Those who are leading (read: not me) have earned their position and have forced the rest of us to play catch-up.

I hope you have a chance to hit the money late!

The rest of us might have to take chances!

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
3M Open	Bryson DeChambeau	T2	563,200
John Deere Classic	Collin Morikawa	T4	264,000
The Open Championship	Rafa Cabrera Bello	MC	0
Total Events: 39	Top 10s: 11	MC: 10	$8,680,083

Last Week – 148th Open Championship

Well, you can’t do THAT.

MC.

$0.

My mind was in the right place, looking for an outsider to make a big splash, but my execution was the worst possible outcome.

And you’re right, it hurts worse because Tommy Fleetwood was an option for the week.

Yet so was Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Francesco Molinari, etc.

Show’s over but we’ll move on.

My Choice: Rafa Cabrera Bello – MC

Frequent Flyers

Rory McIlroy – MC

I feel for those of you who saved him for a course and event that suggested a Holywood finish. More proof the game isn’t played on paper and there are no guarantees ever.

Jon Rahm – T11

Nothing wrong with missing a top 10 by a shot but not the podium most were hoping for.

Brooks Koepka – T4

More amazing than keeping it together with a guy who posted 87 was his majors record this season. Sorry to the folks that were late to the party but it could have been much worse (see: McIlroy, Rory).

Spicy:

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

Adam Scott – MC

Savage kick in the nuts after appearing he was trending for another major finish.

Matt Kuchar – T41

Began the final round T12 and plummeted 29 spots after 79. Not the traditional back-door top 10 most expected.

Justin Rose – T20

His 79 matched Kuchar but posting that from T4 after 54 holes is devastating in this and every format.

Picks for Dreamers:

Hideki Matsuyama – MC

I can’t remember the last time he won and that’s a necessity in this category. You pay your money. You take your chance.

Xander Schauffele – MC

Another with the BIG SUNDAY the wrong direction knocked him 23 places down the ladder to T41.

Eddie Pepperell – 71

Never happened for the Englishman.

Shane Lowry – WIN

You’ve probably heard the news by now. Congrats to all who piled on in every and all formats.

Picks for Noses:

Tiger Woods – MC

Not surprising given his pre-tournament comments about form, health and preparation.

Francesco Molinari – T11

Fantastic finish from near the cut line reinforced his class.

Six Guinness In: 

Mike Lorenzo Vera – MC, Thorbjorn Olesen – T57, Andy Sullivan – MC, George Best

 

This Week – World Golf Championships FedEx St. Jude Invitational

Plenty of coin and FedExCup points on the line should get the attention of a field of 63!

Light rough will mitigate tight landing areas but 11 water hazards will require focus for all 72 holes.

Back to Bermuda greens will bring smiles to most and tiny targets will reinforce the skill of the fantastic iron players.

Those who had to battle the Sunday conditions might need a round or two to tune it back in but with no cut, that’s entirely possible.

My Choice: Dustin Johnson

The two-time winner will have the advantage mentally and operationally with knowing his way around TPC Southwind.

The reunion with his old swing coach should pay dividends in week two as whatever he was working on last week should be imbedded even more in his second start.

Johnson has a wonderful ability to flush the recent past (MC Carnoustie, win the following week at RBC Canadian Open 2018) and raise his game to elite standards.

He stood out from the group below.

See if you can guess where I’ll be using the rest of my squad:

Dustin Johnson

Justin Rose

Francesco Molinari

Tommy Fleetwood

Webb Simpson

Henrik Stenson

Brandt Snedeker

The good news is I have options (and more not listed here but whatever) and the bad news is I have options.

Frequent Flyers

There’s not many options, three to be exact, so hammer top OWGR players so get to it.

Justin Thomas: He’s a summertime player so he won’t care where this is being played. Best form recently the last two weeks across the pond signals it’s coming.

Henrik Stenson: Having seen this joint twice won’t hurt and he was flying before Royal Portrush.

Rafa Cabrera Bello: Hard to type this after last week.

Spicy:

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

Billy Horschel: His track record here is the hook.

Patrick Reed: He enjoys the weekly grind and won’t have any problem with a field of this size. Pocketed a pair of top-10 paydays in his last three worldwide.

Chez Reavie: Expecting a two-win season is a bit strong but his play outside one bad round in Detroit has extended for MONTHS. Nice history here as well.

Picks for Noses:

Tommy Fleetwood: Emotionally ruined after Sunday at Royal Portrush, finding another 72 holes of that level so quickly isn’t expected from me. It took Molinari a few months to get his game back in shape after a difficult Sunday at Augusta.

Phil Mickelson: One of the few he’s played a ton but has never won, there’s not much recent evidence to suggest he’ll put all the pieces together this week.

Six Double Jack and Cokes In: 

Cameron Smith, Matthew Wolff, Danny Willett, Anfernee Hardaway

Barracuda Pick: Martin Laird

 

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!