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STROKE OF THE DAY |
"Everyone has his own choking level, a level at which he fails to play his normal golf. As you get more experienced, your choking level rises." |
-Johnny Miller |
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 WINNER – TIGER WOODS The former Cypress resident won his first event on the PGA Tour after a five-week break — the Buick Invitational. He also opened the Tiger Woods Learning Center in Anaheim. The only negative for Woods was that he didn’t win the Nissan Open, having to withdraw because of illness after barely making the cut. He is now 0-9 there as a professional. LOSER – PHIL MICKELSON Lefty had a rough start to the season, both on and off the golf course. The San Diego resident failed to win on the West Coast for the first time since 2003, when he went winless the entire year. Off the course, Mickelson was voted one the most hated athletes by GQ Magazine. WINNER – J.B. HOLMES The rookie blew past the field at the FBR Open and won his first event in three starts. Holmes, who is second in driving distance with a 313.1-yard average, showed he also has a good short game. He became a fan favorite with the raucous crowd in Scottsdale. LOSER – VIJAY SINGH The closest he came to winning was losing a playoff to Stuart Appleby at the Mercedes Championship. After that, he was hardly heard from again. He played in three more events and had top 20 finishes in all of them, but never threatened for the lead. The world’s No. 2 player should have had a stronger performance than he had. WINNER – ARRON OBERHOLSER With the memory of a choke at the same event two years ago, Oberholser could have repeated the gag in the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Instead, he bent during the final round but did not break and won his first PGA Tour event. LOSER – MIKE WEIR With his confidence shaken from a disappointing 2005, Weir had a chance to get his first victory since the 2004 Nissan Open. He was tied with Oberholser going into the final round at Pebble, but collapsed, shooting a shocking 78. A stunned Weir said he expected to win and his confidence plummeted even more. WINNER – DAVID TOMS Coming off a procedure to correct a defect in his heart four months ago, Toms won the Sony Open in Hawaii, shooting a 65 in the final round and cruising to a five-stroke victory over Chad Campbell. This is the second time Toms has rebounded from an injury and he should be considered as someone who can win a major championship this year. LOSER – JASON GORE One of the nicest guys in the world, Gore suffered through a miserable West Coast Swing. He played in seven events, missed the cut in five, and his best finish was 28th. Out of 20 rounds played, only one was in the 60s and three were in the 80s. The Valencia resident has the rest of this season and next as an exempt player, but he needs to figure out what’s wrong or he’ll be back on the Nationwide Tour. WINNER – FBR OPEN This is the best-attended tournament on the West Coast. Not bad for an event where the final day is on Super Bowl Sunday. The rowdy crowds have tamed a bit, but there were still more than 200,000 fans on the weekend. There were no major incidents during the event and the players had no complaints with the crowds. LOSER – BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC Players weren’t gushing over the Classic Club — the new course in the rotation — and the celebrities who showed up were not as impressive as previous years. Only two players ranked in the top 20, and the tour announced that next year all five rounds will be televised on The Golf Channel. WINNER – CHAD CAMPBELL After watching helplessly as David Toms shot a 65 in the final round of the Sony Open to beat him out of the trophy, Campbell came back the following week and played masterfully at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, posting four of his five rounds in the 60s to win by three shots. LOSER – NISSAN OPEN It was the only event to have any significant weather, with rain coming down on half the field on Friday. Fortunately it didn’t delay any of the golf. Riviera Country Club is one of the best golf courses in the country, but mediocre fan turnout and a woman blasting an air horn above the 13th fairway in protest blighted the event. Tiger Woods withdrawing after two days with the flu didn’t help either. WINNER – RORY SABBATINI The South African has turned himself into one of the best under-30 golfers on the tour and redeemed himself after last year’s public run-in with Ben Crane over Crane’s slow play. Sabbatini tamed Riviera Country Club and did it while the crowd was openly cheering for Fred Couples. WINNER – TOM LEHMAN The Ryder Cup captain may just make the team as a player if he continues his steady play. In five events, Lehman had three top-20 finishes, including ties for seventh at Pebble Beach and Riviera. Lehman has said he would like to be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer, and the West Coast Swing pointed him in the right direction. Losing 25 pounds has also helped Lehman become a stronger player. LOSER – DAVIS LOVE III The past couple of years have been tough on Love, who is struggling to find his game. The West Coast Swing didn’t help much. He played in four events, missed the cut in two and finished tied for 24th and 33rd in the other two. Love also dropped out of the top 20 of the world rankings. Unless he does something to regain his form, Love won’t make the Ryder Cup team. LOSER – LA COSTA RESORT AND SPA The golf resort hosted its final Accenture Match Play Champion-ship and will no longer have a presence in professional golf. The course had been criticized by some players and experienced drainage problems last year during heavy rains. The tour moved the event to Tucson next year. John Reger has been covering professional golf since 1995. If you have a question or comment, e-mail him at cascribe@aol.com. PHOTOS BY EDDIE MEEKS |
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