Watson, Vegas impressive again at Torrey Pines

By Michael Arkush
January 31, 2011

The Farmers Insurance Open, staged at majestic Torrey Pines, felt like the tour’s true 2011 debut, given the surroundings and the star-studded field. It did not disappoint and delivered great drama from start to finish. Here is a look at this week’s winners and losers …

WINNERS

Bubba Watson: Anything could have happened after his approach came to rest in a greenside bunker at No. 18 – and most of it wasn’t good. Yet Watson calmly got up and down for birdie and the victory. With each passing week, he is gaining respect as a player who can do much more than hit the ball a million miles. Plus, he’s not afraid to display emotion, which is refreshing for a circuit filled with too many bland characters.

Jhonattan Vegas: If Vegas had gone 75-75, we wouldn’t have been surprised. He didn’t. He was in the hunt – until his second shot at 18 found the pond. That means he is not content with one win. If he keeps this up, and there is every reason to believe he will, the tour has a new star. After all, he beat Tiger Woods by five strokes on Saturday, the first time they were paired together. Five strokes.

Phil Mickelson: Lefty going conservative on the final hole? What’s next, Woods signing
autographs? Nonetheless, even though he missed one fairway after another, Mickelson was in this thing all the way to the very end and gave us wonderful drama when his caddie, Jim Mackay, went to the green to tend the flag with Lefty still in the fairway. It will be an upset if Mickelson doesn’t win at least once on the West Coast swing.

Dustin Johnson: With all the other intriguing plot developments, Johnson was virtually ignored until a run on Sunday put him in position to steal the tournament at the end. Still, it was another indication that he has become an elite player on the PGA Tour, and that his best is yet to come – and coming soon. His drive on 18 was remarkable. Lefty sure could have used it.

David Duval: Speaking of being ignored, such was the case with Duval, and that’s not a complaint. He never came close to winning, but a 17th-place tie, which followed a top-25 finish at the Hope, gives us hope that he may emerge yet again as a real contender. It would be quite a story given the troubles he’s endured since winning the British Open way back in 2001.

Anthony Paolucci: The 18-year-old high school student from nearby Rancho Santa Fe, who played with a sponsor’s exemption and is bound for USC next year, finished at 3-under 285. Among the major winners (yes, major winners) he beat over the weekend were: Woods, Y.E. Yang, Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover, John Daly and Mike Weir. Paloucci did not have a single round over 72. Wow.

LOSERS

Tiger Woods: Where do we start? The balls he left in the bunker? The putts he misread, one after another? Or maybe the errant drives that prevented him from dominating the par-5s? Any way you look at it, Woods is not close to being back in form and might not be for quite some time. He should add events to his schedule, such as Riviera, for instance.

Rocco Mediate: Sorry, Rocco, you don’t get a pass in your late 40s. This was a big stage, and to miss the weekend is a significant letdown. It was all there: Tiger Woods, Torrey Pines, memories of brilliance in 2008. Instead: poor approaches, missed putts, missed opportunities. Rocco thinks he still has a chance to win a major before he goes to the Champions Tour. A major what?

Rickie Fowler: The wardrobe is great and all, but Fowler will be judged on other colors: like how many red numbers he puts on the board. He started well at Torrey with a round of 65, but couldn’t break 70 the rest of the way and finished in a tie for 20th. That’s not good enough, especially for a guy who is still looking for his first tour win.

Bill Haas: Midway through the third round, Haas appeared poised to collect his second tour victory, but a miscue on 18 sent him backward and he never recovered. He posted a woeful 75 on Sunday – he made only one birdie – to finish in a tie for ninth.

Camilo Villegas: Look at the bright side: Unlike in Hawaii, Villegas avoided disqualification, and this time he made the cut. That’s the only bright side. Villegas went 75-73 on the weekend. Through six rounds this year, he has yet to shoot anything lower than 69.

John Daly: Poor John. Poor us. Silly us. Until midway through Saturday’s round, we believed that this could be another magical week for the great, yet wasted, talent. Then he went south on the South Course, finishing with rounds of 76 and 79. Oh, well. We’ll probably believe again the next time he does anything positive.

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