News

Why you should be watching the LPGA Tour in 2016

Published

8 years ago

Dec 15, 2015

The short answer is that players like Lydia Ko, Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen and Lexi Thompson, among others, make the LPGA Tour worth every second of attention you eventually decide to give it. In 2016, incidentally, LPGA Tour players will be playing a total of 34 events covering 12 different countries for over $63 million in prize money. Don’t sell these players or this tour short, as a whole, and give it a test drive in 2016 if you’re not following things already.

For those unfamiliar with the likes of top draws, such as Ko or Park, here is the truncated version: Ko earned just over $2.8 million in 2015 by posting 17 top-10 finishes, including five victories, one of which was her first professional major, The Evian Championship. At the tender age of 18, and based on that stellar year of golf, she became the youngest winner ever of the Rolex Player of Year Award. Park, on the other hand, at age 27 is presently playing the role of savvy veteran. An LPGA Hall of Fame member in-waiting and now armed with a putting stroke for the ages, Park turned professional at age 17 in 2006, and is a 17-time winner on the LPGA Tour, including seven professional major championships.

In 2015, Ko and Park notably battled neck-in-neck up to and including the last event on the LPGA Tour calendar, known as the CME Group Tour Championship. While neither player was victorious, finishing T7 and 6th, respectively, Ko was able to earn the Rolex Player of the Year Award as well as win the Race to CME Globe and LPGA Tour money list. Park ultimately captured the Vare Trophy (low stroke average) providing her with enough points to become eligible for the Hall of Fame after next season. The point being not only is the LPGA Tour highly competitive and global in terms of both players and venues, but it is smack dab in the middle of having a couple (if not more) Hall of Fame careers intersect, yet again, in 2016.

There’s no doubt that the battle for supremacy to be waged in 2016 between Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, and Rory McIlroy on the PGA Tour will be worth its weight in gold, but the same can be said for the LPGA Tour. With young players such as Ko, Thompson, Sei Young Kim, and Jessica Korda consistently fighting for victories against a backdrop of veterans like Park, Pettersen, Stacy Lewis, and Cristie Kerr for a record amount of total prize money in 2016, there is no better place to be for captivating professional golf than the LPGA Tour, especially if you lack appreciation for the current bomb-and-gouge trend on professional mens’ tours around the world. You only have until January 25th when the new season starts at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic to get up to speed on your new favorite players.

3 players to watch next year

Typically, this section would be dedicated to identifying players not so well-known, i.e., under the radar types, as potential impact golfers for the upcoming season. Annie Park, former USC Trojan and leading money winner on the Symetra Tour (feeder tour to the LPGA Tour; akin to the Web.com Tour) in 2015, would be just such a player. Despite another crop of promising young talent, like Annie Park, it is more compelling to hypothesize on how some existing LPGA Tour players might play in 2016. With that in mind, here are my LPGA Tour players to watch.

Stacy Lewis

Twitter

A former No. 1 ranked player in the world, Lewis, by all accounts, had a consistent year on the LPGA Tour in 2015 with 14 top-10 finishes and almost $1.9 million in total earnings. In fact, Lewis’ play protected her spot as the top-ranked American sitting at No. 3 in the current Rolex Rankings (despite a hard-charging Lexi Thompson) as well as earned her third place on the money list. Yet, as an 11-time LPGA Tour winner, including, the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Championship and 2013 Women’s British Open with 88 career top-10 finishes and over $10 million in earnings, Lewis had to be disappointed that she did not find the winner’s circle for the first time since 2010.

Plainly enough, Lewis’ expectations for 2016 will likely involve not only returning to the winner’s circle, but to the top of the Rolex Rankings, even if she has to go through Ko and Inbee Park to do it. Lewis has the skill-set, drive, and desire to achieve all of the above. Seemingly held back by an inconsistent putter this past season, if Lewis can find the groove that previously took her to world No. 1, you can certainly bet she will be in the mix once again for that coveted spot. Keep an eye out for an early win in 2016 by Lewis to set the tone for the year. The only variable, at this point, is Lewis recently became engaged and how changes to her personal life affect her golf, if at all, remains to be seen.

Sei Young Kim

Twitter

Kim is the reigning 2015 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year, having won three times and posting 11 top-10 finishes in winning over $1.8 million in total earnings. Before earning status on the LPGA Tour through the 2014 qualifying school finals, Kim won five times on the LPGA of Korea Tour in 2013 and 2014. Presently, she’s ranked No. 7 in the Rolex rankings after finishing 4th on the LPGA Tour money list in 2015, Kim has already shown not only a knack for winning, but playing to win.

It will be interesting to see if Kim steps into 2016 looking to build on her incredible 2015 season and plays with the same fearlessness that brought her Rookie of the Year honors. Amongst a sea of incredible young talent like Ko, Thompson (20-years old), and Korda (22-years old) et al., Kim will need to keep pace by playing her best and closing the door on wins, just as she did this past season. Soon to be just 23-years old, Kim will inevitably be in thick of things throughout 2016 on the LPGA Tour.

Brooke Henderson

Twitter

Currently, ranked No. 18 in the Rolex Rankings, Henderson was a top-ranked amateur before turning professional in December 2014. At the age of 18, the Canadian has already amassed six professional wins, including the LPGA Tour’s Cambia Portland Classic by eight shots in August 2015 (at 17-years old). That winning margin was the largest on the LPGA Tour in 2015, made her the third youngest winner ever on the LPGA Tour, and made her only the third player to win before the age of 18 (Ko and Thompson being the other members of that prestigious trio). Upon winning in Portland, LPGA Tour commissioner Michael Whan granted Henderson immediate membership to the LPGA Tour as she was playing as a non-member. Notably, Henderson become only the second player ever to win an LPGA Tour event after having earned the right to play through a Monday qualifier.

Apart from demonstrating her ability to win and compete on the LPGA Tour throughout 2015 by virtue of, among other high finishes, top-5 finishes at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and U.S. Women’s Open, Henderson looks to join a somewhat select group of young guns headlined by Ko and Thompson in 2016. Evident by her steady progression from touted junior to amateur and now LPGA Tour professional, Henderson will inevitably be mixing it up late on Sunday trying to capture victory nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, and beyond for the foreseeable future.

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19 Comments

Russell Platt

Dec 26, 2015 at 8:23 pm

I have been watching the LPGA more lately, to try and figure out how they hit the ball so long. There is no way I can ever be that flexible. I also agree about the clubs they use being closer to mine, except how strong their shafts are.

Reply Report comment
Martin

Dec 25, 2015 at 1:49 pm

I like to watch the LPGA, the game they play is a lot closer to mine than the guys.

Brooke Henderson will have a great year, Lydia Ko is great to watch as well.

Reply Report comment
Jafar

Dec 22, 2015 at 8:56 am

I think the title should be “What to watch” instead of “Why to watch”.

Reply Report comment
Steve Thomas

Dec 18, 2015 at 3:20 pm

I volunteer at the range every year at an LPGA event. Working the range is fantastic. The shifts is 12 hours long and it allows you to get up close to the players, listen to what they are working on by themselves or with their instructor. You can see what kinds of clubs they are playing, what shafts are in their clubs and the makeup of their bag. You also get a first hand look at the people who work for the Darrel survey. They walk up to the players bags and see what clubs they are actually playing with and then write it down in a notebook.
I find that with the exception of Suzzan Petterson every single LPGA player that I have personally been around is extremely nice and they go out of their way to sign autographs, pose for pictures or just talk to the fans, in particular the kids.
The incident she (Petterson) had at the Solheim Cup didn’t surprise me or the other volunteers I work with at all. When you are around her at a tournament, she is not friendly at all to the volunteers or fans and her language can be somewhat “R” rated or worse.
Working 12 hours at the range allows me to see what player really works on their game. Without question, the Asian players are at the range much longer than most of the American players with the exception of Michelle Wie. Michelle works extremely hard at her game. When I work that many hours, I see a lot of things and Michelle is the hardest working American during the week I work. Her parents are there too helping her with her game. We give them folding chairs and her parents sit and watch her hit balls or putt for hours.
Asian players for the most part don’t have any swing devices that help them with their game other than alignment sticks and most all of the LPGA players have the sticks.
If you have never been to an LPGA event, try it one time. Take the kids, especially if you have girls and you will have a really good time. Go on a practice day and a tournament day so you can see how they warm up, practice, and get prepared for the tournament. It’s very entertaining and educational.

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Park District Hacker

Dec 17, 2015 at 3:08 pm

I love the LegsPGA.

Seriously though, I think I watch the LPGA more than the PGA because my own game is similar to the ladies. My distances are similar to theirs and I carry the same type of clubs as them (lots of 4,5, & 6 hybrids on the LPGA tour). I think a lot of guys would improve by modeling their swings and course strategy after some of the talented ladies on the LPGA tour.

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- Chuck
  
  Dec 18, 2015 at 10:06 pm
  
  Absolutely. The LPGA plays courses I can relate to. In some cases, they play very nice classic design courses that have been made obsolete for the Mens’ Tour by virtue of technology and distance. And yes, their distances and golf bags look more like my own, than like Jason Day’s or Dustin Johnson’s bags.
  
  I’m not kidding myself about compelling personalities; the LPGA is lacking, frankly. But I’d be very happy to see double the number of WITB posts for the ladies, because that’s information I am more likely to use.
  
  Reply Report comment
Tom

Dec 17, 2015 at 1:52 pm

I watch religiously. Damn good entertainment.

Reply Report comment
Bob

Dec 16, 2015 at 8:34 pm

Not knocking their golfing skills, but if you need to keep telling people they “should” watch something then there is a larger issue at hand.

Reply Report comment
- Jack
  
  Dec 17, 2015 at 1:11 am
  
  It’s just a thing with women’s sports. Not as many people watch it. They’re just trying to bring awareness to it, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You keep pretending that people are going to watch, and nothing happens. This is all part of marketing. That said, they really are very good players. Only difference is distance vs the PGA. And people tend to go for the most athletically impressive, and distance is usually more impressive than consistency and accuracy, since they just replay the good ones.
  
  Reply Report comment
Sean

Dec 16, 2015 at 2:53 pm

Megan Khang. Way, way under the radar. But her game will surprise many.

Reply Report comment
- LT
  
  Dec 17, 2015 at 10:38 am
  
  Definitely will keep an eye out for her, she did just turn pro.
  
  Reply Report comment
prime21

Dec 16, 2015 at 8:35 am

If your familiar w/ golf, I doubt your “unfamiliar with Ko or Park”. The golf channel relentlessly floods our television sets with their images in hopes of boosting ratings. Much like ESPN showing WNBA games, forcing anything upon an uninterested audience, simply doesn’t work. By definition, this article would be unnecessary if there was a sincere fan base, would it not? I don’t think I’ve seen the PGA version of this article yet, and for good reason, people DO care about that. I am fully aware that times have changed and by all means believe equality on every level is important. I am also quite capable of making up my own mind regarding what is considered entertainment as well as where my attention will be directed when prioritizing my free time. I was thinking that Ben would soon hear from the Golf Channel as they look for more writers to fill their expanding LPGA coverage, but then, as Mike points out above, he went and ruined the entire premise of his article by making a ridiculously sexist statement regarding the reasoning behind Stacy’s 2015 “slump”. You can’t force fans, Ben, just like you can’t force sincerity.

Reply Report comment
- Jack
  
  Dec 17, 2015 at 1:14 am
  
  Actually he’s predicting some issues in 2016, not explaining 2015. Doesn’t make it better (who talks about getting engaged affecting any of the guys? Is Rory expect to struggle because he just got engaged too?). That said Aaron Rodgers caught slack and they’re blaming Olivia Munn for the Packers sucking.
  
  Reply Report comment
PhilUp

Dec 15, 2015 at 2:17 pm

I look forward to more coverage of Paige Spiranac.

Reply Report comment
Midwest Blade

Dec 15, 2015 at 1:10 pm

The best thing about watching the LPGA is that the top Ladies definitely play in a lot more events therefore you generally get to see a fair amount of the top players playing just about every tournament week. Probably has something to do with the purse size. In comparison the top men on the PGA do not have to tee up nearly so often with the giant purses available. I give the ladies full credit for the support they show to most all of their tour events.

Reply Report comment
Greg V

Dec 15, 2015 at 12:40 pm

In Gee Chun had a pretty good year – US Open, Japan Open, World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup. I hope that we see more of her this year. She is very good.

Reply Report comment
L

Dec 15, 2015 at 12:07 pm

I already do watch the LegsPGA, I meant LovelyPGA, no I meant…….

Reply Report comment
Mike

Dec 15, 2015 at 11:08 am

“The only variable, at this point, is Lewis recently became engaged and how changes to her personal life affect her golf, if at all, remains to be seen.”

You have to be kidding me, right? Is it 1955?

Reply Report comment
- Comp
  
  Dec 15, 2015 at 11:57 am
  
  No but it could be 2008 and comparisons to Eldrick Woods must be made.
  
  Reply Report comment

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News

Morning 9: Tiger confirms playing schedule | Player: This caused Tiger’s downfall

Published

2 days ago

May 2, 2024

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as day one of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson gets underway.

1. Woods confirms he plans to play 1x monthly, remaining 3 majors

ESPN report…”Woods, appearing on the “Today” show Wednesday morning, said he is still following the calendar he mapped out before the season began. But physical limitations continue to give the 15-time major winner pause.”

“He completed the Masters last month but requires a “cold plunge every day, religiously” to get his body going and was “extremely sore” when he left Augusta National. Woods shot a 16-over 304 at the Masters and finished last among the 60 golfers who made the 36-hole cut.”

“I have basically the next three months — three majors — and hopefully that works out,” said Woods, who last won a major in 2019.

“Up next is the PGA Championship at Valhalla in two weeks. The U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 begins June 13, and the Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland begins July 18. Woods has not played all four majors in a year since 2019.”

Full piece.

2. Tiger on origin of red-and-black Sunday outfit

Ben Morse for CNN…”…speaking on Tuesday’s edition of ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,’ the 48-year-old said his mother Kultida was key to him wearing the now-iconic red and black combination.”

“My mom thought, being a Capricorn, that [red] was my power color, or some BS thing like that, so I end up wearing red and end up winning some golf tournaments,” the 15-time major winner told Fallon. “And then to spite her, I wore blue, and I did not win those tournaments. So Mom is always right.”

“Woods’ mother was clearly was onto something as her son would go onto win a record-equaling 82 PGA Tour tournaments.”

Full piece.

3. Gary Player’s take on Tiger’s downfall

Our Matt Vincenzi…”While speaking with KW Golf, golf legend Gary Player said that he believes swing coaches ruined the career of Tiger Woods.”

“The US Open at Pebble Beach, he won by 15 shots. You know what that’s like? It’s like running the 100 meters in seven seconds. The next week, he’s having a lesson from a man who, I don’t think, if he played in the Masters, could break 80.”

“And then he goes to another guy who couldn’t probably break 85 in the Masters with the pressure, or the British Open or the PGA on the final day. And he’s having lessons from them.”

“Why did Tiger do that? He was so good, but I understand he wanted to get better,” Player went on. “If he had just gone along and never changed, he would have won at least 22.. He would’ve gone down as the greatest athlete the world has ever seen.”

In 2008, Woods had won 14 majors and was 33 years old. It would take him eleven years to win his 15th at the 2019 Masters.

Full piece.

4. Open winner: I used to hate links golf

Peter Scrivener for the BBC…”However, he did recall his chastening links golf baptism at neighbouring Prestwick, which hosted the inaugural Open in 1860.”

“The first time I played links golf I hated it – it ate me to pieces,” said the 37-year-old, who lost all four of his matches as Europe thrashed the United States in the 2006 Palmer Cup.

“I kept trying to hit lob wedges around the greens and the weather was bad. I got whipped, lost all of my matches.”

Full piece.

5. Why Tiger’s daughter doesn’t like golf

Our Matt Vincenzi…”While Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, has certainly inherited his father’s love for golf, his daughter, Sam, has not.”

“On Wednesday, Tiger made an appearance on The Today Show with Carson Daly and explained his daughter’s relationship with golf.”

“Golf has negative connotations for her. When she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her. I had to pack, I had to leave, and I was gone for weeks. So, there were negative connotations to it.

“We developed our own relationship and our own rapport outside of golf. We do things that doesn’t involve golf. Meanwhile, my son and I, everything we do is golf related.”

Full piece.

6. Spieth hits ‘reset button’

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”PGA Tour star Jordan Spieth isn’t happy that he’s not playing as well as his longtime friend Scottie Scheffler, but he’s hoping to use the world No. 1 golfer’s success as inspiration.”

“Spieth, a three-time major championship winner, said he used last week as a reset after a so-so start to the 2024 season. He has three top-10 finishes in 10 starts but had a disqualification and three missed cuts, including at The Players and Masters, in his past seven.”

“He is hoping to turn things around, starting at The CJ Cup Bryon Nelson, which tees off Thursday at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.”

“I think I kind of wanted to hit the reset button this last week and I took more days off than I usually do,” Spieth told reporters Wednesday. “Got a little burned out trying to find stuff. I wanted to take some time off, clear my mind, and then get back to it.

“… Kind of looking at this as kind of a restart. I haven’t had the year I wanted to have after getting off to a pretty optimistic start in Hawaii. I feel really good about the work I put in since the weekend into the few days this week, so I believe that I’m really close to some great things.”

Full piece.

7. Photos from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Check out all of our galleries from this week’s event!

Full Piece.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Published

4 days ago

Apr 30, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week in McKinney, Texas, at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (FKA the AT&T Byron Nelson).

Last year at TPC Craig Ranch, Jason Day ended a five-year winless streak. J-Day is in the field again, as are Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, and Will Zalatoris.

We have our usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums for your perusal. As always, we’ll continue to add links to additional albums as they make their way to us from the Lone Star State.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.

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News

Vincenzi’s 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson betting preview: International talent to shine

Published

5 days ago

Apr 29, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

As anticipation mounts for the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla in a few weeks, the PGA Tour makes a pit stop in McKinney, Texas to play The CJ CUP Byron Nelson.

Last year was the third time TPC Craig Ranch hosted the Byron Nelson. Prior to 2021, the event was held at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas.

TPC Craig Ranch is a 7,414-yard par-71 that features Bentgrass greens. The event historically plays relatively easy, and that has remained the case in the three editions at TPC Craig Ranch.

The course structure may provide some additional intrigue with the par-3 17th featuring a stadium setup called “Ranch 17” which is reminiscent of the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale. The course also has both long and difficult par-4s mixed with drivable par-4s, which should create some exciting moments.

There are 156 golfers in the field this week, and many stars will be taking the week off to prepare for 2023’s second major championship in a few weeks and a “signature event” at Quail Hollow next week. Notable players in the field include Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Sungjae Im, Stephan Jaeger, Tom Kim, Si Woo Kim, Min Woo Lee, Alex Noren, Adam Scott and Will Zalatoris.

Past Winners of the AT&T Byron Nelson

2023: Jason Day (-23 at TPC Craig Ranch)
2022: K.H. Lee (-26 at TPC Craig Ranch)
2021: K.H. Lee (-25 at TPC Craig Ranch)
2019: Sung Kang (-23)
2018: Aaron Wise (-23)
2017: Billy Horschel (-12)
2016: Sergio Garcia (-15)
2015: Steven Bowditch (-18)

Key Stats at TPC Craig Ranch

Let’s take a look at five key metrics for TPC Craig Ranch to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds.

Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes Gained: Approach remains the best measure of current form.

Hot iron play will be at a premium this week. Last year, Jason Day gained 6.4 strokes on approach, which was fourth in the field. In 2022, K.H. Lee was ninth in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, gaining 5.2 strokes. In his 2021 victory, he was second in the field and gained 8.3 strokes on the field in the category.

Strokes Gaines: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds

Tom Hoge (+1.12)
Keith Mitchell (+1.02)
Henrik Norlander (+0.99)
Ryan Moore (+0.98)
Ben Martin (0.80)

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

Fairways are wide at TPC Craig Ranch.

Distance will certainly be helpful, and there aren’t too many difficult holes on the course. Golfers who put themselves in position off of the tee this week should have a sizable advantage.

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee Over Past 24 Rounds

Peter Kuest (+0.93)
Kevin Daugherty (+0.91)
Alejandro Tosti (+0.83)
Keith Mitchell (+0.82)
Kevin Tway (+0.74)

Birdie or Better %

There aren’t many hazards on the course, and all of the par-5s should be reachable in two for the majority of the players in the field. I am anticipating a birdie fest, and this statistic should be helpful in finding the birdie-makers.

Birdie or Better % Over Past 24 Rounds:

Wesley Bryan (31%)
Kelly Kraft (26.2%)
Peter Kuest (25.9%)
Matti Schmid (25.7%
Jimmy Stanger (25.2%)

Strokes Gained: Putting (Bentgrass)

Many golfers on TOUR have some major putting surface variance in their statistics and prefer Bentgrass to other surfaces.

Bentgrass is common in Texas, and we often see golfers who play well in Texas continue to do so, finding a great feel around the greens.

Strokes Gained: Putting (Bentgrass) Over Past 24 Rounds:

Maverick McNealy (+0.92)
Aaron Baddeley (+0.87)
Callum Tarren (+0.86)
Harry Hall (+0.81)
Nick Hardy (+0.69)

Course History

This statistic will tell us which players have performed the best at TPC Craig Ranch over the past three seasons.

Course History Over Past 12 Rounds:

Jordan Spieth (+2.69)
K.H. Lee (+2.59)
Seamus Power (+1.84)
Ryan Palmer (+1.76)
Adam Scott (+1.72)

CJ CUP Byron Nelson Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), SG: OTT (24%), Birdie or Better % (18%), Course History (17%) and SG: Putting Bentgrass (16%).

Alex Noren
Adam Scott
Keith Mitchell
Si Woo Kim
Stephen Jaeger
Jordan Spieth
Jhonnatan Vegas
Nate Lashley
Brice Garnett
Tom Hoge

2024 CJ CUP Byron Nelson Picks

Byeong Hun An +3000 (DraftKings)

Byeong Hun put together an excellent performance at The Masters, finishing T16, which ties his best ever finish at a major championship (also T16 at 2019 U.S. Open). The South Korean gained 9.16 strokes from tee to green, which ranked 2nd in the field behind only the champion, Scottie Scheffler.

An’s next start at Harbour Town didn’t go as well (67th), but he still had a fantastic ball striking week. The 32-year-old bled strokes both around and on the greens, which was his eventual undoing. In his past three starts, An has gained significant strokes on the field both off the tee and on approach.

Benny had a strong start at last year’s Byron Nelson, finishing in a tie for 14th. With limited challenges on the course, he shouldn’t have to do much scrambling. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 17th in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 17th in the field in birdie or better percentage. The putter is up and down per usual, but his ceiling putting weeks with his LAB Golf putter in 2024 are higher than they’ve been in past seasons.

An is starting to become my “white whale” of the PGA Tour, but I believe in his talent and TPC Craig Ranch is a course that should suit his excellent tee to green play.

Mackenzie Hughes +5500 (FanDuel)

Mackenzie Hughes is quietly putting together a very good season. He finished in a tie for 3rd at the Valspar Championship and followed that up with a T14 at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

In his past 36 rounds in Texas, the Canadian ranks 5th in the field in Strokes Gained: Total. Last year, he finished in a tie for 14th at this event and gained strokes putting and off the tee. Mackenzie played well that week despite being in extremely poor form. He missed two cuts in a row prior to the event, and four consecutive cuts immediately after. His irons were off that week, but in 2024, we’ve seen an improvement in Hughes’ approach game. He now comes to the event playing some steady golf. He’s gained strokes on approach in four of his past five events and is hitting the ball very well from tee to green.

Hughes has two victories on the PGA Tour, both coming in relatively low-scoring affairs (-17 in each). He will need to go a bit deeper to win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson but has the type of putter that can keep pace in a birdie barrage.

Seamus Power +7000 (FanDuel)

After struggling over the past few seasons with injuries, Seamus Power seems as if he is rounding back into the form that made him a really consistent player on the PGA Tour.

Power finished T12 in his most recent start at the RBC Heritage, which is encouraging considering it was a “signature event” with a very strong field. For the week, the Irishman gained 4.4 strokes on approach and 2.8 strokes putting, which is the combination he’s used in the past to contend on Tour.

In his three trips to TPC Craig Ranch, Power is yet to finish outside of the top-20, with his best finish being a T9 in 2019. He ranks 4th in Strokes Gained: Total at the course. The 37-year-old thrives on easy tracks and has won in 2021 (Barbasol Championship) and 2022 (Butterfield Bermuda) on easier layouts with weaker fields.

Power has the game to go extremely low and I believe he can get back in the winner’s circle for the third time in four years.

Chan Kim +10000 (FanDuel)

Chan Kim has been striking the ball beautifully this season and is a proven winner with two wins on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023 as well as eight career Japan Tour wins.

At last week’s Zurich Classic, Kim and his partner Doug Ghim finished in a tie for 28th. Prior to that, the South Korean T14 at the Valero Texas Open and T6 at the Corales Puntacana Championship. His success this season in Texas as well as he propensity to play his best golf on the PGA Tour’s easier courses make him and ideal fit for TPC Craig Ranch.

2024 has given plenty of longshot winners on the PGA Tour, and with a birdie fest like this, I believe there’s a strong chance we get another this week in McKinney, Texas.

Alejandro Tosti +10000 (FanDuel)

Alejandro Tosti is one of the most polarizing players on the PGA Tour thus far in the 2024 season. His antics can rub many the wrong way, but he’s shown on a few occasions that he has what it takes to compete in Tour events.

This season, Tosti has been elite off the tee. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 2nd in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. The Argentine hits it long and straight, which works at any course on earth. He got a taste of contention a few starts ago at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, finishing in a tie for 2nd place.

Tosti had a fantastic year in 2023 on the Korn Ferry Tour, where going low is a prerequisite to success. If this turns to a shootout, which it likely will, the 27-year-old has the ability to set the pace. Tosti will look to become the second Argentine to win in Texas in the past two seasons after Emiliano Grillo emerged victorious at last year’s Charles Schwab Challenge.

C.T. Pan +15000 (FanDuel)

Outside of a T3 at the Mexico Open, C.T. Pan doesn’t have strong results this season in terms of finishes. However, over his past two starts, Pan’s iron play has come alive. At The Players, he gained 6.6 strokes on approach. At the Valero Texas Open, he gained 3.7. At last week’s Zurich Classic, Pan and his partner Kevin Yu finished T28. For a player who can get extremely hot with his scoring clubs, I believe he’s playing better than the results have shown over the past month or so.

Last season, Pan finished 4th at TPC Craig Ranch and was spectacular across all the major stat categories. In his past 36 qualifying rounds, he ranks 16th in Strokes Gained: Total in Texas.

Pan has won on the PGA Tour at the RBC Heritage and is always a player that I believe has what it takes to win on a Sunday if he finds himself in contention.

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