Shriners Children’s Open

October 16, 2024 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1846240357320978598

Sittin’ plush with a royal flush, aces back to back!

FedExCup Fall – Event No. 4

Shriners Children’s Open

TPC Summerlin

Las Vegas, Nevada

Head to Golfbet for all our content each week.

Quick Links:

Odds Outlook – DFS Report – Horses for Courses/Stats Suggest – Expert Picks

Mike Glasscott: Shriners Children’s Open tips

Win: Harry Hall (50/1); Nick Hardy (100/1)

Top 10: Henrik Norlander (15/2), Matti Schmid (11/2), Adam Hadwin (4/1)

Top 20: Taylor Montgomery (7/1), Matt NeSmith (4/1), Will Gordon (7/1), Doug Ghim (13/5)

Bet365: Top of the Board

Tom Kim (13/1): Posting 44-under over 144 holes, the Korean has posted just seven bogeys and has won both times he has entered. Making his first start on his own ball since the FedExCup Playoffs, he will join PGA TOUR history if he wins for the third consecutive season.

Taylor Pendrith (27/1): The second half of the Presidents Cup daily double, the Canadian won a shootout at TPC Craig Ranch in early May for his first victory on the PGA TOUR. Ranking in the top 10 of Strokes Gained: Putting, he will look to improve on his solo third finish on 18-under-par in 2023.

Davis Thompson (30/1): Posting 28-under at the John Deere Classic in July, the former Georgia Bulldog set the tournament record and won for the first time on TOUR. Already secure inside the FedExCup top 50, there’s only one focus this week: win.

Beau Hossler (30/1): Losing in a playoff at the Sanderson Farms Championship, the former Texas Longhorn is still yearning for his first PGA TOUR victory. The California native has never missed the cut in six starts at TPC Summerlin and has posted 38-under-par in his last two starts on TOUR.

Kurt Kitayama (30/1): Never making the cut from three previous attempts at TPC Summerlin, the local showed signs of form last week in Utah. Posting rounds of 65 to open and 64 on Saturday could not cancel two rounds in the 70s in a shootout. Investors can make the case for or against. Volatile.

Tom Hoge (32/1): Returning to action for the first time since cashing T7 at Silverado to kick off the FedExCup Fall. Since his last appearance, he’s been inducted into his college alma mater’s Hall of Fame. The North Dakota native cashed T24 or better four times in his last six at TPC Summerlin, including two paydays inside the top 10.

Stephan Jaeger (32/1): Already a winner this season in Houston, the German posted 20-under last week in Utah to cash solo second. The bright lights of The Strip and expectations will not bother the veteran.

Seamus Power (32/1): Posting a run of T10, T11, and T11 in his last three, the Irishman becomes impossible to ignore.

Eric Cole (32/1): Anytime birdies are required to contend, the Florida resident should be on the radar. Ranking second on the TOUR in total birdies, a shootout is his area of expertise.

Others to consider:

If you prefer the local angle, there are plenty of Las Vegas residents and those with ties to UNLV in the field this week including Kitayama, Maverick McNealy, Taylor Montgomery, Doug Ghim, Charley Hoffman, and Ryan Moore, to name a few.

Adam Hadwin (37/10): Making his eighth start, the Canadian has cashed inside the top 10 in the last three editions and five times from seven weekends. Minus a victory, he’s the course horse.

Harry Hall (50/1): Playing golf at UNLV, the Englishman has racked up three consecutive paydays of T26 or better at TPC Summerlin. Already a shootout winner in 2024, his excellent short game allows him to hang around.

Matti Schmid (55/1): The 2019 and 2020 European amateur champion has yet to crack the code at the highest level. Registering his second top 10 in 25 events last week, it’s time to gamble on the hot streak.

Doug Ghim (65/1): One of the many residents in the field, the tee-to-green expert will rely on sleeping in his own bed to push him into contention this week.

Henrik Norlander (90/1): Sitting at 119^th in the top 125, another week with a big finish will go a long way for the Swede. Opening last week with 62 in the Utah desert led to T8, his best payday of 2024.

Nick Hardy (100/1): I’ll take a ride with a guy who found 53 of 56 fairways, painted 63 of 72 GIR, and cashed T8 in the Utah desert last week.

Matt NeSmith (140/1): Hitting the top 10 twice in five visits, the South Carolina native has posted 19 of 20 rounds in the red.

Will Gordon (325/1): Posting 23-under over the last two events comes with three rounds in the 70s and five rounds of 68 or bbetter. Let’s gamble!

NOW PLAYING: Shriners Children’s Open

Host Course	TPC Summerlin
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,255.
Par:	71 (35-36).
Greens:	Dominator Bentgrass; 7,400 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter:	11.5 feet and up.
Rough:	419 Bermudagrass at 2.25 inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	92/4/4
Architect(s):	Bobby Weed (1991).
Defending Champion (event):	Tom Kim
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Tom Kim (2022, 2023), Martin Laird (2009, 2020).
Fact of the Week:	Koreans have won four of the last five events.

TPC Summerlin

Sitting northwest of downtown Las Vegas and The Strip, TPC Summerlin was opened for play in 1991 and joined the rotation for the Shriners Children’s Open for the 1992 tournament.

Gone are the days of five rounds spread over three courses, but there have been plenty of changes in the last 30 years in this part of the world. Starting with the 2008 tournament, TPC Summerlin served as the exclusive host.

The 2009 edition was the first played at Par-71, one shot fewer than the Par-72.

The 2014 event tipped at 7,255 yards and is the yardage from the back tees on the 2024 scorecard.

Located at 2,700 feet above sea level, the Bobby Weed design does not require players to overpower the layout. The large landing areas and putting surfaces reward accuracy over power and allow play when the desert gusts blow.

Keeping the ball out of the desert and the four water penalty areas will ensure birdie chances follow. The quartet of Par-3 holes provides the greatest challenges, but the rest of the track affords birdie opportunities.

The 7,400-square-foot targets are carpeted with Dominator Bentgrass, new as of the 2022 tournament. Two and two-quarter inches of 419 Bermudagrass provide the border before the desert. Closely mown areas around the greens allow creativity to get up and down or to hole out.

Recent PGA TOUR Winners

2023 Season Winners

Event	Winner
Sentry Tournament of Champions	Jon Rahm
Sony Open in Hawaii	Si Woo Kim
The AMERICAN EXPRESS	Jon Rahm (2)
Farmers Insurance Open	Max Homa (2)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Justin Rose
WM Phoenix Open	Scottie Scheffler
The Genesis Invitational	Jon Rahm (3)
The Honda Classic	Chris Kirk
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Kurt Kitayama (first TOUR win)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Taylor Moore (first TOUR win)
Corales Puntacana	Matt Wallace (first TOUR win)
WGC – Dell Technologies MP	Sam Burns
Valero Texas Open	Corey Conners
Masters	Jon Rahm (4)
RBC Heritage	Matt Fitzpatrick
Zurich Classic of New Orleans	Davis Riley & Nick Hardy (first TOUR win for each)
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Tony Finau (2)
Wells Fargo Championship	Wyndham Clark (first TOUR win)
AT&T Byron Nelson	Jason Day
PGA Championship	Brooks Koepka
Charles Schwab Challenge	Emiliano Grillo
Memorial	Viktor Hovland
RBC Canadian Open	Nick Taylor
U.S. Open	Wyndham Clark (2)
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley (2)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Rickie Fowler
John Deere Classic	Sepp Straka
Genesis Scottish Open	Rory McIlroy (2)
The Open Championship	Brian Harman
3M Open	Lee Hodges (first TOUR win)
Wyndham Championship	Lucas Glover
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Lucas Glover (2)
BMW Championship	Viktor Hovland (2)
TOUR Championship	Viktor Hovland (3)
Fortinet Championship	Sahith Theegala
Sanderson Farms Championship	Luke List
Shriners Children’s Open	Tom Kim
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Collin Morikawa
World Wide Technology	Erik van Rooyen
Butterfield Bermuda	Camilo Villegas
The RSM Classic	Ludvig Aberg

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray
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)

Recent Winners – Shriners Children’s Open

Italics – not entered/qualified this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2023	Tom Kim (-20)	Holding off Adam Hadwin by a shot, the Korean became the first player to successfully defend the title at TPC Summerlin.
2022	Tom Kim (-24)	Winning by four, Kim did not square or bogey or worse on his card.
2021	Sungjae Im (-24)	Matched the tournament scoring record and won by four shots.
2020	Martin Laird (-23)	Victorious in the three-man playoff, the Scot won for the second time at TPC Summerlin.
2019	Kevin Na (-23)	Defeated Patrick Cantlay in a playoff to win for the second time at TPC Summerlin.
2018	Bryson DeChambeau (-21)	Defeated Patrick Cantlay by one.
2017	Patrick Cantlay (-9)	Winning for the first time on TOUR, Cantlay outlasted the wind and a three-man playoff.
2016	Rod Pampling (-20)	The Australian became the oldest winner at age 47.
2015	Smylie Kaufman (-16)	Closing with 61, the LSU grad won for the first time on TOUR.
2014	Ben Martin	Defeated Kevin Streelman by two shots to become the first winner at 7,255 yards.

Black Desert Championship

October 9, 2024 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1843297735631573019

FedExCup Fall – Event No. 3

Black Desert Championship

Black Desert Resort Golf Club

Ivins, Utah

Head to Golfbet for all our content each week.

Quick Links:

Odds Outlook – DFS Report – Horses for Courses/Stats Suggest – Expert Picks

Mike Glasscott: Black Desert Championship tips

Win: Kurt Kitayama (28/1), Ryan Fox (33/1)

Top 10: Erik van Rooyen (33/10), Matti Schmid (5/1)

Top 20: Zac Blair (7/2), Peter Kuest (11/2)

Bet365: Top of the Board

Keith Mitchell (20/1): For the second consecutive week the former Georgia Bulldog sits at the top of the Bet365.com board. Last week, he missed a four-foot putt on the 72^nd hole to miss out on a playoff. The leader after 36 and 54 holes could not pick up his second win and settled for T3, his third consecutive T12 or better on TOUR. He will need another big week from his putter to replicate the low scores produced in Mississippi.

Seamus Power (25/1): A quick glance shows a payday of T11 last week for the Irishman. A deeper inspection reveals four rounds in the 60s. Twice a winner on TOUR, the 37-year-old relies on Par 5 scoring and his short game to contend.

Kurt Kitayama (28/1): The more I dug into his stats this week, the more I’m interested! The Las Vegas resident will not be bothered with desert golf, regardless of the venue. Cashing T8 at TPC Scottsdale in February, another Weiskopf design, he has finished on the podium four times in the last two years on courses he’s never played.

Beau Hossler (30/1): Half of the top four players at Bet365.com had heartbreaking moments on Sunday. Searching for his first win on TOUR, he found himself behind a tree after his tee shot on the final hole. Unable to make a birdie and win the event, he lost in the first hole of the playoff to Kevin Yu (not entered). The good news is that, like Mitchell, he circled 27 par breakers to co-lead the field.

Ryan Fox (33/1): The Kiwi, snubbed by Mike Weir for the Presidents Cup last month, played two non-descript events in Great Britain before cashing T11 in Mississippi. The big hitter possesses a hot putter and should thrive in a birdie fest.

Chan Kim (33/1): The last time the Korean found the top 10 was at the ISCO Championship in July. Before that result, he cashed T8 at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, another wide-open track from the tee box with enormous greens.

Patrick Fishburn (33/1): Teaming up with fellow Utahn Zac Blair at the Zurich Classic, the Ogden resident is no longer an unknown quantity. Taking home a paycheck for T48 in Mississippi, he broke his streak of eight consecutive paydays of T25 or better. Posting 11-under, he didn’t play poorly, but two rounds in the 70s on the weekend didn’t help and will not help this week either. The pressure of being one of the favorites plus one of the crowd favorites creates a complex cocktail.

Black Desert Championship

The PGA TOUR returns to the Beehive State for the first time since the 1963 Utah Open Invitational.

The field of 132 players in the inaugural event will play 36 holes before being cut to the top 65 and ties for the final 36 holes.

The winner will pocket $1.350 million of the $7.5 million prize pool plus 500 FedExCup points.

This is the third of eight events in the FedExCup Fall. Read more about the final eight events of the season here.

Others to consider:

The Utah contingent entered this week includes a range of players highlighted by 65-year-old Jay Don Blake, who is making his 500thPGA TOUR start, and 18-year-old Kihei Akina, who is making his PGA TOUR debut.

Erik van Rooyen (35/1): The winner in his first start at Old Greenwood (2021 Barracuda Championship), the 34-year-old South African also won a shootout at Vidanta Vallarta on 27-under last November.

Andrew Novak (35/1): Grinding along in his best season on TOUR, he has cashed a paycheck in his last eight starts and cashed T8 at TPC Scottsdale earlier in 2024.

Daniel Berger (45/1): The five-time winner on TOUR opened 65-65 last week and sat one off the halfway lead. Cashing solo seventh, a round of 71 on Saturday muted his challenge.

Harry Hall (55/1): The Englishman calls Las Vegas home and already has won a shootout this season. The winner of a five-man playoff at the ISCO Championship in July, his super short game results in plenty of birdies, and that will play in the desert of Utah.

Matti Schmid (66/1): The German international cashed in 11 of his last 12 starts worldwide and has been steady regardless of the postcode of the event. Last week, he secured T16 after posting just one bogey in his last 54 holes.

Zac Blair (110/1): One of five me to fall to Hall in the ISCO Championship playoff, the Orem resident will embrace the home-state advantage. Blowing hot and cold, his missed cut last week came on four-under. Not all missed cuts are created equal.

Austin Smotherman (125/1): Cashing T7 at the Procore Championship after the first event of the FedExCup Fall, combined with T5 at Vidanta Vallarta last November, allows me to connect a longshot dot.

Peter Kuest (200/1): The BYU grad has played three PGA TOUR events this year and hit the top 10 twice. When the stars align!

NOW PLAYING: Black Desert Championship

Host Course	Black Desert Resort Golf Club
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,371.
Par:	72 (36-36).
Greens:	XL007 Bentgrass; 7,000 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter:	12 feet or less (wind dependent).
Rough:	Kentucky Bluegrass at two inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	44/3/2
Architect(s):	Tom Weiskopf & Neil Smith (2022).
Defending Champion (event):	Inaugural event.
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	None.
Multiple Champions (course):	None.
Fact of the Week:	The last event held in Utah was the 1963 Utah Open Invitational.

Black Desert Resort Golf Club

Sitting 3,100 feet above sea level, Black Desert Resort Golf Club opened in late 2022. Designed by Tom Weiskopf and Neil Smith, the course was built on, through, and around the black lava in the valley of Greater Zion in the southwestern part of the state.

Tipping at 7,371 yards, the Par 71 will not play that long due to the altitude. Three Par-5 holes range between 571 and 589 yards. The quartet of Par-3 holes features an homage to the “Postage Stamp” at Royal Troon, the site of Weiskopf’s only major championship. Adding to the scoring drama will be two risk-reward Par 4 holes that measure less than 325 yards, one on each nine.

The risk-reward from the tee box offers fairways 30 yards wide in places. Framed by two inches of Kentucky Bluegrass, players pushing the edge of where the grass meets the lava will provide the best angles of attack. If the wind in the desert decides to blow, there is plenty of room to navigate off the tee and into the greens.

The 7,000-square-foot targets are carpeted with Bentgrass. The green complexes, above average in size by TOUR standards, will run true and roll just a click under 12 feet. The complexes have plenty of room for different styles of hole locations.

Only two holes have water penalty areas, while 44 bunkers litter the lava fields just 120 miles north of Las Vegas. Closely mown areas repel approaches that do not reach the intended targets. Two inches of Kentucky Bluegrass keep wayward tee shots from being swallowed by the ancient rocks.

Recent PGA TOUR Winners

2023 Season Winners

Event	Winner
Sentry Tournament of Champions	Jon Rahm
Sony Open in Hawaii	Si Woo Kim
The AMERICAN EXPRESS	Jon Rahm (2)
Farmers Insurance Open	Max Homa (2)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Justin Rose
WM Phoenix Open	Scottie Scheffler
The Genesis Invitational	Jon Rahm (3)
The Honda Classic	Chris Kirk
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Kurt Kitayama (first TOUR win)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Taylor Moore (first TOUR win)
Corales Puntacana	Matt Wallace (first TOUR win)
WGC – Dell Technologies MP	Sam Burns
Valero Texas Open	Corey Conners
Masters	Jon Rahm (4)
RBC Heritage	Matt Fitzpatrick
Zurich Classic of New Orleans	Davis Riley & Nick Hardy (first TOUR win for each)
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Tony Finau (2)
Wells Fargo Championship	Wyndham Clark (first TOUR win)
AT&T Byron Nelson	Jason Day
PGA Championship	Brooks Koepka
Charles Schwab Challenge	Emiliano Grillo
Memorial	Viktor Hovland
RBC Canadian Open	Nick Taylor
U.S. Open	Wyndham Clark (2)
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley (2)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Rickie Fowler
John Deere Classic	Sepp Straka
Genesis Scottish Open	Rory McIlroy (2)
The Open Championship	Brian Harman
3M Open	Lee Hodges (first TOUR win)
Wyndham Championship	Lucas Glover
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Lucas Glover (2)
BMW Championship	Viktor Hovland (2)
TOUR Championship	Viktor Hovland (3)
Fortinet Championship	Sahith Theegala
Sanderson Farms Championship	Luke List
Shriners Children’s Open	Tom Kim
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Collin Morikawa
World Wide Technology	Erik van Rooyen
Butterfield Bermuda	Camilo Villegas
The RSM Classic	Ludvig Aberg

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray
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)

Recent Winners – Black Desert Championship

Italics – not entered/qualified this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2024	Inaugural Event

Sanderson Farms Championship

October 2, 2024 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Look at the size of that chicken!

FedExCup Fall – Event No. 2

Sanderson Farms Championship

Country Club of Jackson

Jackson, Mississippi

Head to Golfbet for all our content each week.

Quick Links:

Odds Outlook – DFS Report – Horses for Courses/Stats Suggest – Expert Picks

Mike Glasscott: Sanderson Farms Championship tips

Win: Nick Dunlap (25/1), Matt McCarty (45/1)

Top 10: Mark Hubbard (11/2), Ben Griffin (33/10)

Top 20: Wilson Furr (17/4), Greyson Sigg (33/10)

Top 40: Tyler Duncan (12/5), Chad Ramey (29/20)

Bet365: Top of the Board

Keith Mitchell (22/1): Ranking in the top 10 of most ball-striking categories, the Tennessee native has cashed solo 12^th and T12 in his last two events on TOUR. A previous winner on TOUR, the former Georgia Bulldog has never made the cut in four previous visits.

Seamus Power (22/1): The Irishman hit the top 10 for the first time in 2024 on TOUR in his last outing at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Cashing T10, he extended his streak of play on the weekends to six straight and four registered T28 or better. Making his seventh start at the Country Club of Jackson, the two-time TOUR winner has never been better than T18 but has four paychecks inside the top 30.

Mackenzie Hughes (25/1): The only player entered this week who played in the Presidents Cup, the Canadian enjoys the Bermudagrass of Mississippi. The 2022 champion posted 70-70 (-4) in defense last year, but that wasn’t low enough to play the weekend. Coming off T4 at the Procore Championship, I would expect him to pop right into contention again.

Nick Dunlap (25/1): The Alabama native began the season as an amateur and ended the season in the Top 50 at the BMW Championship. The winner at The American Express in January as an amateur also won and event as a professional at the Barracuda Championship in July. Playing in the final group at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, he couldn’t keep up with eventual champion Hideki Matsuyama but cashed T5 to secure top 50 playing privileges for 2025. I’m not sure anything is going to bother him!

Maverick McNealy (28/1): Still on the hunt for his first victory on TOUR, my choice to win in this column at the Procore Championship, missed the cut. Playing for the first time since the 2021 edition, his best finish in Jackson is T17 on his last visit. Outstanding throughout the bag, a sharp week on approach will be necessary to contend.

Ben Griffin (30/1): The 18-hole, 36-hole, and 54-hole leader last year could not close the deal in regulation and fell short in the five-man playoff. Posting a career scoring average of 68.63, he owns five rounds from eight of 68 or better at the Country Club of Jackson.

J.J. Spaun (30/1): Rolling into town with T29 or better in five of his last six events on TOUR, the Californian is hoping the sixth time in Mississippi is the charm. His best finish in five starts is T34. Recent top-10 paydays at the 3M Open and Wyndham Championship are hard to ignore.

Others to consider:

Patrick Fishburn (33/1): The run of form is third, missed cut, T6, third, and T15 for the GIR machine.

Mark Hubbard (50/1): The leader after 54 holes two years ago, the Californian posted 74 in the final round and shared fifth. Last year, he posted 17-under and missed the playoff by a shot (T6). He’s 30-under over the last eight rounds.

Andrew Novak (55/1): Making the cut in 15 of 20 events in 2024, the Sea Island resident cashed in the top 10 four times and nine times in the top 25. Sitting 20^th in SG: Total, he’s quietly under the radar.

Cameron Champ (45/1): The 2018 winner in just his second event with a PGA TOUR card ran T9 here last year. Owns a 68.17 scoring average here over 12 rounds.

Matt McCarty (45/1): Bypassing the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, the three-time winner has cashed in the top 10 seven times in his last nine starts. He won’t be lacking confidence or form.

Chad Ramey (125/1): The Mississippi native, already a winner on TOUR, arrives with five consecutive paychecks deposited on TOUR. Davis Riley (100/1), a two-time winner on TOUR, is also a Mississippi native and in the field.

Greyson Sigg (90/1): T4 at the Procore Championship broke a streak of six missed cuts. Stay hot!

Tyler Duncan (275/1): Cashing T16 and T14 in two of the last three years, the man from Indiana has found something in Mississippi.

Wilson Furr (125/1): The winnerb of the Gator Invitational at the Country Club of Jackson in 2018, the Jackson native calls this his home course.

NOW PLAYING: Sanderson Farms Championship

Host Course	Country Club of Jackson
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,461.
Par:	72 (36-36).
Greens:	Champion Bermudagrass; 6,200 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter:	11.5 feet and up.
Rough:	419 Bermudagrass/Zoysia at 2.5 inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	54/7/5.
Architect(s):	John Fought (2008).
Defending Champion (event):	Luke List.
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	None.
Multiple Champions (course):	None.
Fact of the Week:	The last five tournaments have been decided by a playoff or one shot.

Sanderson Farms Championship

Golf in Mississippi has been on the PGA TOUR schedule since 1968, but the Country Club of Jackson and the Sanderson Farms Championship both debuted in October of 2014 as part of the 2014-15 season.

An opposite-field event until the 2019-20 season, the 2019 edition was awarded full FedExCup points and benefits.

Luke List, currently listed at 90/1 at Bet365.com will defend the title and look to become the first player to win in back-to-back years.

No player has won this event at the Country Club of Jackson more than once.

The first six events produced first-time winners on the PGA TOUR.

The last four events have crowned previous champions.

The winning total has been 18-under or better in eight of ten events.

All ten champions have ranked in the top 15 of Putting: Birdie or Better Percentage.

Winners have ranked in the top 15 in Ball-Striking in seven of ten events.

Former champions in the field also include Mackenzie Hughes, Cameron Champ, the youngest winner at 23, Ryan Armour, the oldest winner at 43, Cody Gribble, and Peter Malnati.

The field of 132 players includes four open qualifiers and will play 36 holes before being cut to the top 65 and ties.

The winner will pocket $1.368 million of the $7.6 million prize pool plus 500 FedExCup points.

This is the second of eight events in the FedExCup Fall. Read more about the final eight events of the season here.

Recent PGA TOUR Winners

2023 Season Winners

Event	Winner
Sentry Tournament of Champions	Jon Rahm
Sony Open in Hawaii	Si Woo Kim
The AMERICAN EXPRESS	Jon Rahm (2)
Farmers Insurance Open	Max Homa (2)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Justin Rose
WM Phoenix Open	Scottie Scheffler
The Genesis Invitational	Jon Rahm (3)
The Honda Classic	Chris Kirk
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Kurt Kitayama (first TOUR win)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Taylor Moore (first TOUR win)
Corales Puntacana	Matt Wallace (first TOUR win)
WGC – Dell Technologies MP	Sam Burns
Valero Texas Open	Corey Conners
Masters	Jon Rahm (4)
RBC Heritage	Matt Fitzpatrick
Zurich Classic of New Orleans	Davis Riley & Nick Hardy (first TOUR win for each)
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Tony Finau (2)
Wells Fargo Championship	Wyndham Clark (first TOUR win)
AT&T Byron Nelson	Jason Day
PGA Championship	Brooks Koepka
Charles Schwab Challenge	Emiliano Grillo
Memorial	Viktor Hovland
RBC Canadian Open	Nick Taylor
U.S. Open	Wyndham Clark (2)
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley (2)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Rickie Fowler
John Deere Classic	Sepp Straka
Genesis Scottish Open	Rory McIlroy (2)
The Open Championship	Brian Harman
3M Open	Lee Hodges (first TOUR win)
Wyndham Championship	Lucas Glover
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Lucas Glover (2)
BMW Championship	Viktor Hovland (2)
TOUR Championship	Viktor Hovland (3)
Fortinet Championship	Sahith Theegala
Sanderson Farms Championship	Luke List
Shriners Children’s Open	Tom Kim
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Collin Morikawa
World Wide Technology	Erik van Rooyen
Butterfield Bermuda	Camilo Villegas
The RSM Classic	Ludvig Aberg

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray
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

The Country Club of Jackson

Founded in 1914, the course presently has 27 holes, but the Dogwood and Azalea nines are used for the Sanderson Farms Championship.

In 2008, architect John Faught, with the help of Mike Gogel, renovated the property for PGA TOUR play.

Hosting for the 11^th year in a row, the Par-72 will play 7,461 yards for the fifth consecutive season.

The Bermudagrass fairways are framed by two-and-a-half inches of Bermuda/Zoysia rough, a half an inch increase over 2023. Strategically placed bunkers, 56 total, plus seven water penalty areas scattered across five holes, will provide deterrence.

Champion Bermudagrass, tricky and grainy, covers the putting surfaces, which range to 6,200 square feet on average, and run at 11.5 feet and up.

The Par-5 holes rank in the top 15 of most difficult faced on TOUR.

Finding fairways this week will be the first challenge.

Holing putts and keeping the card clean is also necessary. The last five winners have not squared more than five bogeys for the week.

The winning score range includes 22-under in 2021, the tournament scoring record set by Sam Burns (not entered), and 16-under in the inaugural event in the fall of 2014.

Will Zalatoris (not entered) posted 61 (11-under-par), also in the 2021 edition, and owns the course record.

The 36-hole cut has been under par in each edition, including a record 5-under last year and in 2021.

Recent Winners – Sanderson Farms Championship

Italics – not entered/qualified this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2023	Luke List (-18)	Won a five-man playoff for his second TOUR win.
2022	Mackenzie Hughes (-17)	Defeated Sepp Straka in a playoff for his second TOUR victory.
2021	Sam Burns (-22)	Set the tournament scoring record.
2020	Sergio Garcia (-19)	Held off 2015 champion Peter Malnati by a shot.
2019	Sebastian Munoz (-18)	Knocked out Sungjae Im in a playoff for his first win on TOUR.
2018	Cameron Champ (-21)	The youngest winner at 23, the Californian won for the first time on TOUR.
2017	Ryan Armour (-19)	The oldest winner at 43, the veteran picked up his first victory on TOUR.
2016	Cody Gribble (-20)	Became the first winner to reach 20-under; Won for the first time on TOUR.
2015	Peter Malnati (-18)	First-time winner was victorious by a shot.
2014	Nick Taylor (-15)	The first-time winner was victorious by a shot.

FedExCup Fall – Procore Championship

September 11, 2024 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

After attending the 2023 event, I’m bummed I am not there for 2024!

FedExCup Fall – Procore Championship

Silverado Resort

North Course

Napa, California

Head to Golfbet for all our content each week.

Quick Links:

Odds Outlook – DFS Report – Horses for Courses/Stats Suggest – Expert Picks

Mike Glasscott: Procore Championship tips

Win: Maverick McNealy (22/1), Rico Hoey (70/1)

Top 10: Matt Kuchar (11/2), Brendon Todd (17/4), J.J. Spaun (16/5)

Top 20: Charley Hoffman (33/10), Justin Lower (7/2)

Top 40: Martin Laird (11/5)

Bet365: Top of the Board

Sahith Theegala (11/1): Only Collin Morikawa (not entered) posted a lower gross total at The TOUR Championship three weeks ago in Atlanta. Defending a title for the first time comes with extra duties, but the 2024 Presidents Cup team player will not be searching for any answers in the dirt in Wine Country. Making his fifth appearance, along with his victory, he cashed T6 and T14 in three previous starts.

Wyndham Clark (12/1): Wins in California at the 2023 U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club and the Pebble Beach Pro-Am last February, golf in the Golden State suits his eye. Cashing T14 or better in six of his last seven tournaments on TOUR suggests his game travels.

Corey Conners (16/1): Peppering Fairways and GIR, the Canadian will look to repay the trust shown to him by International Captain Mike Weir. A Captain’s pick, the Ontario native has not missed a cut on TOUR since the 2023 U.S. Open.

Maverick McNealy (22/1): The Stanford, California, native will look to follow in Theegala’s footsteps as a first-time winner on TOUR from the Golden State. Posting T3 at the 3M Open, the last tournament for the rank and file with Bent/Poa annua greens, he just missed advancing to the BMW Championship with T12 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August. The Stanford grad posted 18-under here in 2021 finishing second by a shot to Homa.

Max Homa (22/1): In his last three visits he’s won twice and cashed T7. His previous visit to the top 10 on TOUR came at Quail Hollow, another course where he’s won. Selected to the Presidents Cup by USA Captain Jim Furyk, I couldn’t think of a better landing spot to dial in his game for Royal Montreal in two weeks.

Min Woo Lee (25/1): The Australian, a runner-up twice this season on TOUR, is still looking for his first victory on U.S. soil. The big hitter from Perth will look to overpower the 7,123-yard resort course on debut.

Luke Clanton (25/1): The amateur from Florida State University, the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world, exploded onto the radar after making the cut at the U.S. Open (T41). Cashing T10 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in his TOUR debut, the following week he posted 24-under to share second at the John Deere Classic. Returning to Earth with T37 and a missed cut, his final attempt of the 2024 season resulted in solo fifth at the Wyndham Championship.

J.J. Spaun (28/1): A slow start to 2024 kept the San Diego native out of the FedExCup Playoffs but a fantastic regular season finish keeps him on my radar. The Californian did not pick up his first top 25 until T10 in Detroit began a streak of six straight. Closing with T9 at 3M and T3 at Wyndham suggests he’s not satisfied with being ranked 97th.

Players to consider for Top 10 or Top 20 action:

Matt Kuchar (55/1): In the last two regular season events he was in the fight on Sunday. Same with the last two years at Silverado.

Charley Hoffman (90/1): A victory would match Stewart Cink as the oldest champion. A top-20 finish would be his third in his last four starts on TOUR.

Brendon Todd (40/1): Another top-10 result this season would make it three consecutive years in the top 10 in Napa Valley. Possessing a driver that finds fairways, the four-time winner on TOUR also has a deft short game.

Eric Cole (40/1): Rolled in 23 birdies on debut last year and collected money for solo fourth. The Florida native has cashed in eight straight events on TOUR.

Nick Taylor (75/1): Snubbed for the Presidents Cup in his native Canada, there is plenty of motivation this week.

Justin Lower (100/1): Two years ago, he played from the lead in the final group before finishing T4.

Rico Hoey (66/1): In five of his last six events, he’s cashed T26 or better, including three inside the top 10.

Martin Laird (225/1): The TOUR veteran shines this time of year and has played well recently here and at Lake Tahoe.

NOW PLAYING: Procore Championship

Host Course	Silverado Resort – North Course
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,123.
Par:	72 (35-37).
Greens:	Bentgrass/Poa annua; 5,400 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter:	11.5 feet and up.
Rough:	Bluegrass/Rye at 2.5 inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	55/2/2
Architect(s):	Ben Harmon (1955); Robert Trent Jones, Sr., (1966); Johnny Miller (2011).
Defending Champion (event):	Sahith Theegala
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Max Homa (2022, 2021).
Multiple Champions (course):	Max Homa, Brendan Steele (not entered).
Fact of the Week:	5 of the 8 winners in the previous 10 events at Silverado are native Californians.

Procore Championship

Procore becomes the third sponsor in 11 tournaments in Napa Valley.

The opening event to the wrap-around season from years past transitioned into the opening event for the FedExCup Fall in 2023.

Sahith Theegala, the betting favorite at Bet365.com, returns to defend the title at the site of his first win on the PGA TOUR.

Max Homa, the 2021 and 2022 winner, finished T7 last year as he attempted to join Steve Stricker (John Deere Classic) as the last player to win an event in three consecutive seasons.

The first 10 events produced eight unique winners and five were native Californians.

The last five winners have posted 16-under or better, and three of the previous four champions have posted the lowest winning totals.

Theegala is the only winner in the last six editions not to register in the top three in SG: Tee to Green (T6).

In his first victory in 2021, Max Homa is the only winner in the last six years to finish outside the top seven in Scrambling (T42).

Former champions in the field this week also include Cameron Champ (2019), Kevin Tway (2018), and Monday Qualifier Sangmoon Bae (2014).

The field of 144 players includes four open qualifiers and will play 36 holes before being cut to the top 65 and ties.

The winner will pocket $1.080 million of the $6 million prize pool plus 500 FedExCup points.

Recent PGA TOUR Winners

2023 Season Winners

Event	Winner
Sentry Tournament of Champions	Jon Rahm
Sony Open in Hawaii	Si Woo Kim
The AMERICAN EXPRESS	Jon Rahm (2)
Farmers Insurance Open	Max Homa (2)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Justin Rose
WM Phoenix Open	Scottie Scheffler
The Genesis Invitational	Jon Rahm (3)
The Honda Classic	Chris Kirk
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Kurt Kitayama (first TOUR win)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Taylor Moore (first TOUR win)
Corales Puntacana	Matt Wallace (first TOUR win)
WGC – Dell Technologies MP	Sam Burns
Valero Texas Open	Corey Conners
Masters	Jon Rahm (4)
RBC Heritage	Matt Fitzpatrick
Zurich Classic of New Orleans	Davis Riley & Nick Hardy (first TOUR win for each)
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Tony Finau (2)
Wells Fargo Championship	Wyndham Clark (first TOUR win)
AT&T Byron Nelson	Jason Day
PGA Championship	Brooks Koepka
Charles Schwab Challenge	Emiliano Grillo
Memorial	Viktor Hovland
RBC Canadian Open	Nick Taylor
U.S. Open	Wyndham Clark (2)
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley (2)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Rickie Fowler
John Deere Classic	Sepp Straka
Genesis Scottish Open	Rory McIlroy (2)
The Open Championship	Brian Harman
3M Open	Lee Hodges (first TOUR win)
Wyndham Championship	Lucas Glover
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Lucas Glover (2)
BMW Championship	Viktor Hovland (2)
TOUR Championship	Viktor Hovland (3)
Fortinet Championship	Sahith Theegala
Sanderson Farms Championship	Luke List
Shriners Children’s Open	Tom Kim
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Collin Morikawa
World Wide Technology	Erik van Rooyen
Butterfield Bermuda	Camilo Villegas
The RSM Classic	Ludvig Aberg

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray
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)

Recent Winners – Procore Championship

Italics – not entered/qualified this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2023	Sahith Theegala (-21)	California native won for the first time on TOUR and tied the tournament scoring record.
2022	Max Homa (-16)	Successfully defended his 2021 title by defeating 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett by a shot.
2021	Max Homa (-19)	Closing with 65, he beat Maverick McNealy by a shot to pick up his first top 10 since June.
2020	Stewart Cink (-21)	Became the oldest winner at 47 while setting the tournament scoring record.
2019	Cameron Champ (-17)	Sacramento native held off Adam Hadwin to win by one.
2018	Kevin Tway (-14)	Posting the highest winning total, Tway needed a playoff to win for the first time on TOUR.

124th United States Open

June 12, 2024 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Picturesque Pinehurst ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/5idmZvH80Q
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 11, 2024

124^th United States Open

Pinehurst Golf and Country Club

Course No. 2

Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina

Head to Golfbet for all our content each week.

Quick Links:

Odds Outlook – DFS Report – Horses for Courses/Stats Suggest – Expert Picks

Mike Glasscott: 124^th United States Open tips

Tony Finau (-138) v Wyndham Clark

This matchup is a story of two players going in two different directions. Finau has rattled off seven consecutive cuts, including five paydays of T18 or better. After watching his on-course interview during the round on Saturday, he seems at peace with his life and game.

Clark became the first player since 2009 (Lucas Glover) to win the U.S. Open the first time he made the cut (third attempt). The defending champion has a win this season at Pebble Beach but has missed the cut in three of his last five events, including both majors and last week at Memorial. Tossing in the responsibilities of being the defending champion and the extra duties that come with all the requests before the event starts doesn’t leave much time to tune up the golf game.

Sepp Straka (-110) v Jason Day

If this was Jason Day circa 2014, I would be all over the Australian and his chances. Cashing five times in the top 10 from his first six attempts, the 2015 PGA Champion has only made two cuts in his last five starts at this major. His fantastic short game will get plenty of opportunities this week.

Straka is hotter than a match. Back-to-back T5 paydays at two of the most demanding tracks on TOUR, Muirfield Village and Colonial added to his streak of T16 or better finishes since St. Patrick’s Day. The Austrian has not been bothered by big fields or difficult tracks and has a more well-rounded bag.

Matt Fitzpatrick (-125) v Max Homa

I’m keeping this one simple: I’m riding with the 2022 champion at The Country Club because he’s the better driver of the golf ball and it’s not close. Ranking ninth in Total Driving to Homa’s 90^th, I’ll lean on the guy who can reduce stress off the tee. The U.S. Open is not an event to spray the ball everywhere off the tee is conducive to contending. In nine previous attempts, the Englishman has played the weekend. Homa, making his fifth start, has played the weekend once (T47) and owns at 73.92 scoring average.

Bet365: Top of the Board

Scottie Scheffler (3/1): I’m running out of things to write. Picking up his fifth win of the season last week, he’s now lifted the trophy at Jack’s Place, Arnold’s Place, Harbour Town, TPC Sawgrass, and Augusta National. That’s a great CAREER. As my buddy Jay suggests, if you’re not paying 3-1, bet your guy in the market WITHOUT SCHEFFLER. Safety first.

Xander Schauffele (10/1): The PGA Champion worked the kinks out last week at Memorial and still hit the top 10 for the 10^th time in 14 events. I would give him the nod this week because of his short game and putting, but winning two major championships on the bounce is unlikely. Posting his eighth consecutive T14 or better at the U.S. Open is.

Rory McIlroy (11/1): Tuesday was a big news day at Pinehurst. Jon Rahm withdrew with an infected foot and McIlroy reconciled with his wife. The Hollywood ending for the man from Holywood, Northern Ireland, would be to win a major for the first time in almost a decade. Remember, the divorce papers were filed the Monday before the PGA Championship? Odd timing to say the least to have this all surround the middle two major championships.

Collin Morikawa (16/1): This time last week I thought he was ready to knock off Scheffler. He had a six-footer late in the round to tie the lead, but his putt went begging. I have seen nothing in his last three events that suggests smoke and mirrors. I’m playing another win ticket with and without Scheffler on him this week.

Viktor Hovland (16/1): The short-game numbers surrounding the 2023 FedExCup winner scare me to death this week. The greens here are visited, not held very often, and getting up and down is required. 2014 champion Martin Kaymer showed the way by using the “Texas Wedge” in his eight-shot victory. The Norwegian is starting to simmer.

Bryson DeChambeau (20/1): Placing in the top 10 in the first two majors, the 2020 U.S. Open winner is one of four players to accomplish that feat in 2024. My biggest concern THIS WEEK is his errant drives will not find four inches of Bluegrass where he can muscle up recovery shots. Bunkers and sandy, waste areas filled with wire grass will be too many variables to run through his computer. Unlucky bounces, perfectly struck irons that miss their target by a yard, and super-slick BERMUDA will cause him to overheat.

Ludvig Aberg (20/1): Playing in just his third major championship, the Swede has already solved Augusta National (2nd) but did not play the weekend at Valhalla. Making his first appearance at the U.S. Open, only Francis Ouimet (1913) won on debut.

Brooks Koepka (22/1): Time to flip his favorite switch. Making his 11^th start, he already has two championships and three additional finishes T5 or better. A quiet Masters (T45) and T26 and a less-than-demanding Valhalla should have his chili running hot. Pinehurst No. 2 is difficult and he should be in the mix Sunday afternoon.

Tommy Fleetwood (28/1): Over his career, he has found the top 10 three times from eight starts and has posted 63 twice. Write a top 20 ticket and get Dad something nice for Father’s Day.

Players to consider for Top 10 or Top 20 action:

Matt Fitzpatrick and Hideki Matsuyama each at 40/1 catch my eye. Both are excellent around the greens which will be a major factor in determining the champion this week. Both finished in the top 10 last week at Memorial and come into this week flying.

Cameron Smith (45/1): The Sandhills of North Carolina should remind him of the Sand Belt in his native Australia. Big landing areas off the tee will suit the weakest part of his game.

Sam Burns (66/1): Bermuda greens and a grind make for a lovely combination.

Denny McCarthy (110/1): The return to Bermuda will fit his eye. His super short game should move him up the leaderboard this week.

Harris English (125/1): Never missed in eight tries and has hit the top 10 in three of the last four.

Nick Dunlap (175/1): Won the North and South Amateur on Pinehurst No. 2 last summer. Top 25 in his last two starts on TOUR that were not majors.

JT Poston (200/1): The North Carolina native should feel at home on Bermuda. Firm and fast conditions will help the hyper-accurate driver keep up off the tee. The super putter will hole a few.

Gordon Sargent (500/1): The low amateur from 2023 returns for another crack.

Frankie Capan III (1000/1): Won the USGA Amateur Four-Ball here in 2017.

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	Pinehurst No. 2
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,548.
Par:	70 (35-35).
Greens:	Champion UltraDwarf Bermuda at 6,500 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter:	Championship speed. 13 feet plus.
Rough:	None.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	117/1/1 (water is 200 yards off the tee; not in play).
Architect(s):	Donald Ross (1907); Rees Jones (1999); Coore & Crenshaw (2011).
Defending Champion (event):	Wyndham Clark (LACC).
Defending Champion (course):	Martin Kaymer (-9).
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Tiger Woods (2000, 2005, 2008) & Brooks Koepka (2017, 2018).
Course Record	65; Martin Kaymer (Rounds 1 and 2, 2014).
72 Hole Tournament Record:	271, 9-under; Martin Kaymer (2014).
Facts of the Week:	Martin Kaymer has not won anywhere in the world since winning the 2014 U.S. Open.

Pinehurst No. 2

The Village of Pinehurst, set in the Sandhills of North Carolina east of Charlotte and southwest of Raleigh-Durham, is the home of the famous No. 2 course.

Completed by legendary architect and resident Donald Ross in 1907, No. 2 has hosted every major USGA event dating back to the 1936 PGA Championship, plus the annual North and South Amateur.

Hosting the United States Open for the fourth time in history and the first since 2014, the Par-70 will play two yards longer, 7,548 yards, than the last edition when Martin Kaymer steamrolled the field.

The 2024 edition will feature Champion UltraDwarf Bermudagrass greens for the first time in the 124-year history of the event. Sturdier and more heat tolerant than Bentgrass, UltraDwarf thrives in the summer.

The green complexes, tilting slightly from back to front, have not changed and are the signature of Ross’s design. The pushed-up putting surfaces, resembling a turtle’s shell, repel shots that are not struck soundly or have the proper spin. After finding the fairways, getting a decent lie or making clean contact from the sandy waste areas littered with wire grass is the second challenge.

Bogeys will be prevalent, but short-game experts can save shots around and on the greens. There is no rough, just closely mown areas that will test the patience, putting, and chipping from shots that do not find the greenside bunkers.

The course has one water penalty area, but it is not in play for the best in the game, and there is no out of bounds.

After 21-under par was the winning score at the PGA Championship, I would be surprised if there were 21 people at par or better this week.

The post-2011 restoration course record is 65, set in Rounds 1 and 2 by 2014 winner Martin Kaymer.

Kaymer also owns the tournament scoring record on this routing and is just one of four contestants to play 72 holes under par. The other three are Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton (-1) in 2014 and 1999 winner Payne Stewart (-1).

Recent Winners

2023 Season Winners

Event	Winner
Sentry Tournament of Champions	Jon Rahm
Sony Open in Hawaii	Si Woo Kim
The AMERICAN EXPRESS	Jon Rahm (2)
Farmers Insurance Open	Max Homa (2)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Justin Rose
WM Phoenix Open	Scottie Scheffler
The Genesis Invitational	Jon Rahm (3)
The Honda Classic	Chris Kirk
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Kurt Kitayama (first TOUR win)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Taylor Moore (first TOUR win)
Corales Puntacana	Matt Wallace (first TOUR win)
WGC – Dell Technologies MP	Sam Burns
Valero Texas Open	Corey Conners
Masters	Jon Rahm (4)
RBC Heritage	Matt Fitzpatrick
Zurich Classic of New Orleans	Davis Riley & Nick Hardy (first TOUR win for each)
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Tony Finau (2)
Wells Fargo Championship	Wyndham Clark (first TOUR win)
AT&T Byron Nelson	Jason Day
PGA Championship	Brooks Koepka
Charles Schwab Challenge	Emiliano Grillo
Memorial	Viktor Hovland
RBC Canadian Open	Nick Taylor
U.S. Open	Wyndham Clark (2)
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley (2)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Rickie Fowler
John Deere Classic	Sepp Straka
Genesis Scottish Open	Rory McIlroy (2)
The Open Championship	Brian Harman
3M Open	Lee Hodges (first TOUR win)
Wyndham Championship	Lucas Glover
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Lucas Glover (2)
BMW Championship	Viktor Hovland (2)
TOUR Championship	Viktor Hovland (3)
Fortinet Championship	Sahith Theegala
Sanderson Farms Championship	Luke List
Shriners Children’s Open	Tom Kim
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Collin Morikawa
World Wide Technology	Erik van Rooyen
Butterfield Bermuda	Camilo Villegas
The RSM Classic	Ludvig Aberg

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray
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)

The 124^th United States Open

The first event, held in 1895, consisted of ten professionals and one amateur and was held at the Newport Golf and Country Club in Rhode Island.

The previous 123 editions have seen four players win the event four times. Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus are the members of this exclusive club.

Tiger Woods, winner of three titles, and Brooks Koepka, winner of two championships, are both in the field. Koepka is the last player who successfully defended the title.

The loaded field of 156 players includes every golfer in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings, 13 previous event winners, and 28 major champions.

The top 60 and ties after two rounds, will play the final 36 holes.

There will be a two-hole aggregate playoff, if necessary, to determine a champion if there is a tie after 72 holes.

John J. McDermott, 19 in 1911, is the youngest champion.

Hale Irwin won his third title at 45 in 1990, becoming the oldest winner.

Only Francis Ouimet (1913) has won on debut and no player has ever made this event their first win on TOUR.

Wyndham Clark (2023) became the fifth consecutive champion to win their first major at this event.

Since 2010, every winner has ranked inside the top 40 in the OWGR.

The last four champions were 20-somethings.

In 1999, Payne Stewart became the last 40-year-old or older to win.

Jon Rahm, the 2021 winner at Torrey Pines, withdrew Tuesday afternoon.

The winner will take home 750 FedExCup points, the Jack Nicklaus Medal, and $3.9 million of the $20 million prize purse.

Recent Winners – U.S. Open

Italics – not entered this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2023	Wyndham Clark (-10)	At 29, he became the fourth consecutive winner in the 20s and just second winner since Lucas Glover to be victorious the first time making the cut.
2022	Matt Fitzpatrick (-6)	At 29, he became the fourth consecutive winner in the 20s and just the second winner since Lucas Glover to be victorious the first time making the cut.
2021	Jon Rahm (-6)	Won his first major championship at Torrey Pines.
2020	Bryson DeChambeau (-6)	Won his first major championship at Winged Foot and was the only player to break par.
2019	Gary Woodland (-13)	The last player in their 30s to win the event. Defeated Brooks Koepka by three shots at Pebble Beach.

One and Done

I’ll be joining Spotter’s game again this season. Now, where did I put my checkbook…

35 events.

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.

Add up the total money and Spotter is yer uncle!

Event	Selection	Earnings
The Sentry	Collin Morikawa	690,500
Sony Open in Hawaii	Corey Conners	18,592
The American Express	Adam Hadwin	310,800
Farmers Insurance Open	Jason Day	0
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am	Jordan Spieth	70,125
WM Phoenix Open	Matt Fitzpatrick	156,200
The Genesis Invitational	Max Homa	329,000
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Tony Finau	145,125
Cognizant Classic	Russell Henley	32,850
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Scottie Scheffler	4,000,000
THE PLAYERS Championship	Will Zalatoris	0
Valspar Championship	Sam Burns	0
Texas Children’s Houston Open	Wyndham Clark	54,418
Valero Texas Open	C Bezuidenhout	67,735
88^th Masters Tournament	Rory McIlroy	175,500
RBC Heritage	Patrick Cantlay	1,160,000
Zurich Classic	Nick Taylor	122,375
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson	Stephan Jaeger	112,100
Myrtle Beach Classic	Daniel Berger	20,350
Wells Fargo Championship	Sahith Theegala	47,000
106^th PGA Championship	Brooks Koepka	113,962
Charles Schwab Challenge	Taylor Moore	0
RBC Canadian Open	Mackenzie Hughes	295,316
49^th Memorial Tournament	Ben An	200,200

Total Winnings:		8,122,148

His game has more fun stuff to it. Reach out @A340Spotter on Twitter or A340Spotter@frontier.com for more details and to join.

Recapping Last Week – 49^th Memorial Tournament

I’m done overthinking everything.

So I’m not thinking, PERIOD!

MY CHOICE: Ben An – T22

Too much heat! Too much power tee-to-green!

Too many players already used!

I didn’t have the winner or solo second to choose from. I guess Adam Hadwin was making up for lost time after missing the cut at his national open the week prior.

Others to Consider:

Patrick Cantlay: The course horse this week. Giddy up, if you can. And by giddy up, I meant RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN. MC.

Viktor Hovland: I’m never a fan of following in Tiger’s footsteps, but he isn’t concerned about that history. The 2023 FedExCup winner entered the weekend 6-under but shot 77-75 to drift to T15. He’s close.

Si Woo Kim: Risky, rewardy, but he’s rocked here since the renovation. Another top 15 (T15) payday.

Justin Thomas: If you believe he’s really, really close then fire away. I’m not crazy about any of these plays with a major championship next week. After closing with three straight bogeys, he settled for T33.

This Week – 124^th United States Open

No need to save guys anymore.

MY CHOICE: Xander Schauffele

The plan from the start of the season was to use him at Pinehurst and here we are.

With a win already under his belt and a MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP on the mantle, he should be free to go about his business and run down Scheffler.

Others to Consider:

Scottie Scheffler

Collin Morikawa

Brooks Koepka

Matt Fitzpatrick

Hideki Matsuyama

Tommy Fleetwood

Good luck! You’ll need it!

The American Express 2024 Preview

January 17, 2024 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Never leave home without it!

The American Express

The Stadium Course at PGA West (Host)

Nicklaus Tournament Course

La Quinta Country Club

La Quinta, CA

Weekly Readers:

Odds Outlook – click here

Horses for Courses/Stats Suggest – click here

Expert Picks – click here

DFS Angles – click here

Bet365.com – click here

Golfbet articles from the entire crew – click here

Welcome to 2024 and the new season.

For those of you who are just arriving for the first time, here’s what’s going on:

Please read the stuff above for the total experience.

Information changes from Sunday to Wednesday morning. If there is anything new/exciting/pertinent, I’ll add it here.

This column is me. My thoughts, my humor, my fun, my opinions. I’m not here for grammar lessons, suggestions, or to charge you.

So shut up, keep up, and enjoy it.

If you have any questions, reach out.

Chalk (via Bet365.com)

My thoughts on the top players for betting purposes:

Scottie Scheffler (11/2): Go on, take the money, and run, goes the song. As Scheffler’s putter goes, his weekly paycheck increases. Nobody hits it better, but when 25-under or better is required, I’m not sure he has enough makes in the flat stick. Take the top 10 and carry on.

Patrick Cantlay (9/1): Don’t forget he used to dominate in the desert outside Las Vegas! The California desert hasn’t been as profitable, but the Californian has racked up three top-10 paydays, including solo second in 2021, in his last four starts. Owning the course record, 61, at the Stadium Course, he’s also produced 62 at La Quinta. He’s my first name on the team sheet this week.

Xander Schauffele (11/1): Returning for the first time since 2017, the Las Vegas resident closed with 62 at the Stadium Course last year to steal a spot on the podium at T3. The last time we saw him in the winner’s circle was in the summer of 2022 in Scotland before The Open Championship. Sitting in the top five in SG: Approach AND Putting, that’s an incredible streak without a win.

Sungjae Im (20/1): Setting the PGA TOUR record for most birdies in a tournament (34) and cashing T5 at Kapalua, the spotlight shines brightly on him this week. Never finishing better than T10 and never worse than T18, it’s not surprising he’s in the field for the sixth consecutive season. This week will be the first time in six seasons he’s not coming directly from Waialae. The Korean posted 20-under last year, his best total, yet it was only good enough for T18.

Tom Kim (20/1): Once Cantlay left the Las Vegas desert, Kim picked up the ball and ran with it. Winning the event the last two seasons, his first two times in the field, he’s proven he can fill it up in perfect scoring conditions. Cashing T6 here last January, the 21-year-old circled 26 birdies and an eagle, plus signed for 62 at the NT. With plenty of options from Korea in the field, he stands out.

Justin Thomas (22/1): Qualifying for Signature Events in 2024 is the carrot for the two-time major winner. Missing out on the playoffs last season, 2024 will require additional concentration, especially with the PGA Championship in his backyard of Louisville coming up in May. The last time he played The American Express was 2015 (T7). A fresh start to a fresh year. All aboard!

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	Stadium Course at PGA West
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,187
Par:	72 (36-36).
Greens:	Overseeded Poa annua; 5,000 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter:	11 feet.
Rough:	Overseed at 1 inch. Dormant Tifgreen Bermuda at 2 inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	Over 90 bunkers, seven holes with water in play.
Architect(s):	Pete Dye (1986).
Defending Champion (event):	Jon Rahm (-27; not entered).
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	Bill Haas (not on this rotation).
Course Record (last):	61; Patrick Cantlay (Round 4, 2021).
72 Hole Tournament Record (2016-current rotation):	261 (-27); Jon Rahm (2023).
Fact of the Week:	Only six international winners from the previous 64 events.
Fact of the Week II:	Johnny Miller is the only player to defend the title (1975-76).

Notes:

Field of 156.
First multi-course event of 2024 and first pro-am.
The OWGR is represented by 21 of the top 50.
Top 65 and ties will make the cut and play the weekend after 54 holes (play each course once).
$8.4 million – $1.512 million – 500 FedExCup points – Sentry and Masters ticket punched.

Season Winners

2023 Season Winners

Event	Winner
Sentry Tournament of Champions	Jon Rahm
Sony Open in Hawaii	Si Woo Kim
The AMERICAN EXPRESS	Jon Rahm (2)
Farmers Insurance Open	Max Homa (2)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Justin Rose
WM Phoenix Open	Scottie Scheffler
The Genesis Invitational	Jon Rahm (3)
The Honda Classic	Chris Kirk
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Kurt Kitayama (first TOUR win)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Taylor Moore (first TOUR win)
Corales Puntacana	Matt Wallace (first TOUR win)
WGC – Dell Technologies MP	Sam Burns
Valero Texas Open	Corey Conners
Masters	Jon Rahm (4)
RBC Heritage	Matt Fitzpatrick
Zurich Classic of New Orleans	Davis Riley & Nick Hardy (first TOUR win for each)
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Tony Finau (2)
Wells Fargo Championship	Wyndham Clark (first TOUR win)
AT&T Byron Nelson	Jason Day
PGA Championship	Brooks Koepka
Charles Schwab Challenge	Emiliano Grillo
Memorial	Viktor Hovland
RBC Canadian Open	Nick Taylor
U.S. Open	Wyndham Clark (2)
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley (2)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Rickie Fowler
John Deere Classic	Sepp Straka
Genesis Scottish Open	Rory McIlroy (2)
The Open Championship	Brian Harman
3M Open	Lee Hodges (first TOUR win)
Wyndham Championship	Lucas Glover
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Lucas Glover (2)
BMW Championship	Viktor Hovland (2)
TOUR Championship	Viktor Hovland (3)
Fortinet Championship	Sahith Theegala
Sanderson Farms Championship	Luke List
Shriners Children’s Open	Tom Kim
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Collin Morikawa
World Wide Technology	Erik van Rooyen
Butterfield Bermuda	Camilo Villegas
The RSM Classic	Ludvig Aberg

2024 Season Winners

Event	Winner
The Sentry	Chris Kirk
Sony Open in Hawaii	Grayson Murray
The American Express
Farmers Insurance Open

Recent Winners – The American Express

Italics – not entered this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2023	Jon Rahm (-27)	Played the final group with Davis Thompson and beat him by a shot to win for the second time.
2022	Hudson Swafford (-23)	Defeated Tom Hoge by two shots to win for the second time.
2021	Si Woo Kim (-23)	Only made two bogeys for the week on the SC/NT rotation to win by one.
2020	Andrew Landry (-26)	Tied the tournament scoring record winning by two.
2019	Adam Long (-26)	Became the first rookie to win since Jhonattan Vegas (2011).
2018	Jon Rahm (-22)	Needed a playoff to knock off Andrew Landry.
2017	Hudson Swafford (-20)	Wet, windy weekend produced the highest winning total to date in the new rota.
2016	Jason Dufner (-25)	Saw off David Lingmerth in a playoff in the first iteration of Stadium Course, Nicklaus Tournament Course, and LQCC

Angles

The Nicklaus Tournament Course plays to Par-72 and 7,147 yards. Playing 7,000 square feet on average, the Overseeded Poa annua greens are the largest of the three courses. Dylan Wu (2023) and Will Zalatoris (2022) have posted 61 here.

La Quinta Country Club is known for premium putting surfaces and usually plays the easiest of the trio. All three courses have minimal rough and green speeds that won’t broach 11 feet. Playing to Par-72 and 7,060 yards, it plays as one of the easiest on TOUR annually. Adam Hadwin posted 59 in Round 3 in 2017.

All eight winners have posted 20-under or better to win and have ranked in the top 10 in Par-4 and Par-5 scoring.

The HIGHEST cut in this rotation in the last three editions was 7-under. The 2021 edition used only the Stadium Course and NT and was a 36-hole chop.

First tournament with Poa annua Greens.

Players to consider for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 40 action from Bet365.com:

JT Poston (30/1): Making his third start in three events to start the season, he posted T3 in Las Vegas in the fall, T5 at Sentry, and solo sixth last week. Circling 29 birdies in 2023, he cashed T6 here last season. When trends converge, I jump.

Taylor Montgomery (50/1): Solo fifth on debut last year included three rounds of 66 or better. This desert doesn’t have the distraction of his home tournament in Las Vegas.

Adam Hadwin (60/1): One of the course horses this week, he’s never missed in seven visits and owns four top-10 paydays. Running second to Kim at Shriners in the fall, a missed cut last week at Sony will not deter me.

Taylor Pendrith (80/1): I might add every Canadian to my ticket. In his last five events, he’s posted T15 in four of his last five, including three in the top 10. Buy all you can get.

Grayson Murray (125/1): In six visits he’s posted T14 or better three times. I’ll ride the bounce from last week.

Patton Kizzire (125/1): Second consecutive week as a sponsor’s exemption. Cashing T13 last week, he’ll look to add to T11 and T22 in his previous two visits to La Quinta.

Sam Ryder (150/1): T13 and T10 in his last two appearances during his streak of nine consecutive made cuts.

Chesson Hadley (200/1): Cashing his last eight on TOUR includes T7 twice in two of his last four, including one in Las Vegas. He’s missed the weekend here on his last three trips so something has to give!

Jacob Bridgeman/Adrian Dumont de Chassart (300/1): The kids are all right. After both missed the cut last week, it’s time to put their heads down and make a bunch of birdies, just like they did all last season on the KFT.

One and Done

I’ll be joining Spotter’s game again this season. Now, where did I put my checkbook…

35 events.

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.

Add up the total money and Spotter is yer uncle!

Event	Selection	Earnings
The Sentry	Collin Morikawa	690,500
Sony Open in Hawaii	Corey Conners	18,592
The American Express
Farmers Insurance Open

Total Winnings:		709,092

His game has more fun stuff to it so reach out @A340Spotter on Twitter or A340Spotter@frontier.com for more details and to join.

Back to the mainland and the West Coast swing. Poa annua (except for the North Course at Torrey) for this week, Farmers, and Pebble Beach.

Two major differences this week:

Poa
Three courses

The American Express has produced six different winners over eight editions. Sadly, for gamers and gamblers, the bingo card of conquerors in the desert is quite full.

As I wrote last week, winning $1.5 million this week is great, but that’s almost third place for a major, FedExCup Playoff event, THE PLAYERS or seven more Signature Events.

This is a week where I’m going to take a chance with an angle, consequences be damned!

Recapping Last Week – Sony Open in Hawaii

MY CHOICE: Corey Conners – T57

The Canadian finished the week T80 of 81 players in Putting, needing 126 of them. Right, there were just 72 holes, got it.

Considerations

Eric Cole: Tough laydown this week as his form and function have been firing for months. Just a matter of preference. T13.

Russell Henley: I won’t talk you out of him this week, but I prefer him on a tougher ball-striking layout. Hairs split. Closed with 63 for T4. Sigh.

J.T. Poston: It shouldn’t be a surprise that this is most of my lineup in Expert Picks. Closed with 61 for 6^th. Sigh.

Matt Kuchar: Nobody in the field this week has done it better at Waialae. It’s here or Harbour Town if you’re gonna ride. #ShorterTheBetter. MC. Careful with 40-somethings…

Hideki Matsuyama: Dead last in putting last week. Needed the best putting numbers of his life to win this (his only top 10) two years ago. Careful. T30. If you didn’t use him this week he’s live for TPC Scottsdale or Memorial.

Will Zalatoris: Hard to saddle a guy after 81 and 79 in his last official outing. Be patient. 76-69. See you down the road.

Longshots

J.J. Spaun: I prefer him on Poa, but he’s been super consistent recently. MC

Chan Kim: Hawaiian native lit up the KFT late and has plenty of experience in the Pacific Rim. Ahhhhhhhhhhh, the ol’ 75-64…

This Week: The American Express

MY CHOICE: Adam Hadwin

Nobody is more comfortable on these three courses, and he has the scar tissues to prove it. The Canadian will look to make it eight from eight and add to his three finishes on the podium.

Others to Consider

Tom Kim: Tough laydown, especially after 66 to close at Kapalua to kick-start his 2024. His desert record is making me reconsider this pick until the first tee time on Thursday. Stay tuned.

Chris Kirk: T18-WIN in the last two weeks, plus he closed 63-64 here last year for T3.

J.T. Poston: Copied, pasted.

Justin Thomas: He’s not in any Signature Events until he qualifies. One leads to another. Saving him for the PGA Championship in his native state of Kentucky outside his birth city of Louisville is understood.

Patrick Cantlay: If you believe a big 2024 is brewing, I would not be surprised to see it start this week on these three tracks.

Longshots

Taylor Montgomery: When form meets course history…

Patton Kizzire: Probably not in THIS format. Probably everywhere else.

Welcome Back! The Sentry 2024

January 3, 2024 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Good morning, Kapalua 💚#TheSentry pic.twitter.com/zDZLg8CLak
— The Sentry (@TheSentry) January 2, 2024

The Sentry

The Plantation Course at Kapalua

Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

Weekly Readers:

Odds Outlook – click here

Horses for Courses/Stats Suggest – click here

Expert Picks – click here

Golfbet articles from the entire crew – click here

Opening Grid – click here

Welcome to 2024 and the new season.

For those of you who are just arriving for the first time, here’s what’s going on:

I write all of the stuff above. I’m not going to necessarily repeat everything in this column. Life is a do-it-yourself job so click and read.

Information changes from Sunday to Wednesday morning. If there is anything new/exciting/pertinent, I’ll try to add it here.

This column is me. My thoughts, my humor, my fun, my opinions. I’m not here for grammar lessons, suggestions, or to charge you any hard-earned money for reading.

So shut up, keep up, and enjoy it.

I know there are only a few of you so thanks for reading.

Chalk (via Bet365.com)

My thoughts on the top players for betting purposes:

Scottie Scheffler (+500): The last three winners here have led the field in SG: Putting. Nobody hits it better but can he it THAT WELL against a field of this class and get away with a cold-putting week? No, says I. Enjoy the free money on the top 10 bets, though.

Viktor Hovland (+800): Maybe the fourth time will be the charm? Form has never been a concern. The last two years he’s arrived after winning the Hero World Challenge in December against an elite field. His best finish is T18. What’s the hang-up? Chipping and putting on Bermuda. Well, he’s appeared to have fixed those issues. I’ll let you wade in at 8-1 to see him put it all together this week.

Collin Morikawa (+1100): Odds have already dropped from 12s to 11s since Monday morning. Not hard to figure out why. He was 35-under in his previous four rounds from 2022 thru Round 3 of 2023. His final round 72 last year saw his six-shot lead evaporate. Fading to T2 he picked up his fourth consecutive T7 or better from four starts. Family on the island. A winner at ZOZO in October. Two-time major champion. Only concern, as usual, could be the flat stick. I’ll start writing win tickets and his name is first on the list.

Ludvig Aberg (+1400): Looking to go back-to-back on TOUR in his 15^th start anywhere as a pro. Wow. Fantastic player will be attacking history from that angle plus the Chopra Angle (keep reading). Too much for me to swallow at that price. Terribly curious to see how he follows up closing 64-61-61 from his win at The RSM though.

Xander Schauffele (+1400): One of the three former champs in the field, his last two years here have been disappointing. After his win, followed by P2 and T5, he cashed 12^th and was a WD (back/neck) last year after opening with 70. Recent winners at Kapalua have produced results in the fall and ridden that momentum to Maui. He’s played once since the Ryde Cup, T38 at ZOZO, and did not hit the Hero. Hasn’t won since July 2022.

Patrick Cantlay (+1400): In the even years, he plays great, solo fourth in 2020 and 2022. In the odd years, he hasn’t cracked the top 12. Is it the Ryder Cup? He hasn’t played since Rome, nor did he play in the weeks leading up after The TOUR Championship. He did get married! Hooking on to a guy who hasn’t played his own ball since early September isn’t for the faint of heart.

Max Homa (+1400): This Californian checks the boxes for me as my No. 2 this week. After winning in South Africa in November, he knocked the rust off in The Bahamas at the Hero World Challenge. I can’t point to a recent full-field event where he wasn’t in the top 25. He finished T3 here last year and will be making his fourth start. Super on the greens as well, I’d expect a big week from him again.

Jordan Spieth (+1800): Nobody loves Horses for Courses more than I do and the Texan qualifies. The 2016 champ hit the podium in his first three, and the top 10 in his first four, but has been quiet since. Tied with Schauffele and Matsuyama more the most starts in the field (7 this week), he knows his way around. With the expanded family, a new baby arrived in September, and a jumpy putter, this number feels like a stretch. He’ll hope for tougher, breezy conditions to allow his creativity and short game to flourish.

Tom Kim (+2200): Debuting last year, he racked up T5 and wondered what all the fuss was about. The birdie machine would be higher on my list if the conditions were benign. I haven’t seen enough of him in the breeze to run him to the front, especially in a field of this strength. Form won’t be a concern as a busy fall worldwide included defending his title in the weather-less Las Vegas desert.

NOW PLAYING:

Host Course	The Plantation Course at Kapalua
Yards (per official scorecard):	7,596
Par:	73 (36-37)
Greens:	TifEagle Bermuda; 8,722 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter:	11 feet.
Rough:	Celebration Bermuda at 2.5 inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play	93/0/0.
Architect(s):	Coore and Crenshaw (1999).
Defending Champion (event):	Jon Rahm (-27; not entered; no longer holds TOUR status).
Multiple Champion(s) Entered:	None.
Course Record (last):	61; set three times in 2022 (Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Matt Jones, none entered this week).
72 Hole Tournament Record (last):	258 (-34); Cam Smith 2022 (no longer a member on TOUR).
Fact of the Week:	72 holes, no cut.
Fact of the Week II:	There are 18 players making their debut this week. The only player to win on the first attempt at Kapalua was Daniel Chopra in 2008.

Notes:

Field of 59.
Winners in the calendar year 2023 or qualifiers for the BMW Championship are eligible.
The OWGR is represented by 21 of the top 25.
First of eight SIGNATURE EVENTS of 2024.
$20 million – $3.6 million – 700 FedExCup points – Sentry and Masters ticket punched.

Season Winners

2023 Season Winners

Italics – not entered

Event	Winner
Sentry Tournament of Champions	Jon Rahm
Sony Open in Hawaii	Si Woo Kim
The AMERICAN EXPRESS	Jon Rahm (2)
Farmers Insurance Open	Max Homa (2)
AT&T Pebble Beach	Justin Rose
WM Phoenix Open	Scottie Scheffler
The Genesis Invitational	Jon Rahm (3)
The Honda Classic	Chris Kirk
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Kurt Kitayama (first TOUR win)
THE PLAYERS Championship	Scottie Scheffler (2)
Valspar Championship	Taylor Moore (first TOUR win)
Corales Puntacana	Matt Wallace (first TOUR win)
WGC – Dell Technologies MP	Sam Burns
Valero Texas Open	Corey Conners
Masters	Jon Rahm (4)
RBC Heritage	Matt Fitzpatrick
Zurich Classic of New Orleans	Davis Riley & Nick Hardy (first TOUR win for each)
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Tony Finau (2)
Wells Fargo Championship	Wyndham Clark (first TOUR win)
AT&T Byron Nelson	Jason Day
PGA Championship	Brooks Koepka
Charles Schwab Challenge	Emiliano Grillo
Memorial	Viktor Hovland
RBC Canadian Open	Nick Taylor
U.S. Open	Wyndham Clark (2)
Travelers Championship	Keegan Bradley (2)
Rocket Mortgage Classic	Rickie Fowler
John Deere Classic	Sepp Straka
Genesis Scottish Open	Rory McIlroy (2)
The Open Championship	Brian Harman
3M Open	Lee Hodges (first TOUR win)
Wyndham Championship	Lucas Glover
FedEx St. Jude Championship	Lucas Glover (2)
BMW Championship	Viktor Hovland (2)
TOUR Championship	Viktor Hovland (3)
Fortinet Championship	Sahith Theegala
Sanderson Farms Championship	Luke List
Shriners Children’s Open	Tom Kim
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP	Collin Morikawa
World Wide Technology	Erik van Rooyen
Butterfield Bermuda	Camilo Villegas
The RSM Classic	Ludvig Aberg

Recent Winners – The Sentry

Italics – not entered this week.

Year	Winner	Notes
2023	Jon Rahm (-25)	Won by two, no longer a member on TOUR.
2022	Cam Smith (-34)	Set the tournament scoring record, no longer a member on TOUR.
2021	Harris English (-25)	Won in a playoff on his second visit.
2020	Justin Thomas (-14)	Won a three-man playoff over Schauffele and Reed in breezy conditions.
2019	Xander Schauffele (-23)	Closed with 62, tying the course record, to win on his second try.
2018	Dustin Johnson (-24)	Tied the Plantation course margin of victory, winning by eight shots.

Angles

The Plantation Course tips at 7,596 yards, the third longest course used in 2023, and plays to Par-73.

The Plantation Course has ranked as the easiest course on TOUR the last three seasons, playing more than three shots under par per round annually. Weather is the only deterrent to scoring.

The resort course features generous fairways and the largest greens complexes on TOUR.

Elevation changes and uneven lies will challenge players on second shots.

TifEagle Bermuda greens running at 11 feet will allow players to be aggressive on the short grass.

The last eight winners have produced seven champions who finished first or second in SG: Putting.

The last eight winners have ranked in the top eight in SG: Off the tee.

The last 10 winners of this event have been household names. The best players have no problem going low.

Stretching

Players for the top 10 and top 20 action

Australian Cam Davis (66/1) will try to continue the proud Australian tradition at this event. The last wire-to-wire winner and champion to defend was Geoff Ogilvy (2009-2010). Stuart Appleby rattled off three straight wins from 2004-2006. Cameron Smith set the tournament scoring record in 2022. Making his second start, he quietly picked off a T10 on debut in 2022 with four rounds in the 60s for 23-under.

The top 10 finishers of 2023 included debutants Tom Hoge (150/1) at T3, Tom Kim (22/1) at T5, and Matt Fitzpatrick (28/1) at T7. This year, 18 players are making their maiden voyages at the Plantation Course. While Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, and U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark will get most of the looks, Floridian Eric Cole (66/1) makes for a lovely outsider. The 34-year-old rookie ran T3 to Aberg at The RSM Classic to wrap up a fruitful debut season on TOUR. He’s the best putter in the field, loves Bermudagrass, and won’t be bothered by the big names or big ballpark.

Akshay Bhatia (110/1) thrives in coastal settings and when conditions get breezy.

Mackenzie Hughes (150/1) quietly closed 2023 with a runner-up finish to Aberg at The RSM Classic two weeks after cashing T7 at El Cardonal in Mexico. The Canadian opened with 66 and closed with 65 here last year for T21, his best result from three visits.

One and Done

I’ll be joining Spotter’s game again this season. Now, where did I put my checkbook…

35 events.

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 on Thursday).

1 use per year.

Add up the total money and Spotter is yer uncle!

His game has more fun stuff to it so reach out @A340Spotter on Twitter or A340Spotter@frontier.com for more details and to join.

With EIGHT Signature Events spread out throughout the season, player management becomes a major issue. These events do NOT include the four majors or THE PLAYERS Championship. These events do NOT include the FedExCup Playoffs.

My theory for this game is quite simple: Use the biggest and best for the events with the biggest and best prize pools. Also, if your second guy wins this week, what’s to say he won’t win again in 2024??? Relax, it’s week 1.

This is a bonus week as there is NO CUT. You will cash. Or crash and burn.

MY CHOICE: Collin Morikawa

Others to consider/fade

Max Homa – Too many events in SoCal for me to use this week. He will defend at Torrey Pines and Riviera is his personal open. I won’t talk YOU out of him, though.

Xander Schauffele – This should interest the course historians at Kapalua but the rust bothers ME. You gotta do you. I’ll save him for the U.S. Open or East Lake (if your game uses that event).

Patrick Cantlay – Another quirk of mine is playing guys where they have won before. Memorial is his jam.

Jordan Spieth – New folks, it’s either Augusta or Colonial for me. Maybe Pebble.

Remember, not playing a guy you will still have 14 more chances to use them in BIG EVENTS this season. Of the top 25 OWGR, 21 are in this week. It should be difficult. It will be difficult all season.

Longshots

Sungjae Im – The best of three starts was his debut and he has gone in the wrong direction since. That direction included another top 10 plus solo 12^th. Coming off his first season in five without a podium finish doesn’t inspire but he knows his way around tee to green.

Sahith Theegala – Free roll. Winner at Fortinet in September. ELITE putter who finished 33^rd of 38 last year on these greens. He won’t do that again, promise!

OAD: Workday Charity Open

July 8, 2020July 8, 2020 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

Overnight Camp at Jack’s Place

Two weeks kids! Time to write your name in your underwear again!

Back-to-back weeks at Jack's place.

The last time a course hosted back-to-back tournaments, @JackNicklaus was 17 years old.

It's happened 11 times in history. pic.twitter.com/hMdMH6Hxta

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 6, 2020

Continue reading →

Fantasy Golf: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Preview

February 7, 2017February 7, 2017 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

02-07-17

Clambakes, celebrities and some of the most serene views on the planet will overshadow the golf this week but gamers soldier on.

The weather forecast isn’t favorable until Saturday and Sunday so that throws in a left-handed monkey wrench as well.

“I don’t think you can get a better venue any place in the world.”

–Ernie Els on Pebble Beach pic.twitter.com/S0dlCuLdpA

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 7, 2017

Continue reading →

Fantasy Golf: SBS TOC Yahoo! Picks Featuring Ned Brown

January 4, 2017January 26, 2017 / mikeglasscott / Leave a comment

01-04-17

Happy New Year!

Kapalua Golf and Tennis wishes you all a very happy and healthy New Year! ⛳ #Kapalua #Mahalo2016 #Aloha2017 pic.twitter.com/ijWW3a3Zy8

— Kapalua Golf (@GolfatKapalua) January 1, 2017

Continue reading →

Glass Houses

Fantasy Golf Only

#Golf

Shriners Children’s Open

Black Desert Championship

Sanderson Farms Championship

FedExCup Fall – Procore Championship

124th United States Open

124^th United States Open

The American Express 2024 Preview

One and Done

This Week: The American Express

Welcome Back! The Sentry 2024

The Sentry

Chalk (via Bet365.com)

One and Done

OAD: Workday Charity Open

Fantasy Golf: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Preview

Fantasy Golf: SBS TOC Yahoo! Picks Featuring Ned Brown