Sony Open Thoughts

Some Sony Open thoughts:
* Overall, a pretty exciting early season event. It was definitely more exciting than the NFL playoff games this past weekend!

* Ryan Palmer wins his 3rd Tour event in seemingly only the 3rd or 4th time he has been on the 1st page of the leader board. This guy closes well for so little experience.

* They always say it takes some luck to win tournaments and this event was no exception. On #16, Palmer duck-hooked his 3-wood off the tee, yelled "Get Lucky" and he did. Instead of being stymied by a tree or being behind a tree, the ball gets through all of them and all he has to do is launch a sand wedge over the last one to two-putt for par. Then on #18, Palmer nearly sculls his chip from in front of the green. It easily would have by the hole 10-15 feet but instead, it hits the pin square on and stops within a foot.

* Robert Allenby and his new putting stroke...still a little shaky on Sundays. He definitely looks more comfortable with the 'pencil' grip, but he missed two from inside 5 feet on the front nine and didn't give it a good stroke on his 9-footer on #18 to tie Palmer, leaving it on the 'amateur' side (i.e. low). Still, the lag putting looks better and obviously, he has more confidence. He did convert two putts on Sunday from outside 10 feet. This guy is probably the #1 ball-striker on the planet but still lacks the short game to win lately on Tour. Perhaps he has found something on the greens now he can finally translate to W's. Has to be considered one of the favorites in a few weeks at Riveria.

* Steve Stricker - after his incredible birdie on #13 from a fairway bunker from 200 yards plus to tie the lead, I said to myself, "This guy has really found his stride and confidence on Sundays and could be ready to win more events this year." Uh, no. He looked like 'early-2009-season' Steve Stricker. He proceeded to miss two birdie butts from inside 6 feet or so, hit a couple of irons left and didn't birdie #18. Still, the more he puts himself in position, the more wins he will likely get, but SS is still not a 'closer' - but then again, in this day and age, who really is except Tiger?

* Speaking of guys who never close -- Davis Love III. Just nothing on Sunday. Nothing. Sure, he shot 67, but he was basically only 1 under par until he backed up a wedge into the hole for eagle on #16. DL3 has won 20-times on Tour but yet, I dread the fact that this guy is going to the Hall of Fame. Luckily for him, the 64 at the Players for his 2nd title there and the great PGA win will help his cause along with the lack of players other than Phil and VJ to win in the Tiger era. How many tournaments of his 20 have had Tiger in the field? Maybe 1 or 2? From what I saw, DL3's issues right now are his putter. He didn't make anything from that crucial 10-15 foot range to convert pars to birdies. Mark Rolfing said DL3 was all business and all golf at the Sony...but then again, Rolfing once stated Andres Romero was the 3rd best player in the world.

* Charles Howell III - Why is it that CH3 always plays well at Sony? This is probably his 3rd top 5 finish in 4 years here. This is a tight course rewarding shot values, something CH3 doesn't possess, despite all his hard work and practice. I don't get it. Someone please throw out a theory here, because I am at a loss.

* Ernie Els - What does it say about Ernie's game when the Golf Channel folks are saying 12th place is a solid finish at the season-opener? We all love the Big Easy but this just shows the drop-off in Ernie's game over the last few years. Would Tiger or Phil be excited with a 12th place finish the 1st time out? No.

* The Goose, Retief Goosen - I think Retief is ready to contend in majors again this year and two solid finishes to start the year lead me to believe he is getting more consistent with his game too. I don't love the belly putter look for Retief, but it's working for now.

And in sad PGA Tour News, the Bob Hope preview:
* Weak field. Bad weather predicted. Yogi Berra hosting? This event needs to be reduced to 72-holes. Or just reduced, period.
* This event's prestige has really taken a hit. I mean, you all know it already, but I was in Palm Springs for a wedding in early December and asked our cabbie about the tournament and you could tell from his reaction that this event is no longer a big deal, even for the locals. The buzz seems to have dissipated. Phil no longer playing here has hurt this event severely.
* My pick here if Ryan Moore. Pat Perez is defending champion. Yea, his 1st win on Tour really catapulted him to lots of....top 50 finishes.