This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
Don't know what you got (till it's gone). Cinderella topped the charts in the late-'80s with this power ballad about a love lost, but little did they know that they were foreshadowing the state of the PGA Tour some 30 years later. Anyone who has followed golf the last few months can see a difference in the PGA Tour now. Tiger Woods has brought an excitement back to the PGA Tour that it hasn't seen since, well, the first time he came upon the scene in the late-'90s. The galleries are large, the ratings are through the roof (relatively) and the tweets, oh the tweets.
Tiger's peers are falling all over themselves to get on board for this comeback; one after the other tweets of encouragement flow like Tom Keifer's hair back in the '80s. There's a reason for that, though, as the last time Tiger-mania was in full effect, there was no Twitter and social media was only for those younger than 25. I'm not talking about the last time Tiger was good, I'm talking about the last time we were excited to see him play well. Woods won five times in 2013, which was just two years removed from a major down period for him, but that down period wasn't so long that we never thought he was lost to Father Time.
This time, however, not only had most of us given up on Tiger winning again on the PGA Tour, we collectively wondered if he'd ever make
Don't know what you got (till it's gone). Cinderella topped the charts in the late-'80s with this power ballad about a love lost, but little did they know that they were foreshadowing the state of the PGA Tour some 30 years later. Anyone who has followed golf the last few months can see a difference in the PGA Tour now. Tiger Woods has brought an excitement back to the PGA Tour that it hasn't seen since, well, the first time he came upon the scene in the late-'90s. The galleries are large, the ratings are through the roof (relatively) and the tweets, oh the tweets.
Tiger's peers are falling all over themselves to get on board for this comeback; one after the other tweets of encouragement flow like Tom Keifer's hair back in the '80s. There's a reason for that, though, as the last time Tiger-mania was in full effect, there was no Twitter and social media was only for those younger than 25. I'm not talking about the last time Tiger was good, I'm talking about the last time we were excited to see him play well. Woods won five times in 2013, which was just two years removed from a major down period for him, but that down period wasn't so long that we never thought he was lost to Father Time.
This time, however, not only had most of us given up on Tiger winning again on the PGA Tour, we collectively wondered if he'd ever make it through a round. In essence, he was gone. Unlike that lost love, though, we didn't realize what we lost after it was gone. We realized what we lost, after it was gone and then came back. It's not a song title that rolls off the tongue, but it's music to the ears of everyone who loves the PGA Tour.
This week: Arnold Palmer Championship - Bay Hill Club - Orlando, Fla.
Last Year: Marc Leishman shot a final-round 69 on his way to a one-stroke victory over Charley Hoffman and Kevin Kisner.
PLAYERS TO CONSIDER
Tiger Woods
It's been a long time since Woods topped this list, but there's certainly good cause for his placement atop the list this week. Woods is obviously in good form as he showed last week at the Valspar, and his track record at this event is second to none. There was a time when Woods' presence here meant everyone else was playing for second. While that's not the case this week, Woods certainly has as good, if not better, odds than anyone else to win this week.
Justin Rose
Rose has yet to win this event, but his track record here is stellar. Rose has finished inside the top-15 here in five of his last six starts and two of those starts resulted in top-3s. His form is also solid as he was in the hunt until the final few holes last week.
Henrik Stenson
Stenson looked like a great pick entering last week, and he missed the cut by a country mile. He again looks like a great pick on paper because of his great track record at this event, and while it makes perfect sense to avoid him, I learned a long time ago that a quality golfer can turn his game around on a dime. Stenson is certainly a quality golfer.
Francesco Molinari
If you are looking to separate from the pack this week, Molinari could be your guy. While a high percentage of players will be on Woods, Molinari makes for the perfect contrarian pick. Molinari has teed it up here five times and has finished inside the top 10 in three of those starts. His worst finish here was a T34 in 2013.
Keegan Bradley
Bradley isn't done yet, it just feels that way because he never built upon the success of his lone major win. Bradley has managed to play well in spots the last few years, but he's had trouble sustaining success during that time. One spot where he's played pretty well though is Bay Hill, where he has two top-3s in his last five starts with no missed cuts.
PLAYERS TO AVOID
Matt Every
If course history were the only parameter, Every would be right behind Tiger Woods this week, but there's obviously more to it than that. Every won this event in 2014 and 2015, but he's struggled here the last two years, and his form is awful as his best finish this season is a solo-66th at the Honda Classic.
Charl Schwartzel
Schwartzel looked like a decent pick heading into last week because of his track record at the Valspar, but he could only manage a T49. That's not the case this week as his track record at this event is not very good. In three starts, Schwartzel has failed to finish any better than T45. He's also struggled this season, with nothing better than a T48 in three starts on the PGA Tour.
Scott Stallings
Credit to Stallings, he continues to outplay my expectations, but he's not playing so well that I regret putting him on the list last week. This week, there's not as much concern as his track record at this event is terrible. In four starts here, Stallings has missed the cut three times.
Hideki Matsuyama
If Matsuyama had a stellar track record at this event, I might think twice about putting him on this list, but he doesn't, so I'm OK with fading him until we know he's healthy. When we last saw Matsuyama, he was breaking hearts at the Phoenix Open by pulling out early with a wrist injury. The truth is, we have no idea how that wrist is, and he's just not worth the risk quite yet.
Kevin Streelman
Streelman is having a fine season, but he's coming off a missed cut at the Valspar Championship and his track record here is not good. Streelman has just one top-20 in seven starts at this event and has finished worse than 66th in four of his seven starts.
ONE AND DONE GOLFER
Last week: Adam Hadwin (T12) - $131,625; Season - $3,466,916
This week: Tiger Woods - This is an interesting dilemma with Woods. He's obviously a good pick this week, but his ownership is likely to be high, so there won't be much separation from the pack. The interesting question is whether is he really back. If so, he's a great pick this week, but if he's truly back, then wouldn't you want to save him for a major? I haven't shied away from using big guns early in the season, so there's no reason to hold off on Woods when he looks like a great pick.
PGATOUR.COM PICKS
This Week:
Starters: Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson, Kevin Streelman, Adam Hadwin
Bench: Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy
SURVIVOR PICK
Last week: Kevin Streelman - (MC); Streak - 0
This week: Zach Johnson - Tiger is obviously a good pick for this format as well, though saving him for majors might be a better strategy. Johnson has made the cut here in 13 of 14 starts and is coming off a solid T16 last week at the Valspar.
