As April turns to May, things in the golf world will be heating up with a big match play event this week, the Players Championship next week, and the U.S. Open a little more than a month away.

All of those topics, and more, were on the table for this edition of "Off The Tee" with Joel Harrington from 4 Deep Golf Blog. Here are some of the headlines:

  • Justin Rose wins Zurich Classic kicking it into another gear after going bogey free for the last 66 holes. Joel calls it an "absolutely tremendous performance".
  • This week's WGC Match Play at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, where there are some very interesting Friday match-ups. Joel especially likes Jimmy Walker - Ian Poulter. There's also a new format that eliminates the one-and-done format. Joel says he loves the new format.
  • One player who might be a bit distracted at the event is Rory McIlroy, who has tickets to Floyd Mayweather - Manny Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas Saturday night and says he might try to play then fly to Vegas to take in the fight. Joel says Rory's priorities are all wrong.
  • One player who will not be in San Francisco is Phil Mickelson who had to withdraw from event. Not a big surprise, he hasn't played this tournament since 2011. Joel says Phil is smart to take the time off considering his upcoming schedule.
  • Speaking of schedules, Tiger Woods' summer schedule has been confirmed. Tiger will be in the field at the Players Championship next week, the Memorial, U.S. Open, and British Open. Joel says there are "still some pretty glaring holes" in Tiger's game.
  • The USGA says it will feature sidehill and downhill tee boxes at U.S. Open in Chambers Bay, Washington in June. Some tour players are blasting that decision. Joel says when he first read about the plans he thought it was a late April Fool's joke.
  • The golf world is mourning the loss Calvin Peete, who passed away Wednesday at the age of 71. Peete was a 12-time winner on tour, and won the Players Championship twice. He was also a pioneer, as one of the first African-Americans on the PGA Tour. Joel says Peete's accuracy with the driver was among the best in the game.

Here's my entire interview with Joel:

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