Course: TPC Blue Monster at Trump Doral, 7,500 yards of total chaos. The redesign completely baffled the field last year, and I'm not sure much will be different this year. Somewhere around even par will be the winner this week.
Strength Of Field: A. All of the top 50 in the world are here this week. You can't do much better than that.
Extra Tidbits: The biggest name missing from the field, obviously, is Tiger Woods, who won this tournament seven times. His world ranking has fallen to the point where he did not qualify for the event. Also missing is James Hahn, who qualified through the FedEx Cup, but is home celebrating the birth of his first child...Gusty winds are expected to take place all week, making this difficult golf course seem almost impossible at times...Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson make their 2015 PGA Tout debut this week. Dustin Johnson will be playing in his fourth straight tournament. Also, American David Lipsky, who lead the Asian PGA Order of Merit last season, is playing this week.
Fantasy Four:
Hideki Matsuyama - Five top 10's this season. Looking for a breakout in a big event, and this is his first opportunity to do so. As good of a ball striker as anyone on Tour. If the scores really start going up, Hideki could be the last man standing in the chaos.
Jamie Donaldson - Coming off a top 10 in difficult conditions at PGA National last week. Coming into his own as a big time player from Europe. Is not intimidated by the big stage, and has some history playing in difficult conditions.
Thongchai Jaidee - Hasn't missed a cut anywhere since the PGA Championship. Coming off a T2 in his home country a few weeks ago. Finished inside the top 10 at this event last year. Typically performs his best in final rounds when everyone else is trying to hang on and get into the clubhouse.
Bubba Watson - Top 5s in his last two starts at Doral. The wind is a concern for his driving - he typically has a high ball flight, but his experience at this course along with his ability to cut down the par 5s should make him a contender this week.
This week, there is also an alternate field event taking place, the Puerto Rico Open. As usual, I will not be doing a complete break down of that event, but I will give you the four players I think will succeed at that event.
Vaughn Taylor - Has played really good golf this year, playing out of the past champions category. Seems to have his life straight and his game on point. Top 25s in all three of his starts this season, including a top 10 at Pebble Beach.
Ryo Ishikawa - Ended his missed cut streak last week with a top 25. Has made all three cuts in Puerto Rico, including a second place finish three years ago. His weakness has been his driving accuracy, and that will not be as big of a concern this week - wayward shots are not penalized as much on this course.
Y.E. Yang - Been playing a lot of golf around the world lately, and making cuts a little more frequently than he has. Made cuts in his last two starts in Puerto Rico. Looked to be on his way towards a big finish at PGA National until a three over par final nine sent him down the leaderboard. Still, he's better than he was at this time last year.
S.J. Park - Alternate field events have been money for rookies, and Park has shown to be one of the best this year. With Tony Finau and Daniel Berger sitting this event out, Park jumps to the top of the page. A rookie will be there at the end, and Park seems to have the most upside of any of them.
Last Weeks Team:
Rory McIlroy: CUT
Sang-Moon Bae: CUT
Victor Dubuisson: CUT
Sergio Garcia: T31
(ouch)
No comments:
Post a Comment