Jonathan Byrd became the first American to win the Hyundai Tournament of Champions since 2001 as he defeated Robert Garrigus on the second hole of a sudden death playoff. He also had to hold off a hard-charging Graeme McDowell -- who fired a course record 11-under 62 -- to win his second PGA Tour event in his last three starts.
Where the tournament was won
After missing a 41-inch putt for birdie at number nine, things seemed to be slipping away from Byrd, who had jumped out from a three-way tie with Garrigus and Steve Stricker with birdies at the first, third and fifth holes. McDowell was surging and Garrigus had responded from an opening hole bogey to pull himself back into contention. So when Byrd drained an 18-foot eight-inch putt for a fairly unlikely birdie on 10, it kept him in a solid position to contend.
Where the tournament was lost
It's hard to criticize the guy who a) started the day six shots back and finished just one out of a playoff and b) broke the course record and was, but you can't help but think that McDowell should have played more prominently in the result. He missed a glorious opportunity at number-12, missing a birdie putt from just over eight feet that ultimately would have put him in the playoff. Add to that the fact that he carded just one birdie on the two back-nine par-fives all week and you can really pinpoint a couple places where the tournament slipped away from the Northern Irishman.
If you can place blame on McDowell for coming up short, then you certainly can for Garrigus, though not necessarily for the reasons you think. While it was a missed par putt that ultimately brought the playoff to its conclusion, Garrigus had three opportunities to really put the pressure on Byrd and never did so. First, after hitting a great approach to the 72nd hole -- becoming the only man in the field to reach the par-five 18th in two shots twice during the tournament -- his bid for eagle looked timid andt never had enough speed to go in. Sure, his birdie was enough to get into the playoff, but he would have made life much more difficult for Byrd if he had forced him to make birdie to tie.
Second, his chip shot on the first playoff hole was just dreadful. He didn't look like he really knew what line he wanted to take and may have had a club that was too lofted for the type of shot he tried to play. Leaving yourself a 21-foot putt when your approach was only from 49-yards away isn't going to get it done on the PGA Tour. And finally, his approach into the second playoff hole also seemed to lack confidence. He had nearly an 80-yard edge over Byrd off the tee, but could only get 10-feet closer to the pin. It's entirely possible he was worried that he might have a jumper lie and maybe I'm making a sweeping generalization without all the facts, but his approach seemed like he was playing not to lose, rather than playing to win.
Stat of the week
It really goes to show how easily this course played as their were 114 rounds under par, nine at even par and just 14 over par.
Shot of the week
Bubba Watson drained an 11-foot four-inch putt for eagle on the 18th hole during the opening round. But the shot that set him for the attempt -- a controlled banana slice from 305-yards using driver off the deck -- is something you're likely to see for quite some time.
Honourable mention: Jason Day rolling in a 17-foot par putt at the 13th hole after chunking his tee shot -- travelling just 106 yards -- and then pushing his second shot -- also using the driver off the deck -- into a bunker 62 yards from the cup. Maybe the best sand save of his career.
How I did this week
Ian Poulter -18, T6
Jason Day -14, T9
Ryan Palmer -12, T15
Anthony Kim -10, T19
Derek Lamley +4, 32
Early look at who I like next week
Dustin Johnson, Charles Howell III, Steve Stricker, K.J. Choi, Jerry Kelly.
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