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!