Opinion & Analysis

18 Stats and Stories from Live at the Shriners Open

Published

7 years ago

Nov 7, 2016

When the opportunity arose to report in person from this year’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, I didn’t hesitate to go all-in.

Arriving on Monday, I spent the week under brilliant blue skies on the immaculate grounds of TPC Summerlin, where, as it turned out, the field showcased a larger number of promising youngsters than usual, along with seasoned pros, including the eventual winner.

What follows is a selection of stories and statistics that made an impression on me during a lucky golfer’s week at the Tour’s fabulous Sin City stop.

1) Jerty Bird, from inside the ropes

Nothing much more fun than strolling the fairways in a @PGATOUR event – it’s way cooler than imagined.

— Marty Jertson (@jertybird) November 3, 2016

Jertson, who is Senior Design Engineer at Ping, earned his Vegas spot by winning sectional qualifying. His Thursday round was definitely not a good stroll spoiled: on his way to a 1-under 70, Jertson was the only player to hit every green in regulation — he does, after all, play clubs that he helped create. Unfortunately, @jertybird came back down to earth on Friday, still hitting three out of four greens, but shooting 1-over par and missing the cut by three at even par.

See the clubs Jerston had in the bag this week.

2) The 2016 PGA Champion struggles, to say the least

With an Official World Golf Ranking of 18, Jimmy Walker was the highest ranked player in the Shriners field. Unfortunately, he didn’t play like it. His 8-over par, 74-76 missed the cut by eleven, just two shots better than the worst score posted. Over his final 27 holes, Walker managed only two birdies. Which isn’t surprising, in light of a couple of other rankings: 129th in strokes gained putting, 132nd in total putting, and 139th (dead last) in strokes gained off the tee.

3) The big hitter

Longest drive of the week: 370 yards (Ryan Brehm, 13th hole, fourth round). Beast.

4) An over-sized field: The lucky ones

The Shriners field was to consist of 132 players; a mix-up resulted in there being 144. How many of the Lucky Twelve opened the door when opportunity knocked?

Eight, including most notably of course the winner, Rod Pampling, who followed a course-record 60 on Thursday with rounds of 68, 71, and 65. The other seven who made the cut: Ryan Blaum, (10-under, T31); Trey Mullinax, (9-under, T36); Will MacKenzie, (7-under, T48); Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, (7-under, T48); C.T. Pan, (5-under, T57); Seamus Power, (5-under, T57); and Mackenzie Hughes, (2-under, T68).

5) A victim and a survivor

Early morning on the range: The calm before the storm

As a result of the super-sized field, play was suspended because of darkness in both the first and second rounds. Among those affected by the latter interruption were Kevin Tway and Ryan Brehm, each with several holes to go. When the re-start horn sounded at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Tway was on the green, and Brehm was on the tee. It was a gorgeous desert morning, with the just-risen sun casting long shadows. But other than a few tournament workers and a single spectator, players and caddies were on their own.

Tway’s first stroke at the crack of dawn was with his putter: from 38 feet, he rolled it 10 feet past. Something about the silence and the lack of a crowd made Tway’s comebacker seemed more nerve-racking than a putt I’ve ever faced.

Meanwhile, Brehm had driven it 276 yards onto a slope of desert waste ground. To hit his second, he had to get entirely too intimate with a scraggly bush. Brehm managed to advance the ball, but only a couple of yards, and still in the rocky scrub. Extricating himself from his new best friend, Brehm held the club across his belly, gripped in both hands, as if tempted to snap the thing in half.

Tway did make his tester, but it wasn’t enough to salvage the round, ultimately shooting 1-over. Tway finished 36 holes at 2-under, missing the cut by one. Brehm ended up double-bogeying the sixth, which left him just one above the then projected cut-line. But he rallied with birdies on two of his final three re-start holes, and shortly thereafter headed right back out, into the decidedly more glamorous atmosphere of Moving Day proper. He’d go on to post a 67, and sat in T21 at event’s end.

6) Henley closes hot

Low round on Moving Day belonged to Russell Henley: a bogey-free 63. Heading into Sunday, the two-time Tour winner had gone 30 holes without a bogey. He has form when it comes to moving and then closing hot: at Sanderson Farms, where he finished T14 at 11-under, he had eleven birdies and just one bogey over the final 51 holes.

7) The youngster

Twenty-year-old Aaron Wise was the youngest Shriners Open entrant, making his fifth career PGA Tour start as a sponsor invite. The 2016 NCAA individual medalist while at Oregon, Wise will be on the Web.com Tour in 2017.

Wise’s coach, Jeff Smith of TPC Summerlin, has described Wise as “one of the straightest drivers I have ever seen when he wants to be. His ability to drive the golf ball is what sets him apart.”

At the Shriners, however, Wise couldn’t find the fairway at first: he was T132 in Driving Accuracy after the first round (only 4 of 14 fairways), and still struggling through the second. That evening, he was the last man on the range under the lights, driver in hand and working, as he explained to me, on losing the push-cut and keeping the clubface from “getting right” on him. Result? In Round 3, Wise climbed to T1 in the same category, hitting 11 of 14 fairways.

Wise shot 68 Sunday, finishing T10 at 14-under. But the driver troubles had returned: he hit only 4 of 14 again, and dropped back to last (T72) in terms of closing-day Driving Accuracy.

8) The best scramblers

Best scrambling percentage: 78.26 percent (Vaughan Taylor, making 18 saves on 23 missed greens in regulation).
Best sand save percentage: 100 percent (Seung-Yul Noh, 4 for 4; Sean O’Hair, 3 for 3).
Most bunkers hit into: 12 (Ernie Els, who made 6 saves), 11 (Keegan Bradley, who made 8).

9) The best putters

Fewest putts per round: 21 (Chez Reavie, round 2).
Best percentage on putts from outside 25-feet: 27.8 percent (Brian Gay, 5 out of 18).
Best one-putt percentage: 56.94 percent (Michael Kim, with 41 one-putts over the seventy-two holes).

10) Fez wearers, fundraisers and a great swing

Three Fez Wearers

Within two club-lengths of just about everywhere you go at the Shriners, you catch sight of a fez. It has got to be the most distinctive headgear encountered on the PGA Tour. Worn by higher-ups in the Shriners — including “Potentates” — each fez is embroidered with the arabian-themed name of the wearer’s home course, by which I mean his local chapter, known as a “temple.” For example, in the accompanying photo, Richard Burke, Jeff Sowder, and Kevin Costello represent for Atlanta’s “Yaarab,” Wichita’s “Midian,” and Albany’s “Cyprus.”

What a golf swing.

Tommy Morrissey, 5, hit the ceremonial first tee shot today @ShrinersOpen. https://t.co/7JU1ieGzoD

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 3, 2016

It should be noted what outstanding charitable work the Shriners do through their Hospitals for Children. At 22 locations, they provide life-changing care for kids, regardless of their families’ ability to pay. One of their patients, 5-year-old Tommy Morrissey, dazzled a number of hard-to-impress Tour pros early in the week with his unique golfing skill. For more about Tommy and the Shriners: @onearmgolfer and www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org.

11) A fruitful late-night range session

Flores

Martin Flores was spotted as the last player on the range after he moved the wrong way on Moving Day, following up back-to-back 67s, which included a total of 13 birdies, with a birdie-less 77 (the day’s worst round), leaving him T68 at 2-under. The rest of the field bagged 304 birds on Saturday; only Kevin Streelman joined Flores without a single circle on his card.

He must have found something on the range Saturday night, because he finished with a Sunday 65, good for T41. From 77 to 65 in just one day; isn’t golf a crazy game?

The Shriners is Flores’ third event of 2016-17, and the second cut he’s made. He re-earned his Tour card for this season with an outstanding ’15-’16 on the Web.com Tour, where he had a win plus seven top-10s in 21 starts.

12) The most difficult hole

The 492-yard, par-4 third, which played to a 4.27 scoring average, allowing only 33 birdies, compared to 120 bogeys and 17 doubles or worse. Winner Rod Pampling played the hole in 2-under for the week, making birdie, birdie, par, par.

13) The easiest hole

The 560-yard, par-5 16th, which played to a 4.14 scoring average, as the field notched 32 eagles and 231 birdies, versus only 27 bogeys and 3 doubles or worse.

14) Perez changes clubs, gets his swagger back

PerezWITB2017

Pat Perez had the kind of week (15-under, finishing T7) that prompted questions about how it felt to have his “swagger” back. Biggest factor: he’s healthy again. But he’s also switched to some new clubs, as he explained to ASAP Sports, “and I got a lot longer once I was healthy.” He added: “I’m actually hitting it solid, so much farther than I used to, and I’m in places that I have never been on this course. I hit 7-iron into 16 today and made eagle. I’ve never had anything less than hybrid in there.”

See the clubs Perez used at the Shriners Open here.

15) “Other,” the worst word in golf

In golf, there are eagles, birdies, pars, bogeys, double-bogeys … and “other.” Ah yes, the dreaded other. At the Shriners, there were 26 of them (as against 61 eagles and 4,685 pars), and one other belonged to defending Shriners champion Smylie Kaufman. His third-round snowman at the par-4 sixth hole resulted from first having trouble off the tee, and then trying to get back out of that trouble. Plus — wait for it, all of you who, like me, know all too well how this particular tune goes — three putts from 20 feet.

16) The drama

Sunday’s final group consisted of Lucas Glover, Rod Pampling and Brooks Koepka, with Glover in the lead by one at 15-under. After the trio started with pars, there was lead-altering action on virtually every hole. Glover and Koepka birdied two. Glover bogeyed three. Birdies all-round on four. Koepka bogeyed five. Pampling birdied six. Pars all round on seven. Pampling birdied eight, then he and Glover birdied nine.

At the turn: Pampling (18-under); Glover, (17-under); Koepka, (15 -under), and four other players had also reached 15-under by then.

Pampling bogeyed 10. Glover bogeyed 11, then birdied 12, while Pampling bogeyed 12. Koepka’s par-streak, meantime, had reached seven at this point. It didn’t reach eight: Kopeka birdied 13, as did Pampling and Lucas. Pampling birdied 14. My head was starting to spin.

So, with four to go: Pampling (18-under); Glover, (18-under); Koepka, 16 (16-under). Molinari was in the clubhouse at 16-under, with Oglivy, in the last-but-one group, now at that number too. Birdies all-round at 15 for the final group. Koepka birdied 16. Glover bogeyed 17. This is getting interesting.

One to go: Pampling (19-under); Glover, (18-under); Koepka, (18-under). And Pampling drives the nail into the coffin by absolutely burying a 32-footer to close out with a birdie. Koepka finished second with a par and two shots back, while Glover finished third with a closing-hole bogey.

In all, 26 birdies and bogeys were made by the final group. Talk about excitement!

17) Pampling earned it

Rod Pampling made a combined 325-feet and 4-inches of putts on his way to the win. He ranked first in total strokes gained, in strokes gained around the green, and in strokes gained tee-to-green. He was T15 in driving accuracy, and hit 56 of 72 greens in regulation (T11).

18) Sunday Scorecard

Francesco Molinari’s Sunday 61 started taking shape when he holed-out from 124 yards for eagle at the 440-yard 11th hole (he started on the back). Molinari added eight birdies in his bogey-free round, and had the clubhouse lead at 16-under 268, where he was later joined by Harris English and Geoff Ogilvy for a T4 finish.
Keegan Bradley’s strong season continued, closing with a 66 to finish T7 at 15-under.
Kevin Streelman got right back on the birdie train on Sunday, sinking a 5-footer on the 10th hole, his opening hole.
Martin Flores had to wait to re-board that train until his sixth hole of the day, after starting out with five pars. He then added more birdies on his seventh, ninth, 10th, 16th and 18th. Flores’ line: 67, 67, 77, 65, for an 8-under 276 and a T41 finish. He also drove long all week, averaging 307 yards, second in the field.
Russell Henley never got it going. He bogeyed number five, after opening with four straight pars, then also bogeyed nine and 16. Posting only a pair of birdies, he finished with a 72, for T24 at 12-under.

Your Reaction?

LIKE12
LEGIT1
WOW2
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK1

19th Hole

Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again

Published

5 days ago

Apr 30, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.

Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.

Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”

Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.

“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.

Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.

“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”

“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”

As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.

In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.

“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”

Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.

Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:

Fairways Hit

1.) Louis Oosthuizen

2.) Anirban Lahiri

3.) Jon Rahm

4.) Brendan Steele

5.) Cameron Tringale

Greens in Regulation

1.) Brooks Koepka

2.) Brendan Steele

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Cameron Tringale

5.) Anirban Lahiri

Birdies Made

1.) Brendan Steele

2.) Dean Burmester

3.) Thomas Pieters

4.) Patrick Reed

5.) Carlos Ortiz

LIV Golf Individual Standings:

1.) Joaquin Niemann

2.) Jon Rahm

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Louis Oosthuizen

5.) Abraham Ancer

LIV Golf Team Standings:

1.) Crushers

2.) Legion XIII

3.) Torque

4.) Stinger GC

5.) Ripper GC

LIV Golf Singapore Picks

Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)

Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.

This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.

Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)

Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.

This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.

It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.

Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)

Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.

Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.

Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.

Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)

Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.

Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.

If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.

Your Reaction?

LIKE3
LEGIT3
WOW1
LOL2
IDHT0
FLOP2
OB0
SHANK0

Opinion & Analysis

Ryan: Lessons from the worst golf instructor in America

Published

5 days ago

Apr 30, 2024

Brendan Ryan

In Tampa, there is a golf course that boasts carts that do not work, a water range, and a group of players none of which have any chance to break 80. The course is overseen by a staff of crusty men who have succeeded at nothing in life but ending up at the worst-run course in America. However, this place is no failure. With several other local courses going out of business — and boasting outstanding greens — the place is booked full.

While I came for the great greens, I stayed to watch our resident instructor; a poor-tempered, method teacher who caters to the hopeless. At first, it was simply hilarious. However, after months of listening and watching, something clicked. I realized I had a front-row seat to the worst golf instructor in America.

Here are some of my key takeaways.

Method Teacher

It is widely accepted that there are three types of golf instructors: system teachers, non-system teachers, and method teachers. Method teachers prescribe the same antidote for each student based on a preamble which teachers can learn in a couple day certification.

Method teaching allows anyone to be certified. This process caters to the lowest caliber instructor, creating the illusion of competency. This empowers these underqualified instructors with the moniker of “certified” to prey on the innocent and uninformed.

The Cult of Stack and Jilt

The Stack and Tilt website proudly boasts, “A golfer swings his hands inward in the backswing as opposed to straight back to 1) create power, similar to a field goal kicker moving his leg in an arc and 2) to promote a swing that is in-to-out, which produces a draw (and eliminates a slice).”

Now, let me tell you something, there is this law of the universe which says “energy can either be created or destroyed,” so either these guys are defying physics or they have no idea what they are taking about. Further, the idea that the first move of the backswing determines impact is conjecture with a splash of utter fantasy.

These are the pontifications of a method — a set of prescriptions applied to everyone with the hope of some success through the placebo effect. It is one thing for a naive student to believe, for a golf instructor to drink and then dispel this Kool-Aid is malpractice.

Fooled by Randomness

In flipping a coin, or even a March Madness bet, there is a 50-50 chance of success. In golf, especially for new players, results are asymmetric. Simply put: Anything can happen. The problem is that when bad instructors work with high handicappers, each and every shot gets its own diagnosis and prescription. Soon the student is overwhelmed.

Now here’s the sinister thing: The overwhelming information is by design. In this case, the coach is not trying to make you better, they are trying to make you reliant on them for information. A quasi Stockholm syndrome of codependency.

Practice

One of the most important scientists of the 20th century was Ivan Pavlov. As you might recall, he found that animals, including humans, could be conditioned into biological responses. In golf, the idea of practice has made millions of hackers salivate that they are one lesson or practice session from “the secret.”

Sunk Cost

The idea for the worst golf instructor is to create control and dependency so that clients ignore the sunk cost of not getting better. Instead, they are held hostage by the idea that they are one lesson or tip away from unlocking their potential.

Cliches

Cliches have the effect of terminating thoughts. However, they are the weapon of choice for this instructor. Add some hyperbole and students actually get no information. As a result, these players couldn’t play golf. When they did, they had no real scheme. With no idea what they are doing, they would descend into a spiral of no idea what to do, bad results, lower confidence, and running back to the lesson tee from more cliches.

The fact is that poor instruction is about conditioning players to become reliant members of your cult. To take away autonomy. To use practice as a form of control. To sell more golf lessons not by making people better but through the guise that without the teacher, the student can never reach their full potential. All under the umbrella of being “certified” (in a 2-day course!) and a melee of cliches.

This of course is not just happening at my muni but is a systemic problem around the country and around the world, the consequences of which are giving people a great reason to stop playing golf. But hey, at least it’s selling a lot of golf balls…

Your Reaction?

LIKE17
LEGIT2
WOW0
LOL4
IDHT1
FLOP4
OB1
SHANK23

19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

Published

2 weeks ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.

TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.

Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.

However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.

Past Winners at TPC Louisiana

2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)

2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks

Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)

Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.

This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.

McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.

Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)

Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.

Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.

Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)

Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.

NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.

Your Reaction?