107th PGA Championship

May 14, 2025 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

For the second time, the PGA Championship heads to the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.

107^th PGA Championship

Quail Hollow Club

Charlotte, North Carolina

Head to PGATOUR.COM for all our content each week.

Thoughts on Chalk (odds via Bet365.com)

Scottie Scheffler (+400): It’s time to split hairs! A fantastic week on an easy track should fill, checks notes, No. 1 player in the world full of confidence. Ha. If he finished second two weeks ago in Texas, would you feel any different entering this week? He’s never played Quail Hollow on his own ball, besides singles in an 0-3-1 2022 Presidents Cup, which feels like ages ago. Learning a new course while others have prior knowledge is a strike against. He will continue his top-10 proficiency but I don’t think he’s worth the gamble at this number.

Rory McIlroy (+450): He is. Four times a winner in Charlotte, twice a winner of the event, and the only man with a chance to win the Grand Slam this season, nobody has more than his three wins on TOUR in 2025.

Bryson DeChambeau (+700): This week and Oakmont he needs to be in every lineup and sprinkled in every betting window. Already a winner in North Carolina last summer at Pinehurst No. 2, his power is the clear separator.

Jon Rahm (+1800): Lightly raced here, he’s not my flavour this week, regardless of his prodigious talent.

Xander Schauffele (+2000): He’s cashed second twice the last two times Quail Hollow has hosted an event. He’s also the event defending champion. I think his game is a better fit for Oakmont, but I’m not dismissing him this week. At all.

Justin Thomas (+2000): Hotter than Las Vegas in August, the winner at the RBC Heritage and runner-up last week at the Philadelphia Cricket Club has been beaten by only Sepp Straka in his last two events. Oh, and he won his first major here in 2017.

Collin Morikawa (+2200): With two solo second place finishes, he was not satisfied. With a new caddie on the bag, let’s see if the 2020 champion from TPC Harding Park regains top gear. Too much golf course for my liking.

Ludvig Aberg (+2200): If Quail Hollow compares to Augusta National, and it does, I can’t ignore him, not with his power and fearlessness off the tee. Yep, it’s only his sixth major championship appearance.

Joaquin Niemann (+3300): A special exemption into the Masters didn’t cause him to fire. His record in golf’s biggest events is frankly shocking. And bad.

Tommy Fleetwood (+3300): The conditions suggest a slog and not many low scores. Perfect.

Hideki Matsuyama (+3500): He’s made the cut in 43 of 48 career majors, including 12 out of 12 at the PGA Championship. Bump up your investment and cash that top-40 ticket in your sleep.

Brooks Koepka (+4000): I’ll live in the now, man. What have you done for golf lately? Yeah, I know he’s won three of these!

Others for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 40 action

Read my DFS DISH column for more thoughts. Here are a few others, not mentioned before, that should/can/might fill out cards:

I can’t leave out Shane Lowry or Sepp Straka after last week. … I don’t think Jordan Spieth will win, but something is brewing there. … Sungjae is a course horse here and so is Denny McCarthy. … Max Homa is worth a punt at that number. … Seamus Power has posted solid results here in the past. … Victor Perez, the last man into the field has been quietly posting results in 2025.

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	Quail Hollow Club
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,626 yards.
Par:	71 (36-35).
Greens:	Poa Trivialis overseed; 6,578 square feet.
Stimpmeter:	13 feet and up.
Rough:	Ryegrass at 3 inches and growing
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	61/4/7
Architect(s):	George Cobb (1961); Tom Fazio (multiple, including before 2017 PGA Championship)
Defending Champion (event):	Xander Schauffele
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Brooks Koepka (3), Justin Thomas (2), Phil Mickelson (2), Rory McIlroy (2).
Course Record (latest):	61; Rory McIlroy (2015).
72 Hole Tournament Record:	Wyndham Clark 265 (-19, 2023).
Fact of the Week:	Quail Hollow Club hosted the 2017 PGA Championship and the 2022 Presidents Cup.

Recent Winners

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (first time)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at VidantaWorld	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Min Woo Lee (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Brian Harman
89^th Masters Tournament	Rory McIlroy (3)
RBC Heritage	Justin Thomas
Zurich Classic	Andrew Novak/Ben Griffin (first time for both)
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Scottie Scheffler
Truist Championship	Sepp Straka (2)

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace)
The American Express	Nick Dunlap (a)
Farmers Insurance Open	Matthieu Pavon (rookie)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Wyndham Clark (54 holes)
WM Phoenix Open	Nick Taylor
The Genesis Invitational	Hideki Matsuyama
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Jake Knapp (rookie)
Cognizant Classic	Austin Eckroat (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Scottie Scheffler
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Peter Malnati
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Stephan Jaeger (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Akshay Bhatia
88^th Masters Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Heritage	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Zurich Classic	Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Taylor Pendrith (first time)
Wells Fargo Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
106^th PGA Championship	Xander Schauffele
Charles Schwab Challenge	Davis Riley
RBC Canadian Open	Robert MacIntyre (first time)
The 49^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (5)
124^th United States Open	Bryson DeChambeau
Travelers Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Cam Davis
John Deere Classic	Davis Thompson (first time)
Genesis Scottish Open	Robert MacIntyre (2)
152^nd Open Championship	Xander Schauffele (2)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
2024 Paris Olympics	Scottie Scheffler (7)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
Wyndham Championship	Aaron Rai (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Hideki Matsuyama (2)
BMW Championship	Keegan Bradley
The TOUR Championship	Scottie Scheffler (8)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Patton Kizzire
Sanderson Farms Championship	Kevin Yu (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Matt McCarty (first time)
Shriners Children’s Open	JT Poston
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Nico Echavarria
World Wide Technology Champ	Austin Eckroat (2)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Rafa Campos (first time)
The RSM Classic	Maverick McNealy (first time)

The 107^th PGA Championship Tournament Notables

The field of 156 includes 99 of the top 100 from the Official World Golf Rankings. Billy Horschel (hip surgery) is the only player missing.
The field is the only major championship that does not feature amateur players. 20 PGA of America Club Professionals are entered.
At age 50 in 2021, Phil Mickelson won his second PGA Championship and became the oldest major champion ever.
The youngest champion was Gene Sarazen (20 years old) in 1922.
This century, three players have won on debut. Shaun Micheel (2003, Oak Hill), Keegan Bradley (2011, Atlanta Athletic Club), and Collin Morikawa (2020 TPC Harding Park). Micheel is the only player in recent memory to earn his first PGA TOUR victory at this event.
There are 13 former champions in the field this week. The number was 14 before Vijay Singh withdrew on Monday.
In 2012, Rory McIlroy won by eight, the largest margin of victory in stroke play.
McIlroy is the last player to win the week before the PGA Championship (2014 FedEx St. Jude Classic (WGC-BI)).
In 2019, Koepka became the first wire-to-wire winner since 1983.
Jason Day, the 2015 champion, is the last international winner.
There have been five playoffs this century. Thomas won the last one in 2022.
After two rounds, the field will be cut to the top SEVENTY, plus any ties
The winner this week will take home 750 FedExCup points.
The total purse and winner’s share will be announced later this week.

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy get kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).

1 use per year.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings
The Sentry	Sungjae Im	3^rd	$1,360,000
Sony Open in Hawaii	Russell Henley	T10	195,025
The American Express	Adam Hadwin	MC
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T32	52,080
AT&T Pebble Beach	Ludvig Aberg	WD
WM Phoenix Open	Rasmus Hojgaard	T12	195,500
Genesis Invitational	Will Zalatoris	T24	168,857
Mexico Open	Patrick Rodgers	T25	59,350
Cognizant Classic	Daniel Berger	T25	73,721
Arnold Palmer	Keegan Bradley	T5	800,000
THE PLAYERS	Collin Morikawa	T10	656,250
Valspar Championship	Sepp Straka	T28	55,844
Houston Open	Aaron Rai	MC
Valero Texas Open	Corey Conners	T18	113,050
89^th Masters	Rory McIlroy	WIN	4,200,000
RBC Heritage	Scottie Scheffler	T8	540,000
Zurich Classic	Kurt Kitayama	MC
Byron Nelson	Si Woo Kim	T15	136,719
Truist Championship	Tommy Fleetwood	T4	826,667

LAST WEEK – Truist Championship

Big field, big event, big problems on a brand-new (to these guys) course!

The cream continually rises to the top at these events, and I’ve burned quite a few of them already.

The no-cut feature will help. Or it will hurt watching four rounds of shitty play.

Justin Thomas is the defending event champion at the Quail Hollow Club for next week’s PGA Championship. Rory McIlroy is the landlord, owning four titles on the property. Scottie Scheffler is BACK. Xander Schauffele has been second twice in the last two events there.

I’m saving Schauffele for Oakmont.

Big fairways and a big putter? Ok, Tommy lad. Show me!

THE CHOICE: Tommy Fleetwood – T4

I had JT remorse on the weekend, but I reminded myself I just might need somebody inside the top 20 for the two events of the FedExCup Playoffs.

And then I cried myself to sleep after losing out on $2.1 million for the week.

And then I saw I had Shane Lowry listed as my next choice.

I’m really bad at this, sorry.

Others to consider: Shane Lowry T2, Patrick Cantlay T4, Russell Henley, Keegan Bradley

THIS Week – 107^TH PGA Championship

If you saved Rory McIlroy for his “home” event in the States, bravo, and good luck!

If you believe that Xander Schauffele will win back-to-back Wanamaker trophies, I won’t stop you.

Justin Thomas arrives after winning and finishing T2 in his last two Signature Events.

Oh, and Scottie Scheffler is playing this week.

So are 99 of the top 100.

THE CHOICE: Bryson DeChambeau

Winning back-to-back U.S. Opens does not happen very often. I will ride my luck on his power and manic iron play to punish the field. The greens at Oakmont make this an easy choice.

I won’t even consider him at Royal Portrush.

I feel dirty, but I had Koepka in this spot two years ago at Oak Hill.

Others to consider: Outside of the guys listed above, Ludvig Aberg, Jason Day, and red-hot Mackenzie Hughes

Truist Championship

May 7, 2025 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Yep, new sponsor.

Yep, they are NOT playing Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte!

This is the Wissahickon Course at the Philadelphia Cricket Club

Truist Championship

Philadelphia Cricket Club

Wissahickon Course

Flourtown, PA

Head to PGATOUR.COM for all our content each week.

Thoughts on Chalk (odds via Bet365.com)

Rory McIlroy (+450): Riding the best, in-form ball-striker against an elite Signature Event field on an unfamiliar course sans Scottie Scheffler (not entered) isn’t the dumbest plan I’ve seen. He has demonstrated the ability to turn on the heat and go before. Remember, he’s won this EVENT four times at the Quail Hollow Club, not the Philadelphia Cricket Club. It might not matter.

Collin Morikawa (+1400): Week No. 1 with a new caddy on a brand-new course? That would be a story. I’m going to let them get four rounds under their belts.

Justin Thomas (+1600): Smoke or satisfaction? Matt Minister returns to his bag this week as Joe Greiner heads to Morikawa’s stable. The return to normalcy should pay dividends.

Xander Schauffele (+1600): He will let his full bag loose this week. Not many are better on unfamiliar, classic courses. Check his U.S. Open record in this part of the world.

Ludvig Aberg (+1600): I won’t talk you out of him, but his profile suggests next week on 7,626 yards.

Patrick Cantlay (+1800): Another who has flourished in the East Coast/Mid-Atlantic region in the last eight years. His last victory on TOUR was the 2022 BMW Championship on a first-time course at the Wilmington Country Club.

Tommy Fleetwood (+2500): Just sign for a top 10 and take your money.

Russell Henley (+2500): Probably not his favorite grass, but he can get it around.

Jordan Spieth (+2500): See Fleetwood, Tommy. 62 last week, and he’s hitting it great.

Shane Lowry (+3300): He would join Schauffele as my second win ticket. Too good tee to green, and his form has been on point. The 118 bunkers will be decorations for him.

Others for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 40 action

Read my DFS DISH column for more thoughts. Here are a few others, not mentioned before, that should/can/might fill out cards:

Boring, boring, Sungjae Im (+4500) needs to be on the card beside Keegan Bradley (+5000). A patient plodder, Justin Rose (+6000), loves this part of the world. Keith Mitchell (+7500) took last week off, knowing he had a spot in this week’s event. Lucas Glover (+11000) is a proven commodity on Tillinghast tracks. Eric Cole (+10000) is free money.

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	Wissahickon Course
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,119 yards.
Par:	70 (35-35).
Greens:	A1/A4 Bentgrass; 5,779 square feet.
Stimpmeter:	13 feet.
Rough:	Tall Fescue at 3 inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	118/1/6
Architect(s):	A.W. Tillinghast (1922); Keith Foster (2013).
Defending Champion (event):	Rory McIlroy
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Rory McIlroy (4)
Course Record (latest):	61; Set in the 2024 US Fourball.
72 Hole Tournament Record (Spring):	First event at this course.
Fact of the Week:	Any history from Quail Hollow Club will be useful NEXT WEEK for the 107^th PGA Championship.

Recent Winners

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (first time)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at VidantaWorld	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Min Woo Lee (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Brian Harman
89^th Masters Tournament	Rory McIlroy (3)
RBC Heritage	Justin Thomas
Zurich Classic	Andrew Novak/Ben Griffin (first time for both)
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Scottie Scheffler

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace)
The American Express	Nick Dunlap (a)
Farmers Insurance Open	Matthieu Pavon (rookie)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Wyndham Clark (54 holes)
WM Phoenix Open	Nick Taylor
The Genesis Invitational	Hideki Matsuyama
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Jake Knapp (rookie)
Cognizant Classic	Austin Eckroat (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Scottie Scheffler
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Peter Malnati
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Stephan Jaeger (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Akshay Bhatia
88^th Masters Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Heritage	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Zurich Classic	Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Taylor Pendrith (first time)
Wells Fargo Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
106^th PGA Championship	Xander Schauffele
Charles Schwab Challenge	Davis Riley
RBC Canadian Open	Robert MacIntyre (first time)
The 49^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (5)
124^th United States Open	Bryson DeChambeau
Travelers Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Cam Davis
John Deere Classic	Davis Thompson (first time)
Genesis Scottish Open	Robert MacIntyre (2)
152^nd Open Championship	Xander Schauffele (2)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
2024 Paris Olympics	Scottie Scheffler (7)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
Wyndham Championship	Aaron Rai (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Hideki Matsuyama (2)
BMW Championship	Keegan Bradley
The TOUR Championship	Scottie Scheffler (8)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Patton Kizzire
Sanderson Farms Championship	Kevin Yu (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Matt McCarty (first time)
Shriners Children’s Open	JT Poston
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Nico Echavarria
World Wide Technology Champ	Austin Eckroat (2)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Rafa Campos (first time)
The RSM Classic	Maverick McNealy (first time)

Notables

The field of 72 includes 44 players from the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings, including nine of the top 10. Only Scheffler is absent.
This is the first PGA TOUR event on this course. Bernhard Langer (+1) won the 2016 Kaulig Companies Championship (Senior PLAYERS) here.
Playing 7,119 yards, only Pebble Beach and Waialae CC are shorter.
This is the second consecutive week on Bentgrass greens and the third to date.
The field will not be cut after 36 holes.

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy gets kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).

1 use per year.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings
The Sentry	Sungjae Im	3^rd	$1,360,000
Sony Open in Hawaii	Russell Henley	T10	195,025
The American Express	Adam Hadwin	MC
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T32	52,080
AT&T Pebble Beach	Ludvig Aberg	WD
WM Phoenix Open	Rasmus Hojgaard	T12	195,500
Genesis Invitational	Will Zalatoris	T24	168,857
Mexico Open	Patrick Rodgers	T25	59,350
Cognizant Classic	Daniel Berger	T25	73,721
Arnold Palmer	Keegan Bradley	T5	800,000
THE PLAYERS	Collin Morikawa	T10	656,250
Valspar Championship	Sepp Straka	T28	55,844
Houston Open	Aaron Rai	MC
Valero Texas Open	Corey Conners	T18	113,050
89^th Masters	Rory McIlroy	WIN	4,200,000
RBC Heritage	Scottie Scheffler	T8	540,000
Zurich Classic	Kurt Kitayama	MC
Byron Nelson	Si Woo Kim	T15	136,719

LAST WEEK – THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson

With only seven of the top players in the OWGR Top 50 entering, it’s time to have some fun. And by fun, I mean I have no idea who is going to win. I’m going to trust a hot Dallas resident who is coming off his best finish, on his own ball, two weeks ago at RBC Heritage. The 54-hole leader faded on Sunday to T8, but he will not have as deep of field to hold off this time around. He shared second two years ago and was T13 last year, so it’s clear he’s comfortable in the home game.

THE CHOICE: Si Woo Kim – T15

Others to consider: Sungjae Im, Ben An, Eric Cole, Ryan Gerard, Alejandro Tosti

Wrong Dallas resident. Wrong Dallas resident with a top 10 at RBC Heritage.

I was one week too early on Scheffler.

BECAUSE I SUCK.

THIS Week – Truist Championship

Big field, big event, big problems on a brand-new (to these guys) course!

The cream continually rises to the top at these events, and I’ve burned quite a few of them already.

The no-cut feature will help. Or it will hurt watching four rounds of shitty play.

I’m saving Schauffele for Oakmont.

Big fairways and a big putter? Ok, Tommy lad. Show me!

THE CHOICE: Tommy Fleetwood

Others to consider: Shane Lowry, Patrick Cantlay, Russell Henley, Keegan Bradley

THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson

April 30, 2025 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Back in the saddle again.

THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson

TPC Craig Ranch

McKinney, Texas

Head to PGATOUR.COM for all our content each week.

Thoughts on Chalk (odds via Bet365.com)

Scottie Scheffler (+275): No need to bet this in a shootout, but if he does win, Bolton will be in the category of OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR in the Expert’s Fantasy League. The good news? I have Scheffler in my local league this week because I cannot pick two-man teams to save my life. Can’t lose!

Jordan Spieth (+1800): He loves playing at TPC Scottsdale, another Tom Weiskopf layout, but he’s never won there either.

Sungjae Im (+2200): He would join Taylor Pendrith and KH Lee as debutant winners at TPC Craig Ranch.

Byeong-Hun An (+2500): The history of Korean winners at this event is strong. An is still searching for his first on the PGA TOUR.

Sam Burns (+2500): The baby boy has arrived and is one. No wins for Burns = no nappy factor. Odd.

Si Woo Kim (+3000): The 54-hole leader at RBC Heritage picked up his first top 10 of the season. He’s run T13-T2 in his last two visits. Win ticket.

Taylor Pendrith (+3300): Hell, if K.H. Lee can win in back-to-back years, why not the Canadian? Plenty of pop and a super putter is a great formula this week.

Others for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 40 action

Read my DFS DISH column for more thoughts. Here are a few others, not mentioned before, that should/can/might fill out cards:

Let’s see if Rasmus Hojgaard (+4500) can pull an Andrew Novak and go from second to first the following week. It’s a terrible number, but Chris Gotterup (+11000) should fit nicely again here. Matti Schmid (+12500) is wonderfully all-or-nothing. Will Chandler (+100000) introduced himself at TPC Scottsdale, another Weiskopf design.

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	TPC Craig Ranch
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,569 yards (166 more than 2024).
Par:	71 (35-36).
Greens:	Bentgrass; 6,778 square feet.
Stimpmeter:	11.5 feet.
Rough:	Ryegrass at 3.5 inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	83/4/13
Architect(s):	Tom Weiskopf (2004)
Defending Champion (event):	Taylor Pendrith (-23).
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	None.
Course Record (latest):	60; S.Y. Noh (2022; not entered); Sebastian Munoz (2021: not eligible).
72 Hole Tournament Record (Spring):	26-under 262; K.H. Lee (2021). The event was Par-72 for the first two editions.
Fact of the Week:	All winners are International Players for the Presidents Cup.

TPC Craig Ranch

Just when we were getting comfortable, Lanny Wadkins will renovate every blade of grass not on the tee boxes before the 2026 event.

The Par-71, one of the easiest on TOUR, added six new tee boxes and increased the rough, but big greens and easy scrambling conditions equal another birdie-fest!

With a light field and a shootout on the menu, hang on to your hats, gang!

Recent Winners

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (first time)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at VidantaWorld	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Min Woo Lee (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Brian Harman
89^th Masters Tournament	Rory McIlroy (3)
RBC Heritage	Justin Thomas
Zurich Classic	Andrew Novak/Ben Griffin (first time for both)

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace)
The American Express	Nick Dunlap (a)
Farmers Insurance Open	Matthieu Pavon (rookie)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Wyndham Clark (54 holes)
WM Phoenix Open	Nick Taylor
The Genesis Invitational	Hideki Matsuyama
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Jake Knapp (rookie)
Cognizant Classic	Austin Eckroat (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Scottie Scheffler
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Peter Malnati
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Stephan Jaeger (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Akshay Bhatia
88^th Masters Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Heritage	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Zurich Classic	Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Taylor Pendrith (first time)
Wells Fargo Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
106^th PGA Championship	Xander Schauffele
Charles Schwab Challenge	Davis Riley
RBC Canadian Open	Robert MacIntyre (first time)
The 49^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (5)
124^th United States Open	Bryson DeChambeau
Travelers Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Cam Davis
John Deere Classic	Davis Thompson (first time)
Genesis Scottish Open	Robert MacIntyre (2)
152^nd Open Championship	Xander Schauffele (2)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
2024 Paris Olympics	Scottie Scheffler (7)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
Wyndham Championship	Aaron Rai (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Hideki Matsuyama (2)
BMW Championship	Keegan Bradley
The TOUR Championship	Scottie Scheffler (8)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Patton Kizzire
Sanderson Farms Championship	Kevin Yu (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Matt McCarty (first time)
Shriners Children’s Open	JT Poston
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Nico Echavarria
World Wide Technology Champ	Austin Eckroat (2)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Rafa Campos (first time)
The RSM Classic	Maverick McNealy (first time)

Notables

The field of 156 includes seven players from the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings, including No. 1 and Dallas resident Scottie Scheffler.
The three winners from the previous four events are all President Cup internationals. None produced more than three bogeys total.
The largest margin of victory is three shots, set in the inaugural event of 2021 by K.H. Lee.
The scoring average of 68.497 in 2024 is the lowest field average in history, and was the easiest Par-71 on TOUR.
Two of the three winners won on TOUR for the first time and were victorious in their first appearance at TPC Craig Ranch.
TPC Craig Ranch plays 7,569 yards, the longest of the five editions and 155 yards longer than the 2024 tournament.
The tournament scoring record is 26-under-par 262 set by K.H. Lee in 2021. TPC Craig Ranch played to Par-72 in 2021 and 2022 before shifting to Par-71 for the 2023 and 2024 events.
The course record is 60, set in 2021 and again in 2022.
The field will be cut to the top 65 and ties after two rounds.

Recent Winners – THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson

Italics – not entered this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2024	Taylor Pendrith (-23)	Birdied the 72^nd hole to win for the first time on TOUR in his maiden at TPC Craig Ranch.
2023	Jason Day (-23)	Held off Si Woo Kim and Austin Eckroat by a shot to win the EVENT for the second time.
2022	K.H. Lee (-25)	Successfully defended his 2021 inaugural win by defeating Jordan Spieth by a shot.
2021	K.H. Lee (-26)	Won the inaugural event at TPC Craig Ranch. Defeated Sam Burns by three.

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy gets kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).

1 use per year.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings
The Sentry	Sungjae Im	3^rd	$1,360,000
Sony Open in Hawaii	Russell Henley	T10	195,025
The American Express	Adam Hadwin	MC
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T32	52,080
AT&T Pebble Beach	Ludvig Aberg	WD
WM Phoenix Open	Rasmus Hojgaard	T12	195,500
Genesis Invitational	Will Zalatoris	T24	168,857
Mexico Open	Patrick Rodgers	T25	59,350
Cognizant Classic	Daniel Berger	T25	73,721
Arnold Palmer	Keegan Bradley	T5	800,000
THE PLAYERS	Collin Morikawa	T10	656,250
Valspar Championship	Sepp Straka	T28	55,844
Houston Open	Aaron Rai	MC
Valero Texas Open	Corey Conners	T18	113,050
89^th Masters	Rory McIlroy	WIN	4,200,000
RBC Heritage	Scottie Scheffler	T8	540,000
Zurich Classic	Kurt Kitayama	MC

LAST WEEK – Zurich Classic

THE CHOICE: Kurt Kitayama/Collin Morikawa

I was #influenced or #undertheinfluence when I made that selection. Morikawa was on the outs with his longtime caddy, J.J. Jackovac, they split after the event, and Kitayama wasn’t playing well.

Whatever. Nothing LOST, yet nothing gained.

THIS Week – THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson

With only seven of the top players in the OWGR Top 50 entering, it’s time to have some fun. And by fun, I mean I have no idea who will win. I will trust a hot Dallas resident who is coming off his best finish, on his own ball, two weeks ago at the RBC Heritage. The 54-hole leader faded on Sunday to T8, but he will not have to hold off a deep field this time. He shared second two years ago and was T13 last year, so it’s clear he’s comfortable in the home game.

THE CHOICE: Si Woo Kim

Others to consider: Sungjae Im, Ben An, Eric Cole, Ryan Gerard, Alejandro Tosti

RBC Heritage

April 16, 2025 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

57^th RBC Heritage

Harbour Town Golf Links

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Head to Golfbet for all our content each week.

Thoughts on Chalk (odds via Bet365.com)

Scottie Scheffler: The reigning champion already had wins at API, THE PLAYERS, and Masters in 2024. He will be pissed off enough after solo fourth last week and not show any mercy tee to green against another elite field. The greens at Harbour Town do not come with the penalty of Augusta National. His ball-striking (T31 Fairways, T31 GIR) last week will not return to those levels.

If Scheffler’s ball-striking is stuck in neutral, Collin Morikawa should be hot on his heels. Already a runner-up twice this season, navigating the smallest greens on TOUR outside of Pebble Beach will favor the man leading the field in SG: Approach.

Ludvig Aberg threw away over $500k with his bogey-triple finish last week and probably could not care less. The Swedish metronome sat 13-under and four back after 54 holes here last year before fading with 72. Save him for Philadelphia.

Xander Schauffele is on a run of T8 and T12 in his last two. The next step is popping onto the podium. Sign me up.

Patrick Cantlay would be the favorite here if he could have converted one or two of his FIVE podium finishes into tartan jackets. He’s never cashed worse than T7 in six weekends. Auto-play regardless of format.

Justin Thomas hit it all over the shop last week at ANGC to finish T36. I’ll point out he played his final nine in 33 and bogey-free.

Russell Henley had the weekend off in the first major of the season. I’d expect a retort in his part of the world.

Corey Conners has the most top-10 paydays on TOUR this season and played in the penultimate group on Sunday at the Masters (T8). Is he out of gas?

Shane Lowry must be fueled by the performance of his compatriot and partner next week at the Zurich Classic. In fact, that’s the next time I will be looking at him. The party from Sunday night probably isn’t over yet!

Viktor Hovland followed up his win in Tampa with T21 at the Masters. Too many wild swings to endorse at this price.

Tommy Fleetwood rarely threatens, and his best payday here is T10. Save him for Philadelphia and Oakmont, but he’s a safe roster play in other formats.

Daniel Berger cashed T30 or better in all eight events where he’s played the weekend in 2025. The super iron player earned his way into the Signature Event. We call that a clue.

Others for Top 10, Top 20 action

Jordan Spieth is not my favorite when water lurks on every hole on the property, but I will look at Sepp Straka and his T3-MC-T5 run here. Sungjae Im is in my lineup this week after becoming just one of two to post all four rounds in red figures at the Masters. Let’s eat! Denny McCarthy jumps off the board and should be contending. Who is hotter than Bud Cauley, minus a win? Tom Hoge? I wouldn’t talk you out of either one. JT Poston has four top-10 results from six tries. Sahith Theegala could use a break, and this layout (2^nd-T5) and 30-under the last two years might provide the tonic. Max Homa! Fade or follow T12 from last week? At 90-1, I’d nibble, you know, just in case! Cameron Davis owns two top-10 results in the last three years.

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	Harbour Town Golf Links
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,213 (third consecutive year).
Par:	71 (36-35).
Greens:	Poa Trivialis overseed; 3,700 square feet.
Stimpmeter:	11.5 feet.
Second Cut:	Ryegrass Overseed at 1.5 inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	51/18/18
Architect(s):	Pete Dye (1969)
Defending Champion (event):	Scottie Scheffler (-19)
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	None.
Course Record (latest):	61; Troy Merritt (not entered) 2015.
72 Hole Tournament Record (Spring):	264 (-20); Brian Gay, 2009.
Fact of the Week:	The last five winners are all major champions.

Harbour Town

Pete Dye is back! He’s on the ticket next week in New Orleans as well!

Small greens, big penalties, and plenty of distractions tee to green!

The more aggressive the line off the tees and into the greens provides the better scoring chances. If not executed, welcome to the land of bogeys and worse!

The keys are iron play, patience, and keeping big numbers off the card.

Recent Winners

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (first time)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at VidantaWorld	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Min Woo Lee (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Brian Harman
89^th Masters Tournament	Rory McIlroy (3)

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace)
The American Express	Nick Dunlap (a)
Farmers Insurance Open	Matthieu Pavon (rookie)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Wyndham Clark (54 holes)
WM Phoenix Open	Nick Taylor
The Genesis Invitational	Hideki Matsuyama
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Jake Knapp (rookie)
Cognizant Classic	Austin Eckroat (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Scottie Scheffler
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Peter Malnati
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Stephan Jaeger (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Akshay Bhatia
88^th Masters Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Heritage	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Zurich Classic	Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Taylor Pendrith (first time)
Wells Fargo Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
106^th PGA Championship	Xander Schauffele
Charles Schwab Challenge	Davis Riley
RBC Canadian Open	Robert MacIntyre (first time)
The 49^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (5)
124^th United States Open	Bryson DeChambeau
Travelers Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Cam Davis
John Deere Classic	Davis Thompson (first time)
Genesis Scottish Open	Robert MacIntyre (2)
152^nd Open Championship	Xander Schauffele (2)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
2024 Paris Olympics	Scottie Scheffler (7)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
Wyndham Championship	Aaron Rai (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Hideki Matsuyama (2)
BMW Championship	Keegan Bradley
The TOUR Championship	Scottie Scheffler (8)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Patton Kizzire
Sanderson Farms Championship	Kevin Yu (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Matt McCarty (first time)
Shriners Children’s Open	JT Poston
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Nico Echavarria
World Wide Technology Champ	Austin Eckroat (2)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Rafa Campos (first time)
The RSM Classic	Maverick McNealy (first time)

Notables

The field of 72 players includes 43 of the top 50 from the Official World Golf Rankings.
Seven of the last eight winners in April were 27 or 28 years old.
The winners from 2024 and 2023 both posted 63 in Round 3.
The Par-71 will play 7,213 yards for the third straight season.
The previous five winners are major champions.
In 2024, Scottie Scheffler joined Bernhard Langer as the only two players to win this event after donning the green jacket the week prior.
Boo Weekley (2007-2008) was the last player to win back-to-back events.
Wesley Bryan (2017) is the only native South Carolinian to win the event.
None of the last four champions ranked inside the top 20 in SG: Putting.
The scoring average of 69.351 in 2024 is the lowest April number since replacing the putting surfaces in 2016.
Two of the last three winners required a playoff.
The tournament scoring record is 20-under-par 267 set by Brian Gay (not entered) in 2009.
The course record, 61, was last accomplished by Troy Merritt (not entered) in 2015.
There is not a 36-hole cut this week.

Recent Winners – RBC Heritage

Italics – not entered this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2024	Scottie Scheffler (-19)	Shot 63 in Round 3 to lead after 54 holes by one. Won by three.
2023	Matt Fitzpatrick (-17)	Shot 63 in Round 3 to lead after 54 holes by one. Defeated Jordan Spieth in a playoff.
2022	Jordan Spieth (-13)	The last winner to not lead after 54 holes, he rallied from three shots back to force and win a playoff over Patrick Cantlay.
2021	Stewart Cink (-19)	The veteran smoked the field by four shots to win for the third time at Sea Pines.
2020	Webb Simpson (-22)	The return to golf in the pandemic saw the former U.S. Open champion win the only June event in recent memory.

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy gets kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).

1 use per year.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings
The Sentry	Sungjae Im	3^rd	$1,360,000
Sony Open in Hawaii	Russell Henley	T10	195,025
The American Express	Adam Hadwin	MC
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T32	52,080
AT&T Pebble Beach	Ludvig Aberg	WD
WM Phoenix Open	Rasmus Hojgaard	T12	195,500
Genesis Invitational	Will Zalatoris	T24	168,857
Mexico Open	Patrick Rodgers	T25	59,350
Cognizant Classic	Daniel Berger	T25	73,721
Arnold Palmer	Keegan Bradley	T5	800,000
THE PLAYERS	Collin Morikawa	T10	656,250
Valspar Championship	Sepp Straka	T28	55,844
Houston Open	Aaron Rai	MC
Valero Texas Open	Corey Conners	T18	113,050
89^th Masters	Rory McIlroy	WIN	4,200,000

LAST WEEK – 89^th Masters tournament

For the second year in a row, I’m playing Rory McIlroy.

This year, he fits the profile of past champions. He’s playing, winning, and he’s in a great spot off the course. It’s time to add another page of history.

See? Easy game. Like McIlroy, I feel I haven’t won an event in this format since 2014.

Never a dull moment throughout the event, the price of the grand slam was well worth the wait. No sports fan will never forget the final nine and the playoff last Sunday.

THE CHOICE: Rory McIlroy – WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER

Others to consider:

Patrick Reed is an auto-play here and showed why again. Even if he doesn’t hole out on 17, he’s in the top five.

Jon Rahm, Cam Smith, Patrick Reed, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka

THIS Week – RBC Heritage

It’s time to unleash Scheffler.

He didn’t’ look like he was having any fun last Sunday. I’m positive he’s not thrilled with his final five holes or his solo fourth-place result. Saving him for Quail Hollow or Oakmont is a fine strategy. I’ll remind you that Oakmont has the most devious greens on the planet. I’m saving the X-Man for such an occasion. Quail Hollow is McIlroy’s happy hunting ground (4 wins), and I don’t need to tell you about his affinity for Royal Portrush. Too many things can go sideways at The Open to spend Scheffler at that event. I’d take the money and run here or at the Travelers after Oakmont.

HERE. WE. GO.

Those of you in the Cantlay camp, please, go right ahead. His record here is incredible. I’ll sneak him in at Memorial or Caves Valley for the BMW Championship, where he will be the course defending champion.

THE CHOICE: Scottie Scheffler

Others to consider:

Patrick Cantlay, Sepp Straka, Collin Morikawa, Russell Henley, J.T Poston

89th Masters Tournament

April 9, 2025 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Hello, friends

89^th Masters Tournament

Augusta National Golf Club

Augusta, Georgia

Head to Golfbet for all our content each week.

Thoughts on Chalk (odds via Bet365.com)

Scottie Scheffler: A win takes him to three in four years. Only Nicklaus has done that. Without a win this season, he faces the top 50 in the OWGR, plus others, in the race for the green jacket.

Rory McIlroy: I’m backing him this year because he looks like Scheffler from last year. No LIV issues, no drama off the course, and the results are flowing. Making his 17^th start, there’s nothing he hasn’t seen or experienced.

Jon Rahm: How weird will it be to wear pants and play 72 holes? This isn’t a hit and giggle, but nobody doubts his talent.

Collin Morikawa: Three straight T10 or better paydays and a front-row seat to Scheffler’s victory in 2024 provides the callouses and the hope.

Bryson DeChambeau: There’s plenty to over-think over 7,555 yards and the golf gods remember his “Par-67” comment. The jackhammer must evolve into an artist. T6 last year suggested he’s found something.

Ludvig Aberg: One time, one solo second. Do it again. Enters the week on MC-MC.

Justin Thomas: MC-MC on his last two visits is overruled by his last six months on TOUR. He’s done everything but win. Joe Greiner, Max Homa’s former caddy, is on the bag this week as The Rev is banged up.

Xander Schauffele: The results here speak for themselves. A late start to spring off a rib injury is highlighted by 66 to close at Valspar. 22-1 is solid.

Hideki Matsuyama: The winner at The Sentry, his only top 10 of 2025, is healthy. The winner here in 2021, he’s cashed in 12 straight.

Joaquin Niemann: In 18 rounds he’s broken 70 twice. He must be tearing up LIV…

Shane Lowry: Already a major champion, his penchant for finding fairways never hurts. The putter must cooperate.

Brooks Koepka: Solo second in March in Singapore is the 2025 highlight. Second twice at ANGC, he only shows up for the big-boy events.

Tommy Fleetwood: Wash, rinse, repeat. T3 2024 is his best. Blown away with 81 in the final round of Valero.

Jordan Spieth: The clues are there and this is his canvas. Lovely number at 33-1.

Others for Top 10, Top 20 action

Russell Henley should be included on all cards. Will Zalatoris owns three top 10 paydays from three starts. Cameron Smith and Patrick Reed proved enough to me over the last seven years to be included. Denny McCarthy keeps me daydreaming, while Tom Hoge is smoldering. Phil Mickelson is just silly enough, as he was in 2023, to linger. Jose Luis Ballester is the only amateur I would consider. Angel Cabrera won the PGA TOUR Champions event last week in Boca Raton.

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	Augusta National Golf Club
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,555.
Par:	72 (36-36).
Greens:	A1-Penn Bentgrass; 6,486 square feet.
Stimpmeter:	Tournament Speed – 13 feet and up.
Second Cut:	Ryegrass Overseed at 1.375 inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	44/6/5
Architect(s):	Dr. Alister Mackenzie & Bobby Jones (1933).
Defending Champion (event):	Scottie Scheffler (-11)
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Scottie Scheffler (2) has won two of the last three tournaments. Phil Mickelson (3) has the most wins in the field.
Course Record (latest):	63; Greg Norman (1996); Nick Price (1986). Neither won this event.
72 Hole Tournament Record (Spring):	270 (-18); Jordan Spieth (2015) and Tiger Woods (1997).
Fact of the Week:	The Par-3 contest winner has never won the 72-hole event.

Augusta National

Familiarity breeds contempt? Not for me.

While I don’t have all the names of the holes memorized, I can tell you how to play each and every one.

Gotta hit it.

Gotta chip it.

Gotta putt it.

The second shot is the most important and sets up scoring chances or bogey avoidance.

Uneven lies, the challenge of reading the greens, judging the wind at No. 12 on Sunday around 4pm, are just some of the challenges.

Add the pressure for those who have never won a major championship, or even an event on TOUR, and it’s the best.

Recent Winners

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (first time)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at VidantaWorld	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Min Woo Lee (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Brian Harman

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace)
The American Express	Nick Dunlap (a)
Farmers Insurance Open	Matthieu Pavon (rookie)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Wyndham Clark (54 holes)
WM Phoenix Open	Nick Taylor
The Genesis Invitational	Hideki Matsuyama
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Jake Knapp (rookie)
Cognizant Classic	Austin Eckroat (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Scottie Scheffler
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Peter Malnati
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Stephan Jaeger (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Akshay Bhatia
88^th Masters Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Heritage	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Zurich Classic	Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Taylor Pendrith (first time)
Wells Fargo Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
106^th PGA Championship	Xander Schauffele
Charles Schwab Challenge	Davis Riley
RBC Canadian Open	Robert MacIntyre (first time)
The 49^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (5)
124^th United States Open	Bryson DeChambeau
Travelers Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Cam Davis
John Deere Classic	Davis Thompson (first time)
Genesis Scottish Open	Robert MacIntyre (2)
152^nd Open Championship	Xander Schauffele (2)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
2024 Paris Olympics	Scottie Scheffler (7)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
Wyndham Championship	Aaron Rai (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Hideki Matsuyama (2)
BMW Championship	Keegan Bradley
The TOUR Championship	Scottie Scheffler (8)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Patton Kizzire
Sanderson Farms Championship	Kevin Yu (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Matt McCarty (first time)
Shriners Children’s Open	JT Poston
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Nico Echavarria
World Wide Technology Champ	Austin Eckroat (2)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Rafa Campos (first time)
The RSM Classic	Maverick McNealy (first time)

The 89^th Masters Tournament Notables

The field of 95 players includes the top 50 from the Official World Golf Rankings.
The average age of winners is around 33 years old. The last four winners were in their 20s.
Winning a record sixth green jacket, Jack Nicklaus became the oldest winner in 1986.
The youngest champion was Tiger Woods (21 years old) in 1997.
The only player (post-1945) to win on debut was Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
Since 2000, three players have won on their second attempt: Charl Schwartzel (2011), Jordan Spieth (2015), and Danny Willett (2016).
The last wire-to-wire was Spieth, becoming just the fifth player in history to lead after all four rounds.
Only three players have successfully defended the title. Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Sir Nick Faldo (1989-1990), and Tiger Woods (2001-2002) are the members of this exclusive club.
Only three players ranked No. 1 in the OWGR went on to win: Tiger Woods (2007), Dustin Johnson (2020), and Scottie Scheffler (2022, 2024).
Adam Scott is the only Australian winner.
Hideki Matsuyama is the only Asian winner.
Sergio Garcia was the last winner to need a playoff. Defeating Justin Rose, the Spaniard won his first green jacket in his 19th attempt, the record for a first-time winner.
Mark O’Meara, aged 41 in 1998, is the oldest first-time winner.
Raymond Floyd, aged 49 in 1992, is the oldest runner-up.
The field will be cut to the top 50 and ties after two rounds.
The winner this week will take home 750 FedExCup points.
The purse and winner’s share will be announced later this week.

Recent Winners – Masters Tournament

Italics – not entered this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2024	Scottie Scheffler (-11)	Held off Collin Morikawa from the final group and won his second green jacket by four shots.
2023	Jon Rahm (-12)	Joined Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal, and Sergio Garcia as winners from Spain.
2022	Scottie Scheffler (-10)	Wins his first major comfortably by three shots over Rory McIlroy.
2021	Hideki Matsuyama (-10)	Blew the field away in Round 3 and cruised to his first major title.
2020	Dustin Johnson (-20)	Set the non-April tournament scoring record on a soft, dormant layout.
2019	Tiger Woods (-13)	The only player to win from outside of the top 10 after Round 1. He’s done that twice (2005) and won the tournament FIVE times.

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy get kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).

1 use per year.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings
The Sentry	Sungjae Im	3^rd	$1,360,000
Sony Open in Hawaii	Russell Henley	T10	195,025
The American Express	Adam Hadwin	MC
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T32	52,080
AT&T Pebble Beach	Ludvig Aberg	WD
WM Phoenix Open	Rasmus Hojgaard	T12	195,500
Genesis Invitational	Will Zalatoris	T24	168,857
Mexico Open	Patrick Rodgers	T25	59,350
Cognizant Classic	Daniel Berger	T25	73,721
Arnold Palmer	Keegan Bradley	T5	800,000
THE PLAYERS	Collin Morikawa	T10	656,250
Valspar Championship	Sepp Straka	T28	55,844
Houston Open	Aaron Rai	MC
Valero Texas Open	Corey Conners	T18	113,050

LAST WEEK – Valero Texas Open

THE CHOICE: Corey Conners – T18

Sat three shots off the lead with two holes to play on Saturday. He ended his round bogey-double, faded to six shots back, and never returned to contend.

Others to consider:

Akshay Bhatia, Sam Stevens, Gary Woodland, Charley Hoffman

Three missed cuts and a T40. What a week!

THIS Week – 89^th Masters tournament

For the second year in a row, I’m playing Rory McIlroy.

This year, he fits the profile of past champions. He’s playing, winning, and he’s in a great spot off the course. It’s time to add another page of history.

THE CHOICE: Rory McIlroy

Others to consider:

Jon Rahm, Cam Smith, Patrick Reed, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka

Valero Texas Open

April 2, 2025 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Valero Texas Open

TPC San Antonio (Oaks Course)

San Antonio, Texas

Head to Golfbet for all our content each week.

Top of the Board (odds via Bet365)

No Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy to gnash teeth over this week.

Only 16 of the top 50 OWGR are playing as a tune-up for Augusta National.

The only way to get in the Masters this week, if not already qualified, is to win.

Ludvig Aberg (+1200), the Swedish ball-striking machine, sits at the top of the pile. Already a winner this year at a demanding Torrey Pines South, the four-year player formally of Texas Tech won’t be bothered by the energy in the atmosphere. Making his third start, yet only second as a pro, he signed for T14 last year.

Tommy Fleetwood (+1600) and Corey Conners (+1600) take up the next two spots. Fleetwood, never a winner on TOUR, ran T7 on debut and led the field in Bogey Avoidance last year. Conners, the only two-time winner, has two wins on TOUR, each at TPC San Antonio. He’s never missed the cut or cashed worse than T34.

Patrick Cantlay (+1800) is an interesting addition this week. Making his debut, the Californian will knock the simulator rust off after winning TGL with his mates from Atlanta. I’m more interested next week and DEFINITELY at RBC Heritage where he will almost certainly be my OAD selection.

Hideki Matsuyama (+2000) keeps rolling quietly along. The winner at The Sentry to open the season, he always returns to TPC San Antonio after his 2021 debut that was followed by his Green Jacket. If he’s turning up each year, I’m sold on this being a proper tune-up for Augusta National.

Akshay Bhatia (+2200) picked up his first top-10 result of 2024 with his playoff win here last year. In 2025, he’s on a run of three top-10 paydays in his last four on TOUR. The only left-hander to win it, he seeks to become the first player to successfully defend the title at TPC San Antonio. Bet.

Jordan Spieth (+2500), when healthy, and that appears to be the case entering the week, contends this time of year. The off-season wrist surgery is fading to the memory bank, and results are getting closer and closer to the old days. The 2021 champion has four top-10 paydays from eight starts.

Keegan Bradley (+2800) continues to balance TGL, TOUR starts, and the Ryder Cup captaincy. A stern test tee-to-green fits his strengths. As long as the energy level remains high, I’m on board.

Denny McCarthy (+3000) still has not reached the summit but he enjoys TPC San Antonio. Needing just 92 putts last year, tying the TOUR record, he birdied his last seven holes, posted the course record 28 on the inward nine, shot 63, and lost in a playoff.

Daniel Berger and Gary Woodland come in red hot, while Si Woo Kim has cashed in six straight here. … Sam Stevens (T14, 2^nd) and Lee Hodges (T11 last week) should also receive deeper inspections. … Chris Kirk, another course horse of years gone by, presents a tasty number at +6600.

5 Players to consider for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 40 action:

Three of the five last week cashed T18, T18, and 10^th, so I hope you were paying attention. BONUS BALL Gary Woodland was T2. I can’t leave him out #Heater!

Eric Cole (+9000) picked up T12 at Valspar and backed it up with T15 in Houston.

Mac Meissner (+8000) is the hometown hero this week. The SMU grad has cashed in his last three events and knows this layout (T10 2024).

Jesper Svensson (+10000) has cashed in six straight.

Matt Kuchar (+12500) owns T12 or better in four of his last five starts and eight T25 or better from 11 paydays career.

Alejandro Tosti (+15000) earned a pair of top-10s, including T5 last week, on big, driver-necessary tracks. This week qualifies.

Bonus Ball: Trey Mullinax (+17500) popped up on the walk-and-talk last weekend before fading to T34. He owns the course record, 62, at TPC San Antonio and can #Send it.

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	TPC San Antonio
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,438
Par:	72 (36-36).
Greens:	Overseeded Poa Trivialis; 6,400 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter:	11-plus feet.
Rough:	Overseeded ryegrass at 2.25”
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	64/3/3
Architect(s):	Greg Norman (2010).
Defending Champion (event):	Akshay Bhatia (-20)
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Corey Conners (2023, 2019).
Course Record:	62; Trey Mullinax, Round 3, 2018.
72 Hole Tournament Record:	268; Akshay Bhatia & Denny McCarthy (2024); Corey Conners (2019).
Fact of the Week:	The event has been the week before the Masters since 2019.
Fact of the Week II:	The last seven winners are 31 or younger.

Notables

The last two champions owned the outright lead after 18 holes.
Three of the last six winners won for the first time on TOUR.
The last four winners have ranked T3 or BETTER in Par-4 Scoring.
Four of the last six winners have won on their second or third try.
TPC San Antonio has played under par just twice in 14 previous events.
The ryegrass/fescue fairways average 25 to 30 yards in the landing area.
Poa Trivialis overseeded greens average 6,400 square feet and will run not run more than 11.5 feet on the Stimpmeter (wind).
The course tips at 7,438 yards for the third consecutive season.
Charley Hoffman, 39 in 2016, is the only champion of the last eight who were older than 31.
Trey Mullinax posted 62 in Round 3 in 2018 and owns the course record.
The Official World Golf Ranking is represented by 16 of the top 50 players, led by No. 5 Ludvig Aberg, the highest-ranked player in the field this week.

Recent Winners

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (first time)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at VidantaWorld	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Min Woo Lee (first time)

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace)
The American Express	Nick Dunlap (a)
Farmers Insurance Open	Matthieu Pavon (rookie)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Wyndham Clark (54 holes)
WM Phoenix Open	Nick Taylor
The Genesis Invitational	Hideki Matsuyama
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Jake Knapp (rookie)
Cognizant Classic	Austin Eckroat (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Scottie Scheffler
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Peter Malnati
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Stephan Jaeger (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Akshay Bhatia
88^th Masters Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Heritage	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Zurich Classic	Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Taylor Pendrith (first time)
Wells Fargo Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
106^th PGA Championship	Xander Schauffele
Charles Schwab Challenge	Davis Riley
RBC Canadian Open	Robert MacIntyre (first time)
The 49^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (5)
124^th United States Open	Bryson DeChambeau
Travelers Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Cam Davis
John Deere Classic	Davis Thompson (first time)
Genesis Scottish Open	Robert MacIntyre (2)
152^nd Open Championship	Xander Schauffele (2)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
2024 Paris Olympics	Scottie Scheffler (7)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
Wyndham Championship	Aaron Rai (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Hideki Matsuyama (2)
BMW Championship	Keegan Bradley
The TOUR Championship	Scottie Scheffler (8)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Patton Kizzire
Sanderson Farms Championship	Kevin Yu (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Matt McCarty (first time)
Shriners Children’s Open	JT Poston
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Nico Echavarria
World Wide Technology Champ	Austin Eckroat (2)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Rafa Campos (first time)
The RSM Classic	Maverick McNealy (first time)

Recent Winners – Valero Texas Open

Italics – not entered this week;

Year	Winner	Notes
2024	Akshay Bhatia (-20)	Became the second winner to lead after 18 holes; Led after every round but not considered wire-to-wire because of a playoff with McCarthy.
2023	Corey Conners (-15)	Opened with 64 and won by a shot (Sam Stevens) to become the only two-time winner at TPC San Antonio.
2022	J.J. Spaun (-13)	Won by two shots to earn his only TOUR victory to date.
2021	Jordan Spieth (-18)	Circled 24 birdies and won by two.

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy get kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).

1 use per year.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings
The Sentry	Sungjae Im	3^rd	$1,360,000
Sony Open in Hawaii	Russell Henley	T10	195,025
The American Express	Adam Hadwin	MC
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T32	52,080
AT&T Pebble Beach	Ludvig Aberg	WD
WM Phoenix Open	Rasmus Hojgaard	T12	195,500
Genesis Invitational	Will Zalatoris	T24	168,857
Mexico Open	Patrick Rodgers	T25	59,350
Cognizant Classic	Daniel Berger	T25	73,721
Arnold Palmer	Keegan Bradley	T5	800,000
THE PLAYERS	Collin Morikawa	T10	656,250
Valspar Championship	Sepp Straka	T28	55,844
Houston Open	Aaron Rai	MC

LAST WEEK – Texas Children’s Houston Open

With the two heavyweights battling it out. I’m down to two players: Finau and Rai.

Rai gets the benefit of the doubt on current form, and he did run T4 at Vidanta.

THE CHOICE: Aaron Rai – MC

Only my second MC of the season, but it feels like every week has been a disaster. Finau didn’t provide any “second guessing” with his Twhatevernotclosetothetop10, so that’s my consolation prize.

Whatever

Others to consider:

Tony Finau, Min Woo Lee, Davis Riley, Mackenzie Hughes

Nothing better than having the winner and 10^th place on the bench!

THIS Week – Valero Texas Open

No brainer.

Next week, I’ll have to burn some RAM for the first major championship, but I’m heading north of the border this week.

THE CHOICE: Corey Conners

Others to consider:

Akshay Bhatia, Sam Stevens, Gary Woodland, Charley Hoffman

Texas Children’s Houston Open

March 26, 2025March 26, 2025 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Texas Children’s Houston Open

Memorial Park Golf Course

Houston, Texas

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Top of the Board (odds via Bet365)

The top two players in the OWGR are in the field this week.

Scottie Scheffler (+400) has the course form (T2-T9-T2), but Rory McIlroy (+600) has won twice in four starts, including last time out at THE PLAYERS Championship.

There is no recourse for McIlroy to bomb and gouge this week. With barely any rough, only 1.25 inches of overseeded ryegrass, and barely any bunkers, just 21 on the property, he can wield his best weapon.

The greens, large and overseeded with Poa Trivialis, don’t allow many putts to drop. Only 17 players across four events reached double digits under par after 72 holes, including 10 last year.

Scheffler has not found top gear yet, but his familiarity with Memorial Park will be to his advantage.

Aaron Rai (+2800) posted T7-T7-T19 in three visits and should be in every lineup.

Tony Finau (+2800), off to a cool start in 2025, will break out this week. His last two victories on TOUR have been on two tracks, VidantaWorld and Memorial Park, where there is minimal trouble off the tee and into the greens. Finau finished 2^nd-1^st at VidantaWorld and T2-1^st at Memorial Park in his last two attempts.

Min Woo Lee and Davis Thompson, both at (+3000) make sense this week. Another duo of power players who can get hot with the putter, those with less loft into the greens this week will benefit.

Jason Day (+3300) owns T7 and T16 here.

JJ Spaun (+3500) picked up his only win on TOUR at next week’s stop in San Antonio. I’d let him ease back in after his playoff loss to McIlroy two weeks ago.

Wyndham Clark (+3500) won’t be outdriven by many but does not have a top-10 payday this season or in three previous starts here.

Sungjae Im (+3500) will enjoy the massive greens to catch his irons. The putter is the saving grace.

Stephan Jaeger (+4000), like Finau, loves VidantaWorld and Memorial Park. I’ll remind you it is his first time as a defending champion on TOUR. Not many handle that situation well. Caution.

5 Players to consider for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 40 action:

Jacob Bridgeman – A pair of podiums on the Florida Swing has cut his weekly odds in half.

Sahith Theegala – Home game for The Woodlands resident. Time to get 2025 on track.

Sam Stevens – T14 and solo second in two previous visits, the Oklahoma native has plenty of ammo and confidence.

Mackenzie Hughes – Only the biggest names in the field have a better scoring average here.

Victor Perez – T18-back injury-T22 in his last three.

Bonus Ball: Gary Woodland owns back-to-back T8 or better but has not played since 2022.

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	Memorial Park
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,475
Par:	70 (35-35).
Greens:	Overseeded Poa Trivialis; 7,000 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter:	11-plus feet.
Rough:	Overseeded ryegrass at 1.25”
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	21/2/4
Architect(s):	John Bredemus (1936); Tom Doak (2019).
Defending Champion (event):	Stephan Jaeger (-12).
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	None.
Course Record:	62; Tony Finau (2024, 2022); Scottie Scheffler (2021).
72 Hole Tournament Record:	264; Tony Finau (2022).
Fact of the Week:	The event moved back to March for the 2024 event.
Fact of the Week II:	The course ranked 12^th or harder in all four previous editions.

SG: Putting

All four winners ranked in the top five on the Poa Trivialis overseeded greens. Simply, putts do not go in here. The last three seasons the course ranked in the top 10 in Putting Average, and that includes the major championships. Those who find a way to will them in with the flat stick. Here’s how the top of the leaderboard looked in 2024 in SG: Putting:

Players listed below are competing this week.

SG: Putting Rank	Player	Finish
1	Tom Hoge	T14
2	Erik Barnes	T17
3	Stephan Jaeger	WIN
4	David Skinns	T7
5	Chad Ramey	T17
6	Chris Gotterup	T57
7	Taylor Moore	T2
8	Max Greyserman	T7
9	Harry Hall	T28
10	Nick Dunlap	T11
11	Thomas Detry	T2
12	Alejandro Tosti	T2
13	Joseph Bramlett	T36
14	Alex Noren	T11
15	Nick Hardy	T57

Putting matters this week as 11 players from the top 15 in SG: Putting cashed T17 or better.

Notables

The host course features five Par-3 holes and overseeded Poa Trivialis putting surfaces, the second week in a row on TOUR featuring both.
Two of the four champions have led the field in Par-3 Scoring.
The Par-70 also features three Par-5 holes, one of the toughest trios on TOUR.
The historic Houston Open, established in 1946, has had many homes, but Memorial Park is the only data used this week.
The overseeded fairways average 30 to 40 yards in the landing area, accounting for the winds that constantly blow in this part of the world.
Poa Trivialis overseeded greens, the defense of this Tom Doak restoration, average 7,000 square feet and will not run more than 11.5 feet on the Stimpmeter (wind).
Hole No. 16 has a new tee box for 2025, and 40 yards have been added to the scorecard.
This is the second consecutive year with the overseeded rough cut to 1.25 inches.
The last three champions ranged from 33 to 36 years of age. Debut winner Carlos Ortiz (not eligible) was 29.
Jaeger joins Ortiz as the two champions to win for the first time on TOUR at the event.
The Official World Golf Ranking is represented by 20 of the top 50 players, including No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who makes his debut at Memorial Park.

Recent Winners

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (first time)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at VidantaWorld	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley
THE PLAYERS Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
Valspar Championship	Viktor Hovland

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace)
The American Express	Nick Dunlap (a)
Farmers Insurance Open	Matthieu Pavon (rookie)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Wyndham Clark (54 holes)
WM Phoenix Open	Nick Taylor
The Genesis Invitational	Hideki Matsuyama
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Jake Knapp (rookie)
Cognizant Classic	Austin Eckroat (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Scottie Scheffler
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Peter Malnati
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Stephan Jaeger (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Akshay Bhatia
88^th Masters Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Heritage	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Zurich Classic	Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Taylor Pendrith (first time)
Wells Fargo Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
106^th PGA Championship	Xander Schauffele
Charles Schwab Challenge	Davis Riley
RBC Canadian Open	Robert MacIntyre (first time)
The 49^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (5)
124^th United States Open	Bryson DeChambeau
Travelers Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Cam Davis
John Deere Classic	Davis Thompson (first time)
Genesis Scottish Open	Robert MacIntyre (2)
152^nd Open Championship	Xander Schauffele (2)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
2024 Paris Olympics	Scottie Scheffler (7)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
Wyndham Championship	Aaron Rai (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Hideki Matsuyama (2)
BMW Championship	Keegan Bradley
The TOUR Championship	Scottie Scheffler (8)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Patton Kizzire
Sanderson Farms Championship	Kevin Yu (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Matt McCarty (first time)
Shriners Children’s Open	JT Poston
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Nico Echavarria
World Wide Technology Champ	Austin Eckroat (2)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Rafa Campos (first time)
The RSM Classic	Maverick McNealy (first time)

Recent Winners – Texas Children’s Houston Open

Italics – not entered this week;

Year	Winner	Notes
2024	Stephan Jaeger (-12)	Held off five players to win by a shot for his first victory on TOUR.
2022	Tony Finau (-16)	Set the tournament scoring record and won by four shots, also a record. Final November event (2023 season).
2021	Jason Korkak (-10)	Won by two shots as Scheffler couldn’t close the 54-hole lead.
2020	Carlos Ortiz (-13)	Held off Hideki Matsuyama (not entered) and Dusitn Johnson (ineligible) to win for the first time on TOUR.

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy get kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).

1 use per year.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings
The Sentry	Sungjae Im	3^rd	$1,360,000
Sony Open in Hawaii	Russell Henley	T10	195,025
The American Express	Adam Hadwin	MC
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T32	52,080
AT&T Pebble Beach	Ludvig Aberg	WD
WM Phoenix Open	Rasmus Hojgaard	T12	195,500
Genesis Invitational	Will Zalatoris	T24	168,857
Mexico Open	Patrick Rodgers	T25	59,350
Cognizant Classic	Daniel Berger	T25	73,721
Arnold Palmer	Keegan Bradley	T5	800,000
THE PLAYERS	Collin Morikawa	T10	656,250
Valspar Championship	Sepp Straka	T28	55,844

LAST WEEK – Valspar Invitational

MY CHOICE: Sepp Straka

I didn’t have Hovland or Justin Thomas on my radar.

Straka didn’t fire, but am I surprised?

Of course not. 74 on Saturday was the killer.

Whatever.

THIS Week – Texas Children’s Houston Open

With the two heavyweights battling it out. I’m down to two players: Finau and Rai.

Rai gets the benefit of the doubt on current form, and he did run T4 at Vidanta.

THE CHOICE: Aaron Rai

Others to consider:

Tony Finau, Min Woo Lee, Davis Riley, Mackenzie Hughes

Valspar Championship

March 19, 2025 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Back next week

Head to PGATOUR.COM for all of our great content.

For you OAD sickos, I’m loading up Sepp Straka to continue his excellent run in the Sunshine State.

Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, and Sam Burns should be considered.

For those of you who do not keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times, Cameron Young, Keith Mitchell, Alex Smalley, and Stephan Jaeger should keep you up all night.

I wouldn’t worry about a MC last week at TPC Sawgrass. This week, while difficult, is a more straight-forward test. Pete Dye returns at Harbour Town. Enjoy the break!

THE PLAYERS Championship

March 12, 2025 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Welcome to the 51st edition.

THE PLAYERS Championship

THE PLAYERS Stadium Course – TPC Sawgrass

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

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Top of the Board (odds via Bet365)

Scheffler, no chance of 3 straight, right?

McIlroy, how many drivers is he gonna use this week?

Schauffele has played four rounds since the first week of January.

Russell Henley going back-to-back?

I’ll start with the second choice, Collin Morikawa. The winners here roll in on form and he qualifies. On a course where target golf is the recipe, I’ll lean on one of the best drivers of the golf ball with a sour taste in his mouth.

Justin Thomas has already proven his worth here and has been ready to pop for months. Matsuyama, also with a win, has been healthy and lurking. Shane Lowry has a fantastic SG: Florida.

Players to consider for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 40 action:

Daniel Berger returns from T13-T9 from 2022-21.

Si Woo Kim loves Pete Dye. That works.

Keegan Bradley is going to crash at some point. Not this week.

Who is hotter, without a win, than Michael Kim?

Brian Harman loves this layout.

Karl Vilips won’t be afraid.

Chad Ramey had the first-round lead here a couple of years ago.

Joel Dahmen slides in.

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	TPC Sawgrass
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,352
Par:	72 (36-36).
Greens:	TifEagle Bermuda; 5,500 square feet.
Stimpmeter:	13-plus feet.
Rough:	Overseeded ryegrass at FOUR inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	78/18/18
Architect(s):	Pete Dye (1980).
Defending Champion (event):	Scottie Scheffler (-20).
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Scheffler (2024, 2023).
Course Record:	62; Tom Hoge (Round 3, 2023).
72 Hole Tournament Record (post 2016):	264; Greg Norman (-24; 1994).
Fact of the Week:	The event moved back to March for the 2019 edition.
Fact of the Week II:	The average attempts before winning is 7.4

Scoring Average: The PLAYERS Stadium Course – TPC Sawgrass

Career scoring averages from top players entered this week (minimum eight rounds played).

Rank	Player	Rounds	Scoring Avg	Odds
1	Scottie Scheffler	14	69.57	+400
4	Christiaan Bezuidenhout	12	70.33	+12000
6	Hideki Matsuyama	32	70.41	+3300
8	Xander Schauffele	18	70.44	+2500
9	Aaron Rai	8	70.50	+6500
10	Si Woo Kim	29	70.52	+6500
11	Tommy Fleetwood	26	70.62	+3000
12	Joel Dahmen	18	70.67	+20000
13	Corey Conners	18	70.72	+6000
T14	Min Woo Lee	8	70.75	+10000
16	Justin Thomas	33	70.79	+2200
17	Viktor Hovland	14	70.86	+7500
18	Jason Day	44	70.86	+6500
20	Sungjae Im	18	70.89	+6000
21	Tom Hoge	23	70.91	+30000

Notables

Tom Hoge is the only player to ever shoot 62 (Rd 3 2023).
2018 champion Webb Simpson and 2016 winner Day are two of nine players to post 63.
Greg Norman squared one bogey, the record, in setting the tournament scoring record (-24, 260) in 1994.
There are eight previous champions in the field, including Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, and Matt Kuchar.
The overseeded fairways average 28 yards in the landing areas.
TifEagle Bermudagrass greens average 5,500 square feet and will run 13 feet and up on the Stimpmeter.
92 bunkers, four inches of overseeded rough, and 18 water penalty areas are in play on all 18 holes.
The last five winners have registered seventh or better SG: Approach the Green.
Only one of the four Par-3 holes extends over 183 yards (No. 8, 236).
Three of the Par-5 holes play less than 575 yards.
Holes No. 15 and No. 18 are the only two on the card that were not adjusted for the 2025 tournament.
The last five champions were 30 years old or younger.
Since 2007, average amount of attempts required before winning for the first time is 7.4.
The oldest winner is Fred Funk (48 years in 2002). Funk is the only local resident to win the event.
Sam Ryder circled 27 birdies in 2024 and established the new tournament record.
The Official World Golf Ranking is represented by 48 of the top 50 players and 86 of the top 100.
There are no amateurs in the field.

Recent Winners

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (first time)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at VidantaWorld	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Russell Henley

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace)
The American Express	Nick Dunlap (a)
Farmers Insurance Open	Matthieu Pavon (rookie)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Wyndham Clark (54 holes)
WM Phoenix Open	Nick Taylor
The Genesis Invitational	Hideki Matsuyama
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Jake Knapp (rookie)
Cognizant Classic	Austin Eckroat (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Scottie Scheffler
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Peter Malnati
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Stephan Jaeger (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Akshay Bhatia
88^th Masters Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Heritage	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Zurich Classic	Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Taylor Pendrith (first time)
Wells Fargo Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
106^th PGA Championship	Xander Schauffele
Charles Schwab Challenge	Davis Riley
RBC Canadian Open	Robert MacIntyre (first time)
The 49^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (5)
124^th United States Open	Bryson DeChambeau
Travelers Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Cam Davis
John Deere Classic	Davis Thompson (first time)
Genesis Scottish Open	Robert MacIntyre (2)
152^nd Open Championship	Xander Schauffele (2)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
2024 Paris Olympics	Scottie Scheffler (7)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
Wyndham Championship	Aaron Rai (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Hideki Matsuyama (2)
BMW Championship	Keegan Bradley
The TOUR Championship	Scottie Scheffler (8)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Patton Kizzire
Sanderson Farms Championship	Kevin Yu (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Matt McCarty (first time)
Shriners Children’s Open	JT Poston
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Nico Echavarria
World Wide Technology Champ	Austin Eckroat (2)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Rafa Campos (first time)
The RSM Classic	Maverick McNealy (first time)

Recent Winners – THE PLAYERS Championship

Italics – not entered this week; March winners only.

Year	Winner	Notes
2024	Scottie Scheffler (-20)	Becomes the first player to defend the title.
2023	Scottie Scheffler (-17)	Won by five shots in his third attempt.
2022	Cameron Smith (-14)	Needed a Monay finish and closed with 66 to come back from two shots and win.
2021	Justin Thomas (-14)	Posted 64-68 to win by a shot.
2019	Rory McIlroy (-13)	Chased down Jon Rahm on Sunday to win the first event in the return to March.

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy get kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).

1 use per year.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings
The Sentry	Sungjae Im	3^rd	$1,360,000
Sony Open in Hawaii	Russell Henley	T10	195,025
The American Express	Adam Hadwin	MC
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T32	52,080
AT&T Pebble Beach	Ludvig Aberg	WD
WM Phoenix Open	Rasmus Hojgaard	T12	195,500
Genesis Invitational	Will Zalatoris	T24	168,857
Mexico Open	Patrick Rodgers	T25	59,350
Cognizant Classic	Daniel Berger	T25	73,721
Arnold Palmer	Keegan Bradley	T5	800,000

LAST WEEK – Arnold Palmer Invitational

MY CHOICE: Keegan Bradley

Course horse, check. Need to get on it before the Ryder Cup Captain needs to focus more on captaining than golf. Hope I haven’t missed my window.

Back nine 29. Record-setting performance. 64 on Sunday.

T5.

76 on Sunday was the doom.

Overall, pleased as punch. I did NOT have any of the four above him on my radar. BECAUSE I SUCK THAT’S WHY.

THIS Week – THE PLAYERS Championship

Biggest purse.

No need to hang on to a longshot.

THE CHOICE: Collin Morikawa

Others to consider:

Justin Thomas, Ludvig Aberg, Hideki Matsuyama,

Arnold Palmer Invitational

March 5, 2025 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard

Bay Hill Club & Lodge

Orlando, Florida

Head to Golfbet for all our weekly content, including EXPERT PICKS, where I’m off to a flying start.

Top of the Board (odds via Bet365)

The two top choices are perched here for a reason. If Bay Hill, as suggested in the golf media, is going to be a wrecking ball again this year, I can’t overlook the two best players on the planet. Now, Kurt Kitayama (not qualified) will remind us that tough conditions do not guarantee anything. I’ll point out the winners here since 2016 are proper players, grinders, and winners, with Kitayama being the exception. It might not be called a major championship, but it will play like one, again.

Justin Thomas and Ludvig Aberg fill in the next lines. Thomas’s run of form extends to late last fall and when Aberg has been healthy, he’s won and hit the top five.

Were we a week too early on Berger, Lowry, or Straka? J.J. Spaun has a pair of podium paydays this season.

Players to consider for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 40 action:

I’ll remind folks Lowry has been playing TGL and hasn’t had many days off recently. At some point, it breaks, just like his driver on Monday.

Akshay Bhatia makes his debut and should embrace the difficulty tee to green.

Red-hot Ben Griffin needed back-to-back T4 paydays just to qualify this week. He was T13 on debut in 2023.

I can’t fathom why Harris English is over 100-1 to win. I’ll gladly buy that down across the top 10, top 20, and top 40 action. Super around here.

Viktor Hovland might be the loftiest of risk-reward plays at +5000. Anything is possible currently!

Michael Kim is also tepid.

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	Bay Hill Club & Lodge
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,466
Par:	72 (36-36).
Greens:	TifEagle Bermuda; 7,500 square feet.
Stimpmeter:	13-plus feet.
Rough:	Overseeded ryegrass at FOUR inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	84/8/9
Architect(s):	Dick Wilson (1961); Arnold Palmer (2009; 2016).
Defending Champion (event):	Scottie Scheffler (-15).
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Scheffler (2024, 2022).
Course Record:	62; Adam Scott (2014) is the only player to post this total since 1984.
72 Hole Tournament Record (post 2016):	270; Rory McIlroy (-18, 2018).
Fact of the Week:	Only two of the last nine winners were older than 30.
Fact of the Week II:	The last four champions are from the USA.

The wind is going to blow four different ways again this week. Unlike last week, the rough is four inches, and will be “pitch-out” in places, especially with water penalty areas protecting greens.

The last player to win back-to-back at Bay Hill was NOT Tiger Woods. It was Matt Every in 2014-15.

Notes:

Field of 72.
The cut will be made after 36 holes. The top 50 and ties play the weekend.
The OWGR is represented by 46 of the top 50.
$20 million – $4 million – 700 FedExCup points – Sentry, PLAYERS, and Masters ticket punched, plus THREE year exemption.

Recent Winners

2025 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Hideki Matsuyama
Sony Open in Hawaii	Nick Taylor
The American Express	Sepp Straka
Farmers Insurance Open	Harris English
AT&T Pebble Beach	Rory McIlroy
WM Phoenix Open	Thomas Detry (first time)
The Genesis Invitational	Ludvig Aberg
Mexico Open at VidantaWorld	Brian Campbell (first time)
Cognizant Classic	Joe Highsmith (first time)

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace)
The American Express	Nick Dunlap (a)
Farmers Insurance Open	Matthieu Pavon (rookie)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Wyndham Clark (54 holes)
WM Phoenix Open	Nick Taylor
The Genesis Invitational	Hideki Matsuyama
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Jake Knapp (rookie)
Cognizant Classic	Austin Eckroat (first time)
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Scottie Scheffler
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Peter Malnati
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Stephan Jaeger (first time)
Valero Texas Open	Akshay Bhatia
88^th Masters Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (3)
RBC Heritage	Scottie Scheffler (4)
Zurich Classic	Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Taylor Pendrith (first time)
Wells Fargo Championship	Rory McIlroy (2)
106^th PGA Championship	Xander Schauffele
Charles Schwab Challenge	Davis Riley
RBC Canadian Open	Robert MacIntyre (first time)
The 49^th Memorial Tournament	Scottie Scheffler (5)
124^th United States Open	Bryson DeChambeau
Travelers Championship	Scottie Scheffler (6)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Cam Davis
John Deere Classic	Davis Thompson (first time)
Genesis Scottish Open	Robert MacIntyre (2)
152^nd Open Championship	Xander Schauffele (2)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
2024 Paris Olympics	Scottie Scheffler (7)
3M Open	Jhonattan Vegas
Wyndham Championship	Aaron Rai (first time)
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Hideki Matsuyama (2)
BMW Championship	Keegan Bradley
The TOUR Championship	Scottie Scheffler (8)

FedEx Cup Fall
Procore Championship	Patton Kizzire
Sanderson Farms Championship	Kevin Yu (first time)
Black Desert Championship	Matt McCarty (first time)
Shriners Children’s Open	JT Poston
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Nico Echavarria
World Wide Technology Champ	Austin Eckroat (2)
Butterfield Bermuda Champ	Rafa Campos (first time)
The RSM Classic	Maverick McNealy (first time)

Recent Winners – Arnold Palmer Invitational

Italics – not entered this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2024	Scottie Scheffler (-15)	Second title in three years. Won by five shots.
2023	Kurt Kitayama (-9)	Held off McIlroy, Scheffler and everyone else to win on debut.
2022	Scottie Scheffler (-5)	One of four players to break par in the final round. Course played No. 1 most difficult on TOUR in 2022.
2021	Bryson DeChambeau (-11)	First of four straight USA-USA-USA winners.

Notables

Adam Scott (+8000) is the only player since 1985 to post 62 (2014) and is one of four to share the course record.
Tiger Woods (not entered) has won this event eight times, the most in history. Scheffler is the only multiple champion in the field.
The fairways are 30 yards wide, two yards wider on average than last week at PGA National, and overseeded.
TifEagle Bermudagrass greens average 7,500 square feet and will run 13 feet and up on the Stimpmeter.
84 bunkers, four inches of rough, and nine holes with water penalty areas.
None of the Par-5 holes play longer than 590 yards.
Since 2016, only Scheffler in 2024 ranked OUTSIDE the top SIX in Par-3 scoring. All four Par-3 holes extend 199 yards or longer.
The last six winners have ranked in the top 10 in Greens in Regulation.
After adding TifEagle greens for 2016, six of the last nine winners have ranked in the top six in SG: Putting and all were T21 or better. No weaknesses allowed in the bag this week!

One and Done – Spotter’s Game

1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy get kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).

1 use per year.

Event	Selection	Place	Earnings
The Sentry	Sungjae Im	3^rd	$1,360,000
Sony Open in Hawaii	Russell Henley	T10	195,025
The American Express	Adam Hadwin	MC
Farmers Insurance	Jason Day	T32	52,080
AT&T Pebble Beach	Ludvig Aberg	WD
WM Phoenix Open	Rasmus Hojgaard	T12	195,500
Genesis Invitational	Will Zalatoris	T24	168,857
Mexico Open	Patrick Rodgers	T25	59,350
Cognizant Classic	Daniel Berger	T25	73,721

LAST WEEK – Cognizant Classic at the Palm Beaches

MY CHOICE: Daniel Berger T25

No prizes, I’m told, for hitting T24 or T25 in three consecutive weeks!

Four shots off the 54-hole lead without many big names in front of him, it was disappointing to see the local lad post a round of 72, one of only four players on Sunday to sign for a total over par inside the top 25.

ARE WE HAVING FUN YET???

In my weekly local fantasy game, I drafted Joe Highsmith and Jacob Bridgeman last week in Mexico.

It never ends. At least I will have Lowry for Zurich!

Just Missed

Shane Lowry – T11, Russell Henley – T6, Cameron Young – MC, Luke Clanton – T18

THIS Week – Arnold Palmer Invitational

Last year, I said f#ck it, and stuck Scheffler in. I mean, nobody has ever gone back-to-back at THE PLAYERS, so this naturally made sense.

WRONG AGAIN.

I LOST money on picking Scheffler one week early, $500K to be exact.

I didn’t matter in the long run, but still.

THE CHOICE: Keegan Bradley

Course horse, check. Need to get on it before the Ryder Cup Captain needs to focus more on captaining than golf. Hope I haven’t missed my window.

Others to consider:

I’d lean on the elite of the elite this week. Outsiders include Fleetwood, English, and the red-hot Bhatia.

Glass Houses

Fantasy Golf Only

OAD

107th PGA Championship

Truist Championship

THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson

RBC Heritage

89th Masters Tournament

Valero Texas Open

Texas Children’s Houston Open

Valspar Championship

THE PLAYERS Championship

Arnold Palmer Invitational