Week 3; the Week of Comebacks

While many would argue that the biggest story of the Abu Dhabi championship was the early exit of McIlroy (fresh from his multimillion dollar deal with Nike) and Woods, I believe that last week was the week of comebacks on both sides of the pond.  Jamie Donaldson came back from 2 shots to beat Justin Rose by 1 shot despite a bogey on the final hole in the Abu Dhabi Championship.  However, career comebacks were also plentiful this week in Abu Dhabi, namely David Howell and Michael Campbell, who both posted top finishes.  However it is plain to see the re-entering the winners circle is easier said than done.  Howell played well all week and for a time took the lead on the final day after a flawless opening ten holes of 5 under but an ugly 4 putt from around 5 feet saw him slip into a tie for 6^th.  A few months ago i asked the question “whatever happened to Michael Campbell?”  That was when he had lead going into the final round of the Hong Kong Open and had slumped to a final round of 2 over but to be honest I expected that to be a flash in the pan for the 2005 U.S Open Champion.  On the contrary he has regularly finished high up on subsequent leader boards and long may this continue for both Howell and Campbell.  I shall watch with interest over the coming weeks because I’m sure a win is just around the corner for these once fine players. 

Similar circumstances occurred in the Humana Challenge on the PGA Tour.  This is one of my least favourite events on Tour; I am not a fan of how easy it is set up although I understand that this is for the benefit of the amateur players and I think the altruistic nature of the event is amiable but I simply prefer Professionals to be challenged.  On the other hand I enjoy the cut after three days rather than the usual two.  Scott Stallings seemed like he was going to walk it, leading by 5 going into the final day and bidding to be the first man since Super Mex to go bogey free for 72 holes.  However several players had other ideas.  One that caught my eye was Stewart Cink, playing in the final group and looking for his first top 5 finish since winning The Open Championship in 2009!!  His career also appears to be on a comeback much like afore mentioned European Tour Players.  However, within the Tournament itself, Stallings lead was quickly lessened by a myriad of low scores including three 62s!  Unheralded David Lingmerth was one of those players who shot 62 to post -25, Brian Gay shot 63 to match that score having three putted the last for par and finally Charles Howell III finished on   -25.  This left Stallings needing a birdie 4 down the last to clinch it by one shot, only to hook his 6 iron into the pond (a fate that was then repeated by Lingmerth in the playoff) and miss his 9 footer to join the playoff.  Brian Gay eventually triumphed over Howell III with a birdie on the second playoff hole to claim his 4^th PGA Tour victory. 

This was an eventful week in the golfing world and I am always interested in what various events can potentially show us about the upcoming season. This week has undoubtedly showed me that players of a certain calibre are never really past it and it would not surprise me if we see a few more long forgotten faces claim an event or at least post some solid finishes.  This week has also confirmed the point I made after the first PGA tour event in Hawaii; that there is so much strength in depth on both tours that unheard of names and rookies and all manner of “journey men” Pros will make appearances this year, whether it be in the winner’s circle or just establishing themselves as someone to watch this season.