RADIO
Well, well, well. After a truly grandiose and extensive offseason, the PGA Tour is primed and ready to begin a new season. As always, the Tour kicks things off at Silverado Resort in beautiful Napa, California, but this season will feature a new name and title sponsor for the event, the Procore Championship.
We have a full-field event featuring several players looking to get a jump start on season points at the Johnny Miller-designed North Course at Silverado. The fairways are typically tough to hit, but it doesn't stop players from hitting nearly 70% of greens in regulation like they did last in 2023. At only 7,123 yards and playing as a par-72, the pros dismantle this track and scoring is always very low.
As always, with this article, my primary goal is to give you a place to start your research and preparation for the upcoming week. I have carefully evaluated the field-to-project proper course fits and looked heavily into how players' incoming form has been in the categories that matter the most at Silverado Resort. Here are my top 10 players to watch out for and a brief write-up of my reasons why I think they will crush it at the Procore Championship.
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No. 10 - Brendon Todd
Brendon Todd is a name that I tend to gravitate toward when the course setup allows for shorter, more accurate players to compete. That's definitely the case at Silverado Resort and is evidenced by Todd's solid history playing this event. He's finished inside the top 10 in 2023 and 2022, and he ranks 4th in Strokes Gained Total at Silverado since 2016.
Todd ended his 2024 season with form that was trending in the right direction. He recorded a 12th place result at the Wyndham Championship, his best finish since early in the season at the Valero. He followed that up with a T22 at the St. Jude which wasn't quite good enough for him to advance, but should provide some added confidence heading into a new season and now competing against a much weaker strength of field.
No. 9 - Tom Hoge
By nature, the North Course at Silverado Resort provides players with an above-average number of shots coming from the 100-150 yard range. For Tour pros, it's nothing more than a pitching wedge. Without question, one of the best players on the PGA Tour with a pitching wedge in their hands over the past 2-3 years has been Tom Hoge.
Hoge was able to finish his season strong and make the Tour Championship, despite only having one top 5 finish last season. It speaks to his consistency and willingness to grind week in and week out. He last played this particular event in 2022 and he finished T12 that week. This should be an ideal course fit for a player like Hoge and gives him a great chance to get things started on on the right note. He lead the tour in birdies last season, and we'll need a bunch more this week to contend!
Everyone is good at something!
Here are the 79 golfers who led the TOUR in at least one stat category for the 2024 season. pic.twitter.com/YatprTmpGW
— Rick Gehman (@RickRunGood) September 2, 2024
No. 8 - Eric Cole
If you were playing season-long fantasy golf last year, then you more than likely spent a very high pick hoping for a break out year from Eric Cole. That never came, and the form fell off a cliff during the spring and summer swing. Then, just after the US Open, something with his swing clicked and Cole recorded three top 7 finishes in his last seven starts of the season.
He's another player whose game should set up nicely as a course fit for Silverado. Cole recorded a 4th place finish in 2023 at this event and nearly won had it not been for the inability to close on Sunday. He's a great par 5 scorer despite not being overly accurate or long, and Cole always seems to thrive in tournaments where you attack pins and try to make as many birdies as possible.
No. 7 - J.J. Spaun
Some say that nothing goes better with a glass of Napa Red than a J.J. Spaun outright ticket. That person is me.
Spaun's iron play was red hot to end last season. He gained at least 4+ strokes on approach in four consecutive starts to end the year and notched back-to-back top 10 finishes at the 3M Open and the Wyndham Championship. He's comfortable playing in California and his best chipping/putting performances will typically come on these type of turn conditions. If he putts it well and continues to flush his irons, he's one of my favorite picks to win this week.
No. 6. Maverick McNealy
In order to win the newly named Procure Championship, historically you have to produce a great week putting. Maverick McNealy is the most consistently solid putter in the field, which he utilized to nearly win this event in 2021 while finishing in solo 2nd place. It was the closest he has ever been to victory, and McNealy loves California golf.
McNealy elevated his game to end his season last year. He played in the final pairing at the 3M Open on Sunday but ended up in 3rd place. He then made a nice run at the Fedex St Jude in Memphis, finishing 12th but ultimately missed out on the next stage of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. If I was forced to pick out the one tournament that McNealy would eventually win in his career, it would be this one. We'll have to wait and see if that comes to fruition this season.
No. 5 - Corey Conners
He's the third player listed on the odds board for this event, but it feels like nothing more than a tune up for Corey Conners in Silverado this week and he preps to defend Canada in the upcoming Presidents Cup. Conners surprisingly missed the cut at this event in 2022 and you have to go back to 2019 to find the last time he played on the weekend at this tournament.
There just is not much of a differentiating penalty for inaccurate players off the tee box. Personally, I feel like that diminishes one of his strongest assets. That stat combined with some end-of-season struggles led me to think that this may not be a great course fit for Conners. He's one of the most talented players in the field clearly, but it's possible that his mind isn't fully committed in Napa.
Corey Conners tells me he is absolutely "honoured" to play under captain Mike Weir at this year's Presidents Cup. He's been Mr. Consistent this year and now is eager to put some points on the board at Royal Montreal. pic.twitter.com/yO6HjGFrgT
— Adam Stanley (@adam_stanley) September 6, 2024
No. 4 - Luke Clanton
Let's be clear, the numbers that this kid posted in his rookie season are insane. Coming into this week and using recent form, I have Clanton ranked as the 2nd best Approach player in the field the the #1 ranked player Off The Tee. That combination is deadly on the PGA Tour, and if he can continue to dominate in those two areas then he is primed to have a monster year in 2024-2025.
Clanton ended his season with a solo 5th-place finish at the Wyndham Championship. I believe Silverado is actually a much better fit for his strengths. He should be able to separate from the field on the four par 5's and if he can put together a decent week with the putter...watch out! He's hungry to make a statement, and he's the number 1 ranked player in my stat model this week. My top 3 players are just proven winners, which is the only current box that Clanton doesn't check...yet.
Luke Clanton is playing on the PGA TOUR again this week. Here’s where he would rank in the TOUR’s stats if he had enough rounds to be included:
SG: Off-the-Tee: 1st
Greens in Reg: 1st
SG: Approach: 2nd
Driving Accuracy: 3rd
Driving Distance: 5th— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) September 9, 2024
No. 3 - Wyndham Clark
What ended up being a really good all-around season for Wyndham Clark got slightly lost with everything else going on the golf world during 2024. Clark ended on a high note, earning a spot on Team USA for the Olympics and then posting a T7 result at the FedEx Cup St Jude before ultimately finishing in 8th place at the Tour Championship.
His course history at Silverado is nothing to write home about, but I'm encouraged by the fact that he has elected to play this event in four of the last five seasons. That typically indicates that there is something about this course that fits his eye. He played his college golf in this general region and should be quite at home in these conditions. This course affords him the ability to let loose his Driver where he is likely the longest player in the field. He's a winner and he's a player that I trust to hold a lead on Sunday. That goes a long way in these fields.
No. 2 - Max Homa
Max Homa just did not have it last season. His lackluster season stemmed from a wildly inaccurate Driver, and Homa surprisingly failed to even make the Tour Championship. He's had a weeks now of time off to get with his swing coach to get things corrected, and my gut says that Homa comes into this week highly motivated and set to tackle a course that he knows well.
So well in fact, that he has lifted the trophy at this event in both 2021 and 2022. Homa has always played his best golf under the California sun, and Silverado should be exactly what the doctor ordered to cure the ailments of a disappointing season. His odds are friendly at 22-1 if you're inclined to back Homa to win a third time in four years at the Procure Championship.
No. 1 - Sahith Theegala
The defending Champion is back to try a capture a new trophy with a new name on it. Sahith Theegala has always found tremendous success at Silverado Resort. He first debuted at this event in 2020, finishing inside the top 15. His journey in Napa culminated last season by capturing his win here by dominating the field on and around the greens at the North Course.
Theegala has all the tools to be a perennial top player on the PGA Tour and seems ready to step into the limelight. He's coming off a massive pay check and 3rd place finish at the Tour Championship. He did so while proving to the world once again that he's a great role model, self-imposing a penalty on himself while maintaining his focus and will to win. The sky is the limit for Theegala, and he's easily the number one ranked player for me this week.
“Your intuition as a golfer is very rarely wrong.”
Sahith Theegala reflects on his self-reported two-stroke penalty this afternoon. https://t.co/vfnGhCvEOU pic.twitter.com/InprR9GOc4
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 31, 2024
Enjoy the Procure Championship and thanks for reading! Good luck, RotoBaller family!
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