One Shot Short- Well, Two I Suppose

That was quite a weekend of very exciting, star-studded golf.

Not only did the field in the Chevron World Challenge feel like a Major golf tournament, but the golf that was served up was unbelievably fun to watch; especially for December.

The main storyline was undoubtedly Tiger Woods and Graeme McDowell, with GMac winning the first playoff hole, but even the secondary story was fun. Paul Casey served up a series of highs and lows, starting the tournament with a 70+ and then carding three scores in the 60s to finish 3rd. He even had a chance at the tournament all the way until the last hole, before a water hazard second shot ruined any shot at a birdie.

In any case, the main story of the tournament should not be overshadowed. In what was arguably the best match play golf in months (yes, I’m aware it was not match play), Tiger and GMac served up close to 4 hours of televised gold. *As a complete aside, imagine if today was a Ryder Cup Sunday? Obviously the result would have been the same as this year’s Ryder Cup, but that was plain exciting.

With that in mind, two thoughts come out of today:

1) What a year for Graeme McDowell. To be perfectly honest, prior to this year I hadn’t paid that much attention to GMac. I had always heard about the Irish Brawler, but paid no mind. I don’t watch the Euro Tour nearly enough, but I’m starting to think I should. After the U.S. Open victory opened many a mind, Graeme’s showing at the 2010 Ryder Cup indicated he is more than a one trick pony. His clutch putts at the 17th in Wales only served as foreshadowing, as his putting today was outstanding. Good on GMac. He has earned a significant amount of respect from golf fans the world over, I’m sure.

2) Did we witness the beginning of something for Tiger Woods. In what was ironically a little more than a year since Tiger’s “incident” (I remember thinking that perhaps Tiger subjected himself to a year of punishment, rather than any other alternatives of mental anguish), Tiger showed such flashes of brilliance that many, I’m sure, felt we had seen the return of golf’s greatest superstar. His play on the 18th hole alone this weekend was enough to make me a believer. And while the outcome may not have been as scripted (certainly from NBC’s perspective after their multitude of voice-over storytelling), Tiger showed something he hadn’t shown all year: Consistency. It’s really too bad we might not see him again until Torrey Pines, but I, for one, think Tiger might be back!

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That was exciting!

Should Johnny Miller Apologize to Phil Mickelson?

There’s an almost comical way about Johnny Miller when he speaks on t.v. He does provide some occasional insight, but it’s his brash, almost offensive comments about players and their shots that gets everybody riled up.

This weekend at the Ryder Cup, the Johnny Miller-isms were flowing faster than the kegs of Guinness after the European victory in the 2010 Ryder Cup. A few regular Johnny Miller comments incited me enough to start the somewhat sarcastic #JohnnyMillerKnowsBest hash tag on Twitter.

But it wasn’t until he criticized a skulled-shot from Stewart Cink, or a certain left-handed American hero (to some) that Johnny really started to get into trouble.

You see, Miller started this whole outcry on Saturday when he suggested that Cink’s skulled shot (from a terrible lie in deep rough no less) was so terrible that not even HE could play it that bad. But it was the car salesman dig on Sunday that really did the job.

“If Phil Mickelson couldn’t chip, he’d be selling cars in San Diego.”

Unbelievable. Incomprehensible. How can an American television personality actually get away with saying that. Now I know Phil had a terrible weekend. I openly criticized him here in this very forum. But this seems a little excessive. And not only that, but Phil played his heart out on Monday, and proved to the world that, while he definitely doesn’t want the #1 spot (purely speculative), he’s still got the game when he needs it (outside of just his beautiful chips).

So should Johnny Miller apologize? I, for one, think so. And not privately either. I think it should be a full-blown live event…right after Phil wins a tournament. Unless Johnny is too busy buying a new car.

The Most Exciting Ryder Cup Monday in History- Ryder Cup Day 4

Congratulations to the European squad (Final Score- Europeans- 14 1/2 points, Americans- 13 1/2 points).

Today was easily, undoubtedly, the most exciting Ryder Cup Monday in history. That, my friends, is irrefutable (it actually is- first Monday ever, and I’ve now coined the phrase first).

Right from the get-go, the singles matches had a bit of everything. And what made it most exciting is that, save for a few matches, no one really ran away with it. Neither the Europeans nor the Americans dominated throughout, and the final outcome was up in the air until the final pairing. And how about Rickie Fowler ladies and gentleman. That’s my homeboy Rickie!

I think most of us pulling for the Americans were cautious in our enthusiasm. We all knew that it would be an uphill battle to finish, so it was great to see them make it interesting.

The Europeans, as I’ve said throughout the weekend, had played the most consistent golf of the two teams and deserved to win the Ryder Cup. It was a bit of a surprise to not see them run away with it right away (especially after their starts on Saturday and Sunday), but it was more reflective of the fight left in the American squad than any failure on behalf of the Euros.

There were, of course, a few surprises. However, none of those surprises were huge. As I said, that was incredible all the way up until the end, and I’m glad I got up at 4 every morning just to watch.

Take the jump to read more of my thoughts.