If anyone has correctly picked the last three winners on the PGA Tour, I’d like to talk to you in March about some basketball. Ryan Palmer, Bill Haas, and Ben Crane were certainly not on my radar, and I suspect most golf fans out there can say the same. So while the Tour moves to L.A. for the Northern Trust Open, and defending champion Phil Mickelson is the heavy favorite to repeat, the winner on Sunday may just as easily be somewhat far off the radar.
As I’m writing my predictions for this week, Great White’s “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” is playing on the radio, and it seems very appropriate given the success of my prognostications, or the glaring lack thereof, so far this year. But as I’m nothing if not stubborn, here are three players on my watch list for this week:
Phil Mickelson. Is there anyone out there who is picking against Phil this week? Cue the crickets...
Alex Prugh. His name rhymes with “Alex Who?”, and that’s what I was saying when he finished 5th at the Bob Hope Classic two weeks ago–and when he finished 5th again at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open. It will be interesting to see how far the momentum will carry him.
Scott McCarron. Seriously. Phil Mickelson’s new BFF finished 10th at the Northern Trust last year. I’d just like to see the two of them playing together, preferably on Sunday; a little 18-hole throwdown might be good for ratings, too.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week is:
“Front 4": Phil Mickelson, K.J. Choi, Alex Prugh, Rickie Fowler
“Bench team”: Luke Donald, Fred Couples, Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker
Last week’s picks reached a new low, as two of the three (Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson) had early exits, and the third (Matt Jones) finished 54th. But top-10 finishes from Nick Watney and Lucas Glover helped my Yahoo Fantasy Golf team to hold nearly steady, 630 points and 71st percentile. Here’s hoping for some better fortune this week!
Best of luck to all!
Showing posts with label Phil Mickelson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phil Mickelson. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
The blog is back! 2010 predictions
When I decided to take a six-week sabbatical from blogging to work on 2010 scheduling and some issues in “real life”, little did I realize that “the Tiger Woods story” would explode a week later and pretty much dominate golf media until…well, it hasn’t really stopped yet.
But it’s a new year, and I’m turning the page on 2009 and its scandals and looking forward to watching the action on the links in 2010. Here are my predictions for 2010.
When will Tiger return? Probably the most-asked question leading up to the 2010 season. I’ll assume that there will be no more major developments in this case, and say that he’ll be back for the Masters, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s back at Doral. Of course, if there are further major developments, all bets are off.
The impact of some young guns. Rickie Fowler will win at least once on the PGA Tour in 2010, likely in a weaker-field event. Rory McIlroy will win at least once outside the U.S., and possibly win a major (see major predictions below). If McIlroy does win a major, he will be Rookie of the Year. If he does not, Fowler will be.
On the other side of the success coin… Anthony Kim, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, and Camilo Villegas will combine for a total of one win worldwide between the four of them, and it may be a European Tour win.
Kiss the trophy. Kevin Na gets his first PGA Tour win in 2010. Robert Allenby gets his first PGA Tour win in almost ten years in 2010. Jim Furyk gets at least one PGA Tour win in 2010.
Major winners: Phil Mickelson wins the Masters. Nick Watney wins the U.S. Open. Tiger Woods wins the Open Championship, unless he doesn’t play; if he doesn’t, Rory McIlroy wins. Ross Fisher wins the PGA Championship.
Ryder Cup: Europe wins the Ryder Cup in Wales. Each team fields four rookies. The margin will be 3.5 points.
Enjoy the 2010 season!
But it’s a new year, and I’m turning the page on 2009 and its scandals and looking forward to watching the action on the links in 2010. Here are my predictions for 2010.
When will Tiger return? Probably the most-asked question leading up to the 2010 season. I’ll assume that there will be no more major developments in this case, and say that he’ll be back for the Masters, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s back at Doral. Of course, if there are further major developments, all bets are off.
The impact of some young guns. Rickie Fowler will win at least once on the PGA Tour in 2010, likely in a weaker-field event. Rory McIlroy will win at least once outside the U.S., and possibly win a major (see major predictions below). If McIlroy does win a major, he will be Rookie of the Year. If he does not, Fowler will be.
On the other side of the success coin… Anthony Kim, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, and Camilo Villegas will combine for a total of one win worldwide between the four of them, and it may be a European Tour win.
Kiss the trophy. Kevin Na gets his first PGA Tour win in 2010. Robert Allenby gets his first PGA Tour win in almost ten years in 2010. Jim Furyk gets at least one PGA Tour win in 2010.
Major winners: Phil Mickelson wins the Masters. Nick Watney wins the U.S. Open. Tiger Woods wins the Open Championship, unless he doesn’t play; if he doesn’t, Rory McIlroy wins. Ross Fisher wins the PGA Championship.
Ryder Cup: Europe wins the Ryder Cup in Wales. Each team fields four rookies. The margin will be 3.5 points.
Enjoy the 2010 season!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Pre-Thanksgiving leftovers...
It's still a couple of weeks until Thanksgiving, but it's time for some leftovers.
First of all, leftover congratulations from Sunday go to Phil Mickelson, for winning the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai. Phil tends to let the latter part of the season slide, but with this win added to his Tour Championship title and success in the President's Cup, he's ending 2009 on a high note, at least on the course. Hopefully, the success and good fortune will also extend to Amy and to Phil's mother in their battles against breast cancer.
And now for some leftover picks. My picks for this week's PGA Tour Children's Miracle Network Classic are leftover from the rain-cancelled Viking Classic. Hopefully, they'll find better luck this week!
Rickie Fowler. Is there any player on the Tour who’s got more of the “hot hand” than Fowler right now? The 20-year-old, who has only played a handful of events as a professional, has two top-10's in his last two starts. If his form continues, he may join the elite ranks of players who are able to qualify for full Tour membership in their first full year without having to go to Q-school.
David Toms. Toms is one of the strongest players in this field. He has seven top-10's so far this year. Is there any reason not to pick him?
David Duval. Yes, you read that right. After several years as a punchline, Duval’s game is coming back, and he’s currently at 125th on the money list. But for those who analyze potentially meaningless trends, there’s another reason to pick Duval: two of the three Fall Series events so far have been won by Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Matt Kuchar at Turning Stone, Troy Matteson at the Frys.com Open). Could DD make it three out of four for the Ramblin’ Wreck?
First of all, leftover congratulations from Sunday go to Phil Mickelson, for winning the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai. Phil tends to let the latter part of the season slide, but with this win added to his Tour Championship title and success in the President's Cup, he's ending 2009 on a high note, at least on the course. Hopefully, the success and good fortune will also extend to Amy and to Phil's mother in their battles against breast cancer.
And now for some leftover picks. My picks for this week's PGA Tour Children's Miracle Network Classic are leftover from the rain-cancelled Viking Classic. Hopefully, they'll find better luck this week!
Rickie Fowler. Is there any player on the Tour who’s got more of the “hot hand” than Fowler right now? The 20-year-old, who has only played a handful of events as a professional, has two top-10's in his last two starts. If his form continues, he may join the elite ranks of players who are able to qualify for full Tour membership in their first full year without having to go to Q-school.
David Toms. Toms is one of the strongest players in this field. He has seven top-10's so far this year. Is there any reason not to pick him?
David Duval. Yes, you read that right. After several years as a punchline, Duval’s game is coming back, and he’s currently at 125th on the money list. But for those who analyze potentially meaningless trends, there’s another reason to pick Duval: two of the three Fall Series events so far have been won by Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Matt Kuchar at Turning Stone, Troy Matteson at the Frys.com Open). Could DD make it three out of four for the Ramblin’ Wreck?
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