Brandt Snedeker is back to defend and holds the course record of 59.
He’s not my favorite 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 | 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 |
Barbasol Championship | Denny McCarthy | T11 | 77,000 |
WGC-FESJI | Dustin Johnson | T20 | 113,500 |
Barracuda Championship | Martin Laird | T7 | 105,437 |
Total Events: 42 | Top 10s: 12 | MC: 10 | $8,976,020 |
Last Week – World Golf Championships FedEx St. Jude Invitational
My Choice: Dustin Johnson – T20
Not even a friendly ballpark could knock DJ out of his funk and I paid the price. Career-best paydays at Augusta and TPC Sawgrass plus another runner up to Koepka (I had Koepka) made it look like he was a great pick any week.
Nope.
This was his fifth consecutive event not finishing inside the top 15.
I hope you weren’t in the same sinking boat.
Tommy Fleetwood bounced back incredibly with T4; Justin Rose was 11th. Cameron Smith T12.
Frequent Flyers
There’s not many options, three to be exact, so hammer top OWGR players so get to it.
Justin Thomas – T12
One of only three players in the top 19 who posted an over-par round on Sunday. So yeah that didn’t help anyone.
Henrik Stenson – T27
72 on Sunday stalled him out.
Rafa Cabrera Bello – T12
Sitting one-over after 36 holes I wrote him off. 67-66 weekend pushed him into decent money. Much better money than MC for me last week. Sigh.
Spicy:
Picks that should click but have more element of risk due to recent form, etc.
Billy Horschel – T9
First-ever top-10 paycheck in a WGC event. Not a surprise on this track.
Patrick Reed – T12
73 on Thursday didn’t inspire but he flushed the jet lag and closed 66-67-68.
Chez Reavie – T27
Beat a few bigger names…
Picks for Noses:
Tommy Fleetwood – T4
Swung. Missed. Cost me $200k. Sadly that’s not going to matter for me as I needed a winner. Pick better golfers.
Phil Mickelson – 57th of 63
Sometimes I hate being right but his value in this game is almost nil at this point.
Six Double Jack and Cokes In:
Cameron Smith – T12, Matthew Wolff – T24 (first ever WGC), Danny Willett – T48, Anfernee Hardaway – DUDE WAS THERE ERRYDAY.
This Week – Wyndham Championship
My Choice: Webb Simpson
This has been the plan since 2011 he won the event and then named his daughter after it. I’ve written plenty on him this week and so has everyone else. Don’t confuse this with Wells Fargo. This is his college homecoming, not his home event. Totally different and the results have followed.
Frequent Flyers
Brandt Snedeker: He’s won the event twice on two different courses but Simpson’s form last week was the tie-breaker. If you have already burned Simpson, this is your lucky ducky week as he’s legit 1A. Both players are 36-under over their last eight rounds and this guy is the defending champ.
Cameron Smith: The Aussie was after it early last week but fizzled late. He’s geeked up and playing well with the Presidents Cup on the horizon and loves this track.
Patrick Reed: Very similar to Smith, Reed has turned the heat into top 20s and top 10s this summer. The 2013 champ loves a bit of humidity and Bermuda.
Spicy:
Picks that should click but have more element of risk due to recent form, etc.
Collin Morikawa/Matthew Wolff: I’m not betting against them but history is not kind to first-timers here other than Spieth, who lost in a playoff to Reed. Those two might be in THAT category.
Rory Sabbatini: Playing great but hasn’t won in forever.
Lucas Glover: Playing great, plays great here but wins are hard to come by as well.
Joaquin Niemann: Banging on the door all summer long and closed 66-66 here last year.
Picks for Noses:
Returns next week as only three of the OWGR top 25 are playing.
Six Dale’s Pales In:
Martin Kaymer, Bud Cauley, Vaughn Taylor, Talor Gooch, Mike Jordan
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!