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JoePa's Barclays, KLM, and Safeway Classic
Enjoyed a 3rd straight winning week in the PGA last week. This week with the FedEx playoffs should be interesting.
Here are my pick....rationale will come later!
KLM OPEN - EUROPEAN TOUR -
SIMON DYSON 16/1 - Defending Champ! He T6th a couple of weeks ago with a closing round of 64 at the PGA Championship in Oklahoma. He's also 36th on the Order of Merit, and although he played badly last week he still managed a Top 25 finished @ T23rd with a +1. He's got 5 Top 10s this season, and due to the FedEx cup first round is going against one of the weakest fields of the year. Repeat!
MARKUS BRIER 20 / 1 - Finished T12th at the 136th Open Championship with a -2....his best finish of the year by far. Still he ranks 22nd on the Order of Merit by way of his best GIR of his career @ 67.37%, best putting average of his career @ 1.79, and 2nd best stroke average of his career @ 71.49. Again, the odds are low due to the narrow field.
CHRISTIAN CEVAER 33/1 - The Frenchman is 62nd on the Order of Merit and may have a hothand after finishing 2nd last week in the Scandinavian Masters. Cevaer's stats are solid and he finished T4th in the KLM in 2006 with a -12.......hi best position and scoring finish of the year.....fond memories here for him and a field he can be solidly competitive with this week.
THE BARCLAYS - PGA TOUR -
VIJAY SINGH 16/1 - Last two starts for Vijay have been U-G-L-Y! A tie for 56th and a missed cut. This week however, he returns to Westchester, a course to his liking and where he became the first-ever 3-time tour championship winner in 2006, and where he also has 4 Top 10 finishes. In 13 Tour Championship events, he's only finished out of the Top 10 once, and that was a long time ago in 1993 in his first appearance. In 2006 he won the Barclays, BMW, and Coca Cola Tour Championships.
KJ CHOI 33/1 - Put out an APB, where's KJ? He took last week off after finishing T12th in the PGA Championship, but remains 5th in the FedEx standings, has made the cuts in 18/21 events this year, has 2 wins (The Memorial and AT&T), and has made almost $3.7 ML. He's always impressive in the big tourneys as he T8th in the Open Championship, T11th at the WGC Bridgestone, and has that T12th spot in the PGA. Two week rest and he's ready to win again.
BRANDT SNEDEKER 40/1 - Leads a field of rookies and alot of veterans in this week's field ranked 9th in the FedEx standings. Said he felt like he hit the lottery after winning the Wyndham last week, referring to a 4-week extension of play with $35 ML up for grabs. Snedeker has made 20/25 cuts this year, has 6 top 10s, 12 Top 25s, grossed more than $2.5 ML, is 13th in scoring average @ 69.91, 2nd in total birdies with 309, and has made 8 consecutive cuts (6th on tour). Just when you think he's out of it.....CHARGE.....like the final day at Wyndham where he carded 9 birdies and jumped 17 spots up the FedEx standings list!
SAFEWAY CLASSIC - LPGA
JEONG JANG 20 / 1 - Has been near the top of the leader board all season long. Previous to missing The 136th Open cut, she posted 4 Top 10s in 5 consecutive tournaments......she T5th in the Wegmans, T8th in the US Open, T21 in the Owens Corning where Se Ri Pak ran away from everybody, T9th at the HSBC, and finished 2nd in the Evian after failing to convert on the first playoff hole. Last week she finished in a T6th @ -8….she was solid but just couldn’t convert on scoring opportunities. Jang is 27th in driving accuracy on the tour at 72.8%, 21st in putting, 11th in total birdies, 15th in GIR @ 64%. She's 11th on the money list and has 5 Top 10s in 18 events, which places her 14th. She's close behind Lorena in scoring average 69.89/71.77.
LORENA OCHOA 2 / 1 - She's first in Rounds Under Par this season 45/64, 1st in Birdies with 229, 1st in Eagles with 11, 1st in GIR at 75.4%, 3rd in putting at 1.77, 5th in driving at 271 yards per shot, and in 16 tourneys this season has 13 Top 10s and 3 Winners. In her last 5 tournaments she has a T6th in the McDonalds, Won the Wegmans, T2 in the US Open, T17th in the HSBC Match Play, and T3 at the Evian Masters. Oh, and she's 1st on the LPGA money list this year. She's won the last two LPGA events in a row….the Women’s British Open and the Canadian Open. No hangover last week and that train keeps a rolling!
PAULA CREAMER 16 / 1 - Creamer is right on Lorena’s tail….and watching those two duel it out on the final day of the Canadian Open last week was a joy! Paula was there to pounce on the few opportunities that Ochoa presented, but in the end left several putts on the edge and couldn’t convert. Creamer has a big win this year, 9 Top 10s in 18 starts, and 2 Top 10s in a row…and in big tournaments…the British & Canadian Opens. She’s 2nd in scoring @ 70.95, 2nd in GIR @ 67.9%, 5th in total birdies with 207, T2nd in rounds under par with 34/61, but most impressive is her driving accuracy. Although she doesn’t have the length that Ochoa has she is deadly accurate hitting the fairway 70.7% of the time. And that stat allowed her to compete down the stretch the last two weeks! When the pressure has been on she’s hasn’t folded and can hit greens and fairways which = scoring opportunities. Don't stumble Lorena!
Here are my pick....rationale will come later!
KLM OPEN - EUROPEAN TOUR -
SIMON DYSON 16/1 - Defending Champ! He T6th a couple of weeks ago with a closing round of 64 at the PGA Championship in Oklahoma. He's also 36th on the Order of Merit, and although he played badly last week he still managed a Top 25 finished @ T23rd with a +1. He's got 5 Top 10s this season, and due to the FedEx cup first round is going against one of the weakest fields of the year. Repeat!
MARKUS BRIER 20 / 1 - Finished T12th at the 136th Open Championship with a -2....his best finish of the year by far. Still he ranks 22nd on the Order of Merit by way of his best GIR of his career @ 67.37%, best putting average of his career @ 1.79, and 2nd best stroke average of his career @ 71.49. Again, the odds are low due to the narrow field.
CHRISTIAN CEVAER 33/1 - The Frenchman is 62nd on the Order of Merit and may have a hothand after finishing 2nd last week in the Scandinavian Masters. Cevaer's stats are solid and he finished T4th in the KLM in 2006 with a -12.......hi best position and scoring finish of the year.....fond memories here for him and a field he can be solidly competitive with this week.
THE BARCLAYS - PGA TOUR -
VIJAY SINGH 16/1 - Last two starts for Vijay have been U-G-L-Y! A tie for 56th and a missed cut. This week however, he returns to Westchester, a course to his liking and where he became the first-ever 3-time tour championship winner in 2006, and where he also has 4 Top 10 finishes. In 13 Tour Championship events, he's only finished out of the Top 10 once, and that was a long time ago in 1993 in his first appearance. In 2006 he won the Barclays, BMW, and Coca Cola Tour Championships.
KJ CHOI 33/1 - Put out an APB, where's KJ? He took last week off after finishing T12th in the PGA Championship, but remains 5th in the FedEx standings, has made the cuts in 18/21 events this year, has 2 wins (The Memorial and AT&T), and has made almost $3.7 ML. He's always impressive in the big tourneys as he T8th in the Open Championship, T11th at the WGC Bridgestone, and has that T12th spot in the PGA. Two week rest and he's ready to win again.
BRANDT SNEDEKER 40/1 - Leads a field of rookies and alot of veterans in this week's field ranked 9th in the FedEx standings. Said he felt like he hit the lottery after winning the Wyndham last week, referring to a 4-week extension of play with $35 ML up for grabs. Snedeker has made 20/25 cuts this year, has 6 top 10s, 12 Top 25s, grossed more than $2.5 ML, is 13th in scoring average @ 69.91, 2nd in total birdies with 309, and has made 8 consecutive cuts (6th on tour). Just when you think he's out of it.....CHARGE.....like the final day at Wyndham where he carded 9 birdies and jumped 17 spots up the FedEx standings list!
SAFEWAY CLASSIC - LPGA
JEONG JANG 20 / 1 - Has been near the top of the leader board all season long. Previous to missing The 136th Open cut, she posted 4 Top 10s in 5 consecutive tournaments......she T5th in the Wegmans, T8th in the US Open, T21 in the Owens Corning where Se Ri Pak ran away from everybody, T9th at the HSBC, and finished 2nd in the Evian after failing to convert on the first playoff hole. Last week she finished in a T6th @ -8….she was solid but just couldn’t convert on scoring opportunities. Jang is 27th in driving accuracy on the tour at 72.8%, 21st in putting, 11th in total birdies, 15th in GIR @ 64%. She's 11th on the money list and has 5 Top 10s in 18 events, which places her 14th. She's close behind Lorena in scoring average 69.89/71.77.
LORENA OCHOA 2 / 1 - She's first in Rounds Under Par this season 45/64, 1st in Birdies with 229, 1st in Eagles with 11, 1st in GIR at 75.4%, 3rd in putting at 1.77, 5th in driving at 271 yards per shot, and in 16 tourneys this season has 13 Top 10s and 3 Winners. In her last 5 tournaments she has a T6th in the McDonalds, Won the Wegmans, T2 in the US Open, T17th in the HSBC Match Play, and T3 at the Evian Masters. Oh, and she's 1st on the LPGA money list this year. She's won the last two LPGA events in a row….the Women’s British Open and the Canadian Open. No hangover last week and that train keeps a rolling!
PAULA CREAMER 16 / 1 - Creamer is right on Lorena’s tail….and watching those two duel it out on the final day of the Canadian Open last week was a joy! Paula was there to pounce on the few opportunities that Ochoa presented, but in the end left several putts on the edge and couldn’t convert. Creamer has a big win this year, 9 Top 10s in 18 starts, and 2 Top 10s in a row…and in big tournaments…the British & Canadian Opens. She’s 2nd in scoring @ 70.95, 2nd in GIR @ 67.9%, 5th in total birdies with 207, T2nd in rounds under par with 34/61, but most impressive is her driving accuracy. Although she doesn’t have the length that Ochoa has she is deadly accurate hitting the fairway 70.7% of the time. And that stat allowed her to compete down the stretch the last two weeks! When the pressure has been on she’s hasn’t folded and can hit greens and fairways which = scoring opportunities. Don't stumble Lorena!
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