Opinion & Analysis

Getting to know Payne Stewart

Published

4 years ago

Aug 21, 2019

Ever since that final putt fell in Pinehurst in 1999, Payne Stewart’s memory has enjoyed mythical qualities. A man of complex charm, but many of us who grew up without him recognize only his Knickerbocker pants, his flat cap, and his W.W.J.D. covered wrist wrapped around that United States Open trophy.

I had a wonderful opportunity to play a round of golf with two men that know a lot about Payne. One through friendship and the other through journalistic research.

Lamar Haynes was Payne Stewart’s close friend and teammate on the SMU golf team. He’s full of stories about Payne from the good old days. Kevin Robbins is an author who just finished a new book on Stewart’s final year of life, set to release to the public for purchase this October. He works as a professor of journalism at the University of Texas but has also enjoyed an impressive career as a reporter and golf writer for over 20 years.

We met at Mira Vista Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, to talk about Payne. Robbins is a solid golfer who spends time working on his game, which tells me a lot about his personality. He is one of us. As for Haynes, the guy hasn’t lost much since those SMU golf team days. He can still swing it. Fantastic iron player. And both men are wonderful conversationalists. They offered a unique perspective on Stewart—the golfer I grew up idolizing but never really knew. There’s a good chance you don’t really know him, either. At least not the whole story.

“Most golf fans now know the story of his ’99 U.S. Open win,” Robbins said. “What they don’t know is where he came from.”

Robbins’ book, The Last Stand of Payne Stewart: The Year Golf Changed Forever, chronicles Payne’s last year on earth with dramatic detail, covering his triumph at Pinehurst and the Ryder Cup at Brookline. And, of course, it tells the story of that tragic plane crash that took our champion from us. What the book doesn’t do is hide any of the blemishes about Payne’s life that have either been forgotten or pushed aside by brighter moments and memories.

“I thought that the other Payne Stewart books, while they have a place, they didn’t tell the whole story,” Robbins said.

The whole story, from what I read, was Payne being brash. A poor winner and sometimes a poor sport when he lost. He often said things he shouldn’t have said and then made those mistakes again and again.

“He had no filter,” remembered Haynes. “Several close friends on tour had a hard time with him when he won his first Open. He didn’t take into account any of the consequences his words could create. He had a huge heart. Huge heart. But at times there was just no filter. But he grew a great deal over the last 2 or three years.”

It’s most certainly is a book about a change. A change in a man that was better late than never. But also a change in golf that began at the turn of the century and hasn’t really slowed down since.

“The 20 years since his death, to see the way golf has moved, what the tour looks like now,” Robins said. “There was an evolution that was taking place in 1999 and we didn’t know how it would manifest itself. But now we do. So when you see Brooks Koepka hit a 3-wood in the US Open 370 yards, well that all really had its beginnings in 1998 and 1999. The Pro-V1 ball was being tested in 1999 and being rolled out in 2000. Fitness and equipment, sports psychology, nutrition. All of those things that a guy like Payne Stewart really didn’t have to pay attention to.”

But that change that occurred in Payne, culminating in his final year of life, is something worth learning. It’s a lesson for all of us. A guy on top of the world with still so much to fix. And he was fixing it, little by little.

“He was authentic,” Haynes said. “And he learned a lot later in life from his children. With their Bible studies. You saw a change in him. Very much. He had a peace with himself but he still would revert to his DNA. The fun-loving Payne. Raising children and being a father helped him tremendously.”

Payne was passionate about so many things in life but his children became a primary focus. According to Haynes, he would be so loud at his daughter’s volleyball games…yelling intensely at the referees…that they gave him an option: Either he wouldn’t be allowed to watch the games anymore or he needed to become a line judge and help out with the games. So, Payne Stewart became a volleyball line judge.

Lamar brought the head of an old Ram 7-iron along with him to show me. Damaged and bent from the crash, the club was with Payne on his final flight. He had it with him to show his guys at Mizuno as a model for a new set of irons. That Ram 7-iron belonged to Haynes and Payne had always adored the way it looked at address.

“Payne also used my old Mizunos the last year of his life,” Haynes said. I had received the MS-4s 10 years earlier from Payne in 1989. They were like playing with a shaft on a knife. The sweet spot was so tiny on the MS-4. They made the MP29 and 14s look like game improvement irons. Payne used those. Then Harry Taylor at Mizuno designed him an iron, which later became the MP33. The 29 and 14s were very sharp and flat-soled. Well, Payne loved this old Ram iron set that I had.. He asked for my Ram 7-iron for Harry Taylor to model his new set. He liked the way it went through the turf. He had it with him on the plane. This is the club that started the MP33.”

It was Lamar Haynes, the man who seems to know just about everyone in the golf community, that set Robbins on this writing journey. Robbins had written one book previously: The story of the life of legendary golf coach Harvey Penick. But this book came a bit easier for Robbins, partly due to his experience, partly due to the subject matter, and partly because of Lamar.

“There’s a story here,” Robbins said. “With any book, you hope to encounter surprises along the way, big and little. And I did. I got great cooperation a long the way. Anybody I wanted to talk to, talked to me thanks to this guy Lamar Haynes.”

“Lamar said the first guy you need to talk to is Peter Jacobsen,” Robins said. “And I said ‘great can you put me in touch with him’ which became a common question to Lamar throughout the process.” Robbins chuckled. “Literally 2 minutes later my phone rings. ‘Kevin, this is Peter Jacobsen here.'”

“Peter told me the story about the ’89 PGA championship in our first conversation. So literally in the first 10 minutes of my reporting effort, I had the first set piece of the book. I had something. Lamar made a lot happen.”

Lamar Haynes and Kevin Robbins

The book is not a biography, though it certainly has biographical elements to it. It is simply the story of Payne’s final year, with a look back at Payne’s not so simple career mixed in. The author’s real talent lives in the research and honesty. The story reads like you’re back in 1999 again, with quotes pulled from media articles or press conferences. Anecdotes are sprinkled here and there from all of Payne’s contemporaries. The storytelling is seamless and captivating.

“I was pleasantly surprised how much Colin Montgomerie remembered about the concession at the 1999 Ryder Cup,” Robbins said. “Colin can be a tough interview. He is generally mistrustful of the media. His agent gave me 15 minutes during the Pro-Am in Houston. This was in the spring of 2018. I met Colin on the 17th hole and he had started his round on 10. Just organically the conversation carried us to the fifth green. Just because he kept remembering things. He kept talking, you know. It was incredible. Tom Lehman was the same way. He said “I’ll give you 20 minutes” and it ended up being an hour and a half at Starbucks.”

The research took Robbins to Massachusetts, Florida, and Missouri—and of course, to Pinehurst. He met with Mike Hicks, Payne’s former caddie, there to discuss that final round. The two ended up out on Pinehurst No. 2, walking the last three holes and reliving the victory. It gives life to the story and fills it with detail.

“Part of what I hoped for this book is that it would be more than just a sports story,” Robbins said. “More than just a golf story. The more I started thinking about where Payne began and where he ended, it seemed to me…and I’m not going to call it a redemption story although I bet some people do. People when they are younger, they have regrets and they make mistakes. They do things they wish they could take back but they can’t. So, what can they do? Well, they can improve. They can get better. That’s what Payne was doing with his life. He was improving himself. It was too late to change what he had done already. So what could he do with the future? He could be different.”

“It was accurate,” Haynes said. “I had a tear when I finished it. I texted Kevin right afterward. I told him I couldn’t call him because I’m choked up so I texted him.”

So here’s two men who knew Payne Stewart, albeit in very different ways. They knew he was flawed in life but he got better. Was Payne Stewart that hero at Pinehurst, grabbing Phil Mickelson’s face and telling him the important thing is he’s going to be a father? Yes. But he was so much more than that. He was so much more than I knew before I read this book. Most importantly, Payne Stewart was always improving. A lesson for all of us, indeed.

If you want to hear more about my experience, t weet at me here @FWTXGolfer or message me on Instagram here! I look forward to hearing from you!

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Johnny Newbern

Johnny Newbern writes for GolfWRX from Fort Worth, Texas. His loving wife lets him play more golf than is reasonable and his three-year-old son is a tremendous cart partner. He is a Scotty Cameron loyalist and a lover of links-style courses. He believes Coore/Crenshaw can do no wrong, Gil Hanse is the king of renovations, and hole-in-ones are earned, not given. Johnny holds a degree in journalism from Southern Methodist University.

16 Comments

Bill Vaile

Aug 23, 2019 at 9:08 am

I had the pleasure of meeting Payne Stewart at his home course, Hickory Hills in Springfield, Mo. I was one of the contestants in the long drive contest and was not familiar with the course. I was unloading my clubs from my car but had no idea how to get to the clubhouse when he pulled up next to me in a cart to load his. I asked him for directions and he said hop in and you can ride with me. He asked if I was playing that day and I explained that I was there for the long drive contest and had intended to play but as it looked like it might rain my playing partner was not going to show. Believe it or not I just thought he was a local member and did not know who it was at this time as it was early in his career although he had won a few tournaments. That and obviously was not expecting to run into him there. I believe he had recently won the Quad Cities Open. He said he was going to the practice range to warm up after doing some stretching on the floor of the clubhouse and asked if I wanted to go warm up so I did. Long story short when he started warming up I never hit another shot as it was amazing to watch him smooth through some four irons and some wedges. I thought I was pretty good at the time but proof that if you think you are good go watch a good pro and it will bring you back to earth. Basically got to spend the the day with and around him, got to meet his dad Bill and remember it like it was yesterday. He was a practical joker, always had something up his sleeve and was a very nice and gracious man.

How did I finally find out it was Payne Stewart? I hit a ball out of a fairway bunker from around 180 yds to within 5 ft. My cart partner said good shot and I said yes but not like that guy. He is a machine! I asked him if he was the club champion or ???? After the guy looked at me incredulously and after he had stopped laughing he said you don’t know who that is? that is Payne Stewart! All I knew up to then was that he was a very nice young man who was full of life and … pranks. Had a great day and a lifetime memory.

I will never forget the day my brother called me knowing my brief history with him and told me to turn on the news as there was a pro golfer on a plane that was not responding and it was thought that it was Payne Stewart onboard. Another lifetime memory but a very sad one. Only had that one day with him but it was one day more than many have and I will never forget it.

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Howard Hayden

Aug 22, 2019 at 9:48 pm

Can’t wait to read your book. Saw Payne play Memphis a few times. Still watch videos of his swing hoping a sliver of his beautiful swing and rhythmic tempo will rub off. What a great loss.

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joro

Aug 22, 2019 at 9:16 am

Back in the 70s when Payne was playing on the Golden State Tour I made Woods at Cobra and made all Paynes Woods. He would come into the shop and we would talk about his game and where he wanted to go. He also used Leather grips and I would change them a couple of times a year. He was a good guy and really appreciated everything. Then one day he was gone to the Tour and I only saw him one time after that, but he was a good friend and nice person.

I am glad he got his life in order when he got married, The game misses him, he was a true star.

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Brian C

Aug 22, 2019 at 8:11 am

Great to see this story posted this morning. Unfortunately, I picked up golf after Payne’s passing and didn’t have the opportunity to experience his impact on the game in real-time, but having transformed into a bit of a golf history buff, I can’t wait to read this book when it hits the shelves.

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Branden W

Aug 22, 2019 at 12:14 am

I learned the game of golf at 13. Payne Stewart was my favorite golfer. I grew up near Houston and was lucky enough to attend the Shell Houston Open a couple of times. In 1996, at the age of 19, I went to the SHO on a Thursday or Friday. I checked the tee times on the printed starter sheet and was able to follow Payne most of the day. On one particular hole, I actually got to interact with him. On the previous hole, he had made a putt, but only after the ball had swirled around once before falling in. I was standing right next to the tee box on the next hole. Being 19, I have no idea where I got the nerve, but I spoke up and said ‘Got kinda lucky on that last putt’. Payne, waiting to tee off, surprisingly responded to me. ‘Well, I got it out of the bottom of the cup. Doesn’t matter how it got there.’ I was shocked he had taken the time to respond. Later, after following him the rest of the round, I stood in line and got his autograph where he was signing as a rep for Top-Flite.
I got a few autographs while walking around later that day, but the experience with my favorite golfer of all-time will always be a memory I’ll never forget.

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Tom Kelly

Aug 21, 2019 at 11:38 pm

In 1986 Greenwich Capital had a small golf outing at the Stanwich Club in Greenwich, CT. Payne Stewart was one of two professional golfer to play with a small number of people. At that time I was a competitive 2 handicap. After the conclusion of the round, about ten people are left having a beer or something and talking about golf. Payne Stewart jumps up and says “Let me show you!” So we walk out to a 150 yard marker on either the first or tenth tee and he starts hitting 8 irons. High 8 irons, low 8 irons, hooked 8 irons, sliced 8 irons, 135 yard 8 irons, 175 yard 8 irons… you get the drift. He was a truly classy person and a wonderful golfer.

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- Johnny Newbern
  
  Aug 22, 2019 at 2:17 pm
  
  Wow. What an experience. I’m jealous.
  
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Think About It

Aug 21, 2019 at 9:38 pm

Nothing wrong with a guy having little/no filter. Most people specially now days need a person like that in their life. Sometimes the truth hurts but if a person actually wants to grow there is greatness on the other side of that hurt.
Payne was a great person and will always be missed. Great article and cant wait to read the book.

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Tom54

Aug 21, 2019 at 5:21 pm

I was always hoping that the Tour Championship would reward the top 29 players a spot in their final event. Why 29? Because sadly that is the number they had when Payne died in that plane crash and did not attend. Having everyone wondering about 29 being the number I thought would have been a way to always keep him in their thoughts forever

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12th

Aug 21, 2019 at 4:53 pm

I played with Tom Meeks years after he retired from the USGA. Of course everyone knows the story of Olympic and 98. Tom told me that Payne called him the next day and let him have it good for the hole location on 18. Over the course of 1999, Tom and him became good friends. The controversy turned into a great friendship. After Payne won in 99, Tom called him and asked two things. 1. Could he have the putter that Payne used. That was the first true SeeMore putter. Payne told him that he would send him one. 2. Tom asked to have the sleeves that Payne cut off of the pullover that he used in the final round. The first ever short sleeve pullover. Payne told him, “No way.” Payne dies in October and about a week or so later, Tom finally received that putter.

Joel Edwards and I are good buddies and he said that not a lot of people knew that Payne smoked, and smoked a lot early on. He used to steal cigarettes from Joel’s bag constantly. Joel would be warming up on the putting green, then turn around and see Payne diving in his bag for a few cigarettes.

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Mike

Aug 21, 2019 at 4:17 pm

I played Mountain Top, Buffalo Ridge and Ozark National this weekend and we just kept staring down at the flat land where Payne’s Valley is taking shape. I think it’s going to be the best course of all of Bass Pro’s holdings and I think they planned for it to be that way.

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Marc Miller

Aug 21, 2019 at 4:09 pm

I had heard that another book was coming out about Payne Stewart. I am so glad the man is not forgotten. I never had the pleasure of meeting him or interacting with him, but his life impacted mine in numerous ways. Thank you for this book. I look forward to reading it.

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- Johnny Newbern
  
  Aug 21, 2019 at 4:40 pm
  
  I think you are really going to enjoy it!
  
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Tommy V

Aug 21, 2019 at 4:00 pm

I met Payne at a course in Springfield, MO on Thanksgiving Day 1998. He was going off the front 9 with 6 others including his son and his dad and at least 1 other junior player. We were making the turn and drove over to the tee to see him hit. It was very cold. Payne immediately stopped and told us to play through as we were a 2some. When I explained my reason for coming over, he went into this big production about how it was cold and he hadn’t hit any balls and went over the top with excuses in a funny way. He hit a pure smooth 3 wood right down the middle. Not wanting to intrude any more, we drove off right away. He yelled us down “Hey!! Well!!! How was that?” I laughed and said it was great. The 1st and 10th greens were next to each other and I went over and asked him to autograph my card. He was very gracious and wrote “Happy Thanksgiving, Payne Stewart” It’s a cherished momento of mine, one of the few autographs I’ve ever asked for.

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- Johnny Newbern
  
  Aug 21, 2019 at 4:41 pm
  
  What a great memory, Tommy. I am so glad you have that experience to keep forever.
  
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Carroll Strange

Aug 21, 2019 at 3:15 pm

Johnny is also my grandson-in-law. He is a fine golfer, wonderful father and husband and all-around good guy!

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Opinion & Analysis

The best bets for the 2023 Scandinavian Mixed

Published

2 days ago

Jun 6, 2023

Jason Daniels

There could hardly be a more distinct difference between two courses holding consecutive events.

Last week, 20-year-old Tom McKibbin pounded his way around the 7500-odd-yards of Green Eagle to break his maiden in impressive fashion, courtesy of this outstanding approach shot to the 72nd hole. Remind you of anyone at that age?

Leading the tournament, 20-year-old rookie @tommckibbin8 hit this incredible shot into 18 to claim is first win on Tour. ?#PEO23 pic.twitter.com/F0Sl3hXo43

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 5, 2023

Fast forward not long and the DPWT arrives at Ullna Golf and Country Club for the third renewal of the mixed-gender Scandanavian Mixed.

The welcome initiative sees male and female players on the course at the same time, playing to the same pins. Only movement of the tee boxes distinguishes the challenge, and whilst there is water aplenty at this coastal track, yardages of no more than 7000 and 6500 yards should frighten none of the top lot in each sex.

Genders are one-all at the moment, with Jonathan Caldwell winning the inaugural event thanks to a lacklustre Adrian Otaegui, and the brilliant Linn Grant winning by a country mile last season.

Most will be playing their approach shots from the same distance this week and with neither particularly stretched, this may be the most open of mixed events yet.

Defending champ Linn Grant and fellow home player Madelene Sagstrom look on a different level to the rest of the European ladies this week, but preference is clearly for the 23-year-old winner of eight worldwide events, including her last two in Sweden.

Last season, the Arizona State graduate took a two-shot lead into the final round before an unanswered eight-birdie 64 saw her cross the line nine shots in front of Mark Warren and Henrik Stenson, her nearest female rival being 14 shots behind.

Since that victory, Grant has won two events on the LET, the latest being a warm-up qualifying event for the upcoming Evian Championship, held at the same course and at which she was 8th last year. The Swede is making her mark on the LPGA Tour,

Given the yardage advantage she has off the tee amongst her own sex, the pin-point accuracy of her irons and a no-frills attitude when in contention, this looks no more difficult than last year. If there is a a market on ‘top female player,’ there may be a long queue.

He’s been expensive to follow for win purposes, but Alexander Bjork is another home player that will revel with the emphasis on accuracy.

There isn’t a awful lot to add to last week’s preview (or indeed the previous week’s) which both highlighted just how well the Swede is playing.

Recommended Bets:

Linn Grant
Alexander Bjork

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Opinion & Analysis

Winning and the endowment effect

Published

1 week ago

May 30, 2023

Brendan Ryan

A central concept in behavioral economics is the endowment effect. Coined by Richard Thaler at the University of Chicago, the endowment effect describes how people tend to value items they own more highly than they would if they did not belong to them. So how does this relate to sports, or more specifically, to golf? Let me explain.

Golf is hard. Winning is harder. Golf has created a lure where winning major championships is the hardest of all. The problem is that mathematically a win is a win. This means that valuing wins differently is actually an instance of the application of the endowment effect in golf.

Winning in golf creates an inverse normal distribution where winning can be very hard, then easy, and then very hard again. To win, players must evoke the “hot hand”; this is the idea that success breeds success. In golf, the reality is that birdies come in streaks; players typically enjoy a run of birdies over a couple of holes. The goal for every player is to hold this streak for as long as possible. The longer and more often they are able to do this, the more likely a player is to win.

Another question is, how much do players value wins? At the current moment, up to the PGA Jon Rahm sees winning as easier (or less valuable) with his recent win at the Masters and other early season events to accompany his U.S. Open win from 2021. However, that changed at the PGA, when he opened with a round in the mid-70s. All of a sudden the lure of the trophy distracted Rahm. Likewise, we saw both Corey Conners and Hovland hit extremely rare shots into the face of the bunker on Saturday and Sunday. These are shots that do not happen under distribution. In my opinion, the prestige of a major was at the root of these shots.

To overcome the barrier of becoming a champion, players must first understand that winning is not special. Instead, winning is a result of ample skills being applied in duration with the goal of gaining and holding the hot hand. The barrier for most players with enough skill to win, the endowment effect tells us, is that they overvalue winning. Doing so may prevent them from ever getting the hot hand. So maybe, just maybe, the key to winning more is wanting to win less. Easier said than done when one’s livelihood is on the line, but to overvalue a win at one specific tournament, be it the Masters or the two-day member guest, may be doing more harm than good.

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Opinion & Analysis

The best bets for the 2023 Porsche European Open

Published

1 week ago

May 30, 2023

Jason Daniels

Green Eagle hosts the European Open for the sixth consecutive time, missing only the pandemic year of 2020.

Known for its potential to stretch to 7800 yards, this monster course in Hamburg is able to reduce itself to around 7300, a far less insurmountable proposition that allows the non-bombers to make use of their pin-point iron play.

Of the top 16 players last year (top 10 and ties) nine fell into the top 12 for tee-to-green, split into those that made it off-the-tee (six in the top-12) and those from approach play (total of four players). Go back to 2021 and champion Marcus Armitage won the shortened three-round event with a ranking of 40th off-the-tee, whereas four of the remaining top-10 ranked in single figures for the same asset.

It’s a real mix, and whilst I’m definitely on the side of those that hit it a long way, there are more factors at work here, particularly a solid relationship with the Italian Open, as well as events in the Czech Republic and Dubai, weeks that allow drivers to open up a tad.

Last year’s winner Kalle Samooja has a best of 2023 at the Marco Simone Club, a tournament won by Adrian Meronk, and with a top-10 containing the big-hitters Julien Guerrier, Nicolai Hojgaard and Daniel Van Tonder, with Armitage a couple of shots away in ninth place.

Like Armitage, the Finn also boasts a win in China (although at differing courses) where solid driver Sean Crocker (third) carries a link between the Czech Masters, being runner-up to Johannes Veerman (10th here, eighth Italy), and another bomber Tapio Pulkkanen, whose best effort this year has been at the Ryder Cup venue to be.

Of the 35-year-old Englishman, his only other victory came in the 2018 Foshan Open, where his nearest victims included Alexander Knappe, Mattieu Pavan and Ryan Fox, all constantly there in the lists for top driving, with Bernd Ritthammer (tied runner-up here 2019) in ninth place.

Amidst plenty of Crans and Alfred Dunhill form on various cards, 2022 Italian Open winner Robert Macintyre was the second of three that tied in second place here behind the classy Paul Casey in 2019, as well as tying with Matthias Schwab at Olgiata, Italy, in the same year.

The Austrian, now plying his trade on the other side of the pond, also brings in the third of three players that ran up here, a seventh place at Green Eagle, two top-10 finishes at Albatross and top finishes at the Dubai Desert Classic and China.

Current favourites Victor Perez and Rasmus Hojgaard both disappointed last week at the Dutch Open, and whilst that occurred in completely differing circumstances, they give nagging doubts to what would otherwise be solid claims on class alone.

The Frenchman hadn’t recovered from a week away at Oak Hill when missing the cut, but probably should have won here last year when eventually third, and his ball-striking doesn’t quite have the same sound at the moment. On the other side, the Dane star again had a chance to prove best last week, but for the fourth time in nine months, failed to go through with his effort after entering Sunday in the final two groups.

If wanting a player to link up all the chosen comp tracks, then Jordan Smith would be the selection, even at 20/1 or thereabouts. However, having been safely in the draw for the weekend after 12 holes of his second round at Bernardus, the 2017 Green Eagle champ completely lost control of his tee-to-green game, dropping nine shots in his last seven holes. The 30-year-old is made for this place, as his two further top-11 finishes indicate, but last week’s effort needs a large bunker of forgiveness and I’ll instead nail my colours (again) to Alexander Bjork, the man that beat Smith in China in 2018.

I was with the Swede last week based on crossover form, and this week he makes similar appeal being able to back up that Asian form with top finishes in Dubai, Abu Dhabi (see Casey) and Crans (Armitage and shock winner of this event Richard McEvoy). Of that sole victory at Topwin, it has to be of interest that former China Open specialist Alex Levy won the last running of the European Open at Bad Griesbach before finishing second and 13th here, whilst impossible-to-read HaoTong Li, the 2016 Topwin champ, was 18th on his only try around the monster that is Green Eagle.

Last week’s top-30 made it 10 cuts in a row for 2023, with some impressive displays through this first half of the year, including top-20 in Dubai, second in Ras and back-to-back fourth placings at both the Soudal and Italian Opens.

The 32-year-old ranks fifth for overall performance over the last 12 weeks comprising 32nd in total driving, 24th for ball-striking and 12th for putting. He is exploiting his excellent tee-to-green game, and now ranking in third for scrambling, remains one of the rare players that can recover well when missing their target – although at 19th for greens-in-regulation, this isn’t that often.

Bjork has made all four cuts here, with his last three finishes in the mid-20s, but is in probably the best form of his life. With doubts surrounding many of the rivals at the top, his constant barraging of the short stuff should see him challenging over the weekend.

Home favourite Yannik Paul has been well backed from a far-too-big early price, and there is a case for making him still value at 30+, but Jorge Campillo needs forgiving for an awful display from the front last weekend, even if that was an outlier to his otherwise excellent run, that includes a victory and top-10 in Italy.

There seem to be an awful lot of doubts about the top lot in the market (save a mere handful) so take a trip downtown and try nabbing a bit of value prices that will pay nicely should they nab a place.

Whilst Gavin Green would seem to be an obvious place to go, he sits in the range between 50/1 and 100/1, full of untapped talent and players, that have least not had too many chances to put their head in front.

Jordan Smith won on debut here, so it’s not impossible, and whilst Jeong Weon Ko may need another year or two to reach his peak, he is one that appeals as a ‘watch’ for the rest of 2023.

The French-born Korean dominated his home junior scene before taking his time through the Alps and Challenge Tours, eventually settling in during the second half of 2022. From July to September, Ko played 14 times, recording four top five finishes, two further top-10s and a pair of top-20s, those results including a fourth place finish at the Challenge Tour finale.

His rookie season at this level started well with a 30th and fourth place in Africa, and he has since progressed steadily as the DPWT ramped it up a level.

Top-20 finishes in Korea, India and Belgium, where he was in second place at halfway, suggest he should soon be competing on a Sunday, whilst in-between those, a third-round 67 was enough to launch him to inside the top 10 at St. Francis Links.

On the tour-tips.com 12-week tracker, Ko ranks 12th with positions inside the top-30 for all the relevant stats.

15th for distance, 25th for greens, and top-10 for par-5s, he has a bit of Green about him but without the question marks. Whilst he hasn’t won on the professional stage, his second to bomber Daniel Hillier at the Swiss Challenge reads nicely, as does his top-15 at the Di-Data in 2021 when surrounded by longer hitters, and he appears to be of the quality that will leave these results behind in time.

Hillier himself can be fancied, especially after last week’s fifth at the Dutch Open, but I’ll go with the man that beat him by a single shot last week in the shape of Deon Germishuys.

The DPWT rookie has already had a season to remember, leading home fellow South African Wilco Nienaber at U.S Open qualifying at Walton Heath at the beginning of May, and securing his ticket to his first major.

Interestingly, two of the other five qualifying spots were won by Alejandro Del Rey and Matthieu Pavon, all four names being some of the longest drivers on the tour.

That may well have been the boost that pushed the 23-year-old to record his best effort on the DPWT so far, his third at the Dutch Open marking another step up from the 15th in Belgium just two weeks previous, and a top-10 in Japan when just behind Macintyre, Paul, Smith and Campillo.

In what is a fledgling career, this event starts just a few days after the anniversary of his first victory on his home Sunshine Tour where he beat some of the country’s longest hitters to the biggest prize for a non co-sanctioned tournament, before nabbing his DPWT card via a 20th place ranking at the end of the Challenge Tour season.

The three mentioned top-15 finishes have all appeared on his card since the beginning of April, and this rapidly-improving player now has last weekend’s finish fresh in the mind, finishing in front of Meronk et al, despite not being able to buy a putt on Sunday.

A lot of what Deon is doing on the course reminds me of compatriot Dean Burmester, who had a terrific record at the Di-Data at Farncourt, something being repeated by the younger man (20th and 7th). Now signed by LIV, Burmy also had a solid record at Albatross and in Italy, where a best of fifth place should have been higher at the bizarre Chervo track, biased towards long-hitters but won by a demon putter instead.

I’m tempted by the names Tom Mckibbin, nowhere near a finished article and keen to attack this course, flusher Dan Bradbury, and bomber Marcus Helligkilde (still not convinced he is absolutely one-hundred percent), but they may only make the top-10/20 bets.

Kalle Samooja should go well in his bid to defend his crown, but I’m taking fellow Finn Tapio Pulkkanen to improve on his 18th here last year with the chance to again make his length count.

Having won both the Nordic League (2015) and the Challenge Tour Order of Merit (2017), the be-hatted one was always going to be a player to look out for and, in truth, it hasn’t really happened.

However, his case lies with the best of his efforts, all of which combine to believe that should organisers stretch this course to over 7500-yards at any point, then he is one of a few that could handle the layout.

Silver and bronze at the Czech Masters, Pulkkanen thrived on the open layout of the Dunhill Links, finishing top-10 twice since 2019. Add those to a second (Hainan) and 14th in China, top-20 finishes in Dubai and Himmerland, as well as good finishes at the classier BMW at Wentworth and he just needs to show something to make appeal at one of only half-a-dozen tracks that he could be fancied around.

The 33-year-old led in Chervo in 2019 before showing he enjoys Italy with his best-of-the-season 16th at the Marco Simone at the beginning of May, where he should have done better, having been in the top five for all the first three rounds.

By no means one to place maximum faith in, he is similar to the likes of Veerman and Joakim Lagergren in that they suit certain types of tracks, and they are the only ones they could be backed at. This one, Green Eagle, together with Pulkkanen, seems like one of those times.