Video: Jonathan Byrd's Valspar Championship Ace

A classic, no-doubter ace from Byrd on Innisbrook's 215-yard 15th.

The clip:

Golf Gods Alive & Well Files: DJ Wins WGC At Doral

I believe I mentioned that J.B. Holmes ripping the course he was leading on is just the kind of thing our friends upstairs notice (a.k.a. the Golf Gods). And Bubba Watson griping about how he can't play a course after a 69? Noted upstairs.

Oh sure, Dustin Johnson didn't three putt all week (!!!) on frighteningly fast greens and you say that's why he won. But we know better. The Golf Gods have always been architecture buffs. When players complain about the course they are shooting low scores on, they place a few calls!

Doug Ferguson on Dustin Johnson's first win after his six month vacation from golf to regroup.

Bob Harig of ESPN.com on how this sets up Johnson as one of the Masters favorites. Until the questions turn to DJ's leave.

"I would drink and drink to access,'' Johnson said in the ESPN interview. "The change I made is I just don't do that anymore. I definitely have given up hard liquor 'cause that was the thing that I went to ... it's been a big change.''

On Sunday, Johnson was asked point blank if ever flunked a tour drug test. "No. Thanks,'' he said.

Another question he dealt with why he hasn't been more forthcoming about his issues.

"It's personal and frankly ... it's not really anybody's business.''

Fair? Maybe. But still curious, especially when a top talent is gone for so long. If he entered some sort of rehab program, it wouldn't seem to have been for very long.

It would be easy to say Holmes and Watson handed this one to Johnson, but as Jim McCabe notes, DJ on this with his play.

Especially if you could play your weekend 36 in 69-69, hitting 26 greens and offsetting just three bogeys with a hole-in-one and seven birdies – which is exactly what Johnson did.

Linda Robertson of the Miami Herald says whatever criticisms that the fans-dressed-as-empty-seats vibe all changed with Sunday's finish. I'm not sure my remote would agree, since it was switching over to the more interesting Spotlight coverage on Golf Channel or spring training, but at least she gives the Commish reason to remember he's not a star in everyone's eyes.

A climax packed with high-stakes golf shots on every hole injected intensity into the atmosphere at Trump National Doral. The vibe had been a little too mellow over the first three days, maybe because too many fans were chilling inside the various cocktail lounges and corporate suites arrayed around the grounds, or maybe because Holmes built a cushy lead, starting with his incredible opening-round 62, which prompted Donald Trump to ask for tougher pin placements on his revamped course.

Even PGA Tour commissioner Tom Finchem acknowledged he’d heard the tournament described as “flat” and lacking “buzz.”

He heard it, but I'm sure it didn't sink in for Tom.

The highlights from PGA Tour Entertainment:

Update on 2015-03-09 17:56 by Geoff

**Brian Wacker on Johnson's new dedication to life and fitness.

Johnson changed his diet and his habits, losing 12 pounds in the process. "I was getting a little chunky," he joked.

Diovisalvi said Johnson is “beyond committed”in terms of his fitness regimen. He’s up early. He works out before his round when his tee time allows it. As Diovisalvi puts it, he is “trying to really stick to what it takes.”

When Johnson was asked Sunday what needed more work in his six months away from golf, his personal life or his game, his reply was simple.

"Both.”

The State Of The Donald

His helicopter will be strategically parked and he'll be conspicuously present this week at Doral (as well as next week for another PGA of America-related announcement), so Steve DiMeglio takes stock of Donald Trump the golf course developer.

As I told John Patrick's radio show today, love him or hate him, The Donald has an entertainer's sensibility and seems to do a nice job reminding the PGA Tour that they are, in fact, supposed to be entertaining.

Even Commissioner Moonbeam is a fan...

Trump started building courses using some of the game's best architects. Then in 2008 when the market crashed, he started buying up existing golf properties and rebuilding them.

"I've always liked to say I'm a plus 10 (handicap) at building," Trump says.

He says he has no plans to expand his golf portfolio unless the right deal comes along. Such as the 800-acre Doral resort, which he snapped up out of bankruptcy in 2012 for $150 million. Trump pumped $250 million into a tired-looking resort in need of restoration, refurbishing the 643 guest rooms, updating a 48,000-square-foot spa and rebuilding and touching up 90 holes of golf, including the 18 of the famed Blue Monster course the PGA Tour stars will tackle this week.

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem says Trump is leaving a lasting mark on the sport.

"He has found a successful formula in purchasing wonderful properties like Trump National Doral Miami and then teaming with respected designers like Gil Hanse to bring these courses to their true potential," Finchem says.