10 Things I Think

1. Sunday started with the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and the Golf Channel team earned its money. They say you can have all four seasons in one day in Ireland and that’s just what happened. Rain, heavy rain, thunder, lightning, hail, (yes hail) were featured during the final round as Rory McIlroy surged and Danny Willett faded. And Willett finished up in sunshine and short sleeves on a day that’s a weatherman’s dream. Amazing.

2. What really was amazing was Rory’s ability to crush the ball. He hit three world class approaches on 16, 17 & 18. Now if he would just go back to his old putting stroke… like the one he used to win his four majors.

3. Jordan Spieth had a tough day in front of his hometown fans. He continues to have big issues with the driver. And has a bad case of the rights.

4. I felt bad for Brooks Koepka on Saturday,,,not on Sunday. On Sunday he blew it but on Saturday had the unfortunate task of playing with two of the slowest players on tour. He was teamed with slow the playing Spieth (we overlook his pace because he the Golden Child) and Ben Crane. If Spieth is slow Crane is effin slooooow! I swear I saw Koepka crying under that Nike hat of his. Watching them play made me want to stick some tees in my eyes.

5. Sergio was gracious afterwards at the Nelson. Funny though, I could have sworn I heard him cursing the Golf Gods when he splashed a few in the water.

6. Two weeks ago Ariya Jutanugarn became the first Thai player to win on the LPGA Tour when she won the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic. She made it two in a row at the Kingsmill Championship yesterday. Could this be part of a new “Thai” invasion. Hey she does have a sister on tour.

7. Gerina Piller was the low American at Kingsmill with a T3 finish. She’s oh so close to winning. That’s her seventh top ten finish this year.

8. Stacy Lewis finished T26. She has yet to bounce back from her winless 2015 season but she does have four top tens, including two seconds this year. This has to be killing her. She’s one of the most competitive players out there. I can’t see this spell lasting much longer.

9. Cheers to Bernhard Langer for winning his sixth senior major championship at the Regions Tradition. The anchoring ban hasn’t slowed him down at all.

Inside Info. So Phil Mickelson gets named as a “relief defendant” in an SEC insider trading case. While he won’t be heading to the Big House he will be paying back a cool million in ill gotten gains. A few things here. First, Phil likes to make a buck and if it means using a little “inside info” he’s got no problem with that. Anyone that thinks that’s not how the market is stacked against the small, unconnected investor is foolish. Phil likes to think he’s smarter than everyone else. But those lawyers at the SEC are pretty smart too. Second, I am sure there was some serious negotiating between Phil’s peeps and the SEC to get him off without any charges here. But at the same time the SEC gets plenty of headlines with Phil in the mix here. Third, the PGA Tour has a code of conduct that prohibits players from associating with gamblers and it was a known gambler that gave him the inside info. Hmmm, could the tour take some action against Phil the Thrill? Probably not, all those suits are breathing a sigh of relief that they weren’t snagged by the SEC themselves.