“Look at these dire workplace conditions!”

-said nobody ever

One and Done

Each week I’ll throw in my thoughts on the field and those to back and avoid in this wonderful format.

This Year:

Event	Golfer	Place	$$
Safeway Open	Brendan Steele	T53	14,610
CIMB Classic	Ryan Moore	T66	12,740
CJ CUP @ 9 BRIDGES	Gary Woodland	2nd	1,026,000
WGC-HSBC Champions	Ian Poulter	21st	93,500
Sanderson Farms	Cameron Davis	MC	0
Shriners	Aaron Wise	T15	101,675
Mayakoba Golf Classic	Charles Howell III	MC	0
The RSM Classic	J.J. Spaun	MC	0
Sentry TOC	Jon Rahm	T8	191,000
Sony Open
CareerBuilder Challenge
Farmers Insurance
WMPO
-AT&T Pebble Beach
Genesis Open
Honda Classic
WGC-Mexico
Valspar Championship
Arnold Palmer
WGC-Match Play
Corales Puntacana
Houston Open
Masters
RBC Heritage
Valero Texas Open
Zurich Classic
Wells Fargo Championship
THE PLAYERS
Ft. Worth Invitational
AT&T Byron Nelson
Memorial
FESJC
US Open
FESJC
Quicken Loans National
A Military Tribute
John Deere Classic
British Open
RBC Canadian Open
Barracuda
WGC-Bridgestone Invite
PGA Championship
Wyndham
THE NORTHERN TRUST
Dell Technologies
BMW Championship
TOUR Championship
Total Events: 9	Top 10s: 2	MC: 3	$1,439,525

 

2017-18:

• 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.

 

Last Time: Sentry TOC

A top-10 check in a limited field is solid but unspectacular. Rahm was steady but never had a foot in the door. I’ll give him credit for 69-69 on the weekend to get into the top 10 and stay there.

Gary Woodland supporters must be sick but anyone on Xander Schauffele is not allowed to complain about anything the rest of the season. Signing for 11-under par, tying the course record AND WINNING kills all bitching privileges, sorry.

My Choice: Jon Rahm – T8

The Spaniard has no natural landing spot in this format so I’m banging this drum off his win at the Hero.

Safety Dance: Patrick Reed – T26, Bryson DeChambeau – 7th, Marc Leishman – T4

Spicy: Xander Schauffele – WINNER, Charles Howell III – T14, Aaron Wise – T27

Picks for Dreamers: Ian Poulter – 18th, Matt Kuchar – T19, Cameron Champ – T11

Picks for Noses: Any first-timer not named McIlroy – T4

 Six Beers In: Scott Piercy – T19, Billy Horschel – T25

 

This Week

Read about all the details in The Confidence Factor.

A field of 144 is 111 more than we had to choose from last week but the parameters should be similar.

The last five winners and 13 of the last 20 have all played the week before at Kapalua. Russell Henley is the only rookie to win and he and Bruce Leitzke are the only two players to win in their first try.

Experience can come with big finishes and age so choose wisely. This week there is also a cut. The highest mark the last two years is 138 (-2) so par is off this week!

My Choice: Marc Leishman

All systems go for the Aussie. He’s in Honolulu for the 10th time and has never left early. Time to take it to the next level!

Safety Dance: Gary Woodland, Bryson DeChambeau, Charles Howell III

Spicy: Kevin Kisner, Anybody Named Cameron, Russell Knox

Picks for Dreamers: Jimmy Walker, Brandt Snedeker, Emiliano Grillo,

Picks for Noses: Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama,

 Six Beers In: Abraham Ancer, Brian Harman

 

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!