Four Things to Take from The Players

Golf's "Fifth Major" provided us with a few things take going forward. Here's four items on my list.

Woods' future? Who knows.

1. Tiger Withdraws
Before television coverage begin, news alerts were all over the place as Tiger Woods had to withdraw from the tourney due to what has been deemed as a possible bulging disc in Wooods' upper back or lower neck area. Not something to fool around with and Tiger sought attention.

Here's my issue. We've been hearing from Tiger that things are okay, but when pressed after his round abruptly ended on the 7th hole, Tiger revealed that he'd been dealing with this for quite a while. If everything (physically) with Tiger has been okay, why has this not previously been a concern? We're arriving to the point where I think we're being fed a built-in excuse for poor play. If I suck, tell them about an injury.

I'm not doubting the injury, I'm doubting the timing of its revelation.

His schedule for the remainder of 2010 is "up in the air". An MRI will be done, and Tiger can only go on from there...and so can we.

Will Mickelson ever be #1?

2. Lefty's Still #2.
Phil Mickelson had an opportunity to take over as the world's top golfer. He needed two things to happen. First, Tiger had to finish outside the top 5. Check. Second, win The Players. Not a check. Lefty did manage to put himself in a decent position to make a Sunday run, but a 2-over-par 74 spelled doom.

For now, it may be best if Lefty stays at that #2 ranking. When he was asked about the potential of attaining that #1 ranking, he bristled at the question. He does have other more pressing needs in his life, and that's where his efforts will be aimed for the time being. Phil did inch closer, and do not dismiss the possibility of his status changing this year. With Tiger's current injury woes, Phil may be #1 sooner that we think.

The driver let Westwood down on Sunday.

3. Lee Westwood
You cannot help but feel sorry for Westwood. For the second time this year, Westwood owned the overnight lead heading into the final round...only to come up short. At The Masters, Westwood had to deal with Mickelson. That was a bit easier to do since they were in the same pairing. Yesterday wasn't the case. All Westwood could do was watch the leader board and sometimes, that's not the best thing to do.

A final round 74 proved costly (especially when his tee shot went in the drink at #17) after posting rounds of 67-65-70. His driving was once again the main culprit as it was at Augusta.

All Westwood has to do is seal the deal. Until he performs in a final round when there's pressure, don't be shocked if people affix the "choke" tag to the world's #4 player.

A well earned victory (and trophy).

4. Tim Clark's First Win on US Soil
Start #206 in the US proved to be Clark's best. After scoring 68 and 71 in his first two rounds (-5), Clark seemed poised to merely collect a check. The check he ended up with was far greater than anyone has thought going into the weekend. A Saturday 66 followed by a bogey-free 67 on Sunday proved too much for the rest of the field. His 67 on Sunday was one of only two rounds in the 60's (Davis Love III had the other).

Clark's check? A cool $1.7 million. Plus, Clark was the only one that really played like he wanted the win. No more questions about getting a win on the PGA TOUR anymore.

One last thing (BONUS!)
I'm revisiting Lee Westwood here. After in what can only be termed as a major disappointment for him, Westwood took all questions from the media. He's always been that way, too. Ask him a question, good or bad, you get an answer that's straight and to the point. He doesn't give you a run around. He never dodges a questions either.

Someone should learn from this.