BlogThe Players Preview and Picks

The Players Championship

May 7th – 10th, 2015

TPC Sawgrass

Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Par: 72 / Yardage:7,215

Purse: $10 million

with $1.8 million to the winner

Defending Champion:
Martin Kaymer

by Sal Johnson

Founder, Chief Data Officer, GOLFstats

E-mail me at:
sal@golfstats.com

This week’s field includes:

The field includes 49 of the top 50 in the latest Official World Rankings.  The only one not in the field is Tommy Fleetwood, who wasn’t invite and just got into the top-50 after the Match Play.  Historically this event has always been the second most attended event off the World Rankings, with the PGA Championship always having what could be regarded as the best field in golf.

Last year 46 of the top-50 played in the event

 

The field includes all 30 of the top 30 on the FedEx point standings for 2015.

 

The field includes 49 players of the top 50 on this year’s PGA Tour money list (Justin Thomas not in the field).

 

The field includes 9 past champions: Martin Kaymer (2014), Tiger Woods (2001 & ’13), Matt Kuchar (2012), K.J. Choi (2011), Henrik Stenson (2009), Sergio Garcia (2008), Phil Mickelson (2007), Adam Scott (2004) and Justin Leonard (1998).

 

All 23 PGA Tour winners in 2014-15 will be at TPC Sawgrass, accounting for a total of 25 victories. Nine of the 23 different winners have been under the age of 30: Sangmoon Bae/Frys.com Open, Ben Martin/Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, Robert Streb/The McGladrey Classic, Nick Taylor/Sanderson Farms Championship, Patrick Reed/Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Brooks Koepka/Waste Management Phoenix Open, Jason Day/Farmers Insurance Open, Jordan Spieth/Valspar Championship, Masters Tournament, Rory McIlroy/World Golf Championships-Cadillac Match Play.

27 major championship winners, accounting for 59 major championships, led by Tiger Woods’ 14.

A perfect way for fantasy golfers to check on the past performance of all the players in the Players Championship field is our performance chart listed by average finish.  Another way to check who is the best is through a special formula worked out in Golfstats that gives us the best average performances at the Players Championship in the last five years or check out our sortable 8-year glance at the Players Championship.

 

A good cheat sheet is this list of odds from the top bookmakers in England.

 

Another cheat sheet is this list of odds from the top bookmaker North America, Vovada.  They give winning odds plus top-five and first round leader odds.

 

Another cheat sheet is this list of odds from the top bookmaker in Las Vegas.

**NOTE**

Be sure to join us on Saturday night/Sunday morning for who’s going to win the Players.  We will update the stats and odds to see who has the best chance at winning.

One thing to look for is our new GOLFstats IQ.  For those that play in fantasy golf it’s a perfect way to help you pick those players in Draft Kings and Victiv games.  You can customize the list of those in the tournaments, to look back a couple or many years of tournament stats and you can go back a couple or ten weeks prior to the tournament.  On top of that, all the stats are fully sortable to help you pick your six players, we even give you their value for the week to help you chose.

That’s GOLFstats IQ, give it a try and tell us what you think of it

24/7 GOLF

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We have the perfect solution for you.  If you own a Iphone or a Ipad we have developed a perfect app called 24/7 GOLF.

It gives you everything that you need to know about golf, you have all the players results and every tournament result, again in you pocket.  It’s very easy to use and you can take a good amout of GOLFstats with you everyplace.  No need to get home and check things out on your computer at home, you can answer any question with your Ipad.

So check it out, just hit this link to get 24/7 GOLF:

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Time to look at our who’s hot and who isn’t:

Who’s Hot in the field for the The Players Championship

Player WGC Match Play Zurich Classic Volvo China RBC Heritage Shenzhen International Masters Shell Houston Valero Texas Trophee Hassan Arnold Palmer Tshwane Open Valspar WGC Cadillac Championship
Jordan Spieth
(458.33 pts)
T17
(49.5)
DNP DNP T11
(39)
DNP Win
(176)
T2
(66.67)
2
(66.67)
DNP DNP DNP Win
(44)
T17
(16.5)
Rory McIlroy
(340.17 pts)
Win
(198)
DNP DNP DNP DNP 4
(106.67)
DNP DNP DNP T11
(13)
DNP DNP T9
(22.5)
Justin Rose
(320.17 pts)
T17
(49.5)
Win
(132)
DNP DNP DNP T2
(133.33)
T37
(8.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
55
(0)
Jim Furyk
(261 pts)
4
(120)
DNP DNP Win
(132)
DNP CUT
(-13.33)
DNP T58
(0)
DNP DNP DNP T40
(3.33)
T12
(19)
Dustin Johnson
(242.5 pts)
T17
(49.5)
T43
(7)
DNP DNP DNP T6
(80)
DNP T6
(40)
DNP DNP DNP DNP Win
(66)
Louis Oosthuizen
(236.33 pts)
T5
(105)
DNP DNP T7
(55)
DNP T19
(41.33)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP T9
(15)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
6
(30)
Paul Casey
(217.67 pts)
T5
(105)
DNP DNP DNP DNP T6
(80)
9
(30)
DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP T38
(6)
J.B. Holmes
(188.83 pts)
T9
(67.5)
DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-13.33)
Win
(88)
DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP 2
(50)
Hideki Matsuyama
(184 pts)
T9
(67.5)
DNP DNP DNP DNP 5
(93.33)
DNP DNP DNP T21
(9.67)
DNP DNP T23
(13.5)
Phil Mickelson
(178.17 pts)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T2
(133.33)
T17
(22)
T30
(13.33)
DNP DNP DNP DNP T31
(9.5)
Cameron Tringale
(176.33 pts)
DNP 2
(100)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP T38
(16)
T5
(46.67)
T40
(6.67)
DNP DNP DNP T17
(11)
T38
(6)
Gary Woodland
(172.5 pts)
2
(150)
DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-13.33)
DNP T26
(16)
DNP T21
(9.67)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
T23
(13.5)
Danny Willett
(170.33 pts)
3
(135)
DNP DNP DNP DNP T38
(16)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP T29
(7)
DNP DNP T12
(19)
Henrik Stenson
(165.33 pts)
T34
(24)
DNP DNP DNP DNP T19
(41.33)
DNP DNP DNP 2
(33.33)
DNP 4
(26.67)
T4
(40)
Charley Hoffman
(164.17 pts)
T17
(49.5)
DNP DNP T64
(0)
DNP T9
(60)
T11
(26)
T11
(26)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
T38
(6)
Ian Poulter
(154.83 pts)
T34
(24)
DNP DNP T18
(32)
DNP T6
(80)
DNP DNP DNP T21
(9.67)
DNP T24
(8.67)
T49
(0.5)
Kevin Na
(150.5 pts)
T34
(24)
DNP DNP DNP DNP T12
(50.67)
DNP T20
(20)
DNP T6
(20)
DNP T10
(13.33)
T9
(22.5)
Patrick Reed
(145.67 pts)
T17
(49.5)
DNP DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP T22
(37.33)
T17
(22)
DNP DNP DNP DNP T2
(33.33)
T23
(13.5)
Hunter Mahan
(144.17 pts)
T9
(67.5)
DNP DNP DNP DNP T9
(60)
T25
(16.67)
DNP DNP T57
(0)
DNP DNP 65
(0)
Matt Kuchar
(141.83 pts)
T34
(24)
DNP DNP 5
(70)
DNP T46
(5.33)
70
(0)
T15
(23.33)
DNP DNP DNP T33
(5.67)
T23
(13.5)
Bill Haas
(140 pts)
T17
(49.5)
DNP DNP T31
(19)
DNP T12
(50.67)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T7
(27.5)
Zach Johnson
(135 pts)
T17
(49.5)
DNP DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP T9
(60)
DNP T20
(20)
DNP T9
(15)
DNP DNP T49
(0.5)
Rickie Fowler
(134.17 pts)
T9
(67.5)
CUT
(-10)
DNP DNP DNP T12
(50.67)
71
(0)
DNP DNP T29
(7)
DNP DNP T12
(19)
Sean O’Hair
(131.67 pts)
DNP T12
(38)
DNP 6
(60)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP T29
(7)
DNP T2
(33.33)
DNP
Kevin Kisner
(131.67 pts)
DNP T28
(22)
DNP 2
(100)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
T26
(16)
DNP T49
(0.33)
DNP T60
(0)
DNP

How Player Rankings are Computed

Who’s Not Hot in the field for the The Players Championship

Player WGC Match Play Zurich Classic Volvo China RBC Heritage Shenzhen International Masters Shell Houston Valero Texas Trophee Hassan Arnold Palmer Tshwane Open Valspar WGC Cadillac Championship
Andrew Svoboda
(-40 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP
Justin Leonard
(-36.67 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP
Derek Fathauer
(-30 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
T64
(0)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
(-28 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP DNP T42
(5.33)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP
Robert Streb
(-27.33 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP T44
(6)
DNP CUT
(-13.33)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP T56
(0)
Brian Harman
(-27.33 pts)
DNP DNP DNP T44
(6)
DNP CUT
(-13.33)
CUT
(-6.67)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP
Rory Sabbatini
(-26.67 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP
Jeff Overton
(-26 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
T50
(0.67)
DNP DNP DNP T63
(0)
DNP
Camilo Villegas
(-25.33 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP WD
(-5)
DNP CUT
(-13.33)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP T21
(9.67)
DNP DNP DNP
Tim Wilkinson
(-24.67 pts)
DNP T48
(2)
DNP CUT
(-10)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP

How Player Rankings are Computed

The Buzz:

The WGC-Cadillac Match Play turned into a great championship and the World Federation finally has done the event right with the new format.  We had five great days of golf with lot’s of meaning full golf.  The course was set up perfectly for match play and I can only wish that the PGA Tour goes back to Harding Park on a regular bases.  The one thing that I would like to see is the tournament move around, but that won’t happen for at least four years as Austin Country Club will be the new home of this event at least through 2019.

Things you need to know about the Players Championship:

This week we have the crowing jewel of the PGA Tour, The Players. This is the 42nd edition of the Players Championship, which has been played at the TPC Stadium Course every year since 1982. Other than the four majors, it’s the fifth most important tournament in men’s professional golf.  The big news is what will be different for the players.  How will the course play this year?  Will it be firm and fast as officials hope.  Even with the bad weather over the last couple of weeks, officials feel they can get the course dry and fast for Thursday’s opening round. One thing that will help scoring low is the lack of wind, it’s suppose to be minimal all week.

Many may feel that it takes a lot of experience to win the Players, since the event moved to the Stadium course, 13 different players in their 20s have won, including last year’s champion Martin Kaymer.  The list is impressive: Jerry Pate in 1982, Hal Sutton in 1983, Fred Couples in 1984, Sandy Lyle in 1987, Jodie Mudd in 1990, Steve Elkington in 1991, Davis Love III in 1992, Justin Leonard in 1998, David Duval in 1999, Tiger Woods in 2001, Adam Scott in 2004, Sergio Garcia in 2008 and Martin Kaymer in 2014.  Need I also bring up that guys like Craig Perks, Fred Funk, Henrik Stenson and Tim Clark have also won so anything can happen this week.

Course information:

The Players Stadium Course

  • Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl.
  • 7,215 yards     Par 36-36–72
  • TPC Sawgrass features a course rating of 76.8 and a slope rating from the back tees of 155. The tees and fairways are Celebration bermudagrass while the rough is 419 bermudaGrass.  The greens is Mini Verde Ultrdwarf which has become very popular in the Southeast. The course was the 25th hardest course on the PGA Tour in 2014, playing to an average of 72.155, just over a tenth of a shot over par.  In 2013 Sawgrass was the 19th hardest course on the PGA Tour in 2013 playing to an average of 72.323, so just over a quarter of a shot over par.

Rank compared to

Year    Scoring avg    other courses

2014       72.155               25th

2013       72.323               19th

2012       72.466               19th

2011       72.000              23rd

2010       71.804              28th

2009       72.690              12th

2008       74.286               6th

2007       73.248              12th

2006       73.529                7th

2005       72.841               17th

2004       73.004             12th

2003       72.541               21st

2002       73.500              3rd

2001       73.536               3rd

2000       74.451              2nd

1999       74.642               3rd

1998       73.375               7th

  • Between 1998 and 2006 TPC Sawgrass played to a 73.491 average.  After 2007 to the present the course played to a 72.622 average.  Why the three quarters of a shot difference?  Because the course changed from being played in March, the windy part of the year in Ponte Vedra to May which see’s calmer days.  So the course is playing a lot easier than when the event was played in March.
  • The course opened in 1981 and hosted The Players Championship in 1982.  That year the course was very “raw” with a lot of complaints from the players that the greens and landing areas had too much slope.  Winds in the early days didn’t help ease the pain of the mounds, but over the years improvements have made the course more “player-friendly”.
  • Over the years, the TPC Sawgrass has gone from a course the players didn’t care much about to one of the most loved, but toughest courses on Tour.  With the advent of the Players moving to May, the course went through an extensive renovation in 2007 in which all of the grass on the tees, fairways and greens were stripped off with a new drainage and irrigation system placed underneath. The greens were built with a sub-air system just like the one at Augusta National, which can control firmness in any weather conditions.
  • At the same time, 122 yards was added to the course and the rough is now Bermuda instead of rye.
  • With all of this, plus the new clubhouse, it gave the Players a new dimension in making it one of the best tournaments in the world, with the possibility of it one day being considered a major.
  • A couple of things to be know, the average green size is 4,500 which is small and makes the targets harder.  With small greens that places more emphasis on shotmaking, but you have to be good in getting it up and down.  Water is on all 18 holes, but for the pro’s only comes into play on 11 holes. There are a total of 93 bunkers around the course along with a lot of waste areas in the fairways.

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at the Players Championship:

Key stat for the winner:

  • Craig Perks blew the greatest stat the tournament had going for it with his win in 2002.  Before his victory, nobody had ever won the Players without a win on the PGA Tour.  On top of that since 1982 when the players switch to the Stadium course their have been 28 different winners with 17 of them winning 40 major championships. Still the fact is if the course is dry and firm without rain hampering it the cream always rises to the top.   Just look at the list of champions at TPC Sawgrass, Sutton, Couples, Kite, Love, Norman, Leonard, Garcia, Duval, Mickelson and Woods. Not a bad list.  But the one thing they have in common is firm and fast conditions so if that happens this year look for a marquee winner.  Oh Craig Perks has some company as Tim Clark became the second player to win for the first time at the Players Championship.

Totally useless stat:

  • One of the biggest oddities of The Players Championship is the fact that nobody has ever repeated as champion. If you go back and look at all the tournaments that started before 1998, the only other one like this is was the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee which is no longer played.  Six players have won this event multiple times, but none in consecutive years. Nicklaus is the only three-time winner (1974, 1976, 978). Two-time winners include Tiger Woods (2001, 2013), Steve Elkington (1991, 1997), Hal Sutton (1983, 2000), Fred Couples (1984, 1996) and Davis Love III (1992, 2003).
  • The most unusual winner of the Players has to be Sandy Lyle who won it in a playoff in 1987.  We say unusual because of his 13 starts he only made three cuts, his win in 1987, a T74th in 1994 and a T70th in 1997.  Now Craig Perks only made two cuts in six tries but after winning the 2002 Players he finished T17th the next year.

So what does it take to win at the Players?

  • Going back to 2000, every winner but four has been in the top-10 of greens hit category and five of them have led (Sergio Garcia-2008, Stephen Ames-2006, Fred Funk-2005, Adam Scott-2004, Hal Sutton-2000). In 2012 Matt Kuchar was T3rd in hitting 53 of the 72 greens, in 2013 Tiger Woods was also T3rd hitting 55 of 72 greens.  Last year Martin Kaymer also finished 3rd, hitting 54 of 72 greens.
  • Great putting is a must for the week. The greens are always tough and fast and historically players have had a tough time making putts inside of ten feet.  In looking at the rankings, last year TPC Sawgrass was the 33rd hardest course in making putts inside of ten feet with an average of 88.31%. In the past, number of putts hasn’t been the key as between 2004 and 2010 nobody was in the top-ten in number of putts made. K.J. Choi broke that streak finishing T6th in 2011 with only 108 putts, while Kuchar was T5th in 2012 with 110 putts.  In 2013 Tiger Woods was T35th taking 114 putts while last year Martin Kaymer also took 114 putts which ranked T38th
  • Scrambling is important, no matter how well a player does he will still miss greens and have to be able to get it up and down to win.  Last year TPC Sawgrass was the 13th hardest course to get it up and down as the field averaged getting it up and down 55.41%  There are a lot of tough chips on this course and it will take a lot of chip and runs instead of pitching it in the air.
  • As of right now there are are 19 first-time participants at this year’s Players Championship. The players teeing it up for the first time at TPC Sawgrass are Daniel Berger First time in this event Victor Dubuisson, Derek Fathauer, Brice Garnett, Adam Hadwin, Billy Hurley III, Ryo Ishikawa, Kevin Kisner, Brooks Koepka, Anirban Lahiri, Danny Lee, Shane Lowry, Ben Martin, Robert Streb, Andrew Svoboda, Nick Taylor, Brendon Todd, Bernd Wiesberger and Danny Willett are playing for the first time in this event  Of the 19 playing this year I can’t see any of them having a clear choice shot of winning this year.
  • Lastly the 17th hole has been downright boring the last couple of years, will it get better?  The reputation of the 17th hole was pure fright.  Hitting to the island green was always hard and in some years it’s been downright scary. In the last 33 players there have been six holes-in-one on the hole, but oddly their hasn’t been one since 2002 with Miguel Angel Jimenez.  Now it’s been a house of horrors as there have been 895 double bogeys and 229 scores of triple-bogey or higher.  Since keeping records in 2003, 553 balls have found a watery grave on the short par 3. The worst was in 2007 when 93 found a watery grave.  Last year saw the least with only 28, that being achieved because of the lack of wind. 2009 was a low year as only 30 balls got wet while in 2010 only 29 went in the water. In 2011 40 balls found the water around the green while in 2012 39 went in. 2013 saw 44 finding the water and if your wondering why, it’s off course due to wind. If you get no wind like last year, less balls in the water.  But when the wind gets brisk you see lot’s of balls in the water like 93 in 2007.   So the answer is easy, if there is a lack of wind this week the 17th will play easier.  Still come Sunday no matter what the conditions are there is that special mystic of playing the 17th on the final day while in contention. So 17 has seen the most balls in the water since 2003.  What is second?  That is 18 with 532 followed by the 16th hole with 374.  So in doing the math, since 2003 the 16th, 17th and 18th holes have been played 5,231 times so with 1,459 in the water for a 27.9% of the time.  So the chances of getting your ball wet on those holes on any given round is a shade over 1 in 4.
  • Now I don’t want to jinx the tournament, but weather in Ponte Vedra should be picture-perfect for three of the four days of the championship,  with a 50% chance of afternoon thunderstorms on Friday. Also good is the fact that wind will be below 12 MPH each of the days of play.

 

 

Who to watch for at the The Players Championship

Best Bets:

Rory McIlroy

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T6 T8 CUT CUT CUT

Isn’t this just a really bold statement? Of course he is the favorite, he is playing really good and we all know he is one of the streakiest players in the world. Once he get’s on this roll it continues for a month. Mcilroy has gotten to the point that he is probably a 1 in 3 shot of winning this week, he is that good.

Jordan Spieth

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T4

Very surprised at what happened at the match play. It’s either a sign that maybe he is getting tired or just blind luck. I will go for the blind luck, think he will do very well and we can only hope for a Mcilroy/Spieth final pairing come Sunday.

Tiger Woods

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
Win T40 WD WD 8 T37 T22 T53 T16 T11

Now this is a really bold statement. Many feel he won’t even make the cut that his long game is terrible and that he will hit it all over the lot. I disagree, Woods showed us a lot at the Masters that yes he can still find a way to get into contention and that he still has some of his great play. Remember what happened a year ago when Rory broke off with Caroline Wozniacki? Rory went on a tear. I see the same happening with Tiger, I think he spent way too much time on ski slopes this winter and not enough playing golf. See him really working hard and playing well this week.

Best of the rest:

Justin Rose

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T4 CUT T51 T45 CUT T22 CUT CUT CUT T58 T39

Winner at Zurich tells us that he will be knocking on the door on every event he plays in. Finished T-4th last year, so he can play well at Sawgrass.

Jim Furyk

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
2 CUT T25 CUT T47 T5 T27 T28 T3 CUT T4

Another good finish at the Match Play, I can see him doing well this week. Playing at home is tough, but I think that Furyk would like to win at least one more really big event.

Henrik Stenson

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T34 T5 T15 CUT CUT Win T10 T23 T3

Past champion here, I can see him doing very, very well. Watch him.

Martin Kaymer

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
Win T43 T15 T19 T34 T55

Talking about past champions Kaymer hasn’t really gotten it together this year, but we can say the same for him last year at this time. He is a volcano ready to explode and it could be this week.

Dustin Johnson

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T59 WD T57 T34 T79 CUT

Another person hard to figure out, should be a perfect course for him but doesn’t seem to do well

Solid contenders

Phil Mickelson

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
CUT CUT T25 T33 T17 T55 T21 Win T14 T40 T3

Watch out for him, he has a plan to get ready for the U.S. Open and we could see some good signs from him this week. Wouldn’t surprise me to see him contend.

Sergio Garcia

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
3 T8 T56 T12 T47 T22 Win 2 T14 T32 T53 CUT

We really don’t know what to say about him. He is good but just can’t get it going. He could either win this week or miss the cut that’s how he is playing.

Jimmy Walker

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T6 T15 T35 CUT T26

Has played well here, despite his poor play of late look for a good week out of him.

Adam Scott

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T38 T19 T15 CUT T26 CUT T54 T6 T53 T8 Win T17

What can we say other than maybe he should just not worry about trying to change his putting until December. Has the talent but hasn’t shown us much this year.

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
First time playing in this event

Long shots that could come through:

Paul Casey

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
WD CUT CUT T14 CUT CUT CUT T10

Playing well but have to wonder how sick he was. Could effect him this week.

Marc Leishman

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T23 T8 45 CUT CUT

Showed us some good signs at the Match Play, has a good record here so watch out.

Daniel Berger

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
First time playing in this event

First timers never seem to do well at this event (other than Craig Perks) but I can see him in the mix on Sunday.

Is something wrong?

Jason Day

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T19 CUT T6 CUT

Hard to believe that he lost three matches last week. Seems that his game peaked at San Diego and he has struggled every since. Do you pick him this week, I wouldn’t.

Comments

  1. Hi Sal,
    Do you really think Rory played that well last week or was it more that his opponents choked or were sick?

  2. James, of the field of 64 he played seven different men and beat them all. Sorry but the laws of average state that someplace, at some time your going to have a problem and lose. I thought he was impressive, he was dead in two matches, first with Billy Horschel and then with Paul Casey and came back from the dead to win. Another thing people tend to forget, in match play when you are #1 people have a different attitude toward you and want to gun you down, so I was very impressed in the way Rory played. One other thing as I said in my preview, the course was tailor made for a long hitter like Rory, he took advantage of that.

  3. Hey Sal,
    First off love the site! I am playing GPP’s on Draft Kings and have a core group set with Spieth,Matsuyama,M. Hoffman. Any thoughts?

  4. Mark,
    For my draft kings I have McIlroy, M. Hoffman, Rose, Leishman, Stuard and Summerhays.

    It was agonizing choosing between Rose and Spieth, came to the conclusion that Spieth is showing signs of fatigue which happens to all good players when they have hot streaks. This will Spieth’s sixth event in seven weeks, he does need some time off to recharge those young batteries. Rose, seems to be coming on strong, yes he was eliminated at the Match Play two days after winning Zurich and was beat my Leishman, one of by picks. So it was a toss-up and I reluctantly took Rose.

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