Guest Blogger of the Week-Scott Hempel-Waste Management Open Thoughts

Before I get started, let me first thank Bill for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the blog. I love what he is doing on here and I hope I meet the bar he has set with a quality post.  So let’s get into it, after the first round of play it was Ryan Palmer and Jason Dufner setting the pace with first round 64’s alike (-7). Among the people on their heels were tour star Webb Simpson, and fan favorite Bubba Watson, each shooting a 65 and 66 respectively. The leaderboard was log jammed at the top with a bunch of other talented players, and we could see early on in the tournament we were in for a great week of golf.

In the second round it was lesser-known Spencer Levin who would go onto scorch TPC Scottsdale with an inspiring round of 63 and a score of 14 under heading into the weekend as the leader. Trailing directly behind him was household unknown Harrison Frazar at -11, with John Huh and number six in the world Webb Simpson lagging behind at -8. Behind those two was last weekends heartbreak kid Kyle Stanley  who had a great day firing a 66, finishing at -7 putting him within striking distance heading into the weekend. Ryan Palmer cooled off from his hot first round with an ordinary 72 (+1) in the second round, leaving him 8 shots back going into the weekend. A little further down the leader board were notables Matt Kuchar at -5, and Fed Ex Cup Champion at Bill Haas also at -5 heading to Saturday. Heading down the leader board a little bit you would find TPC Scottsdale and Arizona State favorite/alumni Phil Mickelson who was able to put together a nice run of holes on the back 9 to finish at -4 heading into Saturday, posting a respectable 70 on Friday.

For Saturday’s third round I was lucky enough to be in attendance for a great day of golf, weather, and women. Seriously, if you’re a single guy living in the Scottsdale area and you aren’t at that tournament, there is something wrong with you. Unfortunately for me I was unable to make it to the biggest party hole of 16, by the time I arrived the line was well over a few hours and I knew my time would be better spent circling the course with some of the great groups they had for the day. As many people acknowledge, there is nothing quite like the 16^th hole at TPC Scottsdale, it is the one hole on the tour that gets a special exemption from the normal golf etiquette rules. Instead of the regular cheers for a great shot, the average clapping for an average shot, and the silence for a bad shot, there are only two kinds of responses on this hole- wild cheering or obnoxious booing. The players take note too, many of them claim to love the atmosphere, but as many players admit willingly, there are a lot of nerves stepping up to that tee too. The 16^th hole is simply an unmatched experience for all parties involved. Getting back to the actual golf round, though, what would go on to set the single day attendance record for the Phoenix Open did not disappoint the crowd, Spencer Levin was able to open up a commanding six shot lead heading into Sunday. As I’m sure he was well aware there were many talented individuals behind him with Webb Simpson, Bubba Watson, Greg Chalmers, and Kyle Stanley leading the charge.

Sunday’s final round proved to be memorable for two players specifically, Kyle Stanley and Spencer Levin. First let me say, I hate seeing players choke away leads.  It pains me to watch,  and I always prefer to see people lose as a team.  Obviously that isn’t possible in golf. For the second week in a row though, the PGA Tour saw a player implode and it was difficult to watch. Luckily though, last weeks Bill Buckner turned out to be this weeks’ comeback kid, Kyle Stanley (Shout-out to Clemson). As best said by Levin himself, “ It just wasn’t my day.” Levin closed the final round with a brutal 75 (+4), ultimately finishing two strokes short of Kyle Stanley who finished at -15 after firing an inspiring 65, and one stroke short of Ben Crane who himself had a great day shooting a 66 and finishing at -14. Levin ultimately faltered on 15 after a gutsy birdie on 14 to get him back to a share of the lead. For the third time this week, Levin put the ball in the water on the par 5 15^th, costing himself a double bogey and ultimately the tournament. These three balls in the water on the same hole couldn’t help but remind me of the movie Tin Cup with Kevin Costner.    

For the second straight week, Kyle Stanley finished the tournament in tears, this time tears of joy though, after sinking a 4-foot par putt on 18 that all but clinch the tournament at the time. Ah, how sweet redemption can be. Watching this gave me a sense of joy that I haven’t felt awhile watching a sporting event, I can’t begin to say enough about Kyle Stanley’s mental game and the moxy it took for him to overcome an eight-shot lead heading into the final round can’t be explained in words.