Gamers, time to reinforce and remember that there are only a handful of events left in the 2018-19 season.

Following this week, it’s off to John Deere then The Open/Barbasol before WGC-FESJC/Barracuda and Wydham close the regular season.

Time to go.

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	0
AT&T Byron Nelson	Keith Mitchell	T59	17,301
PGA Championship	Brooks Koepka	WIN	1,980,000
Charles Schwab Challenge	Jordan Spieth	T8	197,100
Memorial	Tony Finau	MC	0
RBC Canadian Open	Jim Furyk	T27	55,100
U.S. Open	Tiger Woods	T21	117,598
Travelers Championship	Bubba Watson	T54	16,560
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Sungjae Im	T21	68,528
Total Events: 36	Top 10s: 10	MC: 9	$7,852,833

Last Week – Rocket Mortgage Classic

Nate Lashley lapped the field and the top 10 was filled with all shapes and sizes.

My Choice: Sungjae Im – T21

Sitting at 13-under after a very nice 66 on Saturday, the 21-year old posted even par 72 to slide down the board on Sunday. I took a chance on youth and paid a decent price but not as a severe price as those who played the favorites. With only five weeks remaining, I’m set up to make a run with big-name players and that starts this week.

Frequent Flyers

Dustin Johnson – MC

Ouch.

This is bad for two reasons.

1.) The angle was beat a bad field on an easy course.

2.) He rakes at TPC Southwind.

I don’t judge. Desperate times call for desperate measures and all that. Swung and missed. It happens.

Rickie Fowler – T-Who Cares

T36, MC, T14, T43 and T46 in his last five on TOUR is nothing short of disappointing for gamers.

Brandt Snedeker – T5

Closed 65-67 to reinforce his penchant for playing Ross courses well. You’ll have another chance to use him at Sedgefield in the final week of the regular season as he defends his title.

Spicy:

Picks that should click but have more element of risk due to recent form, etc.

Ryan Moore – MC

Brian Harman – MC as 140 (-4) wasn’t enough to get two more rounds! Savage!

Joaquin Niemann – T5 for the second week running. Yes, the answer is YES.

Troy Merritt – MC as he wasn’t anywhere near the line. He’s from Iowa and played some college golf in Minnesota so yeah.

Picks for Dreamers:

Viktor Hovland – T13 as he closed with a bogey-free 64 to leap up the board. This won’t be the last time he’s in this column.

Chez Reavie – MC; opened with 65 and here we go again! Except 78 on Friday killed everything.

Gary Woodland – MC by two as he couldn’t dial in his irons. Majors change lives, folks. Not everyone is Robot Koepka.

Picks for Noses:

Bubba Watson – MC, Charles Howell III – T35

Six Beers In: 

Joey Garber – T29, Brian Stuard – T5, Kid Rock – MDF, Alan Trammell – HOF, Barry Sanders – HOF

 

This Week – 3M Open

Week 2 of the Midwest Swing takes the TOUR to Minnesota for the first time since the late 60s for a TOUR event. The 3M Championship was played here on the Champions Tour since 2001 until last August.

Tom Lehman was trusted with “TOUR-ing up” this Arnold Palmer design by extending it almost 500 yards while shrinking fairways and adding trees to an otherwise prairie-links design.

I don’t think it’s going to matter as large, receptive greens will hold shots and putts will fall like the temperature in winter.

Please read The Confidence Factor for more details.

My Choice: Bryson DeChambeau

Too many stars lining up this week and I’m too far removed to care about the results. The 3M brand ambassador will welcome tighter driving conditions and enjoy the perfect putting surfaces.

Frequent Flyers

Jason Day: Anytime birdies are needed and power plays, Day always makes sense. He’ll win most putting contests, in theory.

Patrick Reed: Heat check for the desperate as he finally cashed a top 10 in 2019. He’s beloved here after his Captain America performance at Hazeltine three years ago.

Hideki Matsuyama: Keeps on pushing and the better the greens, the better his chance to turn the putter to 11.

Spicy:

Picks that should click but have more element of risk due to recent form, etc.

Joaquin Niemann: The first one is the hardest one but T5-T5 in the last two points him in the right direction.

Rory Sabbatini: The knock is he hasn’t won since 20-I-forget but the upside is five top 10s in his last eight.

Viktor Hovland: He doesn’t seem bothered by all of the fuss and his results confirm my suspicion. Monster winner everywhere so this week or next would only surprise his harshest critics.

Picks for Dreamers:

Doc Redman: My dude Ryan O’Sullivan had him in our league last week so we all took a bath. The former U.S. Amateur champ has game and plenty of it. Doing it in back-to-back weeks on TOUR is another bag of onions.

Wyndham Clark: Another young stud, he’s a super putter who has been quietly picking off top 20 paydays the last two weeks.

Tony Finau: He enters the week in dire form. If he pops this week there shouldn’t be many others this contrarian!

Picks for Noses:

Brooks Koepka: The Dustin Johnson example from last week should be your reminder that some guys just don’t get up for some events. I’d rather take my chances when he’s been slighted, forgotten about or isn’t the clear-cut favorite.

Six Beers In: 

Sepp Straka, Fran Tarkenton, Prince (RIP), Collin Morikawa

 

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!