by Golf is back in full force this week as the PGA, European, Web.com and LPGA Tours are all in action around the globe. The three U.S.-based tours are all in North America while the Euro Tour heads to Abu Dhabi. We are in the middle of a stretch of three full weeks of live golf being shown on a daily basis, so make sure to get your fill.
The Bob Hope Factor*
Our first PGA Tour event on the mainland gets underway on Thursday with the 60th edition of the Desert Classic. This event has bounced from sponsor to sponsor and course to course over the years, but it remains one of the longest-standing events on the schedule. This year’s edition is being presented without a sponsor but still boasts a very respectable field. Tee Times
*Shoutout Michael Scott
Under the Thumb
Last year we saw Jon Rahm notch his second PGA Tour victory in a playoff over Andrew Landry. This was his fourth worldwide win in a two-year span and allowed him to rise into the top five in the world. Rahm has finished in the top eight of his last three events, which includes a win at the Hero World Challenge.
Storylines
The Honma Man – Fresh off a high-profile equipment change, Justin Rose will make his first start in the United States since last September. Rose enters the week #1 in the world and won his last start of 2018 at the Turkish Airlines Open.
Lefty – Also making his first start of the season is “The Match” champion Phil Mickelson. Phil routinely makes his season debut at this event but is coming off a missed cut last season.
Pete Dye – PGA West was a tour initiative in the 1980s when they asked Dye to build an extremely difficult course for the pros to play. The players will also rotate through two other courses this week, but the telecast will center on the Stadium Course. The design famously caused PGA Tour players to vanquish the course off the schedule one year after its opening. Today, it remains a test but hardly what it was in the 80’s. The course is one of the courses that began to shift golf course design trends from penal to strategic.
Rooks – Many tour staples tend to skip this event, and that opens up a lot of spots for the younger guys looking to get starts. The telecast will only show the main Stadium Course, so we should (hopefully) get glimpses of plenty of rookies and up-and-comers this week.
Paulie’s Picks
With one and done leagues underway, check out who Paulie likes in the Desert for your league and for DraftKings here.
Tommy Lad’s Alley
The Euro Tour begins their 2019 campaign this week with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Known for its world-class fields, this year’s event is no different than its predecessors. Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, two-time defending champion Tommy Fleetwood, Henrik Stenson, Haotong Li, Tyrrell Hatton and Thorbjorn Olesen are all in attendance. Fleetwood has captured this event each of the last two years and looks to complete the trifecta this season. Tee Times
Dou Boi
Three rounds have been completed at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic, and 21-year-old Marty Dou (pronounced “dough”) holds a three-shot lead over John Oda. Dou was a teenage phenom and played all of the 2018 season on the PGA Tour. Oda held the 36-hole lead and sits alone in second place with Billy Kennerly and Willy Wilcox one shot behind him. Leaderboard
LPGA Tournament of Champions
The women return this week as well with the first winners-only event the tour has had in over a decade. Winners of the last two years worth of LPGA events will tee it up in a pro-am format with other celebrities. The field of players will take on Tranquilo Golf Club outside of Orlando and will feature world-class players like Ariya Jutanugarn and Lexi Thompson. Tee Times
Quick Hooks
Another Masters invitation will be sent out at the end of the week. The 5th edition of the Latin American Amateur gets underway on Thursday, and the winner will be driving down Magnolia Lane in 3 months. Last year’s winner, Joaquin Niemann, already has four top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour. Tee Times
Architect’s Roundtable
Is it easier to create a hole or find a hole in the natural landscape? We asked architects Riley Johns, Ian Andrew, Jeff Mingay, Rob Collins, Mike Cocking, Mike DeVries and Andy Staples their thoughts in the latest edition of Architect’s Roundtable. Read it here.
Shotgun Start: Hosung comes to Carmel, Latin America Am intel, and Desert Classic picks
There is almost too much to discuss on this Wednesday edition, with seven televised events coming this week. But first Brendan and Andy react to the news that Hosung Choi will make his PGA Tour debut at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in a few weeks. Then they cover different entertaining tidbits from the PGA Tour to the LPGA to Abu Dhabi to Singapore and everything in between in this jam-packed week. Andy relays intel from the Latin America Amateur Championship while Brendan relives a harrowing confrontation with Larry the Cable Guy, who is back in the field at this week’s Diamond Resorts Invitational. Then we are joined by @FriedEggPaulie for some fantasy intel and one-and-done picks for this week’s Desert Classic on the PGA Tour.
