Monday Morning Golf Recap
Tournament Details:
Name: Hyundai Tournament of Champions
Dates: January 7th – January 10th, 2016
Golf Course: Plantation Course at Kapalua (Par 73 7,452 yards)
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Purse: $5,900,000
2015 Winner: Patrick Reed
Tournament Recap:
And we’re back! 2016! Golf is back! And guess what? Not a damn thing has changed. Jordan Spieth is still winning. Jordan Spieth is still #SnappinNecksAndCashinChecks. #NewYearSameSpieth. The first tournament of the new year was the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii and it really wasn’t much of a tournament at all. It was all Spieth all the time. Since Hawaii is on a different planet with different time zones I had planned to watch the final round last night instead of the Golden Globes. I didn’t have to. By the time the Globes started I already knew how the tournament was going to end because that’s how far in the lead Jordan was. He ended up winning by eight strokes. EIGHT. -30 and it looked like he didn’t even break a sweat. It wasn’t like this field was packed with nobodies either. Just look at that top 10. Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, the artist formerly known as Padraig Harrington, Jason Day, fucking Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Jimmy Walker, etc etc. Not a goddamn slouch among them and Jordan still lapped them for his 7th career PGA victory. Incredible.
All the talk after Spieth’s break out 2015 was how was he gonna match a year like that. A year that saw him win two majors, five total tournaments and cement himself as the best player in the world. Well let me throw this at you: What if he only gets better? Is that even possible? What if 2015 was just the start of a truly historic run? A run we haven’t seen since the likes of you-know-who? I’m not saying it’s gonna happen but it might. Jordan’s play in Maui sure made it look like it could happen. At no point did I think he was gonna lose this weekend. Never not once. Even when Koepka shot a 63 on Saturday and got within striking distance. My only reaction to that was, “Alright well now Spieth is really gonna turn it on” and it was true. He did. He has that gear. He’s that type of competitor. When people come at him he finds a new gear and buries them. It’s fun as hell to watch. 2016 couldn’t have gotten off to a better start for Jordan and the game of golf. By the way, Jordan Spieth is 22 years old and doesn’t turn 23 until July. We golf fans are so goddamn lucky.
Spieth’s scorecards
Shot of the Week:
There weren’t too many crazy awesome shots so we’ll go with this one. The putt on the final hole on Sunday where Spieth reaches -30. Just ridiculous.
Other candidates for SOTW
Jason Day rolls in a 75-foot eagle putt on #5 on Sunday. Hope his wife Ellie is still doing okay after getting trucked by LeBron a few weeks back.
The apparently controversial (according to super old golf announcers) Rickie Fowler chips in for eagle at #5 on Saturday. We’ll talk more about Rickie and his clothes later on.
Spieth’s chip in eagle on Friday at #9
Spieth’s near albatross on Saturday at #18
Fan of the Week:
There could only be one. The drunk guy with the furry hat who got plunked by Brooks Koepka. Most people drop like they got hit by a sniper when a golf ball ricochets off their head. Not this guy. He keeps the party rolling.
Random shit:
Rickie Fowler’s high tops and joggers shock the world
We gotta talk about this for a second. I blogged it last week but it needs to be revisited. The reason being because of golf analysts and how they reacted to Rickie’s new look. This whole thing almost overshadowed the entire tournament. It was downright embarrassing how they reacted. Listening to them talk about high tops and joggers you would’ve thought a UFO dropped them off at Rickie’s hotel. There was even a moment when the announcers thought Rickie’s high tops were ankle weights. I shit you not. That happened. Here’s the thing, we can all laugh at these senile senior citizens because they don’t understand new fashion trends but in reality it hurts the game of golf. The biggest thing golf needs right now is to capture a younger generation of golf fans. A generation that knows what high tops and joggers are. And guess what? Golf has been handed a younger generation of golf fans on a silver platter thanks to guys like Rickie who are willing to be different. Rickie is the most popular American golfer amongst young kids for a reason. That reason being he’s likable and willing to be different. But instead of embracing it the Golf Channel announcers puke all over themselves and think high tops are fucking ankle weights.
I said it in my blog last week, I kinda love Rickie’s new look. It looks awesome actually. I also said that if it wasn’t Rickie wearing it I might call the person an ass hole. You can hate it if you want and thats fine. All I’m saying is injecting a little youth into the game of golf is far from the worst thing. This is Rickie’s thing. He’s the fashion guy. He dressed like an orange highlighter for years and people thought it was great. Kids dressed like him in the gallery. All I ask is that the guys in the booth don’t drive people away with their old man takes. Or maybe we could even get somebody in the booth or out on the course who doesn’t get up 6 times during the night to pee (gasp). Just a thought.
I think I have a crush on Brooks Koepka
Alright so maybe not a real crush (well, maybe) but absolutely a golf crush. This is a guy to keep an eye on. I’m obviously not the first person to say this. Koepka is a known entity and he’s currently #14 in the world. Far from an unknown guy but he was super fun to watch this weekend. He’s an athlete. He looks like he should be playing baseball, not golf. I look at him the same way I look at Dustin Johnson. You could throw either of them on a basketball court or a baseball diamond or a (flag) football field and they could hold their own. Two freaks of nature that I’m happy chose golf instead of something else. You know what else helps? Koepka signed with Nike this year. Golfers just look like better golfers when they’re rocking the swoosh. It’s the Tiger Effect. Keep your eye on Brooks. If Kapalua was any indication, it should be a big year for him.
This 63 on Saturday was flat out insane
JOHN DALY WATCH
Not much going on with our boy. He didn’t play this week. Instead he was just chilling with his fiancé/caddy on her birthday. Probably had some sweet birthday sex then chain smoked two packs of cigs. Ya know, John Daly stuff. All day every day.
Oh and it was also announced that JD will be opening his own steakhouse some time in 2016. I swear to god if I’m not at the grand opening then my entire life has been one big failure
Hot Instagram Golfer Of The Week: Susan Benavides
One last thing, and this totally and completely random, but since the tournament was in Hawaii every time the Golf Channel went to commercial they’d play soothing Hawaiian music and it was awesome. So I went on Pandora and found the Hawaiian BBQ station and it’s MONEY. Just super relaxing Hawaiian music. So if you’re like me and living in a place where it’s freezing cold and there’s snow on the ground, play that. It kinda helps you forget.