Another feel-good winner came out of the Quicken Loans bash at TPC Avenal with Kyle Stanley getting his second tour win after a five-year drought.
He was the best of what seemed like a bunch of second-tier tour players, most of whom appeared totally unprepared to win.
Sunday featured the tour’s shortest weather delay of the season, a five-minute halt in play around 5:33 p.m. that caught most of the final groups without their umbrellas, resulting in a solid soaking from a fast-moving front that hit quick and hard. No umbrellas? Seriously? Who cares if there’s zero percent chance of rain, the old umbrella is a crucial piece of the bag.
David Lingmerth, Daniel Summerhays, Curtis Luck, Martin Laird and Sung Kang all had a chance to win this one along with the guys who did make it to the playoff — Charles Howell III and Stanley. Stanley hit a drive so bad on the first playoff hole that he was actually in the clear and was able to get his approach in decent position on the fringe, albeit a testy chip but one you expect tour players to handle. Howell’s was tougher, he had to deal with some longer grass around the green, wet from the downpour. Howell’s shot was miserable. He left himself a 10-footer for par and promptly missed it and Stanley converted his four-footer for victory.
While Stanley emerged relieved and emotional, the future of this event is totally up in the air. Quicken Loans is the sponsor and Chairman Dan Gilbert wants this event in Michigan. Add the fact that top-tier players aren’t enthralled with TPC Avenal. “It isn’t as if Avenal is a bad course. It just doesn’t look good if you have to drive by Congressional to get to it.” So said Davis Love III and he was spot-on with that observation.
Congressional members soured on the event and are in pursuit of another U.S. Open. The USGA won’t go there as long as there’s any whiff of a tour event on the grounds.
And then there’s the Ghost-Host, aka Tiger Woods.
The tournament benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation but so do others like the L.A. Open and his Tiger World Challenge in the Bahamas. Woods has never embraced being a “host” and with the future of his playing career in doubt, so mirrors the future of Avenal. Woods is currently in rehab.
It’s a tough time of the year weather-wise in the D.C. area — hot, humid, fairly miserable. Throw that in and people aren’t exactly chiming: “Hey, let’s drive out to Avenal and watch Sung Kang, Curtis Luck and Daniel Summerhays.”
Yes, things are very uncertain at Potomac.
The only thing that is certain is that this tournament will probably end up somewhere else.
