5 things we learned on PGA Tour’s West Coast Swing
When Joaquin Niemann’s final putt dropped to end the Genesis Invitational on Sunday, it was also a wrap to West Coast golf for the foreseeable future.
The PGA Tour heads to Florida and Texas for the next six weeks, then to Georgia for the Masters. The tour isn’t back west until July, when the Barracuda Championship takes place outside Lake Tahoe.
Before the tour heads east, here are five things we learned on the West Coast Swing:
1. Almost anybody can win
When Cameron Smith and Hideki Matsuyama won the first two events in Hawaii, it felt like the cream was rising to the top. But if you had Hudson Swafford, Luke List, Tom Hoge, Scottie Scheffler and Niemann as your remaining champions — with their combined two career victories — then you’re quite the sage.
2. Who played the best?
It’s hard to go with a nonwinner, but Patrick Cantlay showed he’s still in the form that earned him player of the year last season. In five starts, he had a playoff loss in Phoenix among four top-10 finishes. His tie for 33rd Sunday at Riviera was his first finish outside the top 10 in six months.
Others to consider:
— Jon Rahm (three top 10s, nothing worse than 21st in five starts).
— Tom Hoge (A win at Pebble Beach, a second at the American Express and 14th in Phoenix).
— Justin Thomas (three top 10s and a 20th in four starts).
3. Big names, shaky starts
Four players with high profiles had a worrisome West Coast Swing:
Sam Burns: Tied for 19th at the no-cut Tournament of Champions, then missed all three cuts in events he played.
Dustin Johnson: After failing to win in 2021, Johnson started slowly, making just one cut in a tie for 25th at Torrey Pines.
Bryson DeChambeau: Like Burns, his only made cut was at the TOC, where he tied for 25th. He also chased money in the Middle East, but played only one round in Saudi Arabia before withdrawing.
Phil Mickelson: The shine is off that PGA Championship win from 2021. He tied for 30th at the TOC, missed two cuts and sullied his reputation with his comments about PGA Tour greed while taking huge appearance fee money in Saudi Arabia.
4. Scorecards are just guidelines
The equipment is too perfect, and the players too good to be challenged when Mother Nature doesn’t put up a fight. Thus we saw winning scores of 34 under at the TOC and 23 under at the Sony Open and American Express. The pros are playing a game mere mortals can’t comprehend.
5. Lack of star power
Many of the biggest names almost completely skipped the seven-tournament swing. Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia and Paul Casey played once; Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, Johnson and DeChambeau played twice. With almost no offseason any longer, top players have become more inclined to skip huge chunks of the schedule to create their own down time.
Chips shots
— Tongun Lako Losarah shot two rounds in the 60s to run away with the title at the Primm Valley Amateur. Losarah finished at 5-under 137 at Primm Valley Golf Club for a five-shot victory over Jonathan Minkoff.
In the Senior Division, Todd Roberts finished at even-par 142 for a two-shot win over Glenn Hogle, and Frank Acker won the Silver Division at 2-over 144. Other winners were Chris Price (Championship net), Roberts (Senior net) and Tom Richardson (Silver net).
— UNLV’s Kendall Todd was named Mountain West Freshman of the Week after helping the Rebels to the title at The Show, a team event at Spanish Trail hosted by UNLV. Todd finished second, setting personal bests with a 5-under 67 in the second round and a 2-under 214 total.
Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.