2013 PGA Golf: The Highs and Lows of the Florida Swing

Most of the PGA Tour players straggled into Florida as they were eliminated from the WGC-Accenture Match Play event at Dove Mountain. I’m not sure if they were upset because they were eliminated early, or ecstatic because they were eliminated early. Do you remember the final round in Arizona? Matt Kuchar in his toboggan hat and gloves holding off defending champion Hunter Mahan in the cold windy finals on Sunday afternoon. I can almost see the losers, and early outs, sitting in a hotel bar in Palm Beach sipping Mai Tai’s, and toasting the winner.

The bad news, is the cold weather followed the tour into Florida, and affected the outcome of every tournament including the Tavistock Cup. It was cold, rainy, and windy at the Honda Classic, and that trend continued for the entirety of the Florida Swing. The other storm that hit the Florida Swing was in the form of Eldrick Tiger Woods. Who among you, after watching Tiger struggle at The Honda Classic, would have thought he would come back to dominate, and win every other tournament on the swing where he was entered?

After receiving a putting tip from Steve Stricker at Doral, Tiger won at The Blue Monster, The Arnold Palmer Invitational, and was on the wining team at the Tavistock Cup. I’m sure Kevin Streelman has sent a Thank-You card to Woods, or maybe, new Girl Friend, Lindsey Vonn, for keeping him away from Innisbrook.

I think Tampa Bay Times Staff Writer Rodney Page summed up the finale at Bay Hill very well:

"This is as close as you can get to seeing Tiger play live, if he commits as expected. A 90 minute drive isn’t much to see the world’s best, and you’ll probably get a glimpse of Palmer as well."

The Florida Swing saw a changing of the guard at the top of the OWGR Rankings. After a horrible start at The Honda Classic, former number one, Rory McIlroy walked off of the course at PGA National citing a problem with his wisdom tooth, that came off as more of a problem with his wisdom in general. McIlroy would finally rebound at Doral, and show us a little bit of the old magic with a final round -10 under par. The bad news here, was the nice finish at The Blue Monster would send him to Texas to wait for the Houston open, instead of playing at Innisbrook or Bay Hill.

We saw two fresh faces in the winners circle during the Florida swing. University of Alabama grad Michael Thompson was able to pick up a win at The Honda Classic, and Kevin Streelman  was able to win at The Tampa Bay Championship. Both players were at a point in their careers where they needed these victories. They now have status, money, and more importantly, invitations to Augusta. The world was able to see the emergence of Jordan Spieth. Spieth made enough money on the Florida Swing in conjunction with his top finish in Puerto Rico, to gain enough status to obtain a sponsor exemption for the remainder of the 2013 season.

As the tour moves on to Texas, and Augusta next month, I think the Florida Swing has set us, the golf fans up for that Perfect Storm I pointed out in an earlier article. The three remaining factors that we should get figured out in the final two weeks leading up to the Masters, is first and foremost, can Rory McIlroy rebound in Houston? Does he have his new equipment under control, and is he ready to compete with Tiger for the top spot in golf?

Number two is Phil Mickelson. Lefty has been so up, and down this season, it’s hard to get a fix on the state of his game. He dominates one moment, and misses cuts the next. I’m not sure Phil Mickelson is completely healthy. Does his arthritic condition affect him more than he lets on?

Last but not least. What is the state of Brandt Snedeker’s game? Snedeker dominated on the West Coast, but failed to make the cut at Bay Hill last week. He looked rusty, and in need of playing time. So much in fact, he decided to include the Shell Houston Open to his schedule this week. I’m not sure he will be ready for Augusta, and we may have to wait for the US Open to see the old Snedeker back to full stride. The Florida Swing answered a lot of questions, but as usual, probably generated more questions than answers.

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