The outcome doesn't do much for Hawkins' prediction, does it?
The case of Sergio in particular is interesting, inasmuch as the last time I saw him putt really well before The Players', was at this same Oakland Hills in the Ryder Cup. Sergio putted beautifully in that event, as did all the Euros, so much so that I always cited it in discussions of the curious case of Sergio's putting.
OHCC is an exacting test of one's putting stroke and imagination. The greens were NOT overly fast this week. As with Oakmont, the kinds of speeds I saw were on a par with what I have seen in an Invitational there. Not tricked-out. The greens were very dry on Thursday and Friday, mostly because the course had not seen rain in about six days, and Tuesday and Wednesday were in the low 90's and sunny. The rain on Saturday was mostly a return to normalcy. And therefore not overly severe.
The fellow that took David Graham into a playoff, mainly on his own putting skill? Ben Crenshaw.