February 3, 2010--I would like to send congratulations to Ben Crane and his family for his victory at Torrey Pines last week. Ben is truly one of the nicest guys on tour, and I couldn't be happier for him. Ben held off a very strong field to get his first victory since 2005. I was also very impressed with the play of rookies Rickie Fowler and Michael Sim. These are two players that we will be seeing a lot of in 2010. As we all know the newest talk on tour is Groovegate. I personally do not understand why there is so much controversy over this. The players do not make the rules, they just abide by them. Under the current rule the Ping wedge in question is not illegal, and in my mind everyone should be playing it, and if you do not already own one, may I suggest that you go and find one.

A good analogy for the wedge controversy would be the long putter; should it be legal, and how about when it is used to take a drop, is that fair? This is not for me or any other players to decide, because it is legal under USGA rules and that is golf. Phil Mickelson does not agree with the new rule but he does understand the rules of golf, and if a club is legal then it can be used, and that is why he is going to continue to do so until told otherwise.

Onto the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. Riviera is a great golf course that puts a premium on driving the ball long and straight. Phil, the two-time defending champion, played well last week, with the exception of driving it poorly on Sunday, which knocked him out of contention. Phil has spent the past few days working on the driver and should have everything ironed out by the time he tees off on Thursday. Nick Watney had a top ten last week and continues to be in good form heading into the week. Stewart Cink stopped by my academy in Las Vegas on Monday on his way to Riviera. We put in a great day of work and Stewart is swinging the club beautifully. I look for all three of my guys to give it a great run this week and hopefully one of them will be holding the trophy come Sunday afternoon. Good luck guys!

A couple of other players that should also have a good week are former champions of this tournament, Fred Couples, who always plays great at Riviera, and Lucas Glover, who is coming off another top ten last week. Lucas is playing great, and for that reason he is my dark horse pick of the week. Editor's Note following original post: Well,  I guess my dark horse pick will not be winning this week, as Lucas Glover decided to take the week off. Check back early next week as I make my pick for the AT&T at Pebble Beach National Pro Am.
 

The Butch Harmon School of Golf is located in Las Vegas, Nev., at the Rees Jones-designed Rio Secco Golf Club. While Butch works with some of the best players in the world, all golfers are stillwelcome to attend VIP golf schools at the Harmon School. Click now to view the school dates for 2010, and to view all details about a potential VIP stay in Las Vegas, and a chance to learn the same secrets from Harmon that the best players in the world do. Or place a personal call to us at (888) 867-3226, option 2 or click to send us a direct email. Current players that Harmon works with include Stewart Cink, Phil Mickelson, Natalie Gulbis, Nick Watney, and Fred Couples. NOTE: Weekend schools in March have opened up so check the school dates!