I’m all for contrarian picks.

Just not this week.

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
60th Desert Classic	Andrew Putnam	T34	29,975
Farmers Insurance	Patrick Cantlay	MC	0
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: 11	Top 10s: 3	MC: 3	$1,776,700

 

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: FIO

When the No. 1 player in the world plays like that, everyone is lining up for second place. Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy, both first-timers in the event, also enjoyed the perfect weather to both cash in the top five. Jon Rahm and Jason Day reinforced their automatic-ness to this event as well.

My Choice: Patrick Cantlay – MC

Safety Dance: Jason Day – T5, Marc Leishman – T43, Charles Howell III – T20

Spicy: Tony Finau – T13, Rory McIlroy – T5, Keegan Bradley – T35

Picks for Dreamers: Kyle Stanley – MC and Gary Woodland – T9; Jimmy Walker – MC

Picks for Noses: Rickie Fowler (new ball in play) – T66, Jordan Spieth – T35 (Augusta), Justin Rose – WIN (week two with new sticks)

 Six Beers In: Luke List – T40 , Jason Kokrak – T20, J.J. Spaun – MC

 

This Week

Read about all the details in The Confidence Factor.

The Hideki Matsuyama Classic presented by Phil Mickelson bills itself as the greatest show on grass. Super Bowl weekend in the Scottsdale desert is always a party but the choices should considerably narrow this week.

The Weiskopf redo modernized the 80’s design and this has favored the power players and ball-strikers even more. Toss in some weekend weather to add some length and the results should be similar again this year.

My Choice: Hideki Matsuyama

Safety Dance: Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler

Spicy: Gary Woodland (only Matsuyama, Johnny Miller and The King have repeated at this event), Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar

Picks for Dreamers: Daniel Berger, Ryan Palmer, Andrew Putnam

Picks for Noses: Justin Thomas (no need to force it), Tony Finau (record here is dire), Bubba Watson (wait for Riviera)

 Six Beers In: Martin Laird, Brendan Steele, Trey Mullinax

 

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!