Shell Houston Open 2015: Daily Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights and More
On Thursday, the Shell Houston Open got underway at the Golf Course of Houston in Humble, Texas. With a winning share of $1,188,000 on the line and 500 FedEx Cup points as well, the tournament serves as a bit more than simply a tuneup for the upcoming Masters.
Let's break down the leaderboard and recap the action from each day.
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Leaderboard
Sunday Recap
"So J.B. Holmes clearly played with the anger of 100 Caliparis today.
— Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) April 5, 2015"
From the moment he stepped to the opening tee, J.B. Holmes was on a mission. It took him a couple extra holes to get it done, but he did, defeating Johnson Wagner and Jordan Spieth in a playoff to take the 2015 Shell Houston Open.
Holmes, 32, shot an eight-under 64 to come roaring up the leaderboard over his final 18 rounds. He carded birdies on his first five holes and seven of his first eight, jostling himself right next to Spieth and Wagner, who came into Sunday playing in the final group. He got as high as nine-under following a birdie on No. 12 before falling back to earth over his final six holes, which included a bogey on No. 16.
Spieth and Wagner spent most of their day battling to hold on atop the leaderboard. Spieth, who opened the day with a one-stroke lead, carded a two-under 70 in his worst round of the event. Though he carded only one bogey, he spent most of his afternoon scrambling for pars and blowing birdie chances. Spieth needed a clutch up and down on No. 18 to even make the playoff and bowed out after bogeying the first hole.
“It has been a great Easter Sunday and I was happy with the way I played down the stretch," Spieth said, per Ewan Murray of The Guardian. "I am taking a lot of momentum to Augusta. I have felt very comfortable in these last three out of four weeks that I have played. I have been a lot more comfortable when taking on more and more pressure so that gives me a lot of confidence.”
Wagner, who was looking for his first PGA win since 2012, shot three under to tie Spieth and Holmes heading into the playoff. He carded four birdies against one bogey, knocking down a birdie putt on No. 18 to move on.
The win is Holmes' fourth on Tour and second in the last calendar year. He took home the Wells Fargo Championship last May to go along with a pair of FBR Open titles.
While neither Wagner nor Spieth came away with a victory, they managed to do better than a majority of others who were sitting atop the leaderboard. Scott Piercy and Austin Cook, who came into Sunday tied with Wagner in second place, went a combined five over to take themselves out of contention. The likes of Patrick Reed and Paul Casey also saw the field, which was otherwise strong, pass them by amid mediocre rounds.
Phil Mickelson, who carded a 75 on Saturday to take himself out of contention, recovered with a one-under 71 in his fourth round. Mickelson is still yet to finish any better than a tie for 17th during the 2015 calendar year.
Other notables who finished well out of contention include Sergio Garcia (T-37), Justin Rose (T-37), Matt Kuchar (70) and Rickie Fowler (71). Fowler and Kuchar went a combined 10 over on Sunday to finish as, by far, the worst players in the field; Fowler was the only player to make the cut and wind up over par.
The win will give Holmes a ton of momentum heading into the Masters tournament. He played in the event once previously, finishing in a tie for 25th in 2008.
Saturday Recap
In what turned out to be a thrilling Saturday at the Shell Houston Open, there's drama at the top of the leaderboard. Jordan Spieth continues to build momentum heading into the Masters with a score of 14-under par, but he's got company on Sunday.
Scott Piercy has had one of the most interesting three-round stretches of any player in an event this year. He held the lead after Thursday with a nine-under 63, followed it up with a disappointing two-over 74 on Friday and came back with a strong 66 on Saturday to move to 13-under par.
One reason for Piercy's success through 54 holes, per PGA Tour, is his ability to conquer the toughest hole in the tournament:
There's added pressure heading into Sunday for Piercy, who needs to win here in order to qualify for the Masters. He's had two of the tournament's best rounds thus far, so there's hope with 18 holes left to play.
Joining Piercy for the low round of Saturday was Johnson Wager, who is also at 13-under heading into the final round. The only thing that prevented Wagner from posting the lowest score was a bogey on No. 17, his first at this event. He was dynamite on the front nine with a five-under 31.
Wagner said after the round that the Golf Course in Houston is a place that he loves playing, via Daniel Gotera of KHOU-TV:
Austin Cook is also in the mix at 13-under par. He didn't have a stellar round like Piercy or Wagner, but remains as consistent as ever with a 70 that kept him in the mix to win. His performance this weekend could end up providing one of the most fascinating stories of the PGA Tour season.
Cook only qualified for the Shell Houston Open on Monday. Per Jason Sobel of ESPN, a win by Cook would put him in some exclusive company:
Plus, per Justin Ray of the Golf Channel, Cook has a chance to climb over another notable golfer in the world rankings with a victory:
It may not be the same as beating Tiger Woods at his peak, but Cook would still be able to brag to his grandchildren about being ranked higher than the best player of this generation for at least one week with a victory on Sunday.
The problem for Piercy, Cook and Wagner is Spieth shows no signs of slowing down. All you have to do is look at his recent results to see that, which PGA Tour was kind enough to tweet out:
One reason for Spieth's ascendance, aside from being an immensely talented player, is the work he does on the green. Tournaments are often won and lost with the putter, so this stat from Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News offers some perspective:
Even though Rory McIlroy is the best golfer in the world right now, Spieth's budding resume is going to push him into that conversation very soon. If the 21-year-old has a great performance at Augusta next week, it may be sooner than you think.
In fact, per Ray of the Golf Channel, a win for Spieth on Sunday would make him the No. 2-ranked player in the world:
Spieth has a long way to go before getting into Tiger's league, not that many people ever get there, but just seeing him doing things a young Tiger was doing speaks to how quickly this young man has grasped what he's capable of doing.
A lot can change in 18 holes, as was the case on Saturday. Spieth will command all of the attention by virtue of being the biggest star in contention, but with three players one shot behind him and five others within three shots, this tournament is far from over.
Friday Recap
Riding the wave that started on Thursday, Phil Mickelson is turning a lot of heads for good reasons. Lefty hasn't had a good start to 2015, but his efforts through 36 holes at the Shell Houston Open are a sign things may be coming together.
However, as good as Mickelson has been, he's looking up at leader Andrew Putnam. The 26-year-old fired the best round of the day with a seven-under 65.
As Will Gray of the Golf Channel noted, Putnam's performance this season has clearly been building to a 36-hole effort like this:
The ball is in Putnam's court to take this opportunity and run with it, though his track record suggests something bad may be awaiting. He's not alone in that regard, as Mickelson has had his struggles with consistency all year.
Per Scott Michaux, citing Paul Azinger, the first two days at the Golf Course of Houston have been one of those streaky flashes Mickelson tends to have:
Mickelson showed signs he was pulling out of his early-season funk last week by starting two-under through 36 holes. Things fell apart over the weekend, but there's still something left in the tank. It's just a question of putting things together for 72 holes.
If you want to spin events happening this weekend forward to next weekend, Sean Martin of PGATour.com tweeted out that Mickelson has won right before the Masters four times:
There's still a long way for Mickelson to go before winning, and there hasn't been a lot of carryover success save for the one time in 2006. Given that he's finished outside the top 20 in five of six events prior to the Shell Houston Open, this is a positive sign.
Graham DeLaet remains a steady presence through two rounds with back-to-back 67s. His consistency has been terrific thanks in large part to birdie putts like this one, via PGA Tour:
DeLaet held the lead briefly before Mickelson went on his run and was later surpassed by Putnam.
There are reasons for optimism heading into Saturday for DeLaet. Mickelson shot 74-76 in the last two rounds at the Texas Open last week and hasn't broken 70 in the final two rounds of a tournament since the Honda Classic.
It would also be a nice story for DeLaet. He is 33 years old, has yet to win on the PGA Tour and is hoping to qualify for the Masters.
Keegan Bradley and Jordan Spieth were among seven players to shoot a six-under 66. Of that foursome, They also moved inside the top 12 at nine-under and eight-under par, respectively, giving them a great shot at competing for a win over the next two days.
Bradley helped his cause with this eagle from well off the green on the 13th hole, via PGA Tour:
It's probably not a coincidence, as Bradley told Will Gray of the Golf Channel that chipping has been a point of emphasis in practice lately:
“It’s pretty much all I’ve been working on lately with my coach,” Bradley said. “We just chip, chip, chip.”
There's also a fun anecdote around Bradley's success. As noted by Jason Sobel of ESPN, Bradley recently played a round with New England quarterback Tom Brady and lost, the casual conditional principle tells us this:
To be fair, that tweet was sent out before utnam and Mickelson moved ahead of everyone else heading into the weekend, so Brady wouldn't be quite that high on the leaderboard.
Moving back to reality, the one name everyone is going to keep an eye on for the next two weeks is Spieth. The 21-year-old continues to play great golf heading into Augusta and is only three shots behind Putnam.
It was a tale of two halves for Spieth. He didn't seem likely to be in contention, or at least as close to the lead, after firing a solid 35 on the front nine. After making the turn, though, the American star could do no wrong with five birdies for a five-under 31.
Spieth put the exclamation point on his round with a 41-foot birdie chip-in on No. 18. He's pushing all the right buttons heading into the year's first major, coming off a win at the Valspar Championship three weeks ago and second-place finish at the Texas Open last week.
Dan Jenkins of Golf Digest is one of many putting the pressure on Spieth as he keeps building a career resume:
It's poetic, in some ways, that Mickelson and Spieth are in contention heading into the weekend. These two are representative of golf in the United States right now. Mickelson is the old guard looking to maintain his status as one of the world's best players. Spieth is the young, talented superstar still ascending.
Even though Spieth's future is certainly brighter than Mickelson's, Lefty isn't ready to give up his spot without a fight. All of this should make for an exciting, fascinating weekend of golf and plenty to discuss before the Masters.
Thursday Recap
Phil Mickelson may have stolen the headlines on Thursday, but it was Scott Piercy who shot out to a two-stroke lead, as his nine-under 63 vaulted him to the top of the leaderboard after the first day of action.
It was certainly a memorable round as Lance Snow of KWCH 12 tweeted:
J.B. Holmes and Alex Cejka each shot 65 on the day, while Mickelson led a group of players within striking distance with a six-under 66.
“It was a good first round, good start to the tournament,” Mickelson told Will Gray of the Golf Channel. “There will be some low scores, but I’m just glad I was one of them.”
Shots such as this following chip on No. 10 were a big reason why Lefty was able to put together such a nice score.
The PGA Tour on Twitter compiled some of his key stats after his strong start:
Big names such as Hunter Mahan, Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar are also within striking distance, currently four strokes off the lead, while Patrick Reed is five strokes behind Piercy.
Garcia had one of the shots of the day at No. 9.
But Reed turned a few heads with this effort on No. 4 himself.
Other players of note include Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler, who all find themselves six strokes off the lead.
The stage is certainly set for an exciting weekend of action. With low scores after the first round, Piercy's going to find it difficult to hold off the field, especially since it's hard to imagine him replicating his course-record-tying opening round.
And with Lefty on the prowl, well, no lead is safe.
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