On a week when the hole seemed to be the size of a bucket for most of the golfers at the Frys.com Open in Scottsdale, Ariz., it was only fitting that Troy Matteson end the playoff with a tap-in birdie. Matteson, who at 29 was the ancient man in the three-man playoff, beat Rickie Fowler and Jamie Lovemark to win his second career PGA Tour tournament at Greyhawk Golf Course, in an interesting conclusion to a very golf-friendly week.Matteson, who had the tournament all but wrapped up, inexplicably bogeyed his 17th and 18th holes to fall into a playoff with the 20-year-old Fowler and the 21-year-old Lovemark, and that was just when the fun began.
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On the first playoff hole, the 18th, Lovemark was in the middle of the fairway, with a short iron in his hands, but completely pushed his shot right of the green, heading for the lake and doom. His facial expression said it all, but then something bizarre happened. His shot went in the pond, underwater, and hoped back on land, something I can honestly say I've never seen happen in all my years as both a golf fan and a golfer myself.
Lovemark took advantage of the good fortune, getting up and down for par to move to the next playoff hole. It was there that Matteson hit a 6-iron nearly inside the leather, for a tap-in birdie, beating Fowler and Lovemark's pars.
Matteson's Sunday 68 was good enough for a playoff, but it was his two rounds before that that got him in contention. Troy shot consecutive 61s on Friday and Saturday, breaking the record for lowest two-day total ever on the PGA Tour, and his three birdies and an eagle on Sunday were the reasons he walked away with the trophy.
Not enough can be said about Fowler and Lovemark, however. Fowler, the more known of the two, played in his first ever PGA Tour tournament as a professional last week, finishing t-7, and Lovemark only cashed one check all season on the PGA Tour, a t-46th at the Canadian Open.
The big question now is what will Fowler do. His goal all year was to go through PGA Tour Qualifying School to earn his 2010 card and be exempt next season, but his two top-10s in a row not only have earned him a considerable amount of cash, but have allowed him a spot in next week's Vikings Classic. The problem is, that would conflict with his Q-School date, so Fowler will have to decide rather quickly if he wants to roll the dice with Q-School or make some more money on the PGA Tour.
Whatever his decision, it's just good to see a young guy out there putting himself in contention. It took Tiger Woods five tournaments to win as a professional. If Ricky keeps playing like this, it might come sooner.
