That distant whine you hear is a lone bugle playing Taps for the last WGC Match Play. The PGA Tour should be creating'match-play events, not fewer. The suspense and drama that innately boils to the surface from the match-play format make for phenomenal television viewing.
Of course, my picks were largely duds. Jon Rahm played his worst golf all season and failed to escape group play. Patrick Cantlay was eliminated in the round of 16 by the eventual champion, Sam Burns. My lone pick with the hope of cashing was NorCal phenom Kurt Kitayama. He defeated Adrian Meronk and Tony Finau in a sudden-death playoff to advance out of his group, then obliterated Andrew Putnam to advance to the quarterfinals. A victory over Cameron Young would have cashed his 16-1 ticket for reaching the top-4, but he was defeated on the final hole.
Onward and upward we trudge, just one more week until The Masters. The final chance to sharpen up for Augusta comes this week at the Valero Texas Open. TPC San Antonio is a par-72 that stretches to more than 7,400 yards but is a fairly wide-open course. The more challenging aspect of the course is the length of the four par-5 holes. The Texas winds have made the course more difficult over the years, and early forecasts are predicting blustery conditions. Any type of golfer can win this event. Who will? The guy who gets .