It will be a mad dash to the finish line on Sunday with all shapes and sizes burning the lead off their pencils.
Pars and bogeys have the week off again as the Coachella Valley will produce another winner with the score of 20-something or better!
Good Luck!
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 | Marc Leishman | T3 | 307,200 |
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: 10
|
Top 10s: 3 | MC: 3 | $1,746,725 |
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: Sony Open
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me! OK Kuch, I see you! Gamers have just had another handful of events open up to use the 40-year old down the road. His track record at Augusta, Harbour Town and Memorial should garner eyeballs as we get deeper into the season.
My Choice: Marc Leishman – T3
Hard to argue with a pair of 64s including the final round.
Safety Dance: Gary Woodland – MDF, Bryson DeChambeau – T10, Charles Howell III – T8
Woodland was the complete shocker for the week given his results prior, course form and almost winning the week before. Fantasy golf is hard.
Spicy: Kevin Kisner – T69 nice, Anybody Named Cameron – MC (Davis) MDF (Champ) T22 (Smith), Russell Knox – T43
Well then. That was awful.
Picks for Dreamers: Jimmy Walker – T51, Brandt Snedeker – T16, Emiliano Grillo – T22,
Plenty of decent on the back end but nothing to write another sentence about!
Picks for Noses: Patrick Reed – T13, Hideki Matsuyama – T51
Reed tried to back-door the top 10 with a closing 65. Most of you could have used that LAST Sunday.
Six Beers In: Abraham Ancer – T29, Brian Harman – MC
Those two should be in your sights again this week.
This Week
Read about all the details in The Confidence Factor.
I have no problems with taking a flier this week as the winners in this new rotation have been 23, 29 and 39-years of age (inverse order).
With the easiest courses on TOUR in use and none of them stretching over 7,200 yards at Par-72, may the man with the most par-breakers lift the trophy. There are a few ol’ desert foxes that could sneak in and win as well.
If you need a tie breaker, you might want to see who gets a crack at La Quinta earlier than later. It’s not automatic that the guys who play there last will shoot 64 to make the weekend; that’s a different pressure. The guys who open up quickly and run out usually hang around the first page of the leaderboard on Sunday afternoon.
My Choice: Andrew Putnam
I don’t have to worry about him closing since he did that at Montreux in August. He also had to get absurdly low there to win. His putter was white hot last week and I’m hoping that carries over. I like playing the hot hand when there is no natural landing place for him down the road.
Safety Dance: Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Charles Howell III
Spicy: Adam Hadwin, Brian Harman, Ryan Palmer
Picks for Dreamers: Abraham Ancer, Bud Cauley, Luke List
Picks for Noses: Justin Rose – can I see ONE tournament with the new 10-club set up first?
Six Beers In: Bill Haas, Peter Uihlein
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!