The Biggest Party in Golf is here…
Recap: Tough week last week since Spieth couldn’t close it out. Would’ve helped the blog a lot, however, a fellow Loon founder hit Tom Hoge for +5000. Time for the blog to join the winner’s circle, let’s get into it.
Magz (Golf): Up 48.2 units
Loon (Golf): Down 5.5 units
Sometimes when you walk into an arena or stadium you can feel the history, you can hear the locker room speeches or the jumping up and down of fans after a big play, even the announcer’s booming voice echoing throughout every hallway. This is a special feeling, the feeling of knowing that something important surrounds you and that more spectacular things will happen in that place. Stadiums that come to mind include Fenway Park, Madison Square Garden, maybe even (puke) Lambeau (cough) Field. The Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale is not one of these stadiums, yet The Waste Management Open remains a fan favorite. The Stadium Course is mainly known for one thing, not the famous golf shots, or even the famous 16th hole, The Stadium Golf Course is known for… getting absolutely plowed at a golf tournament.
A constant through time has been the habit of society and people’s natural love for getting fucked up. That reigns true at the Waste Management Open where patrons are often seen leaving the premises doing a special lean walk. A true classic move that goes viral on twitter around this time of year and brings a happy tear to my eye every time I see it.
A classic. Appreciate it folks. That’s the type of video that only comes around once a year. Alright, I’ve said my piece. Time to move on to the reason some of us (that aren’t hammering beers in the stands) watch this tournament, the golf. TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course is 7,115 yard par 71 track that is most famous for it’s “Coliseum” Par 3 16th hole where caddies will race to the green and fans surround the entire hole in the stands. The hole is known for fans flashing players, being obnoxiously loud, and incredibly drunk. At the end of the day it’s a good course that I would love to write more about, but now is not the time. It’s time for the picks.
Top 20 – Keith Mitchell +230. One thing I specifically looked at this week was strokes-gained off the tee. In that metric Keith Mitchell ranks 8th on the PGA Tour. Not to mention he has great visor game and finished T16in 2020 at this event. Keith will use his power off the tee to take advantage of The Stadium Course.
Top 20 – Corey Conners +155. Bonus Pick. Conners ranks too high in many different categories on tour to not finish high here. Coming off a missed cut I see him bouncing back strong.
Top 10 – Xander Schauffele +200. Incredible value here for a guy that has finished T2, T16, and T10 in his last 3 appearances at this event. Looks like we are getting a discount on Xander due to him traveling back from Saudi Arabia (disavow). Clearly comfortable at this course you can’t go wrong with Schaufelle.
Winner – Justin Thomas +1400. JT is due here. He has finished T13, T3, and 3rd in his last appearances here and ranks 15th in strokes gained tee to green. It was hard to look anywhere else for this pick.
Matchup – Sam Burns to beat Daniel Berger +120. Burns is a rankings machine despite missing the cut at Torrey Pines. I also don’t like going against a guy like Berger, but he pulled out of the tournament injured last week and there is no telling when his back could flare up again. Burns will get fired up from the crowd and his iron game is ridiculous.
Alright, get ready to turn on golf, watch some caddie races, and witness plenty of people having an awesome time at The Waste Management Open. Cheers.
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