Winner: John Merrick
Around the wider world of golf: Jiyai Shin won the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open on the LPGA/LET/ALPG (yes, three tours co-sanction the event); Bernhard Langer won the ACE Group Classic on the Champions Tour; and Darren Fichardt won the Africa Open on the ET/Sunshine Tour. And for you racing fans, Danica Patrick won the pole position at next week's NASCAR Daytona 500, becoming the first woman in history to do so in any NASCAR Sprint Cup race. Way to go, Danica!
At the start of the final spherical at Riviera, my selection no longer to pick out protecting champion Bill Haas as a favourite to win appeared like a mistake. Shortly after the flip I looked psychic. One of my picks, Charl Schwartzel, completed T3 and most effective one stroke out of the playoff. (At the time I picked him I failed to recognize he grew up playing on kikuyugrass.)
Under no occasions might I actually have picked both Charlie Beljan or John Merrick to win this aspect. Beljan has one win -- he received at Disney remaining year while preventing a properly-publicized struggle with panic assaults -- and Merrick hadn't received on the Tour in any respect. (I'm no longer counting Web.Com Tour wins.)
Perhaps they wouldn't have picked themselves either. The leaderboard truly were given clogged up fast sufficient. At times there have been 7 players separated through a unmarried stroke. No one appeared capable of taking a lead and conserving it.
I wager the most effective component that appears predictable at Riviera is unexpected demise... That is going exactly 2 holes. The drivable par-four tenth IS surprising death at this match! If the Tour is worried about generation requiring holes to be too long, just let direction designers study Riviera's 10th. Last 12 months Haas drove it long and pitched again to the green; this year that approach failed to work for Beljan. Merrick snagged his first win by means of playing it brief and secure... And barely gained it with a par.
You recognise, Hogan reportedly did not agree with putting have to be part of the sport due to the fact he wasn't a very good putter. It amazes me that Riviera, a path where putting is so critical, have become "Hogan's Alley."
So this week's Limerick Summary salutes the California boy who made desirable at Hogan's stomping grounds and therefore were given an invitation to every other route wherein Hogan played pretty properly:
John Merrick grew up in South Cali;
He proved that he knows Hogan?S Alley.
And this, his first win,
Is his price ticket to en-
Ter the Masters. He won’t dilly-dally! The photo came from the Northern Trust Open main page at PGATOUR.com.
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