This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
If you've read this column for any part of the past 20 years or so, you know that I'm a big fan of greatness and great players. I'm not a huge fan of the underdog, in this sport at least; I like to see the best players in the world play their best. A quick glance of my Twitter feed this past Sunday leads me to believe that I'm not alone. Nearly every tweet from late-morning until CBS came on the air with live action revolved around Jordan Spieth and his potential come-from-behind victory.
I can't blame the folks, mostly golf writers, who posted those tweets, as Spieth was obviously the most interesting storyline Sunday, but I wonder if we, the collective golf audience, are becoming too enamored with the stars of the game and not paying enough attention to everyone else. I make that statement while fully acknowledging that I am as guilty as anyone else out there that pays too much attention to the upper tier on the PGA Tour. While I will never apologize for rooting for the best players in the world to play well, we do run into a problem when events can't produce more than a couple big names. Specifically, the events between the majors -- the ones that fill the void if you will -- often only have a handful of big names in the field. The odds of one of those guys winning aren't great, and if the leader board is absent
If you've read this column for any part of the past 20 years or so, you know that I'm a big fan of greatness and great players. I'm not a huge fan of the underdog, in this sport at least; I like to see the best players in the world play their best. A quick glance of my Twitter feed this past Sunday leads me to believe that I'm not alone. Nearly every tweet from late-morning until CBS came on the air with live action revolved around Jordan Spieth and his potential come-from-behind victory.
I can't blame the folks, mostly golf writers, who posted those tweets, as Spieth was obviously the most interesting storyline Sunday, but I wonder if we, the collective golf audience, are becoming too enamored with the stars of the game and not paying enough attention to everyone else. I make that statement while fully acknowledging that I am as guilty as anyone else out there that pays too much attention to the upper tier on the PGA Tour. While I will never apologize for rooting for the best players in the world to play well, we do run into a problem when events can't produce more than a couple big names. Specifically, the events between the majors -- the ones that fill the void if you will -- often only have a handful of big names in the field. The odds of one of those guys winning aren't great, and if the leader board is absent of big names on Sunday, does that mean the event is a wash?
Golf isn't alone though. The only sport in this country that can survive without stars is football and sagging television ratings last season would suggest that maybe even that's not the case anymore. If this is the trend now and only the presence of stars will draw interest, then the good news is the PGA Tour has more star potential now than at any time in its history. There are several established stars and several more on the cusp. It's up to the next tier to continue to play well and become stars. At that point, there will be so many stars that a high-profile golfer will inevitably be in contention every Sunday.
This week: Memorial Tournament - Muirfield Village G.C. - Dublin, OH
Last Year: William McGirt shot a final-round 71 on his way to a one-stroke victory over Dustin Johnson.
Players to Consider
Dustin Johnson
DJ finished runner-up here in 2016, and I dare say he's playing better right now than he was at this time last year. To show you how far he's come, it feels like he's struggling right now because he hasn't won in his past three events. With that said, he hasn't finished worse than 15th either. If DJ has anything near his best this week, he wins. It's that simple.
Matt Kuchar
If it feels like Kuchar isn't playing all that great this season, it's because he hasn't won or finished runner-up yet. Still, he has posted five top-15s since the calendar flipped and he's got a great chance at another one this week. Kuchar has six top-10s at this event in 11 tries and he won here in 2013.
David Lingmerth
Lingmerth's success rate at this event is hovering right around 25 percent, but within that number was a win in 2015. He managed only a T27 while defending last year, but now that the pressure is off, he might put forth a better effort. He played well over his past four starts, notching three top-20 finishes.
Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama hasn't been on his game since he won in February, but he's showing signs of getting back into form. Matsuyama finished T11 at the Masters and T22 at THE PLAYERS and he's coming back to a course where he's had plenty of success in the past. Matsuyama won this event in 2015 and finished T5 in 2016.
Jon Rahm
Once again, Rahm will be teeing it up for the first time at an event; and just like all the other times, it shouldn't matter that he hasn't played here before. Outside of DJ, there hasn't been a more consistent golfer on the PGA Tour this season. Rahm always seems to be in the mix and there's no reason to think he won't be around late on Sunday afternoon this week.
Players to Avoid
Gary Woodland
Woodland has a 50 percent success rate at this event, with three top-20s, two MCs and a T57. That's great if you are playing baseball, but you want a better rate for golfers. If his form were good coming into this week, I would expect the better version of Woodland to show up, but he really hasn't played well since late February.
Jason Kokrak
Kokrak posted a 62 during the second round of the Byron Nelson Invitational two weeks ago and since that point his game has fallen apart. His most recent round resulted in an 82 at the DEAN & DELUCA last week and he's never made the cut at this event. Some weeks everything is lined up against you and there's nothing you can do.
Justin Thomas
Thomas has three wins this season, but he really hasn't accomplished much since his most recent win in January. Since that victory Thomas has only one top-20 outside of his T5 in the team format at the Zurich. His track record here is lacking as well, with two MCs and a T37 in three starts.
Chris Kirk
Everything was lined up last week for a good showing from Kirk, and although he made the cut, he fell apart on the weekend. That's been the story of 2017 for Kirk, as he has rarely put together four rounds in a row. If his track record holds here, he won't even make it to the weekend. Kirk has missed the cut in three of six starts here.
Rickie Fowler
Fowler finished runner-up in his first start at this event, but he has struggled for the most part since. In fact, he missed the cut here in his past three starts. It's always dangerous fading a guy like Fowler, but there's something off about his results here and I can't trust anyone who has missed three consecutive cuts at a given venue.
ONE AND DONE GOLFER
Last week: Chris Kirk (T67) - $14,145; Season - $6,185,062
This week: Matt Kuchar - DJ is obviously the best pick this week, but like many of you, I've already burnt him. With that in mind, I'll go to my second pick, which is Matt Kuchar. Kuchar's upside isn't what it used to be, but on any given week he can win. He will have to outlast DJ – clearly a tall task -- but with his track record here he just might be able to do it.
YAHOO PICKS
Points: 2620
Rank: 22,598
This Week:
Group A: Dustin Johnson, Jason Day
Group B: Matt Kuchar, Hideki Matsuyama, Webb Simpson, Steve Stricker
Group C: Jon Rahm, Stewart Cink
SURVIVOR PICK
Last week: Zach Johnson - (T67); Streak - 3
This week: Stewart Cink - I honestly never thought I would use Cink again in a spot like this, but his play of late gives me enough confidence to use him here. That, and his track record at this event of course. Cink has made the cut here in 19 or 20 starts, and many of those came when Cink was playing poorly. Since he's playing well lately, there's no reason to think he will miss the weekend.
