This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
It's too early to tell if the team format used at the Zurich classic was a success. After all, many of us are still debating whether Olympic Gold was a success. But one thing is clear, the team format was different, and different is good when you are placed in the midst of the long stretch between the Masters and the U.S. Open.
Every event on the PGA Tour schedule has its place. Majors, WGC events, The Players are, of course, the highlights. Then you have the events with history; Pebble Beach comes to mind. There are pro-ams, events with big names attached, i.e., Jack and Tiger, and events in Hawaii to start the season. At the end of the season, it's the FedEx playoffs, the beginning, the West Coast Swing, and then there's that bunch of tournaments fighting for relevance smack dab in the middle of the season.
The Zurich Classic is one such tournament, fighting for some attention in the middle of what is a very busy sporting season. The move to go to an unconventional team format was brilliant, whether it resulted in a ratings boost it surely increased interest among golf fans. As for the golf itself, it's tough to say if it was good, bad or ugly as we don't have anything to compare it to. It surely didn't help to have a weather delay Sunday. But to get a playoff is always good, and the way the playoff came about was pretty incredible.
There
It's too early to tell if the team format used at the Zurich classic was a success. After all, many of us are still debating whether Olympic Gold was a success. But one thing is clear, the team format was different, and different is good when you are placed in the midst of the long stretch between the Masters and the U.S. Open.
Every event on the PGA Tour schedule has its place. Majors, WGC events, The Players are, of course, the highlights. Then you have the events with history; Pebble Beach comes to mind. There are pro-ams, events with big names attached, i.e., Jack and Tiger, and events in Hawaii to start the season. At the end of the season, it's the FedEx playoffs, the beginning, the West Coast Swing, and then there's that bunch of tournaments fighting for relevance smack dab in the middle of the season.
The Zurich Classic is one such tournament, fighting for some attention in the middle of what is a very busy sporting season. The move to go to an unconventional team format was brilliant, whether it resulted in a ratings boost it surely increased interest among golf fans. As for the golf itself, it's tough to say if it was good, bad or ugly as we don't have anything to compare it to. It surely didn't help to have a weather delay Sunday. But to get a playoff is always good, and the way the playoff came about was pretty incredible.
There are only so many ways to increase interest in a golf tournament and the Zurich Classic was at the forefront of a great idea. Let's hope this becomes a staple on the PGA Tour schedule for years to come.
This week: Wells Fargo Championship - Eagle Point Golf Club, Wilmington, N.C.
Last Year: James Hahn shot a final-round 70 on his way to a playoff victory over Roberto Castro.
PLAYERS TO CONSIDER
Dustin Johnson
Since he didn't actually tee it up at the Masters, he's still on a three-event winning streak coming into this event. DJ is the best player on the planet, and while a long layoff is a little concerning, it's not like the injury is a chronic situation where a flare-up is likely. DJ has had plenty of time to recover from his fall, and I don't think he'd rush his come back to play this event if he weren't ready.
Jon Rahm
Rahm is a first-timer at this event, but with the new venue, everyone in the field is also, so there's certainly no disadvantage there. Even if there was a disadvantage, it wouldn't bother Rahm as he's been in that situation several times this season, and you all know how he's played this year.
Wesley Bryan
With no course history in play this week, we have to look at the golfers playing the best entering this week. When we last saw Bryan playing on his own he won the RBC Heritage, and getting some play in last week at the Zurich Classic was likely helpful in moving on from that win, so expect Bryan to be a contender again this week.
Kevin Kisner
Kisner has played very well the last couple months. Prior to helping his team into a playoff last week, Kisner posted a T11 at the RBC Heritage, top-20s at the WGC events in Mexico and Austin and a runner-up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Kevin Tway
Certainly not a name that I expected to see on the "Consider" list this season, but his play recently has forced my hand. Tway posted a T3 at the Zurich Classic last week and also finished T3 the week prior at the Texas Open.
PLAYERS TO AVOID
Zach Johnson
There's something going on with Johnson's game. In his past four stroke-play events, he's failed to crack the top 50 and missed the cut in his two most recent events. Johnson's been off his game for the better part of a year now and is 41, so it's not crazy to think that this is the start of the inevitable decline of all golfers.
Roberto Castro
Castro was the runner-up last year at this event, but that was at a different venue. In addition to that, his game the last couple months has been awful. Castro has missed six consecutive cuts and hasn't played the weekend since March at a WGC event that had no cut.
Chris Kirk
Kirk is only a few years removed from a season in which he nearly made $5 million and in the two years that followed, he failed to build on that momentum, but a solid start to the season in the fall has many thinking that he was back to his form of a few years ago, and then the calendar flipped. Since the start of the year, Kirk has not resembled that guy from three years ago, let alone the guy from the last two seasons.
Scott Stallings
Stallings got off to a nice start this season with a top-10 at the Career Builder Challenge, a top-15 at the AT&T and a top-25 at the Honda Classic, but since that finish at the Honda, his game has fallen off a cliff. A T68 at the Valspar was followed by a W/D in Puerto Rico and three missed cuts after that lead us to this week where it would be a win just to make the cut.
James Hahn
Hahn is the defending champ at this event, but again, that was a different course. Although a return to this event might be enough to kick start his game, I wouldn't bet on it as Hahn hasn't cracked the top 25 since the season-opening event in Hawaii. Hahn is making plenty of cuts this season, but he hasn't been able to get anything done on the weekend. That likely will be the case again this week — a made cut, but nothing better than a T30.
ONE AND DONE GOLFER
Last week: Dufner/Kizzire (T5) - $140,225; Season - $5,824,566
This week: Kevin Tway - With few big names in the field and this event being played at a new venue, it's a great time to go off the grid and find a sleeper. Enter Kevin Tway, who as mentioned earlier, is coming in with consecutive T3s. This will likely be the best and only time to use Tway this season.
YAHOO PICKS
Points: 2,034
Rank: 24,227
This Week:
Group A: Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott
Group B: Kevin Kisner, Phil Mickelson, Scott Brown, Paul Casey
Group C: Jon Rahm, Wesley Bryan
SURVIVOR PICK
Last week: Dufner/Kizzire - (T5); Streak - 6
This week: Kevin Kisner - While I like Tway's upside, I can't trust him in this format. With that in mind, I'll take Kisner in this format as he's more reliable. Kisner is playing well and new course or not, there's no reason to think he'll miss the cut this week.
