This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
Stop me if you've heard this one before. A young golfer, who showed promise in his first couple years on the PGA Tour picked up a win in the fall and carried that momentum into the new year and won again at the Sony Open. Yes, that's exactly what Justin Thomas did last season on his way to Player of the Year honors. It's also what Patton Kizzire has done on his way to … ?
Well, it's obviously premature to speculate whether Kizzire can accomplish even a fraction of what Thomas did last season, because even though Thomas won three times prior to the Masters last season, his best accomplishments came during the second half of the season. But to say it's anything but an incredible start for the 31-year-old is flat-out wrong.
As you've probably calculated by now, it took Kizzire much longer to catch on with the PGA Tour than Thomas, as Kizzire didn't earn his card until the ripe old age of 29, but 29, or even 31, is still considered pretty young for a golfer on the PGA Tour. Sure, comparing Kizzire to Thomas is a bit of a stretch, but the purpose here is to show what Kizzire has already accomplished this season and not necessarily what he could become. Besides, though Thomas impressed early last season, there were still plenty of questions about his ability to win in a big spot.
Thomas silenced the doubters last season and now it's Kizzire's turn to
Stop me if you've heard this one before. A young golfer, who showed promise in his first couple years on the PGA Tour picked up a win in the fall and carried that momentum into the new year and won again at the Sony Open. Yes, that's exactly what Justin Thomas did last season on his way to Player of the Year honors. It's also what Patton Kizzire has done on his way to … ?
Well, it's obviously premature to speculate whether Kizzire can accomplish even a fraction of what Thomas did last season, because even though Thomas won three times prior to the Masters last season, his best accomplishments came during the second half of the season. But to say it's anything but an incredible start for the 31-year-old is flat-out wrong.
As you've probably calculated by now, it took Kizzire much longer to catch on with the PGA Tour than Thomas, as Kizzire didn't earn his card until the ripe old age of 29, but 29, or even 31, is still considered pretty young for a golfer on the PGA Tour. Sure, comparing Kizzire to Thomas is a bit of a stretch, but the purpose here is to show what Kizzire has already accomplished this season and not necessarily what he could become. Besides, though Thomas impressed early last season, there were still plenty of questions about his ability to win in a big spot.
Thomas silenced the doubters last season and now it's Kizzire's turn to answer a whole new set of questions. We know he can win, we know he can win multiple times, but can he win in a big spot? Stop me if you've heard this before. A young golfer looks like a world beater and expectations go through the roof?
This week: CareerBuilder Championship - TPC Stadium Course, PGA West , La Quinta, Calif.
Last Year: Hudson Swafford shot a final-round 67 on his way to a one-stroke victory over Adam Hadwin.
PLAYERS TO CONSIDER
Bill Haas
It's not exactly a star-studded field this week and the big names haven't exactly played well here lately, so it's time go slightly off the beaten path. Bill Haas isn't the player he was a few years ago, but he's still a pretty reliable golfer. His track record here is solid, with two wins and a total of five top-10s in his last 10 starts at this event.
Adam Hadwin
Hadwin may not be a big name, but he's coming off a season when he made nearly $3.5 million, which makes him one of the better players in the field. Hadwin also has a solid track record at this event, with a runner-up showing last season and a T6 the year prior. This is good spot to use a guy like Hadwin, as he's not someone you would save for a major or a WGC event.
Jason Dufner
Dufner is getting more difficult to predict every season, which means it's probably wise not to take him in a big spot. This spot, however, looks like a good one as he's made the cut here in seven of his eight starts, including a win two years ago.
Bud Cauley
If you want to go a little further off the beaten path, Cauley could be your guy this week. Cauley has made the cut here in four of five starts and finished T3 last year. Cauley struggled from 2013-16, but he played well last season and has already carded two top-10s this season.
Patton Kizzire
I'm generally more of a course history guy, but in this case, I'll make an exception. Kizzire does not have a good track record here – he failed to crack the top 40 in both of his starts here – but at least he made the cut both times. Kizzire is in play because of his current form, and although it's highly unlikely that he picks up win No. 3 this week, it was highly unlikely that he picked up win No. 2 last week.
PLAYERS TO AVOID
Chesson Hadley
Hadley got off to an incredible start this season with three consecutive top-4 finishes during the fall season, but he withdrew from his fourth start and finished T37 in his final start of fall. He's been off since, which was more than six weeks ago and there's no telling if any momentum carried over. If not, he's in trouble because he's yet to make a cut in three tries at this event.
David Hearn
Hearn has never had any luck at this event as he's teed it up six times and made the cut just once. Perhaps I'm being too hard on Hearn, though, as the one cut he made was last season. An optimist could say he's trending in the right direction. I'm no optimist.
Chris Stroud
Stroud has a lot working against him this week as he's coming off a missed cut at the Sony Open and has never played well at this event. Stroud has made the cut just four times in nine starts here and hasn't cracked the top 50 since 2009.
Jhonattan Vegas
Vegas is about as streaky as they come on the PGA Tour, which probably explains how he won this event in 2011 and followed that with four missed cuts in his following six starts here. It's really the story of his career, as he'll get really hot for a few weeks then disappear for long stretches. He could start a run at any time, but he's certainly not in the midst of a hot streak. Pass on Vegas this week.
Danny Lee
Speaking of streaky, I give you Danny Lee, who saved his card last season by getting hot for about a month. Like Vegas, Lee has struggled for the most part at this event, but unlike Vegas, he's never won here ... or even come close. Lee is also coming off a missed cut, so there's no reason to look his way this week.
ONE AND DONE GOLFER
Last week: Jimmy Walker (MC) - $0; Season - $1,489,819
This week: Bill Haas - There are certainly good spots to use Haas later this season, but he's no guarantee anywhere anymore, so I'm going to pull the trigger here. To be honest, this is one of those weeks where there aren't any picks that really stick out, so you should see a pretty wide range of picks in your league this week.
PGATOUR.COM PICKS
A quick note. Yahoo no longer offers a fantasy golf game, so we are choosing to use the pgatour.com game this season. There will be a bit of a learning curve, so bear with me early. From what I've seen, this game is much more complicated as far as the scoring, but in the end, like every game, you want to pick the best players each week.
This Week:
Starters: Charles Howell III, Adam Hadwin, Bill Haas, Bud Cauley
Bench: Jon Rahm, Jason Dufner
SURVIVOR PICK
Last week: Charles Howell III - (N/A); Streak - 1
This week: Bill Haas - Haas has missed the cut here just once in 13 starts and more often than not, he's made the top 25 on the weekend, so it's no fluke that he's making the cut at this event. If you hung onto Charles Howell III, you could safely deploy him in this spot as well as he's 10-for-12 here.
