02-22-17

No more cool, ocean breezes, Poa annua and rain delays as the Tour leaves the California coast for the warm, humid ocean breezes, Bermudagrass and water hazards of Florida.

You know what else is hard? The rest of this course!

One-and-done

Each week I painfully writhe and wretch trying to figure out the proper strategy to find a player that will hit the top 10. Wins are great but aren’t likely, so I’m satisfied with having a chance to hit the big money. Missed cuts are absolutely the death in this game, but even the surest of things don’t always happen in the reality world of fantasy golf. Remember, fade or follow, it’s up to you.

 

Gamers who are new to OAD must remember that the most lucrative purses, the majors, WGC events, THE PLAYERS and FedExCup Playoffs, are down the road and you’ll need to save some big boys for these events, all 12 of them.

 

 

Last Season: Il Disastro

Season total: $5,978,929; 47 events

• Wins: 2 (Matsuyama, Hoffman)
• Seconds: 0
• Thirds: 1
• Top 10s: 9
• Top 25s: 18
• MC: 8 (Mickelson, FIO; Oosthuizen, SHO; Chappell, Colonial; Casey, Memorial; Woodland, FESJC; Hearn, RBC Canadian; McGirt, Wyndham; Justin Thomas, DBC)

 

2016-17 season: Brand New Day

 

Season total: $1,465,262; 14 events

• Wins:
• Seconds: 1
• Thirds:
• Top 10s: 4
• Top 25s: 6
• MCs (4): Grayson Murray (Safeway Open); Patton Kizzire (SFC); Jamie Lovemark (CB Challenge); Jimmy Walker (FIO); Charl Schwartzel (Genesis).

 

Event	Golfer	Place	Money
Safeway Open	Grayson Murray	MC	$0
CIMB Classic	Hideki Matsuyama	T-2	$756,000
WGC-HSBC Champions	Martin Kaymer	T-40	$62,000
Sanderson Farms	Patton Kizzire	MC	$0
Shriners	Chris Kirk	T-61	$14,190
OHL Mayakoba	Emiliano Grillo	T-10	$175,000
RSM Classic	Russell Henley	T-10	$150,000
SBS TOC	Brandt Snedeker	T-14	$122,000
Sony Open	Charles Howell, III	T-8	$180,000
CB Challenge	Jamie Lovemark	MC	$0
Farmers Insurance	Jimmy Walker	MC	$0
WMPO	Brendan Steele	T-16	$90,952
AT&T Pebble Beach	Phil Mickelson	65th	$15,120
Genesis Open	Charl Schwartzel	MC	$0

 

Thermometer:

With three MCs in five events on the West Coast not even the most optimistic optimist will find anything to write about. Luckily, I’m a PESSIMIST so I have plenty of ammunition!

The angle to play Schwartzel I will stand by, no problem. The weather was bonkers and I didn’t want to burn a proper hit-man with the draw and Mother Nature not cooperating. The choices presented in this column outside of DJ at No. 1 all fell apart so I was deader than fried chicken anyhow.

Plenty of trends fell apart last week as I noted in my recap but one remained: I stunk it up on the West Coast.

Sigh.

 

Keys this Week:

The winners since moving to PGA National have been an interesting mish-mosh of Ryder Cuppers, no-namers, President Cuppers and folks young and old. That’s a sign, for me, of a tough course and a tough event. No repeat or multiple winners on this track will make us work this week.

South Florida will have plenty of ocean breezes that will come from four different directions during the four rounds. The lack of elevation won’t provide any sanctuaries for a break as the course is exposed and wind-swept.

The Nickalus re-design suggests there is room off the tee but the numbers suggest it is those who find GIR that will make the most noise and collect the most cash. Remember, only ONE player of the top 15 last year finished in the top 22 of distance of putts made. Get the ball in the hole and get out. Pars are just fine as will accepting a few bogeys.

 

Check my preview for more details!

 

My Weekly Finalists:

 

Adam Scott: The defending champ won with a QUAD on the card here last year. He also had to beat Sergio Garcia heads-up in the final round.

Rickie Fowler: One of many with a home game this week it’s hard to ignore a pair of top 10’s and four top 25’s in his last five here. He posted T-4 at TPC Scottsdale, another track he’s played well recently, last time out.

Sergio Garcia: Hit it great last week at Riviera but didn’t score and has a pair of top 10’s in his last three at PGA National.

Justin Thomas: I’m not proud to say I still have him available at this stage but I do. He stuck all four rounds in the 60’s here last year for T-3 and that sticks a fork in theories that he can only play easy, resort courses. He can do both!

Russell Knox: He’s racked up two podium finishes in three tries and is one of the best tee-to-green on Tour. Don’t over-think this one.

 

 My Choice: Russell Knox

Close Second: Kevin Kisner

Outlier: Luke Donald

Gut Shot: Thomas Pieters

Remember, this game is about strategy and if yours is to go NUTZ early and blow the field out of the water, please, carry on. The game looks easy to those who have plugged in Matsuyama at WMPO and who used DJ last week at Riviera. I don’t blame them as one in the hand is always better than two in the bush, right?  

 

QUESTION(S) OF THE WEEK:

 

Plenty of Euros making the trip over this week, where do they fit in?

No doubt, and you’ll find most of them in my preview, but I’m usually not too crazy about them. They’re using this as a warm-up for the WGC-Mexico Championship so keep that in mind.

 

Justin Thomas was T-3 here last year and lives locally. Where’s he at??

I haven’t gotten it right yet so why start this week! I don’t think I have to hurry up and use him but I’m not going to stop you from doing so!

 

Thanks for reading!

Good luck and hit me up at mikeglasscott@gmail.com or on Twitter (@MikeGlasscott) if you have any questions!