This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
Well, here we are in Rio. Oh my, oh mio. Golf returns to the Olympics after a 112-year absence -- and who could ever forget Canada coming away with gold back in 1904? The men's competition begins Thursday, the women's six days later, with 60 golfers in each field. The only difference? Almost all the top women are in Brazil, while the very best men staged a mass exodus. That surely is an embarrassment for golf's leaders and the International Olympic Committee, and not what was promised when the IOC voted for golf's return in 2009.
Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlory -- the top four in the world -- all bailed, citing the Zika virus. (And what can they be thinking now that Zika has infiltrated Florida, where many of the top golfers live?) Throw in Adam Scott and Brendan Grace, and that's six of the top 10 skipping out, and 21 male golfers in all. Henrik Stenson, at No. 5, is the top-ranked golfer in Rio, while the U.S. is represented by Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar. Kudos also go to Danny Willett, Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose for showing up, but overall, the strength of the field as determined by OWGR.com is akin to a mediocre PGA Tour event, such as the Bryon Nelson. How weak is that?
Everyone who has a negative of view of golf, and there are many out there -- that it's an elistist sport played
Well, here we are in Rio. Oh my, oh mio. Golf returns to the Olympics after a 112-year absence -- and who could ever forget Canada coming away with gold back in 1904? The men's competition begins Thursday, the women's six days later, with 60 golfers in each field. The only difference? Almost all the top women are in Brazil, while the very best men staged a mass exodus. That surely is an embarrassment for golf's leaders and the International Olympic Committee, and not what was promised when the IOC voted for golf's return in 2009.
Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlory -- the top four in the world -- all bailed, citing the Zika virus. (And what can they be thinking now that Zika has infiltrated Florida, where many of the top golfers live?) Throw in Adam Scott and Brendan Grace, and that's six of the top 10 skipping out, and 21 male golfers in all. Henrik Stenson, at No. 5, is the top-ranked golfer in Rio, while the U.S. is represented by Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar. Kudos also go to Danny Willett, Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose for showing up, but overall, the strength of the field as determined by OWGR.com is akin to a mediocre PGA Tour event, such as the Bryon Nelson. How weak is that?
Everyone who has a negative of view of golf, and there are many out there -- that it's an elistist sport played by elitist people -- could not have gotten more "proof" to augment their beliefs. That is exactly what the PGA Tour, the R&A and all of golf's governing bodies were hoping to dispell. Oops!
It will be a stroke-play event contested over 72 holes just like what is played every week, the only difference being there will be no cut. Just another curious decision. There will be no teams, allowing the golfers to focus completely on themselves. In other words, business as usual.
Golf fans will watch; that's what we do. But it's not likely to get too much coverage outside of the Golf Channel, one of NBC's many properties showing the Games. So good luck growing the game that way. And good luck reversing the trend over the past couple decades of significantly fewer people playing golf.
In other words, a mass exodus.
This week: The John Deere Classic - TPC Deere run, Silvis, Ill.
Last year: Jordan Spieth made it two Deere wins in three years by fending off Tom Gillis, someone old enough to be his father, in a two-hole playoff.
PLAYERS TO CONSIDER
Zach Johnson
Johnson has six top-3s in the last seven years at Deere Run. He surely didn't need any help with an even weaker field this year. Johnson is the only golfer in the top 30 in the world on hand. And, while by no means should we hand Johnson the trophy just yet, he is the overwhelming favorite.
Kevin Na
Na is next best in the field, at No. 34 in the world, though not the second choice of golf oddsmakers. The Deere is a birdie-fest, and Na has shown the ability to find the cup with the best of them. Earlier this year, he was T3 at the CIMB Classic with a score of 24-under and T3 at the CareerBuilder (formerly the Bob Hope) at 21-under.
Gary Woodland
Woodland isn't the best putter by any means, but his birdie to bogey ratio is among the best on tour -- he ranks 21st on tour. And he's 23rd on tour in birdie avoidance. He's played better lately (T12 or better in four of his past eight starts) and, combined with the woefully weak field, Woodland could be on the first page of the leaderboard Sunday.
Retief Goosen
Goosen doesn't play much and finds himself in a battle to crack the top 125. He's 135th in the point standings. Even though he's now 47, Goosen remains a top-tier putter, 17th on tour in strokes gained-putting, and that will serve him well this week. He's made only five starts since May, but in four of them he made the cut and three ended with top-15 cashes.
Chris Stroud
Stroud sits 123rd in the point standings, so he's got plenty of incentive with just two tournaments left before the playoffs. Stroud has made the Deere weekend seven straight tries, with a best of T5 last year. He ranks in the 50s on tour in strokes gained-putting and putting average.
PLAYERS TO AVOID
Steve Stricker
This may seem like a head-scratcher. While Stricker has a sterling track record at TPC Deere Run, he's not quite Michael Phelps in the pool. In fact, since Stricker strung together three straight titles at the Deere from 2009-11, he's been steadily going the other way, from fifth to 10th to 11th and, last year, to 35th. He remains a premier putter at age 49, but the magic has simply not been there at the Deere lately. Besides, he's likely to be highly owned in just about every format.
Wesley Bryan
Bryan just received a battlefield promotion to the PGA Tour, thanks to a third win of the season on the Web.com Tour last week. But it seems a bit much that he's the No. 8 betting choice on golfodds.com, at 30-1, and is among the 10 priciest golfers in DraftKings. Remember, there's a reason he was on the secondary tour. Bryan has two PGA starts this season and, while he's made the cut in both, his finishes don't warrant the over-the-top support. Bryan was T58 in Memphis and TT29 in Washington, D.C.
Ryan Moore
Moore comes into the Deere with top-25s the last four years there, so he's definitely a horse for the course. But he's winding down a disappointing season, with zero top-10s since March. If you play Moore this week, anything short of top-10 in this weak field will be a downer.
John Senden
The Aussie won the Deere back in 2006, but followed that with three straight MCs. He was T4 there in 2012, but in two subsequent visits has gone MC and T45. Senden has just one top-10 all season, and that came at the Honda in February. He was T56 last week at the Travelers, another birdie-fest.
Robert Streb
There's also a lot of love and support out there for Streb and, granted, it's much more warranted for him than Bryan. Streb had fallen off the golf map not too long ago, but in his last six starts he has three top-25s, including T7 in the PGA Championship in his most recent outing. So now a lot of folk are jumping on the Streb bandwagon, and that always gives us pause. He's played the Deere three times and made every cut, with T14 last year. Maybe "avoid" is too strong of a word for Streb this week; just don't go too ga-ga over him.
YAHOO PICKS
Group A: Gary Woodland, Jason Bohn
Group B: Zach Johnson, Hudson Swafford, Matt Jones, Jerry Kelly
Group C: Retief Goosen, Kevin Na
