The American Express
Well, last week was a nail biter. I can’t stress this enough, that final round leaderboard is why the future of golf is in good hands. Young, talented players such as Hayden Buckley, Taylor Montgomery, and Austin Eckroat each notched top 15’s finishes, and Hayden Buckley finished solo second one back of winner Si Woo Kim. This leaderboard was so important for these young guys or first timers on tour, it gave them a chance to showcase their talents on live TV. Things like that are really good for the new level of golfers to break out into the scene, but Si Woo really stole the show. With a timely chip in and crucial birdies down the stretch, Kim edged out Buckley by 1. It’s safe to say Kim’s 2023 has started out well.
Kim’s win however did not stay the talking point for long, in the most recent news Patrick Reed has filed yet another lawsuit. For those who don’t know Patrick Reed has filed suits against numerous parties over the past year, all for astronomical dollar amounts. The latest sue lands on CNN, more specifically on comments from Jake Tapper and Bob Costas. In the suit, Reed states that “an apology within 5 days or else the lawsuit will proceed” I'm sorry but when does this end? As if Reed wasn’t disliked enough he goes for yet another multi-million dollar lawsuit. At this point in Reed’s situation he has dug himself such a deep hole that he has no choice but to dig deeper. The irony of all this is that if Reed didn't try and cheat nothing negative or defamatory would have been said or implied. It should be interesting to see how not only this suit unfolds but who is in danger of a lawsuit in the future. Luckily we seldom have to deal with Reed on the golf course after his jump over to LIV, but before we get to the PGA Tour, this week the Korn Ferry Tour kicks off their schedule in The Bahamas for The Great Exuma Classic.
This is the first event of the year so, the field is usually pretty stacked due to the fact that many of the players want to get off to a hot start. Through three rounds Shad Turner is currently holding onto a three shot lead going into the final round. Shad is also chasing his first career on the KFT as well, tune in Wednesday to catch the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour Great Exuma Classic.
Moving forward with the season the PGA Tour rolls into California for the next three events, The American Express, Farmers Insurance Open, and AT&T Pro-Am. This is a great couple of weeks of golf, especially this week at the American Express which is played on three separate courses. I really like multi-course events because it gives us fans the chance to see three awesome golf courses. The three course event adds another layer of focus because it forces the field to adapt to three different courses during the same week. More specifically this week Cam Young, Will Zalatoris, Tony Finau, Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns, and Jon Ramn will be battling the three courses this week. I’m most curious to see how Will Zalatoris does. After suffering a back injury after his first career win, Zalatoris has been sidelined. It was tough to watch him go down after his first win, but I think he will jump right back onto the scene and make a splash rather quickly. This week however I'm looking more specifically at Jon Rahm. He’s already grabbed one win thus far this year and I think we will see him have multiple wins and regain World Number One at some point throughout this season. (Mike)
I personally wish the Hawaii swing was at least one week longer. We as fans get prime time golf, which is a rarity so I often enjoy the change of pace. The courses are beautiful. There are plenty of courses they could rotate for the additional week. The Hawaii swing always leaves me left wanting more and the California swing leaves a lot to be desired for me.
That being said, this week is a pretty impressive field to start the California swing. My pick for this week is Tony Finau, one of the easiest guys on Tour to root for. It is hard to argue the form he has been in the last year or so. There is no reason to think he does not continue this tear he is on and adds another win to his resume.
My dark horse is Chris Kirk. I think his game is really trending in the right direction and always seems to play well earlier in the year. He played well down in Hawaii and I like that to continue this week. I would expect a borderline top 10 for him and maybe a sneaky run at a win. (Tyler)