Played in Maran, Arizona, just outside of Tuscon.
My Final Four:
Sergio in the Hogan bracket
Rory in the Bobby Jones bracket
Webb in the Gary Player bracket
Ian Poulter in the Sam Snead bracket.
Semis:
Sergio over Rory and Poulty over Webb
Winner:
Sergio over Poulter 1 Up
Just like the way Sergio is playing and he’s a gamer. So is Poulty as evidenced by the Ryder Cup. It’s a crapshoot every week on tour with the tremendous depth this year and it seems like it’s been that way every year the past four or so years. No dominant player though Tiger could be again and Rory could be too, but a lot of tremendous golfers and potential dominators in Keegan, Webb, Sergio (still like him) and Sneds and many others. It’s what makes these events so thrilling. This one ought to be fun.
Here’s the TV coverage:
| Day | Date | Network | Time | Network | Time | Network | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu | 02/21 | SIRIUS-XM GOLF GOLF |
12:30 AM – 6 PM ET 6:30 PM – 11:30 PM ET 10:30 PM – 6 PM ET |
– – | – – | – – | – – |
| Fri | 02/22 | SIRIUS-XM GOLF GOLF |
12 PM – 6 PM ET 2 PM – 6 PM ET 6:30 PM – 10:30 PM ET |
– – | – – | – – | – – |
| Sat | 02/23 | GOLF SIRIUS-XM NBC GOLF |
12 PM – 2 PM ET 12 PM – 6 PM ET 2 PM – 6 PM ET 6:30 PM – 10:30 PM ET |
– – | – – | – – | – – |
| Sun | 02/24 | GOLF SIRIUS-XM |
9 AM – 1 PM ET 11 AM – 6 PM ET |
Of course, central time is an hour earlier for example tonight is 5:30 PM CT to 10:30 PM CT on the Golf Channel. NBC has it 1-5 PM CT on Saturday and 1-5 PM on Sunday with Golf Channel airing it 8AM-noon CT on Sunday. Good stuff with the interesting and somewhat controversial Johnny Miller commentating as usual for NBC. I like Miller overall I guess, but sometimes he grates on my nerves with his caustic criticism of the players. I do like it when he gets on Eldrick, but he can be a little rough on all of the players at times. Really like Gary Koch. He’s my favorite golf broadcaster out there.
Play is delayed once again due to bad weather–they had an inch of snow yesterday, and it’s scheduled to start back up at 3 PM ET/2 CT. I’ve not looked at any scores before making this prediction. I did see Sergio was leading his match yesterday but already liked the way he was playing coming in and had him pegged to win.
The Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Marana is a Jack Nicklaus 2009 design. Didn’t see a course layout on PGAtour. com, but I do remember the par-4 15th as a pivotal hole on the North Course. The players are hitting right into the mountainside that backs up the green on this approximately 331-yard, par-4. Another stadium-style hole like 17 at the Waste Management in Phoenix and 18 at Riviera at the Northern Trust last week. Gofer hole for the big hitters. Possible win-loss hole in a match. Usually makes for excellent theater on Sunday.Should be an awesome event. Ready for this. Hope they can get something done today because the rest of the weekend looks very nice with low 60’s and sunny Friday and Sunday and 69 and sunny on Saturday. They’ll get it done.
No.16 is a 247 yard par-3 with the drama expected on Sunday. Of course, 18 is a 485 par four, and a very pivotal hole as you would expect.
The Dove Mountain Course is the longest course on tour this year at 7,791 yards.