Playerz

Well I'll be damned, but the Bitch was the best player on the course - greens included - and he won Finchy's beloved THE PLAYERZ.  You have to feel for Goydos, a journeyman who was relegated to wearing a Long Beach State hat* as he had recently lost his sponsor.

* As an aside, I've always thought that a great endorsement deal would be with New Era cap or some other agency that enabled the player to wear baseball hats - preferably minor league hats, which are abundant and oh so cool.  And yet I digress...

Goydos was there all throughout, and had a shot to win it on 18, but like so many others, he bailed right on #18, then flubbed his pitch into 18 and left the putt hole high - a bit of a weak effort.  Then the TOUR decides to go to #17 for the playoff - the first time they've made that decision, let alone had to implement it - and Goydos' well struck wedge finds a gust, lands in the drink, and that's that. 

Bitch struck it well and putted well - especially when it counted.  Sure he babied that birdie putt in the playoff, but I'll overlook that and his weak effort for birdie on #16 and focus on the putts he did make - including the par saver on the 72nd hole.  Heck of a shot into 17 in the playoff too.  He could've taken that to the fat part of the green, but he chose the aggressive line over the bunker and it paid off handsomely. 

Lefty faded on Sunday - as did many others.  Apparently he had the flu and as someone who hasn't felt well in about two weeks now, I can tell you that it sucks being sick.  I'll write this one off, but I'm expecting big things from the newly svelte left-hander at Torrey Pines. 

As for the TV coverage, why the hell does NBC import Costas for events like this, as well as the Derby?  Hicks and/or Jimmy Roberts could do every bit as good of a hosting job as Costas does.  Basically, Costas sits in the same camp as Berman for my $0.02...a clever announcer who has been on stage for so long doing the same schtick that it's just time for someone else to fill those shoes. 

Finally, there are three certain things in life.  Death.  Taxes.  And that whenever NBC shows a putt that the announcer leads into with the words "...just a moment ago...", the shot will go in the hole.  Always.  It's completely anti-climactic by the time you see the ball fall in.  This drives me nuts.  And it happens infinitely more often on NBC coverage than anywhere else. 

TPC Shark is up next, followed by Colonial.  In other words, I probably won't watch much televised golf until the Memorial.