05-04-16

You look hungry.

Come in, sit down, dig in!

Multiple major players could be involved this week as the field swells in Charlotte.

With less than 20 events on the season remaining, it’s not time to pound square pegs into round holes.

Event	Golfer	Place	Money
Frys.com	Brooks Koepka	T-41	$21,000
Shriners	Scott Piercy	T-25	$44,832
CIMB	Anirban Lahiri	T-21	$78,400
WGC-HSBC Champions	Adam Scott	T-70	$42,000
Sanderson Farms	Patrick Rodgers	T-20	$41,356
OHL Mayakoba	Patton Kizzire	T-58	$13,764
RSM	Brendon de Jonge	T-33	$27,049
HTOC	Brandt Snedeker	T-3	$381,000
Sony	Kevin Kisner	T-5	$220,400
CB Challenge	Ryan Palmer	T-17	$75,897
Farmers	Phil Mickelson	MC	$0
Waste Management	Hideki Matsuyama	WIN	$1,170,000
AT&T Pebble Beach	Jimmy Walker	T-11	$143,500
NTO	Dustin Johnson	4th	$326,400
Honda	Luke Donald	T-61	$13,115
WGC-Cadillac Champ	Henrik Stenson	T-28	$79,428
Valspar	Danny Willett	T-22	$52,959
Arnold Palmer	Scott Brown	T-27	$41,934
WGC-Dell Match Play	Rickie Fowler	T-53	$63,000
Puerto Rico Open	Graham DeLaet	T-11	$66,000
Shell Houston Open	Louis Oosthuizen	MC	$0
Masters	Bubba Watson	T-37	$50,250
RBC Heritage	Matt Kuchar	T-9	$147,500
Valero Texas Open	Charley Hoffman	WIN	$1,116,000
Zurich Classic	Daniel Berger	T-20	$64,909

 

2015-16 season

Season total: $4,250,683; 25 events

• Wins: 2
• Seconds: 0
• Thirds: 1
• Top 10s: 6
• Top 25s: 13
• MC: 2 (Mickelson, FIO; Oosthuizen, SHO)

 

 

Last week: Daniel Berger (T-20; $64,909)

Did well to hit the top 25 through the multiple rain delays and having two rounds in the 70s. Beat three of the four other finalists from the column last week as only Jason Day, T-5, was better. Survive and advance.

 

Thermometer:

Backed up my second winner of the year with T-20 in an event that stopped and started more times than my heart at a Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet.

 

Keys this Week:

• Take it deep
• Par 5 dominance
• Strokes-gained: tee-to-green

 

My Five Finalists:

1.) Rory McIlroy (DC)

2.) Patrick Reed

3.) Phil Mickelson

4.) J.B. Holmes

5.) Rickie Fowler

 

The Choice: J.B. Holmes

Close Second: Patrick Reed

Long Shot Special: Webb Simpson

Verdict: McIlroy’s the defending champ but hasn’t clicked in yet in ’16. Use him anywhere except the WGC-BI, which he isn’t playing. Mickelson, who I’ve burned, makes the most sense but the doubt creeps in as he didn’t fire at Augusta either. Fowler goes just about anywhere so it comes down to preference of Holmes and Reed. Reed, similar to Fowler, can go anywhere but Holmes is playing well and has won here so he just nicks it. I’ve switched back and forth 100 times.

Who’s left if you are me:

OWGR Top 25 Ranking

1.       Jason Day — majors, FEC and literally anywhere

2.       Jordan Spieth — see above but leaning Oakmont due to the difficult greens

3.       Rory McIlroy — next week with the biggest prize in golf at THE PLAYERS

4.       Bubba Watson

5.       Rickie Fowler

6.       Henrik Stenson

7.       Adam Scott

8.       Dustin Johnson

9.       Danny Willett

10.   Justin Rose — another at Oakmont or if I’m impatient, Memorial; East Lake expert

11.   Branden Grace — would have been a PERFECT fit this week; Baltusrol possible

12.   Patrick Reed — WGC-BI or Wyndham

13.   Louis Oosthuizen

14.   Hideki Matsuyama

15.   Sergio Garcia — PLAYERS, Troon, Barclays, East Lake

16.   Brandt Snedeker

17.   Zach Johnson — JDC, Colonial, East Lake

18.   Brooks Koepka

19.   J.B. Holmes — last, best chance for this year

20.   Phil Mickelson

21.   Charl Schwartzel — Memorial

22.   Kevin Kisner

23.   Paul Casey — Greenbrier, Troon

24.   Ben An — er, that was last week, sadly

25.   Jim Furyk — when he gets tuned up, he goes just about anywhere; top 10 machine

26.   Kevin Na — THE PLAYERS, Colonial

27.   Bill Haas — Congressional (QLN); Wyndham

28.   Jimmy Walker

29.   Matt Kuchar

30.   Rafael Cabrera-Bello — Troon, if at all