Matt Kuchar has won twice in his last four events.

I’d say it’s all going his way at the moment!

Emergency 9

Here are nine tidbits from the final of the Sony Open in Hawaii that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Waialae Country Club in Honolulu plays 7,044 yards to Par-70 and has hosted this event since 1965.

Doing the Double Again

Matt Kuchar posted 22-under-par 258 (63-63-66-66) to defeat Andrew Putnam by four shots and become the second player in the last two years to win Mayakoba and Sony in the same season. Patton Kizzire had the honor last season and gave a noble defense of his title finishing T13. It was Kuchar’s first win in 14 tries at Waialae but his sixth top-13 finish in his last six starts. #CourseHorse.

Kuchar’s ninth win on TOUR will see his value rise at his normal spots on the schedule, and rightfully so. TPC Sawgrass, Augusta and Muirfield Village pop right off the top of my head and now will have to be factored in down the road. There wasn’t a mystery on how he won this week as he was third in both Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green and Strokes-Gained: Putting. He’s now 2-for-2 with the 54-hole lead this season. Not bad for 40!

Time to Jump On

If you weren’t convinced by Andrew Putnam’s first win in an opposite field event (Barracuda), right, gotcha. Surely you were impressed as he thrashed Patrick Reed and Tommy Fleetwood in the final round at the WGC-HSBC Champions to finish T4. Not bad for his first time playing a WGC event! His first visit to Kapalua last week saw him collected T14 with all four rounds at par or better. That’s pretty solid for a course that eats up first-time participants on a usual basis. He led the field in putting this week as he gained almost 11 shots on the field.

Australian Rules

Aussie Marc Leishman’s early season has been lights-out as he adds T3 this week to a win, T18, solo second and T4 since October. He’s never missed in 10 attempts but T3 is his best of the bunch and third top 10. These results are building a foundation that suggests a MASSIVE LEAP for the rest of the year.

Plenty to Choose From

I’ll pick Hudson Swafford from the group at T3 because he’s a former champ at the Desert Classic (2017), this week’s event. This was top 10 No. 3 in six tries and the best of the bunch. I’ll also point out that he opened with 62 in 2017 before cashing T13. Of his 22 career rounds, nine are 66 or better. He’s a must-play annually regardless of form but he entered the week on nine straight paydays.

Live Ammo: The Rifleman

Corey Conners turned his Monday qualification into his second podium in just six starts. His solo second at the SFC moved him to No. 2 in the Nos. 126-150 reshuffle and T3 this week will his cash to over $825k for the season. That sound you hear is him exhaling as he’ll be in the field this week in the Coachella Valley. His career-best round is 63 at Colonial, another course where you need to work the ball both left and right. Noted.

PGATOUR Fantasy Wrap

These were the top-10 selected golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf game presented by SERVPRO. If you’re wondering why you’re not doing well, here’s why:

Rank	Player	Place	% Ownership
1	Gary Woodland	MDF	61.18
2	Justin Thomas	T16	59.93
3	Marc Leishman	T3	53.10
4	Bryson DeChambeau	T10	43.09
5	Charles Howell III	T8	33.91
6	Cameron Champ	MDF	29.67
7	Jordan Spieth	MC	26.24
8	Matt Kuchar	WIN	24.12
9	Cameron Smith	T22	18.80
10	Kevin Tway	MC	17.44

 

These were the top-10 selected golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf One & Done game presented by SERVPRO. If you’re wondering why you’re not doing well, here’s why:

Rank	Player	Place	% Ownership
1	Gary Woodland	MDF	14.68
2	Charles Howell III	T8	14.38
3	Marc Leishman	T3	13.30
4	Justin Thomas	T16	10.59
5	Bryson DeChambeau	T10	5.81
6	Cameron Champ	MDF	4.34
7	Cameron Smith	T22	3.73
8	Patton Kizzire	T13	2.86
9	Matt Kuchar	WIN	2.82
10	Kevin Kisner	T69	2.49

 

This Week in “Fantasy Golf makes sense”

Tough pill to swallow in fantasy land as Charles Howell III ONLY cashed for T8. This his sixth straight start at Sony outside of the top five. He’s a billion under-par and has never missed the cut in 18 chances. #FreeMoney at this event. #FreeMoney this time of year.

This Week in “Fantasy Golf doesn’t make any sense”

Gary Woodland hit the top 10 in three of his last four at Waialae but didn’t get a chance at all 72 holes with MDF. After making one bogey in his last 27 holes before the weekend to make the cut, he woke up on Saturday and didn’t make any! This was the same dude who was 22-under last week and made too many birdies to count.

 Study Hall

Too many rounds of 64 to count on the final day but Carlos Ortiz was the only player to post one and not hit the top 10.  Sung Kang was 0-4 before his final round 64 pushed him to T10. The final round scoring average was the best of the week at 68.183 as the wind died in the afternoon. … The course played 68.920 for the week. … Hideki Matsuyama cashed T51 after playing the first 54 holes nine-under. He’s never cashed better than T27 here in six tries. … Brandon Harkins (T51) made 24 birdies, T1 on the week. … Brian Stuard led the field with three bogeys and picked up his fourth top-10 payday in his last six at Waialae. Aloha!