Uh, yeah.

This guy.

For the rest of us who have already burned Simpson, keep reading…

2018 Thermometer:

Event	Golfer	Place	$$
Safeway Open	Tony Finau	2nd	669,600
CIMB Classic	Paul Casey	T7	218,166
CJ CUP @ 9 BRIDGES	Keegan Bradley	T47	23,759
WGC-HSBC Champions	Hideki Matsuyama	T50	51,875
Sanderson Farms	Chesson Hadley	T2	464,400
Shriners	Patrick Cantlay	WIN	1,224,000
OHL Classic	Kevin Chappell	MC	0
The RSM Classic	Charles Howell III	MC	0
Sentry TOC	Kevin Kisner	T17	99,333
Sony Open	Brian Harman	T4	256,266
CareerBuilder Challenge	Jason Dufner	T36	27,189
Farmers Insurance	Jon Rahm	T29	43,872
WMPO	Alex Noren	T21	80,040
-AT&T Pebble Beach	Phil Mickelson	T2	488,400
Genesis Open	Dustin Johnson	T16	111,600
Honda Classic	Graeme McDowell	MC	0
WGC-Mexico	Tommy Fleetwood	T14	126,500
Valspar Championship	Ryan Moore	MC	0
Arnold Palmer	Tyrell Hatton	T69	18,067
WGC-Match Play	Patrick Reed	T9	163,000
Corales Puntacana	Patrick Rodgers	T22	27,850
Houston Open	Luke List	T24	54,162
Masters	Jordan Spieth	3rd	748,000
RBC Heritage	Cameron Smith	T32	35,510
Valero Texas Open	Billy Horschel	T11	136,400
Zurich Classic	Bud Cauley	MC	0
Wells Fargo Championship	Bryson DeChambeau	4th	369,600
THE PLAYERS	Francesco Molinari	MC	0
AT&T Byron Nelson	Jimmy Walker	T6	257,950
Fort Worth Invitational	Adam Scott	T52	16,472
Memorial	Tiger Woods	T23	76,985
FESJC	Henrik Stenson	T26	50,820
US Open	Justin Rose	T10	270,151
FESJC	Xander Schauffele	MC	0
Quicken Loans National	Kyle Stanley	T32	36,841
A Military Tribute	Bubba Watson	T13	121,632
John Deere Classic	Zach Johnson	T16	81,366
British Open	Rory McIlroy	T2	694,250
RBC Canadian Open	Charley Hoffman	T29	37,743
Barracuda	Martin Laird	T15	51,000
WGC-Bridgestone Invite	Rickie Fowler	T17	104,250
PGA Championship	Brooks Koepka	WIN	1,980,000
Total Events: 39	Top 10s: 13	MC: 7	$9,217,049

Last week:

At last.

Etta James wrote a song about it. I just listened to it again.

Not even the curse of my good buddy Chadders could stop the Koepka Express and neither could Tiger Woods or Adam Scott.

For all the dry weeks interspersed at least I can say I had a pretty solid grip on the majors (third, T10, T2 and WIN). I’m still not sure I can believe Koepka won half of them this year but I’m not complaining!

My Choice: Brooks Koepka — WIN

Picks for Leaders: Dustin Johnson – T27, Rory McIlroy – T50, Justin Rose – T19

Picks for Chasers: Justin Thomas – T6, Tommy Fleetwood – T35, Tony Finau – T42

Picks for Dreamers: Jordan Spieth – T12, Kyle Stanley – MC, Patrick Cantlay – T27

Picks for Noses: Sergio Garcia – MC, Hideki Matsuyama – T35, Henrik Stenson – MC

Six Beers In: Branden Grace – T27, Keegan Bradley – T42, Gary Woodland – T6

 

This week:

As I wrote in The Confidence Factor, good luck grabbing the winner this week. A festival of par-breakers on a short track should open up the door to PLENTY of contenders.

• The last three winners have been 51, 21 and 41 so that doesn’t help much.
• The course-record holder is 21 and the tournament-record holder is 41.
• A rookie lost by a shot last year.
• A Monday qualifier took home the title in 2010.
• Of the last seven winners, five have won THE PLAYERS.
• Nobody has won more than once so obviously nobody has defended their title.

Sedgefield has been run over the last two years and I don’t see that slowing down this year. Heck, last year 10-under shared T26 so I’m looking for guys who aren’t afraid to go low. The cut has been three-under the last three years as well.

My Choice: Brandt Snedeker

Picks for Leaders: Webb Simpson, Webb Simpson, Webb Simpson

Picks for Chasers: Hideki Matsuyama, Henrik Stenson, Rafael-Cabrera Bello

Picks for Dreamers: Joaquin Niemann, Shane Lowry, Ryan Moore

Picks for Noses: Sergio Garcia, Steve Stricker, Bill Haas

Six Beers In: Jason Kokrak, Julian Suri, Harold Varner III

 

My Life

A massive cash grab vaulted me into the top 10 of Spotter’s game and I still have some bullets in the gun for the Playoffs. With Justin Thomas and Jason Day, I have two anchors that I’ll have to get right. Sprinkle in Kevin Na, Marc Leishman, and Gary Woodland and perhaps some Poults and I’ve got just enough to be dangerous.

This week I thought about Joaquin Niemann PLENTY because he’s done for the year if he doesn’t win. That’s it. Clear as day. No guesswork. He’s still 19 so he’s just precocious enough to give it an OR-BUST game plan.

Snedeker won’t.

I’m playing conservatively because he’s a known quantity on this track and he’s humming along. He needs all the points he can get as he tries to climb back inside the OWGR Top 50.

It’s hard to believe those of you saving Spieth for East Lake will need a big performance to even qualify as he currently sits No. 40.

Four to go:

NORTHERN TRUST OPEN: Matt Kuchar will be the only winner in the field at Ridgewood Country Club (2010). He was also T5 in 2014.

Dell Technologies TPC Boston: Past winners include Thomas, McIlroy (2x), Stenson, Fowler, Simpson and Hoffman. Gil Hanse began renovations in 2006 so no point going beyond.

BMW Championship (Donald Ross course): Aronimink is the host and Rose (2010) and Nick Watney (2011) are the only two winners on TOUR here.

The TOUR Championship (Donald Ross course): There has never been a repeat champion or anyone who has won multiple FedExCup titles so whoever is left! A rookie won for the first time last year (Schauffele) so it’s not impossible!

Good luck!

History Channeled:

2015-16 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 total: $6,533,509 45 events

• Wins: 1
• Seconds: 1
• Thirds: 1
• Top 10s: 12
• Top 25s: 20
• MCs (10): Grayson Murray (Safeway Open); Patton Kizzire (SFC); Jamie Lovemark (CB Challenge); Jimmy Walker (FIO); Charl Schwartzel (Genesis); Russell Knox (Honda); Henrik Stenson (API); Thomas Pieters (Zurich); Kevin Kisner (WFC).

 

Thanks for reading!