Golf Talk

Hunter Mahan and Jay Will went toe-to-toe on Sunday as final round leaders and with the score tied at the end of 18, they went to a sudden death playoff. A brilliant approach shot left Hunter with a tap-in for birdie and the win over Jay Williamson for the Travelers Championship just outside of Hartford (CT). On the LPGA, Lorena Ochoa came from behind to force a playoff and win in sudden death to take the Wegmans in upstate NY.

Travelers Championship

As I predicted, Jay Will and Hunter Mahan duked it out in the final round and Hunter made some great shots and putts to win it all. I thought Hunter had lost the championship on hole 17 when he overshot the green and putted for bogey. But Jay Will couldn’t capitalize on his birdie putt that just stayed on the lip. Golf is funny sometimes, the littlest of things can mean the difference between winning and losing. It really is too bad for Jay Will, at 41 he won’t have too many more chances on the Tour, but at least he gets a $647,000 cheque he can take home and put away for the family. And he gets to play next week at the Buick Open.

As for Hunter, what can you say, just some fantastic clutch play to win it. He made some mistakes but he was mostly money all day. First career win, he’s got all the skills to be a really good player.

Of course, I’m disappointed as is mostly everyone else that David Toms could not pull it together again on Sunday. For some reason, he just can’t play when he’s got the pressure on him. Vijay Singh has the opposite problem, he had another great Sunday finish, too bad he was five shots from the lead when they started on Sunday.

Nick O’Hern was a surprise, though he’s had good rounds recently. You gotta love the Funkster, what a charismatic character he is, he gives the PGA some flavor that’s for sure. I love watching him play and his reactions to miss or made shots.

Finally, my Yahoo! pool. I had Hunter Mahan (1st), David Toms (T6) Justin Rose (T9th) and Jerry Kelly (T15). Not too bad at all if you ask me.

Buick Open on Thursday, I can’t wait…

Wegmans LPGA

I’ll have to admit I didn’t watch any of the coverage other than a few scant highlights on ESPN. Lorena Ochoa comes from behind to win in a playoff. Who would’ve thought that, especially after meltdowns earlier in the year and her 0-4 playoff record. But give credit where credit is due, she made shots and putts when she needed to. With the Women’s US Open this week, this positive momentum will be very good for her.

PGA Tour, Travelers Championship, Hunter Mahan, Jay Williamson, LPGA Tour, Wegmans, Lorena Ochoa