Last Year:
I hit the winner’s circle three times and the two late victories pushed me into the top 10 of Spotter’s game.
All four majors selections hit the top 10.
Seven MC were dire but the most punishing one was Francesco Molinari at THE PLAYERS. We know what happened to his season after that.
My Life
I have been given a fantastic opportunity at PGATOUR.COM to join their experts game so I better make the most of it.
Check PGATOUR.COM/Fantasy this afternoon for details.
Coming Soon
Did you enjoy the off-season? I had just enough time to acquaint myself with the 49 newbies (barely) from the Web.com plus evaluate all the 150 on the FedExCup points list.
As usual, I’ll have my rankings* out between Thanksgiving and New Year so you can see what I think entering the meat of the 2019 season.
*I don’t do rankings. I evaluate every player and you can put them in a certain order. I’ll point out strengths and weaknesses plus hints on when to jump on board.
Last Week: Mayakoba Golf Classic
For the second year running, I’ve crashed and burned on Charles Howell III. The cut was four-under and Howell missed by two shots but that and $3 can get you a pint of Bud Light at happy hour on Mondays.
Whatever.
The “spicy” section had plenty of tasty morsels and it’sobvious I need more than six beers for my long-long shots!
My Choice: Charles Howell III — MC
Safety Dance: Gary Woodland — T41, Emiliano Grillo — 15th, Si Woo Kim — T26
Spicy: Scott Piercy — T6, Abraham Ancer — T21, Beau Hossler — MC, Harold Varner III — T6
Picks for Dreamers: Sam Ryder — 54th, Joaquin Niemann — T60, Denny McCarthy — T41
Picks for Noses: Jordan Spieth — MC, Charley Hoffman — MC,
Six Beers In: Bud Cauley — T29, Seamus Power — MC, Kevin Streelman — MC
This Week
Read about all the details in The Confidence Factor.
Not much different this week besides the addition of Bermuda and a full field of 156.
With the last chance for a tee time at Kapalua, don’t be surprised to see more surprises on the first page of the leaderboard again this week.
My Choice: J.J. Spaun
Safety Dance: Kevin Kisner, Charles Howell III, Russell Henley
Spicy: Harold Varner III, C.T. Pan, Cameron Champ, Bud Cauley
Picks for Dreamers: Jim Furyk, Peter Uihlein, Kramer Hickok
Picks for Noses: Webb Simpson (save him), Zach Johnson (ditto)
Six Beers In: Lucas Glover, Trey Mullinax, Patrick Rodgers
History Channeled:
2017-18 Thermometer: FINAL
| 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 |
| Ft. Worth Invitational | Adam Scott | T52 | 16,472 |
| AT&T Byron Nelson | Jimmy Walker | T6 | 257,950 |
| 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 |
| Wyndham | Brandt Snedeker | WIN | 1,080,000 |
| THE NORTHERN TRUST | Jason Day | T20 | 101,160 |
| Dell Technologies | Marc Leishman | T21 | 100,800 |
| BMW Championship | Gary Woodland | T12 | 189,000 |
| TOUR Championship | Justin Thomas | T7 | 279,900 |
| Total Events: 47 | Top 10s: 15 | MC: 7 | $10,967,909 |
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!