Before we get going here talking about my nine most memorable golf moments in 2015 so far, I want you to know that yes, I do understand the actual golf season starts in October. But just to remind everyone, I hate the PGA Tour wraparound season, so I still consider it a calendar year golf year. So with that being said, half the year is in the books and it’s been one hell of a golf season so far!
Since January, when the Hyundai Tournament of Champions kicked off the 2015 golf year, we’ve seen 28 PGA Tour golf tournaments. We’ve had four multipe winners, with Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Jimmy Walker and Rory McIlroy all picking up two or more wins. We’ve also seen two epic major championships, one club throw and several other tremendous golf moments. If the second half of 2015 is even half as good as the first six months, we’re in for a real treat during these last six months of the year.
So let’s get going. Below are my nine most memorable golf moments in 2015 so far. Hopefully we’ll be able to add nine more by the end of the year.
Jordan Spieth Winning The Masters and U.S. Open
This is by far my most memorable golf moment in 2015 so far. With golf looking for it’s next superstar, they’ve surely found a potential candidate in Jordan Spieth. After posting an opening round 64 at Augusta, Jordan seemed to put the pedal down even more over the next three days, firing a 66 on Friday and two 70’s on Saturday and Sunday to capture his first major championship of his career.
If that wasn’t enough, he backed up his Masters win with his second major championship trophy at the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. Dustin Johnson played a large part in giving the championship to Jordan after three putting the 72nd hold, but that doesn’t mean Spieth didn’t do his part to earn the victory.
Now we’re on to The Open Championship at St. Andrews where Jordan Spieth has the chance to take another step towards history and win the season’s third major championship and potentially the Grand Slam in the same year. Should be a great summer to watch golf!
Tiger Woods Terrible Play
Although The Greenbrier Classic could be a signal of good things to come for Tiger Woods, his play during his other previous six tournaments in 2015 has failed to impress. At times, he’s looked like a young pro who has no clue what’s going on. In seven tournaments in 2015, he’s carded three rounds of 80 or above. Yes, Tiger Woods is playing golf and shooting 80’s on the PGA Tour.
He missed the cut at the Waste Management Championship and the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. He also W/D from the Farmer’s Insurance Open after a debacle of a first round. I won’t pile on entirely since he has shown some signs of good golf. As mentioned above, he played well at The Greenbrier Classic and is now onto St. Andrews where hopefully his good play will carry over to the third major championship of the year.
Dustin Johnson Collapse
Dustin Johnson stood in the middle of the fairway on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open and had a long iron in his hands. While DJ was still pondering his next shot, Jordan Spieth was signing his scorecard with a one shot lead. DJ proceeded to hit a beauty and stick it to about 18 feet, leaving an eagle putt to win. Instead, Dustin Johnson 3-putted and blew his chance at forcing a Monday playoff.
This one will be tough for DJ to get over in my opinion. This is his third blown chance at a major championship and we’ll have to see how he responds. We haven’t seen DJ since Chambers Bay and we’ll have to see how he bounces back at The Open Championship next week.
Fox Sports Broadcast in U.S. Open
I am not going to say Fox Sports produced the worst golf broadcast I’ve ever seen, but for a company who’s business model is producing sporting events for television, it was pretty bad. If it wasn’t Holly Sonders doing awkward post round interviews with the players, then it was Curt Menefee blabbering on about who god-knows-what during studio cuts.
I think Fox Sports will get it right for next year but I think they need to do some hard evaluations on who they have on TV. They need to get golf people. Curt Menefee, Joe Buck and Charles Davis do not belong on the golf course or in the booth. They need to search high and low to find good personalties to put them on TV for the coming years, because we have 11 more to watch with Fox at the helm.
Chambers Bay as a U.S. Open Venue
I personally loved Chambers Bay as a U.S. Open venue. While I would have liked to see if just a little more green on the golf course, the links style course was a great setting for a U.S. Open. The actual greens on the other hand might have been a different story but I can look past that. I wasn’t there to see them and had to take the word of some jaded pros who shot bad rounds who made it known publicly how unhappy they were about the greens. All-in-all I think Chambers Bay was a great venue and I would like to see the U.S. Open back at Chambers Bay.
Keegan Bradley vs Miguel Angel Jimenez
You remember this, right?
Yep, that’s right. In the third round of the WGC-Cadillac Match Play, these two professional golfers got into a little spat over a ruling on the 18th hole. Caddies got involved, players got involved, and all parties looked like a bunch of fools out on the golf course. It was quite funny to watch.
The Players Championship
With all the hype surrounding Rickie Fowler over the years, some questioned whether he’s more built for marketing Puma golf gear or actually winning on the PGA Tour. But after capturing The Players Championship with an epic four hole playoff with Kevin Kisner and Sergio Garcia, maybe those questions will be put to bed for a while.
But as much as we will remember the 17th hole tee shot that Rickie stuffed to about 6 feet or so, just keep in mind what he had to do to put himself in that position? He made four birdies and one eagle in his final six holes and had to wait it out for a couple hours while everyone else finished.
Rory McIlroy Club Toss at WGC Cadillac Championship
Oh yeah! This was good as well!
While the club toss was pretty good, the shenanigans that followed got close to ruining it for me. Donald Trump, who owns Doral, ended up hiring a scuba diver to go fish out the the 3-iron. But here’s the surprise! It was all caught on TV! (Yeah, I know, that’s not a surprise.) After we saw the scuba diver hold the 3-iron up for the world to see from the middle of the lake, The Donald ended up giving the club back to Rory. At the end of the day, it was good to see the youngster get a little pissed and act like a fool.
Phil Mickelson Gambling
This has just happened within the last couple weeks but I think it’s something to keep an eye on in the future. Phil Mickelson’s name was attached to an illegal gambling ring after allegedly transferring $2.75 million to a bookie who was just sentenced for his role in the gambling ring. Phil’s a big gambler and it’s no secret. It’s a large amount of money and what I am more interested in is whether Phil will be investigated by the IRS or even the FBI for this gambling activity.
So there you have it. My nine most memorable golf moments in 2015. Do you have one that I missed? Do you disagree with my list? Let me know below in the comments or hit me up on Twitter, @Front9Back9.
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