Here’s your brain:

Here’s your brain on OAD:

Francesco Molinari’s other four starts are MC and he’s coming off a win.

Guess how many players have won the week before and gone on to win THE PLAYERS?

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, OAD

Another fine mess you’ve gotten us into!

Last week was another disaster in the Florida Swing so I’m going hyper-conservative this week with big bucks on the line.

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
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Rickie Fowler	T40	35490
Total Events: 19	Top 10s: 5	MC: 5	$3,197,890

Last Time: API

So I guess I got the wrong week for this elite star. I’m glad I won’t have to consider him the rest of the year as his wonderfully inconsistent play has struck again. Looking at his finishes of 2019 it’s obvious he’s going to win or finish second this week. Good luck with that, folks.

Whatever.

My Choice: Rickie Fowler – T41

Safety Dance: Rory McIlroy – T6, Justin Rose – T63, Bryson DeChambeau – T46

Painful from this troika as Rose never got started, BDC stalled out and McIlroy couldn’t close the deal.

Spicy: Ian Poulter – T23, Kevin Kisner – T23, Kiradech Aphibarnrat – T23

Kisner’s 75 in the final round washed out starting the day three back.

Picks for Dreamers: Lucas Glover – T10, Michael Thompson – MC, Jason Kokrak – T9

Glover and Kokrak are top-10 machines although Thompson ran out gas.

Picks for Noses: Henrik Stenson – T17, Francesco Molinari – WIN, Phil Mickelson – MC

Stenson’s injuries and caddies (yes, two) didn’t seem to bother him and neither did Molinari’s first tournament with his brand-new sticks. His bogey-free 64 under that pressure was stout and should have everyone upside-down this week as well.

 Six Beers In: Matt Every – MC, Patrick Rodgers – T46, Ben An – T10

Oh Ben An, you mystery man you!

 

This Week

Back to March and I’ve highlighted plenty of the differences/changes in The Confidence Factor.

No Englishman has ever won this event but this year might change all of that as they have plenty in form.

The only player to win the week before THE PLAYERS was Woods, also at the API, back in 2001.

With a prize pool of $12 million and $2.25 to the winner, a MC this week is death. Picking the winner of this event is next to impossible and Woods is the only player in the field this week with multiple wins. Your math is correct as that means nobody has ever defended their title.

I’m looking for proper grinders to handle the new conditions and less-than-perfect weather conditions. If weather and temperature is an issue, the ball will not go as far off the tee or bounce as firmly so finding ball-strikers should be first on your list.

The course isn’t different; but it’s not the same either. The routing, green complexes and physical traits are essentially the same but the wind coming from different angles on the compass will make every shot a challenge.

At 7,189 with four Par-5 holes it will give opportunities to wipe bogeys off the card. Target golf requires hitting the target and those who don’t will need to get up-and-down as par won’t hurt this week.

My Choice: Sergio Garcia

What’s that sound?

Wait, listen closely?

Nothing?

Good.

Exactly what I’m looking for this week. Head down. Get to work. Dig it out of the dirt.

This will be start No. 20 at TPC Sawgrass and the Spaniard enters in-form with a pair of top-10 paydays in his last two. The 2008 champ won via playoff and almost picked up another title, losing in a playoff to Fowler in 2015. Some will even argue that he could have had a third if not for two water balls on No. 17 in 2013.

Please remember, these options are for ONE AND DONE ONLY.

If you’re under the influence that Dustin Johnson HAS TO BE PLAYED this week and I disagree, that’s ok. Start yer own column!

Safety Dance: Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka

Spicy: Tiger Woods, Tommy Fleetwood, Paul Casey, Xander Schauffele

Picks for Dreamers: Justin Rose, Jon Rahm, Francesco Molinari

Picks for Noses: Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Charles Howell

 Six Beers In: Ian Poulter, Lucas Glover, Martin Kaymer, Kevin Kisner

 

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!