5 days agoThe Florida Swing hasn't been nearly as kind as in years past for Christiaan Bezuidenhout, as he's lost a cumulative 1.6 shots to the field in two lackluster starts in Orlando and Palm Beach Gardens. Sawgrass, however, compares quite favorably to another Pete Dye design (PGA West), that saw Bezuidenhout finish as a runner-up two months ago at the American Express. Christiaan also spent the first three rounds of 2023's PLAYERS Championship inside the top five, before a final-round 74 pushed him back into a tie for 13th at week's end. The recent iron and putting returns have been quite good for the South African International this season, but until he's finally able to get over the winning hump in the United States, questions will remain about his true upside. With two made cuts in two starts in Ponte Vedra, as well as his historic affinity within the state of Florida, Bezuidenhout does make for a safe, if unremarkable option for fantasy lineups.Source: PGA Tour
5 days agoAfter an opening-round 78 at the Cognizant Classic two weeks ago provided a disastrous start to his annual homecoming, Eric Cole rebounded quite nicely at a much more demanding track in Orlando. The Delray Beach native shot (-1) over four days at Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill: gaining over 2.5 shots on the field average in a 21st-place finish. If Cole remains in the mood for a difficult venue, TPC Sawgrass will be the perfect spot for him to continue back on the comeback trail, as the ever-present threat of water and one of the highest miss penalties on the PGA Tour will have no problem flushing out those with severe ball-striking deficiencies. Cole had no problem navigating the trouble here last year: shooting scores of 69/68 on the weekend to settle into a comfortable 23rd-place finish. Given the metronomic consistency we've seen out of him since his arrival on Tour last season, it's difficult to bet against Eric Cole -- particularly on these shorter, positional tracks.Source: PGA Tour
5 days agoDespite a year of phenomenal firsts for Brian Harman in 2023, the fanfare has not yet reached fever pitch for the Georgia Bulldog to this point in the New Year. Harman still feels like a man still on the precipice of breaking through the glass ceiling of superstardom, and weeks like this in Ponte Vedra present prime opportunities for him to raise that profile. Harman has recorded three top-10 finishes over his last eight starts here at Sawgrass, and his combination of precision off of the tee and touch on and around the greens make him one of the premier course fits on these positional venues. Couple that historic prowess on this layout with the best iron week he's had in eight months last week (+5.6 SG: APP), and Harman seems to be checking an awful lot of boxes for a guy coming into the week without much attention.Source: PGA Tour
5 days agoIt's been a rough start to the 2024 campaign for Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick, as our 2022 U.S. Open Champion has missed three of seven cuts and recorded no finish better than 14th through the first two-and-a-half months of the New Year. The going doesn't get much easier this week in Ponte Vedra, either, as TPC Sawgrass will present a stern test to even the game's most in-form commodities. Of course, Fitzpatrick was a winner last season at a similarly positional Pete Dye design at Harbour Town, but until the game shows some sustained life, it's difficult to project a repeat performance this week.Source: PGA Tour
5 days agoSahith Theegala has long been regarded as one of the PGA Tour's premier microwaves: a birdie-making machine that can contend on the sport's biggest stages when the game gets hot. However, historic deficiencies with his ball-striking (particularly off of the tee), have robbed the young American of a stable week-to-week baseline through his first two seasons as a professional. To start the New Year, however, Theegala seems to have found the proper formula with his driver: rating out positively off-the-tee in six of seven starts in 2024. Theegala already possesses so many tantalizing traits, but the driver will once again be tested around Sawgrass's penal layout. If he can conquer the test ahead of him this week, there will be no further questions regarding his inevitable ascension to the top of the game.Source: PGA Tour
5 days agoAfter an up-and-down 2023 campaign that saw him dip nine spots in the Official World Golf Rankings, Sam Burns has come flying out of the trap in the New Year. He recorded four straight top-ten finishes between California and Arizona during the Tour's West Coast Swing, andread more...
6 days agoSungjae Im logged his first top-20 finish since the Sentry last week, logging a T18 at the Arnold Palmer. The 25-year-old finally gained strokes on approach (1.9), and simply didn't lose strokes anywhere else. If the South Korean can keep this iron improvement at TPC Sawgrass while adding in some success off-the-tee and on the greens, we could be looking at top-5 upside again. Im has only played in THE PLAYERS four times, but he's made the cut in each of the last three, including a T6 last year. At a depressed price tag of $8,400 on DraftKings, it could be a sneaky valuable spot to jump back on the Im wagon.Source: PGA Tour
6 days agoJason Day uncharacteristically lost 4.8 strokes on approach at the Arnold Palmer last week, and he'll have to turn it around quickly heading to TPC Sawgrass, a track he's found success at many times before. Day's around-the-green game has anchored his strong play of late, but his irons were also great in February, leading to two top-10 finishes. The 36-year-old had three top-10s at THE PLAYERS, including a victory, from 2016 to 2019, but some putting trouble the last three years has left him outside the top-18 in each appearance. Day will look to find his strokes gained approach prowess early this week and ride it to a strong finish on Sunday, which he'll need to pay off a $8,900 price tag on DraftKings.Source: PGA Tour
6 days agoTom Hoge is swinging some of the hottest irons on tour of late, having gained strokes on approach in all nine events he's appeared in to start the year. The North Carolina native had been putting well, too, until he blew up last week, losing 4.8 strokes with the flat stick at the Arnold Palmer Invitational while still finishing 12th in the field thanks to 8.2 strokes gained on approach. The 34-year-old brings some of the best form of late to a track that he's loved each year since 2019, finishing 33rd or higher in his last four appearances, including a T3 showing last year. At $7,800 on DraftKings and in the 60-70/1 range in the betting markets, it's a great week to take a shot on Hoge's strong iron game.Source: PGA Tour
6 days agoMin Woo Lee has rolled over his strong finish from 2023 into some impressive numbers to start 2024. The 25-year-old has made all five cuts thus far, including a T2 finish at the Cognizant Classic two weeks ago. Lee has extreme upside with both his irons and his putter. To end 2023, the Australian was consistently gaining strokes with the flat stick, including two events where he eclipsed 6.0 strokes gained putting. This year, he's already shown great strokes gained approach ability multiple times, so it's clear he has what it takes to take down a tournament on any given weekend. Lee placed sixth in his PLAYERS debut last season, and with strong form coming in, golf bettors and DFS managers alike are flocking to the value option this week.Source: PGA Tour
6 days agoWelcome back, Will Zalatoris. After missing most of last season due to injury, Zalatoris announced his return to form with two high finishes at the past two signature events. Zalatoris' new swing to his back has taken a few yards off his driver distance but increased his accuracy. A switch to the broomstick putter also turned him into a player who's now gaining strokes on the greens. His skills and form suggest a win is possible at the Players Championship.Source: pgatour.com
6 days agoIt seems like so long ago Viktor Hovland appeared poised to be among Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy as the PGA Tour's best players. The reigning champion had a solid winter on the DP World Tour but just hasn't had success to start the season. While Hovland has stopped losing strokes on approach in consecutive events, he's nowhere near his best. Also, Hovland has started to lose strokes around the green again and his usually elite ball striking can't cover it up right now.Source: pgatour.com
6 days agoAfter a great week at Genesis, Patrick Cantlay had another confusing week at API. Cantlay managed to make the cut but wasn't a factor from the first round. The biggest issue for Cantlay is that each week a different part of his game has been the problem. To start his putter struggled, but when he fixed that his driver fell off. After he started to perform better off the tee, his short game started to cause issues. It's possible Cantlay can clean everything up, but the inconsistency makes him hard to trust on a tough course with a talented, deep field.Source: pgatour.com
6 days agoAfter a well-documented stint of struggles last season, Justin Thomas is back in form. Thomas ranks No. 8 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: Tee-to-Green. Thomas still battles some inaccuracy off the tee, but his approach and around-the-green skills are sharp again. Whether or not he can convert the chances into birdies determines if he will win, but Thomas has ended the concerns about the state of his game.Source: PGATOUR.com
6 days agoFrom tee to green this season, only Scottie Scheffler and Tony Finau have been better than Xander Schauffele. The problem for Schauffele has been his putting. On the greens, Schauffele ranks No. 126 on the PGA Tour but has still posted four top-10 finishes despite the issues. After two straight improved performances and a great weak at last year's event, things could click for Schauffele finally this week.Source: PGATOUR.com