After his extraordinary 2014 season one can’t blame Travois Gordón for a modest approach to 2015. Setting the bar low, perhaps to avoid too much undue pressure, the 2014 Player of the Year revealed his decision to treat this year as more a “victory lap” than an extended stay amongst the Tour elite. That plan has, and will serve him well as first time fatherhood and illness conspired to keep him out of 2 of this season’s 3 tournaments, and 4 of the last 5. Sitting 15th in the current standings prompted veteran Patrick Bird to say of Gordón, “Wow! Look at Travois. From Champ to Chump. My, how quickly the worm turns.” In the history of the MGM Tour, only 2 Players of the Year (W. Vargas, 2011; Jose Clemente, 2003) have failed to win a tournament the following year.
Magical Run
This Saturday’s MGM Tour Match Play Invitational kicks off the MGM Tour’s 2015 major championship schedule. It was here that Travois Gordón won the first major of his career and first of 2 majors in 2014 alone. He laid waste to a who’s who of serious contenders, most significantly 5-time winner Armen Grigorian in the Finals. A repeat of last year’s dominant performance is unlikely, but the season’s first major will no doubt test Gordón’s resolve, “victory lap” or not.
