This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
The PGA Tour opened the New Year at Kapalua, site of the traditional start to the season. Unless you consider October's Frys.com Open the start to the season. Or unless you consider next week's first full-field event of 2015 the real start of the season. (Unless you don't think the season starts until Tiger Woods shows up.)
Yes, it's now hard to tell when the golf season starts, and ends, with the wrap-around schedule splintering and fragmenting and dividing ... and confusing.
But following a five-week break since the Hero World Challenge -- unless you don't consider that a real event, in which case following a two-month break since the OHL Classic -- the golf season began/resumed with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Thirty-four golfers, all winners during 2014, were entered, though perhaps the top four winners -- Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Martin Kaymer and Justin Rose - skipped the event.
For years, the best of the best would not even think of missing Kapalua: Tiger and Phil are past winners, as are Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Miller, Trevino and even Snead. The event is still big enough for Johnny Miller to show up, as he and Dan Hicks donned Hawaiian shirts and leys in a rare Golf Channel-only appearance. But a week in Hawaii in mid-winter, not to mention, $1.1 million for the winner, apparently is not enough of a lure for today's golfers.
That said, it surely was a quality field traversing the Plantation Course from Friday to Monday,
The PGA Tour opened the New Year at Kapalua, site of the traditional start to the season. Unless you consider October's Frys.com Open the start to the season. Or unless you consider next week's first full-field event of 2015 the real start of the season. (Unless you don't think the season starts until Tiger Woods shows up.)
Yes, it's now hard to tell when the golf season starts, and ends, with the wrap-around schedule splintering and fragmenting and dividing ... and confusing.
But following a five-week break since the Hero World Challenge -- unless you don't consider that a real event, in which case following a two-month break since the OHL Classic -- the golf season began/resumed with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Thirty-four golfers, all winners during 2014, were entered, though perhaps the top four winners -- Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Martin Kaymer and Justin Rose - skipped the event.
For years, the best of the best would not even think of missing Kapalua: Tiger and Phil are past winners, as are Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Miller, Trevino and even Snead. The event is still big enough for Johnny Miller to show up, as he and Dan Hicks donned Hawaiian shirts and leys in a rare Golf Channel-only appearance. But a week in Hawaii in mid-winter, not to mention, $1.1 million for the winner, apparently is not enough of a lure for today's golfers.
That said, it surely was a quality field traversing the Plantation Course from Friday to Monday, and a pretty exciting finish. We had Jimmy Walker to thank for that, as he let a three-stroke lead on the back nine slip away, with a bogey on the par-4 14th and a par on the par-5 18th. That let fast-charging Patrick Reed force a playoff, which he won over Walker with a birdie on the first sudden-death hole.
Reed birdied the 18th to get to 21-under 271, but his most important shot came on the par-4 16th, when he holed a wedge from 83 yards for eagle.
The victory was the fourth of the 24-year-old Reed's career, joining Woods, Mickelson, McIlroy and Sergio Garcia as the only golfers of the last quarter-century to win at least four times before turning 25. It also moved the brash Reed to a career-high No. 14 in the world, albeit down at least nine spots from when he declared himself a top-5 player.
MONDAY TAKEAWAY
Jimmy Walker
Walker appeared to be on his way to his fourth win in a little more than a year and jump out to a fast start for the second season in row. The Texan won three times by early February, and he always plays his best golf early in the year. This week was no different - until the final holes. It might be hard for Walker to quickly forget a tournament he basically had won, but he tees it up again Thursday as the defending champion in the Sony Open. Whether Walker wins or doesn't, keep in mind that you will see diminishing returns from him as the schedule progresses.
Jason Day
No. 8 Day and No. 4 Bubba Watson were the only top-10 golfers in the field. The Aussie finished in a three-way tie for third, one shot out of a playoff, after a course-record-tying 62, 11 under on the par-73 layout. Day, beset by injuries the last few years, looked as healthy and as sound as he has been in years. Is this the year he finally wins a major?
Hideki Matsuyama
The 22-year-old from Japan was the 54-hole leader along with Walker, and had a chance to join the playoff, but missed a 6-footer for birdie on 18, the fourth straight hole on which he missed a birdie try. Clearly, the defending champion of the Memorial is destined for bigger things, even with such a disappointing finish, perhaps destined to become Japan's greatest golfer. He now is a personal-best No. 15 in the world, two positions higher than Walker.
Russell Henley
A product of the Georgia pipeline, the 24-year-old turned in a scintillating finish to fall a shot shy of the playoff. Henley birdied the last five holes for a back-nine 31. He already has two top-5s in 2014-15, with a T4 at the McGladrey Classic in October. If Henley won again this year, it would not be a surprise. He stared down McIlroy last year to win the Honda Classic in a playoff, and then tied for second in the FedEx Cup playoff's Deutsche Bank Championship.
Robert Streb
Streb was one of the final qualifiers for Kapalua, having won the McGladrey Classic. He's the FedEx points leader in the early going, and the T8 this week was his fourth top-10 in six starts. Streb is at a career-best 85th in the OWGR, and trending much higher. The 26-year-old Kansas State grad just might be Exhibit A for how amazingly deep the Tour is nowadays.
Brendon Todd
Another Georgia Bulldog, Todd qualified as the Byron Nelson champion. He squeezed into the top 50 at year's end to qualify for the U.S. and British Opens, along with the Masters, as well as the upcoming WGC-Cadillac Championship. Todd held his own in this elite field, tying for eighth, and now heads to the Sony later this week. Another up-and-comer.
Ben Martin
Martin broke through in the fall portion of the schedule, winning the Shriners to punch a ticket to Kapalua. He just missed a top 10 there, tying for 11th. Martin has missed two cuts in six starts so far this season, but he also has four top-30s. He may have a tough time winning again in 2015, but a handful of top-10s would not surprise.
Chris Kirk
Kirk -- yet another Georgia Bulldog -- and Billy Horschel were the two hottest players at the end of 2013-14, leading to some second-guessing that they should've been Ryder Cuppers. Kirk has continued his strong play with a course-record-tying 62 on Monday at Kapalua, equaled later by Day. That catapulted him to his second T14 finish this season, to go with a T4 at the McGladrey. Kirk now heads to the Sony in Honolulu, where he was runner-up last year, a shot shy of Walker.
Billy Horschel
The $10 million hangover continues for Horschel, tying for 22nd in the 34-man field. And this was his best finish since winning the FedEx Cup. Remember, Horschel was amid a terrible season before closing the playoffs as a runner-up in the Deutsche Bank followed by wins in the BMW and Tour Championship. Until we see otherwise, we're not getting back on the Horschel bandwagon.
Kevin Stadler
Stadler withdrew from the WGC event in China in early November with a broken bone in his left wrist and, while he was told he didn't need surgery, he rested until the Hyundai. But it's obviously still an issue, as Stadler withdrew after two rounds while sitting in last place. Stadler is scheduled to compete in the Humana Challenge in two weeks before his title defense in Phoenix comes up. He supposedly didn't touch a club between China and Hawaii, and for the injury to still be so severe, Stadler sure looks like a red flag for gamers.
