Martin Laird and the 5 Lessons We Learned at the Arnold Palmer Invitational
This week Martin Laird won. Who? Martin Laird.
That's right. After four rounds of golf he came out on top by one stroke over Steve Marino, who still has never won on the PGA Tour.
With the top golfers in the world in the field, there was a lot to be learned from how they played. So what are this week's lessons?
Martin Laird Has Game
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You may not know a lot about Martin Laird, so here's a quick lesson: At 6' 2", Martin Laird is a 28-year-old Scotsman. He attended Colorado State University, studied marketing and graduated, before turning pro in 2004.
His win this week was his second of his career. This year, Laird has played in eight tournaments, missing only one cut, while posting six top 25s, four of those being top 10s. He is currently ranked No. 40 in the world, and that will probably be going up very soon.
So what's the strength of his game? Normally, it is putting. While he averaged a respectable putts per round this weekend, he averages 28.22 for the season, making him one of the top pros.
While Laird struggled mightily with the pressure of a final round and he did play over par, he did what he needed to take home the trophy. There is no doubt that he has a lot of talent, and he could have an excellent future.
Tiger Woods Does Not Have All of His Game
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In fact, Tiger doesn't even have a majority of his game.
On his best overall statistical day, Woods only mustered even par. So what was different with his second-round excellence? He made a few big putts, nothing else. In fact, that's the only reason Tiger got the T24 he did.
Tiger putted an average of 29 for the weekend, but if he putts 28 per round, he is a lot closer to being in the tournament.
While he did make strides in his game, he still doesn't have what it takes to be competitive on tour, and by no means should he be picked by anyone for the Masters.
I'm still willing to give Tiger time, as everyone should, but I'm not going to give him credit for any of his play this weekend, because it was really just one good putting round and four mediocre rounds.
Dustin Johnson Is Having Some Serious Issues
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While at first I thought Dustin Johnson's struggles early were just minor, they may be more than that at this point.
In three of eight tournaments, Johnson has been in the top 25. However, those were some of the earliest tournaments of the year. Since then, he has two missed cuts and his best finish is a T29.
While his two-stroke penalty may have seemed small when he showed up late, Johnson's game has been out of control. It is by no means because of that penalty, but it certainly is a microcosm of his game right now: Nothing is going right.
Dustin Johnson seriously has to iron out his issues if he wants to make the cut at the Masters. The best of the best will be there. Right now, Johnson would struggle to make his seventh cut of the year.
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Sergio Garcia Is Still One of the Best Ball Strikers in the World
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Sergio Garcia finished in the top 10 for a tournament just two weeks into his return to golf.
Not bad, considering he still couldn't make a putt if his life depended on it.
For two of the four days, Garcia hit 72 percent of greens. On those days, even over 30 putts couldn't stop him from playing under par. However, the other two days of 56 and 62 percent did cause some struggles. In addition, Garcia laced 77 percent of his tee shots into the short grass, a T7 in that category.
Sergio needs to find some kind of putting trigger to get under 30 putts. If he had averaged 29 putts, the tournament would have been won by Sergio Garcia. Instead, Martin Laird won.
Sergio Garcia is one part of his game away from being a complete golfer, and a great one at that.
Spencer Levin Still Can't Finish
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Having a lead in a professional tournament would normally say something about your ability. For Spencer Levin, it does. Unfortunately, it doesn't say anything about his ability to finish that tournament.
For the first time this year, Levin was able to finish in the top 10 of a tournament. However, he has held three first-round leads this year. Anyone sensing an issue here?
While he is young and it is probably harsh to say, Levin just doesn't have "it." At least not yet. Sorry Spencer, but until you can take that lead to the end of the tournament, or just lead at the end of the tournament, that first-round lead won't make you the big bucks.
Steve Marino Still Doesn't Have a Win on the PGA Tour
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While this is a fact a lot of people know, it is still to be noted that Marino yet again sniffed the trophy, but he couldn't hold it together to win. Even with the leader fading, Marino was only able to muster an even-par 72.
The worst part about it? He double-bogeyed 17. If Spencer Levin doesn't have "it," then Steve Marino doesn't either. But like Levin, he is as close, if not closer, to winning his first professional golf tournament.
Congrats to Steve on a great tournament, but I don't think that means much to him at all. He would rather have a win to his name than a pat on the back from some 17-year-old kid.
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