Monday Pin Placement: They're Back

Every Monday during the PGA Tour season, Monday Pin Placement will run as a wrap-up of the weekend's action. Basically, we'll focus on what you may have missed while you were out grinding on the putting green.

Mickelson Wins, Tiger's Back In -- To all but the most die-hard of golf fans who are above hero worship and basic story-lines, there are two golfers that are sure to grab your attention every time they set foot on the course: Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson (seen here in June of 2008).

The two have been polar opposites since joining the PGA Tour, with Tiger winning championships early and often in the big tournaments, and Mickelson consistently struggling when it came to the major stage. Just as remarkable as the differences between the two, however, is that since Tiger's incredible victory at Torrey Pines last June, neither golfer has won a tournament. Woods hasn't won for obvious reasons, while Mickelson hasn't won because he simply hasn't been able to find his game since May of last season.

This past week brought both back to the spotlight. While Tiger was announcing he'd be returning to the PGA Tour this week at the Accenture Match Play, Phil was busy polishing up a shiny little 63 on Thursday at the Northern Trust Open.

For the first time in too long, both were fully relevant once more.

On Wednesday, Tiger will once again tee off in a competitive golf tournament, and with a new knee, an altered swing and the hope that he's still the player he was before he went under the knife. Phil will have the chance to build on a win in Los Angeles for the second-straight season, but in an event he's never really dominated.

Who wins and who loses at the Accenture are obviously important, but it still takes a backseat to just seeing all the boys from the old neighborhood back together again.

Freddie, Freddie, Freddie -- I'm in my mid-20s, but grew up with a father that was enamored with Fred Couples. My dad always talked of the days when he'd follow Couples at the Byron Nelson or the Colonial, and how the crowds were mostly young women hoping to catch a glimpse of the now silver fox. He oozes cool, and that is basically the best way to describe Couples.

Yet one other thing Couples has always been is a great ball-striker that could never hone in the putter (minus that wonderful week at Augusta in' 92). I once heard a quote from Fred that basically went, "I've never miss-hit a golf shot. I've hit them left or right, but they are always in the middle of the club." Now, for the regular hacker, this seems ridiculous, but Couples has always had that smooth swing that seemed to produce the same shot over and over again. His battles have always been on the greens.

That was until the last hole at Riviera on Sunday. A shot back of Mickelson, Couples boomed another drive down the fairway that snuck a little too close to the right side. Bringing the gum trees into play, Couples still had a large window to shape a shot on the green, have a look at birdie, and possibly take Phil to a playoff.

The end result was what looked like a near shank, the ball erupting right off the club face and ending up in the trees not 100 yards in front of him. Couples was dejected, distraught and, possibly for the first time in his life, knew what it was like to not hit the ball in the middle of the club.

That wasn't the worst of if for Fred, however. The 49-year-old also learned his wife, whom he was been separated from since '07, died from a long battle with cancer before the tournament.

Couples decided to play this week because he said he probably wasn't welcome at his in-laws' house. He said he will take a month off of golf to spend time with her kids, who he said he still maintains a relationship with.

Golf is tough enough without a lot on your mind. The fact that he could keep it together that well is damn near heroic.

Amateur Wins Pro Event -- I guess you can't complain when you have the golf game that 18-year-old Danny Lee possesses, but man, how good does $298,000 sound? Lee won the Johnnie Walker Classic by a shot over three players after he tallied birdies on his final two holes Sunday for a five-under 67. The problem with that is he's an amateur and you can't claim cash when you don't check that "professional" box when applying for a golf tournament.

Lee, the current U.S. Amateur champion, is planning on turning professional after the Masters, an event you must stay amateur for if you want to accept the invitation for Augusta. Instead of the near $300k he would have landed for the victory, Lee got a trophy and a lot of "attaboys."

Who are some of the names Lee took down? Paul Casey, Lee Westwood and Anthony Kim are just a few of the professionals that were looking up the leaderboard at an amateur golfer.

Final Round Handshakes ...

-- Ryo Ishikawa burst on the American golf scene this week, but might have left his game in Japan. The 17-year-old was the talk of the practice rounds, but missed the cut by three shots in his PGA Tour debut. Don't worry, we'll get to see more of Ryo (pronounced "Yo") this year, as he plans to play at Arnold Palmer's tournament and the Masters.

-- Dustin Johnson, who won the rain shortened Pebble Beach Pro-Am last week, followed up nicely at the Northern Trust, finishing t-10.