Memorial weekend next year will be a little different on the PGA Tour, especially in Memphis, Tennessee. The tournament moving to June 4-10 which is the week before the U.S. Open which will hopefully attract even more of the top players in the game looking to fine tune their games. Stanford Private Wealth Management will now assume the role of title sponsor increasing the purse to $6 million making it one of the largest on the tour. Next year should also be a good celebration as it will mark the 50th anniversary of the tournament.
We’ll get to 2007 soon enough so let’s get to this years tournament.
This weekend marks the 60th anniversary of the 
Flash back to Sunday, May 15, 2005. I’m glued to the TV watching fellow Arizona native and good guy Ted Purdy come from two back and shoot a 5-under 65 to beat rookie Sean O’Hair by one and win his first PGA Tour title. Just two days before that (on Friday the 13th no less), Tiger Woods actually missed a cut for the first time since 1998. A streak that lasted with 142 events and beat the previous record of 113 held by Mr. Byron Nelson himself. Anyone for superstitions?
We’ve talked several times in the 
Last year was the first year the 
Vijay Singh goes into this year’s Shell Houston Open with history on his mind. Not only has Singh won the past two Shell Houston Opens, but should he win this year, he’ll accomplish something only Tiger Woods (The Memorial, Bay Hill), Tom Watson (Byron Nelson Invitational), and Stuart Appleby (Mercedes Championship) have accomplished: back-to-back-to-back wins in the same same tournament.
Well, Phil Mickelson finally knows how to close out in majors. Gone is the swashbuckling Phil of old, swapped out for a new safe-playing nearly bogey-less model. Phil was unwavering down the stretch at the Masters, playing nearly flawless golf on the way to his third career and second consecutive major. Speaking of the second consecutive major, there has been much talk of a Phil Slam with him having to win only two more majors in order to match a feat only Tiger has achieved. However, Lefty claims that hasn’t even entered his mind as he plays one shot at a time.
This week is all about the Masters as Dave has broken down the Big 5 and their chances in 
An eagle on the 72nd hole was the perfect way to cap off Mickelson’s magical week. Lefty was on fire all week, opening on Thursday with a 63 and following that up with three more stellar rounds – 65-67-65. His opening round 63 earned him a share of the course record and added to his already impressive collection of course records (TPC Scottsdale, TPC River Highlands, Spyglass Hill Golf Club). He also joins David Duval and Davis Love III as the only players to shoot four consecutive rounds in the 60’s at TPC Sugarloaf. This victory marks his 28th career PGA TOUR victory in 314th career professional starts. Lefty’s numbers were off the chart: he averaged a ridiculous 1.594 putts per greens in regulation, of which he hit 88.9% of the time (this number is somewhat misleading because although he technically missed the green, many of his misses made the fringe), and averaged 309.1 yards off the tee. It goes without saying that Phil’s chances next week are looking very good.