A few random thoughts on the Players Championship 2015:
- Congratulations to Rickie Fowler. After last year’s outstanding performances in the Majors, I expected some big wins this year.
- I still think he ought to insist on being called Rick Fowler.
- Five birdies for Fowler in six tries at the famed Sawgrass 17th.
- Just as impressive, Fowler finished the final regular round with birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie.
- I don’t know whose idea it was to do a random survey of TOUR players on who was “Most Overrated,” but they deserve to be fired. Even if Fowler had not won the Players Championship, the survey was a cheap and disgusting stunt. What value could there possibly be in telling a couple of players (Fowler and Ian Poulter) that their peers think they’re a fraud? Almost as bad was that the television guys kept validating the issue by mentioning it.
- The Players Championship 2015 was the most exciting tournament I’ve watched in several years. Coming into the last couple of hours I lost track of the number of players who had a legitimate chance of winning.
- Tiger looks to me no better than before. At this point, he is an average TOUR player. It was his worst-ever performance at The Players. The television commentators kept saying how much improvement and potential they saw. I think that’s more wishful thinking on their part than realism. He’s been their meal ticket for so long they are not sure what they will do without him.
- On the other hand, I caught a couple of post-round interviews with Tiger throughout the week. He seemed to be a very different person. Tiger’s answers seemed forthright and he lingered longer with reporters than he has done in the past.
- Golf fans embarrassed themselves by heckling Sergio Garcia throughout the final round.
- I’m hoping that the log jam of talent on the final day of The Players Championship bodes well for a similarly competitive US Open. While I know that many enjoy runaway victories by the fan and media favorite, I want a tight competition where the outcome is in doubt from start to finish. That’s one of the reasons I never enjoyed watching Tiger Woods in his prime. If he was ahead on the weekend, there was no need to watch on Sunday — a victory was assured. No suspense — until YE Yang that is. Yang stole Tiger’s Mojo and he hasn’t been the same since.
- Fowler, who was 13th in the World Golf Rankings last week, moved into the nine spot. Other World Golf Ranking changes after The Players:
| Name | This Week | Last Week |
|---|---|---|
| Rory McIlroy | 1 | 1 |
| Jordan Spieth | 2 | 2 |
| Henrik Stenson | 3 | 3 |
| Bubba Watson | 4 | 4 |
| Jim Furyk | 5 | 5 |
| Justin Rose | 6 | 6 |
| Sergio Garcia | 7 | 10 |
| Jason Day | 8 | 7 |
| Rickie Fowler | 9 | 13 |
| Dustin Johnson | 10 | 8 |
