Farmers Insurance Open
The PGA Tour did not disappoint once again. We had another crazy finish at The American Express. Ultimately Si Woo Kim was crowned victorious but the road there was more than difficult. Si Woo Kim held the lead going into Sunday, sharing that lead with MAx Homa and Tony Finau, all three tied at 15 under par. However Sunday told a different story. As Homa and Finau began to fold and eliminate their chances of winning Si Woo and Patrick Cantlay surge up the leaderboard going neck and neck. Cantlay with a career best 11 birdies in a single round fired and a jaw dropping 61 to take the solo clubhouse lead at 22 under. However, that 61 was no match for Si Woo. He carded an 8 under bogey free 64, his third of the week to edge out Cantlay by one at 23 under par. Si Woo is now starting to become a much more familiar name. Former Players Championship winner, Si Woo has found himself in many positions to seal the deal and win. This time he wasn’t letting another one slip. This win marks his third tour win and let me be the first to say watch out for Si Woo Kim.
This week our west coast swing continues as the PGA Tour heads to San Diego, California for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines GC (South). This is a rare occurrence this year, as we will see Torrey Pines twice this year, The Farmers and The U.S. Open. Now, many people are not thrilled about this due to the fact that players and fans will be able to play and watch an event at the course the U.S. will be played at in the coming months. Personally I don’t see much of an issue with this due to the fact that USGA sets up their courses much differently than the PGA. However with that being said seeing a U.S. Open course being played once before diminishes the magnitude of the U.S. Open. Nevertheless, we will be seeing Torrey Pines this year and we will be seeing a much stronger field than usual due to the fact that many players want to get a first hand look before the U.S. Open. This week the field is stacked, Fans will be able to watch Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Rickie Fowler, Si Woo Kim and Viktor Hovland. Gear up because this week is going to be intense. This week the field is full of young guys that are aiming to make a name for themselves including Monday Qualifier, Cameron Young. Young earned Korn Ferry Tour status last year through a series of Monday Qualifiers and strong play gaining him enough points to earn status. This week at Torrey he looks to continue that streak on the PGA Tour. (Mike)
Pick’s of the Week:
Mike: As for picks of the week, my winning pick was slightly off the mark. Scottie missing the cut, was a big hit however my other picks were Grillo my underdog finished T-37 and Brooks Koepka ending up missing the cut. However this week will be different. This week’s winning pick goes to Xander Schauffele. Xander has been playing some very solid golf. This season he's played in 5 events and notched 3 top 10’s already. He's top 5 on tour in stroke average and strokes gained which is two critical stats to pay attention to. At the very least Xander will finish in the top 10, he’s definitely worth placing a bet on.
My notable to miss the cut is Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka. I'm not confident in either one’s game right now. Brooks doesn’t seem to mentally be there and Rickie has been going through constant struggles. I’ve always been a huge fan of Rickie so I hope he gets his game back together. As always I always hope to be wrong in this part of the picks, best of luck fellas.
Lastly my underdog pick goes to Will Zalatoris. I’ve always been a huge fan of Will, I love his game play and his confidence. For young players this a good guy to look up too. This week if Will putts the ball well I'm confident he will make a legitimate run at the trophy. Best of luck Will. (Mike)
Tyler: Last week, my pick was Paul Casey and he finished T-8 so I cannot say my pick was bad at all. I also predicted Phil to miss the cut, which he did and my sleeper pick finished T-40 so definitely room for improvement on my picks this week. My pick to win this week is Tony Finau at 20-1. For whatever reason, he has not been able to get that second career win. He has racked up the top 10’s since and I think this is the week he gets it done. He was near the top at every statistical category last year at Torrey, a place he clearly likes so he should find himself at the top of the leaderboard come Sunday afternoon.
My sleeper for the week is Cameron Champ at 60-1. He can hit it a mile and he has some serious game. I was tempted to pick Jordan Spieth here at 66-1 because I so badly want to see Spieth be good again, but I will roll with Champ. I think he has a solid week and puts himself in contention.
As for my noticeable to miss the cut… I would love to see Brooks miss the cut like Mike predicted, but I really do not see that happening this week. I actually think Brooks may have a pretty strong week. I think Jon Rahm will struggle this week and miss the cut. I still think he lets his anger get to him a little too much and it throws him off his game. Would not be surprised to see his anger get the best of him this week and result in him missing the cut. (Tyler)