Humana Challenge 2015: Daily Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights and More
On Thursday, the Humana Challenge got underway in La Quinta, California, with a winning share and 500
Leaderboard
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Round 4
With a birdie on No. 16, Bill Haas separated himself from the pack and won the Humana Challenge on Sunday. After a five-under 67 in the final round, he finished at 22 under for the tournament, one stroke clear of the five golfers in second.
This is the sixth PGA Tour victory for Haas. Kelly Tilghman of Golf Channel noted that he should pass his father, Jay Haas, and his career total by the time it's all said and done:
According to Ryan Burr of Golf Channel, Jay and Bill Haas are the third-most successful father-son pair in PGA Tour history:
Following Sunday, Bill Haas will continue getting out from under his father's shadow. Over the past few years, he's established himself as one more consistent players on tour. Haas has the third-most wins since 2010, per Golf Channel's Justin Ray:
The 32-year-old didn't get his final round off to a great start, bogeying No. 3 to start off Sunday. However, he responded with birdies on Nos. 4 and 8 and picked up an eagle on No. 6, shooting a three-under 33 on the front nine.
On the back nine, Haas avoided any critical mistakes, dropping a birdie on No. 11, which got him into a tie for first. When he sank his birdie putt on 16, many golf fans let out a collective sigh of relief.
Shane Bacon, meanwhile, just wanted to watch the world burn:
Haas nearly watched his lead slip away on the final hole. He had an extremely tough lie on his second shot and debated his next move for quite a while with his caddy. While Haas' swing was a bit unconventional, it got the job done.
The triumph was richly deserved for Haas, who was one of four golfers who entered Sunday tied for the lead.
GolfChannel.com's Jason Sobel argued that Haas has more than proved himself worthy of inclusion on the 2015 Presidents Cup team:
Charley Hoffman, Brendan Steele and Sung Joon Park all gave Haas a run for his money after blistering final rounds. Hoffman and Steele finished at 21 under for the tournament after an eight-under 64, while Park shot a seven-under 65 to wind up in the five-way tie for second.
The trio entered the clubhouse in line for a playoff, but each was powerless as Haas finished up his round.
Erik Compton, who was tied for the lead after three rounds, was among the bigger disappointments on Sunday. Although the 35-year-old didn't completely implode, he failed to make the most of his good starting position, shooting a two-under 70 over the final 18 and finishing tied for 10th.
A first-ever PGA Tour victory remains elusive for Compton.
Round 3
It may not have been the breeze he made it look like on Friday, but Matt Kuchar is still in contention heading into the final round. The American star began the third round well, putting himself in a position to win on Sunday, though three bogeys in the last four holes knocked him out of the lead at 16-under, via Golf Central:
Despite the success thus far, Kuchar said after his second-round performance that he wasn't taking anything for granted coming into the weekend, via Bill Dwyre of The Los Angeles Times:
""Game feels solid," he said. "I feel like I know where it is going, like I'm hitting it in the center of the club. I'm really pleased."
...
"Nobody wins on Thursday, Friday or Saturday."
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Kuchar knows that feeling all too well after getting off to a hot start last week at the Sony Open only to see it slip away, through no fault of his own, on the weekend.
Playing on the Palmer Course seemed like it would provide another great score for Kuchar, based on his past success, per PGA Tour Media on Twitter:
Even though Kuchar didn't reach those lows, he still has a chance to win on Sunday. He just has to hope that the bad shots got out of his system at the end of today's round.
However, Kuchar is far from safe entering the final round. There's a group of four players at 17-under par, including Erik Compton, Bill Haas, Justin Thomas and Michael Putnam.
In addition to the very top of the leaderboard, there's competition lurking in the rear-view mirror. One player who continues to dazzle is Ryan Palmer. The 38-year-old didn't post another 61, but fired a solid 68 to end the third round at 16-under par.
One reason for Palmer's success was the way he bounced back after adversity, which included this tee shot on the Par-3 15th hole, via PGA Tour:
The only downside to Palmer's tournament thus far is a 71 on Thursday. That score isn't bad, as it left him one-under par, but it sticks out like a sore thumb when you put it up against every other round in the 60s.
Moving further down the list to the biggest star playing this weekend, Phil Mickelson doesn't have a chance to win but continues to look strong after his disappointing 2014.
Lefty shot his second consecutive round under 70, hitting 68 to finish Saturday at 11-under par. Even though a win is out of the question, barring a lot of players falling apart, he just needed to get positive reps building towards bigger tournaments later in 2015.
Mickelson wasn't perfect, as evidenced by the four bogeys he had, but eight birdies showed that he was in a groove more often than not. If you don't believe it, check out this approach shot on the par-5 11th hole, via PGA Tour:
At least Mickelson sounds more optimistic about his game this year, based on these comments to Larry Bohannan and Shad Powers of The Desert Sun:
"It took me 31 holes to get my game to click, and hopefully I’ll be able to keep it going tomorrow. I think I’ve got a really low one in me. The game’s where I want it to be, but now the last bit is that final touch of focusing, seeing shots and putting together the score.
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He didn't get the low score that he assumed was in there, but there is some gas left in the tank.
Sunday's final round is going to provide all the drama one could hope for. There are four players tied for the lead at 17-under par, four players are one shot back and 15 others are within four shots.
With all of the low scores that have been put up so far, good luck trying to handicap how this particular race will shake out.
Round 2
For the second consecutive week, Matt Kuchar is flirting with victory. The American star seems to have the hang of the first two rounds. He shot a 65-63 last week at the Sony Open and nearly did it again at the Humana Challenge, ending Friday with a 64 after putting up a 65 in the first round.
The only problem for Kuchar has been finishing events, though he wasn't bad last week in Hawaii with a 68 in the third round. He had just one bogey on the sixth hole with seven birdies and one eagle that put him into the lead heading into the weekend.
Anyone who knows Kuchar should have seen something under par coming. Justin Ray of The Golf Channel tweeted that he's been money in this tournament for years:
Interestingly enough, despite this run of success at the Humana Challenge, Kuchar has yet to win this event. In 2010, when the event was still known as the Bob Hope Classic, the 36-year-old finished second behind Bill Haas.
However, Kuchar did not put up the best round of the day. That distinction belonged to 38-year-old Ryan Palmer, who fired a 61 to put himself in a spot to contend heading into the weekend.
Early on, starting on the back nine, Palmer looked like he would be flirting with a historic round thanks to a 27 on his first nine holes. The PGA Tour provided the final shot of that masterful performance on Twitter:
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Palmer's run of holes under par set a new PGA Tour record:
After making the turn, Palmer struggled to keep that momentum going with back-to-back bogeys his 11th and 12th holes. He would rebound to save a 34 on his final nine holes to enter Saturday three shots behind Kuchar for the lead.
Palmer came within five feet of shooting a 59, as his approach shot on 18 came up just short of the hole, per Golf Central:
Like Kuchar, this is an event Palmer has had previous success at without grabbing the brass ring. He finished two shots behind Patrick Reed in last year's Humana Challenge.
Moving down the leaderboard list, Phil Mickelson had a much better performance in the second round of his first event this season. Lefty, who started on the back nine, was erratic when he began with three birdies and two bogeys. He turned it on at the end of the day with five consecutive bogeys to finish with a 66.
After shooting a 71 in the first round, Mickelson told Bob Harig of ESPN.com that it was the best he's felt after a round in a long time:
"I wanted to start this year strong and ready to play. My body hasn't felt this good in years and I have not been able to swing the club this fast in years and I'm excited about what's going to take [place] this year."
There were times last year when it looked like Mickelson might be done, so to see him come out of the gate in 2015 showing signs of a life is promising. Being able to find a consistent groove is going to be the trick, but the 44-year-old has to take small steps.
Mickelson is too far back to catch Kuchar, barring some kind of miracle run on Saturday, but there's a huge crowd at the top of the leaderboard with 12 players within four shots of the leader.
There are plenty of low scores to be found, so Kuchar will have to keep bringing his A game in order to secure his first PGA Tour win since last April.
Round 1
Michael Putnam switched swing instructors this offseason. The move might end up paying off, quite literally, at the 2015 Humana Challenge.
Putnam finished Thursday atop the leaderboard, shooting an impressive nine-under 63, bogeying just one hole on the day. His switch to swing instructor Troy Denton, after years with Patrick Kelley, may have played a big part in his excellent Round 1.
“I wasn’t looking to change," Putnam told Todd Milles of The News Tribune before the tournament began. "I have been with Patrick for three years, and it has been a great three years. But I am still hungry, and I am not at the level I want to be.”
He added, “I am more excited about learning and playing golf than I have been in a while."
It certainly showed on Thursday.
Remaining atop the leaderboard will be no easy task, however, as five players are a mere stroke behind him at eight-under. Defending champion Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar are also lingering at seven-under, and Kuchar provided one of the highlights of the day with this impressive approach shot at No. 1, via the PGATour on Twitter:
Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson teed off in his first competitive action of 2015, shooting a one-under 71 on the day. After, he spoke about his performance, via golf writer Ron Mintz:
He also provided one of the highlights of the day with this lovely shot at No. 4:
Lefty wasn't the only one to impress the crowd with an impressive shot, however. Bill Haas saved par in the most majestic of manners on No. 14:
And Jarrod Lyle earned "ooohs" and "aaaahs" with this eagle at No. 18:
With 55 players within five strokes of leader Putnam, the Humana Challenge seems likely to have plenty of twists and turns in the next three days.
One would guess that defending champion Reed and Kuchar will have something to say about which player earns the win, while all eyes will be on Mickelson as he looks to get back into the swing of things.
The whole field is gunning for Putnam now. It promises to be an exciting weekend in La Quinta.
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