Smartest guys in golf?
Easy answer — world’s No. 1 Justin Rose and No. 2 Brooks Koepka.
The top two guys in the Official World Golf Rankings chose not to sign up for the misery at Pebble Beach and the rainy, cold chaos at Riviera.
What West Coast swing?
Getting ready for this weeks WGC-Mexico was a lot less stressful and had his foundation not been the beneficiary at the Genesis, you can Tiger Woods would have been home in Jupiter as well.
Pebble Beach was tough, the AT&T was no picnic and the Genesis was totally brutal. Tiger Woods probably felt like he spent a month in L.A., albeit just one rainy, chilly week. “This has been a long week,” he pointed out. “It definitely tested the body.”
It’s a quick turnaround for Tiger, who flashed a lot of good things at Riviera. Four three-putts took down his first round, he hit 17 of 18 greens. His iron game was sharp and his driving is better than it’s been in a long time. Overall, Woods would probably tell you in private that he’s ahead of the Augusta National preparation curve. He got on a roll with that 65, it took Saturday and Sunday to put it together. Six-under and a tie for 15th was pretty solid when you consider El Tigre had 14 bogeys last week. Yes, he will be a factor come the second week in April.
Tiger’s schedule leading up to The Masters will include this week’s WGC event, Bay Hill, The Players and the WGC Match Play. Don’t look for him at the Honda.
Which brings us back to the wind, the cold and the rain at Riviera, and oh yes, the slow play.
This one fell right into J.B. Holmes’ wheelhouse — it was the perfect combination. Play is always slower with threesomes, it’s even slower when they play lift-clean-and-cheat and even slower when you add high winds and chilly temperatures. Holmes blended right into the slow conditions, they were custom made for him. Best observation from the peanut gallery came when someone said: “Paint watches J.B. Holmes dry.”
So enough of Riviera, it looks even better in the rear-view mirror.
We’ve got the first WGC event of 2019 and the first appearance by Woods at the Club de Golf Chapultapec.
It’s a pretty strong field, as usual for these big-pay WGC outings but there’s one glaring absentee — Justin Rose. Yes, no world’s No. 1 in the field. Evidently Rose is chilling in the Bahamas, where he lives to avoid those ultra-high taxes back home in the UK. Joining Rose on the “absentee list” are Jason Day and Adam Scott.
Doesn’t matter, Woods in the field creates a buzz that wasn’t there last year.
Add Mickelson’s resurgence and this season has a totally different look from last year.
Brooks Koepka will enjoy watching his drives go forever at the Mexico City altitude — 7,800 feet above sea level. Should be fun to watch how far Rory McIlroy hits it. Rory found a little mojo last week at Riviera. He actually made some putts and finished T4, just three shots behind winner J.B. Holmes. When you look back at home many makeable birdie putts Rory missed, he could have won by five.
But that’s been his story for quite a while now. Huge drives, mediocre wedge shots and a putter that drags him down.
So with the bad weather behind them and a strong field on hand, look for some fun, and birdies in Mexico.
Editor’s Note: Golf’s worst-kept secret will be announced on Wednesday in Milwaukee when the PGA of America selects Steve Stricker to captain the U.S. Ryder Cup for the 2020 matches at Whistling Straits in his home state of Wisconsin. Stricker becomes the first modern-day team captain who did not win a major championship.
