Hurricane Honda Brings Early St. Padraig’s Day

With the winter weather the rest of the country has managed, should the PGA Tour complain about delays, water blisters on greens, floating scoreboards and a Monday finish?

It came 15 days too early (St. Patrick’s Day is March 17), but Padraig (Harrington) and Patrick (Reed) battled down the stretch at the Honda Classic after (O’)Danny Berger torched the course with a final-round 64 to move to 6-under par. Then Reed went 4-over in three holes and Padraig doubled No. 17 — but birdied No. 18 — to get himself to 6-under. Whew! PLAYOFF!

After pars on No. 18, the duo went to No. 17, where Berger’s tee ball got wet and Harrington’s stayed dry for the win.

Coincidence of the week? James Hahn was ranked No. 297 in the Official World Golf Rankings before his win last week at Riviera. Guess who replaced him at that number? Yep, St. Padraig.

Winning WITB: See the clubs Harrington used to win

Crate Those Caddies!

Two weeks ago, I was tempted to write about the caddie lawsuit against the PGA Tour. Now, I have no alternative.

A question for you: On Saturday, with lightning delays from morning until evening, the caddies were offered refuge in:

1. The clubhouse
2. Another secure building
3. An oversized metal crate with no door

If you chose the third option, you might be called as a witness once the trial begins. It might have been a vindictive play by someone who thought “We’ll show those serfs!” It could have been another oversight in what the caddies allege is “second-class treatment” by the PGA Tour. Or, it might have been the result of some other nexus of notions and decisions.

It doesn’t look good and the Tour is fortunate that no one was injured in the box.

Further Reading: Caddie frustrations continue after shelter incident at the Honda Classic

You Can’t Handle The Pressure! (Or can you?)

Most of us can’t. Are we comforted by the knowledge that PGA Tour pros can’t either?

A study was released in February that attempted to quantify one reason — the amount of money that’s on the line on a 72nd-hole putt from 6-to-10 feet — why even the golfers of the PGA Tour are not immune to pressure.

Regardless of the preparation, drills to handle pressure and the psychological training that precede events, it all comes down to the moment. What the study admittedly doesn’t cover is the myriad situations that also get filed under pressure: holding a final-round lead; executing up and downs… you get the idea.

There’s a lot of pressure, so don’t stress over your putts this season. Oh, and this leads us to…

Ko Handles Homeland Pressure, Lewis Fades In Thailand

Two highly-ranked female golfers had very different results this weekend when faced with the pressures of winning important tournaments. No. 1-ranked Lydia Ko, who is 17 years old, posted a ridiculous 61 in Saturday’s second round and threw another three birdies at her challengers in the first six holes on Sunday on her way to winning the Women’s New Zealand, her nation’s national championship.

In direct contrast, Stacy Lewis (No. 3 in the world) has stolen glances at title opportunities twice this season, but has yet to steal a victory. Poor final rounds have done her in, so the answers to her questions remain elusive. While eventual Honda Thailand winner Amy Yang more than erased her two Sunday bogeys with five birdies, Lewis was undone by a late double bogey and relegated to yet another close, but no cigar result.

In case you think that pressure management is a young thing, it isn’t. Charley Hull (18) of England has struggled with chances at victory each of the last two weeks, as has Ariya Jutanugarn (19) of Thailand. Each of the young women continue to stumble to a 76ish score at some point, something that young Lydia is not known to do.

What Ko has can’t be quantified, amalgamated or synthesized in any laboratory. We last saw it from 1996 to 2009 in Tiger Woods and if we’re fortunate, we’ll have another opportunity to observe its magic.

Further Reading: Ko now has more wins than Lexi Thompson and Michelle Wie combined

Ben Crenshaw Final Masters 2015

Every golfing generation looks to an old soul for direction. The golfer represents things that are recognized as bygone, yet still valued (perhaps even more than before) to this day. When those golfers leave the game, either by choice or other means, there occurs an extended moment of reflection and tribute.

Come the 2015 Masters, a mammoth-sized salute will be offered to Ben Daniel Crenshaw. The two-time Masters champion announced last week that he will compete in his 44^th Augusta Spring Invitational (as it was once called by Bobby Jones) and will then slip into the tournament shadows, returning for fellowship and as host of the Tuesday-evening Past Champions dinner.

When you think of Crenshaw, you might recall his putting stroke, his 1995 Masters victory the same week his mentor and coach, Harvey Penick, was laid to rest, or the unwavering belief in fate and his U.S. Team at the 1999 Ryder Cup matches.

If you are a student of golf course architecture, you might have played Streamsong Red or Sand Hills, Bandon Trails or The Lost Farm, or any of the other 15 courses that Crenshaw and his design partner, Bill Coore, have created over the past 30 years. Never did a PGA Tour golfer hitch his design wagon to so talented an architect.

Crenshaw and his other partner, Carl Jackson (his Augusta National caddie) will make one final appearance on golf’s greatest stage, so grab some Kleenex and brush up on your Crenshaw biography.

Missed The Cut

• Brooks Koepka’s Attitude

Bounce-Back Brooks, you could call him (if you were a cheeseball announcer, which you’re not.) After opening with a 78 at PGA National, Koepka returned Friday with a vengeance. He slogged through the foul weather and signed for a mere 64 strokes, elevating him from early hotel check-out to let’s stick around for the weekend.

• Tiger Tiger Burning Bluejack and Kid Rock’s Advice

You can’t keep a good man down, nor can you keep Tiger Woods out of the golf news cycle. This week, his presence is due to a media tour of Bluejack National, his redo of a Coore-Crenshaw (sacrilege!) Texas layout. Oh, and the profound advice proffered by Kid Rock, telling Tiger to “loosen up, man!”

Oh, and the fact that Tiger is more interested in being a dad these days than practicing. For the moment, competitive Tiger is on the blocks, awaiting a tune-up. Will the siren call of Augusta National alter that outlook?

• Smiling Assassin Version 2K15

Not since Shigeki Maruyama made his name and teeth known to golfdom has a grinner the likes of Andy Sullivan made the scene.

Sullivan crafted an exquisite 66 to overtake a number of staunch challengers and win a second European Tour title in three months. Sullivan’s first tour triumph came in January at the South African Open. A return to the soil did the Englishman well, as he captured the Joburg Open by two strokes. In addition to the victory, Sullivan earned a spot in the 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrews in July.