Trio Of Cowboys Made It To Sunday At Riviera

In a week where 2005 kept hanging around and seemingly everyone in the field was tied for the lead at some point, James Hahn came out victorious in a playoff at Riviera.  With Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh, and a slew of others keeping it interesting for most of the day, Hahn was finally able to close out the tournament with the playoff victory over Dustin Johnson and Paul Casey.  Among those chasing the lead on the weekend were a few former Cowboys.

With the Oscars coinciding with the conclusion of the Northern Trust Open (and taking place just a drive, chip, and putt away from Riviera), I thought it would be fitting to wrap up the week with a few awards for our Pokes.

Best Performance by a Cowboy- Hunter Mahan

My first prediction of the year didn't turn out the way I had planned, but Hunter still turned in a respectable finish.  After a rough start in round 1 where he posted a 4-over 75, Hunter righted the ship by shooting a 4-under 67 on Friday and comfortably made the cut.  With rounds of 71 and 70 on the weekend, he finished the week tied for 20^th and was the highest finishing Cowboy in the field.

Best Moving Day Performance- Morgan Hoffmann

Morgan came into the weekend off a disappointing 4-over 75 on Friday, but he was determined to come back on Saturday and get back in the mix of things...and did he ever get back into it.  Morgan signed a near flawless scorecard in the scorer's tent after Saturday's round, posting a 5-under 66 with his only bogey coming at the Par 4 12^th.  His round was tied for the best of the day and catapulted him to within striking distance going into Sunday.  Morgan was still in contention going into the back nine on Sunday, but he made three bogeys coming in on the difficult finishing holes at Riviera to finish in a tie for 22^nd.

Longest Hitting Cowboy- Charles Howell III

Charles Howell is listed at a mere 155 lbs, but that doesn't stop him from being one of the longest drivers of the golf ball each week.  This week he was 4^th in the field in driving distance at nearly 312 yards, the longest of any Cowboy.  That distance was a factor in him making the cut with first and second round scores of 71 and 70.  After a good showing in the first two rounds, however, things cooled off for Howell, shooting a pair of 75's on the weekend and finishing in a tie for 61^st.

Worst Predictions- Myself

As mentioned before I missed on my winner prediction, but also worth mentioning is my miss on the number of Cowboys making the cut.  Before the tournament started, I had 4 of 5 Pokes making the cut...halfway through Friday I could see that slipping through my fingers.  After Bo Van Pelt posted a 7-over 78, he was in too big of a hole to climb out of.  He came back and played very well on Friday, shooting 1-under, but it wasn't quite enough to make it to the weekend.  Scott Verplank was our other Cowboy who missed the cut.  He never could quite get anything going and missed the weekend after shooting 74-75.  Both Verplank and Van Pelt will be back in action next week looking to bounce back.

Although we would love to see a Cowboy win every week, our boys still put together a solid tournament.  It's what we have grown accustomed to and should continue to see throughout the year.

Next stop: The Honda Classic and a visit to the Bear Trap