I'm from Minnesota and when it's January I only imagine playing golf -- my season doesn't start until sometime in April. But the PGA Tour season has already tee'd off. And for the second weekend in a row, it will be a man's profession to play four rounds of golf under the Hawaiian sun in hope of taking home nearly a million bucks.
Last year, Paul Goydos shot three under in his final round at this event to win by one stroke over Charles Howell and Luke Donald. With a full field of almost 150 golfers, you might not even notice that Tiger Woods isn't playing (neither is Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Padraig Harrington or Sergio Garcia). The list of players who are scheduled to tee off on Thursday include K.J. Choi, Jim Furyk, last year's champ Goydos, Zach Johnson, Rory Sabbatini, Vijay Singh, Brandt Snedeker and Steve Stricker. It might be early in the PGA season, but since football will be over soon, you might as well start paying attention to your summer game of leisure during the winter -- it's not like you're going golfing.
Over the course of the long golf season that stretches from now until THE TOUR Championship in late September, I plan on providing my insight on the upcoming weekend's golf tournament every Tuesday. Here are my five golfers to consider and five to avoid for this weekend's Sony Open in Hawaii.
Players to Consider:
1. Jim Furyk -- When a golf course requires a golfer to have touch, feel and accuracy, Jim Furyk should be your favorite (if Woods isn't entered). Furyk won this event in 1996 and will try to use his momentum he gathered from a weekend push at the Mercedes-Benz last Saturday and Sunday to become the fifth two-time champion. Furyk was second on the tour in scrambling last season which could help him this weekend if he misses the fairway off the tee.
2. Aaron Baddeley -- It's hard not to see a bright future in 27 year old Aaron Baddeley. Last season was more or less his break out year because he had seven top 10 finishes and finished 25th or better 13 times. After quietly tieing for 12th last weekend, he's already recorded his first top 25 finish this year. Look for Baddeley to compete for a top finish in every event this season, continuing with the Sony Open this weekend.
3. Steve Stricker -- Stricker took advantage of earning some early season points at the Sony Open last season. Out of the top 15 in the FedEx Cup regular season standings, three golfers finished in the top four at the Sony Open, including Stricker. Stricker is already second in the FedExCup Points standings with his runner-up finish and 2,700 points from the first event of the year. Look for him to use his strategy that worked last season again this year and come out ready to win the Sony Open. It should be noted that Stricker was 18 under par over his final 41 holes last weekend.
4. Fred Funk -- Funk will be starting his second week of his four-tournament "Hawaii Slam" at the Sony Open. After Funk won the Mayakoba Golf classic he played in the Mercedes-Benz Championship last week and after this weekend he plays two events on the Champions Tour. Since Funk is playing a lot of golf, I like his chances of staying loose and playing consistent.
5. K.J. Choi -- Unfortunately, I bought max shares of Choi in PROTRADE's Mercedes-Benz hold'em challenge where he went on to tank his first couple rounds and in return leave me far from the leaderboard. My thought is that Choi redeems himself by playing great right from the start and using last week's disappointment as a reason to focus on making the most of this weekend.
Players to Avoid:
1. Boo Weekley -- Boo should scare you this week. He started his second year on tour with a T23 at the Mercedes-Benz. But coming away from the event, Weekley ranks below the tour averages in scoring, driving accuracy, GIR, scrambling and putts per round.
2. Vijay Singh -- Singh ended 2007 on a slow note and despite a T12 finish last weekend, I have a feeling his drag will linger into this year. His Thursday round of 74 at the Mercedes-Benz made me nervous, but with a safe 70 on Friday and a 67 on Saturday he started to look on the right track before flatly finishing with another boring 70. I'd avoid Singh until you know he's back for sure.
3. Paul Goydos -- Last year's winner is avoidable this weekend. After winning the Sony Open one year ago, Goydos didn't put together another solid weekend the rest of the season.
4. Bubba Watson -- Watson's driving distance was tops on tour in '07 but with only two par fives on the Waialae Country Club course, the winner of this weekend's event will be better at driving accuracy (Watson ranked 188 out of 196 on tour in driving accuracy percentage in 2007).
5. John Daly -- Daly is almost on the always avoidable list every week. But with an emphasis on accuracy off the tee this weekend, Daly's distance isn't going to put him into contention.
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