BlogNorthern Trust Preview and Picks

Barclays Classic

August 24th – 27th, 2017

Glen Oaks Club (Composite)

Old Westbury, N.Y.

Par: 70 / Yardage:

Purse: $8.75 million

with $1,530,000 to the winner

Defending Champion:
Patrick Reed

by Sal Johnson

Founder, Chief Data Officer, GOLFstats

E-mail me at:
sal@golfstats.com

This week’s field includes:

The field includes 68 top-100 players from the latest Official World Rankings and 40 of the top 50. Nine of the top-ten players are in the field (#5 Sergio Garcia is not):  Those in the field include #1 Dustin Johnson, #2 Hideki Matsuyama, #3 Jordan Spieth, #4 Rory McIlroy, #6 Henrik Stenson, #7 Justin Thomas, #8 Jon Rahm, #9 Jason Day and #10 Rickie Fowler. From 11 to 25 there are 12 of the 15 with #12 Brooks Koepka, #13 Matt Kuchar, #14 Francesco Molinari, #15 Justin Rose, #17 Paul Casey, #18 Rafael Cabrera Bello, #20 Louis Oosthuizen, #21 Patrick Reed, #22 Daniel Berger, #23 Charley Hoffman, #24 Kevin Kisner, #25 Charl Schwartzel.  Between 26 and 50 there are 19 of the 25, they are #26 Brian Harman, #27 Marc Leishman, #30 Kevin Chappell, #31 Phil Mickelson, #32 Jason Dufner, #34 Branden Grace, #35 Siwoo Kim, #37 Bill Haas, #38 Zach Johnson, #39 Jimmy Walker, #40 Gary Woodland, #41 Wesley Bryan, #42 Pat Perez, #43 Ryan Moore, #44 Russell Knox, #47 Billy Horschel, #48 Jhonattan Vegas, #49 Webb Simpson and #50 Adam Hadwin.

Last year there was 66 top-100 players and 37 players from the top-50.

The field includes 120 of the top-125 from the FedEx Cup rankings.  Those not playing are Sergio Garcia (will sit out the playoff opener for the third consecutive year), Adam Scott (awaiting birth of 2nd child), Brandt Snedeker (rib injury), Scott Piercy and Dominic Bozzelli (both injuried)

The field includes 24 of the top-25 players on this year’s PGA Tour money list. #16 Sergio Garcia choose not to play.

The field includes 7 past champions: Patrick Reed (2016), Jason Day (2015), Dustin Johnson (2011),  Matt Kuchar (2010) and Steve Stricker (2007).

A perfect way for fantasy golfers to check on the past performance of all the players in The Northern Trust 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 Barclays field in the last five years or check out our sortable 8-year glance at The Northern Trust  field.

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 in Las Vegas.

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

Who’s Hot in the field for the Barclays Classic

Player Wyndham PGA Champ. WGC Bridgestone Barracuda RBC Canadian Porsche European British Open Barbasol John Deere Scottish Open Greenbrier Classic Irish Open Quicken Loans
Hideki Matsuyama
(398 pts)
DNP T5
(140)
Win
(198)
DNP DNP DNP T14
(48)
DNP DNP DNP DNP T14
(12)
DNP
Matt Kuchar
(338.17 pts)
DNP T9
(90)
T17
(49.5)
DNP T32
(12)
DNP 2
(133.33)
DNP DNP T4
(53.33)
DNP DNP DNP
Henrik Stenson
(323.5 pts)
Win
(132)
T13
(74)
T17
(49.5)
DNP DNP DNP T11
(52)
DNP DNP T26
(16)
DNP DNP DNP
Rickie Fowler
(304.83 pts)
DNP T5
(140)
9
(67.5)
DNP DNP DNP T22
(37.33)
DNP DNP T9
(30)
DNP DNP T3
(30)
Justin Thomas
(280.33 pts)
DNP Win
(264)
T28
(33)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-13.33)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
Jordan Spieth
(275.5 pts)
DNP T28
(44)
T13
(55.5)
DNP DNP DNP Win
(176)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Rory McIlroy
(257.67 pts)
DNP T22
(56)
T5
(105)
DNP DNP DNP T4
(106.67)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP
Charley Hoffman
(253 pts)
DNP T48
(4)
3
(135)
DNP 2
(66.67)
DNP T20
(40)
DNP T39
(7.33)
DNP DNP DNP DNP
Zach Johnson
(248.67 pts)
DNP T48
(4)
2
(150)
DNP DNP DNP T14
(48)
DNP T5
(46.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP
Chris Stroud
(242.67 pts)
CUT
(-10)
T9
(90)
DNP Win
(132)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP T35
(10)
T19
(20.67)
DNP T20
(10)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
Patrick Reed
(242.67 pts)
DNP T2
(200)
T36
(21)
DNP DNP T19
(20.67)
CUT
(-13.33)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
T20
(10)
DNP T17
(11)
Paul Casey
(231 pts)
DNP T13
(74)
T5
(105)
DNP DNP DNP T11
(52)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Francesco Molinari
(225.67 pts)
DNP T2
(200)
T24
(39)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-13.33)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Brooks Koepka
(203.5 pts)
DNP T13
(74)
T17
(49.5)
DNP DNP DNP T6
(80)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Ian Poulter
(196.67 pts)
DNP T22
(56)
DNP DNP 3
(60)
DNP T14
(48)
DNP DNP T9
(30)
DNP T42
(2.67)
DNP
Marc Leishman
(190.83 pts)
DNP T13
(74)
T41
(13.5)
DNP DNP DNP T6
(80)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T5
(23.33)
Louis Oosthuizen
(188.17 pts)
DNP T2
(200)
T50
(1.5)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-13.33)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Richy Werenski
(180 pts)
T10
(40)
DNP DNP T2
(100)
T42
(5.33)
DNP DNP T18
(21.33)
T25
(16.67)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP
Rafael Cabrera-Bello
(171.33 pts)
DNP CUT
(-20)
72
(0)
DNP DNP DNP T4
(106.67)
DNP DNP Win
(88)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP
Rory Sabbatini
(163.67 pts)
T4
(80)
DNP DNP 17
(33)
T23
(18)
DNP DNP T55
(0)
T19
(20.67)
DNP T14
(12)
DNP DNP
Jason Day
(159.67 pts)
DNP T9
(90)
T24
(39)
DNP DNP DNP T27
(30.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Dustin Johnson
(156.83 pts)
DNP T13
(74)
T17
(49.5)
DNP T8
(33.33)
DNP T54
(0)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Webb Simpson
(153.33 pts)
3
(90)
T33
(34)
DNP DNP DNP DNP T37
(17.33)
DNP DNP DNP T14
(12)
DNP DNP
Kevin Kisner
(151.67 pts)
T42
(8)
T7
(110)
T28
(33)
DNP DNP DNP T54
(0)
DNP T44
(4)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP
Robert Garrigus
(138.67 pts)
DNP DNP DNP T6
(60)
T5
(46.67)
DNP DNP 10
(26.67)
DQ
(-3.33)
DNP T45
(1.67)
DNP T29
(7)
Martin Flores
(136.33 pts)
T7
(55)
DNP DNP T11
(39)
T19
(20.67)
DNP DNP T18
(21.33)
T64
(0)
DNP T50
(0.33)
DNP T55
(0)
Bryson DeChambeau
(131.67 pts)
DNP T33
(34)
T60
(0)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-13.33)
DNP Win
(88)
DNP T14
(12)
DNP T17
(11)
Xander Schauffele
(124.5 pts)
DNP CUT
(-20)
T13
(55.5)
DNP DNP DNP T20
(40)
DNP DNP DNP Win
(44)
DNP T35
(5)
Grayson Murray
(119 pts)
CUT
(-10)
T22
(56)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP Win
(88)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP WD
(-1.67)
DNP 74
(0)
Jamie Lovemark
(118 pts)
DNP T33
(34)
DNP DNP DNP DNP T22
(37.33)
DNP T25
(16.67)
DNP T3
(30)
DNP DNP
Branden Grace
(116.33 pts)
DNP CUT
(-20)
T28
(33)
DNP DNP DNP T6
(80)
DNP DNP T15
(23.33)
DNP DNP DNP
Tony Finau
(114.67 pts)
DNP T44
(12)
DNP DNP T5
(46.67)
DNP T27
(30.67)
DNP DNP DNP T7
(18.33)
DNP T29
(7)
Ryan Moore
(113 pts)
T24
(26)
T13
(74)
T28
(33)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-13.33)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP
Graham Delaet
(113 pts)
DNP T7
(110)
DNP WD
(-5)
T48
(1.33)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T20
(10)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
Gary Woodland
(109.33 pts)
DNP T22
(56)
T63
(0)
DNP 4
(53.33)
DNP T70
(0)
DNP DNP DNP 57
(0)
DNP DNP

How Player Rankings are Computed

Who’s Not Hot in the field for the Barclays Classic

Player Wyndham PGA Champ. WGC Bridgestone Barracuda RBC Canadian Porsche European British Open Barbasol John Deere Scottish Open Greenbrier Classic Irish Open Quicken Loans
Emiliano Grillo
(-48.5 pts)
CUT
(-10)
CUT
(-20)
T50
(1.5)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-13.33)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP
William McGirt
(-46.67 pts)
CUT
(-10)
CUT
(-20)
DNP DNP WD
(-3.33)
DNP CUT
(-13.33)
DNP T71
(0)
DNP DNP DNP DNP
Jonas Blixt
(-36.67 pts)
CUT
(-10)
CUT
(-20)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
Luke Donald
(-33.33 pts)
CUT
(-10)
CUT
(-20)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T58
(0)
CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP
Siwoo Kim
(-28.5 pts)
DNP WD
(-10)
T50
(1.5)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-13.33)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
Cody Gribble
(-26.67 pts)
CUT
(-10)
T63
(0)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
Rod Pampling
(-23.33 pts)
DNP CUT
(-20)
T74
(0)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
Whee Kim
(-21.67 pts)
CUT
(-10)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP WD
(-1.67)
Stewart Cink
(-20 pts)
DNP DNP DNP DNP T62
(0)
DNP CUT
(-13.33)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
T58
(0)
DNP DNP
D.A. Points
(-16.67 pts)
T69
(0)
T54
(0)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP T65
(0)

How Player Rankings are Computed

The Buzz:

It’s the homestretch of the 2017 PGA Tour season.  After 43 events spread over the last 11 months, for many their season is over.  Guys like Shane Lowry, Sam Saunders, Ryan Palmer, Graeme McDowell, Aaron Baddeley, Smylie Kaufman, Ben Crane, Alex Cejka, Jim Furyk, Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh and Davis Love III to name a few.

For those that are in between and have to attend Web.Com Tour finale, good luck the next five weeks will be tough and some will make it and some won’t.

But for those going into the playoffs it’s all about making as much money as they can.  For each level or playoff event they play in the bonus money gets even bigger and for one really lucky guy there is $10 million awaiting him.

That’s why I can’t understand Sergio Garcia taking a pass on this week other than he has so much money it doesn’t really matter.  Still they are playing on a course that suits his game, he has won this event in past years and should be in it.  Oh well.

One person we won’t see for a bit is Brandt Snedeker who after finishing T-9th at the U.S. Open and T-14th at the Travelers hasn’t played since due to a sternum joint injury.  He has hoped the injury would get better and it hasn’t meaning that he will shut things down for an indefinite period to try and get healthy.  He is going to now check with his medical team to see if there is a better course of action to help him get better, right now he can’t swing without pain.  So hopefully he can get healthy again and start up at the beginning of the year.

My take on the playoffs:

When FedEx Cup Playoffs were introduced in 2007, the PGA Tour had a big problem.  The season was very long, going from January through November.  After the PGA Championship, the marquee names didn’t play much until the last event in November at the Tour Championship.  The big problem PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem had, with new TV contracts he wasn’t going to get a network to do the telecasts in September, October and November, nobody wanted to buck Football.  He also had to spice up the way people look at a year for the Networks, he needed something more than player of the year and the money race.

So Finchem was looking for some way of cutting the season down so that he could put a proper period on the season before Football started.  NASCAR had a point system which got racers to a playoff system, and Finchem got FedEx to buy into the system.  It was a year long point system that players qualified for a series of four playoff events, with the top-30 going to the Tour Championship so that the “best player” of the year would be found.  Before it was the player who won the most money, Finchem just about scraped the money race and came up with a point system.

The only problem was that the PGA Tour sold this as a year-long system in which it would be just as important getting points in the first event as the last event.

Frankly in my eyes it has turned into a joke.  How can you justify players getting “valuable” FedEx Cup points in events like the Frys.com Open or the RBC Heritage or the Travelers.  It’s not important for week in, week out events.  In a way watching a players points grow was like watching grass grow, nobody including players really care during the year.

So how do you make it exciting, year round?  Right now the playoffs are four weeks in which the hottest player is usually the winner.  So let’s not make it a four-week affair.  What if instead of having four playoff events, you have a playoff event every ten weeks or so.  So after the 13 Fall and west coast events, you add up the points and have your first playoff event with between 70 and 90 players.  You then award points based on the finishes of that event.  After that playoff event, the next event rolls over to everyone with zero points and you go ten weeks or so to like Zurich in New Orleans.  Again the top point getters are in the second playoff event, with points award in that playoff event.  You then have another playoff event between the U.S. Open and British Open like at Greenbrier.  Again after the third playoff event, again everything is zero out and you go to six or seven events before you have the fourth playoff event the week before the Tour Championship.  Again points are given at this fourth playoff event, and you take all four of the playoff events, total up the points and invite the top-30 to play in your final playoff at the Tour Championship.  So instead of four straight weeks of playoffs, you stagger them over the course of the year and end it with the fourth playoff event followed by the Tour Championship.

Under this system you will see players think more about the playoff events and you will see players in more events in the week or two before a playoff.  This then places importance on the whole year.  You will probably get the same hot golfer winning at the Tour Championship, but things will be more interesting.  I have touched on the surface on this.

I love this concept, and it makes each event during the year more important in getting points.

Just my take on these very boring playoff events.

Tournament information:

This is the 51st annual Northern Trust. Originally dubbed the Westchester Classic, the tournament has undergone a slew of name changes over the years. Just a decade after Jack Nicklaus captured the inaugural tournament in thrilling fashion back in 1967, the tournament became the American Express Westchester Classic.

Three years later, in 1979, American Express pulled out as title sponsor and the event became known as the Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic. The name lasted until 1990, when Buick became the title sponsor. In 2005, Barclays took over as chief sponsor of the event and lasted for 12 years.  Northern Trust will be the new sponsor.

The Northern Trust, use to be played the week before or after the U.S. Open in June, was shifted to the middle of August to accommodate being the first event in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

The first year of the playoffs,  Westchester was used and Steve Stricker won.  Since then the Barclays has moved away from Westchester, and it looks like it will never go back. Lot’s of reasons for it not ever coming back, but most of them were because of the logistics and not because of the course itself.  The future of the Barclays is courses like Ridgewood, Plainfield, Liberty National and now Bethpage, which held the 2012 Barclays and is the home this year.  Last year it was played at Plainfield Country Club for the second time.  Future plans has Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, New York in 2017, mainly to get it away from the New York which will have the Presidents Cup at Liberty Nationals.  Here is a look at the sites of the Barclays, which loses Barclay’s as a sponsor and will have Northern Trust take over.

  • 2017 – Glen Oaks Club
  • 2018 – Ridgewood Country Club
  • 2019 – Liberty National Golf Club
  • 2020 – Plainfield Country Club
  • 2021 – Bethpage State Park (Black Course)
  • 2022 – Liberty National Golf Club

Course information:

  • Glen Oaks Club (Composite)
  • Old Westbury, N.Y.
  • 7,350 yards     Par 35-35–70

Let’s take a look at key stats that are important for those playing at Glen Oaks Club:

For the second time this year the PGA Tour is going to a course that nobody has seen before, the Glen Oaks Club in Long Island, New York. Located 25 miles from the heart of New York City, one of the reasons this course has been chosen is it’s out of the way location in Long Island and the fact that since the Presidents Cup will be played in Liberty National in Jersey City, just a stone throw from Wall Street, this gives the Northern Trust a shot at getting some corporate sponsors for hospitality in the Long Island area. With the U.S. Open being played at Shinnecock Hills, about 40 miles east it’s a good start for some companies to see what kind of buck they will get in hospitality.

The club itself was first formed in the Roaring 20s on the Queen’s-Nassau border but which changing lifestyles and urban sprawl the club sold the property and bough land 15 miles away. They had designer Joe Finger build them a 27-hole course in Old Westbury. The course was not bad but termed “boring” and “redundant” so they hired superintendent Craig Currier away from Bethpage to work for Glen Oaks. He helped in picking a architect to do the renovation work and because he knew so much they were able to hire Joel Weiman, who in golf circles wasn’t a big name but Currier worked with him at Bethpage so he knew how good he could work with Weiman.

They lucked out when Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Sandy in 2012 cleared out a bunch of trees which help in the renovation. They finished a couple of years ago right when the PGA Tour was looking for a site away from Liberty National. They liked what they saw and was able to cobble out a championship 18 holes out of the 27 holes, mostly to help with the infrastructure and crowd control. They were about to take holes 1 through 3 and holes 6-9 of the White Course along with the 4th and 5th holes of the Red Course to make one nine. Then they used nine holes from the Blue Nine to get a par-70, 7,344 yard course.

So now the big question, what do we know about the course? Very little. We do know that the course has only two, par 5s, the 3rd at 625 yards and the 13th at 539. Of the par 4s, 4 on the front nine and one on the back, number 18 are over 470 yards. The other par 4s range from shortest, the 323 yard 11th hole, the only one under 400 yards to six holes between 400 and 447 yards. The par 3s have two over 230 yards with two right around the 185 mark. In looking at each hole the first 7 holes could be the hardest stretch in golf.

Now I hear that Glen Oaks is a shotmakers course and since the summer has been hot, the course is very, very firm and will play fast. So you won’t call this a bombers course, on top of everything else the rough around the greens have no rough and just like Augusta National, you miss the green and we will see who the best scramblers in the game are. The course will continue to play fast as the weather for the week will be perfect, a possible touch of rain on Wednesday morning but after that there is a zero chance of any rain during the championship.  So this will open up the door for those that scramble and putt very well.

This course is just like Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, N.C. which held the Wells Fargo Championship. Both are iconic sites that will hold a PGA Tour, but realistically the person that it favors is the up and coming player who has never won before. As for favorites, again I can’t see any. Think the likes of a Stewart Cink, Russell Henley or a Geoff Ogilvy all good ballstrikers has just as good of a shot at the tile as key guys like Jordan Spite, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy.

So with no history to work with, we will pick four Strokes Gained category to reflect the best part of a players game and to help you make a better pick.

*Strokes Gained Off-the-tee: Able to translate in shots gained off of those that hit it far and straight off the tee

*Strokes Gained approach-the green: Perfect stat to see who picks up the most strokes by hitting the green and getting it close

*Strokes Gained around the green: Of course players are going to miss greens, this stat help figure out who gets it up and down when they miss greens.

*Strokes Gained putting: So who saves the most strokes on the greens

Of the 120 players in the field, 117 have stats on the PGA Tour for 2017.

Click any column title in the table header to sort columns.

Here is the link to the other of the 117 players that have PGA Tour stats for 2017

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at Glen Oaks:

A player that drives the ball long and straight and will make almost all of his putts inside 8 feet.  That is very easy to say, is there a human being that can do that?  Yes there will be a few but we won’t know it until the weekend.

Key stat for the winner:

  • The Northern Trust’s always been a test of survival and maybe that’s why in the 50-year history of the event it’s 43 champions have won 64 majors.
  • Hitting greens in regulation will be paramount. The tight venue will require good ball control, which will result in hitting lots of greens. Look for the winner to hit a plethora of greens in regulation this week, that was the way Jason Day won at Plainfield in 2015 (60 of 72, rank 1st).
  • Putting will be an important roll this week, look for very quick greens and guys like Jordan Spieth having a big advantage.
  • Is there any rhyme or reason for a player to win this week?
  • Wisdom says that a player with a lot of experiences will win but since this course is not a well know entity a newcomer will probably do well.  Just remember the only newcomer course of the year, Eagle Point and the Wells Fargo, Brian Harman wasn’t a very household name when he came through with his first career win, look for that happening this week.
  • Players ranking between about 90th and 125th have extra incentive because they need a good showing to stay alive in the lucrative FedExCup, with the top 100 moving on the following week’s Dell Technologies Championship. In 2009, Heath Slocum barely made the field at The Northern Trust but his victory helped him to ultimately finish eighth in the FedExCup. In 2013, Martin Laird was 95th heading into the week and lost in a playoff, eventually finishing 11th in the FedExCup. In 2014 we saw Billy Horschel begin the FedEx Cup playoffs ranked 69th and go on to win it.  So anything is possible.
  • This week is a mix of tour stars like Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson and Rory McIlroy with a lot of first-time winners and a lot of non-winners.  In past years winning had a lot to do with the weather, when it’s good the tour stars seem to shine but in bad weather it becomes a long shot delight.  Also in past Northern Trust look for those who play well with the lead, 26 of the 47 winners since 1970 have held the lead going into the final round and went on to win.  Since 1989, 16 of those 28 third round leaders have won but since leaving Westchester the third round leader has won just once, in 2015 with Jason Day (2011 was reduce to 54 holes).
  • Lastly, the outlook for the tournament couldn’t be any better as sunny skies with temperatures hovering in the high 80s will be around all four days with very little chance of rain.  This is a change for the area which has experience high temperatures and humidity for over a month.  This will mean that Glen Oaks will be very fast, the fairways will have a lot of roll and the greens will be hard and tough to hold shots.

 

Who to watch for at the Northern Trust

Best Bets:

Hideki Matsuyama

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
CUT T13 T30

Still think he is the best on tour right now and should win at any time.

Henrik Stenson

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
WD 2 T38 T43 T54 CUT

With the win in Greensboro, it’s fair warning that his game is back and he will be on top of the leaderboard for all four days at Glen Oaks.

Rickie Fowler

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T7 CUT T9 T9 T24 T52 T36

He should be ready to win, course will be good for his game.

Best of the rest:

Jordan Spieth

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T10 CUT T22 T19

This is a course that his game can handle and if he gets that hot hand with the shortstick, loo for him to dominate.

Paul Casey

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T31 T39 T22 T12 T7

A great ball striker, only problem with Paul is keeping away from high numbers on one or two holes.

Justin Thomas

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T10 T16

Showned a lot at Quail Hollow, this could be a very good place for him to play well.

Kevin Kisner

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T48 T20 CUT

Another great ball striker that could do some harm to opponents.

Solid contenders

Matt Kuchar

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T64 T39 T5 T19 T38 2 Win T28 CUT T35

This could be a great course for Matt who has played terrific of late.

Patrick Reed

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
Win T62 T9 CUT

Don’t forget the holder, he has found his game and has played well of late.

Francesco Molinari

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
CUT

This guy can win at any time and has the game to keep it in play this week and do well.

Dustin Johnson

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T18 T9 CUT T3 Win T9 T15 CUT

Just have one of those feelings that he was close and could play well all the time.

Long shots that could come through:

Xander Schauffele

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
First time playing in this event

Name sticks out and could be a contender next week.

Ian Poulter

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
CUT CUT CUT T36 T18 T15 T9 CUT T9 T9

Has played great of late as he continues trying to win.

Chris Stroud

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
CUT T19 T33 CUT T18 WD

He could very easily do well again this week, if not his world would still go well bouncing from team to team.

Lucas Glover

2017 ’16 ’15 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05
T70 WD CUT CUT CUT T55 CUT T70 T22

His game is great right now as my kids are coming in to try new shoes.

Comments

  1. Thoughts on Jason Day this week Sal?

  2. I really have no thoughts on both Jason Day or Rory McIlroy. They both have had a terrible summer and will have to get healthy again and look forward to 2018.

  3. This seems like a Lieschman track, agree? He’s been playing well and always seems to hang around. Koepka seems to be coming around again. I see him doing well.

  4. Clayton,
    Yes Marc has all of the right stats and was playing well in mid-summer, but was T-41st at Bridgestone and T-13th at the PGA Championship. But agree with you, could be a good choice for this week.

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