Last week's pick: J.B. Holmes at Farmers, finish
T-6th
Overall with picks in 2016:
Patrick Reed Hyundai Tournament of Champions, finished second. Justin Thomas, Sony Open, missed cut. Patrick Reed, Career Builder, T-56th. Last week at Farmers, J.B., T-6th.
3 of 4 Cuts made
Waste Management Phoenix Open
TPC Scottsdale, Phoenix, AZ., 7,216 yards, Par 71; Designers Tom Weiskopf and Jay Moorish, 1986. Redesign in 2014. A mixture of Bentgrass and Poa Annua greens.
Defending champion: Brooks Koepka, -15. Koepka won with an eagle on the par 5, 15th, and held off the competition by parring in. Hedeki Matsuyami had a birdie putt from 20 feet to tie Koepka on 18 but missed and the then 24 year old Koepka, from West Palm Beach, FL. by way of Florida State, two putted for par for his first win on the PGA Tour.
TV:
Today-Friday: Golf Channel, 2 PM-6 PM CT/3 PM-7PM ET
Saturday-Sunday:
Golf Channel, 12 PM-2 PM CT/1 PM-3 PM ET;
NBC, 2 PM- 5 PM CT/ 3 PM-6 PM ET
Note: David Feherty has moved over to NBC from CBS. Contract talks broke down between Feherty and CBS, so he moved over to NBC. Interesting matchup with Feherty and Johnny Miller. NBC now has an 11 year contract with the British Open that starts this season with the 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland, July 14th-17th. NBC also broadcasts the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, FL., May 12th-15th, three Fed Ex Cup tournaments, The Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, Sept. 2nd-5th, the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick, Indiana, Sept. 8th-11th, and the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Sept. 22nd-25th. NBC will also telecast this year's 41st Ryder Cup at Hazeltine Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, Sept. 30-Oct. 2nd, and the golf competition at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug.11th-14th, along with their coverage throughout the season, which includes tournaments on the Florida swing in March including the World Golf Championship at Doral in Miami, March 3rd-6th, and the Arnie Invitational at Bay Hill Golf Club in Orlando, March 17th-20th. NBC will also broadcast the WGC Match Play in at Austin Country Club in Texas, March 23rd-27th and the Shell Houston Open, March 31st-April 3rd, the week before the 80th Masters, which takes place April 7th-10th at Augusta National Golf Club and will be televised as usual by CBS.
Weather: Today, Sunny, 64, Friday, Sunny, 69, Saturday, Sunny, 72, Sunday, sunny, 76. Wind 5 to 9 MPH all days.
A star-studded field includes the awesome defending champion Koepka, whose future could be as bright as Steph Curry's. Bubba Watson, who's finished second two years in a row here and won the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in early December, and has eight PGA Tour victories on his resume, last week's champion at the Famers Insurance Open in Torrey Pines, CA, Brandt Snedeker, who also has eight PGA Tour victories to his credit. Justin Thomas, the 22 year old phenom from the University of Alabama, who won the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in late October-early November. The emerging Kevin Kisner, who won the RSM Classic in Sea Island last November. Phil, who won here in 1999 as an amateur, and also won in 2005 and in 2013. Rickie Fowler, who won at Dubai two weeks ago. Jason Dufner, who won two weeks ago at the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, CA. and has a PGA Championship on his resume. And last year's 144th Open Championship winner at St. Andrews and two time major winner Zach Johnson, who also won the 2007 Masters and has won 12 times on tour. Wow!
Key hole:
No.16, 162 yards, Par 3
One of the most famous and without a doubt the loudest hole in golf. There will be 20,000 raucous, rowdy fans filling this fully enclosed stadium hole. They are pumped, energized and are ready to let a player know if they hit a good shot or a bad shot. The patrons cheer loudly for a shot on the green that is 25 feet and in for birdie but boo without remorse for a shot that misses the green. The players have a blast with it as some of them put on the jersey of their favorite football team and with Super Bowl 50 at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California Sunday, there may be players donning a Carolina Panthers or Denver Broncos jersey, or for the local guys, like Pat Perez and Phil, maybe an Arizona State jersey. It's loud, it's, it's fun and it's pressure filled as well on Sunday. It's a key, nerve wrecking hole for the players with trouble to the right and a trap in front on the left in a pressure-filled Sunday. A par here is a good score on Sunday and a birdie is a huge bonus with the 323 yard par 4 17th coming up in which players can reach the green and have a putt at eagle, though it's pretty challenging to stay on the green and make eagle and even birdie on the huge, lengthy green. Then the players finish at 18, a difficult 438 yard, par 4, that requires a 280 yard carry over water on the player's left. Koepka cleared it last year with a 350 yard drive. The longer hitters really have an advantage on TPC Scottsdale.
Winner this week
I'm going back to the well this week and pick the guy who won here in 2006 and 2008, averages 310 off the tee and was blasting the ball last week at Torrey Pines. In the impossible conditions on Monday at Torrey Pines in San Diego with winds at 35 MPH, mostly in the players' faces, this Kentuckian shot 76 when the scoring average was 78, and finished in a tie for sixth at -2. Brandt Snedeker won it with a 69 on Sunday in weather that was a mini typhoon. It was an impressive round by Sneds and he won the tournament at -6. But I like this 33 year old to get the job done this week at TPC Scottsdale with his 310 yard average off the tee, crisp iron play and stellar putter, when he's on. Going with the bomber from the Bluegrass State to capture his fifth title on tour. His other two victories were at the 2014 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Golf Club in Charlotte, NC., and last year's, 2015 Shell Houston Open.
J.B. Holmes
