Wrote it.

Saved it.

Didn’t publish it.

If you’re wondering how my week is going…

Here’s a clue if you need this week:

Hovland is on a heater heading into @ValsparChamp 🔥

The 24-year-old has vaulted up to No. 6 in the #ComcastBusinessTOURTOP10. pic.twitter.com/RPdkeEGyhb

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 16, 2022

2022 One and Done

Thanks for reading!

The purpose of this column is to free my mind and have some fun all while trying to find some winners.

From a transparency standpoint, most of my recent years are listed below so you can check how I’ve performed.

The price is the same as last year, ZERO, but my Venmo is @Mike-Glasscott if you would like to donate. You might even get your name on the column!

Sometimes we gotta look back before we look forward so I’ll post my thoughts from last week before breaking down the field this week.

Last Time – THE PLAYERS Championship

I wrote last week I didn’t have a handle on this event with the supposed weather, lack of course form, young guns, etc., and boy was I right.

Nothing worse than one shot off a top 10 especially with the richest prize pool in golf.

I’m thrilled with T13 as you’ll notice my other thoughts below didn’t shine much light, minus Keegan Bradley.

Glad that’s over!

THE CHOICE: Daniel Berger – T13

More balls in the water than a Los Angeles class submarine crew…

Three doubles. Only Cam Smith took less putts.

Right there. RIGHT THERE.

I’ve never met Spotter, but I feel like we’ve been friends forever. When I see him, I’m gonna punch him in the ear for making me play this game.

Whatever.

We move on.

Warm Blankets: The guys who should. Safe selections that will help maintain leads. Opinions on why or why not for this event or save for later.

Jon Rahm: The last No. 1 player in the world to win this event was Jason Day in 2016. The Spaniard is in an incredible place as a new dad and has another on the way. His last two finishes here are his best two, T9 2021 and T12 in 2019 and he’s never MC. Nobody hits it better tee to green. For once, his C game wasn’t good enough to contend. Wrong course and wrong field for that and history isn’t kind to No. 1 OWGR players here. Maybe kid No. 2 will pop him back into place.  Maybe it was just a bad week. Those of you saving him for the Masters may now exhale. T55

Rory McIlroy: Jupiter resident finally has found solace in TPC Sawgrass after cracking the code in 2019. Like most returning champions he bombed out in 2021 but that’s old news this week. Plenty of signs of life this winter pointing in the right direction and he won’t be worried about a wet track stretching longer. Only six guys have won this twice. Ever. Tiger Woods is the only one to do it this century. McIlroy’s not afraid of the deep end of the pool. T33 Lovely 66 to close helped me in the Expert’s Game but the three previous 73s did not. Another history lesson that winning two of these isn’t easy.

Hideki Matsuyama: I’ve highlighted his recent excellence in PGATOUR Pick ‘Em so you can read all about it there. All five of his paydays in seven attempts are T23 or better. Already has won twice this year and once on Bermuda at Waialae. Pre Tournament WD (neck).

Collin Morikawa: Just too good tee to green and the pedigree is off the charts. It took him exactly ZERO previous efforts to knock off his first PGA Championship  and Open Championship. I think he needed one WGC event before winning on Bermuda at The Concession last year. He’s live just about every week but I’m leaning more experience on this track. You do you. MC.

Spicy: This might be a week for sending out an “unknown” and saving a start. You just might get lucky. Or MC.

Justin Thomas: OMG WHAT ARE YO DOING WITH HIM DOWN HERE??? Now that I have your attention…

The last winner to hit the top 10 in defense was Adam Scott (T5) in 2005. The last winner to hit the top 50 in defense was Webb Simpson (T16) in 2019. Nobody has defended. Nobody has gone close. The field is too deep. There are too many moving parts.  T33 is what four rounds of par or better gets you these days. Fighting the defending champion trend here is FUTILE. So don’t.

Dustin Johnson: One top 10 here in 12 starts and fresh off his bachelor party. His record in suboptimal weather is very interesting but recent form is certainly not. All he needed was a Caribbean holiday, five inches of rain and five days of golf tournament to fix it! 63 in Round 4 was the round of the week and a fantastic back door T9.

Scottie Scheffler: Only Tiger Woods this century has won the week before THE PLAYERS. Tall cotton. Like Hovland, Morikawa and the Young Guns, not many reps here at this level/intensity. T55 with a pair of 76s on the card. History ain’t no mystery.

Brooks Koepka: Quietly lurking in the weeds as all the drama swirls around. He’s been remarkably quiet through most of this. The tougher the conditions and setup, the more locked in he usually will be. Another Florida Man with a bounty of big wins could be a bother to others this week. Many gamers will allow him to play himself into shape for the majors but this will be my first watermark. Maniacally laughing as balls flew into the water on 17 didn’t inspire. Neither did 81 in the wind. MC and still no love here. Noted.

Shane Lowry: If The Open Championship angle is in play this weekend haha I’ll argue he’s suited for it. One bad tee shot in a deluge at The Honda Classic cost him a shot a playoff but that came out of nowhere. Lovely contrarian play for my money this week. T13 and he got nothing out of his round on Monday. Playing fanastically.

3 AM at the Blackjack Table: Caution is thrown to the wind. Maybe not the best for this format but what the hell, right? Might throw these in if you’re in need of a miracle.

Adam Scott – MC, Sergio Garcia – T26, Si Woo Kim – WD, Abraham Ancer – T33, Chris Kirk – MC, Keegan Bradley – solo 5th, Beau Hossler – MC

Spotter’s Game 2022

2022 Events	Golfer	Place	Total $$
Sentry Tournament of Champions	Marc Leishman	T10	188,000
Sony Open in Hawaii	Keith Mitchell	T7	227,812
The American Express	Seamus Power	T14	119,700
Farmers Insurance Open	Jon Rahm	T3	445,200
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am	Maverick McNealy	T33	43,548
WM Phoenix Open	Hideki Matsuyama	T8	248,050
The Genesis Invitational	Patrick Cantlay	T33	64,000
The Honda Classic	Sungjae Im	MC	0
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Rory McIlroy	T13	228,000
THE PLAYERS Championship	Daniel Berger	T13	327,222
Total Events: 10	Top 10: 4	MC: 1	$1,891,532

This Week – Valspar Championship

Please read Horses for Courses and Expert Picks if you need more ideas.

THE CHOICE: Keegan Bradley

There.

How about that then?

Fifth last week. T11 at Bay Hill. Went close last year. Went close last week.

Haven’t felt this alive in years!

Warm Blankets: The guys who should. Safe selections that will help maintain leads. Opinions on why or why not for this event or save for later.

Viktor Hovland: The theory here is also simple: If he top 10s every week, does it matter which week you play him? Right? Closed with 65 on debut here last year so yeah, he’s in play this week.

Collin Morikawa: Should be fresh after a MC. I’m not crazy about his Florida golf so saving him for down the road is an easy call for me.

Sam Burns: He’s destroyed the Par-5 holes here on multiple occasions and was paid off last year (-15). Paul Casey showed that defending here isn’t impossible.

Shane Lowry: The beat goes on. If he was in this column last week at THE PLAYERS (T13) how can I leave him out this week? Fantastic form and function thrives is great weather too!

Louis Oosthuizen: I’m saving him for The Open but what if he’s the wrong side of the draw??? How can I know that TODAY??? Right. Gambling, eh? He annually rakes here and has never been worse than T20. He’s also quite good at the Match Play Crap Shoot. And he’s good at WD. Scenes!!!

Spicy: This might be a week for sending out an “unknown” and saving a start. You just might get lucky. Or MC.

Matthew Fitzpatrick: Caution. This track gets bigger when the fairways aren’t hit so he’ll need his usual premium. Brother is in the field this week so that distraction will go one of two ways. This made sense at Bay Hill.

Jason Kokrak: Making cuts for fun but no big results since his last win in Houston. Similarly difficult tee to green conditions at Memorial Park plus his track record here makes sense.

Bubba Watson: Bolton loves him this week so that always piques my interest as well. Bubba loves courses Bubba loves and this week qualifies as he’s T18-T4 in his last two visits. I know he blew a tire on the weekend at TPC Sawgrass but that’s annual.

Russell Knox: Gave it a run last week for T6 and has hit the top 24 here in each of his last three visits. He should probably be in the 3AM section but he hits it great so he’s up here.

Gary Woodland: Lovely risk-reward play. Form was fire before 79 in Round 2 at TPC Sawgrass. Won on debut here in 2011. MC in his last three visits but plays annually. Lovely contrasts to spice things up!

3 AM at the Blackjack Table: Caution is thrown to the wind. Maybe not the best for this format but what the hell, right? Might throw these in if you’re in need of a miracle.

Lanto Griffin, Alex Smalley, Matthew NeSmith, Scott Stallings, Doc Redman, Bill Haas

History Channeled:

Final Silly Season Totals:

2021-2022 Events	Golfer	Place	Total $$
Fortinet Championship	Kevin Na	MC	0
Sanderson Farms Championship	Will Zalatoris	T14	127,750
Shriners Children’s Open	Cameron Tringale	T56	15,820
CJ CUP @ SUMMIT	Viktor Hovland	T18	116,331
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Hideki Matsuyama	WIN	1,791,000
Bermuda Championship	Russell Knox	T12	129,025
Mayakoba Championship	Abraham Ancer	T7	218,700
Hewlett Packard Houston Open	Scottie Scheffler	T2	667,500
The RSM Classic	Russell Henley	T40	27,000
Total Events: 9	Top 10: 3	MC: 1	$3,093,126

2020-2021

2020-2021 Events	Golfer	Place	Total $$
Safeway Open	Brendan Steele	T29	41,391
120th United States Open	Jon Rahm	T23	101,797
Corales Punta Cana	Pat Perez	T21	39,000
Sanderson Farms	Doc Redman	T28	46,200
Shriners Hospitals for Children	Patrick Cantlay	T8	190,750
CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK	Matthew Wolff	73rd	16,575
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Tyrrell Hatton	T28	50,137
Bermuda Championship	Will Zalatoris	T16	61,000
Vivint Houston Open	Tony Finau	T24	58,450
84th Masters Tournament	Justin Thomas	4th	552,000
The RSM Classic	Russell Henley	T30	39,552
Mayakoba Golf Classic	Abraham Ancer	T12	147,600
Sentry TOC	Cameron Smith	T24	63,200
Sony Open in Hawaii	Daniel Berger	T7	200,475
The American Express	Scottie Scheffler	MC	0
Farmers Insurance Open	Marc Leishman	T18	80,761
Waste Management WMPO	Hideki Matsuyama	T42	23,852
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am	Jason Day	T7	228,930
The Genesis Invitational	Adam Scott	T38	40,455
WGC- Championship (Concession)	Xander Schauffele	T39	55,000
Puerto Rico Open	Emiliano Grillo	T11	72,750
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Rory McIlroy	T10	195,300
THE PLAYERS Championship	Tommy Fleetwood	MC	0
The Honda Classic	Joaquin Niemann	T25	54,950
WGC- Dell Technologies Match Play	Jason Kokrak	T42	47,571
Corales Puntacana	Thomas Pieters	T13	55,350
Valero Texas Open	Charley Hoffman	2nd	839,300
85th Masters Tournament	Jordan Spieth	T3	667,000
RBC Heritage	Kevin Kisner	MC	0
Valspar Championship	Patrick Reed	MC	0
Wells Fargo Championship	Corey Conners	T43	25,069
AT&T Byron Nelson	Ryan Palmer	T47	20,958
PGA Championship	Viktor Hovland	T30	59,750
Charles Schwab Challenge	Brian Harman	T8	198,875
Memorial Tournament	Collin Morikawa	P2	1,013,700
Palmetto Championship	Matt Fitzpatrick	T10	177,025
121st United States Open	Brooks Koepka	T4	498,176
Travelers Championship	Paul Casey	T36	30,743
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Sungjae Im	T8	211,875
John Deere Classic	Zach Johnson	T34	30,955
The Open Championship	Louis Oosthuizen	T3	682,500
Barbasol Championship	Charl Schwartzel	T26	26,075
3M Open	Robert MacIntyre	MC	0
Barracuda Championship	Ryan Armour	MC	0
WGC – FESJI	Dustin Johnson	T10	220,000
Wyndham Championship	Webb Simpson	T7	201,666
THE NORTHERN TRUST	Harris English	T31	48,925
BMW Championship	Bryson DeChambeau	P2	1,026,000
Total Events: 50	Top 10: 16	MC: 6	$8,441,638

2019-2020

Event	Golfer	Place	$$
The Greenbrier	Scottie Scheffler	T7	235,625
Sanderson Farms	Sungjae Im	P2	719,400
Safeway Open	Byeong-Hun An	MC	0
Shriners Hospitals for Children	Scott Piercy	MC	0
Houston Open	Henrik Stenson	MC	0
CJ CUP AT NINE BRIDGES	Marc Leishman	T43	31,785
ZOZO Championship	Hideki Matsuyama	2nd	1,053,000
WGC-HSBC Champions	Xander Schauffele	2nd	1,095,000
Bermuda Championship	Denny McCarthy	T15	51,750
OHL Mayakoba Classic	Russell Knox	T33	36,810
The RSM Classic	Harris English	MC	0
Sentry TOC	Rickie Fowler	T5	285,000
Sony Open	Charles Howell III	T12	116,500
The American Express	Phil Mickelson	MC	0
Farmers Insurance Open	Tony Finau	T6	253,125
Waste Management Phoenix	Bubba Watson	T3	386,900
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am	Brandt Snedeker	MC	0
Genesis Invitational	Justin Thomas	MC	0
Puerto Rico Open	Viktor Hovland	WIN	540,000
WGC-Mexico Championship	Dustin Johnson	T48	45,500
The Honda Classic	Daniel Berger	T4	280,000
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Tommy Fleetwood	MC	0
THE PLAYERS Championship	Abandoned	No Result	0
Charles Schwab Challenge	Jordan Spieth	T10	181,875
RBC Heritage	Patrick Reed	MC	0
Travelers Championship	Bryson DeChambeau	T6	233,470
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Tyrrell Hatton	T4	300,000
Workday Charity Open	Justin Rose	MC	0
Memorial	Patrick Cantlay	T32	51,925
3M Open	Will Gordon	MC	0
WGC-FESJ Invitational	Brooks Koepka	T2	695,000
Barracuda	Brendan Steele	T53	8,277
PGA Championship	Jon Rahm	T13	192,207
Wyndham Championship	Webb Simpson	T3	312,400
THE NORTHERN TRUST	Jason Day	MC	0
BMW Championship	Collin Morikawa	T20	106780
Total Events: 36	Top 10: 14	MC: 11	0

2018-19

My contributions for the major championships and PLAYERS selection were worse than bad so to still break the $10 million mark with those awful results was encouraging.

Another valuable lesson learned is that the Playoffs are for the big boys. Now, WHICH big boys make this more and more difficult and that’s why it’s enjoyable and maddening all at the same time. Only McIlroy and Woods have won the FedExCup twice so start there.

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
Wyndham Championship	Webb Simpson	2nd	669,600
THE NORTHERN TRUST	Tommy Fleetwood	T43	27,565
BMW Championship	Brandt Snedeker	T5	351,500
Total Events: 45	Top 10s: 14	MC: 10	$0

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

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).

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)

Thanks for reading!