What Are You Doing, Jordan Spieth?

If you haven’t seen the clip of Tiger Woods responding to a question about Tom Hoge from a few years back, bookmark this link for later. It’ll make your day.

Before we get to the golf, it’s registration day!

Registration for The Banker, our event at Dornick Hills Country Club in Ardmore, Oklahoma, opens today at 12 p.m. ET! A registration button will appear on The Banker event page when it’s time.

Coastal grinder

After a double bogey early in the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Tom Hoge was three shots back on a crowded leaderboard. Twelve holes and six birdies later, he was alone at the top. Hoge chased down Jordan Spieth, knocking his approach to nine inches on the par-4 16th and rolling in a 21-footer on the 17th. It was Hoge’s first PGA Tour win in 203 career starts.

In spite of Hoge’s unlikely triumph, much of the coverage on Sunday at Pebble Beach was focused on Jordan Spieth. As we mentioned in last Wednesday’s newsletter, Spieth arrived in Monterey after the worst seven-event strokes-gained performance of his career. It seemed like he was headed for more of the same this week when he found himself 11 strokes behind after two rounds. But then he shot 63 at Pebble Beach and looked unfazed for much of Sunday before finishing runner-up.

Having Spieth in the mix gave this edition of the Pro-Am plenty of juice. But the fact is, the tournament will continue to struggle to draw top names against the Saudi International. So we suspect that yesterday’s exciting finish may be the exception rather than the rule at Pebble Beach in the future. Let’s hope we’re wrong.

Bingo

Harold Varner III birdied the 71st hole at the Saudi International and holed a 92-foot eagle putt to secure the biggest win of his career. It was HV3’s second professional win and his first since 2016.

HV3 is a popular player, and his victory was celebrated by many across the golf world. But two things can be true: it was great to see a likable guy get a big win, and it was unfortunate that the whole thing was part of a sportswashing effort by Saudi Arabia.

The Latest from The Fried Egg

ICYMI: The Fried Egg Podcast: What to Know About Perry Maxwell – Golf architect Colton Craig and historian Chris Clouser joined the podcast to discuss everything Perry Maxwell. Listen on iTunes and Spotify.

The Shotgun Start – They’re three time zones apart, but Andy and Brendan managed to align for a Monday episode. Listen on iTunes and Spotify.

Results

Leona Maguire, a star for the 2021 European Solheim Cup team, notched her first LPGA Tour victory this weekend at the LPGA Drive On Championship.

Twenty-year-old Nicolai Højgaard closed out the Ras al Khaimah Championship on Sunday to bring the Højgaard Twin Win CountTM to five.

Carson Young entered the Panama Championship with five missed cuts and zero top-25 finishes in 10 career Korn Ferry Tour starts… and he won.

Quick Hooks

Just facts here: Bryson DeChambeau withdrew from the Saudi International after one round because of an injury he claimed was caused by a slip and fall. He also bowed out of the Sony Open in January with wrist soreness. Last weekend at Torrey Pines, he was seen repeatedly holding his wrist.

Jordan Spieth almost didn’t make it to Sunday at Pebble Beach, and we’re not talking about the cut line. On Saturday, with his ball near the edge of the cliff on the eighth hole, Spieth threw caution (and common sense?) to the wind.

Mark Lye, a former PGA Tour player, made some sexist remarks about women’s sports on PGA Tour Radio this weekend. He was promptly fired.

Doug Ferguson relayed a great story about Jordan Spieth and Tom Hoge that began with Spieth saying, “When [Hoge] gets in contention, he will not back down,” and ended with him saying, “Because that’s how he plays craps.”