This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
As the clock struck 12 on New Year's Eve, all golfers who made a living with anchored putters turned into pumpkins. Poof!
At least that's what was supposed to happen.
While some of those golfers have struggled mightily in the new PGA Tour landscape, the most prominent among them has defied the forecasts.
Adam Scott, the poster boy for the now-outlawed broomstick, won the Honda Classic by one stroke over Sergio Garcia on Sunday, his first victory with a conventional putter in six years. Combined with a runner-up showing the prior week at Riviera, the former No. 1 will now enter the Masters conversation five weeks before the season's first major.
But while Scott obviously putted well enough to win this week, Augusta National is a whole different pool table.
At Riviera and PGA National, getting on the green is paramount, much more so than putting. Scott was and still is among the best in the game from tee to green -- he was sixth on tour in strokes gained-tee to green entering the Honda, not to mention fifth in strokes gained-total. He also entered the week 74th in strokes gained-putting -- not terrible, especially for someone with Scott's other skills.
When the Aussie won his lone major at Augusta in 2013, he was using the broomstick (and also had the now-retired Stevie Williams on his bag). Before that, he had actually won 18 times with a conventional putter, lastly at the 2010 Singapore Open. Soon after, he turned to
As the clock struck 12 on New Year's Eve, all golfers who made a living with anchored putters turned into pumpkins. Poof!
At least that's what was supposed to happen.
While some of those golfers have struggled mightily in the new PGA Tour landscape, the most prominent among them has defied the forecasts.
Adam Scott, the poster boy for the now-outlawed broomstick, won the Honda Classic by one stroke over Sergio Garcia on Sunday, his first victory with a conventional putter in six years. Combined with a runner-up showing the prior week at Riviera, the former No. 1 will now enter the Masters conversation five weeks before the season's first major.
But while Scott obviously putted well enough to win this week, Augusta National is a whole different pool table.
At Riviera and PGA National, getting on the green is paramount, much more so than putting. Scott was and still is among the best in the game from tee to green -- he was sixth on tour in strokes gained-tee to green entering the Honda, not to mention fifth in strokes gained-total. He also entered the week 74th in strokes gained-putting -- not terrible, especially for someone with Scott's other skills.
When the Aussie won his lone major at Augusta in 2013, he was using the broomstick (and also had the now-retired Stevie Williams on his bag). Before that, he had actually won 18 times with a conventional putter, lastly at the 2010 Singapore Open. Soon after, he turned to anchoring his putter, a tactic that golf outlawed as of Dec. 31.
Once upon a time, Scott statistically was the best putter on tour. In 2004, he finished first in strokes gained-putting, ahead of even Tiger Woods. For whatever reason, Scott's putting then fell apart, and he even struggled at times with the broomstick, most notably when he gagged away the 2012 Open Championship to Ernie Els.
Obviously, the change back to a short putter has not hurt Scott the way it has hurt, say, Tim Clark and Keegan Bradley. And make no mistake, he showed he is still a top-10 golfer, now ranked ninth. But whether Scott can contend/win at courses with treacherous greens, such as at Augusta, well, we'll withhold judgment for now.
MONDAY TAKEAWAY
Sergio Garcia
No one is more maddening for gamers than Garcia, except perhaps Phil Mickelson. Since his last PGA Tour win, the 2012 Wyndham, Garcia now has six runners-up. He's often in the mix, with more than 20(!) top-10s since that win. Further, Garcia has had six top-12s in his last seven worldwide starts, missing only, in of all places, at Riviera last week. If you keep turning to Garcia, more often than not you will be rewarded, just not with the top prize.
Justin Thomas
While a double bogey on the 71st hole finally dashed his chances, Thomas and his owners should take only positive thoughts from the week. Before tying for third at the Honda, he had shown next to nothing since his maiden win last November, with only one top-25 (and that was in the limited-field Hyundai). Now he heads to his second career WGC event with confidence, and we may look back at the Honda as a turning point for the second-year PGA Tour pro.
Blayne Barber
Barber, like Thomas, is in his sophomore season on tour, but was significantly less successful as a rookie. He failed to finish in the top 125 in points, but luckily saved his card by finishing in the top 125 in earnings. That "loophole" is about to be closed, so his career-best T3 at the Honda will go a long way toward assuring his return for a third straight season. But that doesn't mean he becomes an option for gamers. We'll have to see more before backing Barber.
Sung Kang
A Web.com Tour grad, Kang has come alive this month with famed caddie Mike "Fluff" Cowan on his bag while Jim Furyk is out with a wrist injury. Kang tied for 17th at Pebble Beach, for eighth at Riviera and now for 10th at the Honda. He's up to 15th in the reshuffle rankings, and that should go even higher in the next reshuffle in April. Whether he can continue such form after Cowan returns to Furyk, perhaps sometime in May, is a huge question.
Brett Stegmaier
The rookie is eighth on the reshuffle list, but until a T21 at the Honda had been struggling. Stegmaier had a couple of good showings in fall, including co-runner-up at the Shriners, but has not really been able to build upon that.
Luke List
List played his first PGA Tour event way in 2003, but until this year had had only one full season on the schedule, and that was in 2013. He has his card again and, after tying for 10th at the Honda, now has two career top-10s, the other coming last month at the CareerBuilder. Throw in a T20 last week at Riviera and List in playing the best golf of his career. Yes, he's missed six cuts in 10 starts this season, but those three fine showings may indicate List has found something in his game. Someone to keep an eye on.
Davis Love III
If we said a 52-year-old was leading the tour in total driving, would you believe us? Entering the Honda, Love was doing just that. At 35th in distance and 18th in accuracy, the two criteria for total driving, that landed him at No. 1. So it was no surprise Love was 5-for-5 in cuts this season and added a sixth at the Honda, where he tied for 43rd. Love has zero top-25s, so he has shown only limited upside. But if you are looking for someone to make it to the weekend and don't have a lot of money to spend, he could be a good option.
Gary "Three and Out" Woodland
We've taken our shots at Woodland many times in this space, because of his routine Sunday implosions. Well, he's done it again, with a final-round 78 that helped him plummet 50 spots down the leaderboard, to T61. Woodland is 168th in final-round scoring average on tour this year, and he's been dreadfulon Sundays for years.
Kevin Kisner
Since tying for fifth at the Sony, his fourth straight top-10, Kisner has been largely invisible, playing only six rounds. That includes a missed cut at Phoenix and a T70 at the Honda. Kisner has taken a lot of time off in advance of the upcoming big tournaments, and you have to wonder how much that has thrown him off his game. We'll learn more this week at Doral.
Tony Finau
Speaking of being off one's game, Finau is a far cry from his terrific 2014-15 rookie season. The Honda was his third straight missed cut, and fourth in the last five outings. Sure, it could just be a tough stretch, but top rookies often take a step back the following year, and that may be what we're seeing with Finau.
