Slick greens, four Par-5 holes and lovely Florida sunshine should make for a nice shootout at Bay Hill.

No Tiger Woods means gamers will have to make alternate plans but the good news is there are PLENTY to choose from.

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	Hideki Matsuyama	T15	113,600
AT&T Pebble Beach	Jason Day	T4	334,400
Genesis Open	Justin Thomas	2nd	799,200
WGC-Mexico Champ	Xander Schauffele	T14	128,000
Puerto Rico Open	Graeme McDowell	T42	10,500
The Honda Classic	Adam Scott	MC	0
Total Events: 18	Top 10s: 5	MC: 5	$3,162,400

Last Time: The Honda Classic

After a monster board in Mexico City it wasn’t surprising to see the water level out. When two old dudes (Singh and Furyk), two rookies (KH Lee, Clark) populate the top 10, it was going to be tough to crack this nut.

I’m so over Adam Scott. I hope he uses a snow shovel to putt next time so he can forget again how to hit fairways and greens. The best part is I won’t have to consider him for the rest of the season so that pleases me.

Whatever.

My Choice: Adam Scott – MC

Safety Dance: Sergio Garcia – T9, Rickie Fowler – T2, Gary Woodland – T36

Spicy: Daniel Berger – MC, Billy Horschel – T16, Graeme McDowell – MC

Picks for Dreamers: Michael Thompson – T16, Scott Piercy – MC, Charl Schwartzel – T16

Picks for Noses: Alex Noren – MC, Justin Thomas – T30 (why use him in an event with a purse of this size if you can use him in four majors?),

Six Beers In: Webb Simpson – T36, Patton Kizzire – MC (and WD this week in Orlando)

 

This Week

Believe it or not, only two Euros have won here but many other have gone close. Of the 40 previous events at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge just seven internationals have won, including the last three to take home the trophy.

Rory McIlroy followed Aussies Marc Leishman and Jason Day after Martin Laird won in 2011. Rod Pampling, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh make up the rest of this limited list. I’d point out that Laird shot 76 and won by a shot but the course is different now and the wind isn’t going to blow like that this week.

With a big-boy field, I’m leaning on a big boy to do the work this week.

My Choice: Rickie Fowler

With a victory and T2 in his last three starts, I’m on board for him to complete his tributes to his buddy The King by getting in the winner’s circle. He’s sniffed here before but hasn’t gotten the cart into the barn. I learned all I needed to know at TPC Scottsdale as he held off his buddies to win that event for the first time. Yeah, I agree, you can use him any week he tees it up so I’m going this week with over $9 million on the line.

Safety Dance: Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Bryson DeChambeau

Spicy: Ian Poulter, Kevin Kisner, Kiradech Aphibarnrat

Picks for Dreamers: Lucas Glover, Michael Thompson, Jason Kokrak

Picks for Noses: Henrik Stenson, Francesco Molinari, Phil Mickelson

 Six Beers In: Matt Every, Patrick Rodgers, Ben An

 

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!