This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
There is interesting and there is exciting. What we witnessed Sunday at the Quicken Loans National was interesting, but maybe not so exciting. The difference can be found in both the participants and the action itself.
The week before, at the Travelers, we had excitement, both because Jordan Spieth was in the mix and because he happened to a dramatic stamp on the event with a fabulous bunker shot. There were no such dramatic shots at the Quicken Loans National and the closest any big name came to contending was Rickie Fowler, who ended up a couple strokes behind the leaders. The absence of excitement makes perfect sense, but there was still plenty of interest.
The interest lies in both there being a group of players in contention late on Sunday and those players having intriguing back stories. Charles Howell III, for instance, has been one of the steadiest players on the PGA Tour for more than a decade, but he's often fallen short when it mattered the most. Kyle Stanley last won in 2012 and looked like an up-and-comer but has struggled for the most part since.
In contention Sunday, Stanley's story was one of redemption, not because he has gone astray, but because he was so lost the last five years and a win could make amends for that. In the end, it was the Stanley's story that won out, an interesting story it was if nothing else.
This week: The Greenbrier Classic - The Old White Course
There is interesting and there is exciting. What we witnessed Sunday at the Quicken Loans National was interesting, but maybe not so exciting. The difference can be found in both the participants and the action itself.
The week before, at the Travelers, we had excitement, both because Jordan Spieth was in the mix and because he happened to a dramatic stamp on the event with a fabulous bunker shot. There were no such dramatic shots at the Quicken Loans National and the closest any big name came to contending was Rickie Fowler, who ended up a couple strokes behind the leaders. The absence of excitement makes perfect sense, but there was still plenty of interest.
The interest lies in both there being a group of players in contention late on Sunday and those players having intriguing back stories. Charles Howell III, for instance, has been one of the steadiest players on the PGA Tour for more than a decade, but he's often fallen short when it mattered the most. Kyle Stanley last won in 2012 and looked like an up-and-comer but has struggled for the most part since.
In contention Sunday, Stanley's story was one of redemption, not because he has gone astray, but because he was so lost the last five years and a win could make amends for that. In the end, it was the Stanley's story that won out, an interesting story it was if nothing else.
This week: The Greenbrier Classic - The Old White Course - White Sulphur Springs, W.V.
Last Year: Not played
PLAYERS TO CONSIDER
Danny Lee
Lee has played well for the better part of the last two months and technically he's the defending champion at this event because he won here in 2015. Lee has three top-10s in his last six starts and is coming off a decent effort last week at the Quicken Loans National where he finished T22.
David Lingmerth
Lingmerth enters after finishing in the top 25 in six of his last eight starts, and his track record at this event is solid as well. Lingmerth has played here three times and finished T16 or better each time. His best showing came in 2015 when he finished T6.
David Hearn
Hearn tied for second when this event was last held in 2015 and has two additional top-20s here in five tries. Hearn has also played well lately with two top-10s in his last three starts.
Webb Simpson
Simpson is in the midst of a nice season, with three top-10s and a runner-up already. He's also played well lately with two top-10s in his last four starts. His track record at this event is solid as well with three top-10s in six starts.
Bryson DeChambeau
This is a bit of a speculative pick as it was only two weeks ago that DeChambeau was on the "Avoid" list, but he's shown some signs the last two weeks that he's getting his game back. When he's on top of his game, he's contending often, and if he continues to improve, he could contend again this week.
PLAYERS TO AVOID
Robert Streb
Streb finished runner-up here in 2015, but his form was certainly better then than it is now. Streb is 137th on the FedEx Cup list and has struggled to find any kind of momentum this season. He's made his last four cuts, but he hasn't finished in the top 30 since early May.
Phil Mickelson
Mickelson hasn't played since early June, and his track record at this event is terrible. Mickelson played well in his most recent start at the St. Jude, but that was a month ago and it's almost impossible to carry any momentum over that long of a span. Mickelson has also played here three times and has never made a cut.
Spencer Levin
Levin played well last week at the Quicken Loans National, but that was the first time he had played well in a while, and his track record at this event suggests he'll struggle this week. Levin has made the cut here three of five times but has only finished in the top 60 once.
Boo Weekley
Weekley withdrew last week, but, as of this writing, he's listed in the field at the Greenbrier. Even if he tees it up, he's again a poor selection this week. Weekley played well in his most recent start at the Travelers, but we are now two weeks removed from that event and momentum doesn't last forever.
Carl Pettersson
Pettersson has a decent track record here, with a couple top-20s, but his play this season, and, more important, the last couple months, should prevent anyone from taking a chance on him this week. Pettersson has missed 10 of his last 11 cuts on the PGA Tour.
ONE AND DONE GOLFER
Last week: Danny Lee (T22) - $71,000; Season - $6,507,185
This week: Webb Simpson - I have Lingmerth and Simpson on equal footing this week, but since I used Lingmerth a few weeks back, the decision has been made for me. I'm 100 percent OK with that, though, as Simpson has played really well this season, and his track record here is among the best in the field.
YAHOO PICKS
Points: 3,208
Rank: 23,527
This Week:
Group A: Patrick Reed, Bill Haas
Group B: Danny Lee, Webb Simpson, Sung Kang, Kevin Kisner
Group C: David Lingmerth, David Hearn
SURVIVOR PICK
Last week: Danny Lee - (T22); Streak - 2
This week: David Hearn - While I have no doubt that Simpson will make the cut this week, I've doubled-up for consecutive weeks now and might be tempting fate. With that in mind, I will use Hearn as my survivor pick this week as he's been reliable here with four made cuts in five starts.
