I hope everyone had nice weather this past weekend like I did in Oklahoma. On Saturday, the wind was non-existant and temperatures were in the 80s. On top of that, I broke 80 for only the fourth time in my golfing career. That doesn’t really have anything to do with this week’s Thrash Talk, but it is definitely worth mentioning. Now that my personal golf story of the week is out of the way, I’ll get into this week’s article.
Last year at this time, the golf media was going crazy over the “Big Five.” That group included Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, and Retief Goosen. Through the Honda Classic last season, this group had combined for five wins, four runner-up finishes, and five third-place finishes on the PGA Tour. All of the “Big Five” were playing great, and it really made things interesting.
Greetings to all! I hope you had a great weekend of fun and excitement. I feel like I’ve been reborn, personally. I was able to get out and play nine holes for the first time since November. So, you’ll have to excuse my unbridled (and renewed) enthusiasm for golf.
Luke Donald won his first PGA Tour event after only three rounds, thanks to two days of rain showers. Now he’s doubled both his career PGA victories and added to the number of rounds it took to win each of them. The Blonde Briton shot a final-round 69 (-3) with a clutch birdie on the 72nd after he stuck his approach to four feet and increased his lead to two. Donald believes this is just one step toward his goal, “I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction. Anytime you can win, especially out here on the PGA Tour, it’s a huge boost of confidence. Hopefully this will just keep the momentum going.”
Tiger goes seemingly unchallenged in winning at Doral again, the Ohio Golf Association challenges players with a “tournament ball,” and we challenge listeners to share their spring golf rituals with us. Also, Vijay Singh takes a week off (gasp!), Camilo Villegas may be better than Sergio Garcia, and he’s part of the Cobra brand resurgence, Rory Sabbatini is player of the month while Natalie Gulbis puts in a bit for Playmate of the Month (not really), and Pebble Beach wins a lawsuit over a “replica” course. This and a whole lot more in this week’s Golf Talk Podcast.
Recently there’s been a ton of buzz surrounding PGA Tour Rookie Camilo Villegas and I believe all of it is deserved. With two T2’s in his first six tour events, Camilo has shown that he’s got the game to compete with the big boys. I started watching Camilo play golf about two years ago, when he put himself in contention week in and week out, never to seal the deal. In the following few paragraphs I’m going to outline why I so firmly believe that Villegas will make a big mark on tour.
The early season standout the last few years, Stuart Appleby has become a fixture on the PGA Tour finishing fairly high on the money list with regularity. It doesn’t hurt that he’s won the Mercedes Championship the last three years. 
There are long drivers and there are short drivers of the ball. We had a recent 
Welcome to the most helpful column here at The Sand Trap: Swing Check. This column will look at video of someone’s swing, critique it (largely by comparing it to the swings of professionals), and share the results for all the world to see. It’s free analysis that you can use to improve your game, and the best part is this: you get to submit the videos!