The Cognizant Classic
It’s Knapp Time! Last week was such a great week for multiple parties. For first time winner Jake Knapp it was a dream come true. I've been personally following Jake for the past few years now and it's been pretty cool to see him transition from PGA Tour Canada, to the Korn Ferry Tour and now to a PGA Tour winner. Although it hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows for Knapp. Jake has been grinding for over eight years now on various tours and in that time he lost all status and had to pick up a job at a nightclub as a bouncer to make ends meet and pay for golf. These success stories are so cool for golf because players like Jake Knapp are the future of this game, a game that is in dire need of new superstars. Now with that being said I don’t think he's superstar material yet, but he’s definitely on the right track to making a big name for himself in the golf world. Speaking of big names in the golf community, here’s one name you haven't heard in over 10 years.
Anthony Kim otherwise known as AK is making his return to professional golf this week on the LIV Tour. In the past few days videos of AK and his swing have surfaced from the LIV driving range and let me tell you he looks like he hasn’t left the house in 10 years let alone played golf. At this point in time, AK is just looking for a payday and a reason to get off the couch. He will never play on the PGA ever again, so this is the threshold of professional golf for AK. Nevertheless, we're going to have to get used to Anthony Kim because he will be playing full time for the remainder of LIV’s season. This week however will be a perfect opportunity for LIV to see if a guy like Kim could help boost their ratings to see how they stack up against the PGAT’s event Cognizant Classic.
This week looks a little different than in years past for this event. The Cognizant Classic was formerly known as the Honda Classic. The Honda Classic was a household name for so long and carried some incredible stories as well, but as we all know things come to an abrupt end. Due to sponsorship, the Honda Classic has been picked up by a new sponsor and renamed. With that being said the tournament is exactly the same otherwise and will be producing fans with some pretty great talent this week. The biggest name this is obviously Rory McIlroy who is hoping to get one step closer to reaching #1 in the world. Rory I think will lock up a top-15 but I personally don’t have him winning this week. I think he will do a lot of damage in the majors this season. This week we might see another rookie/rising star take home the victory this week. I’d like to see Eric Cole win this week. He had a great run at the Honda here last year and this event really jump started his year. It’d be great to see him return and close the deal this time. (Mike)
Pick’s of the Week: My pick to win this week is Eric Cole or Russel Henley. I know that Rory is the overwhelming favorite to win this week, but I just do not see him getting it done. This is a tournament Eric Cole has success at and a place Russel Henley is no stranger to playing well at. I expect both players to be right near the top this week at a course that does not get enough credit. Even though this is not a signature event, we still have a decent field and a fun course. Should be a better weekend for pro golf compared to the last few weeks.
As Mike mentioned, Anthony Kim is back this week. I have been a longtime LIV hater and still am, but I cannot wait to tune in to see how he plays. He was electrifying many years ago and has been absent for well over a decade. I am more optimistic than Mike about his return. I think he had undeniable talent many years ago and his story has so much mystery that it feels like one of the biggest stories in golf. With all of the stuff off the course these days I am just glad to see people talking about something happening on the course.
In other golf news, The Match happened earlier this week. I personally did not tune in at all. The event had some high level players, but I enjoyed the match more when it was two athletes that were not pro golfers paired up with a pro golfer. I am not sure if it’s because the first couple “The Match” events that took place were that good or what, but they seem to lose their appeal to me. It will be curious to see where the event goes from here and I love that proceeds go to charity, but they need to shake it up to get people excited for this again. If they fail to do so, canceling the event seems certain. (Tyler)