Hot
1. Texas. Yeah, yeah, we know: Hogan, Nelson, Trevino, Crenshaw, Penick, Jenkins ... Yes, it's a great golf state, and barely a third of the way through the beefed-up Texas swing I'm already sick of hearing all about it.
2. Bridget Lowry. Her son Shane, playing as a 22-year-old amateur, won the Irish Open on home soil in his first-ever Euro tour start, but mum was the big winner, collecting some $20,000 after taking her boy at 250-1 odds. At least someone in the family got a nice payday for the victory.
3. Zach Johnson. Since the start of '07 he has five wins, including a Masters. Who's compiled a better record in that span? Tiger and Paddy, and that's it. Pretty solid company.
4. Lance Ten Broek. LTB enjoyed an unprecedented double-dip by caddying for Jesper Parnevik at the Texas Open and also playing in the event with borrowed clubs as a last-minute fill-in, along the way beating his boss with a very respectable 141. I'm getting blisters just thinking about it.
5. Ji Young Oh. How do you win your first career tournament on a tough golf course, as Oh did at Upper Montclair? Start by hitting 49 of 56 fairways. I'll be lucky to hit 49 fairways over the entire summer!
Not
1. Adam Scott. The defending champ at the Nelson arrives in the biggest slump of his career. So why is he not more distraught? One word: Ivanovic.
2. AK. He shot 44 on his final nine holes at the Players then nearly finished dead last at the Texas Open. Hopefully playing at home this week will light a fire, but from everything we've seen so far this year, don't count on it.
3. The Race to Dubai. More like the race to goodbye. The company funding the Euro tour's lavish season-ending shindig was just taken over by the government as Dubai has been hit particularly hard by the global recession. Suddenly the FedEx Cup is looking a little more triumphant.
4. The LPGA. This is a dark week for women's golf as the tour bids adieu to the Corning Classic, one of the most beloved and well-supported events on the schedule. When this tournament can't survive it's definitely time to fret about the LPGA's business model.
5. Paul Goydos. It was painful to watch this amiable vet choke on the final holes at La Cantera. Putting microphones on caddies is a nice idea, but given Goydos's self-lacerating sense of humor, I would much prefer to be able to read the players' thought bubbles.
