How do you hit only half the greens in regulation for the week and walk away with a victory? You’ve got to have the touch of a magician around the greens. That was the formula for Bill Haas in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera last weekend. This is the guy who splashed his way to an up-and-down from a water hazard to win the ... Read more

While Phil Mickelson, Keegan Bradley and ultimately Bill Haas were putting on a show down the stretch at last weekend's PGA Tour's Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club, Sergio Garcia fashioned a round that will probably be one of the best of the year when all is said and done. When viewed in comparison to what the rest of the field did on Sunday, Garcia's ... Read more

Once the last resort for old men with bad backs and yippy hands, long and belly putters are now showing up in the bags of PGA Tour professionals, in even more bags on the Nationwide Tour, and a certified rage amongst kids wearing Ricky Fowler colors and wide white belts.  Bellies, it seems, are growing as prominent as Maltbie’s gut. So is an increasingly heated debate ... Read more

Phil Mickelson’s victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am this past weekend has sent demand of the Callaway RAZR Fit Driver surging. As a result, Callaway Golf has advanced the retail availability of the much-anticipated drivers and put them on sale today at retail stores nationwide and on shop.callawaygolf.com, according to a company press release. The driver was supposed to arrive at stores ... Read more

It's understandable that television announcers want Eldrick Woods to play well. With Tiger in contention, ratings skyrocket. For too long, though, those with the microphones in front of their mouths have rooted for Tiger, rather than merely charting his accomplishments at a tournament, often times while ignoring what other players were doing. Now the cheering sounds almost ridiculous as Woods continues to struggle, especially on ... Read more

You would think playing with a five- or six-stroke lead entering the final round of a tournament would be pretty easy. You’re playing extremely well, so just take advantage of that cushion to coast home and collect the winner’s check, thank you very much. Watching Kyle Stanley and Spencer Levin the last two weeks, you would think playing with a five- or six-stroke lead is ... Read more

Kyle Stanley’s biggest mistake—or at least the one that set up all the others—in his 18th-hole triple bogey blow-up that cost him the Farmers Insurance Open on Sunday was that he equated playing safe with laying up. With his ball sitting in the intermediate cut between fairway and rough, 237 yards from the hole on the par-five 18th, Stanley considered how to play from ... Read more

More than ever, the first three tournaments on the PGA Tour this year felt like a mere prelude to the real season. These events produced three nice-guy winners (and I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that!), but with most of the big names away the Tour started with a whimper instead of with a bang. The Hyundai Tournament of Champions has been struggling to ... Read more

Part 3 of our 2012 player previews looks at Rory McIlroy back on the PGA Tour and various players of interest. Click here for Part 1 (Luke Donald and Tiger Woods) and here for Part 2 (Nos. 2-8 on the 2011 money list). Rory McIlroy In rejoining the PGA Tour this season, McIlroy has a chance to build on his U.S. Open victory and possibly become ... Read more

Here is Part 2 of my player previews, covering Nos. 2 through 8 on the 2011 money list—including Steve Stricker and Webb Simpson, who finished 1-3 at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Click here for Part 1 on Luke Donald and Tiger Woods. Webb Simpson Was the Webb Simpson of 2011 for real? The 26-year-old made a huge leap in his third PGA Tour season, finishing ... Read more