06-22-16

I’ve been considering changing the name of this column to DOA instead but Jason Day provided a glimmer of hope last week at Oakmont.

 

The key to OAD is to be good and lucky. Some people jumped on Day when he won back-to-back. Some people, like me, were saving him for Oakmont. Whereas the rest are now wondering where to play him.

The answer is simply: Yes. He’s ace just about every week he’s healthy and entered, minus Memorial.

The lucky part is having “him” the week(s) he does fire.

Or Spieth. Or McIlroy.

Next year I’m going to try and win it by the U.S. Open and hang on for dear life down the stretch.

Yeah, that’s the ticket…

Of the current OWGR top 30 or so, I have the following players remaining:

1.) Jason Day

2.) Jordan Spieth

10.) Justin Rose

11.) Patrick Reed

12.) Branden Grace

13.) Sergio Garcia

18.) Brandt Snedeker

21.) Zach Johnson

22.) Charl Schwartzel

23.) Chris Wood

24.) Russell Knox

25.) Kevin Kisner

27.) Ben An

28.) Rafael Cabrera Bello

29.) Jim Furyk

30.) Justin Thomas

31.) Kevin Na

37.) Bill Haas

The good news is I have these players to choose from.

The bad news is I have these players to choose from.

With two majors, one WGC and four Playoff events left, there’s no need to keep the safety on.

Guys who aren’t playing well now (Snedeker, Haas, Kisner & Rose) hopefully find form later in the summer. Guys like Day, Spieth, Reed will come down to which event you’ll believe them to be most comfortable. Remember, Day and Spieth both rake at East Lake. So does Furyk. And Rose. And Haas. And Snedeker. You’ll need just one of them at the end!

As of today, here’s the plan:

Jason Day: Oakmont (T-8; $247,806)

Sergio Garcia or Branden Grace: Royal Troon

Jordan Spieth or Branden Grace: Baltusrol

Justin Rose: Returned with MC at U.S. Open.

Jim Furyk: T-2 at U.S. Open caught my attention.

Let’s see who has already made the ultimate fantasy sacrifice already:

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
Wells Fargo	J.B. Holmes	T-53	$16,589
THE PLAYERS	Rory McIlroy	T-12	212,625
AT&T Byron Nelson	Jason Dufner	T-24	54,020
Colonial	Kevin Chappell	MC	$0
Memorial	Paul Casey	MC	$0
FESJC	Gary Woodland	MC	$0
U.S. Open	Jason Day	T-8	$247,806

2015-16 season

Season total: $4,781,723; 32 events

• Wins: 2
• Seconds: 0
• Thirds: 1
• Top 10s: 7
• Top 25s: 15
• MC: 5 (Mickelson, FIO; Oosthuizen, SHO; Chappell, Colonial; Casey, Memorial; Woodland, FESJC)

 

Last week: Jason Day, (T-8; $247,806)

Took the No. 1 player in the world to break up my horrific run and he almost didn’t see the weekend. His second round 69 saw him slip into the weekend and his third-round 66 saw him vault into contention. The eagle-birdie combo on Nos. 12 and 13 on Sunday gave me false hope that something special was on the cards. His double bogey, bogey finish reminded me his luck was used making the cut. Looks better if you just pick up the paper and see T-8, right? RIGHT?!?!?!

Feels like a win after the last month.

 

Thermometer:

Even the thermometer is laughing…

 

Keys this Week:

• Bogey acceptance
• Distance won’t hurt
• Up-and-down will lead to more up than down

 

My Five Finalists:

1.) Patrick Reed

2.) Jim Furyk

3.) Charley Hoffman*

4.) Roberto Castro

5.) Brendan Steele*

*already burned

 

My Choice: Patrick Reed

Close Second: Roberto Castro

Long Shot Special: Jon Rahm

Stratagem: Light field means burn a big boy and pray they do their job. Castro  makes a fine second banana plus doesn’t stand out anywhere else and gets it done here. Furyk is now back in play for RBC Canadian and any other tournament he’s playing. Steele and Hoffman make for very steady and heady plays for those who’re leading.

Good luck chops!