"That's match play" has gone from a cliché to a cop-out, used by the vanquished at the end of every match play tussle. The vagaries of the format are overrated. Those who play well usually win, and those who play poorly usually lose -- and those who lose usually offer this old chestnut as an excuse.
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PGA European: Ford Championship at Doral
European: Dubai Desert Classic
Champions: MasterCard Classic
INSTANT POLL
Winners
Aussies Aaron Baddeley pushed Ernie Els to the brink in Hawaii, while Adam Scott was mostly dazzling at the Match Play. If only Scott had Baddeley's putting stroke....
Mike Weir The little lefty is proof that a game built on control and course management can still be successful in the go-go 21st century.
Jay Haas At 49 he is playing some of the most inspired golf of his long career, and with the success of his two sons at the college level he has become the patriarch of one of golf's prominent families.
Annika Sorenstam She finally figured out how to make the front page -- not in Sports, but A1. The Colonial, two months hence, is suddenly must-see TV.
Old-School Courses The scoring onslaught was slowed by Pebble Beach and Riviera, classic designs with tough little greens and subtle challenges. Maybe Merion is ready for another U.S. Open.
Vijay Singh's Putting Stroke One of golf's most underrated players was dazzling on and off the greens while winning in Phoenix, and he will be a favorite at Augusta as long as his nagging rib injury heals.
Tiger Woods Milking that knee injury for an extra-long vacation was a brilliant move -- he looks refreshed and utterly overpowering.
Match Play Championship In its fifth year the event finally got what it needed to confer the prestige it lacked -- Woods as champion.
LOSERS
Spaniards Sergio García and José María Olazábal are playing like Seve -- of recent vintage. With Ollie rendered obsolete by Augusta's redesign, expect little olé at the Masters.
Phil Mickelson Could his year be off to a worse start? An 80 at Pebble, a Sunday smackdown by Tiger Woods in San Diego and reams of bad press.
The Champions Tour The most exciting old guy in the game, Haas, isn't even on tour, and this year's winners have been a who's not who of golf. Even with Jack back, the senior tour is ready to be retired.
The LPGA Tour Still in the midst of its endless off-season, the tour finally winds up in the news, but for the wrong reason: Its top player is straying.
New-School Despite their considerable length, neither the target-style, desert design of the TPC of Scottsdale nor the modish, grand scope of Kapalua offered any resistance to the world's best golfers.
Charles Howell's Putting Stroke Until this long-knocking 23-year-old learns to get the ball in the hole a little faster, he will remain just a tantalizing prospect.
Ernie Els Sure, he was sizzling for six weeks, but what have you done for me lately? Els now trails Woods on the PGA Tour money list.
Match Play Championship With the exception of Saturday's action, the week was defined by a sloppy course, ugly golf and bad shrimp.
O.B.
PGA Tour players are so used to a familiar set of chummy TV interviewers that pugnacious Jim Gray , working for ABC, seemed way out of his element at the Match Play Championship, while the pros were unusually prickly. In a week full of awkward interviews, one was particularly memorable. Following Tiger Woods 's 5-and-4 dismantling of Scott Hoch on Saturday morning, Gray started by offering congratulations to both players, which led Hoch to snap, "Congratulations? How about commiseration?" Gray's first question to Hoch: "What can you say when you run into a display of golf like that?" Hoch, at his sardonic best, shot back, "Nice shot, nice shot, nice shot." Gray then turned his attention to Woods, describing his upcoming opponent, Adam Scott , as "a kid who's modeled his whole life after yours, to the extent that's possible." As Woods was leaving the greenside interview, another reporter asked, "What did you think of those questions?" To which Tiger replied, "Dumb."
Woods was a little more hospitable to ABC's color man, Curtis Strange , who lately has been making noises about playing more events on the PGA Tour. Strange, 48, spent his downtime between telecasts pounding balls on the La Costa driving range, and on Thursday he spent half an hour side by side with Woods. From the look of their animated conversation, they were talking about maximizing width in the backswing. Afterward, we asked Woods who was giving whom the lesson. "I was just helping him out a little bit," he said with a smile. (Woods was less chummy on Saturday afternoon, however, when he stiffed Strange's request for a between-rounds interview.)
Three down after five holes in his second-round match versus Mike Weir , Jerry Kelly found some inspiration in his caddie, Tom Janis . "I punched my caddie really hard on the arm," said Kelly, by way of explaining how he rallied to win 2 and 1. "He hates it when I do that. He's definitely the most underpaid caddie out here. He's taken some really good shots." Asked how often he punches his caddie, Kelly said, "Oh, daily. He gets two shots for flinching, too, if I throw a fake at him."
Who says PGA Tour pros aren't interested in geopolitics? Before his third-round match, David Toms was asked what he knew about his upcoming opponent, Alex Cejka . "He's German, right?" Toms said. He's a German citizen but lives in Prague, Toms was told. "So is he on our side or is he not on our side?" Toms asked. Informed that the Czechs are on our side, Toms said, "O.K., then we'll be all right."
Winners
