Glass Houses

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	Memorial Park
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,475
Par:	70 (35-35).
Greens:	Overseeded Poa Trivialis; 7,000 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter:	11-plus feet.
Rough:	Overseeded ryegrass at 1.25”
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	24/2/4
Architect(s):	John Bredemus (1936); Tom Doak (2019).
Defending Champion (event):	Min Woo Lee (-20).
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	None.
Course Record:	62 Gary Woodland Rd 4 2025 62 Sami Valimaki Rd 4 2025 62 Scottie Scheffler Rd 2 2025 62 Tony Finau Rd 2 2024 62 Tony Finau Rd 2 2022 62 Scottie Scheffler Rd 2 2021 63 Mackenzie Hughes 2020
72 Hole Tournament Record:	260; Min Woo Lee.
Fact of the Week:	The event moved back to March for the 2024 event.
Fact of the Week II:	Torrey Pines and Rio Grande are the only two longer courses used on TOUR so far in 2026.

Notes:

Field of 135.
No significant course changes for 2026.
The top 65 and ties play the weekend.
$9.9 million – $1.782 million – 500 FedExCup points.
Must be in the top 50 OWGR after this week to qualify for the Masters.
Must WIN this week or next at Valero to qualify for the Masters if the OWGR is out of reach.

Stat of the Week: SG: Putting

All five winners ranked in the top five on the Poa Trivialis overseeded greens.

Notables

For the second week in a row, the host course features five Par-3 holes and overseeded Poa Trivialis putting surfaces.
All five champions ranked T12 or better in Par-3 Scoring.
The Par-70 also features three Par-5 holes, one of the toughest trios on TOUR.
The historic Houston Open, established in 1946, has had many homes, but Memorial Park is the only data in use this week.
The overseeded fairways average 30 to 40 yards in the landing area, accounting for the winds that constantly blow in this part of the world.
Poa Trivialis overseeded greens average 7,000 square feet and will not run more than 11.5 feet on the Stimpmeter (wind). The nuanced greens are the defense of this Tom Doak (2019) restoration.
Hole No. 16 is using a new tee box for 2025 and has added 40 yards to the scorecard. There are no significant changes for 2026.
This is the third consecutive year with the overseeded rough cut to 1.25 inches.
The range of winners is 26 to 36 years old.
Lee became the third first-time winner in five events at Memorial Park.
The Official World Golf Ranking is represented by 20 of the top 50 players, highlighted by No. 10 Chris Gotterup, the only two-time winner on TOUR this season.

Recent Winners

2026 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	No Event
Sony Open in Hawaii	Chris Gotterup
The American Express	Scottie Scheffler
Farmers Insurance Open	Justin Rose
WM Phoenix Open	Chris Gotterup (2)
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am	Collin Morikawa
Cognizant Classic	Nico Echavarría
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Akshay Bhatia
THE PLAYERS Championship	Cameron Young
Valspar Championship	Matt Fitzpatrick

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (LIV)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
Puerto Rico Open	Karl Vilips (first time)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Min Woo Lee (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Brian Harman
88^th Masters Tournament	Rory McIlroy (career grand slam)
RBC Heritage	Justin Thomas
Zurich Classic	Ben Griffin & Andrew Novak (first-time winners)
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Scottie Scheffler
Truist Championship	Sepp Straka (2)
Mrytle Beach One Flight	Ryan Fox
106^th PGA Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Charles Schwab Challenge	Ben Griffin (2)
The 50^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Canadian Open	Ryan Fox (2)
124^th United States Open	J.J. Spaun
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Aldrich Potgieter (first time)
John Deere Classic	Brian Campbell (2)
Genesis Scottish Open	Chris Gotterup
ISCO Championship	William Mouw (first time)
152^nd Open Championship	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Barracuda Championship	Ryan Gerard (first time)
3M Open	Kurt Kitayama
Wyndham Championship	Cameron Young (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Justin Rose
BMW Championship	Scottie Scheffler (5)
The TOUR Championship	Tommy Fleetwood (first time)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Sanderson Farms Championship	Steven Fisk (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Michael Brennan (first time)
Baycurrent Championship	Xander Schauffele
World Wide Technology Champ	Ben Griffin (3)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Adam Schenk (first time)
The RSM Classic	Sami Valimaki (first time)

Recent Winners – Texas Children’s Houston Open

Italics – not entered this week;

Year	Winner	Notes
2025	Min Woo Lee (-20)	Held off Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland by one shot to win for the first time on the PGA TOUR.
2024	Stephan Jaeger (-12)	Held off five players, including Scheffler and Finau, to win by a shot for his first victory on TOUR.
2022	Tony Finau (-16)	Set the tournament scoring record and won by four shots, also a record. Final November event (2023 season).
2021	Jason Korkak (-10)	Won by two shots as Scheffler couldn’t close the 54-hole lead.
2020	Carlos Ortiz (-13)	Held off Hideki Matsuyama (not entered) and Dusitn Johnson (ineligible) to win for the first time on TOUR.

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

Whatever.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings

Sony Open in Hawaii	Robert MacIntyre	T4	409,500
The American Express	Ben Griffin	T24	81,420
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T38	41,760
WM Phoenix Open	Sahith Theegala	T18	122,720
AT&T Pebble Beach	Patrick Cantlay	T14	342,500
The Genesis Invitational	Tommy Fleetwood	T7	603,200
Cognizant Classic	Daniel Berger	T32	54,816
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Scottie Scheffler	T24	157,000
THE PLAYERS	Collin Morikawa	WD	0
Valspar Championship	Jacob Bridgeman	T14	161,525

Last WEEK – Valspar Championship

MY CHOICE: Jacob Bridgeman – T14

Steady, yet unspectacular. Never raised to the level of contender. Congrats to Fitzy on his excellent bounce-back after a tough finish at THE PLAYERS. I didn’t see that coming.

THIS Week – Texas Children’s Houston Open

There’s no reason to save Chris Gotterup.

With two victories already, he won’t be playing many courses, if any, from this point forward where he can black out and just pump driver all day.

He can this week!

THE CHOICE: Chris Gotterup

Others to consider:

Any of the European ball-strikers who were in it last week at Valspar.

Nicolai Hojgaard, Jake Knapp, Sam Burns, Wyndham Clark

Course Horses at Memorial Park

2025 Birdies	2024 Birdies
26 Min Woo Lee	22 Scottie Schefffler
23 Taylor Pendrith	22 Alejandro Tosti
23 Alejandro Tosti	21 Nick Dunlap
23 Gary Woodland	20 Matti Schmid
22 Davis Thompson	20 Gary Woodland
22 Sami Valimaki	19 Tony Fianu
21 Jake Knapp	19 Tom Hoge
21 Scottie Scheffler	19 Billy Horschel
	19 Stephan Jaeger

2025	2024
Min Woo Lee (-20)	Stephan Jaeger (-12)
wins by 1 (Scheffler, Woodland)	wins by 1 (Scheffler, 4 others)
Par 70 – 7,475 yds	Par 70 – 7,435 yds
154 players	144 players

T2 Gary Woodland	T2 Tony Finau
04 Sami Valimaki -17	T2 Taylor Moore
T5 Wyndham Clark –15	T2 Alejandro Tosti
T5 Taylor Pendrith	T7 Billy Horschel -10
T5 Alejandro Tosti	T7 Aaron Rai
09 Ryan Gerard -14	T7 Max Greyserman
10 Mackenzie Hughes -13	T11 Nick Dunlap -9
T11 Lee Hodges -12	T14 Mackenzie Hughes -8
T11 Rico Hoey	T14 Tom Hoge
T11 Stephan Jaeger	T14 Davis Riley
T11 Isaiah Salinda	T17 Chad Ramey -7
T15 Ryan Fox -11	T21 Gary Woodland -6
T15 Eric Cole	T21 Cam Davis
T18 Chris Gotterup -10	T21 Davis Thompson
T18 Sam Stevens	T21 Matti Schmid
T18 Harry Hall	T21 Joe Highsmith
T18 Harris English	T28 Sahith Theegala -5
T18 Keith Mitchell	T28 Harry Hall
T18 Kevin Yu
T18 Ben Griffin

Valspar Championship Betting Angles

March 18, 2026March 18, 2026 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Valspar Championship

Innisbrook Resort

Copperhead Course

Palm Harbor, Florida

PGATOUR.com Links

Thoughts on Valspar

It’s difficult. Really difficult.

The flat tracks of PGA National, Bay Hill, and TPC Sawgrass have been replaced with oak-lined rolling hills and significant elevation changes.

The last four winners have all ranked in the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Putting and top 15 Greens in Regulation.

Par is a decent score again this week. Exactly five players have posted 10-under or better over the last three events.

Five.

This is not a hit-and-giggle or walk in the park after THE PLAYERS Championship. The cut during the last three editions was 2-over, even, and 1-over.

Survive and advance and enjoy the third-hardest three-hole closing stretch on TOUR, “The Snake Pit”.

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	Copperhead Course
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,352.
Par:	71 (35-36).
Greens:	Poa Trivialis overseed; TifEagle Bermuda; 5,822 square feet.
Stimpmeter:	12-plus feet.
Rough:	Overseeded ryegrass 3.75 inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	74/8/9.
Architect(s):	Larry Packard (1971).
Defending Champion (event):	Viktor Hovland (-11).
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	None.
Course Record:	61; Matt NeSmith (Round 2, 2022) & Padraig Harrington (Round 1, 2012). Neither player is in the field this week.
Tournament Scoring Record	267 (-17); Sam Burns (not entered), 2022.
Fact of the Week:	Since moving to March on the schedule in 2007, the winning margin has been two or fewer shots in every year save 2022.
Fact of the Week II:	The course has five Par-3 holes and three Par-5 holes.

Notes:

Field of 135.
No significant course changes for 2026.
The top 65 and ties play the weekend.
$9.1 million – $1.638 million – 500 FedExCup points.

Recent Winners

2026 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	No Event
Sony Open in Hawaii	Chris Gotterup
The American Express	Scottie Scheffler
Farmers Insurance Open	Justin Rose
WM Phoenix Open	Chris Gotterup (2)
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am	Collin Morikawa
Cognizant Classic	Nico Echavarria
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Akshay Bhatia
THE PLAYERS Championship	Cameron Young

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (LIV)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
Puerto Rico Open	Karl Vilips (first time)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Min Woo Lee (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Brian Harman
88^th Masters Tournament	Rory McIlroy (career grand slam)
RBC Heritage	Justin Thomas
Zurich Classic	Ben Griffin & Andrew Novak (first time winners)
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Scottie Scheffler
Truist Championship	Sepp Straka (2)
Mrytle Beach One Flight	Ryan Fox
106^th PGA Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Charles Schwab Challenge	Ben Griffin (2)
The 50^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Canadian Open	Ryan Fox (2)
124^th United States Open	J.J. Spaun
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Aldrich Potgieter (first time)
John Deere Classic	Brian Campbell (2)
Genesis Scottish Open	Chris Gotterup
ISCO Championship	William Mouw (first time)
152^nd Open Championship	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Barracuda Championship	Ryan Gerard (first time)
3M Open	Kurt Kitayama
Wyndham Championship	Cameron Young (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Justin Rose
BMW Championship	Scottie Scheffler (5)
The TOUR Championship	Tommy Fleetwood (first time)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Sanderson Farms Championship	Steven Fisk (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Michael Brennan (first time)
Baycurrent Championship	Xander Schauffele
World Wide Technology Champ	Ben Griffin (3)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Adam Schenk (first time)
The RSM Classic	Sami Valimaki (first time)

Recent Winners – Valspar Championship

Italics – not entered this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2025	Viktor Hovland (-11)	Broke a three-way tie on 7-under after 54 holes with a final round 67 to defeat Justin Thomas by a shot.
2024	Peter Malnati (-12)	Shot a final round 67 to win for the second time on TOUR.
2023	Taylor Moore (-10)	The first of three consecutive champions to post 67 in the final round. Defeated Adam Schenk by one shot.
2022	Sam Burns (-17)	Defeated Davis Riley in a playoff to successfully defend his title. His tournament scoring record was one of many broken in PERFECT, windless weather.
2021	Sam Burns (-17)	The event finished in May and Burns won on TOUR for the first time.
2019	Paul Casey (-8)	The Englishman became the last winner in single digits.

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

LAST WEEK – THE PLAYERS Championship

MY CHOICE: Collin Morikawa – WD

I have no words.

Missing the cut is one thing. Quitting after one hole is another. Glad to see the online sportsbooks refund folks’ money. That was the right thing to do.

As for One and Done, if you tee it, you played. It sucks, but it’s the right call.

Nobody said you didn’t need a little luck in life, but I feel for the McIlroy/Morikawa contingent the last two weeks. Go buy a lottery ticket or two and see if Karma has returned.

Whatever.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings

Sony Open in Hawaii	Robert MacIntyre	T4	409,500
The American Express	Ben Griffin	T24	81,420
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T38	41,760
WM Phoenix Open	Sahith Theegala	T18	122,720
AT&T Pebble Beach	Patrick Cantlay	T14	342,500
The Genesis Invitational	Tommy Fleetwood	T7	603,200
Cognizant Classic	Daniel Berger	T32	54,816
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Scottie Scheffler	T24	157,000
THE PLAYERS	Collin Morikawa	WD	0

THIS WEEK – Valspar Championship

Xander Schauffele will be on my short list of TWO for the U.S. Open. Brooks Koepka is the defending champion at Shinnecock Hills.

Justin Thomas makes sense this week, but I am not taking my chances on a guy who has just returned from back surgery.

Corey Conners has two wins at Valero, so he stays in the stable.

The Hojgaards have never made a cut here.

Jordan Spieth – Colonial or Augusta.

MY CHOICE: Jacob Bridgeman

Proven in Florida, proven in California.

He played from the final group in 2025 and secured third.

His form is T18 or better in every event this year.

LFG.

Others to consider

Viktor Hovland, Sahith Theegala, Lucas Glover, Billy Horschel, Ryo Hisatsune

Recent Form at Valspar

2025	2024	2023
Viktor Hovland (-11)	Peter Malnati (-12)	Taylor Moore (-10)
wins by 1 (JT)	wins by 2 (Cam Young)	wins by 1 (Schenk)
Par 71 – 7,352 yds	Par 71 – 7,340 yds	Par 71 – 7,340 yds
156 players	156 players	144 players

02 Justin Thomas -10	T3 Chancler Phillips -9	02 Adam Schenk -9
03 Jacob Bridgeman -9	T3 Mackenzie Hughes	T3 Jordan Spieth -8
T4 Bud Cauley -8	T5 Adam Hadwin -8	T7 Webb Simpson -4
T4 Ryo Hisatsune	T5 Xander Schauffele	T7 Matt Wallace
T4 Billy Horschel	T9 C Bezuidenhout -7	T10 Justin Thomas -3
07 Davis Riley -7	11 Lucas Glover -6	T10 Nick Taylor
T8 Seamus Power -6	T12 Billy Horschel -5	T10 Patton Kizzire
T8 Lucas Glover	T12 Taylor Moore	T10 Zac Blair
T8 Corey Conners	T12 Kevin Roy	T19 Davis Riley -1
T12 Eric Cole -5	T17 Matt Wallace -4	T19 Denny McCarthy
T12 Xander Schauffele	T17 Akshay Bhatia	T27 Chad Ramey E
T12 Ricky Castillo	T17 Ben Griffin	T27 Alex Smalley
T16 Matt McCarty -4	T17 Keith Mitchell	T27 Kevin Streelman
T22 R N P -3	T17 Matti Schmid	T27 Stephan Jaeger
T22 Emiliano Grillo	T17 Andrew Novak	T27 Andrew Novak
T22 Joe Highsmith	T26 Seamus Power -3
T22 Jeremy Paul	T26 Lee Hodges
	T26 Kevin Streelman

THE PLAYERS Championship Betting Angles

March 11, 2026 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

THE PLAYERS Championship

TPC Sawgrass

Stadium Course

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

** ROB BOLTON – LISTEN LIVE – 4PM ET WEDNESDAYS –

Click hereà TheZoneBloomington.com **

PGATOUR.com Links

Thoughts on The Chalk:

Schefffler, fade at your own peril. He will figure it out. I am seriously considering changing my Expert’s Picks lineup and will make a last-minute decision about donning his as my Captain.

McIlroy arrived on Wednesday. In a field this deep and on a track this demanding, at BEST, he will be on my bench.

Fleetwood’s 70.63 scoring average here is top five.

Morikawa fits to a T. There’s a reason EVERYONE is on him this week. Sometimes EVERYONE is right.

Si Woo Kim is on fire and a previous winner. Leads the TOUR in Ball-Striking.

Ludvig Aberg is brewing.

Bhatia will attempt to join Scheffler as the only recent player to win at Bay Hill and follow up with a victory at TPC Sawgrass.

I can’t get away from Min Woo Lee and Rickie Fowler

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	TPC Sawgrass
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,352
Par:	72 (36-36).
Greens:	TifEagle Bermuda; 5,500 square feet.
Stimpmeter:	13-plus feet.
Rough:	Overseeded ryegrass was mowed Sunday at 4.5 inches. #THICC
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	94/18/17
Architect(s):	Pete Dye (1980; 2016).
Defending Champion (event):	Rory McIlroy (-12)
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	McIlroy (2019, 2025); Scheffler (2024, 2022).
Youngest Winner:	Si Woo Kim, 17.
Oldest Winner:	Fred Fuk, 48.
Course Record:	62; Justin Thomas (Round 2, 2025); Tom Hoge (Round 3, 2023).
Tournament Scoring Record	264; Greg Norman (-24, 1994).
72 Hole Tournament Record (post 2015 switch to TifEagle):	268; Scottie Scheffler (-20, 2024).
Fact of the Week:	7.4 is the average attempts for winners.
Fact of the Week II:	Justin Thomas made 11 birdies to tie the course record last year.

Notes:

Field of 123.
The top 65 and ties play the weekend.
The deepest field in golf, no amateurs.
$25 million – $4.5 million – 750 FedExCup points.

Recent Winners

2026 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	No Event
Sony Open in Hawaii	Chris Gotterup
The American Express	Scottie Scheffler
Farmers Insurance Open	Justin Rose
WM Phoenix Open	Chris Gotterup (2)
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am	Collin Morikawa
Cognizant Classic	Nico Echavarria
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Akshay Bhatia

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (LIV)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
Puerto Rico Open	Karl Vilips (first time)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Min Woo Lee (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Brian Harman
88^th Masters Tournament	Rory McIlroy (career grand slam)
RBC Heritage	Justin Thomas
Zurich Classic	Ben Griffin & Andrew Novak (first time winners)
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Scottie Scheffler
Truist Championship	Sepp Straka (2)
Mrytle Beach One Flight	Ryan Fox
106^th PGA Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Charles Schwab Challenge	Ben Griffin (2)
The 50^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Canadian Open	Ryan Fox (2)
124^th United States Open	J.J. Spaun
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Aldrich Potgieter (first time)
John Deere Classic	Brian Campbell (2)
Genesis Scottish Open	Chris Gotterup
ISCO Championship	William Mouw (first time)
152^nd Open Championship	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Barracuda Championship	Ryan Gerard (first time)
3M Open	Kurt Kitayama
Wyndham Championship	Cameron Young (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Justin Rose
BMW Championship	Scottie Scheffler (5)
The TOUR Championship	Tommy Fleetwood (first time)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Sanderson Farms Championship	Steven Fisk (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Michael Brennan (first time)
Baycurrent Championship	Xander Schauffele
World Wide Technology Champ	Ben Griffin (3)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Adam Schenk (first time)
The RSM Classic	Sami Valimaki (first time)

Recent Winners – THE PLAYERS Championship

Italics – not entered this week; March winners only.

Year	Winner	Notes
2025	Rory McIlroy (-12)	Defeated J.J. Spaun in a three-hole aggregate playoff to win for the second time.
2024	Scottie Scheffler (-20)	Becomes the first player EVER to defend the title.
2023	Scottie Scheffler (-17)	Won by five shots in his third attempt.
2022	Cameron Smith (-14)	Needed a Monay finish and closed with 66 to come back from two shots and win.
2021	Justin Thomas (-14)	Posted 64-68, tying the lowest 36-hole aggregate to win by a shot.
2019	Rory McIlroy (-13)	Chased down Jon Rahm on Sunday to win the first event in the return to March.

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

LAST WEEK – Arnold Palmer Invitational

MY CHOICE: Scottie Scheffler – T24

Oh, Daniel Berger was THIS week, my bad.

Also, how f*cking stupid am I? Don’t answer that…

Why not wait for Scheffler to get hot, THEN play him?

I’m so bad at this.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings

Sony Open in Hawaii	Robert MacIntyre	T4	409,500
The American Express	Ben Griffin	T24	81,420
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T38	41,760
WM Phoenix Open	Sahith Theegala	T18	122,720
AT&T Pebble Beach	Patrick Cantlay	T14	342,500
The Genesis Invitational	Tommy Fleetwood	T7	603,200
Cognizant Classic	Daniel Berger	T32	54,816
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Scottie Scheffler	T24	157,000

THIS WEEK – THE PLAYERS

It’s the biggest prize purse of the season.

Time to get it right.

The time for dad-to-be Collin Morikawa is now.

MY CHOICE: Collin Morikawa

Others to consider

Si Woo Kim, Ludvig Aberg, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry

Longshots

Rickie Fowler, Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Corey Conners

Horses for Courses

Players	Top	Scr	Notes
(cuts made/starts)	10	Avg

Scottie Scheffler (5/6)	2	69.89	T20-WIN-WIN last 3
Rory McIlroy (10/16)	5	71.15	2 wins in last six visits
Tommy Fleetwood (8/9)	2	70.63	No top 10 in 6 years
Justin Rose (12/21)	3	71.81	MC-MC-T6 L3Y
Collin Morikawa (5/6)	1	71.11	3 straight; T10 ’25 best w/ 77

Chris Gotterup (0/1)	0	73.00	MC 73-73
Russell Henley (7/13)	0	71.67	T30 in 3 of last 4; T13 best
Robert MacIntyre (1/3)	1	72.13	Solo 9th ’25; all 4 rds 72 >
Xander Schauffele (5/8)	2	71.32	72-T2-T19 L3Y
JJ Spaun (3/7)	1	72.13	P2 ’25 – T64 ’24

Ben Griffin (1/3)	0	71.63	T35 2023
Hideki Matsuyama (8/11)	4	70.50	MC-T6-5th L3Y; T23 worst
Sepp Straka (5/6)	1	71.11	T14-T16-T65-T9 last 4
Justin Thomas (10/11)	2	70.86	2021 winner; T33 best since
Harris English (7/12)	0	72.80	T30-T19 L2Y; 7 –> MC before
Alex Noren (4/7)	1	71.27	T19-MC-T26; T10 debut best
Viktor Hovland (4/6)	2	71.25	MC-T62-T3-T9-MC
Keegan Bradley (10/15)	2	71.65	T20-MC-MC-5TH L4Y
Jacob Bridgeman			First Appearance
Cameron Young (3/4)	0	72.43	Only 2 rounds in the 60s; T51 best
Matt Fitzpatrick (5/10)	2	71.38	MC-5TH-MC-MC-T9 L5
Ludvig Aberg (1/2)	1	70.00	MC-8TH
Maverick McNealy (3/5)	1	72.50	MC-T9-T60-T46-MC; 3 of 16 60s
Ryan Gerard (1/1)	0	72.00	Sat T14 after 54 holes before 78 Sunday (T42)
Si Woo Kim (9/10)	3	70.67	2017 winner at 21; T6 2024; never MC here
Sam Burns (4/6)	0	72.13	2 of 16 rds in 60s; T26 best
Kurt Kitayama (2/3)	0	71.40	T33-T19-MC
Patrick Cantlay (6/9)	0	71.73	T12-T68-T19; 2 of his best L3Y
Shane Lowry (8/11)	1	71.09	T20-T19-T35-T13-8th last five
Min Woo Lee (3/3)	1	70.83	T20-T54-T6; Final Group 2023
Jason Day (10/14)	4	70.86	2016 winner; T35-T19
Players	Top	Scr	TPC Sawgrass Notes/Best Performances
(cuts made/starts)	10	Avg
Corey Conners (6/7)	2	70.55	T6-T13-mc-T26-7th
Akshay Bhatia (1/2)	1	70.33	T3-MC
Matt McCarty (1/1)	0	71.00	3 rounds of 70 or better in tough conditions
Ryan Fox (2/3)	0	71.20	T20-mc-T27
Andrew Novak (0/3)	0	74.83	6 of 7 rounds 74 or worse
Jake Knapp (2/2)	0	70.75	T12-T45; All 8 rounds 73 or better
Sam Stevens (0/2)	0	73.75	74-72; 73-76
Pierceson Coody			First Appearance
Michael Kim (1/5)	0	74.42	MC last four
Michael Thorbjornsen			First Appearance
Adam Scott (19/24)	4	71.41	2004 winner; T45 best in last 5
Brian Harman (10/14)	4	71.68	T2 2024; T3 2021
Nicolai Hojgaard (0/2)		73.75	73-73; 73-76
Nick Taylor (6/9)	0	72.04	T26 best in last 5
Harry Hall (0/2)			75-70; 77-74
Daniel Berger (8/9)	2	71.27	8 straight; T20 2025
Taylor Pendrith (3/4)	0	72.21	T13 2022 debut best
Ryo Hisatsune (0-2)		72.50	72-74; 70-74
JT Poston (5/7)	0	71.80	T33-T45 L2Y; T22 2019 debut best
Rickie Fowler (9/15)	2	72.09	2015 winner; T71-T68-T13 L3Y
Sungjae Im (6/7)	1	71.36	T61-T31-T6-T55-T17

Players	Top	Scr	Notes/Best Performances
	10	Avg
Aaron Rai (3/3)	0	70.58	T14-T35-T19
C Bezuidenhout (3/4)	0	70.79	MC-T13-T13-T41
Brian Campbell (0/1)			74-71
Ricky Castillo (0/1)			70-74
Bud Cauley (2/5)	1	72.14	T6 2025 first visit since 2019
Wyndham Clark (2/6)	1	71.15	WD-T2-T27-MC-MC-DQ
Eric Cole (1/3)	0	72.13	MC-MC-T27
Lucas Glover (5/6)	0	71.05	4 straight; T11 2024 best
Cam Davis (1/5)	1	74.50	T6 2023
Zecheng Dou			First Appearance
	Top	Scr
Players	10	Avg
Nico Echavarria (0/3)		73.83	70 or worse in 6 rounds
AJ Ewart			First Appearance
Tony Finau (5/10)	0	72.08	T19 2023 best
Steven Fisk			First Appearance
Emiliano Grillo (5/9)	0	72.32	11th 2017
Garrick Higgo (1/3)	0	72.29	WD-T44-MC
Joe Highsmith (1/1)	0	71.00	3 rounds of 72 or better
Lee Hodges (2/3)	0	73.20	T35-MC-T70 L3Y
Rico Hoey (1/1)	0	71.50	T33 debut
Tom Hoge (7/7)	2	70.70	T3-T54-T3; 7 straight
Rasmus Hojgaard (0/1)	0	76.00	72-80 MC
Max Homa (3/5)	1	71.63	MC-T64-T6-T13-MC
Mark Hubbard (3/5)	0	72.36	MC-T31-T35-MC-MC
Mackenzie Hughes (4/7)	0	72.10	MC 4 of the last 5 (T26)
Stephan Jaeger (2/4)	0	72.08	T20-MC-T44-MC
Takumi Kanaya			First Appearance
SH Kim (0/2)		74.50	74-71; 77-76
Chris Kirk (10/14)	0	71.66	T12 2017 best; T42-T26 L2
Brooks Koepka (4/6)	0	71.70	First Appearance since 2022 MC
Haotong Li (0/2)			First Appearance since 2019 MC
Denny McCarthy (6/6)	0	71.21	T14-T35-T13 L3Y
Max McGreevey (1/2)	0	73.67	T20-MC; 69-89 debut
Mac Meissner (1/1)	0	72.00	T42 2025
Keith Mitchell (5/6)	0	72.04	T13 2022
Taylor Moore (3/4)	0	71.79	T33-T31-T35-MC
William Mouw			First Appearance
Thorbjorn Olesen (1/2)	0	72.17	T41 2019 last, best
Matthieu Pavon (1/2)	0	73.00	T54-MC
Marco Penge			First Appearance
Chandler Philips (1/1)	0	73.50	T61 opened with 68
Aldrich Potgieter (0/1)			74-71
Andrew Putnam (1/6)	0	73.21	53rd 2024
Chad Ramey (1/3)	0	72.38	MC-MC-T27; FRL 2023
Kristoffer Reitan			First Appearance
Davis Riley (1/3)	0	72.88	T38-MC-MC
Patrick Rodgers (2/9)	0	73.43	MC last four
Kevin Roy (0/1)		73.50	77-70 2025
Adam Schenk (1/5)	0	72.33	T19 2024
Matti Schmid (1/2)	0	71.00	MC-T26
Alex Smalley (2/3)	0	71.90	T14-MC-T65
Jordan Smith			First Appearance
Austin Smotherman (1/1)	0	71.00	T35 2023
Jordan Spieth (5/11)	1	71.91	T4 2014 debut; 59th-MC-T19 L3Y
Sahith Theegala (3/4)	1	72.57	T52-T9-74-MC
Davis Thompson (2/3)	1	71.80	T10-MC-T68
Sami Valimaki (2/2)	0	72.88	T69-T54
Erik van Rooyen (1/3)	0	71.50	T13 2022
Jhonattan Vegas (7/11)	2	72.14	T3 2019; T7 2012; 60th best last 4
Karl Vilips	0	75.00	72-78 MC 2025
Danny Walker (1/1)	1	69.75	70-66-70 last 54 for T6 debut
Vince Whaley (0/1)		72.50	73-72
Gary Woodland (6/13)	0	72.84	T54 best in last 5 years
Sudarshan Yellamaraju			First Appearance
Keivn Yu (0/2)		73.75	73 is best

Arnold Palmer Invitational Betting Angles

March 4, 2026 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard

Bay Hill Club & Lodge

Orlando, Florida

** ROB BOLTON – LISTEN LIVE – 4PM ET WEDNESDAYS –

Click hereàTheZoneBloomington.com **

PGATOUR.com Links

Rob Bolton’s Power Rankings (Puerto Rico PR)

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	Bay Hill Club & Lodge
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,466
Par:	72 (36-36).
Greens:	TifEagle Bermuda; 7,500 square feet.
Stimpmeter:	13-plus feet.
Rough:	Overseeded ryegrass at FOUR inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	84/8/9
Architect(s):	Dick Wilson (1961); Arnold Palmer (2009; 2016).
Defending Champion (event):	Russell Henley (-11).
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Scheffler (2024, 2022).
Course Record:	62; Adam Scott (2014, Bentgrass greens) is the only player to post this total since 1984.
72 Hole Tournament Record (post 2016 switch to TifEagle):	270; Rory McIlroy (-18, 2018).
Fact of the Week:	The last 10 winners have produced seven champions 30 or younger.
Fact of the Week II:	The last five champions are from the USA.

Hot weather will make the ball go far this week, but Bay Hill has played over par for the last NINE seasons, regardless of the composition of the field.

The TifEagle Bermuda greens, which have not been overseeded, will be the best and fastest on TOUR yet. Big greens are surrounded by big penalty areas, so don’t be surprised to see balls, especially from the rough, finding the safest tiers on the putting surfaces. Lag putting will be a recipe for success this week.

Notes:

Field of 72.
The second of three Legacy Signature Events, the API cut will be made after 36 holes. The top 50 and ties play the weekend.
The OWGR is represented by 41 of the top 50, BUT 28 of the top 30.
$20 million – $4 million – 700 FedExCup points.

Recent Winners

2026 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	No Event
Sony Open in Hawaii	Chris Gotterup
The American Express	Scottie Scheffler
Farmers Insurance Open	Justin Rose
WM Phoenix Open	Chris Gotterup (2)
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am	Collin Morikawa
Cognizant Classic	Nico Echavarria

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (LIV)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
Puerto Rico Open	Karl Vilips (first time)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Min Woo Lee (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Brian Harman
88^th Masters Tournament	Rory McIlroy (career grand slam)
RBC Heritage	Justin Thomas
Zurich Classic	Ben Griffin & Andrew Novak (first time winners)
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Scottie Scheffler
Truist Championship	Sepp Straka (2)
Mrytle Beach One Flight	Ryan Fox
106^th PGA Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Charles Schwab Challenge	Ben Griffin (2)
The 50^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Canadian Open	Ryan Fox (2)
124^th United States Open	J.J. Spaun
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Aldrich Potgieter (first time)
John Deere Classic	Brian Campbell (2)
Genesis Scottish Open	Chris Gotterup
ISCO Championship	William Mouw (first time)
152^nd Open Championship	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Barracuda Championship	Ryan Gerard (first time)
3M Open	Kurt Kitayama
Wyndham Championship	Cameron Young (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Justin Rose
BMW Championship	Scottie Scheffler (5)
The TOUR Championship	Tommy Fleetwood (first time)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Sanderson Farms Championship	Steven Fisk (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Michael Brennan (first time)
Baycurrent Championship	Xander Schauffele
World Wide Technology Champ	Ben Griffin (3)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Adam Schenk (first time)
The RSM Classic	Sami Valimaki (first time)

Recent Winners – Arnold Palmer Invitational

Italics – not entered this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2025	Russell Henley (-11)	Followed T4 in 2024 with his fifth win on TOUR. Beat Morikawa by a shot in the final group.
2024	Scottie Scheffler (-15)	Second title in three years. Won by five shots.
2023	Kurt Kitayama (-9)	First debut winner since 1990.
2022	Scottie Scheffler (-5)	One of four players broke par in the final round. Course played No. 1 most difficult on TOUR in 2022.
2021	Bryson DeChambeau (-11)	First of five straight USA-USA-USA winners.

Notables

Adam Scott is the only player since 1985 to post 62 (2014) and is one of four to share the course record.
Tiger Woods (not entered) has won this event eight times, the most in history. Scheffler is the only multiple winner in the 2026 field.
The fairways are 30 yards wide, two yards wider on average than last week at PGA National and overseeded.
None of the Par-5 holes plays longer than 590 yards.
Since 2016, only Scheffler in 2024 ranked OUTSIDE the top SIX in Par-3 scoring. All four Par-3 holes extend 199 yards or longer.
The last seven winners have ranked in the top 10 in Greens in Regulation.
After adding TifEagle greens for 2016, nine of 10 winners have ranked in the top 15 in SG: Putting, and all were T21 or better. No weaknesses allowed in the bag this week!

LAST WEEK – Cognizant Classic

MY CHOICE: Daniel Berger – T32

Opening with 67, I was encouraged. After two middle rounds of 71-71, I was DISCOURAGED.

After watching Lowry capitulate in the final three holes with a three-shot lead, T32 is easier to stomach than losing $1 million in 30 minutes.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings

Sony Open in Hawaii	Robert MacIntyre	T4	409,500
The American Express	Ben Griffin	T24	81,420
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T38	41,760
WM Phoenix Open	Sahith Theegala	T18	122,720
AT&T Pebble Beach	Patrick Cantlay	T14	342,500
The Genesis Invitational	Tommy Fleetwood	T7	603,200
Cognizant Classic	Daniel Berger	T32	54,816

THIS WEEK – Arnold Palmer Invitational

The third of eight Signature Events precedes the biggest payday in golf, THE PLAYERS Championship next week in Ponte Vedra Beach. This week and next will require a podium finish or victory to absorb the dog days of summer.

These are the events to release the hounds and shoot your shot with the biggest and the baddest available. Of the two events spread over the next two weeks, Bay Hill is the more “predictable” of the bunch. TPC Sawgrass, minus the recent McIlroy/Scheffler domination, has produced a cadre of winners, which appeared to be drawn out of a hat.

Also, there is a cut in both events, which SHOULD NOT bother the world’s best, but here we are.

Remember, LIV players, if that is your angle, return for the Masters, PGA Championship, and Open Championship.

MY CHOICE: Scottie Scheffler

Time to kick it into gear for the No. 1 player in the world.

No more farting around on Thursday.

No more Poa annua to piss him off.

The familiarity of Bermuda and two previous victories on a track he loves (nothing worse than T15 in five starts) is the recipe I am looking for this week.

I would not talk you out of playing McIlroy, but this comes down to preference, and I will ride the steadier of the two on a course where hazards do affect play.

I will also remind you that the Truist Championship returns to Quail Hollow Club in May. McIlroy has won that event, a Signature Event, approximately 49,390 times. See you in May, Rors!

Others to consider

Jake Knapp, Russell Henley, Tommy Fleetwood

Longshots

Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry, Ryan Fox

Horses for Courses

Players	Top	Top	Scr	Bay Hill HFC Finishes/Notes
(cuts made/starts)	10	25	Avg

Scottie Scheffler (5/5)	3	5	70.60	T15 is his worst payday; Only 2x winner playing.
Rory McIlroy (11/11)	6	10	70.50	8 rounds of 66 or better; 2018 winner.
Tommy Fleetwood (7/9)	3	5	71.91	T11 2025; T3 2019
Justin Rose (13/20)	6	9	71.70	T8 2025 followed 4 -> MC
Collin Morikawa (3/5)	2	2	72.13	2nd 2025 after 2-> MC; T9 2020

Chris Gotterup				First Appearance
Russell Henley (6/9)	2	3	71.87	2025 winner followed T4; 5 –>
Robert MacIntyre (2/2)	0	1	71.75	T11, T36 L2Y
Xander Schauffele (4/4)	0	2	72.63	Best payday T24 2020
JJ Spaun (4/5)	0	0	73.11	T31 2025 best

Ben Griffin (2/2)	0	1	72.13	T45-T14 L2Y
Hideki Matsuyama (10/11)	1	6	71.86	Only top 10 2016 (T6); T22-T12 L2Y
Sepp Straka (2/6)	1	1	73.69	T5 2025 with 1st Rd 77!!!
Justin Thomas (4/4)	0	2	71.56	T12 2024 best; T36 2025
Harris English (9/13)	2	5	72.30	6–> busted 2025; T2 2023, T9 2020
Alex Noren (4/5)	0	0	72.72	T36 best; First visit since 2023 (T61)
Viktor Hovland (6/7)	2	2	72.35	6–> busted 2025; T10 2023, T2 2022
Keegan Bradley (13/14)	5	6	71.50	T11 or better 4 of last 5; cashed 13 straight
Jacob Bridgeman (1/1)	0	1	71.25	Closed 69-68 for T15 on debut 2025
Cameron Young (3/4)	1	2	72.50	T10 2023; 82-71 MC 2025
Matt Fitzpatrick (8/11)	4	7	71.71	T27 worst; 2nd 2019 first of 4 straight T10
Ludvig Aberg (3/3)	0	3	71.83	T22-T25-T24 (a) L3Y
Maverick McNealy (3/5)	0	0	73.75	73-80 MC 2025; T46 (a) 2016 best
Ryan Gerard				First Appearance
Si Woo Kim (6/10)	0	1	73.19	T19 2025 best; 4–>
Sam Burns (6/8)	1	1	72.93	T9 2022; T48, T30 L2Y
Kurt Kitayama (1/2)	1	1	71.67	MC-WIN; Nobody defends well first time anywhere
Patrick Cantlay (3/3)	1	1	71.67	T31, T36, and T4 L3Y
Shane Lowry (3/7)	2	2	72.20	7th 2025, 3rd 2024; AWFUL before!
Min Woo Lee (1/4)	0	0	75.30	73 or WORSE in 9 of 10 rounds
Jason Day (10/12)	3	7	71.30	2016 winner; T8 2025, T10 2023
Players	Top	Top	Scr	Bay Hill HFC Finishes/Notes
(cuts made/starts)	10	25	Avg
Corey Conners (5/7)	2	5	71.46	3rd ’25, 3rd ’21; T21 > last 5
Akshay Bhatia (0/1)				79-73 MC
Matt McCarty				First Appearance
Ryan Fox (1/1)	0	1	71.00	71-67 to close T14
Andrew Novak (1/1)	0	0	72.50	T34 debut 2025 included 65 Saturday
Jake Knapp (1/1)	0	0	75.00	T57 2025 debut
Sam Stevens (1/1)	0	0	73.00	T40 2025 debut
Pierceson Coody (1/1)	0	1	71.00	T14 2023 debut; 66 Saturday
Michael Kim (2/3)	1	2	71.20	4th 2025; T17 2017 (a)
Michael Thorbjornsen				First Appearance
Adam Scott (11/15)	2	4	71.81	3rd 2014; T36-MC last 2
Brian Harman (6/12)	0	4	72.58	T40-T12 L2Y; T12 best
Nicolai Hojgaard (0/2)	0	0	74.00	3 of 4 rounds > 71
Nick Taylor (5/8)	0	1	72.69	T31-T12 last 2 best 2
Harry Hall				First Appearance
Daniel Berger (2/3)	0	2	71.20	T15 2025; T13 2015
Taylor Pendrith (1/3)	0	0	74.75	T42 2022 debut best
Ryo Hisatsune				First Appearance
JT Poston (3/5)	0	0	74.38	T50-T55 last 2 best 2
Rickie Fowler (12/13)	1	4	72.12	Only top 10 2013; T31 best in last 4
Sungjae Im (7/7)	2	7	71.46	T21 or better in all 7; 2 podiums

The Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches Betting Angles

February 25, 2026 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Cognizant Classic at the Palm Beaches

Champion Cours at PGA National

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

** ROB BOLTON – LIVE 4PM ET WEDNESDAYS TheZoneBloomington.com **

PGATOUR.com Fantasy & Betting Articles

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	The Champion Course
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,223 (new 2026)
Par:	71 (35-36).
Greens:	TifEagle Bermuda; 7,000 square feet.
Stimpmeter:	12 feet.
Rough:	Overseeded ryegrass at 3 iinches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	60/20/15
Architect(s):	George Fazio (1981); Jack Nicklaus (2002, 2014 redesign; 2018).
Defending Champion (event):	Joe Highsmith (-19)
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Zero in 19 events at this course.
Course Record:	59; Jake Knapp (not entered), Round 1, 2025.
72 Hole Tournament Record	19-under (265).
Fact of the Week:	5 of the last 7 champions are first-time winners on TOUR.
Fact of the Week II:	The tournament scoring record has been broken in three consecutive events (2023-2025).

The biggest defenses of the course are the Florida breeze and water penalty areas, seemingly everywhere. Better be able to shape and control the golf ball.

Big greens, when found, get more difficult the closer to the hole, a la Jack Nicklaus designs.

Jack Nicklaus is the only player to win this event in consecutive seasons on the same course (1977, 1978).

Nobody has won twice since moving to The Champion Course (20th edition 2026).

Notes:

Field of 123.
The cut will be made after 36 holes. The top 65 and ties play the weekend.
The OWGR is represented by 6 of the top 50.
$9.6 million – $1.728 million – 500 FedExCup points

2026 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	No Event
Sony Open in Hawaii	Chris Gotterup
The American Express	Scottie Scheffler
Farmers Insurance Open	Justin Rose
WM Phoenix Open	Chris Gotterup (2)
The Genesis Invitational	Jacob Bridgeman (first time winner)

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (LIV)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
Puerto Rico Open	Karl Vilips (first time)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Min Woo Lee (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Brian Harman
88^th Masters Tournament	Rory McIlroy (career grand slam)
RBC Heritage	Justin Thomas
Zurich Classic	Ben Griffin & Andrew Novak (first time winners)
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Scottie Scheffler
Truist Championship	Sepp Straka (2)
Mrytle Beach One Flight	Ryan Fox
106^th PGA Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Charles Schwab Challenge	Ben Griffin (2)
The 50^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Canadian Open	Ryan Fox (2)
124^th United States Open	J.J. Spaun
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Aldrich Potgieter (first time)
John Deere Classic	Brian Campbell (2)
Genesis Scottish Open	Chris Gotterup
ISCO Championship	William Mouw (first time)
152^nd Open Championship	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Barracuda Championship	Ryan Gerard (first time)
3M Open	Kurt Kitayama
Wyndham Championship	Cameron Young (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Justin Rose
BMW Championship	Scottie Scheffler (5)
The TOUR Championship	Tommy Fleetwood (first time)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Sanderson Farms Championship	Steven Fisk (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Michael Brennan (first time)
Baycurrent Championship	Xander Schauffele
World Wide Technology Champ	Ben Griffin (3)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Adam Schenk (first time)
The RSM Classic	Sami Valimaki (first time)

Recent Winners – Cognizant Classic

Italics – not entered this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2025	Joe Highsmith (-19)	Set the tournament scoring record to win for the first time on TOUR.
2024	Austin Eckroat (-17)	Making his second start, he set the new scoring standard on the NEW Par-71 track. Won by 3 and became the fourth first-time winner in six events.
2023	Chris Kirk (-14)	Needed an extra hole to defeat Eric Cole and produced the lowest winning total in the final season of the Par-70 layout.
2022	Sepp Straka (-10)	Outlasted Shane Lowry, Kurt Kitayama, and Daniel Berger in a deluge late on Sunday to win for the first time on TOUR.
2021	Matt Jones (-12)	Won by five in the big breezes.
2020	Sungjae Im (-6)	Became the youngest winner (21 yrs) and won for the first time on TOUR.
2019	Keith Mitchell (-9)	Held off Rickie Fowler by a shot to add his name to the list of four UGA Bulldog winners since 2014.

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy get kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).

1 use per year.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings

Sony Open in Hawaii	Robert MacIntyre	T4	409,500
The American Express	Ben Griffin	T24	81,420
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T38	41,760
WM Phoenix Open	Sahith Theegala	T18	122,720
AT&T Pebble Beach	Patrick Cantlay	T14	342,500
The Genesis Invitational	Tommy Fleetwood	T7	603,200

This Week – Cognizant Classic at the Palm Beaches

MY CHOICE: Daniel Berger

A late entry after missing the cut at Riviera, the hometown lad knows this place inside and out. In a limited field, I will ride familiarity and #FloridaMan.

Just Missed

Shane Lowry, Michael Thorbjornsen, Luke Clanton, and any players from Denmark.

The Genesis Invitational Betting Angles

February 18, 2026 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Tiger’s tournament is the second of eight Signature Events in 2026. The Riviera Country Club returns to host an elite field of 72 players.

The Genesis Invitational

The Riviera Country Club

Pacific Palisades, California

** ROB BOLTON – LIVE 4PM ET WEDNESDAYS TheZoneBloomington.com **

PGATOUR.com Articles

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	The Riviera Country Club
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,383.
Par:	71 (35-36).
Greens:	Poa annua; 7,500 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter:	13 feet plus.
Rough:	Kikuyu grass at 2 inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	58/0/0.
Architect(s):	George C. Thomas (1926).
Defending Champion (event):	Ludvig Aberg (Torrey Pines South)
Defending Champion (course):	Hideki Matsuyama (2024).
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Adam Scott (2020; 2005 unofficial – weather).
Course Record (last):	61; Ted Tryba (1999).
72 Hole Tournament Record:	264; Lanny Watkins (1985).
Fact of the Week:	The Genesis Invitational was held at Torrey Pines South in 2025. Please be aware.
Fact of the Week II:	Since 2008, only TWO players younger than 30 have won this event (Rahm, Niemann).

Notes:

Field of 72.
Second of eight Signature Events.
The OWGR is represented by 27 of the top 30.
$20 million – $4 million – 700 FedExCup points.

Recent Winners

2026 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	No Event
Sony Open in Hawaii	Chris Gotterup
The American Express	Scottie Scheffler
Farmers Insurance Open	Justin Rose
WM Phoenix Open	Chris Gotterup (2)

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (LIV)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
Puerto Rico Open	Karl Vilips (first time)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Min Woo Lee (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Brian Harman
88^th Masters Tournament	Rory McIlroy (career grand slam)
RBC Heritage	Justin Thomas
Zurich Classic	Ben Griffin & Andrew Novak (first time winners)
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Scottie Scheffler
Truist Championship	Sepp Straka (2)
Mrytle Beach One Flight	Ryan Fox
106^th PGA Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Charles Schwab Challenge	Ben Griffin (2)
The 50^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Canadian Open	Ryan Fox (2)
124^th United States Open	J.J. Spaun
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Aldrich Potgieter (first time)
John Deere Classic	Brian Campbell (2)
Genesis Scottish Open	Chris Gotterup
ISCO Championship	William Mouw (first time)
152^nd Open Championship	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Barracuda Championship	Ryan Gerard (first time)
3M Open	Kurt Kitayama
Wyndham Championship	Cameron Young (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Justin Rose
BMW Championship	Scottie Scheffler (5)
The TOUR Championship	Tommy Fleetwood (first time)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Sanderson Farms Championship	Steven Fisk (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Michael Brennan (first time)
Baycurrent Championship	Xander Schauffele
World Wide Technology Champ	Ben Griffin (3)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Adam Schenk (first time)
The RSM Classic	Sami Valimaki (first time)

Recent Winners – The Genesis Invitational

Italics – not entered this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2025	Ludvig Aberg (-12)	Hosted at the venerable Torrey Pines South, the Swede held off California native Maverick McNealy by a shot to win for the second time on TOUR.
2024	Hideki Matsuyama	Closed with 62, the lowest round for a winner, to overcome a six-shot deficit. Won by three strokes.
2023	Jon Rahm (-17)	Defeated 2021 winner Max Homa by two shots.
2022	Joaquin Niemann (-19)	Became just the fourth wire-to-wire winner in event history.
2021	Max Homa (-12)	Defeated Tony Finau in a playoff.
2020	Adam Scott (-11)	Held off Matt Kuchar and two others by two shots.
2019	J.B. Holmes (-14)	Justin Thomas was 18-under with 17 holes to go. He finished second on 13-under.
2018	Bubba Watson (-12)	Won for the third time holding off Tony Finau by two shots.

Angles:

Masters champions have won this event 12 times since the turn of the century.

The last nine winners needed four or more starts before raising the trophy.

The last player to win on debut was Adam Scott in 2005. The victory was unofficial as the event, canceled due to weather, only could play 36 holes.

The trio of Par-5 holes ranked as some of the friendliest on TOUR.

The Par-4 holes are not, including the very famous No. 10.

With difficult fairways to find off the tee, using the 7,500 square feet to land approaches is critical.

Bunkers this week are penal. Getting it close is rare. Getting it up and down is a struggle.

The Riviera Country Club is nestled in the Santa Monica Canyon. The layout provides only 150 feet of elevation change. Without putting surfaces exposed to the coastline, the Stimpmeter will be pushing 13 or better, the fastest speed on TOUR yet in 2026.

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

1 player per event, plus a backup selection if your original choice does not tee off.

1 use per year.

LAST WEEK – AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

MY CHOICE: Patrick Cantlay

After opening with 66, I thought I was on my way! His 71-69 sandwich saw him fall off the pace before a Sunday 65 cashed T14.

I would guess he wins THIS week!

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings

Sony Open in Hawaii	Robert MacIntyre	T4	409,500
The American Express	Ben Griffin	T24	81,420
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T38	41,760
WM Phoenix Open	Sahith Theegala	T18	122,720
AT&T Pebble Beach	Patrick Cantlay	T14	342,500

THIS WEEK – The Genesis Invitational

The power players will be happy to have room to swing the driver early and often at the Par-71, 7,383-yard layout.

Experience is a huge factor this week, and with a loaded field there are plenty of choices.

I would start in Southern California if you are chasing. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele have better records at other venues and events, but both have been close here. Max Homa and Tony Finau make excellent long-shot contenders, but I will remind you there is a cut this week (Top 50 and anyone 10 shots off the lead) after two rounds.

If you are going to play Scheffler or McIlroy, I won’t stop you. I will point out that there are six other Signature Events, four major championships, and a pair of FedExCup Playoff events to plan for accordingly.

I’m not a fan of playing guys of that magnitude on tracks where they have never won before. The list of winners here suggests those who have had results at Augusta National, and that covers both No. 1 and No. 2. The rumblings about Scheffler not enjoying his time on Poa annua have been noted. McIlroy and Quail Hollow are tough to separate. Both play Arnold Palmer and TPC Sawgrass well.

Good luck!

MY CHOICE: Tommy Fleetwood

The Englishman fits the mold of recent international winners who have lifted the trophy. Matsuyama, Rahm, and Niemann followed SoCal native Max Homa as the last four winners. Fleetwood opened his PGA TOUR schedule last week at Pebble Beach and finished T4. As usual, he bludgeoned GIR and finished the week second in Strokes-Gained: Tee to Green. Keeping the ball out of trouble off the tee and into the greens are keys this week.

Yes, The Open Championship is in his backyard at Royal Birkdale, in Southport, England, got it. Has McIlroy won at Royal Portrush yet?

Right.

You do you. I’ll do me.

Others to consider

Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Young, Jake Knapp

Longshots

Rickie Fowler, Ryan Fox

Horses for Courses

Top Players OWGR (Cuts made/starts)	Top 10	Rds 60s	Top 25	Event Notes
Scottie Scheffler (5/6)	2	9/22	4	T30 or better in 5 straight
Rory McIlroy (7/8)	3	18/30	6	T29 or better
Justin Rose (11/13)	2	15/44	4	MC-T56
Tommy Fleetwood (4/4)	1	5/16	1	T10 2024; 1 of 16 rounds ABOVE par
Chris Gotterup				First Appearance
Russell Henley (6/9)	0	12/30	2	T17 best 2020
JJ Spaun (2/7)	0	3/18	0	T33 2023
Robert MacIntyre (1/1)	0	2/4	1	All four rounds 71 or better
Ben Griffin (1/1)	0	2/4	0	T37 2024
Xander Schauffele (7/7)	2	13/28	6	26 of 28 rounds 71 or better; T4 2024 best
Hideki Matsuyama (8/10)	4	15/34	6	62 to close to win 2024; 64; plays annually
Harris English (6/9)	2	12/30	3	7th-T12 last two events
Sepp Straka (3/5)	0	3/14	1	T15 2022; T43 next best
Viktor Hovland (4/4)	2	8/14	4	T19-T20-T4-T5 last 4
Alex Noren (4/5)	0	4/18	2	T12 2021
	Top	Rds	Top	Notes
	10	60s	25
Keegan Bradley (8/14)	2		4	Last T50 or better was T34 in 2017
Collin Morikawa (5/5)	2	11/20	3	T19-T6-T2 last 3
Ludvig Aberg (1/1)	0		1	Event defending champion at Torrey Pines
Cameron Young (3/3)	1	7/12	3	62 on debut for T2 2022; T16-T20 L2Y
Maverick McNealy (1/2)	1	4/6	1	T7 2022; MC 2021
Matt Fitzpatrick (2/4)	1	3/12	1	T5 2021 after T30 2020; MC L2Y
Ryan Gerard				First Appearance
Si Woo Kim (5/9)	1	10/26	1	3rd 2019; MC 2 of last 4
Aaron Rai (3/3)	0	3/12	0	T37-T29-T61 3 of last 4
Sam Burns (3/6)	2	5/18	3	T10-MC-MC-3rd-T23-MC last 6
Shane Lowry (1/3)	0	3/7	1	T14 2023 last visit
Patrick Cantlay (7/9)	3	15/32	6	T4-3rd L2Y; 54 hole leader 2024
Marco Penge				First Appearance
Corey Conners (2/5)	0	2/14	1	T24-T61 L2Y
Jason Day (4/7)	2	6/22	2	9th 2024; T9 2023
Andrew Novak				First Appearance
Matt McCarty				First Appearance
Sam Stevens				First Appearance
Michael Kim (0-4)		0/8		Never broke par here
Kurt Kitayama (1/2)	0	2/6	0	T39-MC L2Y
Pierceson Coody				First Appearance
Sami Valimaki				First Appearance
Brian Harman (7/10)	1	10/34	1	T3 2014 only Top 40
Max Greyserman				First Appearance
Akshay Bhatia				First Appearance
Ryan Fox				First Appearance
Min Woo Lee (0-1)				77-70 MC 2022
Daniel Berger (0-2)		0/4		Last visit 2018
Jacob Bridgeman				First Appearance
Wyndham Clark (3/5)	1	6/14	2	MC-T33-DQ-T8-T17 last 5
Nick Taylor (7/9)	0	11/32	1	T39-T33-T20 last 3; T20 best
Harry Hall				First Appearance
Taylor Pendrith (0/1)				73-72 MC 2022
JT Poston (5/7)	1	8/24	2	T10 2024 best; 3 other T30 >
Jake Knapp				First Appearance
Nico Echavarria				First Appearance
Max McGreevy (0/1)				73-72 MC 2023
Garrick Higgo				First Appearance
Adam Scott (15/16)	7		11	2020 Winner; T2 2016; 11 straight
Lucas Glover (4/12)	0		1	MC 8 straight before T35 2024
Rico Hoey				First Appearance
Rickie Fowler (6/8)	0	8/28	2	4 straight T20 best in run, career
Ryo Hisatsune				First Appearance
Bud Cauley (2/6)	0	2/20	1	Last visit 2020
Brian Campbell				First Appearance
Denny McCarthy (3/5)	0	4/16	1	64 in 2023 T14; L2B2
Patrick Rodgers (6/10)	0	9/28	3	MC last 3; T30> 5 straight before that
Jordan Spieth (9/12)	2	15/37	5	DQ-MC last 2; last top 10 2018
Sahith Theegala (4/4)	1	7/12	1	T37-T6-T48-T49 last 4
Aldrich Potgieter				First Appearance
Jhonattan Vegas (6/10)	0	8/32	2	T56-T55 L2V
Tom Hoge (6/7)	1	6/24	2	8th 2024, T14 2023
Matti Schmid				First Appearance
Kevin Yu (0/1)				75-75 MC
Tom Kim (2/2)	0	3/6	1	T24-T45 L2Y
Max Homa (6/8)	4	13/28	5	T16-2nd-T10-WIN-T5 last 5 here
Tony Finau (8/10)	2	12/36	5	7 straight; 5 T20 or better; 2nd twice

WM Phoenix Open Betting Angles 2026

February 4, 2026 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

WM Phoenix Open

TPC Scottsdale

Stadium Course

Field

Scottsdale, Arizona

** ROB BOLTON – LIVE 4PM ET WEDNESDAYS TheZoneBloomington.com **

PGATOUR.com Fantasy & Betting Articles

DraftKings Prop Bets

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course (Since 1987)	The Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,261.
Par:	71 (35-36).
Greens:	Poa trivialis, creeping Bentgrass, perennial Ryegrass; 7,100 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter:	12 feet.
Rough:	Overseeded Rye and Fine Fescue at 3.5 inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	67/3/6.
Architect(s):	Tom Weiskopf & Jay Morrish (1986); Tom Weiskopf (2014 renovation for 2015 event).
Defending Champion (event):	Thomas Detry, -24 (tournament scoring record; no longer eligible for the PGA TOUR).
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Scottie Scheffler (2022-23), Brooks Koepka (2015, 2021), and Hideki Matsuyama (2016-17).
Course Record:	60; Nick Taylor, Round 1 (2024).
72 Hole Tournament Record (post-2014 renovation)	24-under 261 (Thomas Detry, 2025).
Fact of the Week:	Only five international players (six wins) have lifted the trophy this century, including the last two winners.
Fact of the Week II:	Only two players have won on debut this century.

Notes:

Field of 123.
The top 65 and ties play the weekend.
The OWGR is represented by 32 of the top 50.
$9.6 million – $1.728 million – 500 FedExCup points – Sentry, PLAYERS, and Masters ticket punched.

Recent Winners

2026 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	No Event
Sony Open in Hawaii	Chris Gotterup
The American Express	Scottie Scheffler
Farmers Insurance Open	Justin Rose

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (LIV)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
Puerto Rico Open	Karl Vilips (first time)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Min Woo Lee (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Brian Harman
88^th Masters Tournament	Rory McIlroy (career grand slam)
RBC Heritage	Justin Thomas
Zurich Classic	Ben Griffin & Andrew Novak (first time winners)
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Scottie Scheffler
Truist Championship	Sepp Straka (2)
Mrytle Beach One Flight	Ryan Fox
106^th PGA Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Charles Schwab Challenge	Ben Griffin (2)
The 50^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Canadian Open	Ryan Fox (2)
124^th United States Open	J.J. Spaun
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Aldrich Potgieter (first time)
John Deere Classic	Brian Campbell (2)
Genesis Scottish Open	Chris Gotterup
ISCO Championship	William Mouw (first time)
152^nd Open Championship	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Barracuda Championship	Ryan Gerard (first time)
3M Open	Kurt Kitayama
Wyndham Championship	Cameron Young (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Justin Rose
BMW Championship	Scottie Scheffler (5)
The TOUR Championship	Tommy Fleetwood (first time)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Sanderson Farms Championship	Steven Fisk (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Michael Brennan (first time)
Baycurrent Championship	Xander Schauffele
World Wide Technology Champ	Ben Griffin (3)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Adam Schenk (first time)
The RSM Classic	Sami Valimaki (first time)

Recent Winners – WM Phoenix Open

Italics – not entered this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2025	Thomas Detry (-24)	Smoked the field by seven shots to become the first champion to win by more than two strokes since the 2014 renovation. No longer eligible for the PGA TOUR.
2024	Nick Taylor (-21)	Held off Charley Hoffman to become the sixth winner in the last nine to need extra holes. The duo established the new tournament scoring record.
2023	Scottie Scheffler (-19)	Tied the tournament scoring record defending his title. Won by two shots over Nick Taylor. Third place was five back.
2022	Scottie Scheffler (-16)	Defeated Patrick Cantlay in a playoff to win for the first time on TOUR.
2021	Brooks Koepka (-19)	Matched the tournament scoring mark while holding off KH Lee and Xander Schauffele by a shot.
2020	Webb Simpson (-17)	Defeated Tony Finau in a playoff.
2019	Rickie Fowler (-19)	Sat 20-under after 54 holes before eventually winning by two shots in cool, rainy, conditions.
2018	Gary Woodland (-18)	Defeated Chez Reavie in a playoff; Circled 26 birdies.
2017	Hideki Matsuyama (-17)	Successfully defended his title knocking out Webb Simpson in a playoff.
2016	Hideki Matsuyama (-14)	Won in his third attempt, defeating Rickie Fowler in a playoff.
2015	Brooks Koepka (-15)	First win on TOUR on debut; defeated a trio of players, including Hideki Matsuyama, by a shot.

Notables

The highest winning total since 2015 is 14-under par, from 2016.
The last three champions have set the tournament scoring record.
Eight of the last nine winners have ranked eighth or better in Ball-Striking.
Detry, Taylor, and Matsuyama joined Aaron Baddeley (2007) and Vijay Singh (2003) as the only international winners this century.
Only two players won on debut this century, including 23-year-old J.B. Holmes (not entered) in 2006, and none since Koepka in 2015.
Holmes and Matsuyama are the youngest winners at 23.
Kenny Perry (not entered) is the oldest winner at 48 in 2009.
Tom Weiskopf designs features on TOUR at TPC Craig Ranch and Black Desert Golf Club, where Michael Brennan (2025) and Matt McCarty both broke their maidens.
Every winner in the last decade ranked T13 or better in Greens in Regulation.

Thoughts on WM Phoenix Open

Pay the “Winner without Scheffler” Tax.

Perfect weather = golf ball gonna go and conditions will be ideal for scoring.

Leave the kids at home. Only two players this century, as noted above, have won on debut here. Detry’s masterclass in 2025 is all it took to become a first-time TOUR winner at this event. His numbers were Scheffler-ian. Good luck finding a repeat of that.

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

1 player per event, plus a backup selection if your original choice does not tee off.

1 use per year.

LAST WEEK – Farmers Insurance Open

My Choice: Jason Day (T38)

WE ARE GOING THE WRONG WAY.

I picked the wrong “old” one-time major champion with great course history.

Shit happens.

He played the weekend in four-under-par, but that’s of no consolation when the winner posted 22-under. He had a fantastic week with his approach play, but was in the bottom 10 in putting. That was NOT the combination I envisioned.

Sigh.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings

Sony Open in Hawaii	Robert MacIntyre	T4	409,500
The American Express	Ben Griffin	T24	81,420
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T38	41,760

THIS WEEK – WM Phoenix Open

Although I’m disappointed with my last three weeks, this game will be won and lost at THE PLAYERS, the four major championships, and the first two events of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Getting it right for those events, plus the Signature Events, remains the main thing.

MY CHOICE: Sahith Theegala

The 54-hole leader, or co-leader, twice in four years, enters the week off back-to-back top-10 paydays and looks to have found his early-season groove.

I’m going to let Koepka get comfortable. Matsuyama was a tough lay-down here, but he also loves Riviera. Scheffler? No chance. Majors or THE PLAYERS. Remember when nobody won THE PLAYERS back-to-back? Yeah, no chance I’m writing him off for three straight.

Others to consider:

Cameron Young – big hitter, GREAT putter, hotter than a match.

Si Woo Kim – As long as his pal Scheffler is nowhere near him on Sunday, he has desert bonafides.

Maverick McNealy – Back-to-back Top 10s here.

Jake Knapp – Another who can overpower the angles and roll the rock.

Chris Gotterup – Free as a bird and should love this environment.

Pierceson Coody – Closed with 65 last week at Torrey Pines and led the TOUR in SG: Off the Tee in 2025.

Horses for Courses

Player	Top	Scoring	Top	Notes
(cuts made/starts)	10	Avg	25
Scottie Scheffler (5/6)	4	67.25	5	2x winner; T3 2024.
Nick Taylor (7/11)	2	69.83	3	T25-WIN-T2 last 3 = best 3.
Hideki Matsuyama (11/12)	3	68.24	9	T29 or better in 10 of 11.
Rickie Fowler (11/17)	5	69.09	7	WD/MC 4 of last 5; 2019 WIN, 2016 2^nd.
Brooks Koepka (5/5)	3	68.15	3	T3 last visit ’22.
Jordan Spieth (7/9)	6	68.50	6	T6 or better 4 of last 5; 3 straight T6>.
Gary Woodland (11/16)	3	69.52	5	Win 2018; T7 defense; T21 2025.
Xander Schauffele (6/6)	4	67.92	6	3 straight top 10; worst is T17; 1st start since 2023.
Daniel Berger (7/10)	4	68.94	5	T2 2025; T9 2020.
Sam Burns (4/7)	2	69.05	3	T49-T3-T6 last 3.

Sahith Theegala (4/4)	2	68.56	2	See above.
Cameron Young (4/4)	1	69.19	2	T12-T8 (-26) last 2 years; 4 straight paydays.
Maverick McNealy (2/3)	2	68.44	2	T9-T6 (-28) last 2 years.
Matt Fitzpatrick (3/4)	1	68.93	2	MC-T15-T29-T10 last 4.
Corey Conners (6/6)	0	69.83	1	T17 best; 7th straight year.

Farmers Insurance Open 2026 Betting Insights

January 28, 2026 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Farmers Insurance Open

Torrey Pines Golf Club

South Course (host)

North Course

La Jolla, California

** ROB BOLTON – LIVE 4PM ET WEDNESDAYS TheZoneBloomington.com **

PGATOUR.com/Golfbet Articles

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	South Course
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,765.
Par:	72 (36-36).
Greens:	Poa annua; 5,000 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter:	13 feet plus.
Rough:	Overseeded ryegrass at FOUR inches and growing.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	82/1/1. Pond in front of Par-5 No. 18.
Architect(s):	William P. Bell (1957) & William F Bell (1957); Rees Jones (2001, 2019).
Defending Champion (event):	Harris English (-8).
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Jason Day (2018, 2015); Brandt Snedeker (2016, 2012).
Course Record (last):	62; Tiger Woods (1999).
72 Hole Tournament Record:	22-under; Tiger Woods (1999; last).
Fact of the Week:	One round on each course before the top 65 and ties return to the South Course for the final 36 holes.
Fact of the Week II:	Playoff hole is 18 on repeat.
Fact of the Week III:	Cut was 1-OVER par in 2025, the first time in forever it was above par (weather issues).

Notes:

Field of 147.
Second of three multi-course events in four weeks.
The OWGR is represented by 27 of the top 50.
$9.6 million – $1.728 million – 500 FedExCup points – Sentry and Masters ticket punched.
Points available for the Aon Next 5 for Pebble Beach qualification.

Prop Bets

Top 5 (Including Ties)

Brooks Koepka (+970) makes his first PGA TOUR appearance, major championships notwithstanding, since 2022. While Koepka has not fared well in four visits to the Farmers Insurance Open, he did cash T4 at the 2021 U.S. Open on the South Course. His return to action should have his game ready to go as if it were a major championship. If this is too bold, sprinkle him for a Top 10 or Top 20 just in case.

Jake Knapp (+730) is a former UCLA player who grew up in Costa Mesa. After missing the cut as an amateur in 2015, he returned in 2023 to share fourth, and added T32 in 2025. He opened the season with a T11 payday at the Sony Open and can absolutely send it off the tee. Oh, he also ranked 17^th in SG: Putting. Nice combo.

Winner Without Xander Schauffele, Si Woo Kim, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Young, and Ludvig Aberg

Jason Day (+2600) has won this event twice, both times in a playoff, and owns five top-five paydays. Coming off a T2 last week, I do not have to wait for him to find form. The Australian’s short game was on point in the desert, and not many know this layout better.

Wyndham Clark (+3900) lit up the Stadium Course at La Quinta for 64, the second-lowest round of the week, before he stalled out with 72 on Sunday for T13. He took only three bogeys for the week, but two were doubles. Without any hazards to worry about this week, minus the pond fronting No. 18, he can whale away off the tee and continue to wield a hot putter. The U.S. Open winner at LACC, he should feel comfortable in the big ballpark this week.

Top 10 (Including Ties)

Red-Hot Ryan Gerard (+405) cashed T2, second, and P2 in his last three worldwide starts. On debut at Torrey Pines in 2025, he grinded out a T15 result in difficult scoring conditions. Already a winner on California grass at the Barracuda Championship last summer, he won’t be bothered by Poa annua on the putting surfaces. I can’t imagine he is short on confidence, either.

Andrew Novak (+730) was the only player to cash a check inside the top 15 in both events held at Torrey Pines in 2025. Playing from the final group with eventual champion Harris English at the Farmers Insurance Open, he posted 74 and finished third. Returning for The Genesis Invitational, he posted three of four rounds in the red and earned T13.

I felt Sahith Theegala (+690) was priced for pouncing last week at The American Express. Not even an opening round of 71 could keep him out of the top 10 (T8). Another week in his native California, he will attempt to build on his five-from-five record at Torrey Pines, which includes T4 in 2023, plus T17 from The Genesis Invitational in 2025, where he closed 69-68.

Top 20 (Including Ties)

Max Homa (+225) continues to knock on the door of a breakthrough. Over his last five starts on TOUR, he has five results of T40 or better, including three at T19 or better. He opened 2026 by posting T27 with four rounds in the 60s at The American Express. The 2023 Farmers Insurance Open winner cashed four T19 or better paydays in his last six starts at Torrey Pines.

Haotong Li (+315) squared only three bogeys at The American Express and cashed T8 in his second start of the season (T55 Sony Open). Ranking second in SG: Tee to Green, he was a beast off the tee, and into the greens. He gained the second most shots on the field on the South Course, the most difficult of the three courses in play. The recipe at Torrey Pines is not complicated. Smash it, find it, and smash it again.

S.H. Kim (+430) cashed in this category last week after closing with 66 for T18. In fact, this was his seventh consecutive payday where he earned T18 or better in his last seven worldwide events. This is a recording.

Par-4 Winner

History shows that eight of the last nine winners have finished the week T7 or better in this category. Three of those winners have led the field in this category, including 2025 champion Harris English, and one ended up second overall. Instead of plucking out one of the top Par-4 performers from the 2025 season-ending stats, I would marry this play to your champion and try to double-dip. The conservative play would be the former. I will ride with Jason Day (+4100), who ranked T27 in 2025.

Will there be a playoff?

Yes (+400)

No (-650)

There has been only one playoff required in the last seven events and just two since Jason Day won a four-man shootout in 2015. The 18^th hole is a Par-5 with water proteccting the perched final green. A perfect drive means TIME TO GO for the green in regulation. There is plenty of room to bail out long, right, and left, but pressure does funny things to even the best players. With the forecast suggesting PERFECT scoring conditions, I am going to ride the drama angle. Let’s gamble!

Recent Winners

2026 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	No Event
Sony Open in Hawaii	Chris Gotterup
The American Express	Scottie Scheffler
Farmers Insurance Open

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (LIV)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
Puerto Rico Open	Karl Vilips (first time)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Min Woo Lee (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Brian Harman
88^th Masters Tournament	Rory McIlroy (career grand slam)
RBC Heritage	Justin Thomas
Zurich Classic	Ben Griffin & Andrew Novak (first time winners)
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Scottie Scheffler
Truist Championship	Sepp Straka (2)
Mrytle Beach One Flight	Ryan Fox
106^th PGA Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Charles Schwab Challenge	Ben Griffin (2)
The 50^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Canadian Open	Ryan Fox (2)
124^th United States Open	J.J. Spaun
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Aldrich Potgieter (first time)
John Deere Classic	Brian Campbell (2)
Genesis Scottish Open	Chris Gotterup
ISCO Championship	William Mouw (first time)
152^nd Open Championship	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Barracuda Championship	Ryan Gerard (first time)
3M Open	Kurt Kitayama
Wyndham Championship	Cameron Young (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Justin Rose
BMW Championship	Scottie Scheffler (5)
The TOUR Championship	Tommy Fleetwood (first time)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Sanderson Farms Championship	Steven Fisk (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Michael Brennan (first time)
Baycurrent Championship	Xander Schauffele
World Wide Technology Champ	Ben Griffin (3)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Adam Schenk (first time)
The RSM Classic	Sami Valimaki (first time)

Recent Winners – Farmers Insurance Open

Italics – not entered this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2025	Harris English (-8)	Gusty conditions in three of the four rounds made for difficult scoring. English won for the fifth time on TOUR, holding off Sam Stevens by a shot.
2024	Mattieu Pavon (-13)	First TOUR victory in just his third start with a card; 11^th TOUR start. First appearance.
2023	Max Homa (-13)	Defeated Keegan Bradley by two shots.
2022	Luke List (-15)	Shot 66 on Sunday and then defeated Will Zalatoris in a playoff. First TOUR win.
2021	Patrick Reed (-14)	Won by five shots.
2020	Marc Leishman (-15)	Won by a shot.
2019	Justin Rose (-21)	Missed tying the course record by a shot.
2018	Jason Day (-10)	Knocked out Ryan Palmer (not entered) and Alex Noren in a playoff for his second win and second in a playoff.
2017	Jon Rahm (-13)	Won by three shots on debut and secured his first TOUR win.
2016	Brandt Snedeker (-6)	Extreme weather turned the event upside down. Snedeker won for the second time without having to play the final day.

Angles

The South Course is annually one of the toughest tracks on TOUR.

The North Course scores almost 2.5 shots easier on average.

Power players, elite short game artists, and grinders thrive.

The last 11 winners ranked in the top 10 for Bogey Avoidance.

The cut has never been worse than EVEN over the last decade until 2025.

Gaining strokes tee to green and on the greens will go a long way.

Only Snedeker posted a round in the 70s on the North Course and went on to win.

South Course – take your medicine, attack when given the chance, try to get up-and-down on the Par-5 holes.

North Course – Time to score!

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

1 player per event, plus a backup selection if your original choice does not tee off.

1 use per year.

LAST WEEK – The American Express

MY CHOICE: Ben Griffin – T24

After opening with 63, I was #Excited.

After finishing bogey, bogey, I was #NotExcited and out an additional 80k.

We move on.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings

Sony Open in Hawaii	Robert MacIntyre	T4	409,500
The American Express	Ben Griffin	T24	81,420
Farmers Insurance

THIS WEEK – Farmers Insurance Open

The script flips entirely as the TOUR moves from the resort courses of the California desert to a major championship venue on the La Jolla coast.

The contenders this week will not be able to spray it all over the property and still circle birdies.

Nobody hits the fairways here, and not many more find GIR. The farther it goes with the driver, the more loft into the small greens. Then it’s time to putt on Poa annua in three of the four rounds (Bentgrass on the North).

I’m leaning on power players with excellent short game.

MY CHOICE: Jason Day

With six podium paydays, including two victories, the Australian knows the way home at Torrey Pines. Sharing second last week, I do not have to worry about him rounding into form or searching for confidence. His template is the model here. Smash it, chip it, and hole it. Both of his wins came in extra holes.

Day did not factor into my plans in the majors or Signature Events, so he takes the bullet this week. Ludvig Aberg does.

Others to consider

Max Homa, Taylor Pendrith, Akshay Bhatia, Sam Stevens, Tony Finau

Longshots– Andrew Novak, Beau Hossler, Patrick Rodgers, Pierceson Coody

Horses for Courses

Keegan Bradley – 8 straight weekends

Tony Finau – 5 of last 7 Top 10, including Genesis Invitational

Luke List – 9 straight weekends, former champion

Hideki Matsuyama – 9 straight weekends, only one top-10 payday

Taylor Pendrith – 3 of 4 T16 or better, never missed a cut in four

Adam Scott – T10 and 2^nd in two visits

Andrew Novak – 3^rd and T13 last year

The 67th American Express

January 21, 2026 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

The American Express

The Stadium Course at PGA West (Host)

Nicklaus Tournament Course

La Quinta Country Club

La Quinta, CA