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TSN Senior Reporter

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TSN's Bob Weeks shares random thoughts on the Career Builder Challenge and Abu Dhabi HSBC Championships.

1. Rickie Fowler’s victory in Abu Dhabi moved him to No. 4 on the Official World Golf Ranking and naturally started the conversation of expanding the Big Three into the Big Four. That’s just fine with Fowler who has four wins worldwide in the past nine months, including The Players.

“They are the three best or highest-ranked players in the world,” Fowler said at his press conference after the win. “There's no way around that, and the three of them have played amazing. I mean, just last year, Jason and Jordan, what they did, and Rory, to put together the season after having an injury … Yeah, I want to be a part of the crew. It would be a pretty good foursome.”

Getting entry to that group, of course, would be easier with a major victory and Fowler already has his eyes fixed on Augusta National. Despite not winning a major yet, the 27 year old has a solid record in the four big ones. He has six top-10 finishes in majors since 2011, with his best last year being a tie for twelfth at the Masters.

2. It’s only January, but the world’s top-ranked golfer declared himself worn out both physically and mentally after posting a tie for fifth in Abu Dhabi. Jordan Spieth told The Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard that the rigorous schedule he’s set out has taken its toll.

“We are kind of beat up mentally. Physically, we're not 100 percent right now. It shows in certain places, and this week, the first day I was here, I was striping it and since then, I was just a little weak,” he said.

Spieth had just a three-week break over the holidays and is in the middle of a busy stretch of overseas play. This week, he’ll tee it up at the Singapore Open. While he is no doubt being admirably compensated for his appearances, Spieth said he’d re-evaluate his winter schedule for next year.

3. Jason Dufner’s win at the Career Builder was his first since the 2013 PGA Championship. Perhaps the quote that best sums up his victory was a short, to-the-point statement: “I’m happy to be playing good golf again,” he told reporters after his win over David Lingmerth in a two-hole playoff.

Since his major win, Dufner has suffered through injuries and a divorce, which derailed his fine play. But with that behind him, he’s apparently returned to form and may even be better. This marked his third consecutive top-10 finish, just the second time he’s done that in his career. And through six events this season, Dufner is 65 under par with 17 of his 22 rounds in the red.

4. Adam Hadwin’s tie for sixth in Palm Springs marked his best finish since last May. The Abbotsford, B.C., product was tied atop the leaderboard as he moved to the back nine on Sunday, but bogeys on 12, 13 and 15 derailed his shot at a first win. He did manage to close on a good note with a birdie on the final hole to finish at 20 under.

“I'm pretty disappointed,” Hadwin told reporters after his round. “Being in a share of the lead going into the back nine and just not being able to execute and get the job done, it's disappointing. But it's a lot to build on, a lot to move forward on. And it was great to get a birdie in front of all the fans there on the last hole.”

The performance also moved Hadwin closer to a spot on the Canadian Olympic team for this summer’s Games. He moved to 208th in the Official World Golf Ranking, up from 240th, and now trails Graham DeLaet by 62 spots. DeLaet tied for 42nd at the Career Builder and is 146th on the world ranking list. David Hearn is the top Canadian at 130th.

5. One of the holes that cost Hadwin came during Saturday’s play when, in the middle of a torrid round, he elected to go for the green in two on the par-5 15th hole. After a solid drive left him 245 yards from the green, he pulled out his hybrid and hit a poor shot that ended up in the water. His decision to attempt to reach the green in two came despite a note he wrote in his yardage book in his pre-tournament planning that read: “DO NOT GO FOR THIS GREEN IN TWO.”

“[His caddie] Joe and I had talked about that hole and we are going to play it as a three-shot hole the whole time and I, of course, I would hit one of the best tee shots of the day and be a perfect yardage for that hybrid. And the way I was swinging I felt no issues, get it to the back of the green two putt and let's keep the pedal down.”

Lesson learned.

Stat of the week: In his first start of 2016, Phil Mickelson posted rounds of 68-65-66-68 last week at the Career Builder Challenge, marking the first time since the 2014 PGA Championship that he’s had four rounds in the 60s.