This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
There's always that worry. In the corner of your mind, you wonder if what you are seeing is a fluke; a hot streak, something, anything, that would render this something other than special, but time and again, he renders that doubt useless. After winning the first two majors of last season, Jordan Spieth became the talk of golf. After failing to capture the grand slam, but coming oh so close, the comparisons to Tiger Woods started to creep in. While those comparisons are a bit premature, what Spieth is doing is something we haven't seen since the heyday of Tiger and yet, we feel the need to make sure it's actually happening, that it's not Jason Day dominating for two months, or Rory dominating for a year.
With his win Sunday at the Tournament of Champions, Spieth began his second consecutive year of dominating the PGA Tour. Yes, it's too early to say that he's going to do this year what he did last year, but as of this moment, he's done everything possible to make us think he'll be as good, if not better, this year than he was last year.
No one can deny that Spieth is the best player in the game, but to reach the next level, and, yes, there is another level, he'll have to dominate again this year. But with the likes of Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy at the top of their games, there's no way he can do
There's always that worry. In the corner of your mind, you wonder if what you are seeing is a fluke; a hot streak, something, anything, that would render this something other than special, but time and again, he renders that doubt useless. After winning the first two majors of last season, Jordan Spieth became the talk of golf. After failing to capture the grand slam, but coming oh so close, the comparisons to Tiger Woods started to creep in. While those comparisons are a bit premature, what Spieth is doing is something we haven't seen since the heyday of Tiger and yet, we feel the need to make sure it's actually happening, that it's not Jason Day dominating for two months, or Rory dominating for a year.
With his win Sunday at the Tournament of Champions, Spieth began his second consecutive year of dominating the PGA Tour. Yes, it's too early to say that he's going to do this year what he did last year, but as of this moment, he's done everything possible to make us think he'll be as good, if not better, this year than he was last year.
No one can deny that Spieth is the best player in the game, but to reach the next level, and, yes, there is another level, he'll have to dominate again this year. But with the likes of Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy at the top of their games, there's no way he can do it again this year ... is there?
This week: Sony Open - Waialae Country Club, Honolulu
Last Year: Jimmy Walker shot a final-round 63 on his way to a nine-stroke victory over Scott Piercy.
PLAYERS TO CONSIDER
Harris English
English seemed on the cusp of some big things last season, but he failed to put it all together. That said, he still had a pretty good season that he can build on this year. If he's to have a good season, he'll likely play well this week as he's earned three consecutive top-10s at this event.
Justin Thomas
Speaking of building on last season's success ... Justin Thomas had one heck of a rookie season last year, earning more than $2 million, but it appears as though that was just the beginning as he's already earned more than $1.7 million this season. Thomas finished T6 here last year, so we know he can get around this course.
Jimmy Walker
It's hard to argue with back-to-back wins here and that's exactly what Walker has done the last two years. What are the odds he'll win a third consecutive? Not good, but then again, his odds of winning two in a row weren't good either and look what happened.
Charles Howell III
If you want to go off the beaten path, Howell III looks like a good option. If you are going to use Howell III, you'll want to do so in the first couple months of the season as he always plays his best golf before April. His track record here is pretty solid with three top-10s in his last four starts and six top-10s in his past eight starts.
Pat Perez
If you really want to go off the beaten path, then Perez could be your guy this week. He's certainly not the player he was a decade ago, but his track record here is pretty solid. He made the cut here in 12 of 14 starts and finished in the top-20 in three consecutive starts.
PLAYERS TO AVOID
Steve Stricker
Stricker has a decent track record at this event, but after how he played last season, I think it's wise to wait on him to make sure he's still got his game. There are simply too many good options this week to use Stricker in this spot.
Zach Johnson
Johnson has played very well here in spots, in fact, he won this event in 2009 and finished in the top 10 in 2014, but this doesn't feel like a spot where you'd want to burn Johnson. While he has played well here, he's also played poorly in spots. There are better places to use Johnson this year.
Mark Wilson
Wilson won this event in 2011, but he's always been a streaky player and that win was likely a result of a small hot streak that Wilson was on that week. Since that win, he's missed two cuts and failed to finish inside the top 50 here.
Carl Pettersson
On the PGA Tour, there are many types of golfers. Some play well early in the season, some late, some all the time and some never. Pettersson is a guy who plays well late in the season, and, obviously, we are nowhere near the end of the season.
Johnson Wagner
After earning a reputation as a guy who only plays well in certain spots Wagner became more of a well-rounded player the last couple years. That said, he's really struggled to find any consistency. He won this event in 2012, but he missed the cut here in his three starts before and after that win.
ONE AND DONE GOLFER
Last week: Smylie Kaufman (T15) - $108,667; Season - $969,637
This week: Jimmy Walker - This was not an easy call. The final debate came down to Walker and English, but I decided on Walker because of his play the last two years here and his top-10 last week.
YAHOO PICKS
Points: 158
Rank: 28,313
This Week:
Group A: Justin Thomas, Chris Kirk
Group B: Jimmy Walker, Harris English, Charles Howell III, Webb Simpson
Group C: Tom Hoge, Emiliano Grillo
SURVIVOR PICK
Last week: N/A; Streak - 2
This week: Charles Howell III - As mentioned, it's wise to use Howell III early in the season, and considering he's never missed a cut here in 14 starts, he's a pretty safe bet to make it to the weekend.
