Results

Summary

Keegan ejected (luckily the parachute deployed), a bunch of guys got much needed paychecks, and Seung-yul Noh’s swing made everyone take notice (oh, and he got his first career win). The final round, like the whole event, lacked drama. Let’s just keep moving.

#PipingHotTakeaways

1) Seung-yul Noh looks really good hitting the golf ball. Smooth angles. Epic transition at the top. Perfect positions. Awesome swing. There have been a handful of first-time winners on Tour this year, I think Noh’s win today brought the most swing/game adulation so far–and from highly certified folk too. He came into the week ranked 121st in stokes gained putting (at -.086), but switched to a mallet this week and was lights out over four days. If he really did discover something, this could be a springboard for bigger things to come for the 22 year-old ball striking savant. That’s the consensus opinion at least. We’ve heard from multiple players that Noh routinely puts on laser shows out on the range with his irons.

Down-the-line view of Noh

2) This will get overlooked, but lots of respect for Noh handling his post-win interview with Peter Kostis sans translator. I can’t imagine there were ever more eyes on him in this country, and it takes a lot of stones to answer questions in a second language. Well done.

3) I’m disappointed Keegan withered from contention early in his 4th round (bogey, triple on #5 and #6). The soon-to-be 28 year-old was looking for career win four, and more so, could have given this week and season a much-needed shot in the arm from a storyline perspective. It being a Ryder Cup year, I’d like to see some young, battle-tested Americans go get a damn trophy now and then. Winning is really hard on the PGA Tour, and I get that. There’s more fringe guys out there that can pop up and steal a tournament than ever before, but we’re over halfway through the season, and the list of winners reads more like the field of the Puerto Rico Open than it does a WGC event.

4) Playing in the last group on Saturday, Andrew Svoboda looked like a pretty good bet to be an afterthought on a very forgettable weekend in general. Instead, he hung in there and cashed a $600,000 second place check, playing the weekend five under. Good to see. He came onto our radar back at Pebble when he embraced our call for him not to lay up.

5) Noh didn’t make a bogey through his first 54 holes. That’s special. As an aside, it was refreshing to see some low scores on the leaderboard this week, as this recent stretch dating back to the Honda Classic featured tough tracks, high scores and pitiful Sunday performances. The Zurich was a reminder that when you put these guys on a easy course, even 30+ MPH winds can’t keep a mediocre field from going very deep.

6) Some other good stories that caught our eye this weekend – despite some Sunday struggles David Duval had a great week and cashed a nice check. Brooks Koepka locked up temporary membership on tour, although something tells me it’ll be anything but temporary. This is a huge story in our circles, as No Laying Up is a founding member of the Brooks Koepka Fan Club. I’m not saying he’s a Jordan Spieth type talent, but it’s worth noting that this is a similar route that Spieth took a year ago to get his tour card, and we don’t think Brooks is going to have any trouble finishing top 125 on the money list to get full membership. Let’s just hope he keeps getting these sponsor’s invites. Also, this week was a reminder that Peter Hanson and Bud Cauley still play golf.

7) On the one hand it was good to see Jeff Overton find form. Conversely, it’s infuriating to watch him flash all that natural ability and continue to underwhelm. Hell, people forget he was on the 2010 Ryder Cup team and has the potential to be a top ten player. Overton’s game looked flat out sloppy down the stretch today, and yet he still finished 4th at -16. Those results, coupled with the stories that always circulate about his lifestyle, tell me he’s not even scratching the surface. I don’t know these guys personally, and can’t attest to how hard they actually work, so I’m not speculating that the guy doesn’t work hard – just feel like the he’s capable of much more than what he’s shown the last two years. Even the guys on the telecast were all over him for his inconsistent putting stroke and lackadaisical decision making.

8) Perhaps the best thing about the Zurich, in all honesty, is the fact it’s over. It’s a completely underwhelming course, and all respect to Noh and his potential, but it was a yawn of a leaderboard and closing nine. A note to all die-hard golf fans; if you’re planning on having a spring wedding, plan it on the weekend of the Zurich. On to Charlotte and what should be a much more compelling week of golf (more on that below).

How Our Picks Fared

(hint: NOT WELL)

Rickie Fowler – MC

Graham DeLaet – T29

Ryan Palmer – MC

Kevin Stadler – MC

JB Holmes – T11

Spencer Levin – MC

Talk about not compelling! Woof! We’re embarrassed by our results this week, laying blame directly on our Hilton Head hangover and general lack of enthusiasm for this course and event. We promise to get in the lab this week and come back much stronger at Quail Hollow. Lord knows we can’t get any worse. Kevin McAllister agrees:

Oil Spill of the Week (Brought to you by BP)

As noted above, Keegan ejected himself from the captain’s seat and deployed the parachute on the 6th hole on Sunday. That’s a lot of acute angles in one shot tracker image.

NLU Shot Tracker of the Week

The rare double dip – Keegan wins both the best and the worst shot tracker images of the week. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Keegan played the double dogleg par five 7th hole in nearly a straight line, and nearly deuced the par 5 with a hybrid from the bunker.

#TourSauce of the Week

Our boy Billy Horschel went with the classic Follow Through Club Throw, yet followed it with a sprint (perhaps showing off why he’s worthy of being the NLU starting cornerback on the All-Pigskin team), rather than going with the Wayward Drive Directional Point. (GIF of course courtesy of Adam Sarson)

Looking Ahead

The ascendant credibility and prestige of the Wells Fargo Championship took a serious hit last year as the greens looked more bombed out and depleted than Mogadishu (supposedly that’s going to be the case down at TPC Sawgrass in a couple weeks due to a “chemical mishap” on the greens according to Steve Flesch). However, the event looks like a good bet to rebound this year courtesy of a pricey makeover. While the field won’t be quite as strong as it was in years past, the Wells Fargo is still one of the premier events on tour and typically crowns a thoroughbred champion (key word: typically). The event kicks off a stretch of four premier events in a five week stretch (Wells Fargo, Players, Colonial, Memorial – Byron Nelson tourney doesn’t count due to a lackluster field and a really lackluster course). Strap in y’all.