Winners and Losers from the 2015 AT&T Byron Nelson
The AT&T Byron Nelson in Irving, Texas, recovered from torrential rain early in the week and exchanged draining water for draining birdies.
The final round saw several players make moves up the leaderboard, but thwarting them at every pass was the third Aussie to win this event, Steven Bowditch.
Bowditch spent a dump truck full of money when he got married at this golf course in 2011 (one presumes), and four years later, he won a big check ($1,278,000) by shooting 18-under par to win by four strokes.
The rain stopped, so what excuse do you have for not clicking through? None, so read on for this week’s winners and losers.
Loser: Jimmy Walker and Ill-Fated Putter
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When Jimmy Walker holed a chip for eagle on No. 16 to get to 13-under par, he was no doubt thinking what a missed opportunity that was.
Earlier in his Sunday round, his putter set off fire alarms, then he started hitting the lip again, again and again. One was for a missed birdie, then the next two lip-riders on No. 11 and No. 12 gave two strokes back.
Bowditch wasn’t backing down, even when he was signing autographs, but Walker’s little hiccups were the details that derailed any momentum he had. It cost him the tournament.
In this case, a tie for second feels like a loss.
Walker missed a big chance here to get within a gimme of the FedEx Cup standings lead. As it stands, Walker is still 630 points behind Jordan Spieth.
Winner: Charley Hoffman's Back Nine
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Charley Hoffman nearly folded Sunday.
He had bogeyed No. 6 and No. 8, then he sent a shot on No. 9 into the drink. Instead of going out with three bogeys in four holes, Hoffman salvaged a par on No. 9 when he holed out.
“I hit a horrible hybrid into the water,” Hoffman said after his round on the CBS broadcast. “I was lucky enough when [the chip] went in and got the momentum going.”
That catalyzed a back nine where he carded five birdies and played golf reminiscent of his play in the Masters to finish in a tie for second.
“[I learned] I can withstand all pressure,” Hoffman said on the broadcast. “If a few putts dropped, I would’ve been closer, but I’m obviously happy with the back nine.”
Should Hoffman keep his game on this type of trajectory, he could be the a sleeper pick to advance deep in the FedEx Cup playoffs and be a surprise winner like Bill Haas or Brandt Snedeker.
Loser: The Defending Champ
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Brendon Todd came into this tournament as the defending champion and left after just two days of over-par golf.
Prior to the tournament, Todd said in Adam Schupak’s Golfweek.com story:
"I feel good coming into the week. I feel like my game has been pretty solid this year. I played nine this morning and the golf course is totally under water, not a dry spot on the fairway. ... It couldn’t be more different this year than it was last year. It’s not like you’re going to see me and Mike Weir (last year’s runner-up and a fellow short-knocker) on top of the leaderboard on Sunday in a week where the golf course is under water.
"
The course wasn’t quite under water Sunday, but Todd was right about one thing: He and Weir were nowhere near contending.
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Winner: Sunday 63s
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Thanks to shooting 63s Sunday, Zach Johnson and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano padded their bank accounts and made some serious headway at TPC Four Seasons.
Johnson moved up the leaderboard 13 spots for sole possession of fifth place. Seven birdies and one bogey allowed Johnson to fly up the board, but not as much as Spain’s export.
Fernandez-Castano took advantage of nine birdies to move up 38 places on the board into a tie for 16th. Had he not double-bogeyed No. 8, he could have shot a truly special round. This effort came out of the Pyrenees. He’s missed seven cuts in his past eight events.
As for Johnson, it was his best tournament since finishing in a tie for ninth in the Masters. Johnson has been just a cut below the top players due to his limited distance off the tee and inability to gain strokes with the flat stick.
Cleaning up his putting will allow him to buy more real estate within the top 10 every week.
Loser: Dustin Johnson Builds a Snowman
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Dustin Johnson was on a tear through the first few holes. He holed two chips in the first three holes and looked like he’d be a champion in just a few short hours.
Then along came an eight on Hole No. 6, the dreaded quad-bogey.
Johnson’s drive sprayed right. He teed up again and duck-hooked the ball into the hay. Instead of electing to call “unplayable,” Johnson took a hack at his ball only to find that it hadn’t moved an inch. Another swing advanced the ball five yards.
Yada, yada, yada, Johnson built a snowman in Texas on the final day in May.
Nick Faldo, a CBS golf analyst, was asked if Johnson could recover over the next 12 holes and win the tournament.
“He can, you just have to have determination,” Faldo said during the CBS broadcast. “You’ve more than likely blown the tournament.”
Beautifully British right there.
Johnson regrouped and played steady-handed golf the rest of the day, but that eight on No. 6 cost him a shot at his second win on tour this season.
Winner: Scott Pinckney's Jump Up the FedEx Cup Standings
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There was a stretch of three tournaments when Scott Pinckney tied for sixth (Puerto Rico Open), cut (Valspar Championship) and tied for eighth (Valero Texas Open).
He ripped off two 64s Thursday and Friday and closed with a 66 to finish in a three-way tie for second at the Byron Nelson. He did it while driving the ball shorter than average and hitting fewer fairways. He more than made up for it by hitting 76.39 percent of his greens.
Pinckney also moved up 42 spots in the FedEx Cup standings to 106. He summoned some Texas sauce and slathered it all over Irving.
Loser: Jordan Spieth's Putter
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Jordan Spieth, Texas native and 2015 Masters winner, tanked his final round at the Bryon Nelson to finish in a tie for 30th. He sent two tee shots to sleep with the fishes, thus drowning any chance he had at catching Bowditch.
For the tournament, Spieth performed above average across many categories like driving distance, driving accuracy and greens in regulation. His -1.514 strokes gained putting rendered moot the efficient path he took from tee to green.
It's just like Nick Faldo, CBS golf analyst, said during the broadcast: "That's how powerful this game is. The game gets between your ears. You can't let it do that."
Spieth hasn’t quite been the same player who won at Augusta National Golf Club, but he's still No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings, and his tied-for-second effort at Colonial two events back was an arrow aimed in the right direction and a positive sign of things to come.
Winner: Steven Bowditch's "Accidental Brilliance"
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Bowditch threw daggers all day long and even had time to sign an autograph on the way over to the 17th tee…with the lead…on a Sunday in a competitive golf tournament.
With a three-shot lead on No. 17, Bowditch mailed his ball over a tongue of water. He released his club and his body twisted in that way all bodies twist when a shot appears headed to a watery grave.
His ball carried the water and stuck 10 feet from the pin. He smiled. How could he not? He then sank the putt and went up four and held form. It was accidentally brilliant.
“This is a pretty special place for me and my wife,” Bowditch, who got married at this resort in 2011, said afterward on the CBS broadcast. “We’re going to take some more pictures now.”
Bowditch bookended his four-day, wire-to-wire win with a 62 on Thursday and a 64 on Sunday to pull away and win this event. The win was the second of his career and much needed given how poorly he’s played in 2015.
He has missed nine cuts, and Sunday’s win was just his second top-10 of the year.
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