Every week of the 2009 PGA Tour season, the editorial staff of the SI Golf Group will conduct an e-mail roundtable. Check in on Mondays for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors.
Gary Van Sickle, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: Martin Laird did something fellow Scot Colin Montgomerie never did — win a PGA Tour event. He won on the third playoff hole at Summerlin with a birdie. Laird has a very solid game tee to green, but he's a little spotty with that long putter. His ballstriking should still earn him a nice career. Scotland has a new star. Could he possibly be a contender for a Ryder Cup spot on Monty's team next year? Hmm.
Cameron Morfit, senior writer, Golf Magazine: Europe has some hot young players coming up. Laird, Rory McIlroy, and Chris Wood — the tall dude with Muppet hair who was in the mix at the British Open the last few years and was the big revelation at this year's Vivendi (formerly Seve) Trophy. It's going to be tough for a lovable old warhorse like Miguel Angel Jimenez to make next year's Ryder team.
Michael Bamberger, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: Maybe Monty would have won in the States had he played in more Las Vegas Opens. Still, you have to love the idea of coming from Scotland to Las Vegas to win a Tour event with a long wand. Good times.
Van Sickle: I really enjoyed the Vegas finish. It was a birdie-fest course, but the pressure of the finishing holes got to the leaders, most of whom dunked a shot into the water at 17 or 18. Then there was Scott Piercy, a local guy, who dunked a couple and finished with two straight doubles. He snapped an iron in half after messing up on 18.
Rick Lipsey, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: It was Tour golf at its best. No Tiger or Phil, but intense action nonetheless.
Van Sickle: Jim Furyk also made a nice final-round run, shooting 62 to just miss the three-way playoff. He's gone 54 tourneys without winning. He's 39. Will he get back to the winner's circle? Does he still have another major in him?
Alan Shipnuck, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: He'll backdoor a few more wins, but I'd be surprised if he won another major. His putting has slipped a bit, and that was the difference-maker for him.
Evans: Jim Furyk could win 20 more times before his career is over, including a few majors. This is just a rough patch.
Van Sickle: He's been plagued by odd stretches of poor play — a bad nine here, a poor six holes there. His putting has run hot and cold, too. He's too young to give up on, and too dedicated. I think he'll win more, and I think he'll swipe another major along the way.
Bamberger: If the new grooves make a difference, it will be good for Furyk and other control players. He could certainly win a major, especially a U.S. Open.
Van Sickle: Golf Channel talked about how it's amazing that Chad Campbell has won only four times on tour. On Sunday night we just saw, again, why. Campbell missed a short par putt in the playoff in Vegas, just like he missed that short putt in the Masters playoff. He simply can't give up strokes from inside four feet.
You may not have noticed, but the Grand Slam of Golf is in Bermuda this week. No Tiger Woods, but the four major winners will be there — Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink and Y.E. Yang. They all rank outside the top 10 in the world. With the PGA Tour season ending earlier, we can probably look forward to more made-for-TV events like these. Will you watch this week? Are these events good for golf in the long run?
Jim Herre, managing editor, SI Golf Group: The best Grand Slams are usually the ones with first-time participants, who are thrilled to be there and often bring family and friends. Don't know if that will be the case with Yang and Cabrera, but I bet Cink and Glover will bring their posses.
Dick Friedman, senior editor, Sports Illustrated: I wouldn't want this stuff as a steady diet, but this one seems eminently watchable. Wonder if they'll let Cink tweet from the course?
Van Sickle: Cink has already tweeted about the Grand Slam. His latest — "Hello, Bermuda!" — may mean that he's already there and excited to play. So I'm making him the favorite this week. Also, his tweets may provide more tournament coverage than any other media outlet.
Morfit: Sorry, PGA of America. These made-for-TV things all blur together. I'd be just as likely to watch the one with Hunter Mahan and whoever else in New Zealand. What's the difference? The major winners were too random this year to settle any barroom arguments (Tiger vs. Phil, Phil vs. Vijay, Tiger vs. Paddy).
Farrell Evans, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: If the PGA Tour could manufacture a Shell's Wonderful World of Golf match between Tiger and Phil every week, it would. No matter who's playing, the Grand Slam is always a boring event, but advertisers continue to support it, so it must get an adequate rating. Still, I won't be watching. I'm going to try to play.
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