This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
As we entered 2017, the secret was out on Jon Rahm – he was heck of a golfer, with a lot of potential, but many a man had walked that same path only to fall short of expectations. Rahm, however, not only lived up to expectations, but by most accounts, he exceeded them. Rahm picked up one victory, two runner-ups and two third-place finishes. He made the cut in 21 of 23 starts and finished in the top 10 in almost half of his starts.
If he had any shortcomings, it was his temperament in pressure spots, mainly majors and his inability to close. While there's no way to gauge his temperament just yet, we certainly got a glimpse into his ability to close last weekend at the Career Builder Championship. No, the Career Builder Championship does not boast the best the field of the season and the absence of any top-tier players at the top of the leaderboard is nothing to completely discard, but winning on the PGA Tour is as much about battling your own mind as it is battling the other players in the field. In this case, Rahm won the battle with himself, a battle that he lost on more than one occasion last season.
The secret is out – Rahm is one heck of a golfer with a lot of success already, and he's headed down a path that few before him have traveled.
This week: Farmers Insurance Open - Torrey Pines South Course,
As we entered 2017, the secret was out on Jon Rahm – he was heck of a golfer, with a lot of potential, but many a man had walked that same path only to fall short of expectations. Rahm, however, not only lived up to expectations, but by most accounts, he exceeded them. Rahm picked up one victory, two runner-ups and two third-place finishes. He made the cut in 21 of 23 starts and finished in the top 10 in almost half of his starts.
If he had any shortcomings, it was his temperament in pressure spots, mainly majors and his inability to close. While there's no way to gauge his temperament just yet, we certainly got a glimpse into his ability to close last weekend at the Career Builder Championship. No, the Career Builder Championship does not boast the best the field of the season and the absence of any top-tier players at the top of the leaderboard is nothing to completely discard, but winning on the PGA Tour is as much about battling your own mind as it is battling the other players in the field. In this case, Rahm won the battle with himself, a battle that he lost on more than one occasion last season.
The secret is out – Rahm is one heck of a golfer with a lot of success already, and he's headed down a path that few before him have traveled.
This week: Farmers Insurance Open - Torrey Pines South Course, La Jolla, Calif.
Last Year: Jon Rahm shot a final-round 65 on his way to a three-stroke victory over C.T. Pan and Charles Howell III.
PLAYERS TO CONSIDER
Jon Rahm
I'm trying not to let my personal failings the first two weeks of my one-and-done pools dictate my pick this week, but it's hard not to like Rahm. He's obviously in good form and won by three strokes here last year. What's not to like?
Jason Day
Get used to seeing Day on this list as I think he's in for a big season, and it starts this week. Day has missed the cut here the Last two years, but as we all know, he was dealing with a lot at the beginning of last season. Prior to those missed cuts, though, Day posted three consecutive top-10s, including a runner-up in 2014 and a win in 2015.
Charles Howell III
If you were fortunate enough to use Rahm last week, Howell would be a perfect pick this week. Howell is not a guy you need to save for later in the season and he's almost guaranteed to cash a check this week. He's not going to win, but there's a good chance he'll get you a top-25. Howell has seven top-10s here in 15 starts and has never missed the cut.
Scott Stallings
It's a strong field this week, so there's bound to be a ton of chalk in your league, so if you want to go way off the beaten path, Stallings could be your guy. He missed the cut last year, but that doesn't overshadow his previous performances here. Stallings won in 2014 and finished runner-up in 2015.
Brandt Snedeker/Tiger Woods
It's the rarely – actually, never before – seen two for one on the Consider list. There's a reason I bunched these two together, though. Both have fantastic track records here, but neither has played his best golf the last couple years. In essence, both are risky, yet if they feel good, both have high upsides.
PLAYERS TO AVOID
Bill Haas
Perhaps I'm letting my personal bias affect this pick as Haas was my one-and-done pick last week and he missed the cut. But then again, maybe there is a sound reason to fade Haas this week. Yes, Haas has a good track record at this event, but the same was true last week and look what happened. Maybe his game is just that far off.
Tom Hoge
Hoge nearly won a couple weeks ago in Hawaii but faded down the stretch. It's that fade that I am worried about as he was in position to win, but he couldn't hold. Adding to the potential mental issues this week is his track record here, which is 0-for-2 on cuts made. Throw in a better field and it's probably best not to expect too much from Hoge this week.
Xander Schauffele
Schauffele looked like the best played on the planet for a spell late last season, but it's too soon to tell if he's actually that good, or if he just got really hot. His results this season haven't really answered anything as he hasn't missed a cut this season, but he also has only one top-20. I'm going to hold off on Schauffele until he shows signs of the guy who won the Tour Championship last season.
Jimmy Walker
It's a bad sign when my last two one-and-done picks show up on the Avoid list. Walker was my pick at the Sony because he had a great track record at that event and played well enough last fall to make me believe he was healthy. After yet another missed cut last week, I have to wonder if he is indeed 100 percent healthy. Walker is having trouble putting two good rounds together, which is a recipe for disaster on the PGA Tour.
Danny Lee
Lee was on this list last week and after another missed cut, he'll stay. As mentioned last week, Lee is very streaky, and he's just not on his game. Last week was his third consecutive missed cut. His track record here also leaves a lot to be desired as he's missed the cut in three of five starts.
ONE AND DONE GOLFER
Last week: Bill Haas (MC) - $0; Season - $1,489,819
This week: Jon Rahm - It feels like I'm tilting here with this pick as a few of my competitors took Rahm last week and now I'm in the hole, but if you think about it, Rahm makes a lot of sense in this spot. He's playing lights out, he knows how to get around this course and although it's a tough field this week, he won't have to deal with DJ, Spieth or McIlroy. The same can't be said for the bigger events later in the season.
PGATOUR.COM PICKS
This Week:
Starters: Charles Howell III, Jon Rahm, Jason Day, Brandt Snedeker
Bench: Scott Stallings, Tiger Woods
SURVIVOR PICK
Last week: Bill Haas - (MC); Streak - 0
This week: Hunter Mahan - You read that right. The guy who was so bad last season that I felt bad for putting him on my Avoid list, is now my survivor pick. Here's the deal. It's certainly a risky pick, but Mahan has made the cut at this event 10 consecutive times. That includes the last couple years when his game has been terrible. He's also made two consecutive cuts on the PGA Tour, which is pretty big news for Mahan.
