- It is safe to say that Brandt Snedeker's injury problems are behind him. After shooting three straight rounds of 67 after an opening round 64, Snedeker has moved himself back inside the top 40 in the World Golf Rankings and has booked himself a trip to Augusta National. Snedeker was once the most promising prospect for American golf, and if he plays up to his potential, his first major may be right around the corner.
- Speaking of majors being right around the corner, the fact that Jason Day can rally from an opening round 72 to finish inside the top 5 a week after his third victory on Tour speaks volumes of the kind of player he is. I don't know if Day is the biggest challenger to Rory McIlroy, but if he continues to play like he has been, he will make an incredibly good case.
- There are things that just go together - spaghetti and meatballs, Abbot and Costello, Dustin Johnson and Pebble Beach. I foolishly thought Johnson would struggle this week as it was only his second start since his hiatus, but he couldn't have found a better golf tournament than this one to shake the rust off. Johnson has always been a curious figure - he has all the talent in the world and looks like someone who should be contending for majors frequently, but one too many mental mistakes seems to hold him back. Perhaps his six month leave and parenthood will focus Johnson and allow him to become the top player we think he can be.
- Another 54 hole lead lost for Jim Furyk, and this time, he has no one to blame but himself. While the rest of the field was taking advantage of the easy conditions at Pebble Beach, Furyk kept hitting bad shot after bad shot in route to a final round 74 that dropped him from solo leader to T7. I hope we didn't see Furyk win his last golf tournament, but each event seems to be getting harder and harder for him.
- In events where the top ranked pros don't wish to tee it up, it gives a great opportunity to a player who, perhaps, hasn't gotten many opportunities to play lately. The biggest example of that is Vaughn Taylor, playing out of past champions status. Taylor won the Reno-Tahoe Open two years in a row, and was once inside the top 40 in the world, but he lost his form after the 2010 season and lost his PGA Tour card. His top 10 this week gave a glimpse of the talent he has, and a top 10 gets him into the field next week. In fact, Taylor has played twice on the PGA Tour this season, and has finished in the top 25 both weeks. Perhaps this is the sign that Taylor is getting it turned around.
- It was a good week for Australia in Thailand, as Australian golfers went 1-2 in the True Thailand Classic. For the winner, Andrew Dodt, it was his first win in five years. Dodt plays primarily on the Asian Tour and has never played in a major or a World Golf Championship event, so you can be forgiven if you don't recognize him. For the runner up, Scott Hend, it was further proof of a rise in form. Hend won three Asian Tour events in 2013 and the co-sanctioned Hong Kong Open last year. This runner up finish puts Hend inside the top 100 in the world, so he will be eyeing a birth in a couple of majors this year.
- The man Hend shared second place with, Thongchai Jaidee, may be disappointed that he was unable to win in front of his home crowd in Thailand, but he has to feel confident in his recent results. Jaidee is currently 36th in the world and is firmly inside the line for the President's Cup team. Strangely, Jaidee has never finished inside the top 10 in a major tournament, and at age 45, he may not have many of them left, but with the way he is playing right now, he may change his luck this season.
- Remember last week when I talked about Canadian Richard T. Lee playing on the Asian Tour and making the most of his opportunities? He was able to follow up his big week with a second straight top 10 in a co-sanctioned event. A few more of these, and Lee will be finding himself in tournaments with some really big names.
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