This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
I'm a sports nut. There's no denying it. My life revolves around the big events, and I'm not just talking about golf. There's football season, followed by March Madness, then MLB Opening Day, NBA playoffs, NFL preseason and October baseball. Intertwined within all these events is golf, of course.
Certain months of the year are better for golf, April comes to mind, but some are tough to get through. February is one of those months as the shine of a new season has worn off and the Masters is still more than a month out. Throw in that I'm generally a couple million dollars behind the leader in my one-and-done pool and you have what can only be referred to as a grind.
This year, though, has been different. There's actually an air of excitement around the events that fill the space between the beginning of the year and the Masters and we can thank one man for that. If you are new to the game and you wondered just how popular Tiger Woods was in his day, just how much his mere presence changed an event, you got a glimpse last weekend. While several quality players were within a stroke or two of the weekend lead, the majority of the television coverage was centered on Woods, who while playing well, was never really a threat to win.
The thing is, I had no problem with seeing nearly every single one of his shots, and I think I'm in the
I'm a sports nut. There's no denying it. My life revolves around the big events, and I'm not just talking about golf. There's football season, followed by March Madness, then MLB Opening Day, NBA playoffs, NFL preseason and October baseball. Intertwined within all these events is golf, of course.
Certain months of the year are better for golf, April comes to mind, but some are tough to get through. February is one of those months as the shine of a new season has worn off and the Masters is still more than a month out. Throw in that I'm generally a couple million dollars behind the leader in my one-and-done pool and you have what can only be referred to as a grind.
This year, though, has been different. There's actually an air of excitement around the events that fill the space between the beginning of the year and the Masters and we can thank one man for that. If you are new to the game and you wondered just how popular Tiger Woods was in his day, just how much his mere presence changed an event, you got a glimpse last weekend. While several quality players were within a stroke or two of the weekend lead, the majority of the television coverage was centered on Woods, who while playing well, was never really a threat to win.
The thing is, I had no problem with seeing nearly every single one of his shots, and I think I'm in the majority. It's just fun having him back, there's no other way to put it. I'd rather watch Tiger Woods at 80 percent then Luke List at 100 percent. The same goes for just about anyone on the PGA Tour.
Woods not only brought back a ton interest to the game last week, but he did something that no one else on the PGA Tour can do – he made an event in the middle of February must see TV. He made February cool again.
This week: WGC-Mexico Championship - Club de Golf Chapultepec, Mexico City
Last Year: Dustin Johnson shot a final-round 68 on his way to a one-stroke victory over Tommy Fleetwood.
PLAYERS TO CONSIDER
Dustin Johnson
When he's at his best, he's the best in the world. And while he's not quite there entering this week, he's close. DJ finished runner-up two starts back and would have been in contention in his most recent start if not for a bizarre opening round. It looks like he's just a little off, but he's bound to put it all together soon. Why not here, where he's already won?
Tommy Fleetwood
I hate this pick. It makes too much sense. I hate situations like this, where a solid golfer comes off a good week and also has a strong track record at the upcoming event, because everything appears to be lined up for a good showing. The reason, of course, is that seemingly more often than not when everything is lined up, something goes wrong. I'll go against my gut, however, and stick with the numbers, which say Fleetwood is a solid play.
Justin Thomas
I get the feeling that Thomas is fueled by the doubters. I take that back, not the doubters, but those who refuse to put him in the class with Spieth, DJ, Rory, etc. What more does he have to do at this point? He's not the most charismatic guy, and that's not going to change, but he is one of the best five golfers on the planet now and there's no reason to think that will change anytime soon. Thomas played well here last year on his way to a top-5.
Thomas Pieters
Pieters was in contention on the weekend at the Honda Classic, but he slowly faded as the weekend wore on. The takeaway, though, is that his game is in pretty good shape. He also played well here last year, shooting four rounds of 69 or better. While everyone is looking to Fleetwood and Alex Noren, Pieters could be the Euro that sneaks in his first PGA Tour victory this week.
Alex Noren
I haven't seen a golfer this hyped since Rickie Fowler. Everyone seems to think Noren is going to be the next big thing, but he's yet to break through on the PGA Tour. I have to admit, he does seem to be in the mix quite often, but the ability to close is also a skill and we've yet to see him do that on the PGA Tour. That said, I usually get burned playing contrarian in situations like these, so I'll simply ride the tide.
PLAYERS TO AVOID
Patrick Reed
Are we sure that Reed is going to bounce back? Is he Captain America or is he the guy we've watched since that spectacular Ryder Cup performance in 2016? Whichever guy he is, he's not a good play as he's missed the cut in his last two starts and has only one top-20 this season. Reed finished T61 in his only start at this event on this course.
Bubba Watson
Maybe he's back, maybe not, but even when at his best, he always played well on just a few tracks. This was actually one of the events where he had a good track record, but that was at the previous venue. In his only start on this course, he finished T38. Watson was lights out when we last saw him, but don't forget that he's always played well at Riviera and that had a lot to do with his performance at the Genesis.
Rickie Fowler
Everything was lined up for Fowler last week at the Honda, and he missed the cut. Maybe it was just a back couple holes in tough conditions or maybe he's off his game again. Whatever the case, I'm always weary of a guy who has a good track record at an event and proceeds to miss the cut.
Patton Kizzire
You may recognize Kizzire from the FedEx leaderboard CBS shows about six times an hour. He's the guy who has been on top for most of the season. But if you don't play at a high level for a long stretch, someone will take your place, which is what happened last week. Kizzire has two wins this season, but he's been unable to crack the top 30 in his last two starts and is definitely stepping up in class this week.
Brian Harman
Harman posted great numbers last season and picked up right where he left off this season with top-10s in each of his first five starts. His game has slipped a bit over his last two starts, though, and he's teeing it up at this event for the first time this week.
ONE AND DONE GOLFER
Last week: Russell Knox (MC) - $0; Season - $2,263,291
This week: Justin Thomas - Going against the grain last week and using Knox didn't work like I had planned, but I'm going to bounce back in a big way this week. I like Fleetwood this week, but my gut is telling me to go a different direction. I'd certainly like to have Thomas for a major, but the purse for this event is about as big as it gets for a non-major, so I might as well go big.
PGATOUR.COM PICKS
This Week:
Starters: Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, Thomas Pieters, Tommy Fleetwood
Bench: Dustin Johnson, Daniel Berger
SURVIVOR PICK
Last week: Luke Donald - (MC); Streak - 0
This week: no cut
