Musings from The FedEx Cup Finale

The race for the FedEx Cup is finally over, having culminated in an exciting sudden death finish at THE TOUR Championship at East Lake. I worked the scoring area last week in Atlanta, and as far as work goes, it doesn't get any better for me...ten minutes from my house, a small field and late tee times every day. Compared to the 60+ hours a week I'm used to working, this tournament felt like a vacation!

Congrats to Vijay for not severely injuring himself or botching his scorecard at the Finale. As a result, the Big Fijian collected the $10 million FedEx Cup bonus after cruising around East Lake at 9-over par. Whereas Veej usually doesn't spend an abundance of time scrutinizing his card, last week I made sure we were both excessively thorough in checking his scores. Singh was especially laid-back and friendly in Atlanta...I guess when the pressure's off everyone gets a taste of Vijay's lighter side.

Out of the four guys in the hunt on Sunday afternoon, three (Garcia, Kim and Mickelson) competed in the emotionally draining Ryder Cup the week before. Which player had that week off? Your winner, Camilo "Fresh Legs" Villegas. Several members of the victorious American team admitted to me that their brains were fried, and they couldn't wait to take a break from the game.

I've always known he could flat-out play, but I've become a huge Anthony Kim fan after his Ryder Cup performance and swagger. Other people are adding him to their "new friends" list...after playing together in the third round, Kim and Sergio exchanged cell phone numbers in the scoring area. "I'd better give you my Euro number as well," said Garcia. "I plan on being over there for a while."

Finally, I talked college football with Mickelson and his caddie Bones after play on Saturday afternoon. They were headed over to Athens to take in the Georgia-Alabama game. When I asked Phil what he thought about the Crimson Tide getting seven points, he rolled his eyes. "Absolute tap-in," he offered. The man knows his football.

The Man with One Black Shoe

Anthony Kim is showing the world that he is for real. With two wins in his last five starts, he is the first American under 25-years old to win twice in the same year since…Tiger Woods.

One of my first impressions of AK came at last year’s Nissan Open (now the Northern Trust Open) at Riviera Country Club in California. He showed up to start his third round on the tenth tee wearing one black shoe and one white shoe. The fans were snickering, the other pros were rolling their eyes, and I was the first to ask him what was up. “Did you get dressed in the dark, AK?"

“What…you don’t like this action?” he fired back.

“Well, I’ve seen some crazy shoes before, but I can’t say I’ve seen two completely different pairs being worn at the same time. That’s a new one.”

“Exactly. I want to be the first to make the two-shoe statement.”

I realized right there that this rookie is either extremely clueless, or he’s cocky for good reason. He then stepped up and cranked his drive onto the green, 315 yards away. Anthony shot 64 in the final round that week, finished ninth on a sponsor’s exemption, and went on to make $1.5 million for the year (60th on the 2007 money list).

Hey AK, wear any combination of shoes you want (or a huge, five-pound, diamond-encrusted belt buckle). You’re currently fifth on the money list and fifth in FedEx Cup points…by now, you’ve definitely earned it.