Austads Golf

As a golf retailer, I can tell you that there are wins that do absolutely nothing for business and there are wins that light up business like that insanely long 339-yard 3-wood bomb off the tee in the playoff by Rory McIlroy.  This win on Sunday by Rickie Fowler at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow was definitely the latter.  Rickie is one of the few players on the PGA Tour who makes the game cool, as with his snazzy belt buckles, street kicking shoes, flat-brimmed high-sitting hats and shaggy hair he appeals to many others outside the golfing crowd.  PUMA/Cobra recognized this and have entire lines of apparel and clubs modeled after young Rickie, a player whom before today had a goose egg in the career win column.  After a win on Sunday at one of the season’s biggest non-majors (over world #1 Rory McIlroy nonentheless, oh yeah and over DA Points too), Rickie has brought “golf cool” to a whole new level, as he has finally backed up style with substance.  I now have two big hopes after Rickie’s win.  First, that it creates a boom for the PUMA/Cobra golf brand like I believe that it should, as well as to golf in general.  Second, that he’ll finally shave that dirty stache…

I’m not sure if the more newsworthy thing on Sunday was Jason Dufner winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for his first PGA Tour victory, or that he actually cracked a smile in the process (albeit a small one).  The placid, stone-faced Dufner seemingly strolls about the course without a pulse, hardly ever showing any sense of emotion good or bad (although he did do a mini Tiger-like club kick on the 16th tee on Sunday).  Speaking of the 16th hole, after a tee shot that nearly had him knee high in gator infested waters (that may sound made up and dramatized but there literally was a gator 30 feet from his ball) coming down the stretch, Dufner took a drop, wedged it to 43-feet and buried the putt for par to keep him tied for the lead with Ernie Els.  Then, after his 2-putt birdie on the second playoff hole defeated Els, Dufner again cracked a smile, this time as a Tour champion for the first time.  Hopefully he can keep smiling, as the Duf man is getting married on Saturday to fiancé Amanda Boyd.  Talk about a lucky lady- not only did her fiancé win his first Tour event the week before their wedding, but now he’s guaranteed to be smiling for the wedding pictures.

Ben Curtis is one of those guys that makes golf napp-able on Sunday afternoons.  In fact sometimes I wonder if he’s ever fallen asleep during his backswing.  Nevertheless, we know one thing; the Ohioan can flat out play.  Well, when he’s on his game that is.  Ben’s most recent victory before Sunday came in 2006 at the now defunct 84 Lumber Classic.  Since that point, Ben has missed an astonishing 168 out of 192 cuts on the PGA Tour.  Read that last sentence again and it’ll make you pale with anything but envy.  Things have gotten so rough that he has been pulling a John Daly and playing primarily in Europe while using his 10-year British Open winner’s exemption (only a 5 year exemption here in the U.S.) since up until this week he didn’t have full-time status here in the states.  Now, after Sunday, that will no longer be an issue for Ben.  Well, at least not for the next 2 ½ years anyway (exemption received for winning).  Here’s to hoping Phil Mickelson isn’t nearly on the Champions Tour by the time of his next win.

Before this past week’s RBC Heritage at Harbour Town tourney, Carl Pettersson seemed like that beer league big guy with the long, goofy swing that always seemed to pull birdie after birdie out of you know where.  After this past week and his 5th PGA Tour win, well Carl still fits that profile in appearance, but suddenly has elevated his big frame towards the upper echelon of the Tour and potentially to the European Ryder Cup team.  Now that’s worth much more than a belly laugh.  The humor wasn’t lost on Carl’s end though, as after the victory he was asked how it felt to don the winner’s plaid jacket for the first time.  Carl’s response?  “Fat guy in a little coat, huh.” (Chris Farley reference from the movie Tommy Boy).  An impressive game and a great sense of humor to go along with it.  Nice work Carl.