It’s the most wonderful time of the year for all golf fans – Masters week!
I hope I get a few comments from folks because I really am curious what other’s have for their picks to win and who are sleepers and/or dark horse predictions. Now, I don’t gamble so I’m not big on doing research on odds so my picks are just based on my gut.
Winner – I think the #1 player in the world Scottie Scheffler is a safe bet and he has been one of my favorite players since he won in 2022. He has played in four Masters starting in 2020 and has always finished in the top 20; last year he finished T10. Of course, he has won twice already this season so he is in great form coming into the championship.
Sleepers – There are a few but if I have to pick one as the winner, I am going with Brooks Koepka. I think he will play with a chip on his shoulder given his T2 finish last year and loss to Jon Rahm. It’s also interesting to see all the articles online that predict a LIV golfer will win this year; and Koepka fits the bill.
Other sleeper picks include:
Wyndam Clark: This is his first time at The Masters so I’m not sure how his game fits the course but I’m picking him because his form has been so good coming into The Masters .
Jordan Speith: He had been my favorite player since he turned pro and it’s a roller coaster ride being his fan. He is really not playing well but you can never count Jordan out at The Masters; and he did finish T4 last year.
Nick Dunlap: The young man turned pro this year after winning a PGA tournament as an amateur (the first to do it since Phil Mickelson 33 years ago). He was the #1 Amateur in the world before turning pro and it would be fun to see him win.
Sentimental Dark Horse Pick – I would love to see Keegan Bradley win The Masters. I have followed his career since he turned pro for two reasons (1) He’s a New Englander and Boston sports fan and (2) As a fan of the LPGA, I was familiar with his aunt, Pat Bradley. Over the years, I have come to like his personality too. I also felt sorry for him when he did not get picked for The Ryder Cup. He has played in The Masters eight times and his best finish is T22 (last year, he finished T23) so he really is a long shot but it would be so cool if he won.
This weekend I watched the inaugural event of the Grant Thornton Invitational which was a joint PGA Tour and LPGA Tour event with 16 teams. I really enjoyed the format of the event and seeing the camaraderie within and among the teams. Not to mention the fact that there was some great golf played.
The format was three days of golf. Day one was a scramble, day two were foursomes (alternate shot), and the final day was a modified four-ball where both players tee off, and then they switch balls for their second shots and play that same ball until it is holed. The lower score of the partners is then counted as the team score for the hole.
There were low scores and great shots. After day one the team of Nelly Korda and Tony Finau were leading, day two Lydia Ko and Jason Day shot 66 to take the lead and although other teams came on strong Lydia Ko made a clutch birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the event for team Ko/Day with a 26 under par.
The Canadian team of Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners finished second moving up the leader board by shooting an impressive 9 under, 63 total. And the Swedish team of Madelene Sagström and Ludvig Åberg shot 12 under to move up six places to finish third.
There were teams that every golf fan could get excited about whether it was because they were representing a fan’s country or whether it was a team with two of the most popular pros on each tour; and they did not disappoint. For example, the team of Lexi Thompson and Rickie Fowler gave the crowd a fun moment at the Par 3, 16th when Lexi made a hole-in-one.
I used to watch a ton of golf on TV but this year I just got turned off by the PGA tour/LIV news and really spend more time watching the LPGA, the Majors, Amateur golf (including college golf); and as I mentioned in a previous post YouTube golfers. I really don’t miss watching the weekly PGA tour events.
This mixed tour event is exactly what professional golf needs and I hope that the Grant Thornton Invitational continues for many years. For me, next year, it will be a must watch golf event.
We have the pandemic to thank for the Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup being contested in the same year and back-to-back. If you love team competition and golf then this fall is your time to enjoy hours and hours of match play from across the pond.
Dates for each Cup: The official days of competition run Friday through Sunday.
Solheim Cup Competition days: Friday, September 22 – Saturday, September 23 – Sunday, September 24. Golf Channel coverage is from 2 am to 1 pm on Friday and Saturday and 5 am to 11 am on Sunday.
Ryder Cup Competition days: Friday, September 29 – Saturday, September 30 – Sunday, Oct 1. The Ryder Cup gets more TV coverage (including the Junior Ryder Cup and opening ceremony on Thursday). You can find all the times on How to Watch the Ryder Cup on the website.
I assume you will also be able to see replays on YouTube.
Note: When the 2020 Ryder Cup was moved to 2021 (due to Covid), it meant that the Ryder Cup would now be played on “odd” years and therefore be the same year as the Solheim Cup. The LPGA and LET decided to move from their traditional odd years to even so that do not have to “complete” every year with the Ryder Cup. They could not move the 2023 event so their only solution was to not wait 2 years to wait for the next Solheim Cup so there will be a 2024 Solheim cup, in the USA.
My thought was that it would be amazing if the men’s and women’s tours could work together to have one big “match play week” where they combine the events and also add some mixed match events into the event.
If you are interested in a bit of insight, read the overviews below.
SOLHEIM CUP OVERVIEW
The Solheim cup is much “younger” than the Ryder Cup since the first competition was in 1990. The record stands with the USA 10 wins and Europe 7 wins. Team Europe has won the last two cups.
The Solheim Cup is being contested in Andalucia, Spain at Finca Cortesin. The European Captain is Suzanne Petterson and the USA Captain is Stacy Lewis. Details can be found on the Solheim Cup website but let’s look at the players.
Team USA players: I would say that there were no really big surprises in the captain picks from Lewis. Rose Zhang is the new star on the LPGA (winning her first professional tournament her first week on the LPGA) and as a recent college graduate she has played a lot of match play. The other captain picks were all next in qualifying points.
The players earned points starting at the Portland Classic in 2021. The USA has the recent number one ranked player, Lilia Vu and the US Open Champion in Allisen Curpuz. Rose Zang is the new star on the LPGA and has a steller match play record from college. Watching the LPGA tournaments the last few weeks it appears most players are coming into Solheim in great form. For example, Megan Kang just won her first tournament on tour (the Canadian Open). The two players that are struggling are Jennifer Kupcho and Lexi Thompson. In fact, Lexi Thompson has had seven missed cuts in her last 9 tournaments and her best showing was a T31 at the Founders Cup in May. She is on the team because of all the Solheim cup points she accumulated in 2021. But both Kupcho and Thompson love match play and so hopefully they will rise to the occasion.
Lilia (automatic qualifier)
Nelly Korda (automatic qualifier)
Allisen Corpuz (automatic qualifier)
Megan Kang (automatic qualifier)
Jennifer Kupcho (automatic qualifier)
Danielle Kang (automatic qualifier)
Lexi Thompson (automatic qualifier)
Andrea Lee (automatic qualifier)
Rose Zhang (captain’s pick)
Alley Ewing (captain’s pick)
Angel Yin (captain’s pick)
Cheyenne Knight (captain’s pick)
Team Europe players: Suzanne Petersen has stated this is the best European team ever and that’s a big statement given the Europeans have won the last two Solheim Cups. Only time will tell if it is the best team “ever” but she does have a stellar list of players. Celine Boutier (#4 in the world who won back-to-back at Evian Championship and the Scottish Open), Charley Hull with an 11-5-3 Solheim Cup Record and Leona McGuire with a 4-0-1 record from 2021. It is interesting that there are five swedes on her team and three of them were captains picks. The big surprise was Carolina Hedwall because she’s not highly ranked but she is a fierce competitor and did well in past Solheim cups.
Celine Boutier (automatic qualifier)
Marja Stark (automatic qualifier)
Charlie Hull (automatic qualifier)
Leona McGuire (automatic qualifier)
Georgia Hall (automatic qualifier)
Linn Grant (automatic qualifier)
Carlota Ciganda (automatic qualifier)
Anna Nordquist (automatic qualifier)
Madelene Sagstrom (captain’s pick)
Gemma Dryburgh (captain’s pick)
Emily Pedersen (captain’s pick)
Carolina Hedwall (captain’s pick)
Morning Foursomes
The Morning Foursomes for Friday were announced today (Thursday) at the opening ceremony. I am a bit surprised to see Lexi going out first; and Rose Zhang, Lilia Vu are not playing. I’m not sure what Stacey Lewis is thinking. Let’s hope she sees something in the player stats that made these morning pairings make sense. On the European side, Suzanne Petterson has stacked her foursomes with Lin Grant, Celine Boutier, Leona Maguire, and Charley Hull.
RYDER CUP OVERVIEW
The Ryder Cup was first played in 1927 and the record stands as USA 27 wins and Europe 14 wins. If you love golf history you can read about every Ryder Cup on the Ryder Cup Website.
The Ryder Cup is being contested in Rome, Italy at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club. The European Captain is Luke Donald and the USA Captain is Zach Johnson. Details can be found on the Ryder Cup Website but, as we did with the Solheim Cup, let’s look at the players.
Team USA Players: If you are a golf fan you know the most controversial pick was Justin Thompas (JT). He has played well below his normal standards this year but was picked because of his stellar match play record. Hopefully, JT plays well but I can’t imagine the pressure he must feel given so many feel he did not deserve to be on this team.
Scottie Scheffler (automatic qualifier)
Max Homa (automatic qualifier)
Brian Harman (automatic qualifier)
Patrick Cantlay (automatic qualifier)
Wyndham Clark (automatic qualifier)
Xander Schauffele (automatic qualifier)
Brooks Keopka (captains pick)
Sam Shepard (captain’s pick)
Rickie Fowler (captain’s pick)
Collin Morikawa (captain’s pick)
Jordan Spieth (captain’s pick)
Justin Thomas (captain’s pick)
Team Europe Players: The European team is solid and they have a few players that are coming into this Ryder Cup is exceptional form. There is Viktor Hovland who won the FedEx Cup and Ludvig Aberg who, like Rose Zhang, was a college star that came on tour and won quickly. I think the United States will face a very tough European team.
Viktor Hovland (automatic qualifier)
Rory McIIroy (automatic qualifier)
Jon Rahm (automatic qualifier)
Matt Fitzpatrick (automatic qualifier)
Tyrrell Hatton (automatic qualifier)
Robert MacIntyre (automatic qualifier)
Ludvig Aberg (captain’s pick)
Tommy Fleetwood (captain’s pick)
Nicolai Højgaard (captain’s pick)
Shane Lowry (captain’s pick)
Justin Rose (captain’s pick)
Sepp Straka (captain’s pick)
So grab your cup of morning coffee (or tea, in my case) and sit back and enjoy the golf. Hopefully the matches will be great battles and make each cup exciting and closely contested.
I’m always amused at how so many golf analysts focus on the bad. Even when they acknowledge the great aspects of a player’s game, they quickly pepper the player with questions about their weakness. Point in case was this past week when Scottie Scheffler finished in second place at the Memorial Tournament with the best tee to green play of any player in the field; and that is saying a lot given how hard Muirfield Village played.
There is so much data now in golf. You can look at your favorite golfer’s profile and see all the stats. For example, Scottie Scheffler (by the way is the #1 golfer in the world) has amazing stats when you review his profile on the PGA Tour site. Scheffler’s PGA Tour Stats (SG = Strokes Gained) include:
Scottie Scheffler’s Stats as of 6/7/2023
Now you would think with being #1 in strokes gained in Total, Tee-to-Green, and Off-the-Tee; as well as, #2 in Approach to the Green that he would win every week; but then you see his putting has been off. But overall his consistency is incredible. He has made every cut, has won twice, and has 11 top 10 finishes. See the screenshot below of his performance as of June 7,2023.
Scottie Scheffler’s record as of 6/7/2023
So when the golf media decides to focus on what’s not going right instead of what is amazing consistency; I love the fact that Scottie Scheffler basically ignores all the “talk” and just plays his game. And he doesn’t let the media get in his head. His reply to his poor putting “Sometimes it goes in and sometimes it doesn’t.” Now he did go on to say it is frustrating but he then said “If I was putting my best this week, I would have won by a crazy amount.” He also said that he and Jon Rahm were joking about how the putts weren’t falling this week.
Even though he knows he has an issue with his putting. He has been asked about his putting every week for a few weeks; he acknowledges it but doesn’t let the media “poke the wound” and get upset about it.
I have admired Scottie Scheffler since his Master’s win not just because of his play but also because of his easy going personality with the media. Some of the players that show their irritation with the media (when the golf analysts question their weaknesses) need to take a lesson from Scheffler – don’t give the media fuel for the fire by letting them get into your head.
I like to follow one or two new players each year and this year there are a lot of rookies with very impressive resumes. All you need to do is look at the top 25 from the 2012 Web.com Tour money list and pick one. There are three Web.com players that I find interesting:
1) Casey Whittenberg – He is really not a “rookie” on the PGA tour because he has been playing tournaments on the PGA tour and Web.com tour (formally, Nationwide tour) for a number of years but he earned his 2013 PGA tour card with his excellent play in 2012.
I first became aware of Wittenberg watching the 2004 Masters when he finish 13th as an amateur (the highest finish of an amateur since 1961.) After the Masters, everyone thought when he turned pro that he would win quickly; but Whittenberg has had his challenges. However in 2012 it appears he has found his game and was the “2012 player of the year” on the Web.com tour and is one of five Web.com tour players to have won twice in 2012.
2) Luke Gutherie – Another two-time winner, Gutherie won back-to-back tournaments on the Web.com Tour. Gutherie played only 10 Web.com tournaments in 2012 and of the ten, seven were top 10 finishes. His back-to-back wins occurred in September at the Albertsons Boise Open and the WNB Golf Classic.
3) Ben Kohles – Not only was Kohles a two-time and back-to-back winner on the Web.com tour; but those back-to-back wins were his first two starts on tour. The tournaments were the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational and Cox Classic. It is just so impressive to see someone win in the first two tournaments of their professional career.
There are many other rookies to watch but there is only one other that I will be keeping my eye on and that is Patrick Reed also fondly known as “Mr. Monday.” He got the nickname, “Mr. Monday,” on tour in 2012 because he entered PGA tournaments the “old school” way by playing in Monday qualifiers. He played in eight PGA Monday qualifiers and made the field in six tournaments. Of course, as fate would have it, he won his PGA tour card at Q-school on a Monday.
What really makes me a fan of Patrick Reed is his personal story. His fiancée (now wife), Justine Karain, is his caddie and he gives her plenty of credit as evident in the interview from the Well Fargo. Apparently she played golf in high school (the couple met in high school) and is very good at reading putts. I’ve always been impressed with women caddies because I can’t imagine carrying a 50 pound tour bag and living the life of a caddie. Also, I am impressed with professional golfers who are “evolved enough” to have a women on the bag (i.e. gender doesn’t matter, the best person for the job) and another reason I like Patrick Reed. The couple married in December 2012 and they plan to continue being a team on the course. Let’s hope the Reed’s have a very successful 2013.
Jason Dufner winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans this weekend is a great example of finally getting a “monkey of your back.” Why? Because since the beginning of the golf season, Dufner had been labeled (by some golf analysts) as “one of the best golfers who has not won a tournament.”
Dufner became a professional in 2000 and he has come close to winning. One of the big heartbreaking moments was in August 2011, at the PGA Championship. It looked like Dufner was going to win his first major because he had a five stroke lead with three holes to play. Unfortunately for Dufner, Keegan Bradley played magnificently to tie Dufner and force a playoff. Keegan beat Dufner on the third hole of the sudden-death playoff.
The media also started to focus on the fact that he would often times be leading going into the weekend but not be able to close. No player wants to be viewed as someone who is not a closer. This week, in New Orleans, Dufner had the lead on Sunday. The end of the tournament was a nail-biter but Jason won on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff with Ernie Els. Another “Monkey off his back” — Dufner is a closer.
Now with these type of comments, from the media, you would expect to see some reaction for the player. But not Jason Dunfer. He is the most laid-back, unemotional guy on tour. Sure, maybe it would be nice to see a more animated reaction to good shots but his style is actually refreshing. It is a nice contrast from the players that throw or break their clubs when they are angry or do excessive fist pumping when they make a good shot.
He did smile and raise his arms when he won but no major fist pumping or running around the green for Jason Dufner. Below is a great cartoon tweeted by Steve Elkington from his website Secret In The Dirt (showing Dufner before and after the win).
Let’s hope the quite, mild-manner Jason Dufner has many more great wins in the coming years. And, although I’m a big fan of Keegan Bradley (after all he is from New England), I’ll be cheering for Dufner to win the 2012 PGA Championship.
Everyone that watched the Masters will have an opinion on moments that were great, good, bad, and ugly. There is no shortage of examples but I’ve picked one player for each category and I also share the player I believe manages to fall into all four categories.
First, the greatest moment had to be Bubba Watson on the second hole of the sudden-death playoff. His 40-foot hook-draw shot from the trees, off the pine needles, on to the green to put himself in position to win was awesome. Of course it ended in the most touching moment when he was embraced by his mother (normally, the wife is there to share the moment; but his wife was at home with their new baby son).
My vote for the number one good moment — the run that Matt Kucher was making on Sunday to finish with a 69. When Kucher made an eagle on the 15th hole (par 5) and went to 4 under par it was just fun to see a player so happy. There was no arrogance, just joy, in his response.
Unfortunately, the bad moments in professional golf tournaments are not always bad shots but bad behavior. Tiger woods wins the bad moment award for drop-kicking his putter. Tiger later apologized but I am tired of professional athletes misbehaving and apologizing later. These are “adults” and need to stop acting like children when something goes wrong.
My favorite player, Phil Mickelson, had the ugliest moment. His effort to try to hack the ball out of the bushes at the 4th hole resulted in a triple-bogey. What was he thinking? I mean that would be the kind of stupid shot I would try (not because I could make it but because I am an amateur and don’t always make good decisions). On the other hand, I’m not totally surprised by his choice. I like Phil because he is a risk taker and is exciting to watch. Unfortunately, this time it turned out ugly.
So what could possibly be great, good, bad, and ugly? It is the final round score card of the low Amateur, Patrick Cantlay. Look at the card below — birdies, bogeys, double-bogeys, a quadruple-bogey, and eagles! Most golfers would have fallen apart after what Cantlay did on the 13th and 14th holes (quadruple-bogey and double-bogey) but he turned it around on 15 with an eagle. What a great final four holes — eagle, birdie, birdie, par!
Cantlay is viewed by many as the best amateur in the game right now and getting the “low amateur” trophy is a good indicator of his future. By the way, other past “low amateur” winners include Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
Hunter Mahan won the Shell Houston Open. If you have been reading my posts you know that Mahan is one of the Golf Boys. This is Mahan’s second win this year so maybe I need to think about him in my fantasy picks more often. My picks were not horrible this week but I was disappointed that one player missed the cut.
Here are my picks for this week:
(1) Keegan Bradley — Keegan played well with a tie for 4th. He shot the same score as the winner on Sunday (71) but his other rounds of 67, 69, and 69 were just not low enough to help him on the last day.
(2) Kevin Steelman — Steelman missed the cut. This surprised me because I thought he would player better but it was not his week.
(3) Henrik Stenson — My “what the heck” pick this week had a respectable showing with a tied for 21st place. I’m happy with this pick.
(4) James Driscoll — When I picked Driscoll, I stated that I hoped he had learning something from 2011 when he played the Houston Open and missed the cut. Well, he certainly did learn from his past. Driscoll played really well in round one and two (67 and 66) but on the weekend he shot 71 and 73.
It is the week before the first and most exciting major of the season — The Masters — but first the players contend at the Shell Houston Open. A lot of people hope that Ernie Els will win this week because the winner earns a place at The Masters. I think it would be great if Ernie does win but I’m voting on other guys this week.
Here are my picks for this week:
(1) Keegan Bradley — Keegan did not play last week and he fell apart during the final round of the Transitions tournament so I’m banking on the fact that he will have a “fire in his belly” to do really well. He has 2 top 10 finishes and has been in the top 25 in all 8 tournaments he has played in this year.
(2) Kevin Steelman — Steelman is another player that did not play last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He did well at the Transitions (tied for 10th) and he has had two top 10 finishes this year.
(3) Henrik Stenson — I have not picked Stenson before but he looks like a good bet so he is my “what the heck” pick this week. In his three PGA tournaments in 2012 he has finished in the top 25 and finished third in Puerto Rico.
(4) James Driscoll — I have picked Driscoll before and decided to go with him again. He did not make the cut last year at the Shell Houston Open but I am hoping he learned something in 2011 and will know the course better and make the cut this year.
So, you may have noticed I did not pick Phil Mickelson (the defending champion). Well, I just don’t want to pick him since I feel like every time I do pick him he doesn’t play well — silly, I know, but this is just for fun so “silly logic” makes sense to me!
The big news from the final Florida event is that Tiger Woods won. Everyone is saying “He’s back” and I think it is great he has won; but I don’t think he rates the statement “He’s back” until he wins a major (which might happen in two weeks at the Masters.)
(1) Phil Mickelson — Finished Tied for 24th place at one under par. Now I had said I would not pick Phil until the Masters but I could not help myself because I am such a fan. However, It is frustrating that every time I pick him, he plays poorly; and when I do not pick him, he plays well.
(2) Jason Dufner — He played well on Thursday and Friday (66 and 69). He did not play well on the weekend (77 and 73). I still really like Dufner and think that once he figures out how to keep the momentum going on the weekend he will win (and win consistently).
(3) Sean O’Hair — Finished tied for 29th at even par. He looked great on Thursday with a 69 but then seemed to fall apart on Sunday with a 77. Now in fairness to O’Hair the course was very hard on Sunday and only two golfers shot in the 60’s.
(4) Harris English — My “what the heck pick this week.” Missed the cut.
Well, the only thing I am pondering today is whether to pick Mickelson for The Masters. If I really want my favorite player to win, it might be better if I pick someone else for Fantasy Golf.
Golf Expectations 