Sunday Doral Observations - Phil TCB

A few random observations for those of you who could not catch the final round of the WGC at Doral

- Tiger Woods (once again) displays amazing patience: Jimmy Roberts, immediately following Tiger's round asks him "how high is this on the frustration meter" ? Tiger. always cool, handles the question with class. (FWIW, the dude shot 7 under - not the winning score, but clearly a strong showing for his second event back)
- Jeev Singh is pretty much unflappable. He had a lot of chances to get really frustrated and he never seemed to bat an eyelash.
- Jim Furyk is ON FIRE on the last 6 holes...I am gonna attribute that to his change to a more stylish color palette this year (no more beige, thank God)
- Phil and Nick Watney are trading punches like two heavyweight boxers - it's really great entertainment. They are both playing some balls out golf...and looking a little worn out on the last few holes after a slugfest in the middle of the round.
- Watney has hit some magical shots today - ones which TW would envy...but he has also hit some I haven't seen since....I played Friday afternoon - some real stinkers for sure...
- Those are some REALLY FUNKY looking bunkers....and they are eating Watney up. Seriously, for a PGA player, his bunker shots are weak.
- Phil has a pretty good RIGHT handed swing - better than most you see in your weekend foursome.
- The NBC crew is pimping "Celebrity Apprentice" hard, and nary a mention of Natalie Gulbis being on the show...huh ???
- I get it that Rory is the next Sergio(or Tiger,Jack, Ben,Arnold, etc.), but damn he hit some ugly shots this week. The rough around the greens seemed to especially confuse him.
- Hard to figure the greens in South Fla not being in better condition than they are this week - lots of brown spots for a marquee track.
- For the ladies, Camilo is rockin' a RED belt today - matching his red shirt - Tigeresque, no ?
- To the dude who yelled "Go in the water" when Phil hit his tee shot on #18 - you suck - I hope you are making some new friends in the county jail tonight...
- #18, Phil leads by one - both he and Watney split the fairway with their tee shots. Both safely on (the fringe)....and PHIL WINS !!!!

Looks like Phil has made a decision...

If you were watching the WGC event at Doral yesterday, you got a heaping dose of Philly Mick doing his thing. I've been somewhat critical of Phil in the past for two things:

1. Bad Fashion Sense - The wide (white, FGS) belts and the tight shirts (with shorter sleves,no less - see above) are not made for people built like Phil. Sorry dude, I know you lost some lbs and are proud of your new physique - but you aren't there yet....TRUST ME. Leave that stuff to the under 30 flat bellies and go for a little less form fitting look. I just read today that you get your gear custom made in the UK, so please ask your sartorial squire to make 'em a bit larger, ok ?
2. Lack of Sincerity and being a bit "Fake": I get the whole "little curly haired blonde girls running into Daddy's arms when he wins thing". The same thing happens to me , so I am SO USED TO IT (laughing inside...). Seriously - every golf fan in America has seen it and knows the message you are putting out - and maybe, just MAYBE, it IS sincere...but for some reason I cannot buy it. It just seems like a thin veneer over the top of a completely different feeling that you have inside - sort of like a chocolate covered, uh, worm or something. Maybe it's just me, but it all looks so damn contrived.

Anyway - this post is not about hating on Phil. Instead, it's about something that I think represents a REAL decision that he has made. Watching him yesterday, it really looks like after struggling with the "aggressive Phil / conservative Phil" internal debate, he has finally decided to be the player that he feels most natural being - and that's the aggressive Phil. You have heard this discussed in countless interviews - but the way he played yesterday, the shots he hit, his responses to good and bad shots, his entire approach spoke to me of a man who has really resolved some inner issues (one example - the new approach to tee shots "tee it high and hit it really far").

It could be temporary, and I could be entirely wrong....but as Ben Crenshaw once said, "I've got a feeling about this one"... I'm going to take a stance here, and predict a big win for Phil today and big season for him - regardless of how well Tiger, Rory, VJ, Sergio, and the rest of the guys play.

If I am right, you heard it here first. If I am wrong, well, I guess I will blame it on the English tailor..