BlogThe Greenbrier Classic Preview and Picks

The Buzz:

With Bubba Watson returning this week, he and caddie Ted Scott and getting asked a lot of questions about what happened at the Travelers.  Going into the 16th hole on Sunday with a two shot lead, Watson hit short of the green and into the lake.  The CBS mikes picked up a rather confused Watson, who seemed to hit the shot correctly but it fell way short.  Watson hit another shot, this time sailing the green and he again complained to Scott about the yardage and club selection.  Watson made triple-bogey on the hole and lost the tournament, but many in the media reported the story and Watson has had a lot of questions about it.

Scott had an important part in Watson’s Masters win, but as we saw a couple of years ago with the breakup of the Tiger/Steve Williams partnership, caddie/player partnerships sometimes don’t go the distance.  It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks to see how solid that relationship really is.  2013 has been a lean year for Watson, other than the 4th place finishes beginning the year at Kapalua and at the Travelers.  We all know that when a player has tough times, the first to go are always the teacher followed by the caddie.  Since Watson has no formal teacher you have to think that Scott could be on the hotseat.

Important week for several players this week to get into the British Open.  After Sunday those in the top-20 of the FedEx Cup rankings have a chance for a Scottish vacation of sorts.  The top five of those that aren’t in the British Open get invites.  Here is a list of those that will be looking to be in the top-20 and be one of the five:

5. Billy Horschel

9. Boo Weekley

16. Russell Henley

17. Harris English

18. Charles Howell III

21. Ken Duke

For those that don’t make it this week, the winner of the John Deere Classic also gets an invite.

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at the Greenbrier Classic:

Key stat for the winner:

Only three events have been played and in looking at the winners, one stat stands out.  That is scrambling which makes sense since the greens at Old White are small and if you miss the green it’s tough to get it up and down.  In 2010 Stuart Appleby was 2nd, getting it up and down 14 of the 15 greens missed.  In 2011 Scott Stallings didn’t do well in that stat but runner-up Bill Haas was second getting it up and down 18 of the 22 greens he missed.  In 2012 Ted Potter, Jr. won the event ranking 9th in scrambling, getting it up and down 16 of 20 times.  So look for those that scramble the best.  So look at those that have done well in scrambling this year to do well this week.

Here are some more key stats to look to for this week:

• Of the 156 players in the field, only 68 have won on the PGA Tour and only 13 have won a major.  So this could be the week to shine, as was the week for Scott Stallings in 2011 and Ted Potter, Jr.  Look for that eager player ready to finally break out and win for the first time.
• Going on the theme that no wins could be an advantage at the Greenbrier, just look at the 21 players that finished 5th or better.  Of the 21, only 8 of them had won on the PGA Tour.  So this may not be the week for those like Phil Mickelson or a Bubba Watson.
• The par 4s are some of the best in the country so playing them well is important.  Stuart Appleby was 15 under in his 2010 win, Scott Stalling was 3 under in 2011 while Ted Potter Jr. was 10 under.
• Is putting important?  For two of the three champions it is as Stuart Appleby ranked 3rd in number of putts while Ted Potter, Jr. was T3rd last year.  As for Scott Stallings he was 3 under