Playoffs?.... Playoffs!?...

Yes, Jim Mora. Playoffs. Specifically, Round 2: the Deutsche Bank Championship (DBC). 

Defending champion Webb Simpson has his sights set on a repeat at TPC Boston, but if momentum is an indicator of who will thrive, look out for Nick Watney. 

Watney has been an on-the-cusp type of player who wins mostly when you never expect it and makes Top 10 (4, 2012 - 39, career) or Top 25 (10, 2012 - 81, career) finishes nearly a weekly routine. He is not polarizing in anyway and when he wins you're neither surprised or that ecstatic. 

That's part of the appeal about Watney, though. He goes about his business each week looking like he's having fun and doesn't worry about whether or not the spotlight shines on him. 

Sounds a lot like last year's Deutsche Bank champion, Webb Simpson. In fact, there are so many unassuming, "just here to do my job" golfers on the PGA Tour that the excentric personalities stand out even more. It's part of what I like so much about the PGA Tour. Great stories are everywhere and since Tiger Woods stopped dominating the Tour, we've gotten a glimpse into a lot more of these player's lives. 

That is a good thing. 

Time is of the essence...

Being that it's Labor Day weekend, the PGA Tour decided it would ruin Labor Day for all of its laborers and instead of sticking with the normal Thursday through Sunday routine, require them to work on a holiday. I don't need to go to bat to defend the schedule of pro golfers, because lord knows their schedule is much more ideal than our 9-5 grind, but I don't see the point in adjusting the schedule like this.

How many people are actually going to stay inside if it's nice out on one of the few free Monday's they have off of the year? Maybe some diehard fans, but most of us will either be busy with family or escaping our families by getting to the first tee as quickly as possible. 

Picks

1. Jason Dufner

2. Dustin Johnson

3. Phil Mickelson

4. Graeme McDowell

5.Jonathan Byrd

One of these days, I'm going to go back through my record of making picks for PGA Tour events and see just how bad the crime scene actually is. For now, I'm moving forward and picking from my gut to decide who's going to win the Greenbrier Classic at The Old White TPC in West Virginia.

I have mostly fond memories of West Virginia, other than the fact I dislike (or hate) WVU athletics. I've enjoyed driving through it, spending time with friends who live near the state (but on the Ohio side fortunately), and I think the Greenbrier is a great golf tournament. I'm hoping the good thought karma I have for WV trumps whatever distaste I have for it and rewards me with a good week of making picks. We know how that usually turns out, but let's do this anyway. I tweeted this out last night, but thought I'd expand a little bit this morning. Call it a teaser, if you will.

Top 5 Picks

1. Jonathan Byrd - Byrd has had a strong year and I feel like - if this were pro wrestling - he's been getting a big push from the Tour (management) and a lot of exposure. Aside from that, he's playing good golf and doesn't go very long without making sure we talk about him. Plus, he did a sweet behind-the-scenes tour of his Man Cave - and that's something I can get behind. It may not be sound logic, but it will have to do for this week.

2. John Daly - Daly is coming off his first Top 10 finish in what seems like a decade. He was T9 at the RBC Canadian Open and from all the evidence I could collect, he seems to have his swing - and emotions - in check. We all know he's got talent, it's just mostly been wasted with off-the-course issues. I'd be happy to see Daly regain some prominence (in golf stature) on the Tour. I think he continues to build to that this week.

3. Phil Mickelson - If you pick Phil to finish high enough times, you'll eventually be right. That's not completely the case with this pick... but it's part of it. There's nothing I can say about Phil's game that you don't already know or probably wouldn't agree with. I think he has a good week and it's as simple as that.

4. Sergio Garcia - Kind of the same deal with Phil, except not really. Sergio rarely - if ever - comes through. That may seem harsh, but it's true. He has yet to claim a major, but if he can build up his confidence in time for the PGA, he could have a chance. I think he starts that process here.

5. Bill Haas - He's above-average in nearly every statistic kept on PGATour.com. He's finished Top 5 on five different occasions this year. He'll do that again this week and I think we should start to get used to seeing his name in the Top 10. I feel like management is going to give him a push like they're doing with Byrd (take that however you want).

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Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club Round 1 Recap:

Top 10
1. Bill Haas, -8
T2. Jonathan Byrd, -6
T2. David Toms, -6
T4. Lucas Glover, -5
T4. Pat Perez, -5
T6. Stuart Appleby, -4
T6. Carl Pettersson, -4
T6. Rickie Fowler, -4
T6. Vijay Singh, -4
T6. Jim Herman, -4

Full Leaderboard  |  Round 2 Tee Times

My pick: Jim Furyk (T53, E). Thankfully, Furyk still has Round 2 to make me look a little better and get back in this tournament. He won in 2006, so it's not out of the question by any mean.

All in the family

Bill Haas shot a 64 in the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship, claiming a two-shot lead after the first round.

Jay Haas, father of Bill, is currently 6th at the Regions Tradition on the Champions Tour at -3.

Jay and Bill played in the Wells Fargo Championship three times together, with Jay Jr. and uncle Jerry, also joining them in 2006 and 2004 respectively (Thank you, Tour Report).

To say winning the Wells Fargo would be the biggest win in Bill's career is an understatement. It's not quite a major championship, but the sentimental value puts it right up there for Haas. Well, all of the Haas' probably.

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The PGA Tour is wide open and ripe for the taking.

What we know:

In 17 tournaments this year, 16 different players have won (excluding the Tavistock Cup, of course). Only Mark Wilson has won twice, at the Sony Open in Hawaii (Jan. 13-16) and Waste Management Phoenix Open (Feb. 3-6) respectively.

Jonathan Byrd, Wilson (x2), Jhonattan Vegas, Bubba Watson, D.A. Points, Aaron Baddeley, Johnson Wagner, Luke Donald, Rory Sabbatini, Michael Bradley, Nick Watney, Gary Woodland, Martin Laird, Phil Mickelson, CHarl Schwartzel and Brendan Steele have won PGA Tour tournaments in 2011.

What's staggering is how players are finishing in the next tournament played after winning:

Jonathan Byrd - 34
Wilson - 61, C
Jhonattan Vegas - 3
Bubba Watson - 29
D.A. Points - C
Aaron Baddeley - C
Johnson Wagner - C
Luke Donald - 10
Rory Sabbatini - 28
Michael Bradley - C
Nick Watney - 13
Gary Woodland - C
Martin Laird - 20
Phil Mickelson - 27
Charl Schwartzel - NA
Brendan Steele - NA

Six players have missed the cut following a win. The only players to make the Top 10 after a win are Jhonattan Vegas and Luke Donald. Watney and Laird round out players to finish in the Top 20, and that leaves five players who finished outside the Top 20.

Think about that. Of the 16 winners this year, 11 were either cut or finished outside the Top 20 in the next tournament.

Carrying winning momentum from one tournament to the next is basically non-existent so far in the 2011 season. That certainly can change, but it brings an even greater task upon those of us who try to figure out who might win week after week.

In the tournaments played in which the 2011 winning players have made the cut, all have an average finish of 40 or below. This year, the field has had an average of 67 players. The 2011 winners have a combined average finish of 22nd.

In a year where you'd have had the best chance of picking a winner by just pulling a name out of a hat, it all kind of makes sense.

It's not an aboration to have only one repeat winner in the past five years, but it's definitely worth noting. Tiger Woods won three of the first 17 tournaments in 2007, but other than that, there hasn't been a year in which only one player has won twice.

Call it the state of the PGA Tour in 2011 and something to keep an eye on as the year unfolds.

Tavistock Cup Monday Results

Team Isleworth leads by two, full results below:

(Results via PGATour.com)

Today is the final day and will feature single stroke-play results from each player in the field.

Six groups will hit the course today, and you can find those pairings here.

Transitions Championship

PGATour.com put together Power Rankings for the Transitions Championship at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club's Copperhead course. Check out the full power rankings here.

Top 5, according to Rob Bolton of PGATour.com:

1. Bubba Watson
2. Padraig Harrington
3. Nick Watney
4. Jonathan Byrd
5. Martin Kaymer

The way I see the top 5 finishing on Sunday:

1. Martin Kaymer
2. Charles Howell III
3. Padraig Harrington
4. Vijay Singh
5. Bubba Watson

Though Watson is featured atop Bolton's Power Rankings, he fell ill last week and had to withdraw from the WGC-Cadillac Championships. Maybe he's recovered fully in one week, but I'm not putting money on him winning this thing.

Kaymer is the world's No. 1 golfer, and though this is his first time playing a tournament at Copperhead, I like his chances.

In the opening round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, a golfer unknown in the golf "champions" conversation, shot a 66 to take the first round lead. 

That man was Jonathan Byrd, a four-time PGA Tour winner with his last coming at the Justin Timberlake Shriner's Hospitals for Children Open in 2010. You may remember his walk-off hole-in-one back in October to win the tournament in a playoff. 

Time to change four-time to five-time winner. Byrd was able to hold off Roberrt Garrigus, who missed a three-foot birdie putt to extend the playoff, and claim the championship in one hole of overtime play. Byrd closed the round with a 6-under 67.

U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell nearly did enough to make it a three-player playoff, tying the course record with an 11-under 62 on Sunday, but missed a 10-foot birdie putt to get in. He finished third. 

To say Byrd's life, and golf career, have been a whirlwind the past few months is an understatement. Prior to the hole-in-one that earned him his fourth career victory, Byrd was fighting to hold on to his Tour card and sitting outside the Top 125 on the money list. 

Now, he's automatically qualified for next year's opening tournament in Kapalua, an automatic birth in the Masters and is exempt for the U.S. Open. Taking home $1.1 million for the win is one New Years present Byrd will never forget.

What a difference a few months can make. 

Full Leaderboard

Up next...

The PGA Tour continues its Hawaiian vacation this weekend with the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae (Honolulu, HI). Ryan Palmer is the defending champion and will be joined by a field of 143 golfers. 

The Nationwide Tour doesn't kick off until February 24 at the Panama Claro Championship. 

The Champions Tour begins next weekend (January 21) with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. Tom Watson is the defending champion to become the 13th oldest player to win on the Champions Tour, but no word on if he'll be there or not.

The European Tour opens up with the Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club in South Africa. 

The LPGA Tour returns February 17 with the Honda LPGA Thailand at Siam Country Club, Pattaya Old Course in Chonburi, Thailand.

And just for fun, have a look at how much time ESPN puts into showcasing the LPGA schedule to the PGA Tour schedule. I guess the LPGA Tour doesn't have enough good will with the Worldwide Leader to get links on their page. Blame Michelle Wie?

Nothing feels better after coming inside from 10-degree weather than knowing there are a bunch of wealthy men playing golf in Hawaii. It leads to a nice afternoon of staring out the window, daydreaming that your professional life could only have been so lucky. 

Perhaps that's part of the glory of golf. Few can do it well enough to earn money, and the rest of us only dream about it. Which makes it pretty fantastic the PGA Tour is back and ready to taunt the cubicle/office hermits with its majestic outdoor workplace. 

Now that Tiger Prowling headlines are mostly behind us, the new year brings the first tournament of the year: the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. 

(Quick side note before we get into some recap/analysis... Why does Hawaii, similar to Canadian destinations, get three locations in its name, while every other United States destination gets two? AKA Cleveland, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois, etc... It's strange and makes me think Hawaii is simply trying to make up for its not-a-continuos-United-State syndrome. Guess you have to throw them a bone once in awhile).

Anyway, Jonathan Byrd shot an opening round 66 to take the early lead in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Two-time defending champion Geoff Ogilvy withdrew from the tournament after a gouge on his index finger from a Coral Reef limited his ability to make a full golf swing. The injury will most likely shelve Ogilvy for next weeks tournament as well.