Welcome to PGATOUR.COM’s newest feature.
Each Monday, the Backspin will provide insight and analysis on the latest results, happenings and news on the PGA TOUR. We welcome your feedback to let us know what you think! In his first full year as the overseer of TPC Sawgrass, Vlach, who came up in the business under the watchful eye of the guy he replaced, Fred Klauk, gets an A-plus for making the course devilishly difficult. And he did it by sticking with the one piece of advice he’s always tried to live by: You never want to embarrass the players. While Vlach came close to losing a couple of the greens, he never did. As a result, you never heard a single complaint about the course. In fact, most players raved how perfect the greens were rolling and, while difficult, how good of shape the course was in. Those sound like some pretty major compliments to me. — Brian Wacker STENSON HITTING STRIDE: I could have told you that Henrik Stenson would win THE PLAYERS Championship. Well, OK, actually I did tell you in . (Hey, what’s the sense of picking the winner if you can’t gloat a little). And there’s one other thing I can tell you with a high degree of confidence — it won’t be Stenson’s only win at the Stadium Course. Why Well, for one, obviously TPC Sawgrass fits his eye and his game. In four starts, he has three top 10s, including Sunday’s title. Stenson likes the risk-reward set-up and the fact that 3-wood, not driver, is the key club off the tee, with right-to-left shaping playing into another one of his strengths. Plus, THE PLAYERS has the best field in golf, and Stenson’s two TOUR wins — PLAYERS and World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play — have come in blue-blooded events.
Finally, Stenson’s just 33 and coming into his own after some self-doubts about his career earlier this decade. There are no doubts now, neither from Stenson nor anyone else. He’s got a killer game and several good years left.