West Coast Swing: Taking stock of what happened early on
By Bill Felber
The PGA Tour’s seven-event West Coast Swing is in the books, and it’s time to take stock of what occurred.
After completing the west coast swing, the Tour now moves southeast, starting with next weekend’s WGC Mexico and continuing through early April with seven more pre-Masters events.
Most will be played in Florida, this part of the tour season highlighted by three of the most important competitions of the pre-major portion of the season. Those are the WGC Mexico, the Players March 12-15 at TPC Sawgrass, and the WGC Match Play March 25-29 at Austin Country Club in Texas.
The West Coast Swing produced seven different winners: Justin Thomas at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Cameron Smith at the Sony, Andrew Landry at the American Express, Marc Leishman at the Farmers Insurance, Webb Simpson at the Waste Management Phoenix event, Nick Taylor at the AT&T Pebble Beach, and Adam Scott at the Genesis Invitational.
Three were settled only after playoffs. Thomas beat Patrick Reed and Xander Schauffele at the TOC, Smith defeated Brendan Steele at the Sony, and Simpson rallied to catch and then pass Tony Finau in Phoenix.
But who produced the most memorable moments during the west coast swing? Which champion put together the most exceptional week of golf? Which potential star of the future laid the groundwork to be a breakthrough figure? Who was the most consistent? Who fashioned the best comeback? Who produced the lowest West Coast stroke average?
They are all good questions deserving of answers. So let’s produce some, beginning with the most decisive single performance measurement of all.