The Golf Watch

Unassuming Nordqvist and Gay triumph

Two players, relatively unknown to the average golf fan, won decidedly on Sunday.

First, Sweden's Anna Nordqvist, won the LPGA Championship by four strokes for her first LPGA Tour win.  I was on the course all day and couldn't believe how steadily she played.  We will miss having the LPGA Championship in Maryland.  Delaware, we now know how you feel. 

And then there was Brian Gay's wire-to-wire win in Memphis.  Gay's swing is so short and compact it is difficult for anything to go wrong.  Gay still didn't show much emotion after the win, which is why I have to re-link to this Scott Hamilton "open-letter" from last month. 

"And, dude, you're now a two-time winner on the PGA Tour. Relax and lighten up"

Before we get cracking on the posts tonight, I want to include a link to this "open letter" written by Scott Hamilton of The Beaufort Gazette.

It was written for Brian Gay, who won at Harbour Town a few weeks back.  In the letter, Hamilton asks Gay to open up a little bit to the fans and media. 

After hearing Gay interviewed a number of times, it's clear that he isn't the most revealing guy.  In fact, he doesn't reveal much at all.

So this is what Hamilton had to write:

We need you to relax and be comfortable in your own skin. The dark glasses certainly don't help, nor do the short, mumbled answers. You seem like a good guy with a great story to tell -- let's hear it.

And, dude, you're now a two-time winner on the PGA Tour. Relax and lighten up. Life for you has got to be pretty good nowadays. Besides, there are worse things than being the toast of Hilton Head.

I see where Hamilton is coming from.  Tournaments--now more than ever--need personable champions. 

Gay crushes field to win by 10 strokes

Yesterday's win at Harbour Town proved once again that Brian Gay does have the ability to close out a tournament, and do it with relative ease. 

While watching the telecast and reading through some of the post-round transcripts, it seemed that Gay must be one of the toughest interviews out on Tour.  He is as soft spoken as Chad Campbell, speaks in short sentences, and keeps his responses brief.  It challenges the interviewer to come up with a question within 10 seconds of asking the last question.

Just read the AP round-up and you'll see what I mean.

It’s about time for Gay

After 293 career starts, Brian Gay is a PGA Tour winner.  Gay played conservatively on Sunday at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, shooting a 1-under 69, finishing two strokes ahead of Steve Marino at 16-under-par.  "It's been a long time, obviously, a lot of hard work," said the 36-year-old Gay.  "So this is really a big, big relief to finally do it."  Gay is known as one of the streakiest players on tour.  Before this week, he had been on top of the leaderboard at a number of PGA Tour events, but always seemed to fade away on the weekend.  Even during Sunday's final round in Mexico, it looked like Gay was going to lose another lead.  If Gay can become a more consistent player, you might be seeing a lot more of him.

Gay has early clubhouse lead at Barclays

Brian Gay has the early clubhouse lead at The Barclays after firing an opening-round 6-under 65.  Gay has been in contention several times this year, most notably the St. Jude Championship where he had the lead for part of the day on Saturday.  The Gator alum is currently ranked 76th in the FedEx Cup standings.