In the blink of an eye, the PGA Tour’s West Coast Swing has come and gone. Champions have been crowned, trophies have been raised, multiple letters have been penned by members regarding all things product and slow play. Even the President of the United States has gotten “in the mix,” per PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.
It was kind of a weird month.
The golf got off to a slow start (yes, that was a pace of play joke) at The American Express and the Farmers Insurance Open, but momentum picked up from there. Rory McIlroy won in his season opener for the third time in the last four years at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am before European brethren Thomas Detry and Ludvig Åberg did the same at the WM Phoenix Open and Genesis Invitational, respectively.
Scottie Scheffler returned from his Christmas Day ravioli-making accident and looked like his normal self at various points and looked like you and me at others. He shot 41 on the back nine in the final round of the Phoenix Open, 76 in the third round of the Genesis Invitational and hit a couple shanks along the way. He still finished T9, T25 and T3 in those rounds. In other words, he’ll be just fine.
Jordan Spieth made an appearance in a bush while world No. 2 Xander Schauffele was sidelined due to an injury that some [raises hand] believed to be related to the Intercoastal Waterway. In reality, it is actually an intercostal strain in his rib cage. He hopes to make his comeback in Florida.
Just like everything else in sports, there were clear winners and losers from this stage of the PGA Tour season. But what about award recipients? Typically saved for the end of the year, these highly sought-after accolades will be making an appearance following each stretch of the season. We are already off to a hot start as we forgot about the Aloha Swing which means there’s no time to waste. Quit all that dilly dallying and let’s get into it.
Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride Award
Luke Donald’s European troops have assembled, set to march on New York. McIlroy, Detry, Åberg and Sepp Straka took home four of the five tournaments during the West Coast Swing, and they were hardly the only Europeans playing quality golf. Shane Lowry and Justin Rose contended at Pebble Beach. Robert MacIntyre and Rasmus Højgaard had their moments. Tyrrell Hatton already has a win this season, too.
Even the lone man to enter the winner’s circle from the United States is a player who, by the simplest definition, is an English-man. Europe is no stranger to scoring a major victory on Long Island, and they look keen on doing so again (although it is still early, and we all know who ultimately won that war). Winner: Harris English
Oh Brother, Here We Go Again Award
McIlroy looked so good in California that he already has the masses clamoring about the Masters and his chances to complete the career grand slam. Yes, it is quickly approaching, and yes, McIlroy made some strides with his course management and wedge play while continuing to drive the ball well. But slow your roll just ever so slightly.
All I ask is that you wait one more month to get your hopes up. Let’s see what Florida brings. Remember, this is a player who has tried it all at Augusta National — arriving early, arriving late, arriving with a new-ish putter and with a new mental game guru in his corner. That’s just the last few years. He could win again before the Masters, and it would surprise no one, but things have a way of changing when he steps on that first tee the second week of April. I’m just trying to look out for you. Winner: Rory McIlroy’s Masters hype
And Another Thing: I’m Not Mad. Please Don’t Put in the Newspaper That I Got Mad Award
PGA Tour players got into the Valentine’s Day spirit by writing letters to one another — a lot like elementary school students might do. Justin Thomas kicked off the festivities before Charley Hoffman joined in on the fun the Sunday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Not in the field due to his place in the Aon Swing 5 (No. 6 at the time), Hoffman took his time away from the golf course to plead to others to focus more on the PGA Tour. By others, he meant those who play in the TGL, the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai and non-PGA Tour events. You can connect those dots.
Hoffman wasn’t the only one to call out a peer as the discussion around slow play allowed for ideas to formulate. Lucas Glover proposed that AimPoint should be banned — he mentioned it takes too much time and statistics suggest it has not helped anyone.
Collin Morikawa was none too pleased: “I have nothing against Lucas, but if we’re banning AimPoint, I think we should ban long putters as well. I don’t know. I guess no one has said it, right?” Rephrased: “I have nothing against the guy, but let me say something directly about him.”
This was, of course, said tongue in cheek, but there’s always some truth behind a “just kidding” statement. Co-Winners: Charley Hoffman, Collin Morikawa
Embodiment of the Swing Award
I am already giddy thinking about the potential candidates for this award for the Florida Swing, but first we have to take care of the West Coast Swing. There may have been no one who grabbed more attention than Jason Day over the last month with hardly any of that related to his actual play (he did have a couple top 15s). Is there anything more West Coast than that?
Day leaned into some of his wardrobe choices as he rocked sweatpants and crewneck sweaters on more than one occasion taking the world “comfort” to a whole new level. The all gray sweatsuit was bad — we have to call balls and strikes here — but he also hit a couple home runs around Torrey Pines with his quarter zip in the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open and the below get-up over the weekend at the Genesis Invitational. Winner: Jason Day
Getty Images
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