The Byron Nelson Championship was quite an intense tournament this week.  Initially Sergio Garcia and Ryan Palmer had the lead and it looked like they'd comprise a two man race.  But brutal wind and a tough golf course evened out the field and made the leaderboard a completely unpredictable mess in which over 10 players were within 3-4 shots of the lead for much of the final round.

Jordan Spieth

One big story was that of a young amateur from the local area named Jordan Spieth.  Jordan had been given a sponsor's exemption in the 2010 tournament and took total advantage.  He made the cut and even placed in a tie for 16th.  That's amazing for a kid was only 16 at the time.

This year Spieth once again proved he can play at a high level by making the cut again.  Spieth's third round score was one shot better than co-leader Ryan Palmer and two better than co-leader Sergio Garcia's.

In the end Spieth finished tied for 32nd place while huge galleries gathered to cheer him on.

Playoff: Keegan Bradley vs Ryan Palmer

Keegan Bradley was playing in the group with Jordan Spieth and sort of flying under the radar.  Bradley wasn't even a discussion on the leaderboard until all of the top players started to back up.  Eventually Bradley's solid finish of -3 in tough conditions was enough to force a playoff with Texan Ryan Palmer.

Palmer had the lead for most of the week but found himself in a must-birdie situation on the final hole.  In front of a huge crowd the Texan didn't disappoint, making only the 4th birdie on the tough 18th hole all day.  The crowd erupted and a playoff began, the 10th playoff of the year on the PGA Tour.

Playoff on hole 18

The 18th is an uphill par-4 with water on the left and trees right.  The hole doglegs left, with a suggested shot shape of a draw.

Both players in the playoff flared their drives right of the fairway.  Both had to hit punch 2nd shots to keep their ball flight low enough to clear under the tree line.  Bradley was able to pull of his punch shot, while Palmer's caromed off the bank left of the green and found a watery grave in the lake left of the green.

Bradley, a PGA Tour rookie, would two putt for his first win on the PGA Tour. With the win comes over $1 million, as well as a two year exemption and invites to major championships.  A big day for Keegan Bradley to say the least.

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A fun golf game which can be played with two man teams is what I'd call the Two Man Team Points game.  In this game a each member of a two man team can win one point per hole.  The game can be played net or gross.

Each player plays the hole and both scores are matched against the opposing team's scores.  If one player on each team makes a net par and one makes a net bogey, there is a tie.

Example two: Lets say three of the players make a net par and one makes a net bogey.  Two of the opposing pars cancel and the 3rd par beats the other team's bogey, awarding one point to the winning team.

Example three:  Team one's scores are par and bogey.  Team two's scores are bogey and double bogey.  Team one wins 2 points.

The nice thing about this game is that it keeps all players involved in the game on each hole.  A player is always fighting for a point, rather than giving up in like he would in a best ball format knowing his player has the better score.

Unfortunately Byron Nelson is not with us anymore.  With his passing went some of the really big name players who used to love to play in his tournament at the TPC Four Seasons in Irving, Texas.  Many of the worlds top players are also competing in Europe this week at the BMW Championship.

Byron Nelson Field

Despite the lack of top 10 players in the field, there are still some great personalities and stories to follow.  In fact, the "personality styles" of many of the players in this week's field is quite interesting.

First we have "Aqua Man" himself, Woody Austin.  You never know what sort of crazy thing Woody will do, from breaking a putter over his head to falling into a water hazard.  At least he now carries goggles in his golf bag.

Rich Beem is one of the funnest players to watch on tour.  He shows his emotions like every person in the gallery is his best friend.

Rory Sabbatini is in the field, and he's one of those players who incites discussion from slow play to manners.  He's always in the middle of some kind of controversy.

K.J. Choi is fresh off his PLAYERS Championship win.  How will this course setup for the Choi ball striking machine?

Sergio Garcia withdrew from British Open qualifying due to an infected fingernail, but somehow recovered enough to play the BNC three days later.  Hmmm.

Jordan Speith is a local who returns to the Championship after an amazing year last year.  At 16 he made the cut in the tournament last year and became the sixth youngest player to ever to achieve that feat.

The featured group Thursday and Friday this week includes Sergio Garcia, Choi and bomber Dustin Johnson.  That will be a fun group to watch.

The Course

The TPC Four Seasons is definitely a "TPC" layout.  What that typically means is a course which is set up to show the tour, with areas around the greens shaped for gallery viewing.  Many of the greens are designed like mini-amphitheaters.

Around the greens are shaved roll-offs and collection areas where errant approach shots will end up.

The course itself is quite hilly, with a surprising amount of elevation change from tee to green on many holes.  17, a par-3, has a huge drop from tee to green for example.

Fun To Watch

Will Jason Day defend his championship this year or will a fresh face pull off that first Tour win?  Regardless of the lack of top 10 stars, this will be a fun tournament to watch.

Time for another episode of "Golf Police Blotter."  Yes it is that time when the crazies commandeer golf carts and use them on rampages about town.  It must be a full moon again.

Car "Romes" NY

A few days ago in Rome, NY, two women were injured when the car they were driving lost its breaks.  The vehicle crossed intersections out of control and the female driver did her best to avoid buildings and other vehicles.

The vehicle finally came to rest as a result of the driver luckily finding a local country club.  She steered the out of control car through the parking lot of the club and onto one of the club's fairways.  Standing water on the fairway slowed the car to an eventual stop.

The driver and passenger sustained minor injuries.

No word as to whether the driver was allowed to take a free drop because of casual water.

What's In Your Garage Bob?

In Benzonia, Michigan, six golf carts were stolen from a local golf club, valued at $30,000.

Police have no clue who stole the carts or how they did it.  They are asking for tips.

Perhaps the police should stake out the local pawn shop and wait for someone to walk in with six golf carts.

Not the Golden Bear

University of North Carolina's Finley Golf Course has had a bear sighting.  Unfortunately for them the bear wasn't the "Golden Bear," Jack Nicklaus.  A black bear was sighted on the 3rd hole, causing frightened golfers to call 911.

A local biologist said the bear is likely a young bear looking for a new home.

Maybe the bear sliced his drive badly on the parallel 4th tee and was looking for it in the 3rd fairway...

You may have heard the term "ball fitting" in some golf ball manufacturer's marketing campaigns.  The term ball fitting, and the need to match a ball to your game, isn't just a marketing ploy.  In fact, having the right ball can be a big stroke saver.

The Process

You don't necessarily have to go to a golf ball manufacturer's ball fitting session.  Most modern golf shops who have launch monitors can help you find the right ball.  Set up a session and try out a few of your favorite ball models and take a look at the specs.  You may find that switching to a better matched ball for your swing will help you not only increase distance, but accuracy as well.

Primary Specs

Ball fitting will measure a few key specifications.  Your club head speed will be a big determining factor in the type of ball which is best.  Slower club head speeds may need a softer core ball to gain full compression of the ball and the distance it will produce.

The launch angle of the ball can vary depending on the type of ball as well.  There are optimal launch angles based on club head speed and ball speed.  The faster the ball speed, the lower the launch angle can be.  Most amateur's launch angles should be 12-15 degrees.

Side spin is huge, and perhaps the most important spec for the average amateur.  If the ball has a high side spin rate, the shot will curve accordingly.  If you are able to find a ball with the best side spin characteristics for your swing, your accuracy can greatly increase.

Not All Premium Balls Are The Same

On a recent fitting I was primarily narrowed down to two premium golf balls.  Their launch angles and side spin were excellent and virtually identical.  The deciding factor for me was the ball speed.  One clocked in at 135 miles per hour while the other clocked in at 141.  I chose the ball with the higher speed, because it will go farther than the slower speed ball.

Conclusion

There are great amounts of math which go into finding the best specs, but in a nut shell you want the optimal launch angle for your swing speed, combined with a ball which you can compress and which has the least amount of side spin.  Optimizing carry, launch angle, ball speed and side spin will increase accuracy and distance.

David Toms has had a crazy two week stretch. Two weeks ago he looked to be in control of THE PLAYERS at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, only to lose in a playoff to K. J. Choi after 3-putting on the 17th, the first playoff hole.

Thursday of the following week at Colonial Toms sets his record for lowest score on Tour by dropping an unbelievable 62. Friday, he did something which is hardly ever done, followed up a 62 with another one. At that point he had a 7 shot lead over several players.

Saturday's moving day was tough though for Toms. An eight shot swing put Charlie Wi in the lead. Toms shot a round of +4 while Wi shot a round of -4. Suddenly Tom's 7 shot lead was gone and discussion of Toms' giving away another tournament commenced.

Turn Around Shot

On the par-5 11th hole Toms hit a wedge which would turn things around. His 3rd shot landed past the pin and spun straight back into the hole for an eagle which gave him a one shot lead. He would never give up that lead again.

Tom's final round 67 was enough to fight off the consistent Charlie Wi by one shot and claim his first tour win in more than five years.

Toms moves up to 4th place in the FedEx Cup standings.

Once in a while my buddies and I play a crazy press game.  Usually we have one bet for $5 or something for 18 holes, match play.  But when we are feeling it, we'll do what we call the 17 hole press.

Basically the way it works, is we auto-press on every hole.  So bet #1 is an 18 hole match play bet for $5.  Bet #2 starts on hole #2 and runs for 17 holes.  Bet #3 starts on hole 3 and runs for 16 holes.  And so on.

If someone plays poorly, it could be a costly day.  18x$5=$90 so there's $90 to be won or lost.  But as evenly matched as our group is, not too many dollars change hands.

This week marks the first of the two week "Texas Swing" on the PGA Tour.  The Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial is on the menu, better known as simply "Colonial."

Players

Some of the big names will be taking a break this week from the Tour following the big week last week at the TPC Sawgrass.  But there's still about a million bucks up for grabs for a 1st place finish for those who are playing.

The featured group for Thursday and Friday includes Mark Wilson, David Toms and Matt Kuchar.  These are all players having excellent seasons, especially Mark Wilson who has two wins this season. It will be interesting to watch Toms to see how he bounces back following the heartbreaking playoff loss at THE PLAYERS last week.

Other players to watch include a group of Texans who should know how to navigate the tight course and Texas winds.  Lets take a note of the players from the list below who are in the field and from or currently reside in Texas, and see how they fare:

Hunter Mahan
Ben Crane
Jason Day
Rory Sabbatini
Justin Leonard
Greg Chalmers
John Rollins
Chad Campbell
Corey Pavin
Tim Petrovic
Cameron Beckman
Joe Ogilvie

The Course

Last year's Colonial champ was Zach Johnson, not a big hitter and more of a mechanic who manages his way around golf courses.  That's exactly the type of player who will fare well at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

"You can't get away with errant shots.  It (Colonial) rewards quality shots. It rewards quality putting. That's what you want out of a golf course." ~2010 Colonial Champion Zach Johnson

Colonial is an older course which rewards shot making and accuracy, and tends to negate the bomber's advantage.  The fairways are tight.  The greens are small and well bunkered.

TV Schedule

Thursday 5/19 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET GOLF
Friday 5/20 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET GOLF
Saturday 5/21 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET CBS
Sunday 5/22 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET CBS