Move over 20-somethings with three or more PGA Tour wins…there’s an “old guy” that joined the club on Sunday!

Aaron Baddeley, Champion of the 2011 Northern Trust Open at Riviera CC. Photo Credit: SuperSport

Aaron Baddeley, only 25 days short of his 30th birthday, won the Northern Trust Open at the famed Riviera CC for his third PGA TOUR victory.

There is a “young-gun” winning six-some now—Camilo Villegas, Hunter Mahan, Sean O’Hair, Dustin Johnson, Anthony Kim, and Baddeley. Johnson is the only 20-something with four wins to his name.

It has been four seasons since Baddeley’s last win at the 2007 FBR Open plus another year to wind the clock back to his maiden win at the Verizon Heritage.

The last of his four Australian tour wins also came in 2007.

Baddeley is back winning by two strokes after shooting all four rounds in the 60s.

The Aussie finished in the Top-10 for the second straight week after a T6 last week at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, marking the first time he has back-to-back top 10s since August 2007.

Baddeley had dropped to World Number 274 at the end of 2010. With this win he jumps from No. 224 to 73.

It was a challenging Sunday for the child of destiny, who came out on tour with so much promise and expectations in 2000.

Playing partner and gallery favorite, Fred Couples started the final round with three birdies though in the end would suffer a Sunday 73 to finish T7.

Baddeley certainly took notice but was not rattled.

“I was still just trying to focus on my game and just try to do what I needed to do,” Baddeley said. “I was still right there, I was still only one back. It wasn’t like I was three back. For me it was just trying to keep doing what I was doing.”

“I enjoy playing with Freddie. He’s really a great bloke.”

The father of two faced challenges early in the back 9 double bogeying the difficult par-4 12th hole.

But even then he still held a two stroke lead over Couples, Robert Allenby and Vijay Singh, who bogeyed the 13th.

After a bounce-back birdie made possible by a masterful long putt with lots of break, Baddeley put it into coast mode heading to the clubhouse.

“(I made) probably the best putt of the week right there. That really got me back on track.”

A great second shot on par-5 17th sealed the victory. Hitting from the 5th fairway Baddeley hit a high fade through a distant gap in the Eucalyptus trees to get back into position on the hole and career wise.

“Just being able to forget everything and being able to hit that shot, that’s part of the plan was just to be able to let it go and hit shots, so it was great.”

“It’s definitely been a couple of long years, but it was worth every bit, and I really feel that the last couple years is actually what made it easier today just because of having to battle and having to grow into so much for a couple years, the character that was just built in me.”

He credits being back with his childhood and long time coach Dale Lynch for the resurgence in his career.

“To be able to come home—come back to Dale really felt like coming home because it felt like I was becoming a kid again, and that’s what made it fun, you know.”

In reality this man of faith was never really far from home.

“I’m one to quote scripture a lot, especially when I’m out there. One of my favorites is 2 Timothy 1:8. It says, “For God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and a sound mind.” Whenever I get a little bit nervous I always quote that just because I know that — I mean, as the scripture said, it said God didn’t give us a spirit of fear. So, yeah, I always quote that. It helps calm me down just knowing I’m out there and the Lord’s with me.”

Baddeley is a man of patience with great humbleness as well.

Last summer at the Greenbrier he opened with a 65 and a rookie reporter asked him about his chances in the upcoming PGA Championship.

“I’m not in Whistling Straits right now. I got to win this week. I plan to be there. That would be nice. Have to have a good weekend and just try and get out there and have a chance to win on Sunday.”

Well that Sunday came and he made the most of it at Riviera CC.

Baddeley (73) is now the eighth highest ranking Aussie behind Robert Allenby (OWGR No. 26), Adam Scott (27), Geoff Ogilvy (28), Jason Day (40), Richard Green (60), Brendan Jones (64) and Stuart Appleby (68).

Baddeley is the third Aussie to win in L.A., with Scott winning in 2005 and Allenby in 2001.

This year’s International President’s Cup Team Captain Greg Norman took notice and issued a congratulatory note: “Riviera has once again given up a victory to an Aussie, proving that the quality of players coming out of my homeland thrive on tough golf courses. Aaron has been very successful on tough, demanding and difficult tracks with his previous victories and this victory is no different, and one that is long overdue! He now catapults himself into a strong position to secure a spot on this year’s International Presidents Cup Team. I have always been a fan of Aaron, and personally, I am proud of him and his victory at the Northern Trust Open. As Captain of the International Team this year, I know he would be a very valuable asset to the team.”

With time to earn a spot on the team or get a captain’s pick similar to Adam Scott in 2009 at Harding Park Baddeley knows what a spot on that team would mean.

“To play a Presidents Cup in Australia, that would be like an absolute dream. I remember watching in ’98 going down there and seeing the guys, Freddie, seeing Jim Furyk, seeing all the guys down there, seeing Norman playing, all those guys. I wanted to play in Presidents Cups. So it’s definitely something that I’m going to keep working hard towards to try and make that team.”

Baddeley is back in the Masters where in 5 starts his best finish is T17 in 2009, the year Angel Cabrera won.

“Yeah, I’m excited about that, very excited.”

As we all are with your victory in L.A.

Congratulations and Happy upcoming Birthday… you are coming into your prime as a golfer and it will be exciting to watch!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer covering all four major American golf tours- the PGA TOUR, Champions, Nationwide and LPGA Tours.

Reistetter resides in Pont Vedra Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

A lifetime golfer, Andy enjoys volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida and pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it.

2011 PGA TOUR:   Will Last Week’s Top 10 Finisher Win This Week at Riviera?

Top-10 finishes usually signal better things to come on the PGA TOUR.

Jonathan Byrd, 2011 Hyundai Champion! Photo Credit: PGA.com

Look at Jonathan Byrd, who won his last event of 2010 with a dramatic playoff trump ace in Las Vegas. The next time he teed it up—granted, it was 2-1/2 months later—led to another playoff win in the season opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua on Maui.

Here’s another example. After finishing 6th at Disney two months earlier, Mark Wilson won the SONY Open.

Get the picture?

A good finish leads to even better things a couple months later.

Not so fast.

In the 3rd tournament of the year and only his 5th start in a PGA TOUR event, rookie Jhonattan Vegas won the Bob Hope Classic after finishing T57 at Waialae. “I hope to be the best player in the world, I know it is tough to achieve but feel I have the game and mentality to do it,” said the 26-year old.

Sound familiar?

Furthermore, Bubba Watson won the Farmers Open after missing the cut entirely in the Hope. And Mark Wilson rang the bell again with a playoff victory in the Phoenix Open after sandwiching a T57 between his two wins.

So much for the theory that a Top-10 finish one week is the antecedent to a win the following week.

Look at Carl Spackler, a.k.a. Bill Murray, winning the Pebble Beach Pro-Am last week.

“Cinderella story, out of nowhere, former greenskeeper, now about to become the Masters champion. It looks like a miracle—it’s in the hole! It’s in the hole!” It had taken Spackler over 30 years.

So what’s the point?

Well, D.A. Points finished 5th at the Farmers, then T18 in Phoenix before winning his first PGA TOUR event on the sun-drenched Monterey Peninsula alongside Murray.

Finishing towards the top—sooner or later—usually means victory is somewhere out there on the back nine on Sunday when things fall into place.

What do all six 2011 winners have in common?

All are Nationwide Tour alumni.

Is it hard work under similar tournament conditions that leads those in the top 10 to win?

The NWT alumni win count on the PGA TOUR is closing in 300. D.A. Points’ win on Sunday at Pebble Beach was No. 294.

The Nationwide Tour is only a little over 20 years old.

Let’s say the average number of PGA TOUR events is around 30 in that period. By that figure, 50% of all victories on the PGA TOUR come from NWT alumni.

Not bad—considering in the early 90s there were no NWT graduates winning, because there was no NWT to graduate from.

Let’s look quickly to last week’s Top 10 finishers to see who will win this week.

Count Nick Watney out as he withdrew from the Northern Trust Open without specifying why. Watney was T6 at Pebble Beach, where it was his fifth consecutive Top-10 dating back to last year’s TOUR Championship.

Hunter Mahan (2nd) finished strong at Pebble with a field best Sunday 66. A reasonable person would not bet against him this week.

Tom Gillis (3rd) came off the Nationwide Tour in 2009 and had three Top-10s in 2010. “I’m not totally satisfied with (2010). I thought I would have had more chances to win,” Gills said, fitting the NWT alum and Top-10 finisher profile to a tee.

Though he has played in 5 events so far this year, Spencer Levin (T4) might try a delayed Byrd-Wilson (“happy with time off”) formula to winning. “I am just going to go home, take some time off and enjoy this a little bit,” said the Q-School graduate. “Then I’ll start getting ready for next year.”

Steve Marino (T4), who started knocking on the door early in the 2008 Open at Turnberry (before being surpassed by Tom Watson), looks poised to make a breakthrough into the winner’s circle.

Aaron Baddeley (T6), who dropped the “stack and tilt” to regain his ball-striking form, also had a T8 finish in Vegas the week Byrd won. It is only a matter of time for the Aussie, who was beaten by Troy Merritt in the Kodak Challenge playoff.

Bryce Molder (T6) seems to be regaining his form after ending last year weakly missing three of four cuts.

Phil Mickelson is the obvious favorite of the four golfers who finished T9 to win for the third time as he tries to commute, weather permitting, from his home in San Diego to Riviera CC this week.

But don’t dismiss Steve Bowditch, Zach Miller or Jimmy Walker this week in the land where stars are born.

There is also Paul Casey, coming off his win in the Middle East who—along with reigning Open champion Louis Oosthuizen and 11-time European champion Robert Karlsson—will be making his U.S. debut this week.

So will we see someone from last week’s Top 10 win this week at Riviera?

Don’t forget defending champion Steve Stricker!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer covering all four major American golf tours—the PGA TOUR, Champions, Nationwide and LPGA Tours.

Reistetter resides in Pont Vedra Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

A lifetime golfer, Andy enjoys volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida and pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it.

Please comment directly on this article or email him at AndyReistetter@gmail.com

The Cinderella Story! Photo Credit: Golf.com

Golf writer Andy Reistetter was on site at Pebble Beach to witness the modern Cinderella story of D.A. Points’ first victory on the PGA Tour and the triumph of Bill Murray, a.k.a. Carl Spackler, a.k.a. the regular golfer like all of us, in the granddaddy of all Pro-Ams at America’s home course Pebble Beach.

“Da Bears” didn’t win this year, but D.A. Points and another guy from Illinois, a comedian-turned-dramatic-actor who kept him loose, surely did win.

Two guys from the Prairie State dressed in blue and orange walked the fairways and putted the greens of famed Pebble Beach Golf Links on another glorious day on the Monterey Peninsula.

These were the same fairways where Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and last year Graeme McDowell won U.S. Opens.

It was fate, pure and simple.

The stage was the difficult, slightly uphill dogleg right 573-yard par-5 14th hole.

The stage of a tilted, tiny and tempest of a green where last year from the fairway Paul Goydos watched Bryce Molder made a quadruple bogey 9 and then did the same thing.

Points holed the improbable shot—a gap wedge from 107 yards—and then for added measure, made a putt of nearly 30 feet on the next.

The golf gods kept his tee shot in bounds on the 16th, and then the “Murray Magic” kicked in on the green to save the victory for self and team.

Though this time, the roles were reversed, and it was Points using Murray’s tactics to urge his partner on.

“Go ahead and make the putt, the crowd will enjoy that.”

Of course, Murray didn’t make his putt, though the still loose Points did.

Points got the point and made the knee knocker from six feet to seal the victories for the kid from central Illinois, and the no longer young in age man from the chick is in the car and the car won’t go “Chicago.”

As Murray would say, “Done, it was over after 14, 15 and 16.”

All that was left to do was throw ice cream bars to the galleries as the forever now joined partner twosome of fate made the final march to the awards ceremony on the 18th green.

Was it Carl Spackler and the Bishop playing in near picture-perfect weather?

There was a bigger story here for those of us who think two things usually go together—having the most fun and winning.

The world needs to take a less serious attitude. Maybe golf can lead the way in that regard?

Maybe “Murray’s Magic” was to have so much fun that it distracted Points from trying too hard?

As Points would say afterwards…”yes, I need to (change), I absolutely need to.”

Maybe, as Points said.

“Instead of boringly walking down the fairway, minding my own business and not saying anything,” other PGA TOUR players will do the same thing, and we will have the Rocco Mediates, Peter Jacobsen and Mr. Palmers of today and tomorrow out there on tour.

Maybe Jacobsen’s legendary pro-am partner Jack Lemmon finally made the cut?

“If you make the other person look good, then you don’t have to worry about yourself,” is how Murray put it in perspective afterwards, drinking a glass of red wine while addressing the media.

Maybe there is something in it for us heading into Monday morning at the office.

Winning at Pebble Beach with his childhood idol Bill Murray wasn’t just a “dream come true” for Points.

“I don’t think I could even dream it up.”

Dreams turn into reality at magical places like Pebble Beach.

As sponsor AT&T’s slogan urges, maybe we should “rethink possible.”

After all, two kids from Illinois showed the world today that it is possible…to have the most fun and win!

Maybe Ty’s advice to Danny is more than funny…

“There’s a force in the universe that makes things happen; all you have to do is get in touch with it. Stop thinking…let things happen…and be…”

…like Bill Murray and D.A. Points were this week at Pebble Beach.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer covering all four major American golf tours- the PGA TOUR, Champions, Nationwide and LPGA Tours.

Reistetter resides in Pont Vedra Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

A lifetime golfer, Andy enjoys volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida and pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it.

Please comment directly on this article or email him at AndyReistetter@gmail.com

Mark Wilson Wins 2011 Waste Managment Phoenix Open. Photo Credit: Communication Links

Mark Wilson was never dead and gone from the PGA TOUR but he did rise again in Phoenix the day after his Packers won the Super Bowl.

Even last year when the 36-year old golfer was No. 140 on the Money List going into the last event of the season he was still alive.

Having won the 2009 Mayakoba Classic he was exempt for the 2011 season and he did not have anything to prove at Disney.

Or maybe he did?

He completely missed the 2010 Playoffs for the FedEx Cup.

Even though he had won twice on the PGA TOUR he never received an invitation to the Masters.

He has never played in a British Open. In fact he has only played in three majors and has never made the cut (1 U.S. Open and 2 PGA Championships).

Maybe the Magic Kingdom is where “the little engine that thought he could,” became something bigger and better and turned into the “Wilson-matic” we now see on tour.

Like shooting stars over Cinderella’s castle, Wilson’s four rounds in the 60s earned him a 6th place finish and vaulted him inside the magical Top-125 at No. 123.

Maybe he did have something to prove?

His strong finish at Disney notched only his second Top-10 of the year.

Now he has two wins in his first three events in 2011.

What the heck happened to the guy who went to Q-School for 10 straight years prior to breaking through for his first victory at the 2007 Honda Classic?

“The sooner you decide to just trust what you’ve got, the quicker you’re going to become a better player,” was Wilson’s attitude after beginning to work with Dr. Bob Rotella.

“I skated right through Q-school and then I won three months later at the Honda, my first win in 2007.”

Fast forward four years to yesterday in Phoenix.

“The old Mark would have been pretty upset with the tee shot on 18 in regulation, maybe would have chunked that 9-iron into the front bunker and made bogey and handed the trophy to (runner-up) Jason (Dufner). But the new one was just focused on, hey, I got this 9-iron out of the bunker and almost won the tournament that way. It’s almost a two-shot swing a lot of times.”

“For some reason at the end of last year, which was one of my worst years in recent history, it (Dr. Rotella’s advice) just popped back into my head, hey, I’ve got to just trust what I’m doing and just play my own game.”

Wilson has focused on two improvements to his short game to go along with that trusting attitude.

“I’ve got a new green-reading technique,” Wilson explained. “Dr. (Greg) Rose (of the Titleist Performance Institute) helped me split the putts into two parts always, and that really has helped me see the line better.”

“(In practice rounds) I try to throw a ball down inside 100 yards on almost every hole as an additional shot on the green trying to get that up-and-down.”

“Those two things have just really calmed me down, going, hey, no matter where I hit the ball I can get it up-and-down from inside 100 yards and therefore it’s going to be hard for me to make bogeys. This week and Sony I eliminated the bogeys a lot, and that has been a key.”

Everything seems to be clicking with victories coming easily and often for Wilson at a time when others, including Tiger Woods, find it difficult to win on the PGA TOUR.

Wilson is a cumulative 47-under par in his three starts this season.

Moving up to No. 51 in the World Rankings, he is at his highest level ever.

With that ranking comes more playing opportunities in World Golf Championship events like the upcoming Accenture Match Play and the Cadilac at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral.

“I see the snowstorm up in Chicago, and it’s like, why do I need to go back there? There’s no reason. Let’s just keep playing. So I plan to play — right now the plan is to play through Bay Hill.”

“I’m just enjoying the ride here and that’s just kind of the way I’m going to look at the year here, just ride this train as long as I can.”

Phoenix was good but it is over and the opportunity is today, tomorrow and the future.

We can all benefit from that attitude!

We like the “new” Mark from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

Congratulations Wilson, Congratulations Packers!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer covering all four major American golf tours- the PGA TOUR, Champions, Nationwide and LPGA Tours.

Reistetter resides in Pont Vedra Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

A lifetime golfer, Andy enjoys volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida and pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it.

 Please comment directly on this article or email him at AndyReistetter@gmail.com

Bubba Watson, are you there?

Bubba Watson, 2011 Farmers Insurance Open Champion! Photo Credit Richard Mille

Those words have been heard since the invention of the telephone in 1876.

Following his best year in a four-year PGA TOUR career, the question wasn’t whether or not Watson would be out there on tour this year. The question was whether or not he could come back from a playoff loss to Martin Kaymer at Whistling Straits in the PGA Championship.

Question answered as Bubba Watson is now a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR.

Only five months after receiving the non-consolation prize of being a member of the 2010 Ryder Cup team, Watson has weathered the storm of personal loss and continued his trek to future golfing dominance.

“My dad is not here, Mom I love you,” were the words from his heart after beating a stellar field down the stretch at Torrey Pines, the San Diego muni better known as the world class golf course that hosted the dramatic 2008 US Open.

Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate played in the same field at Torrey Pines for the first time since Tiger birdied the last in regulation to force that memorable Monday playoff.

Rocco missed the cut by four strokes but has his recent four-hole-out victory at the 2010 Frys.com Open to accentuate his resume above and beyond the courageous battle against Tiger at Torrey.

Woods meanwhile was not as sharp as the 2010 PLAYOFFS for the FedEx Cup, finished T44, 15 strokes behind Watson. One has to wonder about his 74-75 weekend on the golf course on which he won six previous Farmers Open including four in a row only three years ago.

Woods has won 13 times in California and that other guy, the hometown favorite, Phil Mickelson, came close to winning his 13th California-style finishing one stroke behind.

So dramatic was the finish that Mickelson walked up to the 18th green and then had caddie Bones tend the flagstick while he struck his 73-yard pitch for eagle to tie Watson.

The staging was nothing less than legend Walter Hagen’s rendition in the movie Bagger Vance.

But one has to wonder about Mickelson who abandoned his aggressive “Masters 13th between the trees” style with a clean lie from 226 yards on the last even before Watson stroked in his 12-footer for the winning birdie.

Sure he went with driver off the tee on the narrow 17th to set up a sand wedge approach and finish birdie-birdie. But he did not finish off the tournament with a “W.”

Others in the stellar field right up there with Watson and Michelson heading into the final 18 holes included Bill Haas, Hunter Mahan and Anthony Kim.

Haas, the second round leader by two strokes, did record his fifth consecutive Top-10 going back to his second PGA TOUR win at the Viking Classic last fall. Son Bill failed to win another tournament that his father Jay won back in 1978 to go along with his first win- the 2010 Bob Hope Classic that Jay won in 1988.

Mahan, wed to former Dallas Cowboy cheerleader Kandi Harris only two weeks ago, faltered on Sunday with a 73.

Anthony “AK” Kim, with a renewed 2008 Ryder Cup like recommitment to the game, like Woods, had trouble on the weekend posting 71-72 and finishing T6, six strokes back.

The four rookies, including the leader Sunghoon Kang, that were among the leaders after Round 1 were no were to be found at the end of the tournament:  Kang (T51), Chris Kirk (T44), Keegan Bradley (T25) and Fabian Gomez (T65).

Experience like that on the PGA TOUR is priceless.

John Daly opened with a 67, followed with a 69 to stand T3 at the halfway point, but would go 76-79 to the weekend with no reports from the parking lot this year that he was giving up the game and launching another drama series on the Golf Channel.

The man who rose to the occasion again after winning for the first time last week at the Hope in the desert was Jhonattan Vegas. Also known as “Johnny Vegas,” as coined by the Golf Channel’s Phil Parkin on the Nationwide Tour last year where he finished 7th to get his rookie tour card.

The 26-year-old who won in only his fifth PGA TOUR start was paired with Tiger in the third round and played five strokes better than the 14-time major champion.

Neither Vegas, nor Mickelson heeded the “Rocco lesson” from the 2008 U.S. Open, i.e. hit the 18th fairway to have a chance to reach the green in two strokes. Vegas dunked his second in the water from the right rough and bogeyed whereas an eagle would have forced a playoff with Watson.

The pink shaft swinging Watson lead the field in driving distance (308 yards), greens in regulation (GIR) and was 13-under par on the par-fives for the week.

In the end it was Watson’s putter that came through at the end of the day. After missing two nine-foot birdie putts on 14 and 15, he drained another for par on 17 and then canned the winning putt on the 18th green.

No doubt long accurate drives, precise approach irons and streaky putting is a difficult combination to beat.

The only four-time winner in his 20s, Dustin Johnson made a Sunday charge posting a solid six-birdie, no bogey 66. Among the emerging next generation, Mahan, Kim, Sean O’Hair and Camilo Villegas each have three victories.

Bubba Watson becomes only the fifth lefthander to record multiple wins on the PGA TOUR joining the company of Mickelson, Mike Weir, Bob Charles, and Steve Flesch.

Watson answered another fateful call today at Torrey Pines.

Alexander Graham Bell might not have heard his reply on the internet or twitter.

Bubba Watson is now a multiple winner on the PGA TOUR and who knows what his next transmission to the golfing world will be.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer covering all four major American golf tours- the PGA TOUR, Champions, Nationwide and LPGA Tours.

If you haven’t noticed it is a new era in golf. The Tiger Woods era ended in 2010.

2011 PGA TOUR Week Rookie Jhonattan Vegas Wins the 2011 Bob Hope Classic! Photo Credit: Golf Monthly

Whether or not there is a Tiger Woods Reprise in 2011 is yet to be determined.

One thing is for certain: 2010 signaled that golf is truly a world game.

Four major champions, four different countries—America’s Phil Mickelson in the Masters, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen in the Open at St. Andrews and Germany’s Martin Kaymer at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

The younger and better generation came into stride in 2010 led by double winners Dustin Johnson (AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and BMW Championship) and Bill Haas (Bob Hope Classic and Viking Classic).

Jason Day won the 2010 Byron Nelson at age 22.

In 2010, Derek Lamely (Puerto Rico Open) and Rory McIlroy (Quail Hollow Championship) won on the PGA TOUR in their rookie seasons.

Lamely won in his 12th and McIlroy in his 18th PGA TOUR start.

More of the same in 2011?

You can bet on that, Vegas- style!

Rookie Jhonattan Vegas won the 2011 Bob Hope Classic in only his fifth PGA TOUR start.

Vegas is the first PGA TOUR member from Venezuela and the first rookie to win in the 52 year history of the Bob Hope Classic.

Now joining Arnold Palmer (1960) and Charley Hoffman (2007) in the record books, Vegas won the Bob Hope Classic in his first start.

Vegas three-putted and bogeyed the 18th to fall into a tie with Bill Haas who finished two groups earlier and playing partner Gary Woodland who birdied the 90th and final hole of regulation.

Defending champion Haas was defeated in the first playoff hole as he failed to birdie the par five 18th.

Vegas then birdied the 18th to knock out the other young wonder who was playing in only his 28th PGA TOUR event and who notched his first career Top-10 finish.

While Vegas won in Palm Springs, on the other side of the world in another desert in Abu Dhabi, all four 2010 Major champions, including American Phil Mickelson making his 2011 debut, competed with World No.1 Lee Westwood on the European Tour.

PGA Champion Martin Kaymer ran away from a strong field and won by eight strokes to become the World No. 2 golfer at age 26.

The Bob Hope Classic, a five-round desert gem of celebrity, amateur and professional competition began on Wednesday with 30 celebrities, 384 amateurs and 128 PGA TOUR players on four desert golf courses.

With perfect weather—mostly sunny, temperatures in the high 70s and light winds, it was another shootout in the desert.

Derek Lamely, who is given little recognition as the “other” (than Rory McIlroy) rookie to win on the PGA TOUR last year, strung together five birdies, an eagle and then another birdie while shooting a leading nine-under par 63 on the Palmer Private Course at PGA West in Round 1.

Lamely may be flying under the radar but his game is not lame at all.

His seven-under birdie-eagle streak is the best on TOUR since Brandt Snedeker recorded an eight-under on the North Course at Torrey Pines at the 2007 Buick Invitational.

Golf Channel’s Michael “the Weather Man” Breed analyzed celebrity and professional golf swings with a giant green screen behind him.

Jhonattan Vegas, 2010 Nationwide Tour graduate (No. 7 with one win) first came to the top of a PGA TOUR leader board at the end of Thursday’s Round 2 along with Boo Weekly at 13-under par.

Lamely’s second round included a quintuple-bogey nine on his second hole. He recovered with four birdies on the back nine and managed a one-over 73. After a 72 on Friday his weekend 64-67 performance would finish T13, six strokes out of the three-way playoff.

Vegas continued to play well and Woodland joined him at the top of the leader board after Friday’s Round 3 as the Champions Tour got underway in 2011 in Hawaii at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship.

Come Sunday, John Cook would win the season-opener to go along with his victory at last season’s closer at Harding Park.

Vegas and Woodland would increase their one stroke co-lead over Greg Chalmers to two strokes over Martin Laird by the end of Saturday’s fourth round with Haas three strokes back.

In Sunday’s fifth and final trek around the Palmer Private Course, Vegas and Woodland would shoot 69 to be joined in the playoff by Haas’ 66.

With this victory, look for Vegas in the field at the Masters, PLAYERS, and PGA Championship.

Who will win at Augusta National, or at the Atlanta Athletic Club in the U.S. Open, or at England’s Royal St. George’s in the British Open, or at Congressional CC in our nation’s capital in the PGA Championship?

Perhaps it will be a rookie, a different international player or a 35-year old now World No. 3 rejuvenated star.

Look for the Tiger Woods Reprise of 2011 to start this week at Torrey Pines in the Famers Insurance Open.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer covering all four major American golf tours- the PGA TOUR, Champions, Nationwide and LPGA Tours.

If you haven’t noticed, there is a row starting in the world of golf.

A signed Lee Westwood, Nedbank 2011 Champion! Photo Credit: Best of Golf South Africa

Whether it is simply the players or the tours, it is Europe and the rest of the world against the Americans.

Here are Reistetter’s Top 10 thoughts on the current situation and how it evolved in the last nine months.

1. The latest happening is U.S. PGA Tour non-member Lee Westwood’s announcement that he is missing the 2011 Players due to the restriction of being able to play in only 10 U.S. PGA Tour-sanctioned tournaments.
2. The issue is not the actual Players event as playing there does not count against the 10 limit for nonmembers. Remember, The Players is the fifth major by virtue of the strongest field in all of golf, its history and major sponsor. The issue is Westwood playing at Quail Hollow, host to the 2017 PGA Championship, the week before The Players to warm up.
3. The 10 cards in Westwood’s 2011 playing hand are the four majors, three WGCs and the Honda Classic (sandwiched between the WGC Match Play in Arizona and the WGC in Florida at Doral), Shell Houston (week before the Masters) and St. Jude in Memphis (week before the U.S. Open), where Westwood is the defending champion.
4. Why is Westwood targeting The Players Championship? He is not, Chubby Chandler, Managing Director of International Sports Management, golf’s current day Mark McCormack, is the man making the decisions for Westwood. Think about the impact McCormack had on the game of golf when he developed the sports agent role and signed up Arnold Palmer as his first client.
5. Chandler controls world No. 1 Lee Westwood, Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, the other U.S. PGA Tour non-member snob Rory McIlroy, Hall of Fame inductee Ernie Els, up-and coming Charl Schwartzel and Chris Wood as well as grisly veteran Darren Clarke.
6. This is about Chandler versus Finchem, commissioner of the U.S. PGA Tour, for control of the future world golf tour. Chandler is the new Greg Norman.
7. Ironically this row was started by the U.S. PGA Tour when the Memphis tournament last year snubbed Westwood by not extending an invitation to him to play the week before the U.S. Open.
8. It was only at Quail Hollow, the week before The Masters, when Westwood made it a media issue by pointing at the logo on his shirt and guessing that was the reason why a regular tour event would not invite the world’s No. 4 golfer. His logo was that of his sponsor U.P.S.—a major competitor of Fed Ex.
9. The PGA Tour realized how silly that looked and extended an invitation to Westwood to play in Memphis which is also the world headquarters of Fed Ex. He did and he won on the U.S. PGA Tour for the first time in 12 years.
10. Lee Westwood is looking a lot like Colin Montgomerie though respected in America there is a question of how much he is really liked on a personal inspirational level. A major championship victory instead of finishing in second place would definitely bridge that gap in acceptance. Or even a win at the 2011 Players right in the backyard of the U.S. PGA Tour headquarters might help.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer covering all four major American golf tours- the PGA TOUR, Champions, Nationwide and LPGA Tours.

Reistetter resides in Pont Vedra Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

A lifetime golfer, Andy enjoys volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida and pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it.

For more background information on Andy go to the website Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary or e-mail him to AndyReistetter@gmail.com

Tiger Woods made a fine start to his 2011 PGA Tour campaign in California at Torrey Pines. Photo Credit Google Images

Make no mistake about it; Tiger Woods is back and ready to be the No.1 golfer in the world.

Yes he came back for the first time at the Masters last year but this time he is ready to play golf.

All you need to do is check out his finish last year.

Playoff Round one at the Barclays: Tiger shot a final-round 4-under 67 to finish T12 and jump from No. 112 to No. 65 in the FedExCup standings to advance to the 100-player field at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Playoff Round two at the Deutsche Bank: Tiger closed with three consecutive rounds in the 60s to finish T12 and get to No.51 to advance to the 70-player field at the BMW Championship.

Playoff Round three at the BMW Championship: Tiger finished T15 and moved to No. 42 in the FedExCup standings but did not advance to the 30-player field at THE TOUR Championship.

At the Ryder Cup, Tiger had the best record (3-1-0, 3.0 Pts) of the Captain Corey Pavin’s wild-card selections. Steve Stricker (3-1-0) was the only other U.S. player to match Woods/ point total.

Woods finished T6 at the World Golf Championship in China.

“That’s just the way it is,” Woods said. “I didn’t play well early in the year, and I didn’t play well in the middle of the year.”

Translation: I am playing well now and wait until next year!

Well, to the Top-150 on the 2010 Money List, the 25 graduates of the Nationwide Tour and the 27 Q-School survivors… next year is now!

Woods, the man with the highest priority ranking (71 victories including 14 majors) is in the field at next week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines where he won his last major in the 2008 U.S. Open.

Woods has dominated at Torrey Pines over the course of his career.

Remember “horses for courses!”

If Woods is in the field that means someone else is out of the field with no chance to compete or win.

Forget all the stuff in the press since his impressive playoff, Ryder Cup and WGC performance to end the year.

Failed to win on the PGA TOUR for the first time last year in his 15-year career dating back to 1996- forget it.

Lee Westwood overtook Tiger as the World No. 1 golfer at the end of 2010- forget it.

Failed to convert a four-stroke third round lead over Graeme McDowell into victory at the 2010 Chevron World Challenge in early December- forget it.

Woods had a cortisone shot in his right ankle after he finished playing for the year- forget it.

Tiger Woods’s endorsement deal with Gillette and monthly column for Golf Digest ended at the end of the year–forget it.

All those events are in the past.

What is in the future is a new Tiger Woods, fully adjusted to his new life situation, prepared and hungry to dominate the world golf stage once again.

As the PGA TOUR.com website states:

“Results for Tiger Woods will be available after his first 2011 event.”

Stay tuned!

Mark Wilson, the professional golfer—not Wilson the volleyball from Tom Hanks’ Cast Away movie—is coming home from the Hawaiian Islands with the 2011 SONY Open trophy in his possession.

Mark Wilson Sony Open Winner 2011 Photo Credit: Google Images

Wilson has now won in each of the last three odd years: 2007 (Honda Classic), 2009 (Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun) and now 2011.

No worries since each win came with a two year exemption to bridge him to his next win.

For the man who cites Ben Hogan as his hero, he too is hawk-like with steely determination whether it counts or does not count.

Though previously exempt for this year, Wilson recorded only his second Top-10 last year at the season’s final event at Disney and jumped from outside the Top-125 at No. 140 to inside the number at No. 123.

After all Wilson is the guy who went to 10 straight Q-Schools before that first victory in 2007.

With the first round a complete washout on Thursday, a 36-hole Sunday shootout was necessitated to get the tournament in with the five-round Bob Hope Classic starting on Wednesday.

In fact 57 players made the cut and were at most only seven strokes back starting off on the final day.

At the 1927 Seth Raynor designed Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Mark Wilson, the 36-year-old Chicagoan remained calm and cool and collected the winning paycheck of $990,000.

He went bogey-free for 36 holes on the Sunday finale posting 65-67 to beat 2010 PLAYERS champion Tim Clark and yet-to-win on the PGA TOUR Steve Marino.

Last week was tournament champions’ week on Maui with Jonathan Byrd earning a return trip to the 2012 Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

Wilson won the show this week and a trip to Kapalua next year.

The week was billed as the debut of the rookies of the PGA TOUR.

This year’s class of rookies numbers 35 and ranks among the youngest in PGA TOUR history.

There are 29 rookies under the age of 30, of which 15 are 25 years of age or younger.

Nine of the rookies have never even played in a PGA TOUR event.

Georgia’s Chris Kirk, age 25, finished 6-under par in T30 position and led the contingent of 27 rookies that made it into the field.

Bio Kim, the youngest rookie at age 20 shot 73-67 and missed the cut by 3 strokes in his very first PGA TOUR event.

Joseph Bramlett, the second-youngest member of the 2011 rookie class with two previous PGA TOUR starts made the cut but did not play the final two rounds on Sunday as the field was reduced due to sunlight restrictions. He is the first black golfer to advance through Q-school since Adrian Stills in 1985.

Jamie Lovemark, the Nationwide Tour champion shot 72-70 and like Bio Kim missed the cut by three strokes in his 14th career PGA TOUR event.

To balance out the youth, veteran Champions Tour player Dave Eichelberger shot his age of 67 at the Aloha Section PGA Professional Championship to earn a spot in the field. Playing in his combined 1,247th PGA TOUR/Champions start (second only to Miller Barber’s 1,292 starts) Eichelberger missed the cut by 15 strokes but bested rookie Kevin Kisner playing in his maiden event.

The week started with Dustin Johnson withdrawing for personal reasons only days after his relationship with Natalie Gulbis became public news. Maybe the “Bam & Sham” show did not go over so well back home?

Johnson has since said he is not in a relationship with Gulbis or anyone for that matter.

Last rookie Jim Renner took Ricky Barnes spot in the field and shot 69-70 making the cut but not finishing like Bramlett. Barnes No. 43 on last year’s Money List cited a back injury as the reason for his decision to withdraw.

Make a note that in the first full-field event of the 2011 PGA TOUR season 8 rookies who earned their card for 2011 did not earn the right to put a peg in the ground.

Once play finally started on Friday, Stuart Appleby returned to using the putter that made him the most recent “Mr. 59” and led the field posting a 6-under 64. Wilson shot 65 along with 8 other guys.

At the end of Saturday’s Round Two it was Shigeki Maruyama playing with a yellow ball and Appleby tied at 10-under two strokes ahead of the field.

Maruyama was seeking his fourth PGA TOUR win, and first since the 2003 Wyndham Championship, a span of 171 TOUR starts.

The unusual cut was to the closest to the number 60 to get 36 holes in between the Hawaiian sunrise at 7:12 a.m. and sunset at 6:11 p.m.

A total of 68 golfers would have made the cut if it came at 2-under.

The number of players at three under or better was 57 and since that number is closer to 60 than 68 that is where the play cut came.

The 11 players at two under and 16 more at one under technically made the cut receiving prize money and FedExCup points but did not finish (MDF).

A normal cut to the low 70 and ties would have come at one under with 84 players advancing though another cut would have come after 54 holes.

The reality is that the 27 MDF players lost their chance to win or improve over final two rounds.

In the Sunday morning third round Mark Wilson posted a five under 65 to move to 13-under with a one-stroke lead over Marino and a two-stroke gap over Jimmy Walker, Matt Kuchar and Appleby.

With no repairing of groups after the third round- the “final” foursome of Maruyama (70 in third round), Appleby (69) and Thatcher (68) were never in contention.

The excitement of the final round fell to the “next to last” pairing of Wilson (65), Kuchar (66) and Marino (66).

The wildcard in the fourth round was Clark who went off the back nine early and posted 66-64 to be the leader in the clubhouse at 14-under.

The South African finished strong with a birdie on No. 6 (his 15th hole) to get within three strokes. Then he nearly aced the par-three seventh with the tap-in deuce narrowing the gap to two strokes.

Clark birdied the par five ninth to narrow Wilson’s lead to one stroke.

Wilson after starting the final round with a two under front side continued to make pars with the slimmest of leads and no one left on the course making a charge.

After he bunkered his tee shot short left on the par three 17th Wilson drained the remaining 12-footer for par. Knowing he had only the short par five 18th left and a two-stroke lead over Marino this was the putt for the win and after making it, he accentuated the perfect stroke with a fist pump.

Marino trying to make eagle to tie the lead with a Wilson par, hit a miraculous second shot on 18. With his feet in the bunker and the ball in the rough at the height of his waist he reached the green in two strokes.

Marino failed to make the long eagle putt and Wilson made a short putt for birdie for the two-stroke win.

Marino continues to search of his first PGA TOUR win after this his third career runner-up finish in the last four seasons.

“I’m just tickled to death,” was Wilson’s response after his win in a Monday playoff at the 2007 Honda Classic even though that win did not receive an automatic invite to Augusta National nor did the opposite-field Mayakoba win.

I wonder what he will feel like when he plays in his very first Masters in 12 weeks.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer covering all four major American golf tours- the PGA TOUR, Champions, Nationwide and LPGA Tours.