Well Mr DeChambeau! Very impressive – lived up to the hype and boomed the golf ball distances that we’d struggle to run.
Come the majors, he could be very interesting if he puts the pressure on in the early rounds and his scientific thought process leads to early putts dropping.
This week is the start of a two-week visit to the Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio and first up is the is the Workday Charity Open. With a field containing the likes of Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Justin Rose – it’s definitely not short on quality.
The Course
Hosting two events in two weeks, the plan is that the course is set up differently from this week’s tournament to next week’s Memorial and both events will play to c7,300 yards.
Built in 1972 and named after Jack Nicklaus’ favourite Open Championship course, it contains four Par 5s (longest at 567 yards) and Par 3s which don’t exceed 200 Yards, giving plenty of birdie opportunities. Last year’s winner Patrick Cantlay won on -19 whilst the year before Bryson DeChambeau won the event after a play-off with three competitors all finishing on -15.
At the time of writing, the weather forecast has storms circulating for the weekend and with two out the last three events being suspended we could have another one on our hands come the business end of the tournament. ‘Posting a score’ and sitting in the clubhouse may help someone to victory this week.
Players
As mentioned, we are not short on quality this week, but we are going to push the boat out. Golf as a market can give punters the opportunity to find real value. Gone are the days when Tiger Woods would turn up for an event at 7/2 (he was that good) but tour players all have the ability to put four good rounds together and this week we are looking for some each-way value:
Xander Schauffele – 18/1
The 26 year-old has lost me money over the years and has been right there come the Sunday for a number of tournaments but then the odd mistake will creep in before he fades away from the leading groups.
I’m convinced this man will win a Major and before he does that, he needs to establish himself on the Tour and build on his four wins to date. Finished T14 last year at the Memorial and at 18/1 he presents some value.
Ian Poulter – 100/1
Poults has hit a 67, 64 and 66 on his last three opening rounds and he has been positive about his game since returning from lockdown. Known more for his Ryder Cup stats than his individual play, Poulter has only won three PGA events but there are some signs another victory won’t be too far away.
Jason Dufner – 150/1
Looks an interesting contender given he won ‘The Memorial’ previously and finished T7 in 2019; it’s possible he may be rejuvenated by returning to Ohio. He has been out of sorts in recent weeks but there is no denying if he can recapture the form of old he could well be within a shout at 150/1.
Whatever happens, you don’t get many opportunities to look at a course knowing the players will be back next week. It’s like standing behind a putt of your playing partner, watch the line and the breaks as they’ll be some useful clues going into next week’s tournament!
