Like Death and Taxes, Furyk Collapses

Jim Furyk collapsing with a third-round lead these days is becoming business as usual. One might think that Furyk had purchased a case of Greg Norman, 1986 vintage. Furyk hasn’t closed the door of late, much less hung on to a 54-hole lead. Sunday at Pebble Beach was more of the same. The 2003 U.S. Open champion bogeyed 3 of his first 10 holes, while the rest of the field (save pursuer Matt Jones, who also foundered on Sunday) was going low. Two birdies won’t win anything at the AT&T and Furyk ended up tied with Jones for seventh place.

He kept it entertaining, however, hitting a shot on hole No. 6 from the side of a cliff. He managed to make par on the hole, and by doing so, submitted his early entry for most dangerous par of 2015.

With a driver in the bag worth less than a dozen golf balls, the spoils of victory belonged to a renascent Brandt Snedeker, who posted five, fourth-round birdies to claim a three-stroke victory over resurgent Nick Watney. Watney’s round was anything but mundane, as the Sacramento-native made but one par on his outward nine. After penciling four consecutive birdies on his card to start the day, Watney went pyrotechnic on Pebble with three bogies and a birdie over his next five holes. More of the same on the back followed, as the Fresno State product notched three birdies and two bogeys on the bedpost. Despite the case of hiccoughs, Watney wound up ahead of all but one in the field, with enough momentum to make him a favorite this week at Riviera.

Next Shot: Northern Trust Open, February 19-22

Bill Murray’s Pants

That kind of week; when John Daly leads after Round 1 before fading away, when Brandt Snedeker wins in grandiose fashion, when courses and sites that are ideal for dramatic, major championships (but not for a ho-hum-February tour event).

That kind of week, when the pre-cut story is Bill Murray’s pants: tiny cartoon women on Thursday, cow pants on Friday, and then (inconceivably!) khaki on Saturday. If Carl Spackler had surprised us with a third pair of outlandish trousers, he would have been our top shot of the week. Pants make the golfing man, way more than hats or funky facial hair (Andres Gonzalez notwithstanding).

Four In A Row Win for Oh

When Su-Hyun Oh finally let it go on Sunday, the resulting run of four consecutive birdies to close her round secured a three-stroke triumph.

[quote_box_center]“’I spoke to Karrie [Webb]. I asked her: ‘wWhat do I need to do, you’ve won this eight times.’ Karrie said ‘Just don’t think, just do it kind of. Just let it go, just keep doing what you’re doing.’”[/quote_box_center]

Su-Hyun teed it up on Day 4 a stroke back of the leading trio: Holly Clyburn, Eun-Woo Choi and Charley Hull. Clyburn’s ride was a bumpy one, consisting of five bogeys against one birdie and she tumbled off the leaderboard, finishing in a tie for 16^th place.

Eun-Woo and Hull hung around a bit longer, although neither demonstrated the consistency that brought them to the top after three rounds. Choi started with a par and didn’t make another until the 10th. On the day, she had six bogeys and six birdies, including three birds over her final six holes, en route to a T5 placement. A triple bogey on No. 6 undid Hull’s work, although a final-hole eagle put some salve on her wounds, elevating her to a tie for second.

Katherine Kirk and Florentyna Parker might have been winners on any other day. Kirk turned in a four-birdie, no-bogey performance in an effort to repirse her 2009 Australian Masters victory. After an opening bogey, Parker closed with five birdies over the remaining 17 holes to join Kirk at four-under over the par-73, Royal Pines course. Kirk and Parker ended their weeks tied for second place with Hull.

It was Su-Hyun Oh who seized control of the tournament when no one else would. Offering a performance reminiscent of Charl Schwartzel’s closing charge at the 2011 Masters. The 18-year old Su-Hyun performed as Webb suggested, then let the tears flow as she holed her winning putt and hugged her father/caddy on the final green. “I got pretty emotional, didn’t I? That was a bit weird.” Weird is good.

Next Shot: ISPS HANDA Women’s Australian Open, February 19-22.

Real Nowhere Man Triumphs On European Tour

The expiration date for quoting Beatles’ songs may have expired, but in Andrew Dodt’s case, let’s make an exception. Dodt closed with a pair of 67s, making 11 birdies against one bogey on the weekend, to claim victory in an event that no other competitor could decode. That Andrew Dodt was even in competition for the title is both beguiling and appropriate, but we’ll return to that in a few paragraphs.

On Saturday, Scott Hend inexplicably bogeyed hole No. 18 after dashing off five birdies and an eagle on the day. The giveaway had to stick in the Australian golfer’s mind through dinner, sleep and breakfast. Although he started fast with two birdies in four holes, he wasn’t the firecracker who had etched six, eight and six subpar holes on his scorecard the first three days. Hend would drift into somnambulism during the better portion of the round, with a final-hole birdie enough to jump into a tie for second place with Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee.

Miguel Ángel Jiménez did his Spafro-best to make the tournament watchable. The cigar-smoking, flamenco-dancing epicurean led through 36 holes, was a shot back after 54, then wandered off amid disinterest, dropping five places to T7 after a forgettable 73. Perhaps that potential Ryder Cup captaincy weighed too much on his ashes mind.

Back to Andrew Dodt. The Australian golfer burst onto the European Tour in 2010, gaining membership via an unforeseen triumph at the Avantha Masters. Since that auspicious inauguration, Dodt has been there and everywhere, but never here. He failed to place in the top 15 in any Euro event over the past four seasons. Although he won on his home tour at the 2014 Queensland Masters, Dodt was compelled to return to Europen Tour qualifying school in 2014. He placed second to last week’s winner, Anirban Lahiri, at Q-School.

Low rounds were available on Sunday, no doubt. Five golfers posted a score of 66, moving up an average of 26 spots on the leaderboard. Dodt’s flawless 67 was five strokes clear of Hend’s 72 and four strokes better than Jaidee’s 71. Jaidee, the third member of the final group, was lowered from a spot atop the podium by double and single bogies over the final six holes.

Next Shot: Hero Indian Open, February 19-22

Tiger’s faux Leave of Absence

No one would have noticed his absence between Thursday at San Diego and Monday at Palm Beach Gardens…except for the fact that he told us, that he felt he needed to tell us. Woods wasn’t scheduled to play in Carmel or Hollywood, and the gluteous minimus affair has most aficionados writing him off yet again. My suspicion is that the old Tiger, the one of too little information, needs to reappear. This one who can’t win but seems to share everything, doesn’t make good copy. Who notices if one’s own glutes are firing on a daily basis? I might lose my job if I mentioned that my glutes (or any other’s) were firing. Enough, enough, enough.

29 Not Low Enough For Bryant

Most days that begin with a hole-out eagle on the first, then continue with six more birdies over the next eight holes for an outward 29, are good enough to win any event. Lee Janzen made sure that wasn’t the case for Bart Bryant, aka Double Dirt (see last week’s “Stuff That Happened” for that story.) Janzen, the two-time U.S. Open title holder, made six birdies of his own against one bogey, and though his Sunday 67 paled in comparison with Bryant’s ten-under 62, both men found themselves on the tee of the first playoff hole.

Bryant may have felt snake-bitten, as he sat in the scoring tent with a one-shot advantage as Lee Janzen played the last. Knowing that only birdie would do, Janzen stuck an iron to eight feet, perilously close to the water (foreshadowing) and drained the putt to move to overtime. On the same hole in the playoff, Bryant’s approach hit the rock retaining wall that fronts the green and bounced back into the greenside pond. Janzen two-putted from 25 feet to claim his first Champions Tour title.

Next Shot: Tucson Conquistadores Classic, March 20-22

Rhonda Glenn Passes

There is a photo of Rhonda Glenn, in a thin yellow sweater and flowered blouse, her hand raised to a wave. I remember that moment from my vantage point, at the back of the press tent at the 2013 USGA Women’s Open at Sebonack. I thought at the time, how can this iconic woman no longer be connected to the USGA and to golf? Rhonda Glenn had fewer than two years after her retirement to complete her life’s work, but she had done so much in terms of researching and writing on women’s golf that perhaps no more time was necessary.

Glenn worked as a sportscaster for ESPN for two years, the first female to embrace a full-time role. She moved to ABC and worked as a golf commentator until she left broadcast journalism to take on the job of Director of Communications at the United States Golf Association. In addition to her work on television, Glenn also wrote a number of books on golf, foremost of which was the 1992 tome The Illustrated History of Women’s Golf. As a player, Glenn played in USGA national junior, amateur and open championships. Here is a quiet wish for many young women to enter the profession of golf journalism and keep her legacy alive, always advancing.

Video of her retirement at 2013 USGA Women’s Open.