A strong field, a great leaderboard, a gorgeous golf course, and perfect weather made for a fantastic weekend of wearing out the couch. Angel Cabrera and Martin Flores were the early pace-setters at -9 through Friday. Then Phil mounted a furious charge Saturday morning by going out in 29, but couldn’t buy a bucket on Sunday as CBS execs watched through their fingers covering their face as the biggest named star tumbled down the leaderboard yet again on a Sunday in what has become an overwhelming theme in this crazy PGA Tour season. Left standing was JB Holmes who quietly went 67-66 in the second and third rounds and hung on late on Sunday over a surging Furyk (amped up on 5-Hour Energy no doubt) and Flores.

 Brendon de Jonge opened with an 80, but didn’t take his ball and 

. He shot 62 on Friday, and followed it with 68 and 69, good enough for a T6 finish. We did still manage to get two DFL-WD’s this week, with both Peter Hanson and Brad Fritsch bowing out, leaving sponsor’s invite Ben Kohles in DFL. We’re still bitter about Kohles getting a spot over Koepka, and said so before he finished DFL. As president of the Brooks Koepka fan club, we couldn’t go without pointing this out again.


 We’re really pumped for J.B. Holmes. Two brain surgeries, and a broken ankle, and he’s back in the winner’s circle. He plays at an excruciatingly frustrating pace, but embodies 

 every step of the way. Even I gasped when I saw him reach for driver on the 18th hole with a two shot lead, but he got it done. His length basically makes him the right handed Bubba Watson, minus the douchebaggery. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the ’08 Ryder Cup, where Holmes was hitting the ball in places that no one else in the event could reach. Which reminds me of this clip, which I’ll post here for no real reason:

 It was great to see Mickelson put on one of his patented virtuoso performances on Saturday. They have been few and far between since last year’s Open triumph. He played the six hole stretch of #3 to #8 in SEVEN under, turning with a 29 and putting 59 squarely in play. While he continued to hit the ball exceptionally on the back nine, his putter let him down a couple times and he ultimately had to ‘settle’ for a 63. The balky putter would portend Sunday struggles, as he missed a handful of putts within 5 feet. More than anything it seemed like he was following his runner-up US Open script. Let’s hope he re-writes that ending next time he’s back in North Carolina.

 Martin Flores was a revelation. He stuck around all weekend displaying a nice swing, solid game, and phenomenal flow. He came into this week without a top-10, so his solo 3rd will be a big boon to potentially retaining his privileges next year. This being his first real breakthrough of the season, we should note he’s now finished inside the top-20 in five of his last seven events dating back to the Honda Classic. Keep an eye out for him in the coming weeks as he’s on a nice, sustained run of form.

 Angel Cabrera opened 66-69 then somebody informed him this wasn’t a major. He promptly bounced, shooting 75-75 and saying something about being back in 2017.

 Pat Perez was headed toward a top-10 and another great check but wrecked his rig coming in. He played #13 through #18 Sunday at 5-over, shooting 77 and finishing T44. The six hole stretch absolutely will not disabuse us of the belief that he’s going to win very soon. Read 

 about Double P finding his happy zone if you’re still on the fence.

The greens disaster of 2013 was nowhere in sight this week, which was extremely refreshing. The entire course looked almost (I shouldn’t say it, but I’m going to) Augusta green, and had a fantastic mix of risk reward holes that were gettable, and some demanding holes that you couldn’t hide from coming in. First class to Rees Jones and the entire staff at Quail Hollow.

On the day following the Kentucky Derby, we hit the Exacta! We hadn’t picked a winner since our 

double-dip in the WGC Cadillac Championship and Puerto Rico Open

, and this win puts us up 63.5 units on the year (if you’re scoring at home, which we know you’re not).

Here’s what we wrote on Holmes on Wednesday (nice work from Tron):

“Hunching on this one. Decent track record here with a top 10 back in 2011, but this pick is MUCH about form. Holmes is in a good place again with his health and you can tell he’s gaining momentum. Played well at Bay Hill, Houston, Hilton Head and New Orleans, not finishing worse than 18th. I’m buying on Holmes over the next two months.”

Oil Spill of the Week (Brought to you by BP)

This classy four putt by Peter Hanson on Thursday took the early lead for Oil Spill of the Week, and never looked back. It’s never good when all of your shots around the hole can’t even fit on shot tracker.

J.B. Holmes’ fascinating length was on display all weekend, and his tee shot on the 8th on Sunday was one of the best examples. This was INTO THE WIND.

This fan’s reaction to the drive was perfect, as was Feherty’s call:

This fan is very entertained by J.B. Holmes' "blunt force trauma" 

Justin Rose blesses us with the double dip: The Follow Through Club Drop, and the Wayward Drive Directional Point!

 from Justin Rose. The Club Drop and the Directional Point! 

May can be overlooked on the schedule as it’s the only month from April to August that doesn’t have a major, but this is arguably the best stretch on the PGA Tour (Wells Fargo, The Players, The Colonial, The Memorial) that doesn’t feature a major. A lot of people have mixed thoughts on The Players Championship, but I’ve come around on it. It might have been the perfect storm of Tiger winning and Sergio collapsing last year that turned me, but I’m going to be glued to the TV next weekend. Unless Jeff Maggert makes a run at this thing again.

Wells Fargo Championship Recap

Click here for Part I of our preview (Course, Vibe, Last Year) of the Wells Fargo Championship.

(all lines courtesy Ladbrokes.com, the Official Bookmaker of NoLayingUp.com)

Rory and Westwood One are great fantasy plays this week. Their odds to win are terrible, but they both love this course, and have a history of success here. Westwood was T4 and T5 the last two years, while Rory won the event in 2010, lost in a playoff in 2012, and finished T10 a year ago in an otherwise awful year. However, you can only get 14/1 on your money for both of them. Play away in fantasy, but the odds aren’t good enough to suggest a bet on any of these guys. Concerning Mickelson, I’d be lying if I said NLU isn’t concerned about him. If he’s going to bounce back this would be the place to start – Phil has four top 10’s in the last five years, including three top 5’s. However, at this point a Phil play this week simply isn’t advisable.

 – Top 26 here in each of his last four starts. Does he have the firepower to win?

 – With his history here, I expected him to be closer to 20/1. He won the event in 2012, and finished T16 and T5 the two previous years. He’s coming off an MC at the Zurich, but finished T5 at the Masters, and 6th the week before that in Houston.

 – Loves this track. T6 last year, and T5 in 2012. His form has not been great lately, but this course sets up well for him.

 – Really underrated player T14 in the Masters, and a T2 performance at Doral are his noteworthy performances in the states this year, and he’s also got eight top 15’s in his last fourteen starts worldwide.

 – Hunching on this one. Decent track record here with a top 10 back in 2011, but this pick is MUCH about form. Holmes is in a good place again with his health and you can tell he’s gaining momentum. Played well at Bay Hill, Houston, Hilton Head and New Orleans, not finishing worse than 18th. I’m buying on Holmes over the next two months.

 – YES PLEASE. Scorched the place during the first two rounds in 2011 w/ 67-65 but faded on Sunday. T32 here LY. Last tournament round was final round 64 at Hilton Head, a round that featured 9 (!!!) birdies on a windy day. DubP’s game is tight right now, we just need him to stick around for all four rounds.

 – Holy value! The Charlotte resident finished T4 here a year ago, and hasn’t finished worse than T14 in any of his three starts on the PGA Tour this year. He comes in at 5th on the PGAtour.com power rankings this week, and is the definition of a value flier. Clip your coupon here and buy that ticket!

 – I’m doing it! T6 here a year ago, and was in great position at the Zurich by mid afternoon Saturday before he let it slip on Saturday and Sunday. It was right around this time last year that KFS busted out of a season long slump to finish 3rd at the Zurich, T6 at the Wells Fargo, and 3rd at the Memorial. I’m like Skip Bayless with Tim Tebow: I can’t quit KFS. The flatstick has to get hot at some point, right? Right????

Early reports are that the greens are in fantastic shape this week, and last year’s disaster will be avoided. I’ve seen the word “perfect” used in more place than one. For more details, 

check out this on course report from Stephen Britt.

Charlotte resident Webb Simpson has been quietly awful in 2014, with his last finish in the top 45 (excluding the match play) taking place at the Farmers three months ago. He started the season so hot that we’re left to wonder if something isn’t physically wrong with The Whitest Man in America. He’s widely regarded as one of the most consistent players on tour, so this is something that we should be keeping an eye on.

If you see smoke coming out of the top and sides of this preview, it’s us fuming over Brooks Koepka not getting a sponsor’s invite this week. He Monday qualified for the Zurich last week, and earned enough FedEx Cup points to lock up special temporary membership to the PGA Tour for the rest of the year, meaning he can accept as many sponsor’s invites as he wants. Ben Kohles, who did nab a sponsor invite, played here last year and shot 78-74 (had his tour card LY and didn’t do much with it). We’re struggling to see how he got a spot over Koepka. Varner III and Gore received other exemption spots, which we don’t have much of a beef with.

With Pinehurst No. 2 so close (2 hrs. East), you have to wonder if FIGJAM and his buddies snuck out for a couple practice rounds in advance of the US Open…

I can’t figure out why Gary Woodland hasn’t done well on this track. It would seem to set up for him well with his mammoth length. He’s been in the lab since his hilarious final round at Augusta.

In that same vein, one would think Bill Haas (Member, FDIC) will win here one of these years. He’s long, he putts well, and this is his hometown event. He plays here every year and has a couple of 4th place finishes to his name, but the last two years he’s been awful. Bill needs to know that it’s his fiduciary responsibility to capture this title.

Shouts out to Fielding Brewbaker for Monday qualifying into this event. No idea who he is – just in awe of his name. Hopefully he has a frat weave to match his name!

My home course growing up switched it’s greens from Bent to Bermuda last year. I got a chance to play it a few months ago and I was beyond confused. Aside from slope being removed from the greens (the Bermuda gets stupid-fast in the summer, to the point where the old slopes would’ve been outrageous), the new greens look identical from the fairway. However, the different grass completely altered the way I played the entire course. I’d imagine that Quail Hollow members are about to get similarly mind-f***ed when they try their new greens out.

Wells Fargo Championship Preview &#8211; Part 2

We’re trying something new this week and breaking the weekly preview into two parts. The first part will set the stage for the week with info on the course, vibe, and last year’s event. The second part will feature the particulars of this year’s event, a lineup of tasty fantasy tidbits and gambling odds, and the random riffs that we so love.

The Wells Fargo Championship has earned its place among the elite group of non-major, non-WGC events with the likes of the Memorial Tournament, the Honda Classic, The Players, the Northern Trust, and The Colonial. A great course (2017 PGA Championship coming up here) and a great field looking to find form before The Players have me 

 excited for a PGA Tour event for maybe the sixth time this year (which is scary considering we’re halfway through). The longest lull between same-season majors is the eight week stretch between the Masters and the U.S. Open. Thankfully, three of those aforementioned five marquee non-majors take place during this stretch.

Big boy track! I was surprised to see Quail Hollow come in at number 14 on 

Golf Digest’s player survey of the best courses on Tour

, as the praise seems to be consistently strong for this 1959 George Cobb design (plays as a 7,400+ yard, par-72). It’s interesting to note the Kemper Open was held here from 1969 to 1979 (always thought that was a purely D.C. area event), and Tom Weiskopf shut it down, winning three of those years. After that, it’s like everyone just forgot about Quail Hollow for 20 years. Tom Fazio did a redesign in 1997, and the tour came back around in 2003, with David Toms winning by two strokes after making a four putt QUAD (!) on the last hole. After that, I was hooked, along with the rest of the tour’s elite. Since then, the stable of winners includes Big Cat, Rory McIlroy (who closed with a course record, 62, in 2010), Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh, and Anthony Kim (RIP).

Tour pros will complain about anything, but 

the uproar surrounding the greens last year was appropriate

. By Tour standards, it’s the equivalent to having a felony on your record. You can put together great tournament after great tournament, year after year, and yet one big mistake can tarnish the entire image of a tournament. For a reminder, take a look at the picture Colt Knost posted to instagram a year ago:

A photo posted by Colt Knost (@coltknost) on Apr 30, 2013 at 12:31pm PDT

It was the story of the entire week, but Phil Mickelson (in true Mickelsonian fashion) went to bat for the grounds crew at Quail Hollow:

“The greens are fine. The thing about this tournament is that 10 years ago when they started here it went from no tournament here in Charlotte to one of the best tournaments we have on Tour, and this tournament is really what propelled other tournaments to step up, to do all the little things well to just make your tournament even better. They should get a pass. They should be cut a little bit of slack because they’ve done so much for us.”

Mickelson’s comments are particularly curious, as just three years prior he had 

Quail Hollow for having the worst designed greens on Tour, despite being marvelous tee to green. No doubt Mickelson saw last year as a ripe opportunity to make it up to tournament organizers (and financiers).

Since last year’s event, the course has undergone a 

 to Ernst-Proof this historic track in anticipation of hosting the aforementioned 2017 PGA Championship. The 16th hole has been drastically changed in the renovation, as they moved the green 80 yards to the left, and it now sits on the lake. Part of the rationale was to include new seating and merchandise tents along the hole – that’s some next level corporate shit! Here’s a great summary of the changes in one picture:

 would be an understatement. Check out the NEW hole 16 

It’s now a demanding, 500+ yard, dogleg par-4, which leads into the also-renovated 17th hole. The tee on this par-3 was stretched to 220 yards, and the new tee sits where the old 16th green used to. Finally, the 18th is a 490+ yard par-4, up the hill, to a green guarded by water.

Unfortunately, the renovations left the gimmicky “Green Mile” nickname to the finishing stretch of #16-#17-#18 untouched. In our opinion, if you’ve got a great track (and they do), let the course stand on its own. There’s no need to apply hokie handles. Frankly, we’re to the point of over-saturation on Tour in this regard. Nothing will ever top the name “Amen Corner,” which was bestowed independently by Herbert Warren Wind, so let’s 

Charlotte straddles the NC/SC line and is the biggest city in North Carolina, with its population nearly doubling over the last twenty years. Described as the other banking capital of the U.S. (behind New York, of course), the Queen City plays home to Bank of America, and was the former home of Wachovia before the hostile takeover acquisition by Wells Fargo in 2008 (and serves as it’s east coast base). Aside from that, Charlotte is a strong sports hub, real deep in the NASCAR game, in love with Scam Newton, Riverboat Ron, and the Carolina Panthers, and like the rest of us, trying ardently to pretend the NBA’s Bobcats/Hornets don’t exist. Based upon my limited experience in Charlotte (3 to 4 visits), I’d liken it to pre-1996 Olympics version of Atlanta. It’s a growing Southern metropolis with tons of transplants from elsewhere, but somehow the area’s held onto more of the genteel Southern-ness that Atlanta’s lost, and is still relatively parochial.

In keeping with that vibe, I’d expect the scene out at Quail Hollow to be really corporate, with the banking crowd taking center stage, but of course some frat-stars will be making their presence felt. Generally, this event feels really country club-ish (for better or worse). None of us at 

 have been to this event, though, so we really don’t have a whole lot of insider info on the scene. We do know it makes too much sense to have an event here – affluent area, ton of cash flow, great course, and unreal weather this time of year (although it looks stormy this week). Let’s get it on!

It’s Derek Ernst’s world, and we’re all just living in it. It’s been a full year since Ernst triumphed over a world class field (and stout leaderboard) before taking the PGA Tour by storm in one of the most unlikely wins in recent Tour memory (if I wasn’t terrified at what I would find, I may actually research that statement a bit and provide specifics).

As noted above, what happened a year ago was a complete and utter paranormal event by PGA Tour standards. We’re all about guys that grind their way through the ranks and finally get their big break. The current system makes it really easy to keep your PGA Tour card, but really hard to initially earn it. Derek Ernst was ranked 1,207th in the world (the list of guys who have won an event with a comma in their world ranking has to be a small one), and was the fourth alternate (!!!) for the Wells Fargo a year ago. Ironically, he nabbed a spot thanks to several guys dropping out due to the greens fiasco.

Mickelson hemorrhaged oil down the stretch, bogeying two of his final three holes to miss a playoff by one, and setting up a duel between David Lynn and Ernst, who parred the first hole to snatch the most unlikely victory. Since the win, Ernst’s Cinderalla-storyline has him turned back into more of a pumpkin, as he’s missed 19 cuts in the 29 events he’s played. His best finish since then is 30th at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions (DFL).

Click here for Part II of our preview of the Wells Fargo Championship

, which features our picks for the week (we’re trying to bounce back from our deplorable Heritage and Zurich showings), as well as riffing on topics, both pertinent and tangential, like why Brooks Koepka is not in the field this week.

Wells Fargo Championship Preview &#8211; Part 1

I know when I hunker down on Saturday and Sunday to watch golf, it is an afternoon (and often early evening) commitment. And I, as well as most of you, am 100% OK with that. However, pace of play is receiving a ton of attention on Tour, in no small part due to the fact that Tiger is laid up, and there’s been a dearth of captivating winners that move the needle week in and week out. It’s a subject that’s getting damn near beaten to death, though if the talking heads had a gag order on discussing anything pace of play related, I probably would not even notice aside from a few ridiculous pre-shot routines (looking at you, Loupe Fiasco).

It’s abundantly clear this is a problem that needs addressed, as many players who play at the proper pace are boiling over, and in danger of self-combustion. The problem is the regular ways to solve this issue are so blasé it doesn’t invoke any real motivation for the slow players to change. So we got outside the box and came up with a few ideas that can alleviate this issue. After all, we don’t want to be those people that simply kvetch about a problem without any intent to offer solutions. Allow us to play Commish for a day…

 – I’m not going to speculate on how long the shot clock should be or when it should be triggered but it should be there. It’s important that it’s visible for all players and spectators (this could get interesting). So I suggest adding a digital clock that can be reset by a Rules official following each group that is attached the mobile scoreboard that follows each group. How crazy would it be as the clock winds down on Kevin Na and the gallery starts getting collectively more amused as it trickles closer to zero! THIS WOULD BE MUST SEE TV! We would need to hire additional security for crowd control, economic stimulus/job creation, baby! Your move, Barack.

 – Stealing a move from billiards (my 47th favourite sport/leisure activity), give players a limited number of extensions on the shot clock per 18 hole basis. Let’s arbitrarily pick 3 extensions per 18 holes in which the player can extend the shot clock (presumably double or triple it). It would be a stunning revelation to have a guy coming down the stretch at The Masters, making a Sunday charge, only to have the wonderfully melodic Jim Nantz reminding us “Friends, don’t forget, he has no more extensions, he cannot afford to end up in the pine straw.” Chills. Or even better, a contender pulls a Chris Webber and calls for an extension late in the round when he already burned his extensions stick handling his golf ball around the front 9. Punishable by death by way of guillotine. Nantz would be begging CBS execs to be the one to drop the blade.

 – Another problem with the current format is they offer punishment (barely) for slow play but no reward for fast play. So, we need a carry forward provision if a player doesn’t need to use his extensions. Make the extensions as much a part of strategy than a means of salvation for wayward shots. There are still some holes in this but there needs to be reward for fast players other than street cred for being known as a fast player who doesn’t mess around (looking at you, Sneds/Billy Ho).

 – It has to be extreme. Every shot clock violation is equal to a stroke. There is a strong chance that by making the punishment this extreme it makes the shot clock obsolete within a year or two, but I guess that’s the whole idea of it in the first place, right? Having banked up extensions will still be valued for the days Webb has the shanks or Big Cat has that rat hook out in full force.

Try not to smile picturing Slugger with this

 – This is the least realistic, but most fun option. As it currently stands, if you’re group is not keeping up with the pace of play, your group gets put “on the clock,” which means if you take too long to play a shot, you receive an undisclosed fine. Well, instead of being put on the clock, picture Nantz whispering this: “Look what we have here, folks. Jim Furyk, just one shot off the lead, now has to put on 

” When your group is behind, you’re forced to wear a belt around your waist that has a small vibrating device that sits on the belt buckle. Once it becomes your turn, you have a certain amount of time to play (let’s say 45 seconds). Once you pass the 45 second mark, The Belt will begin vibrating at random moments that will be impossible to predict. I’m not talking about a small cell phone vibration. I’m talking restaurant-buzzer-rattling-on-the-table vibration (also known as the Stadler-Post-Taco-Bell vibration). The shame of having to wear the belt would be like the Scarlet Letter. Imagine Slugger White running up to Furyk and making him put his arms in the air to put on the belt. He could bring it out like a WWE championship belt! Tell me the combination of that embarrassment, plus the unpredictable vibration, wouldn’t make Jimmy rethink his 3 minute long pre-shot routine over his four footer. If not Slugger, can we get this guy to be The Belt distributor?

I’m not suggesting this gets rolled out for the start of the 2015 season in Hawaii, send it up here to me in Canada and let me and the guys at PGA Tour Canada take care of it and make the proper alterations before it is ready for The Big Show. But I think it’s a step in the right direction and may have several positive impacts on the game.

Some Ideas on How To Fix the Tour's Pace of Play Problem

Keegan ejected (luckily the parachute deployed), a bunch of guys got much needed paychecks, and Seung-yul Noh’s swing made everyone take notice (oh, and he got his first career win). The final round, like the whole event, lacked drama. Let’s just keep moving.

 Seung-yul Noh looks really good hitting the golf ball. Smooth angles. Epic transition at the top. Perfect positions. Awesome swing. There have been a handful of first-time winners on Tour this year, I think Noh’s win today brought the most swing/game adulation so far–and from highly certified folk too. He came into the week ranked 121st in stokes gained putting (at -.086), but switched to a mallet this week and was lights out over four days. If he really did discover something, this could be a springboard for bigger things to come for the 22 year-old ball striking savant. That’s the consensus opinion at least. We’ve heard from multiple players that Noh routinely puts on laser shows out on the range with his irons.

 This will get overlooked, but lots of respect for Noh handling his post-win interview with Peter Kostis sans translator. I can’t imagine there were ever more eyes on him in this country, and it takes a lot of stones to answer questions in a second language. Well done.

 I’m disappointed Keegan withered from contention early in his 4th round (bogey, triple on #5 and #6). The soon-to-be 28 year-old was looking for career win four, and more so, could have given this week and season a much-needed shot in the arm from a storyline perspective. It being a Ryder Cup year, I’d like to see some young, battle-tested Americans go get a damn trophy now and then. Winning is really hard on the PGA Tour, and I get that. There’s more fringe guys out there that can pop up and steal a tournament than ever before, but we’re over halfway through the season, and the list of winners reads more like the field of the Puerto Rico Open than it does a WGC event.

 Playing in the last group on Saturday, Andrew Svoboda looked like a pretty good bet to be an afterthought on a very forgettable weekend in general. Instead, he hung in there and cashed a $600,000 second place check, playing the weekend five under. Good to see. He came onto our radar back at Pebble 

when he embraced our call for him not to lay up

 Noh didn’t make a bogey through his first 54 holes. That’s special. As an aside, it was refreshing to see some low scores on the leaderboard this week, as this recent stretch dating back to the Honda Classic featured tough tracks, high scores and pitiful Sunday performances. The Zurich was a reminder that when you put these guys on a easy course, even 30+ MPH winds can’t keep a mediocre field from going very deep.

 Some other good stories that caught our eye this weekend – despite some Sunday struggles David Duval had a great week and cashed a nice check. Brooks Koepka locked up temporary membership on tour, although something tells me it’ll be anything but temporary. This is a huge story in our circles, as No Laying Up is a founding member of the Brooks Koepka Fan Club. I’m not saying he’s a Jordan Spieth type talent, but it’s worth noting that this is a similar route that Spieth took a year ago to get his tour card, and we don’t think Brooks is going to have any trouble finishing top 125 on the money list to get full membership. Let’s just hope he keeps getting these sponsor’s invites. Also, this week was a reminder that Peter Hanson and Bud Cauley still play golf.

 On the one hand it was good to see Jeff Overton find form. Conversely, it’s infuriating to watch him flash all that natural ability and continue to underwhelm. Hell, people forget he was on the 2010 Ryder Cup team and has the potential to be a top ten player. Overton’s game looked flat out sloppy down the stretch today, and yet he still finished 4th at -16. Those results, coupled with the stories that always circulate about his lifestyle, tell me he’s not even scratching the surface. I don’t know these guys personally, and can’t attest to how hard they actually work, so I’m not speculating that the guy doesn’t work hard – just feel like the he’s capable of much more than what he’s shown the last two years. Even the guys on the telecast were all over him for his inconsistent putting stroke and lackadaisical decision making.

 Perhaps the best thing about the Zurich, in all honesty, is the fact it’s over. It’s a completely underwhelming course, and all respect to Noh and his potential, but it was a yawn of a leaderboard and closing nine. A note to all die-hard golf fans; if you’re planning on having a spring wedding, plan it on the weekend of the Zurich. On to Charlotte and what should be a much more compelling week of golf (more on that below).

Talk about not compelling! Woof! We’re embarrassed by our results this week, laying blame directly on our Hilton Head hangover and general lack of enthusiasm for this course and event. We promise to get in the lab this week and come back much stronger at Quail Hollow. Lord knows we can’t get any worse. Kevin McAllister agrees:

As noted above, Keegan ejected himself from the captain’s seat and deployed the parachute on the 6th hole on Sunday. That’s a lot of acute angles in one shot tracker image.

The rare double dip – Keegan wins both the best and the worst shot tracker images of the week. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Keegan played the double dogleg par five 7th hole in nearly a straight line, and nearly deuced the par 5 with a hybrid from the bunker.

Our boy Billy Horschel went with the classic 

, yet followed it with a sprint (perhaps showing off why he’s worthy of being the 

NLU starting cornerback on the All-Pigskin team

), rather than going with the Wayward Drive Directional Point. (GIF of course 

The ascendant credibility and prestige of the Wells Fargo Championship took a serious hit last year as the greens looked more bombed out and depleted than Mogadishu (supposedly that’s going to be the case down at TPC Sawgrass in a couple weeks due to a “chemical mishap” on the greens 

). However, the event looks like a good bet to rebound this year courtesy of a 

. While the field won’t be quite as strong as it was in years past, the Wells Fargo is still one of the premier events on tour and typically crowns a thoroughbred champion (key word: typically). The event kicks off a stretch of four premier events in a five week stretch (Wells Fargo, Players, Colonial, Memorial – Byron Nelson tourney doesn’t count due to a lackluster field and a really lackluster course). Strap in y’all.

Zurich Classic of New Orleans Recap

Bonjour y’all! We gon geaux head down der to da bayou this weekend for the Zurich Classic of ‘Nawlins for a plateful of po-boys, crawfish, crawdads, mudbugs, and a bowl of gumbo.

We’re hurting a little bit in NLU country this week from a grueling weekend in Hilton Head that produced way more rain and empty cans of Michelob Light (really, RBC?) than actual on-site analysis. Half of us are still on vacation, and the other half are struggling to get hyped for an event that lacks star power, on a course that’s as forgettable as this preview, and that is sandwiched between a slew of big name events. The A-Group options in Yahoo! Fantasy this week look like the bin of used golf balls you find at your local Play it Again Sports shop, with the exception of Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, and Kevin Stadler. Jason Dufner, the 2012 winner is getting paid playing in China, and Gerry Watson, the 2011 winner is probably still doing this:

The 2013 winner, our boy Billy Horschel, is thankfully in the field. We’re also thankful for this moment from last year’s breakthrough win:

We’re putting as much effort into this week’s preview as Kevin Stadler does with his physio, so bear with us.

When watching this event on TV in 2011, it took Soly until Sunday to realize that he had played this course just six months prior to this tournament. That’s how utterly forgettable this track is, and I’d imagine that’s part of the reason as to why 

it’s ranked as the 8th worst course on tour per Golf Digest’s player survey

. The course is about 25 minutes from Bourbon Street in Avondale, and it’s clear that once you’re five minutes outside of “New Orleans”, you’re actually in Louisiana. When your course’s 

 has two sentences (!), it’s pretty easy to figure out why you have David Toms and Matt Every in your “feature groups.” However, you will hear countless compliments about the tournament staff putting on one of the better events of the year from a player perks perspective (unintentional alliteration, I promise). The wives love coming to this event and the festivities probably entice more guys to show up than otherwise would, which is scary. But as far as the course goes, drink your coffee.

New Orleans, Louisiana is unlike any other city in the US. The bars don’t close, the food is spicy, and it feels like you’re in a European country than a large American port city. From 

But it is an American city — just a very different place with a very peculiar history. New Orleans is a place where Africans, both slave and free, and American Indians shared their cultures and intermingled with European settlers. Encouraged by the French government, this strategy for producing a durable culture in a difficult place marked New Orleans as different and special from its inception and continues to distinguish New Orleans today.

The overwhelming theme you’ll hear this week is about the food. Gumbo, po-boys, crawfish etouffee, jambalaya, muffulettas, and beignets will have you reaching for the Pepto Bismol in real time. Be prepared to see more tweets like these the rest of the week:

http://twitter.com/jamielovemark/status/459039733952151553

Just landed in New Orleans, home of the chargrilled oyster. Forgot my pants with the elastic waist at home.



— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) 

If I lived in New Orleans I would wanna be an offensive lineman. The food is too good to pass up 





— Mark Anderson (@mark_andersonsc) 

It was like watching two of your sons (Horschel and Stanley) battling down the stretch, just praying that the neighborhood bully (D.A. Points) didn’t step up and ruin it, and he almost did. We were ecstatic to see loyal NLU follower BillyHo notch his first win, and to see Stanley get his first great result of the season.

 (14/1) – In form right now coming off back to back top tens in Augusta and Houston. The dividends from his swing changes are really paying off. If he gets hot with the putter watch out. Never finished outside top-32 here.

 (20/1) – Length pays off at TPC Louisiana, and Graham is flat out long. I’ll cherry pick his 2012 T4 finish and ignore the T47 in 2013 and MC in 2010 and suggest playing the Candian this week.

 (25/1) – Another guy in form (runner up at Honda, top ten at Houston, and right in the mix in San Antonio before getting ejected with a final round 82), he hasn’t missed a cut since October. T4 here back in 2012. This will be my biggest play this week – strong hunch on this one.

 (40/1) – Coming off an extraordinary debut at Augusta and played consistently last week at Heritage. Confidence has to be at an all-time high and he was T8 here LY. Excels on bomb and gouge tracks.

 (50/1) – T13 in his only appearance here. Appears to be regaining groove since his injury-shortened 2013 campaign. Also a bomb and gouge specialist.

Spence made the cut at Heritage, then shot -3 in tough conditions on the weekend. He’s working hard on his game trying to convert his major medical exemption into a card for next year. He’s due.

We couldn’t muster up the strength to do a recap of the RBC Heritage, mostly because we spent most of our time in a cloud of cigar smoke following groups on the opposite side of the course from the leaders, and we missed a lot of the deciding action. However, here are a few thoughts.

On Friday night, we recorded our first ever NLU podcast. We’ve still got some kinks to work out, but overall, I would call it a success. Soly went to bat for Matt Kuchar, and was rewarded with a final round 64 and a victory much to the delight of the vacationers in Hilton Head. We’ll hopefully post the podcast soon, and any ideas you guys have for topics of discussion, please send our way.

We followed Billy Horschel for 27 holes, and watched him stripe fairway after fairway, green after green, yet 

. Although Billy wasn’t exactly stuffing it next to the hole, don’t be surprised to see his game turn at some point in the next few weeks.

Our best story from this weekend. Fil, to Ricky Barnes, “Hey Ricky, you staying at (Fil’s family friend)’s house this week?” Ricky: “Yeah.” Imagine a really awkward pause, and several people now looking at us. Not imagine a longer pause. Fil: “Cool!” Ricky walks away and signs some autographs. End of story.

, Brooks Koepka shot 64 in the Monday qualifier and earned his way into the field. With a made cut, he can lock up temporary membership on the PGA Tour, and can toss aside his passport for the rest of the year. This guy is a potential American star, and more should be made of the fact that he had to go to Europe to play his way onto the tour due to the new Q-school process (the blood is on your hands Finchy).

We’ll leave you with this. One of my favorite SNL skits ever. The premise is that everyone in the courtroom except for the plaintiff is a New Orleans transplant who moved to Maine after Hurricane Katrina, yet never lost their ‘Nawlins roots.

Zurich Classic of New Orleans Preview

In the parlance of professional football, if the Masters last week was the Super Bowl, this week’s Heritage Classic on Hilton Head Island (South Carolina) qualifies as the Pro Bowl (eminently watchable though, so completely unlike the NFL’s version). Just a quick jaunt across South Carolina for guys who played last week, the Heritage is one of the most relaxed, family-friendly stops on Tour each year. We’ll get into why in a second.

Hilton Head is the bastion of the Midwestern vacation (why? It’s driveable in a day from Ohio and surrounding parts). Each spring, fathers load up the SUV and pack the top of the minivans for the sacred family beach trip. You can witness this migration on the Interstate–tarp’d over skin boards and corn-hole sets bungeed dangerously high on the roof with the kid’s all glued to the car’s flip down TV screens in the back. You’ll see the veterans at Cracker Barrel, and the rookies, they’ll be camped out in the left lane heading South. (Here’s a quick 

There are several distinct zones (‘plantations’ as they’re called) of development within Hilton Head, with the oldest and most recognizable being Sea Pines Plantation. Within Sea Pines is Harbour Town, the closest thing to a city center on the whole island. It’s home to the famous red and white-stripped lighthouse (along with a bevy of BALLER-ASS yachts!) which serves as the distinguishing characteristic of both the golf course and this week’s broadcast.

There are two important things to realize about Sea Pines–first, not many people live inside Sea Pines (there are only 39,000 full-time residents on the whole island), and second, both entrances into Sea Pines are gated with security personnel vigilantly checking for proper credentials. Why is this important? Players are able to spend the week not in a cramped hotel setting, but instead living large in one of the myriad of nice to 

 vacation homes within Sea Pines. Perhaps moreover, there just aren’t many people in the area, so guys can enjoy a week of relative anonymity with their friends and/or sidepieces family in pretty plush settings. For these reasons, the Heritage has garnered the reputation as being very laid back as far as Tour stops go–a great place to decompress post-Masters for those fortunate to play–and an ideal place to spend some quality family time before the May ‘busy’ season approaches.

One more thing to mention that’s always bothered me about Harbour Town–why the hell is it spelled the Canadian way? Eh? I have to think this was a major selling point with the Royal Bank of Canada suits.

Known as a shotmaker’s paradise (or one might say, harbor, amirite?), Harbour Town checks in at #2 on the list of best tour courses 

. The Pete Dye design is an anomaly among tour tracks in that it plays about 7,000 yards and is characterized by its narrow fairways, overhanging trees, and minuscule greens. The average green is approximately 3,700 square feet, compared to the tour average of about 6,600 square feet (per 

). Seven different kinds of grass can be found throughout the layout, mostly different types of Bermuda.

Placement off the tee is at an absolute premium, and that doesn’t mean just finding fairways. Strategically-positioned, overhanging trees are sprinkled throughout the layout, making it possible to be completely blocked out from certain spots in the fairway – this is possible on ten holes depending upon pin location. As mentioned, the greens are the size of saucer dishes, bringing both iron play and chipping to the forefront. If the wind picks up, as it did last year, the course gets really difficult as it’s both tight and water-laden. All-in-all, a real fun course which demands guys to golf their ball.

The two best holes on the front nine are probably #8 and #9. #8 (pictured above) is consistently the hardest hole on the course, a treacherous, 473-yard par-4 doglegging a bit left with an approach shot that must be fit between trees on either side of the fairway into a narrow green guarded on the left by a thin bunker with water beyond. #9 is a fun, short par-4 of about 330 yards. It’s a narrow fairway framed by trees where guys must account for pin location on the wide, yet thin, heart-shaped green to determine where they want to place their tee ball. If they pull driver and blast away, it’s not a gimmie par, as the tiny green is well guarded by an array of awkward bunkers short and long.

On the back nine, everyone is undoubtedly familiar with the closing holes–#17 is a picturesque par-3 out toward Calibogue Sound, then #18 is a par-4 with Calibogue Sound all down the left side and the aforementioned lighthouse prominently standing in the background. What you may not be aware of, though, is how strong the stretch of #13 to #15 is.

#13 is a short, 373 yard par-4 requiring (what else?) a well-placed first shot. The second is a short iron that must negotiate a large tree on the left (with overhanging branches) into a U-shaped green with deep fore-bunker all around. #14 (pictured above) is a bossy 192 yard par-3 that features the vintage Dye railroad ties supporting the green and separating it from the pond short and right. When the wind is up and the pin is cut on the right, it’s a daunting play into a fantastic sucker pin. Finally, #15 is a gettable 588 yard par-5. Like every other hole, position off the tee is critical to be able to reach in two, there’s water down the left side, and and the green complex is small and well-guarded with water and bunkers. That starting to ring a bell? Welcome to Harbour Town Golf Links!

The Heritage is perfectly suited for post-Masters week with the vibe exceedingly relaxed. Most of the time a ticket isn’t even necessary to get in as there are a multitude of course-access points due to Harbour Town snaking all through Sea Pines (our sincere kudos to the tourney suits for historically not trying to be overzealous in this regard, though rumor has it they’re aiming to beef up ticket checking this year). Anyway, the scene is a spring bisque of familial flavor stewed together with Clemson and South Carolina frat stars (who add that little kick). The area in between #10 fairway and #16 fairway, through #17 and all the way down to #18 tee is where the party’s at. Think a homeless man’s Bird’s Nest, a la Phoenix, but a bit more refined and civil. You’ll see plenty of Sheilas (all ages) roaming the property with “mattresses strapped to their backs.” In other words, there’s something for everyone.

Last year’s Heritage played more like a major than a relaxing week on tour (peep that leaderboard above – CLASSY). The weather was relatively crazy for the majority of the event, culminating with wind gusts up over 40mph on Sunday. Chuck Hoffman built a nice lead through three rounds but ejected hard out into the Sound on Sunday. As it were, it came down to the 18th hole, which McDowell bogeyed to drop into a playoff with Simpson. GMac, though, would ultimately triumph after a single playoff hole when Webb returned the favor and bogeyed.

Furyk? Donald? Henley? To be honest we’re overwhelmed with the selection this week. We’re going to go with a few more value fliers than normal and try to catch some lightning!

 – Top-10 here his last two appearances, and he’s finished top-20 in five of his last six tournaments. I dream of a Horschel/Na final pairing on Sunday. Free fireworks on the Calibogue Sound!

A true horse for course, with a T6 and T8 here the last two years. He’s finished top-10 in four of his last eight starts as well.

 – No joke, the NLU squad is placing a sizeable bet on Billy Ho in an attempt to have our trip to Hilton Head paid for. This line started at 66/1, moved to 50/1 and has since moved again, though you can still find him on many sites at 50/1. In his Masters debut last week Billy was 2nd in GIR, but was hampered by the flatstick. It seems he got that figured out on Sunday. Watch out!

 – Missed his first three cuts in this event (’02-’04) and then the light went off with a T13 in ’05. After WD’ing in ’06 he didn’t come back until a T6 in ’11. Skipped ’12 and then came back with T18 in ’13. So yeah, don’t bet him at your own risk.

 follower finished T6 here last year, and he’s quietly had a very impressive season with seven top-20’s in 11 starts. Pgatour.com has him listed 5th on their power rankings this week, and he seems primed for a breakout.

 – Fantastic track record here, with top-17 finishes each of his last four appearances, including two top-10’s.

 Hasn’t played here since 2010 but showed well in only two appearances (T11 in ’09 in his debut, T24 in ’10). Feel like he’s primed to break out again after some solid early season performances stateside and in the Middle East. Value here as he’s working hard on his game.

Top-25 finish here in his debut LY and playing some excellent golf. 3rd place finish in Tampa back in March really opened our eyes to this guy, and this course is similar. Coming off two straight MC’s but will be fresh!

– Peep his track record – it’s SOLID and he didn’t embarrass himself at the Masters last week even though he was totally out of his depth. This is more his style.

 Before you laugh, look at his track record and his trend coming in and then tell me if you’re still laughing. If Briny is ever going to bank a win, it’ll be here.

Full transparency, Hilton Head was the first place a younger co-founder of NLU ever got bombed (high school Easter trip, baby)! The potion: Orange Gatorade and Barton’s Vodka. In that spirit, we recommend plastic bottle vodka or rum bought with an Ohio Fake ID (I know all of you still have these old Fake’s, and if you don’t, have your kid or nephew buy it for you). It’s a phenomenal counter weight to the classiness of the tournament! Mix it up at about a 1:1 ratio in a Gatorade bottle and enjoy!

Not sure which year this was, but I walked into the tournament on hole #6 and literally the first shot I saw was John Daly hitting it into the shitter down the left side. He tried to cut the dogleg, missed badly, and the ball went into the bathroom. INTO the bathroom. I was left wondering whether this was the PGA Tour version of “cart golf”, and if JD was having trouble with the chili dog he had for breakfast.

Spencer Levin is in the field – he’s consistently made the cut here in the past and one would think this course would be a good starting point for him getting some momentum going. Spence established some serious consistency a couple years ago and was poised to break through. Then a freak injury cost him the first part of the 2013 season and he decided to shut it down for the remainder. The biggest question is whether he can keep his cigs lit with the strong breeze expected to be coming off the Calibogue Sound. I’ll make it a point to catch up with him this week and see how his game is shaping up.

Woody Austin’s one of my favorite guys to follow around Harbour Town. His sterling track record around these parts (

 (the French version is soooo good). His victory last year was such an underrated story and it’s fitting to see him choosing to ply his craft on the PGA Tour while eligible for the Champions Tour.

Mike Weir in the field, coming off a T44 week at the Masters – 

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the third round Ball-Striking Fiesta that Billy Horschel invited Fil and I to attend (we actually just showed up uninvited). After two days of mingling with the field, we decided to follow Billy for 18 holes as we’d been intrigued by his performance in Houston a couple weeks prior. He was surgical through 16 holes, not sure he hit a “bad” shot. He lipped a putt on #16 that would’ve taken him to -6 (which is STRONG on this course) but then endured a rough finish for a 68. We were sold on him from that point forward.

This is a place where wily old vets can rekindle the magic and dial back the clock, as length is far from a prerequisite. People, Faldo’s coming down from the booth this week in honor – that’s Cheeky! Also, looking forward to seeing Tom Watson outpace a lot of the young guns.

The Euro Tour is in Malaysia this week. Westwood One, Mannassero, Oosthuizen, Molinari, ThongChaiTea all made that trip from Augusta? That’s ridiculous. Is Koepka refusing to go back to Europe? 

 is also in the field. Can he regain form? So many questions, so few answers. We need a Euro Tour correspondent!

Schwartzel is making his debut here. His game is tidy – he should play well.

Shout-out to DL3, who established carte blanche over this place, winning the plaid jacket five times! The plaid, the Atlantic setting, the lighthouse in the background – DL3 just oozes low-country vibe. This year English, Kuchar, Harman, Byrd, and Sneds are all in the field, the Sea Island mafia rolling DEEP.

Mickelson needs to come back and play here again. Feel like this is the kind of course he’ll come back to as he grows older – the shotmaking would keep him engaged.

We’ll leave you with this bit from former RBC employee Brad Katsuyama (who will be hitting the ceremonial first tee shot this week. OK, not really):


RBC Heritage Preview

The ‘Year of Bubba’ is on. His win at Augusta catapulted his YOTTO mark up to a robust 229, ending Jimmy Walker’s three-month reign atop the Index, and currently trailing only 

 as the best we’ve measured since 1991. Bubba’s game is tailor-made for Augusta, so it’s certainly not surprising he won another Green Jacket. But more than that, his emergence has been festering for a few months now as captured on our Index and through these updates:

The ‘It’ Group this year (obligatory 

) is Walker, Bubba, DJ, Reed, English, and Day. Those are your POY candidates. Should be among the Augusta favorites too (along with the usual suspects).

A month ago or so it looked like Zach Johnson, Harris English and Chris Kirk were going to be the ‘It’ guys coming out of the Reach-around/West Coast swing. And while each are definitely having ‘nice’ to ‘extremely nice’ seasons, it’s been two relative heavyweights, DJ and Bubba, that have asserted themselves on the YOTTO Index and in the Media spotlight.

So the Masters win makes Bubba the clear leader in the clubhouse for Player of the Year. Somebody (looking at you, Jimmy Walker) is going to have to nab a major along the way, and/or go ballistic the second half of the season to challenge. And one other observation–the pack is bifurcating. There’s Bubba and Jimmy Walker separated out in rarefied air (each would have top-10 all-time YOTTOs), then a clear and precipitous fall to a big pack starting at 117 and below (top-20 all-time YOTTO mark is 141, top-10 all-time is 158 fyi). This is obviously fluid and can change drastically week to week as any of these guys pick off a win, but in the meantime, 

, it’s Bubba and Jimmy, then everybody else.

YOTTO Update (Masters)

Jordan Spieth charged out of the gates with a birdie on 2, a holed bunker shot for birdie on 4, and birdies on 6 and 7, but he went cold after that. From there on out, to our horror, it was the Gerry Show. Not sure I’ve ever seen anyone hit driver better than Bubba hit his this weekend. It was an unmatched display of physical prowess, even Tiger hasn’t matched something like this off the tee. The drive on #13 was the best drive I’ve ever seen in my life, and it gave me flashbacks to ’97. But for all the great drives, Bubba won the tournament with his putter. He buried EVERYTHING down the stretch, including the souls of those that were ready for Spieth to take over the American golf world. It’s a shame that we can’t celebrate this guy more because his game embodies the 

 mentality, but such is life. His shot making could not suit this course much better (and it’s scary to think what he could have done around this course before the planting of all the trees). Also have to praise progress and give Bubba credit, I didn’t see him bitch at a single patron all day today- he was relatively cool and calm and collected all week. However, any and every source we have even somewhat close to the tour tells us with great enthusiasm that Bubba is not nearly as popular in the locker room as he is amongst the casual fans (and we know that’s not exactly a secret).

 back in December, young Spieth personally cites wedge work from 10-20 yards as the primary weakness in his game through 2013. I wouldn’t be stepping out on a limb to say it put him out in front early on Sunday and kept him within striking distance on the back nine. With the exception of #8, Spieth’s wedge play was Mickelsonesque (“FIGJAM” Lefty, even) from both the sand and the grass. He holes it on #4, stuffs it on #10, and give himself make-able putts on #’s 9, 12, 15, and obviously 17. This is another example of how quick the youngster is to get in the lab and work on his flaws.

 More on Spieth–he essentially hung in there on Sunday with his ‘B’ or ‘C’ game, in all honesty. After holing a nervy 12 footer for birdie on 7, he didn’t make another birdie the rest of the day. The shot into #6 was solid, the chip on #10 was excellent, and the putt on #12 flashed some serious cojones. I crave to see what he does when he has all aspects of his game clicking.

 Like both members of today’s final pairing, we at 

 are transparent about how we feel. And well, I’m still sick to my stomach Bubba didn’t pay the price for that 208-yard hooded punch shot from the pinestraw to the green at #15 (the green many pro’s have trouble holding with a wedge). It was a horrible decision from a risk/reward standpoint, but even after a mediocre chip, Gerry’s white-hot putter saved his par. The sequence of events for the final pairing on #15 could have yielded a two shot swing Spieth’s way more times than not. Yet Bubba got away with it, and ran off with another green jacket while we hid our eyes. As the name of this site is obviously 

, we’re contractually obligated to salute (begrudgingly) the fact he pulled it off.

 Jonas Blixt impressed all weekend. He missed fairway after fairway, yet continued to stay in the mix. I dig the green glove, and I dig his greenside verve.

 Another major, another top-10 for Lee Westwood. But at no point did he actually make noise (we joked on twitter today this result is known as the (Luke) ‘Donald’). If he doesn’t win one by the end of 2015 the window is closed.

 Really impressed by the Mechanic hanging in Sunday with a 71. Had him pegged for a 75+ coming off the tourney-best 66 on Saturday. The ‘Most Interesting Man in the World’ stuff is obviously super-saturated at this point, which is a bit unfortunate as it takes away from the bossiness of his play this weekend. His two-day total of 137 was three shots clear of the next best score (Fowler and McIlroy at 140 each). Not too shabby for a guy due to make his Champions debut next week.

 Couple of heavily covert solid performances this week: Chris Kirk probably had the sneakiest top-20 in Masters history. Can’t remember seeing a single shot of his on the main coverage. Real solid result for his first trip to Augusta. Also, Henrik Stenson shot a 2-under 70 today and ended up T-14. Hopefully this can jump start his season and he regains his end-of-’13 form soon.

 Bernhard Langer’s week summed in two words: cold efficiency.

 One big winner this week was the Masters phone/tablet app. Clean, crisp, fast, functional, and often ahead of the CBS broadcast. I kinda wanted to consume it at times through a straight, narrow glass tube. It’s a shame the app is only relevant one week each year. In contrast, the week-in, week-out PGA Tour App is clunky, glitchy, and slow. The concept and info is there (except the ability to access a player’s profile), but the execution is subpar. Finchy needs to call in the cavalry. Figure out what the recipe is, incorporate ShotLink, replicate.

 Speaking of big winners, we all won for having had the pleasure to hear Feherty and Verne once again do their job. These guys are absolute gems on the broadcast, bringing knowledge, wit, and excitement year after year. Feherty is probably talented enough (and entertaining enough) to handle the whole telecast by himself. Verne on #16 is an institution. What else is there to say? The magical little cherub is full of glee and one of the highlights of every Masters week. Kudos to those two.

 On the negative side, we didn’t have a lot of nice things to say about CBS’ performance this weekend. To their credit, I’m pretty sure they showed every single one of Spieth and Gerry’s shots, but couldn’t believe that some of their most marketable stars were getting the “drop from coverage” treatment despite still being in contention. He may not have been a real threat to win it after his 3 putt for bogey on the 2nd, but Rickie Fowler competing down the stretch of a major is a big story any way you slice it. On Saturday, CBS ran a (obvious ratings grab) solid half hour segment touching on Fowler’s life, swing changes, successes and struggles. On Sunday, they proceeded as if he was playing in an invisibility cloak. For as much flak as Rickie gets on being overrated (which is unjustified), Sunday was his chance to show that he’s not just a bro in bright clothes, and CBS let him down. The same can be said for Freddie for the better part of Saturday, and for Westwood (One) on Sunday. I don’t remember seeing a single shot of his, and he finished 7th!?

 This may shock some of you, but it was great to see Mike Weir in form! Guy’s still got it a little bit! He was a nice consolation prize for Canada after the Delaet MC.

No Laying Up

Writing

Wells Fargo Championship Recap

Wells Fargo Championship Preview – Part 2

Wells Fargo Championship Preview – Part 1

Some Ideas on How To Fix the Tour's Pace of Play Problem

Zurich Classic of New Orleans Recap

Zurich Classic of New Orleans Preview

RBC Heritage Preview

YOTTO Update (Masters)

Masters Recap

Setting The Scene For An Epic Masters Sunday

Jeff Knox: No Laying Up Legend

The Masters Interactive Blog

The Masters Roundtable with Gate City Sports

Masters Book Club

Masters Preview Part III: The Preview!

Masters Grab Bag

Georgia Natives at The National; (via Gate City Sports)

Dustin Johnson's WMD

Writing

Wells Fargo Championship Recap

Wells Fargo Championship Preview &#8211; Part 2

Wells Fargo Championship Preview &#8211; Part 1

Some Ideas on How To Fix the Tour's Pace of Play Problem

Zurich Classic of New Orleans Recap

Zurich Classic of New Orleans Preview

RBC Heritage Preview

YOTTO Update (Masters)

Masters Recap

Setting The Scene For An Epic Masters Sunday

Jeff Knox: No Laying Up Legend

The Masters Interactive Blog

The Masters Roundtable with Gate City Sports

Masters Book Club

Masters Preview Part III: The Preview!

Masters Grab Bag

Georgia Natives at The National; (via Gate City Sports)

Dustin Johnson's WMD

Wells Fargo Championship Preview – Part 2

Wells Fargo Championship Preview – Part 1