So, I was initially concerned something was incredibly off with my process on Thursday of last week.
Putnam & Sungjae, two people I highlighted both in the player pool & in my Twitter post couldn’t have gotten off to worse starts, Sungjae in particular after he tripled his very first hole.
But it’s a good reminder, no matter how tilted you are immediately, that things settle in. Unless you’re Rickie Fowler who has apparently straight up given up on golf.
Putnam kind of hemmed and hawed around and had a really good Saturday until giving it away on his final two holes, but still finished near top 40 and for an underclicked $6K option, you’re fine with that. Sungjae finished in the top 10. Pat Cantlay didn’t make the player pool last week and also missed the cut, so the lesson is - you’ll always have some misses in this game, but process wise, it feels like everything is still dialed in.
Pinehurst #2 is going to be an absolute beast. Crowned greens, mental challenges, no rough to speak of, but if you miss any of the fairways, you’re in waste sand areas/bunkers or wiry plants. You have no idea what your lie will be. Around the green is going to be a choose your own adventure book. NASCAR speed on putting. It’s going to be a wild time.
Let’s see who we have.
Scottie is Scottie. Are you going to play him at 45%? That’s the question. With enough top priced options available that could theoretically outperform him, such as Xander or Bryson, I think you can realistically make a case to fade him at least in tournaments. But, he’s the #1 at that clicked for a reason.
I think Bryson is an outstanding play here. His absurd length will be such a bonus at a course playing over 7,500 yards, and his clicks are relatively in check, as are most in that range because of how much Scottie is soaking up.
Xander is fine, obviously. You don’t need the book on him.
I’m not super enamored with Rory this week, but there’s no denying his talent and again - his absurd length, I think, will at least be of some benefit.
Dean Bumester is a solid play I think. Another mega long hitter, has a 12th place finish this year at the PGA Championship and has supreme length off the tee and is top ten in the field in tee to green, ball striking, approach & around the green play. His putter and accuracy will determine how high he can climb. I do think he’ll be chalky in that price range, however.
I think Ludvig has a big bounce back coming his way after a disappointing MC at the PGA.
I like a lot of what Hideki brings, especially his talent around the greens, but man is he a terrible putter. It is worth noting, at least, that he has won at Augusta which is also a notoriously tough putting course.
Tom McKibbin - I’m hitching my horse to this wagon and going down with the ship. A 21 year old Northern Ireland product (hello, McIlroy comps) is top third in the field in distance and adds in outstanding accuracy. McKibbin earned his spot in the field by qualifying and has made nine of ten cuts in 2024 on the DP World Tour, where he plays, logging four top 10’s and his lowest finish being 25th, his missed cut notwithstanding. He’s not as long as some of the pure bombers, but he’s still top third in the field paired with elite accuracy and ball striking. Absolutely no one is clicking him and he’s priced at $6,200, allowing us to freely construct the rest of our lineup as we see fit.
Tom Kim is back and I’m out on Alex Noren starting this week - I think the signs are there that he’s regressing back to his mean. Anyone I didn’t name that you see listed up there is fine.
Bez is going to be a chalk bomb, FYI.
I like Mac Meissner enough at his price and he doesn’t seem like he’s getting any attention. Most people probably feel like they don’t need to dip into that price range, unless it’s a Scheffler build.
Pendrith’s approach numbers give me enough of a warning sign to be very wary, but I think he’s ok in a vacuum if you end up with some shares in MME builds.
I’m pretty out on English, Clark & Homa. Not in love with Burns or Glover either. I think Adam Scott kind of sucks too.
I don’t know what to do with Cantlay. He can’t putt or hit the ball where he wants to save his life, but I guess if you’re looking for some type of silver lining, absolutely no one is playing him in that range.
Bobby Mac might have a hangover that could decimate the population of Peru, so I mean… sure. But he did go from winning in Canada, back to Scotland, drank the GDP of New Zealand away and then came back to the States. I’m willing to fade just on circumstantial evidence.
Harman & Hatton are probably ok.
Good luck - let’s get 6/6 of through and have someone bring home the million!