Great Finish!

[Colby]

Phil's putt off of the fringe, at 50 feet, on the first playoff hole almost won him the tournament. It was fantastic. He tried to do the same thing on the third playoff hole and hit something which caused his ball to jump up in the air losing about 6-8 feet of distance which would have put him right next to the hole. I'm not sure where you guys see bad chipping and pitching around the greens?

Howell did a great job coming back after hitting the tree on his first chip on the second playoff hole. I thought it was over then.

[MusicMan]

I'm not sure where you guys see bad chipping and pitching around the greens?

how about when he was on the green yesturday... he had like an 80 foot putt and decided to chip it from on the green and chunked it, leaving a huge divot on the green and the ball only went 10 feet... that was pretty bad

[spackler]

I'm not sure where you guys see bad chipping and pitching around the greens?

How about the pitch on 18 when he landed it short after trying the 8 iron from 205? He was inconsistent all day. Stupid (lob wedge off the green) and brilliant (three wood chip for birdie on 10).

[Colby]

I just watched the playoff, so I can only base my comments on those. As for chipping on the green, it might be frowned upon, but it is allowed.

[spackler]

I just watched the playoff, so I can only base my comments on those. As for chipping on the green, it might be frowned upon, but it is allowed.

No one said he couldn't do it, only that it was a low percentage play that backfired on him. He was lucky to make bogey, made an 8 footer to avoid double. He gave away a few shots yesterday.

[Colby]

I wouldn't say that it was a low percentage play, Phil probably knows exactly how hard to hit a 25-30 tard wedge and stick it close. For us it might be low percentage, but he could probably do it more times than not.

After something like 1 bogie through two rounds, he did still shoot a 68 yesterday, Howell shot a 65 and caught him.

[Kilroy]

Charles Howell III felt his heart leap when he realized only three feet of green stood between him and an improbable playoff victory over Phil Mickelson in the Nissan Open.

More...

[ironmaster15213]

[quote=Colby;159843] I'm not sure where you guys see bad chipping and pitching around the greens?

quote]....Pitch on 18 and pitch on 3rd extra hole, both terrible attempts. No comment on hitting a 8 iron from 205 from a side hill lie. He could have been planning to keep it short for a easy pitch, Who knows what he was thinking! Don't try to say that those attempts at getting it close were anywhere near the shots that we would expect Phil to hit.

[Colby]

....Pitch on 18 and pitch on 3rd extra hole, both terrible attempts. No comment on hitting a 8 iron from 205 from a side hill lie. He could have been planning to keep it short for a easy pitch, Who knows what he was thinking! Don't try to say that those attempts at getting it close were anywhere near the shots that we would expect Phil to hit.

Personally I think the pitch on the 2nd playoff hole was worse than the one on the third. The one on the third hole hit something and bounced up in the air slowing it down. The poor chip onto #10 when Howell was sitting three with a short putt for par was bad. Also the club selection on the 3rd playoff hole tee off was not good.

[Hacker]

Phil just found a new way to lose... It is normally his driver but today it was definately his short game. I never would have expected that, but then again, nothing that Phil does should surprize anyone anymore

[Colby]

And if it had been Tiger who lost to Howell, then Howell would have played wonderfully to beat Tiger.

Howell played better on the last day. He made up the strokes and then won the playoff. But I guess Howell really did nothing and Phil did everything he could do to lose it.

[MusicMan]

he shot 2 65's in one weekend,,, thats a well deserved win

[Colby]

he shot 2 65's in one weekend,,, thats a well deserved win

Absolutely!

[Pinshark]

Great win for Howell. I cannot believe I missed this. I recorded it, just never got around to watching but I think I will later today. and Marcos you have to get a PVR never miss a thing or watch a commercial again (just have to resist the urge to come on here before you watch the golf )

[MusicMan]

Great win for Howell. I cannot believe I missed this. I recorded it, just never got around to watching but I think I will later today. and Marcos you have to get a PVR never miss a thing or watch a commercial again (just have to resist the urge to come on here before you watch the golf )

youre in for a good watch... just check out the last hour, that about sums up the day

[Kilroy]

Try this... Start the PVR recording at 3:00. Sit down at 4:00 and start watching.
FF through commercials and by 6:00 you'll be almost caught up. 1 hr less time used up and no need to avoid the forum!

In your case you may find that the PVR stopped at 6:30, but the playoff went until 7:30.

[MusicMan]

Try this... Start the PVR recording at 3:00. Sit down at 4:00 and start watching.
FF through commercials and by 6:00 you'll be almost caught up. 1 hr less time used up and no need to avoid the forum!

the man of a 1000 answers

[Kilroy]

I did it that way yesterday and enjoyed it tremendously.

[MusicMan]

I did it that way yesterday and enjoyed it tremendously.

[Hacker]

And if it had been Tiger who lost to Howell, then Howell would have played wonderfully to beat Tiger.

Howell played better on the last day. He made up the strokes and then won the playoff. But I guess Howell really did nothing and Phil did everything he could do to lose it.

I didn't say anything about Charles. Howell played a fantastic round of golf - a 65 on that track is NOTHING to sneeze at - kudos to him go putting himself in a position to win, congrats on making Phil make a PAR on the final hole to win the tournament.

.......but that doesn't change the fact that Phil threw some strokes away today and none bigger than the bogies that he made on 18 to cause the play-off and on the final play-off hole to lose it.

If Charles makes birdie on both of those holes then I'm not here saying that Phil lost it, but Phil made the bogies so in my books he lost it.

[MusicMan]

i think they jynxed him... every 10 minutes they had a clip showing him hit shots saying "Phils drive for 2 in a row for the second time in his career"

[ironmaster15213]

I didn't say anything about Charles. Howell played a fantastic round of golf - a 65 on that track is NOTHING to sneeze at - kudos to him go putting himself in a position to win, congrats on making Phil make a PAR on the final hole to win the tournament.

.......but that doesn't change the fact that Phil threw some strokes away today and none bigger than the bogies that he made on 18 to cause the play-off and on the final play-off hole to lose it.

If Charles makes birdie on both of those holes then I'm not here saying that Phil lost it, but Phil made the bogies so in my books he lost it.

....That is how I see it also, I didn't see anything except Phil on 18 and the playoff holes, I was at the golf dome learning a one plane swing at the time. The short shots around the green that I watched Phil hit were in my opinion way below standards for Phil. The short shot into 18 green during regulation play was not good and the short shot on the final playoff hole was terrible. That's not to say they didn't play very well to get to that point.

[dH]

I just watched the playoff, so I can only base my comments on those. As for chipping on the green, it might be frowned upon, but it is allowed.

Especially when there is BIG $$$ on the line.

[Pinshark]

Try this... Start the PVR recording at 3:00. Sit down at 4:00 and start watching.
FF through commercials and by 6:00 you'll be almost caught up. 1 hr less time used up and no need to avoid the forum!

In your case you may find that the PVR stopped at 6:30, but the playoff went until 7:30.

This is how I would normally do it but alas, I got back from the cottage a little late. I should have the playoff because I always record an extra hour after the scheduled stop to be sure. (and yes I learnt that the hard way with a hockey game)

[Golfbum]

That par putt Howell made on the 72nd hole was as solid as they come. There was a lot of pressure on that putt. He stood up and knocked it in.
Charles biggest problem during his short career has been the flat stick. The guy can flat out bomb it off the tee and he is fairly accurate. If this win helps boost his confidence with the putter then look out!
Plus do not forget, he has had two 2nd place finishes already this year. It is not like he fluked out and won this tournament.

As for Phil. I damn near fell off the recliner when he hit that chip shot on the green FAT. Man that was just plain ugly. I can see myself chipping on that shot, but not with the LW. Maybe a PW or GW, pick it clean. I know why he decided to try that shot. He had some collar between him and the hole. Although not a common thing to see a pro try I have seen it in the past. I remember years ago The Walrus chipped across that stupid horseshoe shaped green, the 17th at The Abbey. Since changed!

The shot that really made me shake my head was his second on the 72nd hole. I know he thought he might have a flier lie but 204 with an 8 iron off a side hill lie? Uhhhhhhhhhhh ok Phil!

I also wonder this, Beemer and Harrington both played poorly on Sunday. Do you think that might have had a little bit of effect on Phil? After all how many times have you seen two guys going great during a round and the third guy picks up the vibes and gets it on with them? Many times. Not that it should be an excuse, but.

The critics will say "The Demons of the US Open got him" BS.......... He made a couple of bad shots, it cost him the tournament.

Plus, Howell did fire a 65 on Sunday, nothing wrong with that score!

[jbrace]

Try this... Start the PVR recording at 3:00. Sit down at 4:00 and start watching.
FF through commercials and by 6:00 you'll be almost caught up. 1 hr less time used up and no need to avoid the forum!

In your case you may find that the PVR stopped at 6:30, but the playoff went until 7:30.

This is exactly what I do. Someone has already mentioned recording an extra hour. You can set this up on your PVR to record an extra hour for all sporting events as a default. I did this when I first got my PVR, but have since forgotten how to set it up. I'm sure someone here knows how.

[Kilroy]

I have not seen the extra hour by default feature. Is that a Bell thing? I am on Rogers.

[jbrace]

I have not seen the extra hour by default feature. Is that a Bell thing? I am on Rogers.

Ah... I just assumed. Yes, it must be a Bell thing.

[EWhelan]

Best finish of the year so far. Look out for Charles Howell III, could be a 'MAJOR' force this season.

[sandbagger72]

poor phil that was a short lived comeback