Former Cowboy Corrals Honda Classic

Orange power indeed.

Former Oklahoma State Cowboy Rickie Fowler, well-known for his lack of success in finishing off golf tournaments, finally proved the critics wrong over the weekend in Florida, winning The Honda Classic by 4.

Fowler was previously 0-4 in closing out tournaments in which he held the 54-hole lead, and it looked like we were heading that way early in the final round on Sunday.

Rickie had a four-shot lead coming into the final round, but a tee shot into the water on 6 and into the trees on 9 trimmed his lead to 1 heading into the back 9.

Fowler responded with some timely putting, and this dart on the tough 16th.

"Be really good."

It is, Rickie. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/tMviBLVLbm

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 26, 2017

That all but sealed the deal for Fowler's 4th professional victory.

Winner! 🏆@RickieFowler wins @TheHondaClassic for his fourth career victory.

He moves to 10th in the FedExCup. pic.twitter.com/YEMTdDBDwZ

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 26, 2017

Speaking of orange power, former Poke Morgan Hoffman finished T-2nd, 4 shots behind Fowler. Florida Gator Billy Horschel and Martin Kaymer finished T-4th, and defending champion Adam Scott finished T-14th.

Rickie's win continued a trend of a youth movement on TOUR. 11 of the 15 winners this season are in their 20s. Players like Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, and Hideki Matsuyama are consistently topping leaderboards, removing any worry about the state of golf post-Tiger Woods.

This week, the TOUR heads to Mexico City for the World Golf Championships- Mexico Championship. The tournament relocated form Trump National in Doral.

A typical WGC field is on-hand this week, as you have to be in the top 50 in the world rankings, or high up in the FedEx Cup rankings to qualify. All of the top 50 have committed to the event, including new #1 Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Fowler, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, defending champion Adam Scott, and Rory McIlroy in his first event back from injury.

Guess Who's Back...

I could use this as an opportunity to gloat, but I won't.

In fact, just a few weeks ago, I predicted that Tiger Woods could crack the top 10 at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he played poorly and missed the cut.

So I'm not going to sit here and act like I'm some sort of Golfstradomus.

However, I did nail this one, and I'm pretty excited about it.

Jordan Spieth is a winner again! 🏆

He's claimed the @ATTProAm by 4 shots.

It's his 9th career PGA TOUR victory. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/ZLAnV6fNyo

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 12, 2017

Jordan Spieth FINALLY returned to the national golf spotlight at Pebble Beach, where he secured a 4-shot victory over Kelly Kraft for his 1st win of the season.

Spieth played defensive golf all day, knowing pars were going to get him a victory. He finished the tournament with a bogey-free final round of -2 70.

And he did it with the formula I mentioned in my predictions.

Spieth wasn't hitting it near as far as some of the other guys on top of the leaderboard. And with the soggy conditions of the California coast, he got little to no rollout on his tee shots.

But he was in the fairway frequently, taking advantage of the preferred lies and lift, clean and place. He was 3rd in greens in regulation, hitting nearly 80%. And to top it all off, he tied for the lead in both birdies made and fewest bogeys. 

That is a winning formula. Hit fairways, hit greens, make birdies, and prevent bogey's.

57 of 72 GIRs for the week
Only four bogeys
9th win in 100 starts

Jordan Spieth put on a clinic at Pebble Beach.https://t.co/AGsRs6WyYm pic.twitter.com/R0Gehgyh44

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 13, 2017

Golf isn't THAT hard.

Some other good weeks came from guys who seem to always have success in the event. 

Dustin Johnson finished 5 back in solo 3rd, Brandt Sneaker finished another shot behind in solo 4th, and Jason Day and rookie-phenom Jon Rahm finished T-5th 7 back. Gary Woodland shot a Sunday-best -7 65 to also finish T-5th.

The best in the world head south to Los Angeles for the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club. The event is put on by the Tiger Woods Foundation, but Woods just withdrew from the event last week.

He has a press conference scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. Many people believe he could be retiring from golf, but let's not jump to conclusions just yet. Be sure to check back in tomorrow to hear everything he had to say.

Golf with a View

Being a professional golfer certainly has its perks.

Last week, the world's best played in front of record crowds in the Arizona desert, and across the globe in the wealthy land of Dubai.

This week, they play at the course known as "The greatest meeting between land and sea."

That distinction belongs to Pebble Beach Golf Links, situated perfectly off the coast of the Pacific on Carmel Bay.

Welcome to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The PGA Tour is yet again blessed with a star-studded lineup, featuring the likes of Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, and many others.

And, as the name suggests, this is a Pro-Am, which gives fans a chance to check out some of their favorite celebrities, including Bill Murray, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, and fellow Okie Toby Keith. Here is a full list of the celebrities in the field.






Pebble Beach gets the most attention during tournament week, but there are actually three courses the players will take on over the four day event. Each will play Pebble, Spyglass Hill, and the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula the first three days, then return to Pebble for the final round.

Predictions

An interesting statistic from the PGA Tour website: 3 of the 4 shortest courses on the Tour schedule are in this tournament. Also interesting is that Spyglass Hill generally plays as the toughest course, which goes against the natural belief that Pebble is the toughest.

I say all that to say this. In order to win here, you don't have to bomb it like at most events, but that doesn't mean it doesn't help. Dustin Johnson has played historically well here at the event, which means you can win this tournament in multiple ways.

The weather is supposed to be miserable all week, with temps in the 50s, and chances of rain early in the tournament. That could play a factor in the outcome as well.

Guys like Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker and Phil Mickelson have all won the tourney multiple times, so they are likely going to be in contention late on Sunday.

However, my pick is a guy who has gone almost forgotten thus far. Jordan Spieth has been overshadowed by the early-season dominance of his buddy Justin Thomas, but Spieth has played solid to open his year. In his three starts, he has three top-10s, and two top 3s. In his past three appearances in the event, Spieth has finished T-21, T-7, and T-4.

He doesn't hit it as long as everyone else, but he's still one of the premier putters on Tour, and he has the short game to save himself when he gets in trouble. Plus, his Pro-Am partner is country star Jake Owen, a relaxing pairing with a solid amateur that shouldn't distract him. I think this is the week Spieth steals the spotlight back.

The New Conquistador?

Well that was a hell of a prediction TJ...

For those who may have missed it, Tiger Woods did not in fact make the top 10 this week at Torrey Pines. But he was soooooo close...

Not.

Woods struggled to find the fairway in his first round, and failed to take advantage of finding the fairway in the second, shooting a +4 76-72 to miss the cut by 4.

Before you jump all over me, all 3 players in this primetime grouping (including Dustin Johnson and Jason Day) missed the cut.

Jason Day and Dustin Johnson will also miss the cut. Three big names slamming their trunks in the Torrey Pines parking lot.

— Ben Higgins (@BenHigginsSD) January 27, 2017

Woods actually did a good job of avoiding the big number, only making one double-bogey. His problem was his lack of birdies, just 5 in 36 holes.

Tiger heads to Asia this week for the for the Dubai Desert Classic, an event he has won twice. We will see if he can get his season going there.

I sure hope he does.

One guy who got his season and his young career going this weekend was Spaniard Jon Rahm. Just 22-years-old out of Arizona State, the second-year pro separated himself from the field on the back 9 at Torrey Pines South, going -6 in his last 8. That included 2 birdies and 2 eagles, including this bomb that all but sealed the deal on 18.

ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

It doesn't get better than this. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/pTmEjJLj7N

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 29, 2017

Rahm shot a final round -7 65 to win the loaded tournament by 3 shots over the likes of former champion Brandt Snedeker, OSU-grad Charles Howell III, Justin Rose, and idol and former Sun Devil Phil Mickelson.

Many people are already calling Rahm the next big name in golf after one win. Only time will tell, but I think we need to be a little patient with a 22-year-old kid that just won his first tourney.

Rahm tees it up this week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where he finished T-5th as an amateur two years ago. I'll have that preview, along with a Dubai Desert Classic preview, coming up soon.

That's all for now. Please Tiger, keep it in the short grass.

Tigermade?

What did I tell you? Only the biggest and most current stories here on Tee Times with TJ, and I can't think of a bigger story than the biggest name in the sport.

As was announced weeks ago, Tiger Woods will be making his much anticipated official return to the TOUR, and he isn't just dipping his toe in the water. No, this would be classified as a full-blown golf cannon ball. TW will be playing four tournaments in the next five weeks after not playing an official event in 17 months.

Tiger adds Dubai, too. Guess his back is feeling OK.

Upcoming schedule:

Torrey
Dubai
Week off
Riviera
Honda

— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) January 5, 2017

Woods will open his season Thursday at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, a course he has won at eight times as a professional, including the site of his last major win, that historic U.S. Open he won in a playoff over Rocco Mediate with a torn up knee.

Tiger will tee it up with two of the top three players in the world for his first two rounds back. 

And they have even more in common now than they did before. 

Jason Day and Dustin Johnson are both key faces for the Taylormade equipment family, but after today's announcement that Woods would be joining the team, they may have to take a backseat.

Woods announced he would be agreeing to an eventual 13-clubTaylormade bag. The one club that will go untouched is the famous Scotty Cameron Putter Woods used to win 13 of his 14 majors. He put the flat stick back into his bag at the Hero World Challenge.

Woods will deploy a Taylormade M2 Driver and 3-Wood, while using an M1 for his 5-Wood. And while Woods said that he and Taylormade will be working closely to make custom irons and wedges, he is sticking with his old Nike irons and wedges for the time being.

Woods Prediction

So what can we expect from Tiger in his first tournament back?

I think it's quite simple.

Torrey Pines is historically tough off the tee. The rough is long and thick, and hasn't been cut much due to record rainfall numbers. If Woods wants to have any success, he needs to find the fairway consistently off the tee. Nobody in the field will be scoring well from the rough, especially not a man playing his first official tournament in almost a year and a half.

If Tiger can keep the ball in the fairway, he can putt well enough to keep himself in it. The good holes shouldn't be an issue for TW, as he led the HWC field in birdies made. Birdies will be at a premium at Torrey, and I don't think the winner will be in double-digits.

If Tiger can avoid the blow-up hole, I think he will make the cut and could potentially sneak into the top-10. Either way, it's just great having golf's most exciting player back in action.