1. Usually while I am watching a golf tournament I’ll be pulling for my favorites and hoping for great shots from all (well, most of) the pro golfers. But yesterday I was seriously hoping that amateur Lee McCoy would pull a stunner and win the Valspar Championship. He was playing on his home course which he said he played a thousand times and I was hoping he would go all “Phil Mickelson” on the tour. Phil was the last am to win a PGA Tour event 25 years ago.
2. It must have been fairly intimidating for McCoy playing with the number one golfer in the world on Sunday. It would have been understandable if McCoy folded in that spotlight. But the “kid” hung tough and beat Jordan Spieth’s score by four shots, 69-73.
3. Actually McCoy is only eight months younger than Spieth and the two had played each other in AJGA days. As a freshman at Georgia McCoy once faced Justin Thomas one day and Spieth the next. So to paraphrase Carl Spackler, he had that going for him.
4. Spieth showed some signs of finding his game but was still dealing with two way misses. The Golden Child isn’t playing like the next coming of Tiger Woods and with tongue in cheek Jamie Diaz asks, “What’s wrong with Jordan Spieth?” I am with Mr.Diaz, it’s too early to worry about Jordan.
5. I will say this: Spieth is Must Watch TV and has been for awhile. Between his shots, both good and bad, his chatting with his caddie and his emotional manner he is really fun to watch.
6. Billy Haas was poised to win his seventh PGA Tour tournament as he was able to tweak his swing just a bit after dad, Jay Haas gave him a tip early in the week. Unfortunately for Bill he couldn’t get it done on Sunday and Charl Schwartzel swooped in and stole one from him. Haas is one of those players that always seems to be on the verge of winning a few times over the season but yesterday just wasn’t it.
7. Cheers to Scotland’s Catriona Matthew for being welcomed into Scotland’s Golf Hall of Fame and earning a Lifetime Achievement Award. She joins Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie, Sam Torrance, Sandy Lyle and Bernard Gallacher in being recognized as one of Scotland’s best of all time. Matthew won the 2009 Women’s British Open and is in her 22nd year on the LPGA.
8. I loved watching the battle between Bill Haas and Graham DeLaet yesterday, or the Beard versus the Bald as I called it. Haas chooses to shave his head and face while DeLaet looks like Tom Hanks in Castaway. ZZ Top has nothing on Delaet’s Beard and it won’t be long before it has it own Twitter page
9. Charl Schwartzel plays really well in South Africa racking of plenty of wins there but this was his first win on the PGA Tour since the ’11 Masters. Every Masters winner since then has now won on the 2016 season: ’12 Bubba Watson, ’13 Adam Scott, ’14 Watson, ’15 Spieth. Wow, could we be in for another great one at Augusta?
10. I have to give my brother props for calling out Donald Trump from the get go. Awhile back when I was asking “Is Donald Trump Good for Golf?” his response was he was good for nothing. And isn’t it the truth. Trump’s spending on new and refurbished courses won him friends at the PGA, PGA Tour and USGA and fans all over. But Trump the politician has crossed the line. Now I have to deal with one of my own New York Jets promoting Trump. Long time Jets center and former Pro Bowl selection, Nick Mangold was busy supporting Trump and introducing him at a rally in his home state of Ohio. Nick, you fool. Mangold and Trump do have something in common. Nick plays offensive line and Trump just is.
Bonus. Speaking of Ohio politics, Ohio governor John Kasich said he never watches the political mess that is broadcast daily on television. All he watches is The Golf Channel. Well, at least he has that going for him.
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