Can’t have a rainbow without rain, right?

Wet day/week/six months in Dallas won’t have Trinity Forest firm and fast.

That’s just part of the fantasy battle 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	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	35,490
THE PLAYERS Championship	Sergio Garcia	T22	125,000
Valspar Championship	Patrick Reed	MC	0
Corales Punta Cana	Trey Mullinax	T61	6,450
WGC-Match Play	Paul Casey	T9	167,000
Valero Texas Open	Billy Horschel	MC	0
Masters	Rory McIlroy	T21	107,956
RBC Heritage	Matt Kuchar	2nd	745,200
Zurich Classic	Ryan Palmer	WIN	1,051,200
Wells Fargo Championship	Phil Mickelson	MC
Total Events: 28	Top 10s: 8	MC: 8	$5,400,696

Last Time: Wells Fargo Championship

My Choice: Phil Mickelson – MC

After WIN and second the last two weeks I can’t feel too poorly but my top-10 paydays now equal my MC for the year.

Rubbish.

Mickelson’s lack of form entering the week should have bothered me more but I wasn’t using Max Homa or Justin Rose regardless.

We move on.

Safety Dancing: In Order

Rory McIlroy: T8

To say this was a letdown would be accurate based on past events. I don’t show up to use McIlroy for T8. Instead I got T21 or whatever in the Masters!

Rickie Fowler: T4

He joins McIlroy as an automatic look in this event as he chalked up another top 10.

Paul Casey: T4

Backed up his top 10 from 2018 with another beauty this season. I did not have any of these three available for selection.

Spicy:

Picks that should click but have more element of risk

Webb Simpson: T18

Home game with a solid finish but I’ll remind gamers he didn’t name his daughter Wells, but rather Wyndham.

Lucas Glover: T31

His worst finish this season. That’s not a bad thing.

Jason Kokrak: 69 (Nice)

He was two-under heading into the weekend but 74-78 wiped out any hopes of making a late move.

Picks for Dreamers:

Breakout performance from this group will get gamers back into contention

Kevin Streelman: T45

Jason Day: T24

Keith Mitchell: T8

J.B. Holmes: 80/WD

Picks for Noses:

Save them for another time. Each week I usually have a couple of these hit the top 10 so BUYER BEWARE!

Hideki Matsuyama: T31

Patrick Reed: His daughter is Windsor Wells. T28.

Six Beers In: 

J.T. Poston – MC, Roberto Castro – MC, Daniel Berger – T54

Maybe I should switch to gin!

 

This Week

If you like to read about trends, stats and the players I have rated, I have you covered in The Confidence Factor Preview.

If you like to read about big-time players in Dallas, I have the main players at The Confidence Factor Horses for Courses.

My Choice: Keith Mitchell

T3 last year and three top 10-finishes in his last seven on TOUR including his first win.

Safety Dancing: In Order

Marc Leishman: Did everything but win last year and won’t mind a bit of weather.

Ryan Palmer: Yeah, he MC last year but he did win his last time. Plenty will point to the Colonial angle (he’s a member) but that’s not a guarantee of anything. He plays wind, has plenty of length and can really putt.

Branden Grace: Loves Texas golf (Valero winner) and showed out her last year. His form doesn’t rush him to the front of the line but this course fits his eye.

Spicy:

Picks that should click but have more element of risk

Sungjae Im: He should be up the list. Solid across the board and should enjoy swinging it this week.

Rafa Cabrera Bello: Solid as it gets and you’re not saving him for anything down the road. Hasn’t been exactly racking up top finishes though.

Scott Piercy: Unless you want to save him for his “defense” of the RBC Canadian Open next month…He was the last winner at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in 2012, the site of this year’s event. His career year, minus a win, rolls on.

Thomas Pieters: He showed up for his first Masters in 2017 and almost won it. Same amount of rough here. Form is eh.

Picks for Dreamers:

Breakout performance from this group will get gamers back into contention

Aaron Wise: I wrote why NOT in the preview. His form suggests I might not be right.

Scott Scheffler: Hotter than English teams in the second legs of European Cup semifinals.

Henrik Stenson: When was the last time he won? When was the last time he hit the top 10 in stroke play in a full-field event?

Picks for Noses:

Save them for another time. Each week I usually have a couple of these hit the top 10 so BUYER BEWARE!

Brooks Koepka: Elite players go in majors or FedExCup Playoff.

Six Beers In: 

Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark, Seamus Power

 

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!