Hot
1. Tiger Woods. The truly frightening thing is that no one was the least bit surprised he made that putt.
2. The Fabulous Bryant Boys. Bart and Brad (a.k.a. Dr. Dirt, the greatest nickname in sports), were co-headliners on Sunday, as baby bro Bart showed no fear in battling Tiger to the final hole while Brad was part of a taut playoff on the senior tour. Could make a good show on the Golf Channel ... if we can get Michelle Pfeiffer in a slinky cocktail dress gyrating atop a grand piano.
3. Graeme McDowell. With a stout victory in Korea, this likable lad had his countrymen in Northern Ireland raising plenty of pints of stout. And hopefully this will light a little fire under his compatriot Darren Clarke, too.
4. Sean O'Hair. Playing alongside Woods on Sunday, he got off to a rough start but fought back gamely, finishing tied for third a week after scoring his second career victory. Bombs it off the tee, great touch, red-hot in Florida ... hmmm, sounds like a good Masters pick to me.
5. The Bay Hill parking lot. With so many players making their homes in Orlando, it's a chance to celebrate conspicuous consumption: two Lamborghinis, a Ford GTO, and too many Escalades, AMG'd Mercedes and Motorsports BMWs to count. Plus enough rims and tinted windows to supply a half dozen rap videos. Proposed new slogan: These guys are ballers.
Not
1. Lorena Ochoa. She is unbeatable everywhere but her native Mexico, where the suffocating attention and her own sky-high expectations throw her off her game. She needs to figure this out soon, because the LPGA now has three tournaments south of the border, a big chunk of her schedule.
2. Vijay Singh. I know he is only seven months into a swing change, but the front nine on Saturday was downright silly as he hit three balls in the water to tumble from the top of the leaderboard. Last week Singh also went cross-handed with a short putter for the first time since 2004. Note to Veej: You're 45 — quit screwing around and commit to something.
3. George Lopez. He's out as host of the Hope, reportedly so Arnold Palmer can serve as M.C. Apparently Lopez was too edgy for the Hope demographics, i.e., blue-haired old ladies who had a crush on Palmer back in the late '50's.
4. David Feherty. The CBS funnyman and columnist for GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com, who has turned into an obsessive cyclist, was hit by a truck while riding in Dallas on Thursday. He cracked three ribs and punctured a lung but expects to be recovered in time for the Masters.
5. The WGCs. This week's CA Championship is just another reminder of how lame the misnamed World Golf Championships have become. Instead of a global series on compelling venues, we get a so-so desert track (Match Play) and two old standbys (Doral, Firestone) that have been part of the PGA Tour rota forever. Wake me when they play one of these events somewhere interesting.
1. Tiger Woods. The truly frightening thing is that no one was the least bit surprised he made that putt.
2. The Fabulous Bryant Boys. Bart and Brad (a.k.a. Dr. Dirt, the greatest nickname in sports), were co-headliners on Sunday, as baby bro Bart showed no fear in battling Tiger to the final hole while Brad was part of a taut playoff on the senior tour. Could make a good show on the Golf Channel ... if we can get Michelle Pfeiffer in a slinky cocktail dress gyrating atop a grand piano.
3. Graeme McDowell. With a stout victory in Korea, this likable lad had his countrymen in Northern Ireland raising plenty of pints of stout. And hopefully this will light a little fire under his compatriot Darren Clarke, too.
4. Sean O'Hair. Playing alongside Woods on Sunday, he got off to a rough start but fought back gamely, finishing tied for third a week after scoring his second career victory. Bombs it off the tee, great touch, red-hot in Florida ... hmmm, sounds like a good Masters pick to me.
5. The Bay Hill parking lot. With so many players making their homes in Orlando, it's a chance to celebrate conspicuous consumption: two Lamborghinis, a Ford GTO, and too many Escalades, AMG'd Mercedes and Motorsports BMWs to count. Plus enough rims and tinted windows to supply a half dozen rap videos. Proposed new slogan: These guys are ballers.
Not
1. Lorena Ochoa. She is unbeatable everywhere but her native Mexico, where the suffocating attention and her own sky-high expectations throw her off her game. She needs to figure this out soon, because the LPGA now has three tournaments south of the border, a big chunk of her schedule.
2. Vijay Singh. I know he is only seven months into a swing change, but the front nine on Saturday was downright silly as he hit three balls in the water to tumble from the top of the leaderboard. Last week Singh also went cross-handed with a short putter for the first time since 2004. Note to Veej: You're 45 — quit screwing around and commit to something.
3. George Lopez. He's out as host of the Hope, reportedly so Arnold Palmer can serve as M.C. Apparently Lopez was too edgy for the Hope demographics, i.e., blue-haired old ladies who had a crush on Palmer back in the late '50's.
4. David Feherty. The CBS funnyman and columnist for GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com, who has turned into an obsessive cyclist, was hit by a truck while riding in Dallas on Thursday. He cracked three ribs and punctured a lung but expects to be recovered in time for the Masters.
5. The WGCs. This week's CA Championship is just another reminder of how lame the misnamed World Golf Championships have become. Instead of a global series on compelling venues, we get a so-so desert track (Match Play) and two old standbys (Doral, Firestone) that have been part of the PGA Tour rota forever. Wake me when they play one of these events somewhere interesting.
