1. It was a difficult course - witness how many top players did so poorly - with some of the worst hazard conditions - tall grasses in among sand along some fringes to most often narrow fairways, some high cross winds and some high head winds, though minus the hazard of many tall trees along the fairways.
2. Phil played better on the fairways than I have seen him play in long time.
3. Phil’s short game at the greens is usually pretty good and having seemed to conquer his fairway problems this time it gave his short game and his ability to scramble in tough situations a boost to success.
4. Given all I just said, and particularly conditions on the course, what Phil had a lot of, and had more than many other players, is years of experience playing in tough conditions.
Yes, Phil also won because Brooks Koepka made too many mistakes. That’s how you often win in Golf - making fewer mistakes than the next best player on the last day of the tournament.
I have laughed at many of Phil’s “crazy” and often memorable fairway misses in the past, but it was really great watching him do so well yesterday. He not only conquered his fairway game, I think he conquered his mental game as well.
It's like someone holding your head in a waterbarrel till you're gasping for breath:
12 - 4 13 - 1 14 - 3 15 - 13 16 - 18 17 - 2 18 - 8
Head in the barrel for 3 holes. Let you come up for air on 15 and 16, then back in the barrel for the finish.
Phil didn't "go off on any adventures" on the back, as he sometimes does.
I was happy for him and the family.