contend, contend, contend, and then once he finally does break though, dude rattles of 3 wins in a 6 major stretch.

-Sergio Garcia. The reports of the Spaniard’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. El Nino didn’t put up an over-par round all week. No, he many never win his major, but he’ll continue to play well on Ryder Cup teams for years to come. (by the way, think Colin Montgomerie isn’t thrilled by the exploits from all his Ryder Cuppers at St. Andrews?)

-Rory McIlroy. Loved the way he bounced back from the second round 80 to post two sub-par rounds over the weekend and finish T3. Major stones – really encouraging to see from a 21-year old. He IS the real Deal. 

Listen to Russ Evans every Sunday morning at 8am on Golf Exchange presented by The Honda Classic. You can email him at revans@thehondaclassic.com.

Bubba Watson finally broke through for his first PGA TOUR win after four career runner-ups, besting Corey Pavin & Scott Verplank in a three-way playoff Sunday at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut. Watson showed a ton of fortitude, bouncing back to birdie No. 18 and get into the playoff after a double bogey at No. 17 dropped him one shot out. The birdie was a product of an incredible 396-yard drive that left him just 50 yards into the last, the same hole that Pavin had over 200 yards into playing just one group earlier.

Oddly enough, this marks the fourth week in a row on TOUR where the 54-hole leader by three strokes coughed it up in the final round. Previous to Justin Rose on Sunday in Connecticut, we saw Dustin Johnson (U.S. Open), Rickie Fowler (Memorial), and Robert Garrigus (St. Jude Classic) do the very same thing.

Here’s the most ironic part of Watson’s victory: he isn’t the first, or even the second player from his High School to win on TOUR. Those distinctions go to Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley, also products of Milton in the Florida panhandle.

The thing I like most about Bubba’s game is that he’s a throwback – he shapes shots left-to-right and also right-to-left. He hits low knockdown shots and also towering balls that fall straight out of the sky. And his short game is much better than one might expect from a bomber who’s led the TOUR in driving distance 3 of the last 4 years. Bubba will win more – MUCH more.

Watson’s victory means 6 of the last 9 winners on TOUR have been first timers, including last week’s winner at the U.S. Open in Pebble Beach, Graeme McDowell.

One more thing… Bubba just made the Ryder Cup team. If he isn’t in the top 8 in points come September, Pavin will no doubt make him one of his captain’s picks. How could he not, having seen Watson’s brilliance up close and personal in that playoff. Speaking of the Ryder Cup, Freddie Couples should be another one of Pavin’s captain’s picks. He’s won 3 times so far this year on the Champions tour, and he finished sixth at the Masters. Plus, he captained last year’s victorious President’s Cup team, so he’s got the team mojo working for him, and would no doubt gel perfectly with the players, many of whom he led in San Francisco.

Are you headed to Orlando this summer for the family’s annual theme park vacation? Don’t leave your golf clubs at home! I recently hit up Falcon’s Fire Golf Club and it is a MUST PLAY. The award winning Rees Jones design features classic architecture and consistently immaculate conditions year round. Four sets of tees cater to golfers of all skill levels, and kids 16 and under golf for free after 3pm when accompanied by a full paying adult. And here’s the best part: the course is located in Kissimmee just minutes away from all the major theme parks. Check out Falcon’s Fire online here or call 407-239-5445.

Listen to Russ Evans every Sunday morning at 8am on Golf Exchange presented by The Honda Classic. You can email him at revans@thehondaclassic.com.
 

DART: Shame on the USGA for not making the Memorial Tournament champion an automatic qualifier for the U.S. Open. This year, the unlucky winner happens to be Justin Rose, ranked 33rd in the world following his win at Muirfield Village on Sunday. The Open is still a week away, meaning there’s another PGA TOUR event in Memphis before heading to Pebble Beach. The Masters awards a spot the very day before its tournament to the winner in Houston each year. The least the USGA could do is invite the winner of 4-time U.S. Open champion Jack Nicklaus’ event to their major championship. The USGA also should have given an exemption to 1992 U.S. Open champion Tom Kite, who’s competed in 33 Opens over his HOF career. Instead the spot went to Vijay Singh, and Kite missed qualifying for Pebble Beach by one stroke at Columbine CC in Denver on Monday.

LAUREL: Kudos to the SFPGA for their new initiative “Smiling for Life”. PGA Professionals will be visiting various south Florida hospitals and teaching the game of golf to patients and staff. They kicked off the initiative May 5 with seven local pros visiting the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood. SFPGA Executive Director Geoff Lofstead says the long term goal is to expand the program throughout the south Florida section with as many as six hospitals. Great idea, nice work!

DART: From the “Where’s the Justice” category… Broadcasting legends Walter Cronkite, Peter Jennings, Dick Schaap, Jim McKay, Tom Brokaw, and Bob Costas don’t have one, but thanks to some questionable judgment on the part of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Selection Committee, the Clown known as Chris Berman now has his very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. First off, there are way too many Walk of Fame stars being handed out – well over 2,400 since 1956. By comparison, the World Golf Hall of Fame has only 131 members. Berman’s been making himself bigger than the events he covers for years. He was the first in the unfortunate ESPN mold of “Look at Me” personalities, followed by jokes like Stuart Scott, Steven A. Smith, and Jim Rome. I can handle his idiocy on ESPN, where I can push the mute button or change the channel. But this is just too much. Memo to the people in Los Angeles: Stop encouraging the buffoon!

LAUREL: Kudos to the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints for auctioning off a championship ring to raise money for the Oil Spill Cleanup efforts in the Gulf. The team hopes to raise $1 million. I bet they’ll get that and more.

DART: To the IOC if they choose anyone other than the team of Jack Nicklaus & Annika Sorenstam to design the golf course in Brazil that will host Olympic Competitors in 2016. This has got to be the biggest no-brainer in the history of mankind: The greatest male and female players the game has ever seen designing the venue that will host both men and women in the first Olympic Golf Competition in over 100 years. Where can I place a wager on this becoming reality?

Listen to Russ Evans every Sunday morning at 8am on Golf Exchange presented by The Honda Classic. You can email him at revans@thehondaclassic.com.

At the risk of jumping to a day after knee jerk reaction, the 74th edition of the Masters was one of the greatest in tournament history.

We’ll start with the champion, Phil Mickelson. Phenomenal play all week, especially his bogie-free 5-under-par 67 on Sunday. (His 5-under-par stretch through holes 13-15 late Saturday was also incredible) The unbelievably daring approach shot at No. 13 from the pine straw on Sunday, between 2 trees, will go down as one of his greatest swings ever – could have been The Greatest Ever, but Philly Mick unfortunately missed the 4-foot eagle putt, negating the value of the risk he took over Rae’s Creek. (Lee Westwood also made birdie after laying up from nearly the same spot in the straw.)

Lost in all the hoopla of the “specialness” of the win for the sake of his ailing wife and mother (and it was quite a heart-warming story) is the fact that Phil’s 4-day total of 16-under-par 272 is just 2 strokes off Tiger Woods’ all-time tournament record 270 set in his 1997 runaway victory, and the fourth lowest total in the history of the Masters. This win gives Phil 3 green jackets and 4 majors overall, breaking him out of a pack of 18 players with 3 majors each, including contemporaries Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els, and Vijay Singh. Phil is now in elite company – only 20 golfers in the history of the game have won 4 or more majors. This win, his first major since the meltdown at the ’06 U.S. Open, also should exorcize those lingering Winged Foot Demons. Phil turns 40 in June and might be on the precipice of the greatest golf of his career.

Tiger was extremely erratic, had probably his C-game at best, hadn’t played competitively in over 5 months, and still finished tied for 4th with K.J. Choi, just 5 strokes back of Mickelson. Pretty encouraging stuff, although you wouldn’t have known it based on his post-round presser – he said the week was a failure because he didn’t win. (Shouldn’t his return to Buddhism make him more positive?) We will next see the Striped One at either Quail Hollow or The Players Championship.

Speaking of Choi, “The Sports Professor” Rick Horrow told us during his weekly Sports Business segment on Golf Exchange Radio that K.J.’s sponsors, namely SK Telecom, received an estimated $15 million worth of free advertising exposure thanks to the Korean being paired with Tiger all 4 days. Wonder if the brass at Nike are now kicking themselves for dropping Choi at the end of 2009?

Freddie Couples made it very interesting for 3-and-a-half rounds, nearly becoming the oldest ever major champion. Amen Corner ended his chances on Sunday, as he made bogie at No. 11 and a double at No. 12. But for a few early hours Sunday, the possibility born from Boom-Boom’s front-nine 33 was incredibly intriguing. That, along with his 3 wins this year on the Champions Tour, make me think Freddie still has plenty left in the tank, perhaps maybe even a second career major victory.

Anthony Kim, who won the Houston Open last week, gave further credence to the tournament at Redstone being a good lead-in for the Masters with his final round 65 and third place finish. The Rees Jones design has been set-up the last few years to mimic Augusta National with light rough, perfectly manicured bunkers and shaved collection areas. Last year’s Houston Open winner Paul Casey also had a fine showing at the 2009 Masters, finishing T-20. I have a feeling even more world class players will be teeing it up at Redstone in 2011.  

I also have a feeling I’ll be returning to Augusta National next year, making my first trip to the Masters since Trevor Immelman’s win in 2008. Yes, CBS does a phenomenal job of covering the year’s first major, but not even HD TV is a suitable substitute for the Real Thing!

Listen to Russ Evans every Sunday morning at 8am on Golf Exchange presented by The Honda Classic. You can email him at revans@thehondaclassic.com.