This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
Just like fans of every other sport, we fans of golf, like to complain when things don't go our way. Whether it's one guy who plays so well that he runs away from the field or a course that's too easy, or too tough, we often find reasons to be disappointed. But you'd have to search far and wide to find a golf fan who was disappointed with the British Open last weekend. I'd go as far as to say that anyone who expressed disappointment was doing just to be contrarian.
The only gripe I'm going to accept is that the final few holes didn't have much drama, but that's certainly not enough to take away from what was a very entertaining week. At different points on Sunday afternoon we had Tiger Woods in the lead, Jordan Spieth in the lead, Rory McIlroy one stroke out, Justin Rose with the clubhouse lead, not to mentioned about a dozen golfers within a stroke of the lead at one point. It was truly anyone's tourney to take for an extended stretch, and the fact that one man, Francesco Molinari, happened to play significantly better than anyone else down the stretch, should not take away from what has suddenly become the most competitive major on a yearly basis.
It's easy to point out when things aren't great. After a rough month-long stretch on the PGA Tour, I was more than willing to point out just how uninspiring the golf was prior to last
Just like fans of every other sport, we fans of golf, like to complain when things don't go our way. Whether it's one guy who plays so well that he runs away from the field or a course that's too easy, or too tough, we often find reasons to be disappointed. But you'd have to search far and wide to find a golf fan who was disappointed with the British Open last weekend. I'd go as far as to say that anyone who expressed disappointment was doing just to be contrarian.
The only gripe I'm going to accept is that the final few holes didn't have much drama, but that's certainly not enough to take away from what was a very entertaining week. At different points on Sunday afternoon we had Tiger Woods in the lead, Jordan Spieth in the lead, Rory McIlroy one stroke out, Justin Rose with the clubhouse lead, not to mentioned about a dozen golfers within a stroke of the lead at one point. It was truly anyone's tourney to take for an extended stretch, and the fact that one man, Francesco Molinari, happened to play significantly better than anyone else down the stretch, should not take away from what has suddenly become the most competitive major on a yearly basis.
It's easy to point out when things aren't great. After a rough month-long stretch on the PGA Tour, I was more than willing to point out just how uninspiring the golf was prior to last week. It's precisely that long, rough stretch that made this Open even sweeter, though. We were starved for some entertaining golf last week and for those of us who didn't have our standards impossibly high, we got exactly what we wanted.
This week: Canadian Open - Glen Abbey Golf Club, Oakville, Ontario
Last Year: Jhonattan Vegas shot a final-round 65 on his way to a playoff victory over Charley Hoffman.
PLAYERS TO CONSIDER
Matt Kuchar
The field is rather strong this week, so I expect a big name, or relatively big name, to come out on top. Kuchar certainly fits that bill and is coming in with some momentum from last week's top-10 at the British Open. Kuchar also as the track record here, as he's carded four top-10s in his last five starts at this event.
Dustin Johnson
Yes, he came up well short last week at the Open, but the Canadian Open is not the British Open. When a golfer fails at a major championship, it's not necessarily indicative of his overall game; it just could be that he failed on a quirky course. That looks to be the case here as prior to missing the cut at the Open, DJ finished no worse than T17 in his previous six starts on the PGA Tour, which included a win at the St. Jude Classic. DJ has also finished runner-up here in two of his last three starts on this course.
Jhonattan Vegas
Normally, a two-time defending champion would be higher on the list, but Vegas' current form is a little concerning. Vegas hasn't finished inside the top 20 on the PGA Tour since January and missed his last two cuts, and yet ... he's won this event the last two years. He's certainly an option this week, but he's not atop the list.
Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a first-timer at this event, but that shouldn't matter this week as he seems to thrive even without much course knowledge. Fleetwood has finished inside the top-20 in nine of 12 starts on the PGA Tour this season and finished T7 or better in three of his last five starts. Fleetwood also falls into the "week after" category, a theory which states it's wise to take a golfer the week after he underperforms ... if you can call a T12 at the Open "underperforming."
Joaquin Niemann
Niemann is another first-timer at this event, and much like Fleetwood, it shouldn't have much of an effect on Niemann this week. Niemann has posted top-25s in four of his last five starts on the PGA Tour and three of those have been top-10s. He's going to break through sooner than later, and although it's a pretty tough field this week, I could see Niemann picking up his first win this week.
PLAYERS TO AVOID
Sung Kang
The controversy surrounding Kang found new life last week as he played well enough in round one for speculation to grow about whether he belonged there in the first place. Luckily, he faded to a T67, so there was no further mention of it. That's not to say that it's over, however, as the "did he or didn't he cheat" question likely will hang with Kang for a while. In addition, he's also failed miserably at this event, missing the cut in all four starts.
Troy Merritt
Merritt's form is certainly not in question this week, but he's stepping up in class and must put his win at the Barbasol Championship behind him quickly. He might be able to compartmentalize the win from last week in time, but then he has to overcome his terrible track record at this event. Merritt has missed the cut in four of his six starts at this event and has never cracked the top 30.
David Hearn
Hearn could be a popular pick this week as he's one of the top Canadian golfers on the PGA Tour, but his track record at this event suggests that maybe he's under a little too much pressure here. Hearn posted a top-3 here in 2015 but missed the cut at this event in nearly half of his starts, including his two most recent.
Sergio Garcia
Garcia has fared well at this event, but he hasn't played here in quite a while and his current form leaves a lot to be desired. Garcia had some success overseas recently but wasn't able to parlay that into anything at the Open. In addition, Garcia has been terrible on the PGA Tour this season. It's almost as if Garcia has mentally checked out on this season.
Hunter Mahan
Mahan had a very productive week at the Barbasol, but like Merritt, he's stepping up in class this week and his track record here leaves a lot to be desired. Mahan has played the weekend just once in his last five starts at this event, and while his form is probably better now than it's been over the last few years, he doesn't have enough firepower to finish high this week.
ONE AND DONE GOLFER
Last week: (T2) - $694,250; Season - $7,930,070
This week: Tommy Fleetwood - Tough call this week as I normally shy away from taking first-timers, but again, Fleetwood has had little trouble with new venues this season and is in good form. Vegas was considered, but I couldn't get past his current form. Niemann was also an option, but in a battle of first-timers, I had to go with Fleetwood.
PGATOUR.COM PICKS
Starters: Tommy Fleetwood, Jhonattan Vegas, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar
Bench: Joaquin Niemann, Kevin Kisner
SURVIVOR PICK
Last week: Justin Rose - (T2); Streak - 4
This week: Jhonattan Vegas - While I'm not convinced of Vegas' upside this week, I'd be shocked if he missed the cut. He's missed the cut just once at this event and that came at a different venue. Vegas is a combined 46 strokes under par in his four starts at Glen Abbey.
