Shriners
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks of golf. PGA Tour rookies have embarked on their rookie seasons, Team USA dominated Team Europe in the Ryder Cup and Bryson actually did well in the long drive championship, and lastly Sam Burns won his second tour event last week at the Sanderson Farms Championship. The first couple of weeks of the new season are typically less exciting, but this year our first few weeks of the season have been absolutely electric.
Personally I really enjoy the first few months of the tour season because it gives the rookies a chance to make a name for themselves and last week at the Sanderson Farms multiple rookies made an early statement. For starters Cameron Young had a very impressive week, he finished runner up at 21 under which carries a lot of weight into the future. Not only does a runner up boost confidence, but it also comes with a nice payday and a spot in the next week's field. What’s fascinating about Young is that less than 2 years ago he barely had any status. He played well and Monday qualified into a few events, did very well and was granted status on the Korn Ferry Tour. Following that this past season he won back to back events giving him enough points to propel him into the top 25 and the prize of a PGA Tour card. As we’ve all seen, Young can go low and he’s shown that at every single level. Keep an eye out on Young, he’s going to be a problem for the rest of the guys on tour. Speaking of making a splash Sam Burns is making one early this season.
Burns finished off his week with an incredible 22 under par score for 4 rounds. We’ve all seen Burns show out but this was probably some of the best golf we’ve seen him play. Another notable making a splash quickly is none other than Bryson DeChambeau. Now we all know Bryson is no stranger to elevating himself to the highest level and he’s done just that. In just his first ever Long Drive Championship start Bryson made it all the way to the semifinals. To be completely honest I was extremely surprised he made it that far. These other competitors strictly focus on length 24/7 and now they are getting beat by a tour player and winner for that matter. It was rather usual seeing many of the familiar long drivers come up short to Bryson. It should be interesting to see whether or not Bryson continues to pursue a long drive career or if this was a one and done situation. Although if Bryson’s long drive performance wasn’t enough, fans will now be able to watch our favorite bromance, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau face off head to head in the latest edition of “The Match” on November 26th. Safe to say that the broadcast is going to need a lot more than a 3 second delay. However, we have tons of golf before that.
This week the tour heads to TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada for the Shriners Children’s Open. This is the first event of the year where many of the top rank players begin their year. I’m especially a huge fan of this week because this event puts a spotlight on the important work Shriners Hospital does and generates a lot of funds so they can continue that work. Many of the players really get into this week and meet with the patients and really do a lot for the kids that aren’t doing so great. Huge shoutout to the PGA Tour for this event and all the great work they are doing. With that being said the field this week is star studded. This week vans can watch Viktor Hovland, Patrick Reed, Will Zalatoris, Webb Simpson, Harris English, Scottie Scheffler, and Brooks Koepka. It will be exciting to see some of the stars back in action alongside the tour rookies. (Mike)
A few quick thoughts from me this week. First off, The Bryson/Brooks match is boring to me and the beef there is dead. It was very clear at the Ryder Cup that they do not dislike each other like much of the media wants to portray. They may not love each other or be best friends, but I do not think they hate each other and since we have seen them show less animosity towards each other I think the hype of the match between them is gone. I am glad that they are only making it a 12 hole event, but I am not sure I will be tuning in at all. That being said, Bryson was a very easy guy to root for the Ryder Cup and hopefully he continues that trend into the new tour season.
Secondly, how cool is the format for the Dunhill Links? To have a tournament take place on three world-class golf courses and then finish up with the final round at the birthplace of golf I am personally not sure there is a better tournament out there. Then you throw in the entertainment value of the celebrities playing in the tournament as well and I truly don’t think there is a tournament that can match what the Dunhill Links offer to us golf fans. Every year it is a seemingly great event that draws players from the European tour as well as the PGA tour and I would like to see more events try to follow a similar format.
Finally, we are going to see a ton of new guys win on tour this year. I think this week has a chance to be one of the many times we see a first time winner on tour this year. This tournament is notorious for granting players their first win so we will see who will follow in their footsteps this week. (Tyler)
Pick’s of the week:
Mike: This week I’m going with a first time winner. Will Zalatoris is due. We’ve all seen what this kid can do and he’s ready to bring the heat. Will Zalatoris is coming off a very impressive 17 under T-14 finish at the Sanderson Farms last week. What’s most impressive was his putting. All week long, keep an eye out for Will this week as he looks to add PGA Tour winner to his resume.
My notable to miss the cut goes to Brooks Koepka. I’m not completely confident in his game right now. I personally believe he’s still hurt and frankly he played very average at the Ryder Cup as well. It should be very interesting to see how Brooks starts his season this week. (Mike)
Tyler: My pick to win this week is Scottie Scheffler. He played extremely well at the Ryder Cup and I think he will take that momentum and ride it into a victory against a relatively strong field this week. He has all the tools to take the next step and I would not be surprised if this was the year he did that.
My darkhorse is Maverick McNealy. He nearly got it done a few weeks ago, but a few costly errors down the stretch cost him and I think he will learn from those experiences. He is definitely a guy I think they will contend on tour this season and I like his chances to get a victory. It should be no surprise to see him near the top of the leaderboard this weekend.
My notable to miss the cut is Harris English. Between the Ryder Cup and being at Georgia last week as the guest picker for College Gameday I just think he is going to be worn out and mentally not all there this week. Nobody can blame him for that, but I think he plays rather poorly and misses the cut. (Tyler)