This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
What exactly are we witnessing here? Entering the 2015 season, Rory McIlroy was the unquestioned "best player on the planet." He claimed three huge events (two majors) toward the end of the 2014 season, and you didn't have to search all that hard to find articles on how Rory was destined to be an all-time great. McIlroy stumbled a bit out of the gate this season, however, and left the door open for someone else to step in. It couldn't be just anybody, though. It had to be someone who seemed to be special also -- enter Jordan Spieth.
Spieth didn't take over the golf world immediately after his Masters win, but after claiming the U.S. Open, speculation became rampant on the ceiling for this kid. A runner-up showing at the Open Championship did little to slow the speculation, and at that moment in time, he was untouchable. In the span of nine months, we went from one unquestioned "best player on the planet" to another, but the story didn't end there.
Act three, which is still in progress is quickly becoming as fascinating as the first two acts ... if in fact the first two are over, that is. Jason Day didn't exactly come out of nowhere to become of the new, "best player on the planet," but he's playing at a level now that he never touched previously. Day is not simply winning, he's running away with these events and is doing it with an extremely hot putter.
What exactly are we witnessing here? Entering the 2015 season, Rory McIlroy was the unquestioned "best player on the planet." He claimed three huge events (two majors) toward the end of the 2014 season, and you didn't have to search all that hard to find articles on how Rory was destined to be an all-time great. McIlroy stumbled a bit out of the gate this season, however, and left the door open for someone else to step in. It couldn't be just anybody, though. It had to be someone who seemed to be special also -- enter Jordan Spieth.
Spieth didn't take over the golf world immediately after his Masters win, but after claiming the U.S. Open, speculation became rampant on the ceiling for this kid. A runner-up showing at the Open Championship did little to slow the speculation, and at that moment in time, he was untouchable. In the span of nine months, we went from one unquestioned "best player on the planet" to another, but the story didn't end there.
Act three, which is still in progress is quickly becoming as fascinating as the first two acts ... if in fact the first two are over, that is. Jason Day didn't exactly come out of nowhere to become of the new, "best player on the planet," but he's playing at a level now that he never touched previously. Day is not simply winning, he's running away with these events and is doing it with an extremely hot putter. Putting comes and goes, however, and it will be interesting to see how Day fares when his putter leaves him for an entire week. Until then, we are witnessing something special, whether we can explain it or not.
This week: Deutsche Bank Championship - TPC of Boston - Norton, Mass.
Last Year: Chris Kirk shot a final-round 66 on his way to a two-stroke victory over Russell Henley and Billy Horschel.
PLAYERS TO CONSIDER
Jason Day
Like Tiger, Rory and Spieth before him, when Day is playing at this level, there's no reason to doubt him. Yes, he has a ways to go to be mentioned with Tiger over the long haul, but his play the last month has been second to none. Throw in the fact that he's played well here throughout his career and you have the perfect storm.
Jordan Spieth
Spieth's play last week, was to put it mildly, bizarre, but it's easy to pinpoint what went wrong -- he couldn't putt. The putter was rarely an issue for Spieth prior to last week, so I have to imagine that he'll figure it out before Friday. If he does, he'll again be back in the mix come Sunday afternoon.
Henrik Stenson
There's no reason to get cute with your picks this time of the year; if a player is going well, ride the streak. Stenson appears to be in good form and returns to the site where he won just two years ago. Stenson is the type you can ride for a few weeks at a time, but for one-and-done formats, if you still have him available, use him this week.
Camilo Villegas
It would be easy to list Day, Spieth, McIlroy, Rose and DJ and be done with this list, but there's not much value in pointing out the obvious. With that in mind, Villegas looks like a good sleeper pick for those who have burnt all the top players. Villegas has plenty of experience on this course and seems to be in decent form.
Jason Dufner
Dufner's lurking a lot lately, and we all know how good he can be when he's on. He's not quite there yet, but he seems to be getting closer every week. Dufner also has four top-20s here in his past five tries.
PLAYERS TO AVOID
Billy Horschel
It's tough to not get caught up in the hype of a golfer when he's on fire. Case in-point, Billy Horschel looked like the "best player on the planet" during the FedEx cup last year, but he failed to follow that up with much of anything this season. Continuing that trend, Horschel has not looked like the player from last year at all the last couple months.
Jason Gore
By his standards, Gore is still playing well. He finished T30 last week, but considering the field he was up against, that was a pretty good result. That said, it doesn't get any easier from here, and if Gore's game is not where it was two weeks ago, he won't contend this week.
Sang-Moon Bae
Bae played very well last week, and for a moment, he was in serious contention, but the Sunday pressure appeared to get to him and he simply wasn't much of a factor on the back nine. With that rough finish, it's tough to argue that he's on top of his game, and his two prior trips here have been disastrous, so it's pretty safe to say that Bae likely missed his chance last week.
Phil Mickelson
Like Dufner, Mickelson has been lurking a lot lately as well, but unlike Dufner, I'm not sure if Mickelson has the extra gear needed to compete for a title. Mickelson has a decent track record here, but his last two starts here have been underwhelming.
Bubba Watson
It's always dicey to pick against Bubba, but this course hasn't suited him well over the years, so on the off chance you still have Bubba in the holster, you'd probably be better off waiting for one of the final two events on the calendar.
ONE AND DONE GOLFER
Last week: Charl Schwartzel (MC) - $0; Season - $5,408,347
This week: Henrik Stenson - To have a player of Stenson's caliber this late in the season is either excellent planning or dumb luck. Considering the 2014-15 season is nearly 50 weeks in, I'll say dumb luck. But who cares?
YAHOO PICKS
Points: 5,424
Rank: 4,603
This Week:
Group A: Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson
Group B: Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Zach Johnson
Group C: Jason Bohn, Danny Lee
SURVIVOR PICK
Last week: Matt Kuchar (T39); Streak - 3
This week: Jason Dufner - This is the last cut of the 2014-15 season, and although the odds are against a missed cut this week, you still have to be careful. Dufner is playing too well to be in the bottom 25 percent this week.
