1. Say what you will about Pete Dye’s Sawgrass, and plenty do, it certainly allows for excitement down the stretch. And they certainly gave it to us yesterday.
2. The sheer quality of the play, from just about everyone on the back nine was so impressive. These guys are good, really good.
3. I have said it before: I don’t like playoffs. Hockey yes, golf no. They are always anticlimactic. Yesterday was an exception, a great exception and one we will remember for a very long time.
4. I think I have lost my fondness for “anonymous polls.” Yea, its fun to hear who the worst tipper is on tour or who the players think has the best swing but sometimes things get a bit too vicious. Such was the case here. 
5. I think Rickie Fowler may have been the target of a bit of jealousy by being labeled as overrated. Fowler has cultivated an image and through his endorsements has himself become a brand. Isn’t that what most of the players strive for? To sign some endorsement contracts to make their life secure and therefore just go and play golf and try to get better every day. Fowler has done just that.
6. Part of the problem is that Fowler appeals to all demographics and he gives so much of his time and face, to any and all organizations that asks him to do a Public Service Announcement. What is more annoying? Rory’s “Hall of Fame” Rolex commercial or any one of Rickie’s PSA’s. The difference is Rory is getting paid. Rickie is volunteering his time and image for the good of the game.
7. I have come to the decision that I don’t want to play TPC Sawgrass. It is just too punishing. Water and bunkers and swales and pot bunkers and trees and sloped greens and more water and more bunkers. Did I mention the water and the bunkers? I’d take a shot, or two, at seventeen and maybe try eighteen (a 6 would be fine) and move on to the bar.
8. If Bill Haas had his putter working on Sunday we all would be hailing him as the latest and greatest. He missed two very short putts early in his round and easily could have killed all that playoff drama.
9. This week we saw the classy, mature Sergio Garcia and on Sunday he was a pleasure to watch. For the first three rounds he struggled mightily with his putter. On Sunday he found his stroke. He is such a great driver and iron player that when his putter is on he can win anywhere.
10. Cheers to the folks at NBC who got it so right yesterday. With the action coming fast and furious they seemed to get it all right. I can’t imagine how many cameras they used, they had every shot, or what that control room must have sounded like on Sunday. It was great television.
Playoff. Did anyone notice that we had the best finish of the season and there was no Tiger or Phil? And for that matter Rory McIlroy was too far back and Jordan Spieth missed the cut. There are many player and personalities that are capable of carrying this game in the years ahead.
Playoff. That being said Rory was driving the ball like no one in the game. It was his putter that failed him this week. If he could have putted he’d have won by a mile.
Playoff. Rickie Fowler is another one of Butch Harmon’s boys. Since working with Harmon he was top five in all four majors in 2014 (Nicklaus and Woods are the only others to do that) and now a PLAYERS Champion. Harmon likes to say he is both a swing coach and a mental coach. Simply put he is the best coach in the game, maybe ever. 
Playoff. How great was it that Fowler’s mother and sister had to scramble to get to the course to celebrate Rickie’s win. With him so far behind at the start they had left to make their flight back home. His college coach texted his mom while they were waiting for the plane and the two left their checked bags and hustled back to Sawgrass to be there when Rickie won it.
Playoff. There is talk about getting Pete and Alice Dye back out to Sawgrass to add some length to the course. I don’t understand why it seems to provide some great theater. Here’s one suggestion for Dye and the Tour: leave the last three holes alone. Sixteen provides a great chance for thrills with eagles and birdies. Seventeen has earned a place in the lexicon of famous golf holes. And eighteen is a brutal test and rewards only the best of shots. Mess with the other fifteen holes but that finish needs to stay unchanged.
Playoff. Each week as the play starts we all have hopes for great players playing great golf. This week we certainly were rewarded with just that. And on such a difficult and dramatic layout the play provided the one thing that we all need from this game, fun. I bet it was fun for Rickie and the boys and I know it was fun watching them. And that’s what we all play and watch this game for: fun. Oh, it was so much fun.
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