CIMB Classic Preview: Thomas Looks for Three-peat

The first event of the fall season has a way of sneaking up on you. The first moment I realized the PGA Tour was back at it was last Thursday afternoon when I noticed the leaderboard atop my ESPN.com page. The next day that same leaderboard caught my eye, but this time for a different reason, because T. Duncan was atop said leaderboard.

My first thought was, of course, Tim Duncan, who, while a Hall of Fame basketball player, could never have made such a quick turnaround onto the PGA Tour. That got me thinking, though. How come there aren't a lot of tall players on the PGA Tour? You'd think that the long wing span would be a huge advantage when it comes to swing speed. We marvel at the smaller guys like Justin Thomas, who somehow generates a huge amount of speed with his swing even though he is just 5-foot-10. A man say, a foot taller, would seem to have a built-in advantage, off the tee anyhow, and there's no reason why a tall man should be any worse with his ball striking or short game, right?

That got me thinking, who was the tallest player in PGA Tour history? By all accounts it was Phil Blackmar at 6-7. Blackmar played from 1985-1997 and won three times, but obviously was never an elite player. And that got me thinking – would I ever get this far off track in the summer, starting with a leaderboard and ending with a Phil Blackmar bio? The answer is no, but this is fall and there is a lot going on, so it's OK to get distracted from time to time.

This week: CIMB Classic - Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Last Year: Justin Thomas shot a final-round 64 on his way to a three-stroke victory over Hideki Matsuyama.

PLAYERS TO CONSIDER

Justin Thomas

Thomas proved so many things last season. He proved he can hang with the best in the world. He proved he can win multiple times on the PGA Tour. He proved he can win a major. He proved he can handle the pressure of expectations. The only thing left to prove is whether he can back up an incredible season, which many golfers before him could not. This will be a decent test as he's the defending champ. He's still in good form, so he should win, right?

Scott Piercy

Piercy is the type whom you want to use in the fall as you'll have little use for him at a major or a WGC event in 2018. As luck would have it, he also has a solid track record at this event, with three top-10s in three starts, the two most recent were on the current course.

Keegan Bradley

Speaking of a guy you probably won't need to hold onto for the 2018 portion of the schedule. Bradley also has a solid track record at this event with two top-10s in three starts on the current course. Bradley would have to play well for several months to be in play for the bigger events next year, so this is the type of spot to use him.

Bud Cauley

Cauley was highly touted when he joined the PGA Tour, and while his success was not instant like that of Jon Rahm or Jordan Spieth, he has built a nice little resume the last couple seasons. He's also trending the right way with the top-10 he posted last week at the Safeway Open.

Xander Schauffele

You might want to hold onto Schauffele until 2018, but if you want to capitalize on his momentum, this week might be the right time to use him. This will be Schauffele's first start at this event, but that didn't seem to bother him much last season as he was tearing up the PGA Tour during the second half of the season.

PLAYERS TO AVOID

Morgan Hoffmann

Hoffmann just simply has not taken to the fall portion of the schedule. Only once in five seasons has Hoffmann had any kind of success during the fall portion of the season and if he's to turn that trend around, it likely won't start this week as his track record at this event is not good.

Pat Perez

Perez had a career year last season, basically out of nowhere, so it will be interesting to see how he fares this season. If he's to back up his stellar numbers from last season, it likely will have to come at a later date as he's never fared well at this event. Perez has three starts at this event, on this course, and none have resulted in anything better than a T33.

Colt Knost

Knost has everything working against him this week as he's coming off a missed cut and his track record at this event is not good. Knost not only missed the cut last week, but he missed it by a mile and it's tough to turn your game around that much in four days. His best finish at this event was a T37 in 2016.

Danny Lee

Not many players on the PGA Tour finished last season as poorly as Lee. And unless he figured out his game during the short break, he's likely to struggle again this week. Not only is his current form an issue, but he's also struggled at this event in his two most recent starts, with a WD and a T51.

Peter Uihlein

With a small field and a lot of unrecognizable names it's actually a tough week to find five golfers to avoid this week, but Uilhein is somewhat known, so he qualifies. Uihlein struggled at the end of last season and picked up where he left off with a missed cut in his first start of this season. This will also be Uihlein's first start at this event, which rarely is a good thing.

ONE AND DONE GOLFER

Last week: Kevin Na (T37) - $27,280; Season - $27,280

This week: Keegan Bradley - This pick came down to Bradley or Piercy and believe it or not, I'd rather save Piercy for later in the season. Bradley is not a consolation pick, though, as his track record here indicates that he will produce this week.

SURVIVOR PICK

Last week: Kevin Na - (T37); Streak - 1

This week: N/A - N/A