WAM Golf

Phil Mickelson Wins the Waste Management Phoenix Open

It didn't take long for Phil Mickelson to earn his first PGA Tour victory of the young 2013 season. Just 7 days after Tiger Woods claimed victory at the Farmers Insurance Open, Mickelson went wire-to-wire to earn his 41st PGA Tour career victory.

 

Mickelson created a buzz on Thursday when he shot a 60 after narrowly missing his putt on the final home for a 59 (video above). After the heartbreaking miss, "Lefty" went on to shoot 64-65-67, while holding off a charge from Brandt Snedeker. Snedeker was the runner-up the previous week at the Farmers Insurance Open. He did it again as Mickelson shot 28-under the par, good enough for a four stroke victory over Snedeker who was 24-under.

Mickelson's Numbers

Mickelson's 41st win was done by dominating the field. He came up just shy of the coveted 59 in round one and missed the 36 and 54 hole PGA Tour scoring records by just one stroke. His 28-under, 256, was the second lowest score ever in a PGA Tour event. It's the third time Mickelson has won this event.

Mickelson's scorecard for the week included:

• 29 Birdies
• 1 Eagle
• 1 Bogey
• 1 Double Bogey
• 40 Pars

Mickelson made four consecutive birdies twice during the tournament and three consecutive birdies two more times. It also marks the 20th PGA Tour season where Phil Mickelson has earned a victory.

The Stage Is Set for a Great 2013

The focus of the 2013 PGA Tour season was on Tiger Woods v. Rory McIlroy. Tiger and Phil Mickelson now have PGA Tour victories early in 2013. Rory, has not played a PGA Tour event in 2013.

The PGA Tour heads to Pebble Beach for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where Phil Mickelson won in 2012. If Mickelson can successfully defend his title it will be the first time he has earned back-to-back victories since 2006 when he won the BellSouth Classic and seven days later was crowned Masters champion.

Transition Championship Preview & Groups To Watch

The PGA Tour is at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida for the Transitions Championship. Gary Woodland (@garywoodland) looks to defend his 2011 title against six former Transitions champions and four of the top 10 players in the world.  

(Can Luke Donald earn his first victory of 2012 this week?)

 Luke Donald (@LukeDonald), the #2 ranked player in the world, is joined by Webb Simpson (6), Jason Day (7) and Charl Schwartzel (9) as players in the top 10 looking for their first win of 2012. Donald is coming off a 6th place finish at the WGC-Cadillac Championship while Simpson (@webbsimpson1) and Schwartzel have each earned two top 10 finishes in 2012. 

Joining Woodland as former champions playing in this event are Vijay Singh (2004), Carl Petterson (2005), Sean O'Hair (2008), and Jim Furyk (2010). Two additional players in the field have won this event twice: K.J. Choi (2002 & 2006) and Retief Goosen (2003 & 2009). All will be looking for their first win of the 2012 season. 

Three Groups To Watch at the Transitions Championship

3. Matt Kuchar, Jason Day & Ernie Els: Kuchar is my pick to win this week. In five events he missed the top 25 only once and finished tied for 8th last week. We were all expecting big things from Jason Day but 2012 hasn't been kind to him so far, is this the week he cracks the top 10? Every time Els (@elsforautism) is in the field I enjoy watching him play. He's made the cut in all of his starts and I'd like to see him win one more time. 

2. Brandt Snedeker, Charl Schwartzel & Sergio Garcia: This looked like it could be the year of Sergio (@TheSergioGarcia) when he finished tied for 4th in his first event. Last week was a minor bump in the road where he finished tied for 60th. Now it's time to see how he can recover from a tough showing and maybe earn a victory. Schwartzel is reminding everyone his green jacket wasn't a mistake. The 9th ranked player in the world, he has finished in the top five in both stroke play starts this season. Brandt Snedeker has not cracked the top 10 since his win in January but there is a lot of golf left in 2012. He's a guy to watch every time he is in the field. 

1. Luke Donald, K.J. Choi & Justin Rose: The focus of 2012 was whether or not Donald would win a major. As the #2 ranked player in the world, we now just want to see him win. An impressive WGC event last week has him ready to go this week and headed into Augusta. Choi, a two time winner of this event, has only one top 10 finish in 2012 and that was a tie for 5th in week one. A familiar course could be the place he turns it around this season. Justin Rose (@JustinRose99) is off to a great start in 2012. A win last week was preceded by a 5th place finish at The Honda Classic and a 13th place finish at the Northern Trust Open. Winning back to back isn't easy but maybe Rose is ready to take his game to the next level. 

@WAMGolfs pick to win: Matt Kuchar 

Accenture Match Play Full of Round One Upsets

The first round of the Accenture Match Play Championships was full of surprises on Wednesday as nearly half of the 32 matches ended with the lower seed winning. The most noticeable may have been the top ranked golfer in the world, Luke Donald, falling 5&4 to Ernie Els. Donald won the event in 2011 and was the top seed this year. 

 

(Ernie Els knocked off top seed Luke Donald)

 

Bobby Jones Bracket

In the Bobby Jones Bracket Adam Scott (#2), K.J. Choi (#4), Thomas Bjorn (#6), Bo Van Pelt (#7) and Jason Dufner (#8), all fell to their lower seeded opponents. Dustin Johnson, the #3 seed, needed extra holes to defeat Jim Furyk. 

Thursday match to watch: Kyle Stanley (#13) v. Brandt Snedeker (#5). Snedeker knocked off Stanley in a playoff just a few weeks ago at the Farmers Insurance Open. 

Ben Hogan Bracket

The Ben Hogan Bracket was the most friendly bracket for the top seeds on Wednesday. Graeme McDowell (#3) was the only player to be "upset" when he lost to Y.E. Yang 2&1. Yang will advance to face the Hunter Mahan, the #6 seed.

Thursday Match to Watch: Bubba Watson (#5) v. Matt Kuchar (#4). Two of the top players in American golf will go head-to-head for the right to move to the quarterfinals.

 Gary Player Bracket

The story in the Gary Player bracket was Jason Day. Day, the #2 seed, found himself 3-down with four to play before staging his impressive comeback. He went on to win holes 16,17,18 and closed out opponent Rafael Cabrera-Bello on the 19th hole. 

Sergio Garcia (#4) lost 2&1 to fellow countryman Miguel Angel Jiminez (#13) while Ian Poulter (#6), Simon Dyson (#7), and Kyung-Tae Kim (#8) all fell in their matches.

Thursday Match to Watch: Jason Day (#2) v. John Senden (#10). Day struggled for most of his round but was able to pull it together. Will he ride momentum to another victory or take his foot off the gas peddle as he looks to advance past the second round?

 Sam Snead Bracket

All eyes were on Tiger Woods in the Sam Snead Bracket and Woods didn't disappoint. In a back and forth match, Woods found himself 2-down through two but battled back to go 1-up on the 8th. The lead was short lived as Gonzalo Fdez-Castano won holes 10 and 11. It wasn't until Woods won the 15th and 16th that he reclaimed the lead and held on for victory. 

Some of the biggest surprises came from the Snead Bracket as Webb Simpson (#2), Bill Haas (#3), Justin Rose (#6) and Alvero Quiros (#7) were all eliminated by higher seeds. Haas defeated Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson in a playoff on Sunday to win the Northern Trust Open.

Thursday Match to Watch: Tiger Woods (#5) v. Nick Watney (#4). Coming into this event both players had struggled this season. Watney took care of business winning 5&4 while Woods showed his mental toughness coming from behind to win. The winner of this match could go on to face top seed Lee Westwood.

Accenture Match Play Championship updated bracket

Tiger Woods & Adam Scott Headline Presidents Cup Foursome Pairings

As if the Presidents Cup didn't have enough headlines, we can add one more. Tiger Woods and Adam Scott will be paired together for the first session of the Presidents Cup on Thursday. International captain, Greg Norman and Team USA captain, Fred Couples, made their picks on Tuesday for the foursomes (alternate shot) which paired Scott with K.J. Choi and Woods with fellow American Steve Stricker.

  (Adam Scott & Tiger Woods will go head to head on Thursday. Photo: Links Life Golf)

The story, of course, has very little to do with Adam Scott and Tiger Woods and everything to do with Steve Williams, Tiger's former caddie who is now carrying the bag for Scott. Since Woods "dumped" Williams, it's had the makings of a high school relationship gone wrong. I won't go into details of what Williams said but it has set the stage for what could be a memorable Thursday at The Presidents Cup.

Will They Be Playing Golf?

While the Scott and Woods pairing is sure to get most of the attention, it's not the match I'll be paying most attention to. Match number three pins Australians Aaron Baddeley and Jason Day vs. Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar for Team USA. It's the first Presidents Cup for all four of these players and in an event where every point counts, it could come down to who can handle the pressure best. 

Here are the rest of the foursome pairing for Thursday:

Match 1: Ernie Els & Ryo Ishikawa (International) vs. Bubba Watson & Webb Simpson (USA)

Match 2: Geoff Ogilvy & Charl Schwartzel (International) vs. Bill Haas & Nick Watney (USA)

Match 3: Aaron Baddeley & Jason Day (International) vs. Dustin Johnson & Matt Kuchar (USA)

Match 4: Retief Goosen & Robert Allenby (International) vs. Phil Mickelson & Jim Furyk (USA)

Match 5: K.T. Kim & Y.E. Yang (International) vs. Hunter Mahan & David Toms (USA)

Match 6: Adam Scott & K.J. Choi (International) vs. Tiger Woods & Steve Stricker (USA)

Luke Donald Wins Final PGA TOUR Event; Captures Money Title

Luke Donald left no doubt who was number one on Sunday. Donald made ten birdies in his final round at the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic to come from behind and win. His final score of 17-under was two strokes better than Justin Leonard who held a share of the lead coming into the final round. 

(Luke Donald came from behind to win his second event of the season.)

The win caps off a great season which saw Donald hold the number one spot in the Official World Golf Rankings for the majority of the year. This victory is his second on the PGA TOUR this season, his first came back in February when he took home the Accenture Match Play title. Donald finishes the season with two wins, two second places finishes and two third place finishes. He added eight additional top 10 finishes in just 19 starts this season. 

Show Me The Money

Coming into the final event Donald needed to earn $363,030 more than Webb Simpson to take home the PGA TOUR's Money List Title. Simpson took the lead last week from Donald when he finished second at the McGladrey Classic last week and it seemed unlikely Donald would be able to take the lead back from Simpson who had finished with six top 10's in his previous eight starts. 

Coming into the final round on Sunday Simpson lead Donald by a stroke and seemed to be in control of his destiny. It wasn't Donald ran off six consecutive birdies to star the back nine did it look like Donald could pull it out. In the end, the win earned Donald $846,000, $698,890 more than Simpson who finished in a tie for sixth. In 19 starts this season Donald earned $6,683,214.

While Donald solidified his number one ranking, the debate can now shift towards the PGA TOUR's awards. Luke Donald will look to win Player of the Year while Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley have made it difficult for anyone to pick a Rookie of the Year winner.