CJ Cup

The ZOZO Championship did not disappoint last week. Last week we saw more solid play out of Rickie Fowler. In his last three events he has notches two top 10’s already. I think we are starting to see a unprecedented Fowler resurgence. The major difference in his game has been his putting. He has found a formula that works for him and he’s running with it. Unfortunately Rickie fell one shot short last week to Keegan Bradley who ended a winless drought of his own last week. Bradley shot a final round 68 to edge past Fowler and Putnam who both finished at 14 under par for the contest. This brings Bradley’s win total up to five and he himself has record a top 10 and a win in just two events this season. With an unorthodox swing and all Bradley finds a way to get it done against a very strong field. Speaking of strong fields, the last two second stage events for Korn Ferry Q-School commence this week. 

This week the final two second stage tournaments will be held, one in Florida and one in California. Round one begins today at both location as the young stars try to make their way to final stage and try and get their tour cards for the season. While these players are chasing their dreams and trying to build their careers almost all of them will admit that they hate Q-school. From a professional golfer’s standpoint its extremely hard in all aspect. Financially it’s ridiculously expensive, you can’t hit a bad shot and it’s extremely long. It costs somewhere around 10-12 grand if you get through all the stages and that also includes travel and expenses as well. Nevertheless that’s a lot of money to potentially come out with no status or very little. I wont get into all the problems with Q-school but as I will say as somebody who has been through Q-school on Latin America, Canada and Korn Ferry, it’s really hard. However I think that the challenge is the best part. When you come out of any Q-school with status it could potentially be life changing and that feeling right there is why we do it. There is a lot of fire power this week at the last two events, we will see who can weather the storms Q-school brings and who can’t. 

Speaking of challenges, this week the PGA Tour is gearing up for a star-studded field at the CJ Cup, another full field event and one of the biggest events in the fall. More specifically Rory McIlroy will be in the field looking to defend his title after capturing last year’s CJ Cup victory. This year the CJ Cup will be held at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, South Carolina. This is typically the event you see most of the top guys compete in the fall. Sam Burns, Matt Fitzpatrick, Max Homa, Viktor Hovland, Tom Kim, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and World Number 1 Scottie Scheffler. Most notable this week would be Scottie, who has been rather quiet thus far. As far as world rankings go, he still holds the number one position but McIlrory is not too far behind and this year Rory will regain that number one spot. With that being said Scottie will not  give it up willingly, look for Scottie to gain some momentum this week. I don’t think Scottie will win but he will definitely post solid scores and find himself somewhere in the top 20. The man to look out for is Tom Kim. This guy is going to win a ton this year and I think the CJ Cup will be his next victory. Kim doesn’t shy away from challenges and he will be facing the tours best this week. Despite the juggernauts in the field Kim is firing on all cylinders himself, he ranks in the top 10 on tour in scoring average, strokes gained, scrambling and greens in regulation percentage. These are crucial stats to win more specifically is his scrambling. He saves par or better 8/10 times on average. This is the most important stat because he’s not making very many bogeys, on average he’s making about one bogey a round. That right there is how you win golf tournaments especially down the stretch. At the very least Tom Kim will find himself in the top 10. (Mike)

      I think this week is all about Sam Burns. He has won a lot on tour the past few seasons and he has been hovering right around the world top 10 for some time now. However, he still seems to be flying under the radar in so many events. In a stacked field this week he seems to be the forgotten man again. I really like his chances to win this week. He might not have the personality of some of the other guys on Tour, but when he is on there are not many golfers in the world that can beat him.

        In other Tour news, they announced the elevated events for next year. The most notable being the Waste Management in Phoenix. I think it will be quite interesting to see those crowds with an elite field. The tournament is one of the only ones on Tour that does not need stars of the game to put on a good show. I think a deep field there next year will make it one of the best tournaments of the season even if I do think TPC Scottsdale leaves a lot to be desired as a course. Also worth mentioning that it sounds like the elevated events on Tour will switch on a yearly basis. There has not been anything concrete about this, but it does make a lot of sense. If they do not rotate the elevated fields then a lot of good tournaments and courses will be forgotten about. I am excited to see what tournaments they choose in the years ahead. They are playing for way too much money in my opinion, but overall I think this is a great chance for fans to see better fields, more often. (Tyler)