by Jeff Skinner
Hits….
Bubba Watson validated his Travelers win with a big win over a very good field on a very large stage. He is a feel player that can really hang with the big guys.
Phil Mickelson is Phil Mickelson; he teases us every time he tees it up. A lip out putt was all that separated him from Bubba but he put on quite a show and is happy for a great start to his season.
Jhonattan Vegas proved he has a bit of staying power. With all that comes with a first win it wouldn’t have been surprising to see him fade or even miss a cut but he proved he can play with the big boys.
Dustin Johnson had a great final round at six under and moved to a T3 finish.
The round of the day went to Nick Watney with an opening nine holes at eight under par (he started on the back nine). He went on to shoot a 63 which ties the course record since it was redone for the 2001 US Open. Watney vaulted up fifty places to finish T60.
Misses…
Tiger Woods opened the 2011 season with his worst debut in his career. He had never finished out of the top ten as a pro at Torrey Pines. He had won his last five times there but his last two rounds totaled five over par and left him T44. Woods showed no consistency in any facet of his game and realizes he is still a work in progress. “I have some work to do,” Woods said. “There’s no doubt about that.”
Bill Haas who started tied for the lead bogeyed two of the first four holes and never had a chance after that. Even with his poor showing on Sunday he has opened the season with three top tens, that’s still pretty darn good.
Anthony Kim had a chance to get in the mix but his round of 72 was not good enough to be in it at the end.
Hunter Mahan opened with a double bogey and never had a chance after that.
The biggest miss of the day was by CBS Sports. We had to wait until the Duke/St. Johns game finished until they switched to coverage from Torrey Pines. You have to be kidding me. Who made that call? Maybe the execs at CBS had a few bills on the game.
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