The Players
So far in 2022, last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational has been my favorite for an absolute ton of reasons. First and foremost the golf course was extremely difficult. The rough was 3-4 inches high, the fairways and greens were firm and fast and the wind was blowing. I love seeing a course play that difficult because it’s really cool to see how these top guys manage their way through the course and the elements. With all that being said I personally believe the greens were too firm. The actual speed of the greens weren’t out of control, but couple fast greens with dry and firm conditions they can get a little out of control. Towards the back half of the week players would hit good shots and get penalized. There is a fine line between fair and unfair and the second good shots aren’t getting rewarded, That's when you cross that line. The 2022 champion Scottie Scheffler handled the golf course perfectly. He kept himself in the mix all week and knew he just needed to hang around Sunday and he did just that. He won the golf tournament at 5 under par, shooting even on Sunday afternoon. Down the stretch, it seemed like 6 guys could win and they ultimately all fell apart and Scottie made a few good pars down the stretch that were enough to get the job done. This marks Scottie second win in his last three starts. I didn’t think Scottie would be a major contender this year but things have taken a big turn and he will eventually become a favorite at one of the majors this season. The Florida swing continues with the unofficial “fifth” major.
The Players is such a great event for golf across the board. For the fans, the PGA Tour shows every single shot which improves fan interaction exponentially. This is probably one of the coolest parts of this week, having the ability to view every golf shot, good or bad is a pretty awesome feature. Another great aspect of this week is the golf course. TPC Sawgrass is a legendary golf course with years of incredible history. Sawgrass is also home to one of the most famous par 3’s in golf; the forever daunting 17th hole. In my opinion, this is the best par 3 on tour. 17 at Sawgrass is a 132 yard hole that features an island green with zero room to miss. If you miss the green on 17 you will find yourself in the water hazard, pulling another ball out of your bag. This whole speedsters the boys from the men on Sunday afternoon. There is one thing that is getting out of hand at The Players and that’s the purse. This year the purse is $20 million granting the winner with $3.2 million and last place somewhere around $50,000-$60,000. This is just absurd, it’s actually too much money. I think since this is the players' event that some of that money needs to be trickled down and spread out through other tours or all allocated to other places. Plain and simple it’s just too much money. All that being said this week will prove to be a star-studded shootout. (Mike)
Mike touched on Bryson missing out this week and it is worth asking if the injury bug is finally catching up to him. He is clearly more hurt than what he was leading us to believe a few weeks ago. He lucked out with Phil taking the fall for the Saudi league, but clearly needs some luck to come back soon. I am not a Bryson fan at all, but there is no doubt golf is more interesting when he is competing. (Tyler)
Pick’s of the Week:
Mike: Speaking of stars, every top player will be in the field this week except for Bryson DeChambeau. Bryson is still nursing some injuries so hopefully we will see Bryson come April at Augusta. Aside from Bryson the field is stacked. As for my winning pick this week I’m staying away from JT and Rahm. JT isn’t going to repeat, he will have a solid week but he won’t win. The same goes for Rahm although he’s coming off a hard fought week at the API I think he will find himself somewhere in the top 20. This year’s winning pick goes to Viktor Hovland. Viktor has three top 10’s and one win in seven events this year. Through seven events this is top notch. He could have had two wins but he let the API slip down the stretch. Coming off a hot second place finish I think Viktor will coming out shooting this week and really make a statement. (Mike)
Tyler: My pick to win The Players is JT. I know Mike does not like his chances to win, but I fully expect JT to be in contention and when he is in contention there are not many better on tour. This is such a deep field so I expect one of golf’s big stars to win. JT loves those pressure moments and there are not many moments on tour than the finishing stretch at TPC Sawgrass.
My dark horse to win this week is Abraham Ancer. Ancer really is a player that I think really should have more top finishes in his career. I think he could ride a hot putter and seize the moment to announce himself to the wider sports world with a win this weekend. I like his game a lot and am excited to see him finally put it all together more consistently. (Tyler)