Bob Weeks Picks Six – BMW Championship
Published
Last week: We managed to pick Hideki Matsuyama, although we only had him in for a top-10 finish, still a win is a win. We also had Wyndham Clark in for a top-20 finish and he ended up in a tie for seventh spot. Overall, not a bad week.
This week: The PGA Tour returns to Denver for the first time since 2014 and to Castle Pines Golf Club for the first time since 2006. Since the last time, the Jack Nicklaus-designed course has had a face lift and plenty of upgrades to what was already a well-regarded course. The scorecard reads 8,100 yards in length, which makes it the longest course in PGA Tour history, but it sits at 6,400 yards above sea level, meaning a roughly 10 per cent distance grab. There will be some 175-yard wedges hit no doubt and earlier in the week, Rory McIlroy was reportedly flying his drives 375-yards. Translating the distances to the elevation may be one of the biggest factors in determining who plays well.
To Win
Xander Schauffele +550
Schauffele closed last week with a sizzling 63, which was good enough for a second-place tie. Schauffele has been trying to chase down Scottie Scheffler since winning the Open Championship and a good week in Denver would help close the gap. Hasn’t finished outside the top 25 since February, top 10s in all four majors including (of course) the wins in the PGA and the Open.
Patrick Cantlay +2500
Searching for a little value here (i.e. let’s not pick Scheffler) and Cantlay seems quite attractive at this number. He posted a pair of 66s on the weekend in Memphis to earn a tie for 12th. He’s also sitting in fifth spot on the Presidents Cup leaderboard and would love to solidify his spot ahead of the cut-off for automatic picks. His last four finishes have included a tie for third at the U.S. Open and a tie for fifth at the Open.
Top 10
Tommy Fleetwood +170
The silver medallist at the Olympic Games finished tied for 22nd last week after a rather pedestrian performance of six under. A great driver of the ball, he’s prowess off the tee will come in handy this week if he can avoid the tall pines. He’s sitting in 31st spot on the FedEx Cup standings so there will be a big incentive for him to play well this week and make it to East Lake.
Wyndham Clark +185
A Colorado native, Clark is returning to play his first PGA Tour event at home. He won the state amateur title as a 16-year-old and hopes to add another solid performance to his Colorado collection this week. He has a win and seven top 10s this year and finished in a tie for seventh last week. He’s a lock to get to East Lake, sitting in sixth spot.
Top 20
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +100
Finished 16th at the Olympics and followed it with a tie for 22nd at the Wyndham and the same at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The South African has a lot to play for: not only is he working to stay inside the top 30 -- he’s 23rd – on the FedEx Cup standings, but also to play well enough to gain a captain’s pick for the International Team at the Presidents Cup.