PGA Tour
HP Byron Nelson Championship
TPC Four Seasons, Irving, Texas

The first round 60 was a heck of a start for 2011 HP Byron Nelson Championship winner Keegan Bradley.  The 2011 win was Bradley's first on the PGA Tour.  Thursday's 60 was a course record (-10) included two bogeys believe it or not.  Bradley would have a hard time scoring the rest of the weekend though, only able to better his score of -10 by one over the next three days.  Despite the troubles Bradley held the lead until Sunday and had a chance to force a playoff if he could make par-birdie over the final two holes.  Sang Moon Bae would have something to say about that.

Sang Moon Bae, a 25 year old Korean golfer, took the lead Sunday and led Bradley by one shot on the 17th tee.  A gutsy tee shot on the par-3 hole left Bae and uphill birdie putt while Bradley's tee shot was long over the green, leaving him a near-impossible proposition to get up and down for par.  Bae two-putted and Bradley made bogey.  Bradley's bogey on the 71st hole gave Bae a two-shot lead on the final tee box.  A solid tee shot and approach gave Bae a routine two-putt par which he executed flawlessly for his first win on the PGA Tour.  The win also marked the first win for an Asian born golfer on Tour since 2011 (Kevin Na).

With the win Bae jumped up from 95th in FedEx Cup points to 18th.

European Tour
Volvo World Match Play Championship
Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort, Kavarna, Bulgaria

The Volvo World Match Play was held this year at an astoundingly beautiful and intriguing course on the edge of the Black Sea in Kavarna, Bulgaria.  The course, Thracian Cliffs, was designed by Gary Player and proved to be a great venue for this match play championship.

One of the surprises of this tournament was the early exit of Ian Poulter, regarded by many as the best match play player in the world.  Poulter was entertaining in his brutal honesty about his performance on Twitter.

Graeme McDowell faced Thongchai Jaidee in the final match Sunday.  Winner of the 2012 event, McDowell found himself two-down after four holes.  A run of birdies on the back nine helped McDowell take the lead and eventually win 2 & 1 (two holes up with one to play).

McDowell now has one win on the PGA Tour and one on the European Tour.

LPGA Tour
Mobile Bay LPGA Classic
RTJ Trail, Magnolia Grove, The Crossings Course, Mobile Alablama

Low scores were the norm on the Crossings Course this week as the LPGA ladies tore up the scorecards.  Many mid-60's rounds were recorded with two special rounds of 63 and a round of 64 fired by Jiyai Shin, Pomanong Phatlum and Mo Martin respectively.

Carding two rounds of 65 on Saturday and Sunday, Jennifer Johnson finished at -21, one shot ahead of Phatlum and Jessica Korda.   The winning score of -21 broke the tournament scoring record.

With the win Johnson broke into the top 10, 10th position, in the 2012 Solheim Cup point standings.

Good thing this post has gone live.  The last post was number 666!

PGA Tour
THE PLAYERS Championship
TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

This past week the PGA Tour held THE PLAYERS Championship on their home course, TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, built by Pete Day.  The Stadium Course was built to be a great test of PGA Tour players and also provide "stadium" viewing for the fans.  Thus the "Stadium" part of the name.  THE PLAYERS boasts the strongest field in professional golf, and the biggest single purse as well, with $9,500,000 in prize money.  The winner takes home $1.71 million and 600 FedEx Cup points.  Was the quality of golf high and the viewing for the fans great?  It almost always is at this event.

In the first round of the tournament Roberto Castro took the lead with an amazing 63.  Most players don't follow up super low rounds with another one, and Castro's 2nd round 78 was a prime example.  In striking range after day one though, were Rory McIlory and Tiger Woods.  Day two found Woods firing a 2nd consecutive 67, putting him tied at the top of the leaderboard with Sergio Garcia.  They played the third round together, where Garcia edged Woods by a shot.  During the round there were "words" between the two and post-round both expressed that they weren't big fans of each other.

Garcia and Woods would not be in the final pairing Sunday.  Woods was in the 2nd to last group and Garcia was in the last group with unknown David Lingmerth, fresh off the Web.com Tour.  Players like Jeff Maggert (49) and Lingmerth had flashes during the final round, flirting with the lead.  In the end it came down to Garcia and Woods in the last three holes.

Woods and Garcia were tied for the lead while woods was on the 18th tee and Garcia on the 17th tee, the island par-3 green.  What happened next was, shall we say, interesting.  Garcia hit pitching wedge to the right pin on the island green.  It didn't have enough to carry onto the green and splashed into the pond.  Garcia re-teed from the same spot and hit another shot in the water.  On the 2nd re-tee, he was hitting his 5th shot.  That one hit the middle of the green where Garcia would two-putt for a quadruple bogey 7.  For good measure, Garcia hit his drive in the water on the 18th.

Garcia's water issues left only one competitor with a chance to challenge Tiger, who had now finished his round and was in the clubhouse sitting at -13.  David Lingmerth was was one shot behind Tiger on the 18th tee.  His drive went through the fairway into bermuda rough which made it hard to control.  His approach ended up some 60 feet long.  He'd have to make a 60 footer to force a playoff, an "one in 50 putt" according to Johnny Miller.  Lingmerth 3-putted, cementing a two-shot victory for Woods.

This win for Woods marked the fourth of the 2013 season.  In NO season during Tiger's career has he reached four wins so quickly.  This win was also on Tiger's 300'th PGA Tour start.  On the season Woods has four victories and no other player has more than one.  Player of the year could be wrapped up before the halfway point of the season.

Other Tours

The other major tours, LPGA, Champions and European Tour, were off this week.

The week of playoffs...

PGA Tour
Wells Fargo Championship
Quail Hollow Golf Club, Charlotte, North Carolina

Interesting week on the PGA Tour.  We had flashes of some big names atop the leaderboard.  Rory McIlory was in contention early on, finishing in a tie for 10th.  Phil Mickelson and Nick Watney shared the 54 hole lead at the end of the day Saturday.  Which one of them would brave Sunday's hard rain and claim the victory?  Neither.

Derek Ernst, a relative unknown, was a 4th alternate.  He was about to head to a Web.com event when he was notified that his 4th alternate spot was good enough to make it into the field.  Ernst took great advantage on Sunday, firing a 70 which leapfrogged him past Mickelson (73) and Watney (76).  At the end of regulation the rookie Ernst would be tied with David Lynn.  Lynn's errant drive set him on a path to bogey on the final hole to match Ernst's par.

With the win Derek Ernst has a world of possibilities which have opened up.  The most immediate was his entry into this week's Players Championship.  Down the road berths into the Tournament of Champions and the Masters in 2014 will follow.  Big week for the rookie.

LPGA Tour
Kingsmill Championship
Kingsmill Resort River Course, Williamsburg, Virginia

Another professional tour goes into a playoff.  The LPGA's Kingsmill Championship ended with two players tied at the top, Suzann Pettersen and Cristie Kerr.

The playoff lasted two holes.  On the 2nd playoff hole, the 18th, Kerr only needed a par to seal the victory.

"I just made so many putts out there to save par and kind of save any momentum, and I started hitting it a little bit better late in the round just in time to make a ‑‑ catch up a couple shots.  Yeah, really hard fought, really hard fought.  I'm very happy." ~Cristie Kerr

Champions Tour
Insperity Championship
The Tournament Course at The Woodlands, Woodlands, Texas

What a fun week for the seniors and especially the fans.  For a now rare occurrence, the "big three" appeared in competition and in the same group.  Gary Player, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus played in a side event to the Insperity, the "Greats of Golf."

The regulation tournament was somewhat historic as well.  A great fit to Sunday being Cinco de Mayo, Mexican golfer Esteban Toledo became the first Mexican golfer to win on the Champions Tour.  You guessed it, the victory for Toledo came in a playoff.  This time the playoff was three holes, Toledo polishing off Mike Goodes.

PGA Tour
Zurich Classic of New Orleans
TPC Louisiana at Avondale

Billy Horschel has been close to winning many times on the PGA Tour until this past weekend.  Horschel kept his emotions in check and maintained his composure for all 72 holes this time around in New Orleans.  Horschel had to fight off D.A. Points who he was tied for the lead with when he let his final putt of the day go.  The final put was a 26 footer for birdie on the 72nd hole.  When the putt dropped Horschel dropped Horschel fist pumped and let out a victorious yell.

"I was like, `If it's my time, this putt needs to go in.'" ~Billy Horschel on the winning birdie putt

With the win many opportunities for Horschel have opened up, namely an auto-invite to next year's Masters and Tournament of Champions.  Horschel also moves up to #3 in FedEx Cup points.

LPGA Tour
North Texas Shootout
Las Colinas Country Club, Irving Texas

Rolex Ranked #1, Inbee Park didn't worry that she was two shots off the lead going into the final round of the North Texas Shootout.  Park fired a -4 67 to overtake Carlota Ciganda by one shot.  Ciganda shot a final round -1 70.

The North Texas Shootout win marks the 3rd in the 2013 for Inbee Park.

Champions Tour
Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
The Club at Savannah Harbor, Savannah, Georgia

The Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf is s two-man team competition which typically produces very low scores.  Last year's winning number was 29 under par.

This year's champions of the two-man better-ball competition were Brad Faxon and Jeff slum an.  Their final round 65 was enough to edge out 2nd place finishers, the Fun/Goodes team.

European Tour
Ballantine's Championship
Blackstone Golf Club, Seoul, South Korea

Australia's Brett Rumford finished at -11 with fellow Aussie Marcus Fraser and Scott Peter Whiteford.  On the first playoff hole Rumford knocked his 2nd shot to three feet on the par-5.  The easy 3-footer for eagle sealed the victory for Rumford.

PGA Tour
RBC Heritage - Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Many thought the floodgates were opened by Graeme McDowell after his US Open win at Pebble Beach three years ago.  Many, McDowell included, thought the wins would be plentiful.  McDowell's self proclaimed US Open hangover is now over, following his victory at the RBC Heritage.  It didn't come easy, but it finally came.

McDowell finished regulation at the tight Harbour Town tied with Webb Simpson at -9 and defeated Simpson in the ensuing playoff.

With the win McDowell has extended his PGA Tour status through 2016, collected 500 FedEx Cup points and moved from 50th to 6th in FedEx Cup points.

LPGA Tour
LPGA Lotte Champoinship - Ko Olina Gol fClub, Kapolei, Hawaii

Suzanne Pettersen had no idea where Lizette Salas came from, and I'm not talking about her country of origin. Starting the final round, Salas was in the rear view mirror for Petterson, who thought her final round 67 would easily put her in the winner's circle. But Salas came from way back after firing an astounding round of -10 (62) to force a playoff.

On the first playoff hole Salas may have come to battle with an empty arsenal as she carded a double bogey six. Pettersen's par sealed the win in the surprise playoff.

Champions Tour
Greater Gwinnett Championship- TPC Sugarloaf, Duluth, Georgia

For the first half of the final Masters round, it looked like something magic might happen. Champions Tour player Bernhard Langer was making a run at another green jacket. Heartbreakingly the wheels came off and that final round's early genius was overshadowed by a bad finish.

Langer bounced bag big time this week at the Greater Gwinnett Championship at TPC Suglarloaf in Duluth, Georgia. A final round 67 gave Langer a three shot margin of victory, moving him farther ahead in Charles Schwab Cup points over 2nd place player David Frost.

Stealing a line made famous by Gary Player, Langer said, "Lately it's been the more practice the better I get."

One of the best (and worst) stories of the 2013 Masters was that of 14 year old Chinese golf amateur Tianlang Guan.  Guan became the youngest amateur to not only play in the Masters, but to make the CUT!   Think of all the big names who did not make the cut that this 8th grader beat like Graeme McDowell, Webb Simposn, Y.E. Yang, Ian Poulter, Padraig Harrington...  I could go on.  Guan finished the Masters in 58th place, but had a very respectable 73 on the first round.

Best

Due to his sudden popularity the Zurich Classic of New Orleans has extended a sponsor's exemption to Tianlang Guan to play in their event.  This is definitely good for golf, especially with the word-wide appeal that this young player has and is gaining.  Watch for Guan to play in the Zurich Classic beginning April 25th at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, just outside of New Orleans.

Worst

What's the worst story involving Tianlang Guan?  He was penalized in the Masters for slow play.  Many have been critical of the Masters rules committee for penalizing the 14 year old amateur for slow play when nearly all the pros play slow.

PGA Tour
Masters Tournament
Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia

I hope you Froggerites (is that a word?) enjoyed the Masters like I did this weekend.  What a great event.  Everything about the Masters is done with class, from the preparation of the golf course to the broadcast.  All top notch.

One of the goals of the Masters committee is to put on a tournament which is exciting and comes down to a great back nine performance on Sunday to produce the champion.  This year was no different and the back nine, or back 11 to be exact produced high drama, great golf shots and a new major champion: Adam Scott.

Adam Scott - Wins in two-hole playoff over Angel Cabrera

Adam Scott has been knocking at the door of a major win for a while.  He had a four shot lead going into the back nine of the British Open last year.  He was also in the final group with Jason Day in the Masters a couple of years ago.  It took time, and some wondered if it would ever happen, but Scott finally recorded a major championship victory in a two-hole playoff with Masters genius Angel Cabrera.

Contenders

Jason Day

Jason Day lead much of the tournament and looked to be nearly unbeatable until he made two consecutive bogeys for his last two holes on Saturday.  He got it back together Sunday and eventually took a two-shot lead in the final nine.  But some errant shots cost him those strokes.  Another close year for Jason.  He's got the game for the Masters and perhaps in the future he will dawn the green jacket.

Brandt Snedeker

The last time Brandt Snedeker was in the final pairing on a Sunday at the Masters he ended up sobbing in the press room following the round, devastated with the loss.  Many thought he would overcome the pressure this year as he won last year's FedEx Cup and was ranked #1 in the Cup until Tiger Woods took that ranking away a few weeks ago. The pressure got the best of "Sneds" but he has gained valuable experience.  Look for him to win a major championship sooner than later.

Rory McIlory

Rory McIlory has been struggling this year, until a 2nd place finish at the Valero Texas Open last week.  Augusta is a place where all aspects of the player's game must be at their best and for McIlory they simply were not.  A cut made was the highlight for Rory, who finished T25.

Tiger Woods

What a bizarre week for Tiger Woods.  His 3rd shot on the 15th hole Friday looked be a very good one which would settle to a couple of feet from the hole for a practically guaranteed birdie which would put him in sole possession of the lead.  Instead the ball hit the pin and bounced violently back into the water.  Following Tiger's drop he would knock it close and one-putt for a bogey.  A two shot difference, or was it?  Tiger mentioned that he "moved back a couple of yards" for a better yardage on the 5th shot.  The problem was that the ball crossed the line of the hazard left of his position after bouncing off the flag.  Tiger's drop was illegal.  He should have read the Frogger post on how to drop from hazards.

There was much talk about disqualification but since the Committee had already made a conclusion about the drop after Tiger had signed his scorecard, they were left only with the option of assessing Tiger a tw0 stroke penalty.  That bogey turned into a triple bogey.  Tiger never recovered. His 5th green jacket will have to wait until next year's opportunity.

Angel Cabrera

43 year old Angel Cabrera has been in the final paring of the Masters three of the last five years.  There is something special about this player's ability to shine in majors.  Cabrera has a US Open win and Masters win under his belt, and nearly won another Masters this year were it not for Adam Scott's stellar birdie on the 2nd playoff hole.

We are watching a little bit of golf history this week at the Masters.  Tianlang Guan is the reigning Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship winner.  Guan won the championship in November, which put him in the automatic invitation list for the Masters.  The Chinese golfer became the youngest player to ever qualify for the Masters.

Expectations to play well at Augusta were low.  At only 14, it wasn't expected that he would have the firepower to play a golf course which favors long hitters.  On many par-4's like the 10th, Guan had to hit hybrid approach shots where his playing partners were hitting irons.  But his putting stroke and solid, nerve-less play, produced a fine round of 73.  That great first round not only brought him the respect and attention of fans and media, it stoked up the discussion regarding whether a 14 year old 8th grader from China can make the cut at the Masters.

"I was a little bit nervous on the first tee, but I hit a great tee shot and after that everything felt comfortable." ~Tianlang Guan

One of Guan's playing partners for the first two days is two time Masters champion, 61 year old Ben Crenshaw.

"(Guan) played like a veteran today, a 28-year-old journeyman whose been around the block and made a ton of cuts. He played a beautiful round of golf. He stays well within himself. He's very confident and his thought process never got rushed. Very patient. Very impressive." ~Ben Crenshaw

Friday's round will be fun to watch. Check yesterday's post for the Masters broadcast schedule.  Hoping to see more history today and watch the first time a 14 year old makes the cut at Augusta!

The Masters is finally here!  This is the most exciting week in golf every year.  The Masters is where the average, non-golfers finally express interest in golf.  This is where the average fan will tune in to watch golf for the first time of the year.

Why is the Masters so great?

You have to look at the golf course to answer this question.  All time greatest amateur golfer Bobby Jones teamed up with Alister Mackenzie, the most famous British golf architect of the time, to build Augusta National Golf Club in 1931.  The course lies on a very hilly track of land which used to be a nursery, thus all the beautiful flowers and trees.

Jone's design of the course was very well thought out and sought to test the skills of the players in every aspect of the game.  The doglegs of the par-4's and par-5's require players to be able to curve the ball both directions.  The approaches from the fairways promote certain ball flights, yet the greens require something different.  The greens are small, fast and undulating.

Every aspect of a players game is tested at Augusta National, but the course is not setup like a US Open.  The course is designed to promote birdies and lower scores.  It is setup to promote a run on the back nine on Sunday.

Frogger Players To Watch

Obviously Tiger Woods is the favorite to win this year, despite the fact that he has not won a major championship in about five years (2008 US Open).  Woods is the only player on the PGA Tour with multiple wins, three.  Tiger comes in with some great momentum.

Rory McIlory has struggled this year.  Many suspect that is because of his equipment switch to Nike from Titleist.  Rory has been clear that his issues are in his swing and not his equipment.  McIlory added last week's Valero Texas Open to his schedule at the last minute to help tune up for the Masters.  He ended up finishing 2nd.  Is he ready now?  Let's talk on the weekend.

Brandt Snedeker has been the best player in golf over the last year or so, barring the last couple of months where one would argue that distinction belongs to Tiger.  "Sneds" won the $10 million FedEx Cup last year and was leading it this year until Tiger took the lead.  Snedeker is a great putter and it takes great putting to win at Augusta.

Phil Mickelson is bringing an interesting setup into the Masters.  He has put a club called "Phrankenwood" into his bag.  It is essentially an 11 degree 3-wood with a driver shaft.  In fact, his setup basically has three 3-woods in the bag.

Who else?  There are a myriad of players who could win.  Will players like Luke Donald or Lee Westwood finally break through and record their first major championship?  Will a "dark horse" win like Zach Johnson or Charl Schwartzel?

Great putting made the difference on both the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour this week.

LPGA Tour
Kraft Nabisco Championship
Mission HIlls Country Club, Dinah Shore Tournament Course
Rancho Mirage, California

Inbee Park moved one step closer to the #1 ranking on the LPGA Tour by capturing the Kraft Nabisco Championship in Rancho Mirage, California, one of the LPGA's five major championships.

The difference in the tournament was the fantastic putting Park displayed.  Any putt from one to 50 feet was an easy make.  No other player came close to rolling the rock like that this past week.

 “I’ve seen Inbee do this before. When she rolls it, you just can’t beat her. She’s the best putter on tour. The course here is a little softer than normal, so I think that’s to her advantage. She doesn’t hit it as high as some other people, but when she’s rolling it, you are not going to beat her.” ~Stacy Lewis

Park fired rounds of 70-67-67-69 for a total of 273.  The nearest competitor, So Yeon Ryu, finished four shots behind after firing a brilliant final round 65.  Park is half a step away from the #1 ranking in women's golf.

“That’s the place that I’ve always wanted and I only have one more spot to go. That brings a lot of momentum, keeps momentum going for me, especially after this week. I felt a lot of confidence with my swing and with my putting. Everything has been going the right way this season. It feels good.” ~Inbee Park

PGA Tour
Valero Texas Open
TPC San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas

Coming into this week on the PGA Tour American golfers had won the first 14 events of the season.  Dating back to last year American golfers had won 16 events in a row.  The non-American drought is now over, broken by Scotland's Martin Laird.  The way in which Laird recorded the victory is impressive.

Laird was 157th in FedEx Cup points and 161st on the money list before this week, and had dropped considerably in his world rankings over the last year.  Laird's final round play shows us just how deep the PGA Tour really is.  Laird's (anchored) putter caught fire in the final round.  His front nine featured five birdies to no bogies for a 31 on the par-36 front.  Three more birdies in holes 10-17 put Laird in the driver's seat on the 18th.  Surging Rory McIlory brought himself into contention just two shots behind Laird.  With a birdie on the final hole however, Laird could put it away and force McIlory to have to card the most uncommon shot in golf to tie, an albatross or double eagle.

On the final hole, a par-5, Laird laid up with a sand wedge for his 2nd shot to give himself the best yardage to the green.  His approach landed over the flag and settled to about 15-20 feet.  Just as he had all day, he dropped another birdie putt to seal the victory.  The final birdie helped Laird tie the course record.

With the win Laird, who did not have an invitation to the Masters, punched a one way ticket to Augusta.