by Jeff Skinner
1. All in all it was a great week at The Match Play. I know it may be a difficult format for television and sponsors but for real golf fans it is so much fun.
2. We saw Jason Day play the way we all have been waiting for and we got an up close look at the latest and greatest French export, Victor Dubuisson. He’s his own man, not your typical golfer, and we will be seeing ore of him this season.
3. Rickie Fowler started the week as the 58th ranked golfer in the Match Play and had just come off three missed cuts. He then proceeded to bust everyone’s bracket with his round one victory over Ian Poulter. That work with Butch Harmon may be paying off.
4. Cheers to Anna Nordqvist for her win at the Honda LPGA Thailand. It’s her first win since 2009. It’s good to see Michelle Wie and her tabletop putting stroke in contention again.
5. Is it me or are the players from Ireland the forthright golfers in the world. Rory is always open and honest and sometimes it gets him in trouble. Put a microphone in front of G-Mac and you get more than an earful. And Paddy Harrington once listed a dozen things and went on for fifteen minutes when asked about a swing change.
6. Paddy this week let it be known that he has had treatment for skin cancer and had some spots removed from his face. He’s hoping other golfers will heed his warning and get checked.
7. Jordan Spieth was cruising until his round four match with Ernie Els. He was spraying the ball and for the first time in his short but noteworthy career seemed to lose it on the course. He later apologized on Twitter,” I’m embarrassed about the way I acted on the course today.. Played like the 13 year old version of myself mentally.” He’s 20…he’ll be fine.
8. Sergio Garcia played well but then he ran into the buzz saw that was Rickie Fowler. Of course the match is remembered more for Sergio’s concession of Rickie’s 18 footer. True, play was delayed by Sergio’s taking a few drops to avoid a bee’s nest but that golf. Stuff happens. I can’t help but think Sergio is in full image upgrade mode. Even with that it was still classy, no matter what Faldo days.
9. Jason Day has been a very good golfer for a long time. He hangs around every major championship but for some reason he has fallen short. I think 2014 may be the year he breaks through.
10. Thanks to The Match Play we got to know Victor Dubuisson. He’s not your typical golfer and that’s a good thing. According to reports he’s a loner that doesn’t mind being by himself. Golf is the right game for him. He kept his composure even after he landed in the desert…twice. More amazing is that he didn’t even crack a smile when he made those amazing recoveries.
Extra Hole. There were many exciting matches all week at the Match Play but to finish with that championship match was remarkable. It was a good match going into 18 and after that is just got better. Match Play is fun and hopefully there will be plenty more of it.
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