- It's a Lydia Ko world, people - we just happen to live in it. Despite not being able to win the Coates Golf Championship, Ko jumped Inbee Park and took over the top spot in the Rolex Rankings. At 17, Ko is the youngest person, man or woman, to become number one in the world. You have to image that Ko's best years are ahead of her, which is a scary proposition for the rest of the field. Don't be concerned about the double bogey on the 17th - she'll be fine. No one can rebound like Ko. I wouldn't be surprised if she won by 20 in the Bahamas.
- What a better way to brush off a disappointing season then to walk out there and win the very first event of the next season? Na Yeon Choi, who looked poised to become the number one player in the world a few years ago, hadn't won in two years. She had a few tournaments where she looked good, but generally she had to be disappointed. Choi took that disappointment and frustration and channeled it in an effort to improve. If Choi is back to her old self, there is another great player for the rest of the field to try and catch.
- Ha Na Jang is going to be a great player on the LPGA Tour, but she has to stop getting ahead of herself. After taking a dominating lead at the Q-School, she shot a final round 80. She retained her card, but others passed her in priority. This week, after having a three shot lead heading into Saturday, she shoots rounds of 71-70 to fall to second. It's still a good finish for the rookie, but she needs to settle herself before she starts hoisting trophies.
- It didn't take long to see Brooks Koepka translate his game to the United States. Koepka's weekend rounds of 64-66 were a thing of beauty. The thing I have noticed about Koepka is that the stage doesn't seem too big for him. Koepka knows he belongs out here and that his game is as good as anyone's, so trying to win down the stretch doesn't seem to be too big of a task for him. Koepka is going to win a lot of tournaments. This is just the beginning.
- I don't know if I should be encouraged or discouraged by Hideki Matsuyama's performances. On one hand, it is impressive to constantly be in contention on Sunday. You have to be an incredibly good player in order to continue to pull that off. On the other hand, Hideki has now seen two golden opportunities this year fall by the wayside because his putter failed him down the stretch. For someone who has won so much all over the world, you would think nerves wouldn't be a problem for him, but they still clearly are. I will feel much better about Hideki moving forward once I see him win trophy number two.
- I wonder if Bubba Watson will consider removing Phoenix from his yearly calender. For the second year in a row, Watson saw an opportunity to win this tournament slide by. This year wasn't nearly as bad as the last, but he has to be kicking himself for not being able to birdie the par 5 15th on Sunday.
- I don't think I have given enough attention to Ryan Palmer, and that is my mistake. He has played in four tournaments this season, and has finished in the top 25 in all four. Incredibly impressive. Win number four is right around the corner for Ryan.
- How cool is it for Jon Rahm to not only make the cut and compete against the best pros on Tour, but to also finish inside the top 5 in front of a crowd going nuts for you? I don't know a lot about Rahm, other then that he is a golfer at Arizona State and that he's, apparently, really good. Perhaps we just saw the coming out party of a future superstar.
- Rory McIlroy is not human. He was built in a factory somewhere by scientists trying to create the perfect golfer. After a string of incredibly disappointing tournaments, where he finished all the way down the leaderboard at a measly second place, Rory was finally able to not only win his first event of the season, but do it in pretty remarkable fashion. In fact, his Sunday round of 70 was pretty weak over all, but he had such a cushion that he still won by three strokes despite second place finisher Alex Noran shooting a 65. I didn't think, going into this season, that Rory would dominate like everyone expects him to. Perhaps I should rethink that.
- Remember when Gary Stal won a few weeks ago and everyone was questioning who he was? Stal shot four rounds in the 60's this week in Dubai to finish tied for fourth. Perhaps Stal is going to be a great player after all.
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