- It only took three majors for Brittany Lincicome to get over her disappointment of last year's LPGA Championship, as she fired a final round 69, including an eagle on the 72nd hole to win the ANA Inspiration for the second time. Lincicome is a roller coaster, who struggles with consistency issues and has given away tournaments down the stretch in the past, but this week, it was Lincicome that was the chaser. She flat out overpowered this golf course, and her short game was as good as I have seen from her. It's been almost four years since Lincicome last won on Tour, but now she's back in a huge way.
- Of all the tournaments that Stacy Lewis has come close to winning, this one has to sting the most. Not only is this a major, but Lewis gave this tournament away at several points on Sunday. After birdieing three in a row and looking like she was cruising to a victory, she bogeyed two of the next three and failed the birdie the par 5 18th. This tournament was hers to win, and she failed to do so. This has become a recurring trend - Lewis coming close and not being able to win. This needs to end, but I'm not sure yet how it ends.
- The nerves got to Sei Young Kim, which is unfortunate because she would have made a fantastic champion, but she will be back in this position again, and likely soon. Of all the fantastic rookies this season, Kim may be the most impressive, as she was entering with less expectations than some of her classmates. She's already won on Tour and now has the experience of playing in the final group in a major. This is the beginning chapter of Sei Young Kim's future great career.
- I predicted prior to the start of the season that Morgan Pressel would win this season on the LPGA Tour, and she seems to be getting closer each week. Pressel looked done two years ago. She was performing so poorly that it appeared we had seen the last of Pressel as a top player on Tour. Pressel is starting to rewrite that script, and is now getting closer to getting back on the Solheim Cup team.
- Here comes Lexi Thompson! After being relatively quiet following her major victory last season, she now has two straight top 10's under her belt. Thompson is way too interesting to not be a top player on Tour, and she needs to win another tournament soon. She's good for the Tour and her game is too good to stay down.
- I hope whoever harassed Danielle Kang gets caught and publicly shamed.
- I hate to say it, but I think this tournament needs to leave Rancho Mirage. This was an incredibly exciting major tournament, and it was poorly attended. These ladies deserve better. If the crowds don't want to come to this event, then the event needs to go somewhere that the crowd will show up. Traditions be damned. You would never see The Masters with a hundred people following the final group.
- J.B. Holmes is hell bent on making his first President's Cup team. After finishing runner up twice this season, Holmes shot a final round 64, waited in Houston for two hours, and finished off the tournament in the playoff for his fourth PGA Tour victory, second in less than a year. Holmes has never finished in the top 10 in a major, and that is a streak that needs to (and should) end this year. It's a great and fascinating story to see Holmes come back as an elite player.
- There are some striking similarities between the two winners this week. They are both big hitters that can overpower a golf course. They both have a tendency to be shaky down the stretch when the pressure is applied to them. You wonder how both of them haven't won more than they had. Lincicome has the much better major record than Holmes does, but you get the sense that we're not done talking about either of them this season.
- If Jordan Spieth isn't on your incredibly short list of players who could win The Masters, you haven't been watching golf.
- A part of me is gutted for Johnson Wagner, who had the opportunity to play in The Masters next week with a victory, and another part of me is happy that he even contended at all. Wagner only managed one top 10 last season, and is playing on past champion status and sponsor exemptions. The fact that he was able to hang in there for four rounds and nearly pull off an improbable victory is a story in itself. Wagner said he wanted to ride this wave and continue to use his good play to propel him for the rest of the year. It will be interesting to watch moving forward. I'm sure Wagner will get a few more chances to play this season based on this finish.
- Speaking of having a few opportunities to play, I wonder if Austin Cook will get a few sponsor exemptions this season after his solid play in Houston this week. The Monday qualifier was in contention all week until a final round 75 doomed him, but it is still an incredibly story that someone who was ranked 993rd in the world could play that well in the tournament. He's only 24 years old and he's just beginning his career, so who knows what will come of Austin Cook.
- It's Masters week, everybody! GET HYPE!!
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