The Foursome, Quick 18, Stock up/down and more

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Welcome to Monday Backspin, where we provide insight and analysis on the latest results, happenings and news on the PGA TOUR.

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Watching the Frys.com Open was a lot like watching a Lakers-Nuggets game: Fast-break offense and not a lot of defense, at least from Grayhawk Golf Club.

For final-round highlights from Grayhawk GC, click here.

Sunday's duel in the desert was the kind of shootout that makes Fall Series events fun. For the third consecutive tournament, we had a sudden-death playoff, and for the second week in a row, guys made birdies in bunches. Or, in this case, holes-in-one with four of them -- including one by Nicholas Thompson, who preceded his ace with a rare double-eagle.

Troy Matteson also set a PGA TOUR record with back-to-back 61s, and we were introduced to Rickie Fowler and Jamie Lovemark, two former college stars who look like they're the real deal, especially Fowler, who hits it a mile and putts with equal ability.

On a side note, I had a lengthy interview with Anthony Kim last week that was mostly about the upcoming NBA season (Kim is a die-hard Lakers fan and a big NBA guy, too) for a story that will appear on PGATOUR.COM and NBA.com later this week, but we also talked about his career and off-the-course behavior. Bottom line: Kim is 24 years old, said he's learning -- albeit slowly at times -- and feels like he's mostly headed in the right direction.

Stock up

Chris Stroud: Finally, it looks like Stroud won't have to endure the grind that is q-school -- not after top-20s each of the last two weeks, including a tie for eighth at the Frys.com Open. Stroud earned his TOUR card via q-school each of the last three years but should be safe now. Money list: 111 (125 last week) Bill Lunde: The second half of the year had been largely forgettable for Lunde, who missed five of his last eight cuts coming into the Frys.com Open. But his tie for fourth at Grayhawk not only was a season best, it pretty much locked up his card for next year. Money list: 102 (124 last week) Ryan Moore: That's now six top-10s this year for Moore after a tie for eighth in Arizona. When Moore first came on TOUR following a stellar amateur career, many expected him to be a star. Injuries derailed his career, though. Now, he appears to be back on that path to stardom. Money list: 30 (34 last week)

Stock down

Todd Hamilton: In the five seasons following his British Open victory, Hamilton has just two top-10 finishes. And even though he had a tie for 15th at the Masters and a tie for fourth at the Verizon Heritage this year, he has struggled since with 11 missed cuts in his last 17 events, including the last three. Money list: 133 (129 last week) Jeff Maggert: Missing four consecutive cuts is a good way to play yourself out of the top 125 on the money list. What's more troubling is that Maggert has broken 70 just once in his last eight rounds, and four of those rounds were on fairly easy courses at TPC Summerlin and Grayhawk. Money list: 127 (123 last week) David Duval: For a guy who proclaimed to be "back," Duval sure hasn't looked like it since that runner-up finish at the U.S. Open. He has made just one cut since then, finishing in a tie for 63rd at the Buick Open, and is a combined 13 over in his last four events. Money list: 125 (121 last week)

A Quick 18

Front Nine Back Nine Not lost in Troy Matteson's victory, of course, is the fact that he set a PGA TOUR record for lowest consecutive 36-hole total when he shot 61-61 in the second and third rounds of the Frys.com Open. You won't lose many, if any, tournaments doing that. Tim Clark is too good not to win on TOUR, at least I think so anyway. But when is it going to happen? He's now 0-for-195 in what has been an otherwise stellar career. The two desert courses in the Fall Series suited him perfectly, but he came up short again. It took all of five holes for Rickie Fowler to erase a four-shot deficit Sunday, highlighted by his ace with a 6-iron on the 211-yard fifth hole. Even though he wasn't able to turn that into a win, he has shown some serious game the last couple of weeks. Stat of the Week I: This is more like the interesting fact of the week, but Steve Wheatcroft, who was one of "THE 25" to graduate from the Nationwide Tour, was born in Indiana, Pa., and went to college at Indiana University. Had it not been for the last two weeks, Fowler would be headed to the first stage of q-school this week. Instead, the $553,700 he has won in that time moves him inside the top 150 from the 2008 money list, earning him special temporary membership on TOUR for the rest of the year. Stat of the Week II: Of Fowler's four eagles last week, only one of them came on a par-5 -- the fourth hole during the third round. One, of course, came via the hole-in-one Sunday and the other two on drivable par-4s. Well, drivable to those who hit it 330 yards. There have now been 12 playoffs in the 2009 season, and three of them have come in the Fall Series, with Matteson winning the Frys.com Open, Martin Laird the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and Matt Kuchar the Turning Stone Resort Championship. Stat of the Week III: There wasn't a single bogey on the 429-yard, par-4 12th during the third round of the Frys.com Open, though Brian Vranesh did make a triple-bogey there. No wonder it was the easiest hole of the day. Nicholas Thompson's double eagle-par-ace during Saturday's third round was one of the more amazing three-hole stretches you'll ever see. Or not see, since no cameras were there to capture the double-eagle from 261 yards on No. 11. Tweet of the Week: "Hey guys.I had successful surgery on my left wrist here in NY yesterday. Everything went as planned, and I thank Dr Weiland and his team." -- 2008 Masters champion Trevor Immelman let everyone know he is doing his best to return to form with a post-surgery tweet early in the week. The double-eagle was not the first for Thompson as it turns out. Nor was it his first hole-in-one. According to Thompson, it was his second albatross and eighth ace, though none apparently came in competition. "It was a pretty cool experience," Thompson said. Not to get too political in this space, but according to a story in the New York Times on Sunday, President Obama has played 23 rounds of golf since taking office (at least according to records kept by CBS). Make of it what you will. It was a good week to be a Yellow Jacket. Along with Matteson's victory, Bryce Molder tied for sixth, and Thompson tied for eighth. Former Yellow Jackets have now won two of three Fall Series events. Georgia Tech also defeated Virginia in football to take control of the ACC. The quietest 61 you might ever see came from Mike Weir on Sunday. Weir made the turn in 29 on the back at Grayhawk and, at least for a few holes, had everyone on the 59 watch. Still, the 61 equals Weir's career-low round and landed him a tie for sixth. Two very notable names are in danger of finishing outside the top 125 on the money list: Rocco Mediate, 141st, and David Duval on the bubble at No. 125. With only two events left in the Fall Series, time is obviously running out for them and others. The 10-year anniversary of the plane crash that killed Payne Stewart was Sunday, and to this day, it remains one of the most eerie and tragic incidents in all of sports. I was watching TV in my parents' living room when the story broke on CNN; most people remember where they were that day. It only prolonged the inevitable, but Jamie Lovemark's approach shot on the first playoff hole Sunday did something I'm not sure we've seen before when it literally jumped out of the water and into the rough. Not skipped. Jumped. Among the other tidbits that you can read more about in the upcoming Anthony Kim interview mentioned earlier: He still has a lot of growing up to do. He likes to talk trash, a lot of trash. He predicts the Lakers will beat the Celtics in six games in the NBA Finals.

The Forward Spin

The Viking Classic has nothing to do with Brett Favre's return to Green Bay to lead the Vikings against his former team, but the second-to-last Fall Series event will take place in Favre's home state of Mississippi. And if it's anything like the first three Fall Series events, it should offer the same level of excitement as this coming Sunday's Vikings-Packers game. Here's hoping it will, anyway. One guy to keep an eye on this week: Chad Campbell. He has played fairly well in recent weeks and won this tournament in 2007. He wasn't able to defend last year, though, because he was playing in the Ryder Cup.