This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
The Houston Open is in the enviable position of being situated on the PGA Tour schedule one week before the Masters. To further lure top players, tournament organizers remodeled the Golf Club of Houston in 2007 to mirror an Augusta-like setup. Lightning-fast greens, hardly any rough, yada, yada yada.
But when Johnson Wagner, a nice enough fellow (especially after he shaved his porn 'stache) can be a sponsor exemption ranked No. 495 in the world and still go the first 52 holes of the tournament without a bogey, well, the similarities come to an abrupt halt.
Not to pile on the fine folks of Houston, but when J.B. Holmes began Sunday with five straight birdies and made the turn in 29, it was enough to make you do a spit-take with a pimento cheese sandwich.
After all was said and done, Holmes shot 64 on Sunday and Wagner played 72 holes with just two bogeys, landing them in a playoff with the hottest player going, Jordan Spieth. Of all the surprises during the tournament, Spieth blowing a 54-hole lead, albeit only one shot, was the biggest. He bowed out on the first hole of sudden death, and Wagner's third bogey of the week finished his Masters hopes one hole later, leaving Holmes as the last man standing.
After two hard-luck runner-up showings in 2015, Holmes surely was deserving of a win. But to get it on a day he began six strokes behind Spieth? Holmes birdied nine of the first
The Houston Open is in the enviable position of being situated on the PGA Tour schedule one week before the Masters. To further lure top players, tournament organizers remodeled the Golf Club of Houston in 2007 to mirror an Augusta-like setup. Lightning-fast greens, hardly any rough, yada, yada yada.
But when Johnson Wagner, a nice enough fellow (especially after he shaved his porn 'stache) can be a sponsor exemption ranked No. 495 in the world and still go the first 52 holes of the tournament without a bogey, well, the similarities come to an abrupt halt.
Not to pile on the fine folks of Houston, but when J.B. Holmes began Sunday with five straight birdies and made the turn in 29, it was enough to make you do a spit-take with a pimento cheese sandwich.
After all was said and done, Holmes shot 64 on Sunday and Wagner played 72 holes with just two bogeys, landing them in a playoff with the hottest player going, Jordan Spieth. Of all the surprises during the tournament, Spieth blowing a 54-hole lead, albeit only one shot, was the biggest. He bowed out on the first hole of sudden death, and Wagner's third bogey of the week finished his Masters hopes one hole later, leaving Holmes as the last man standing.
After two hard-luck runner-up showings in 2015, Holmes surely was deserving of a win. But to get it on a day he began six strokes behind Spieth? Holmes birdied nine of the first 12 holes to invite thoughts of a 59, but he played the final six holes in 1-over, missing the course record by a stroke. Spieth shot a 2-under 70 and Wagner 69 to finish regulation at 16-under 272 about two hours after Holmes did. Kudos to Wagner for birdieing the 487-yard 18th, the hardest hole on the course at an average of 4.81 shots, to get to the playoff. The 25-foot bomb was only the third birdie of the day on the par-4 behemoth.
It wasn't indicative of the totality of the course. A whopping 16 players were double-digit under par, and the cut was 4-under. If that happens next week, the starched shirts at Butler Cabin will cringe.
One thing Billy Payne and company would be very happy with is a Spieth victory. The No. 4-ranked player in the world carries a victory and two seconds in his last three starts to Magnolia Lane, where he was runner-up to Bubba Watson last year in his Masters debut. He surely is among the handful of favorites. Holmes, who climbed to a career-best No. 12 in the world, will play Augusta for only the second time, having finished 25th back in 2008.
Holmes, no surprise, led the Houston field in driving distance at 312.1 yards. But he also was dead last in the weekend field of 71 in driving accuracy at 44.64 percent (25 of 56). Imagine that for the Masters champion?
Just one more indication that the Golf Club of Houston is no Augusta National.
MONDAY TAKEAWAY
Jordan Spieth
Beginning the day with a one-stroke lead, and being the hottest player going, Spieth seemed a virtual lock to win. But it's probably not such a terrible thing that he let this one slip away, making him that much hungrier for the Masters. He's on everyone's short list at Augusta, if not at the top of the list, and is now the No. 2 betting choice behind Rory McIlroy. He's certainly more on form than the world No. 1. Would a green jacket for Spieth this week surprise anyone?
Russell Henley
Henley hasn't missed a cut all season, but he meandered his way into Houston, in a two-month funk -- no finish better than T44 at the Honda. So his solo fourth is surely welcome. No, it probably won't propel him to a loftier showing at the Masters, but perhaps it puts him on track for the rest of the PGA Tour season, a welcome development for his owners.
Keegan Bradley
Bradley tied for fifth to carry momentum into the Masters. Will it matter? Not likely, as he has never played well at Augusta, missing the cut last year, tying for 54th the year before and 27th the year before that in his debut. Like with Henley, Bradley owners can be happy with this result as a potential harbinger for the rest of 2015 -- just not next week.
Cameron Tringale
Tringale has been trending upward for two months now: T69, T47, T44, T28, T17, T40 and now T5 in Houston. He's also in the Masters field. Can he perform well at Augusta? Probably not, but at least he's got his season turned around in a very nice way.
Phil Mickelson
Mickelson played a good first round at the Texas Open, fueling the "Phil is back" talk. He was incrementally worse the next three days. Then he played two strong rounds Thursday and Friday in Houston, fueling the "Look out for Phil at the Masters" talk. A third-round 75 put a damper on that, but Mickelson at least closed with a 1-under 71, leaving him T17 to equal his best showing of the season. (Of course, for good measure, his rinsed his approach on 18 en route to a double bogey.) Will Mickelson contend at the Masters? Nah, but at least the fun storyline will continue at least into Thursday.
Justin Rose
Rose is another golfer with a strong Masters pedigree, having never missed a cut in nine starts, with a couple of top-10s sprinkled in. But he was in a big-time funk heading into Houston, with three MCs in four U.S. starts. He tied for 37th at Houston, a mild improvement, but not enough to announce an end to his sub-standard play.
Sergio Garcia
Garcia missed the Masters cut last year but was eighth the year before that and 12th in 2012. He hasn't been at the top of his game, but he also hasn't been quite as adrift as Mickelson and Rose. The Spaniard tied with Rose in Houston, however did have an impressive T4 at Riviera in late February. The feeling here is that Garcia could crack the first page of the leaderboard at the Masters.
Charl Schwartzel
Schwartzel has played well in his homeland of South Africa, while struggling in the United States. Unfortunately for him, the Masters is in the United States. Yes, he's a green jacket winner, in 2011, but he missed the cut last year and doesn't have a top-40 PGA Tour showing this year. Yes, if he's on your team, you have to start him. Just don't be surprised if he misses the cut. Schwartzel tied for 42nd in Houston.
Rickie Fowler
Fowler was lauded last year for being the only golfer with top-5 finishes in each of the four majors. But he didn't really contend in any and has not been on form in 2015. He finished last among the 71 golfers who played the weekend in Houston, with a 77-76 after making the cut. Fowler doesn't have a top-10 since November and is 78th in the point standings. Is he good enough to make noise at the Masters? Of course. But nothing of late offers evidence that will happen.
Anirban Lahiri
Who, you ask? He's Indian, he's 34th in the world, he has two European Tour wins this year. Lahiri shot 74-69 in Houston to miss the cut by three strokes as he prepped for the Masters. Will he do well at Augusta? Probably not, as he's never played there before, but he's only 27 and is looking to make a dent in the U.S. Keep an eye on him this summer in future majors and WGCs.
