Lucas Glover defeated Jonathan Byrd in a playoff Sunday at Quail Hollow to capture the Wachovia Bank championship.

Glover hadn’t won (or hardly contended) on Tour since his US Open win in 2009.  There were rumors that he had considered walking away from the game at one point.

He was also still sporting the beard that he has been growing since last fall [and what a magnificent beard it is].  So not only was this a figurative return from the wild, it also looked like a literal return as well.

This was Glover’s third win on Tour and his first playoff victory.

Byrd apparently really likes playoffs, having been in 3 of them in the past year.  This time around though it didn’t work out as well as the last two, both of which Byrd won, when Glover defeated him on the first playoff hole.

You could tell that this victory meant a lot to Glover:

I’m elated, absolutely elated, especially here. A lot of friends at Quail Hollow, a lot of friends in town, a lot of support. You know, any time you win you’re pleased. It means you beat everybody. You did what you set out to do on Thursday morning when the bell rang. You know, against this field and on this golf course and in a tournament of this magnitude, I’m thrilled.

I’m told by my friends that henceforth my beard will be known as a “Lucas Glover” beard, although I prefer to think that Glover has a “Derek” beard.

Golf.com has an interesting set of articles featuring two tour players, Ted Purdy and Justin Rose, arguing for and against miking players on the golf course.

Ted Purdy is in favor of the practice, arguing that anything that helps make golf broadcasts more interesting is good for the viewers, sponsors, and ultimately the players themselves.

I was on the PGA Tour’s policy board a few years ago when we approved miking players during tournaments, but it never happened. I hope it catches on now. The bottom line is, we’re trying to sell a product. Anything that helps is good.

It could be entertaining because golf has so much down time between shots. There are opportunities to chat, which could be fascinating.

Justin Rose’s position is that it’s so hard to gain an edge on tour, that he’s worried about giving competitors too much insight into his thought process on the course.

There’s also a lot that goes on that’s considered intellectual property. It’s a competitive disadvantage if players can listen in on other players’ conversations…   It’s difficult to gain an edge, and I don’t want to give up any that I have.

From my perspective, Ted Purdy is a guy that gets it.  They are trying to sell a product.  Make broadcasts more interesting and ratings will go up.  And more viewers means money.

I also think Justin Rose is a bit paranoid overcautious.  So far Jonathan Byrd is the only player that’s actually worn a mic on the course, and he went on to win the tournament.  It apparently didn’t result in a competitive disadvantage.

But it’s really a moot point as wearing a mic is completely voluntary.  If Rose doesn’t want to, then he doesn’t have to.  But if the practice catches on, he may find himself at a disadvantage competing with other players for sponsorship dollars who are willing to wear a mic.

I know that if I was a golf equipment company exec, I would certainly be more interested in signing a player that would wear a mic and was consequently viewed as being engaged with fans and viewers.

[Image Flickr/danperry.com]

Jonathan Byrd pulled out the win today in Kapalua at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions with a playoff victory over Robert Garrigus.  No, it wasn’t as dramatic as his last victory, but I suspect that Byrd is pretty happy with it none-the-less.   Byrd has now won his last 2 starts in a row, both of which were playoff victories.

Don’t feel too bad for Garrigus though…  2nd place earned him a smooth $635k.  Not exactly a bad week’s work.  As for Byrd, in addition to a $1.12m paycheck, he earned an invite to the Masters, so I imagine he’s probably enjoying life right now.

Also, the mojo associated with agreeing to wear a TV microphone on the course is alive and well.  First Hunter Haas wears one on the Nationwide Tour and wins and now Byrd does the same on the PGA Tour.  I wonder if we’re going to see players fighting over who gets to wear a mic next.

PGA Tour

Earlier this year, the Golf Channel experimented with “announcer-less” (really announcer-lite) coverage on the Nationwide tour.  The experiment worked pretty well, especially having mic’d players in the field.

Trying to build on that success, The Golf Channel approached several players with the idea of wearing a microphone this week at Kapalua.  Things were looking pretty grim as everybody said “no”.  But now Stephanie Wei is reporting that co-leader Jonathan Byrd has agreed to wear a mic during Friday’s round.  Apparently carding a 7-under 66 put him in an agreeable mood.

I like Jonathan Byrd and this just bumped him up another notch in my book.  And hopefully it will pay off for him.  As Stephanie noted, Hunter Haas agreed to be mic’d during the Nationwide tournament last fall and he went on to win the event.  Maybe Byrd is hoping to continue that good fortune and cash another $1 million dollar paycheck.

[Update:  Apparently technical problems have postponed this experiment until a future date.]

[Update #2:  That future date is Saturday.  Supposedly that goes against the PGA Tour's agreement with the Golf Channel (they are only supposed to mic players on Thursday and Friday) but presumably Byrd was willing and everybody agreed to go ahead and give it a shot.]

The Golf Channel put together a video this morning recapping the top 5 golf shots of the year.  I can’t say that I disagree with any of their selections.  It’s interesting to note that 2 of the top 5 came within the last 3 weeks.  The Fall Finish is proving to be a hell of a lot more exciting and compelling than the FedEx Cup.  When will the tour learn that you can’t just manufacture drama by dangling huge sums of cash in front of a bunch of multi-millionaires?

In case you haven’t clicked on the link above, here’s a quick breakdown of the list.  #5 was Rory McIlroy’s 2nd shot into the 15th hole at Quail Hollow.  It was a great shot from a great round of golf.  #4 was Matt Kuchar’s brilliant shot into #18 during the playoff at the Barclays.  Rocco grabbed the #3 spot with his hole out on 17 during the final round at the Frys.com.  And of course we couldn’t forget Mickelson’s 6 iron from the trees at the Masters which came in at #2.

Grabbing the top spot was Jonathan’s Byrd’s ace on the 4th playoff hole to win the Shriners Hospital Open.  You really can’t hit a more perfect shot, in a more clutch situation.  Therefore, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that not only was it the best shot of the year, it’s probably the greatest single golf shot in the history of the PGA tour.

The only way that shot could have been better was if it had won a major championship rather than the Shriners.  But until that happens, or until somebody double eagles a hole to win a golf tournament, Jonathan Byrd’s ace will be on top of my list of the greatest golf shots ever on the PGA tour.

What an ending! It seems like the Fall Series has had some of the most dramatic and entertaining finishes of the entire season. With an ace on the 204-yard 17th hole (the 4th hole of a 3-man playoff), Jonathan Byrd grabs his first win on tour and secures his tour card for the next 2 seasons.

Players on the move:

Obviously Jonathan Byrd tops this list. He had been sitting at 117 on the money list. Inside the top 125 but close enough to make him sweat it out these last few weeks. He now has an extra $775k in the bank and his tour card for the next 2 years. He’ll also get to play in the season opening event at Kapalua (which is about to have a title sponsor switch from SBS to Hyndai).

With a T8, Aaron Baddeley jumped 10 spots to safety at 110 on the money list.  Kevin Sutherland made a similar move from 121 to 115.  That should give him some breathing room for the season finale down in Orlando in a few weeks.  And Woody Austin moved up two spots to 123.

The other players moving up in the list were all outside the top 125.  Michael Connell moved from 137 to 129.  Richard S Johnson moved from 143 to 131.  And George McNiell moved from 141 to 133.  These guys are all capable of getting inside the top 125 with good play at the season finale so keep an eye on them.

Players falling behind:

Just about everybody else fell into this category this week.  A lot of guys near the 125 mark missed the cut or didn’t play this week causing them to slide a few spots.  Ben Curtis and Jeff Maggert both dropped 5 spots to 117 and 118 with missed cuts.  Joe Durant didn’t play and fell 6 spots to 120.  Troy Merritt made the cut but only cashed a $10k check and fell 3 spots to 121.

On the Bubble:

Briny Baird is now the man on the bubble after moving up a spot from 127 to 126.  He’s a hell of a ball striker and given the rash of eagles lately, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he had one or more at Orlando to get inside the top 125.  Aaron Price, last week’s man on the bubble missed the cut.  Luckily, he only dropped a spot to 127, so he’s still very much in the hunt.

We’re now down to the last event of the year.  Unfortunately we have to wait for it until Nov 11.  I can’t imagine that many of the guys fighting for their 2011 tour card are going to have a relaxing break.  But it should give them some time to practice and focus on the task at hand.  It should also make for some great golf as we close out the 2010 season.