Just like that, another major week is upon us.
Happy major week, and happy reading.
Higas that guy this year.
Took T11 at St. Andrews last year
96.
Thats prety much how it goes.
He has a pretty putrid record in the majors with nine missed cuts in 13 tries.
The lone PGA Championship cut he made was at Oak Hill in 2013.
He only brings it out when hes far form the cut line.
Were not saying we want him to miss the cut.
We just think itd be funny to see The Snail make an appearance in a major championship.
Took T8 at Quail Hollow in his last start
86.
Most important is that he hopefully feels better.
(Sorry, Trent).
And hes yet to finish better than T30 in a major.
That certainly aint bad.
Thats not a knock, of course.
Anyone on the PGA Tour is among the finest golfers in the world.
Irons are his strength, and Donald Ross layouts like Oak Hill typically demand precise iron play.
He hasnt played well in LIV events and comes off as a very old 31.
Made the cut in his two prior PGA Championship appearances but was a non-factor on both weekends.
Missed the cut in his last two starts.
But all the talk/media coverage of his brief foray into real estate has obscured his blue-chip golf background.
This will be his first major championship appearance.
That said, hes been pretty poor in his recent LIV starts and is creeping up there in age.
Has made the cut in all four of his major championship appearances.
Just another priceless nugget you wont find anywhere besides these top 100s.
Had his best-career finish in a major with a T34 in the Masters.
Got into the field when Davis Love III withdrew so alls well that ends well, I suppose.
First major championship start as a professional.
Its a recipe that should bode well on difficult golf courses.
A solo second at the Valspar all but locked up his card for another year.
Admitted that he chased distance in the last few years with little success.
Youd much rather have the extremes than a bunch of middling finishes.
Missed the cut in his last four major starts.
These are the fun tidbits you uncover during the research process for this article.
In more salient news, hes got three missed cuts and a T58 in four career PGA Championship starts.
And yet, the narrative around the USC grad until recently has focused on who he s not.
Gets his first major start outside of the U.S. Open.
This wouldnt seem to be a very good fit for him given how demanding itll be off the tee.
But we said the same thing for Kiawah.
Made the cut at the Masters but didnt factor on the weekend.
He does, however, have top 10 finishes in each of his past two PGA Championship starts.
Its a stunning number for a guy whos been a top-50 player for the better part of a decade.
You wont see a bigger gap in rankings than his No.
29 spot in the OWGR and his No.
117 mark on Data Golf, which puts greater emphasis on recency.
His last top-10 in a stroke play event came in October.
Skipped the Wells Fargo and comes in off two weeks of rest.
His goal now is to play full-time in the U.S.
Hasn’t played a tournament since his T26 at the Masters, for whatever reason.
His putting has…not.
A strong showing, of course, could change that.
This will mark just his sixth start in a major championship in 13 years as a professional.
How TaylorMade hasnt made him a TaylorMont headcover is beyond me.
Qualified for each of the last two U.S.
Opens but this will mark his first PGA Championship.
Those are some old, proud tournaments and hes won them all in the last 10 months.
Get his first crack at a PGA Championship, the lone major he hasnt played in yet.
Earned some valuable experience on last years Presidents Cup team and profiles as a player on the rise.
Nothing jumps out statistically but hes in the positive in all five big strokes gained categories.
Contending at a major is a ton to ask at this point in his career.
Withdrew from last years PGA Championship with a wrist injury that ended up needing surgery.
Says hes back at full strength but the game hasnt followed just yet.
Zero top-20 finishes in 13 career major starts.
The issue has mostly been with his chipping and putting which have historically been strengths.
That was his first top-10 finish in 33 career major starts.
Missed the cut at the 2013 PGA at Oak Hill.
(Again, hes 20).
He can get hibachi-hot with the irons.
Not a good shot.
Aim small, miss small.
In related news, golf remains impossible to forecast.
Has since bounced back with a top 10 at Quail Hollow.
Thats progress, even if hes still waiting for his first top 10.
(The kids 15, but still).
That said, hes playing very solidly with four consecutive finishes of T23 leading up to the Nelson.
Data Golf likes what they see, ranking him No.
23 among every golfer on the planet.
Its more than likely hell end a fantastic career without a major championship, which is a bummer.
Showed impressively in his first PGA Championship last year with a T9 at Southern Hills.
Finished T27 or better at three of the four majors last year.
Last major start yielded a T7 at last years U.S. Open.
Missed the cut at the 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill back when he was a teenager.
If you make a wager on him you are a braver man than I. Hes made a bunch of cuts since and finished just one shot behind Jason Day at last weeks Nelson.
This will mark his 25th start in a major and hes still looking for his first top 10.
Remains an excellent, excellent ball striker and has played nicely on the LIV Tour thus far.
A deep sleeper if he can somehow get over last years heartbreak.
A good bet to make the weekend wholl provide some good value in DFS formats.
Might have the silkiest tempo on tour and ranks 19th on tour in strokes gained overall.
Had his best-ever major showing, by a wide margin, at last years PGA Championship.
We like his chances for a top 20.
Netflix showed off his easygoing nature and, hopefully, so did the first Side Gig episode.
He will go as his driver goes this weekif its wild, he could struggle.
If its not, hell make plenty of birdies.
Thatll be a trivia answer one day.
He ranks 169th in strokes gained approach and 107th in strokes gained tee to green.
Its nearly impossible to maintain your position among the games elite with those kind of ball striking stats.
Finished T19 in the 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill.
And hes playing great golf.
Of that there is no doubt.
Been nearly two years since his last victory at the Open Championship.
Data Golf is even more convinced, ranking him as their No.
18 player in the world based on current form.
Either way, its lovely to have Rickie back in the conversation.
For a player that relatively low rankedhe was world No.
Hes always looked the part with a picture-perfect swing and he hits it long.
But, and its a sizable but, theres really been no major championship success to speak of.
His T13 last year at Southern HIlls was his first finish better than T40 in 14 career major starts.
He says the last 12 months have really worn on him and, well, of course they have.
His wife, Erica, is from the Rochester area and he frequently visits upstate New York for holidays.
His two PGA Championship wins sandwiched a T8 at Oak Hill in 2013.
Perhaps he was downplaying his chances as a sort of mental trick.
Whatever the strategy, it worked.
When its good, he contends.
When its not, hes prone to the odd missed cut.
Hes played seven majors in his career and has three top-seven finishes to go along with four missed cuts.
Outside the top 50 in each of his last two starts has his odds pretty far down there.
Thats the only question, because hes answered every one about his game.
Its why hes played the designates so well.
Hes 10th in strokes gained off the tee and eighth in approach for the season.
(Though it didnt look exactly Augusta-esque to begin with).
Took T8 at the 2013 PGA at Oak Hill.
knock their first ones off.
Hes been T16 or better in three of the last four PGA Championships.
All systems are a go.
The best part: it really should be his sixth.
His two top 10s in majors both came at the Masters.
Shot 12 under for the first two days and four over for the final two.
And when hes fully healthy, no one has played the majors better.
Said hes improved his diet and finally has his vertigo under control.
Won his fifth event in the last 19 months by outdueling Jon Rahm in Mexico.
Now that question is when hell carry that play over into a major championship.
Probably not, but thats the ecosystem we live in.
A great chance this week.
The golf has also, of course, been fucking incredible.
You getting the hint here?
Thatd be boring, right?
Hard not to be jealous.
Weve got a funny feeling its this one.
