With the 102nd PGA Championship on tap for next week at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, we’re all ready for a Major, the top 8 players in the World Golf Rankings and 44 of the top 50 will be competing at TPC Southwind in Memphis for the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational title. World No.1 Jon Rahm, coming off a victory at the Memorial 2 weeks ago, had a goal coming into this 2019-20 season to win 2 PGA Tour events this year. He’d probably rather wait and win next week, but if he wins this week, that’ll work and get some major momentum for next week though you don’t want to peak a week before a Major. No.2 Rory, No.3 Justin Thomas, who is No.1 in the FedEx Cup Standings, No.4 Webb Simpson, No.5 Dustin Johnson, No.6 Brooks Koepka, No.7 Bryson DeChambeau and No.8 Patrick Reed, watch out for some foot wedges in the rough, are all competing.

TPC Southwind is a 7,238 yard, Par 70.

The defending champion is Brooks Koepka though Brooks has fallen on some tough times lately since he severely injured his left knee last October in South Korea when he slipped on some wet concrete. In his last 8 starts worldwide starts, he has finished tied for 43rd at the Genesis Classic, he missed the cut at the Honda Classic, he tied for 47th at the Arnie, he tied for 32nd at the Charles Schwab. He was 7th at the RBC-Heritage. He missed the cut at the Workday Charity Open. He tied for 62nd at the Memorial. And he missed the cut at the 3M Open last week. Like the fact that he’s still battling, though he said his left knee may never be the same. He’s such a talent he could still win without being 100 percent. But there is cause for concern.

Last week’s winner: Michael Thompson. The 35 year old from Tuscon, Arizona by way of the University of Alabama led the field in strokes gained putting and was a machine off the tee finishing 19 under after shooting a 67 on Sunday, 2 shots clear of second place finisher Adam Long. 24 year old Robbie Shelton from the University of Alabama tied for 3rd at -16. The Crimson Tide Football team also received a commit from a 5 star (247 Sports Rankings) defensive tackle from Michigan, Damon Payne (6’3 1/2” 297), no relation to former Tide star defensive tackle DaRon Payne who now starts for the NFL’s Washington Football Team. The Crimson Tide is now 2nd in the 247 rankings after being in the 40’s 3 weeks ago. Saban is a recruiter extraordinaire. What a day to be a Crimson Tider.

This was Thompson’s 2nd victory on Tour in his career and 1st in 67 tries as his last victory came at the 2013 Honda Classic. His driving was spectacular and so was his putting. Pretty awesome combination that can win a lot of tournaments. His sand shot on the Par 4, 16th from 37 yards to 2 feet for a tap in birdie on the short par 4 was magnificent.

He now has full playing status on tour through the 2022-23 season. He also won spots in all the WGC events, and, most importantly, a spot in next week’s PGA Championship, this year’s 120th U.S. Open (Sept. 17-20th, Winged Foot Golf Club) AND the 2021 Masters and Players Championships. This year’s Masters field, played Nov.12th-15th, had already been set when the Tour had to postpone the season in March at the Players. So quite a victory for Thompson.

Tony Finau has been quite the bridesmaid lately. Since the beginning of 2016-17, Finau holds the mark for the most top 10’s without a victory. He’s posted 30. Next is Tommy Fleetwood at 16.

Tripp Isenhour of Golf Channel said Monday that once Finau breaks through, and he was saying when not if, the floodgates will open and he’ll be a multiple PGA winner. I’m not sure I agree with that. Finau has won once on tour at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open, but the guy just can’t seem to close the deal. He may win again, but he may not. I’m not guaranteeing that at all. He really seems to be a head case on Sundays.

Jordan Spieth turned 27 on Monday. Maybe his 27th birthday will be better to him than the last 2 1/2 years have been. He hasn’t won since the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in England. He’s pretty much a head case as well at this point. Just seems to be an unhappy guy. I know he’s not winning and that takes its toll on somebody who’s used to winning, but his attitude needs to change if he wants to start winning again and win Majors. He’s won 3, the 2015 Masters, the 2015 U.S. Open, and the ‘17 British, but he’s it’s been a while.

Weather: Looks questionable until Sunday.

Thursday 87, 90% chance for T storms with potential for heavy rain. Winds, 13 MPH.

Friday, 86, 80% T-storms, scattered, wind 10 MPH.

Saturday, 82, 50% Scattered, Wind 12 MPH.

Sunday, Mostly sunny, 83, wind 8.

TV: Thursday-Friday, 1-6 PM CT, Golf Channel.

Saturday, 11 AM-1 PM CT, Golf C, 1-5 PM CT CBS.

Sunday, 12-2 PM CT, Golf C, 2-6 PM CT CBS.

Featured groups

11:40 AM CT

DeChambeau , Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler

DeChambeau has a W at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and 7 top 10’s in 12 starts this season. The ‘Roids seem to be working.

Rahm is making his first start since the Memorial 2 weeks ago, where he won, and became No.1 in the world overtaking Rory.

Fowler is making his 30th start in WGC events and he owns 12 top-10’s. Not too confident in his chances though.

11:50 AM CT

Webb Simpson, Rory, Spieth

Simpson is one of 3 players with multiple victories this season. He’s joined by Justin Thomas and Brandon Todd. Simpson won the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the RBC Heritage, the second event after the restart.

Rory is No.2 in the world and No.5 in the Fed Ex Standings. He won the Fed Ex Cup in 2016 and 2019 and has 4 majors to his credit. The 2012 PGA Championship at the Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, S.C., the 2014 PGA at Valhalla in Louisville, the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional in Bethesda, MD., just outside D.C., and the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in England. He has won 3 WGC events, the 2014 WGC- Bridgestone at Firestone Country Club in Akron, the WGC Cadillac Match Play in Austin, TX. and the 2019 WGC-HSBC Championship in Shanghai. So quite a resume though it’s been a while since a Major victory.

12:20 PM CT

Patrick Reed, Viktor Hovland, Brooks Koepka

Reed may bring a shovel to the first tee if he feels a little off on the range. Hovland looks to be a possible superstar, and I emphasize possible because golf is a fluid sport and players have many ups and downs. He’s a great talent, so he’s got a shot. The 22 year old won the Puerto Rico Open this year in February.

12:40 PM CT

Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama

JT has 8 top 10’s in 13 PGA starts this year. He won the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii in January and won the CJ Cup in South Korea in October of 2019. He’s a real favorite here. He has 12 PGA titles on his resume, including the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte. He won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in 2018 before that event moved to Memphis last year.

Morikawa is 7th in the Fed Ex Standings. He won the Workday Charity Open for his second victory in his career on tour. He also won the Barracuda Championship in 2019.

Matsuyama has posted 2 of his 5 PGA victories at WGC events. He won the 2016 WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, and the 2017 WGC-Bridgestone Invitati.

Key holes

No.9, 457 yards, par 4

A dogleg left to right. It’s a slightly downhill tee shot with the second shot over a lake that is in front of the green. The ideal drive is past the large tree on the right to ensure an open shot to the green.

No.11, 157 yards, par 3

A smaller version of the famous 17th Island Hole at TPC Sawgrass, but with its own uniqueness. The hole requires a short iron over water to an island green guarded by a small pot bunker in front. Should lead to some excitement on Sunday.

No. 14, 239 yards, par 3

Elevated tee and requires a full carry over water to a severely sloping green.

No.16, 530 yards, par 5

An uphill par 5 that is certainly reachable in 2. The green is small and well guarded by bunkers. Could be the hole that decides the championship because a birdie of better is likely.

No.18, 453 yards, par 4

Very famous finishing hole on tour. Places great demand on the tee shot. The dogleg right to left has water that comes into play from the left on the first 2 shots as well as fairway bunkers on the right. There is a bunker up front and in back. Justin Thomas said driving is critical on this course. He said earlier this week that if you drive it well, you can score. Of course, you’ve got to do it all including putting.

Winner

Give me the Louisville native by way of the Crimson Tide. He leads the tour in strokes gained tee to green, and that bodes well for TPC Southwind. I like his chances in the majors this year too, starting next week at the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park. Unlike Spieth, this 27 year old is peaking.

Justin Thomas

Sleeper

I’ll take the 25 year old from Sheffield, England. He finished 3rd, 2 weeks ago at the Memorial shooting 75, 66, 74, 68, -5. He finished tied for 4th here last year shooting 67, 64, 69, 69,, -11, 5 shots back of Koepka.

Matthew Fitzpatrick

Major League Baseball Owners and the Players Union came to an agreement last night to expand the playoff field to 16 teams, 8 teams from the National League and 8 teams from the American League.

The 3 division winners in each League will be seeded 1, 2 and 3 according to their records at the end of the season. Best record will be the No.1 seed and so forth. All 3 second place teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs with the 2 other teams with the best records filling out the 8 team tournament for each League.

The first round of the playoffs are scheduled for Sept. 29-Oct. 3 and will be 4, best of 3 series in each league at the higher seed’s stadium. The division winners will be seeded 1-3, the second place teams 4-6, and the teams with the next 2 best records 7 and 8. First round pairings will be 1 versus 8, 2-7, 3-6, 4-5.

The rest of the rounds will be their customary length with the NLDS and the ALDS playing in a best of 5 series, while the NLCS and the ALCS and the World Series will be 7 game series with the first team to 4 wins winning it.

I didn’t know what I thought about this yesterday when the Players Union had passed it, but I like it now. More playoff baseball. Pretty exciting stuff. 

It will be an abbreviated Major League Baseball season in 2020 as there will be only 60 games starting tonight with 2 games scheduled, the Yankees @ the Nationals at 6 PM CT on ESPN, and the SF Giants @ the Dodgers in the nightcap at 9 PM CT on ESPN. Gerrit Cole (20-5, 2.50 ERA, 48 walks, 326 K’s, 2019) will be on the hill for the Bomahs tonight. Cole signed a 9 year, $324 million contract with the Yankees in the offseason paying him $36M a year. It’s good to be Gerrit Cole. He’ll square off with the great Max Scherzer and the defending World Series champions. Scherzer was 11-7 with a 2.92 ERA with 33 walks and 243 K’s last season. The Giants will square off with the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine in the late game. The Giants will send Johnny Cueto (1-2, 5.06, injured most of the season) to face the great Clayton Kershaw (16-5, 3.03, 41 walks, 189 K’s). The Atlanta Braves open their season tomorrow afternoon on ESPN at 3 PM CT @the New York Mets. Mike Soroka, a fledgling superstar, who was 13-4 last season with a 2.69 ERA with 41 walks and 142 K’s, will square off with last year’s NL Cy Young Award winner, Jacob deGrom, who posted an 11-8 record with a 2.43 ERA with 44 walks and 255 K’s.

The League will be divided up into 3, 10 team divisions with regional teams playing each other. Teams will play 10 games against their divisional opponents, the Braves will play the Mets, Phillies, Nationals and Marlins 10 times and the other 20 games will be against interleague opponents. The regular season will end Sept. 27th with the Wild Card games commencing Sept. 29th and the World Series set to begin Oct. 20th with Game 7, October 28th.

Here are my predictions for the 2020 season.

NL Wild Card

Nationals over Phillies, 4-2

AL Wild Card

Oakland A’s over Yankees, 3-2

NLDS

Dodgers over Nats in 4

Braves over Cardinals in 4

ALDS

Tampa Bay Rays over A’s in 4

Minnesota Twins over Astros in 5

NLCS

Dodgers over Braves in 7

ALCS

Rays over Twins in 6

World Series

The Dodgers were the Vegas favorite to win it all last year and Manager Dave Roberts made some awful pitching decisions in the NLDS late in the game against the Nationals that cost his team a chance to get back to the Fall Classic for the 3rd season in a row. But I’ll go back to the well with the Dodgers once again. There is so much talent with the great center fielder and returning NL MVP Cody Bellinger (47 homers, 115 Ribeyes, .315 average) , 3rd baseman Justin Turner, stud shortstop Corey Seager and now the great Mookie Betts in right field. Betts came over to LA from the Red Sox and signed a massive deal yesterday (12 year, $365M, $30+ M a year) They’re a loaded team. Kershaw and the great young hurler Walker Buehler from Vanderbilt, who was 14-4 with a 3.26 ERA, 41 walks and 215 K’s, will lead a solid staff. Buehler cranks it in there at 97-99 and can hit a hundge, and many times is unhittable. David Price, who also came over to the Dodgers in the Betts trade, decided to opt out this season due to Coronavirus concerns as he has 2 young children at home. Can’t blame David and a few of the other players for doing that. Will miss him and so will the Dodgers, but this team is built to win. Closer Kenley Jansen will be a critical player for the Bums. He went 5-3 last season with a 3.71 ERA and 33 saves. He showed a few chinks in his armor though, so he’ll need to be lockdown this season. The rest of their rotation will feature left handers Alex Wood and Julio Urias along with veteran right hander Ross Stripling, so it’s a solid group. Would have helped to have Price, but still think the Dodgers can win it all.

This Rays team is the real deal as well. They’ve got the 27th ranked team payroll in MLB out of 30 teams and they still find a way. Their principal owner, Stu Sternberg, is an out of the box thinking genius, and the Rays find a way despite the low salaries. They’re loaded with pitching. Right hander Tyler Glasnow came over to the Rays last season from Pittsburgh in a trade and went 6-1 with a 1.78 ERA with 14 walks and 76 K’s. He along with southpaw Blake Snell pose a formidable frontline rotation for Tampa. Austin Meadows is another budding superstar in right field for the Rays. He hit .291 with 33 homers and 89 Ribbies last season.

I’ll take the Dodgers, but barely. I’m real bullish on the Rays also.

Dodgers in 7 over the Rays

Dodgers World Series Champions for the first time since 1988.

NL MVP

Cody Bellinger, Dodgers

NL Cy Young

Walker Buehler, Dodgers

AL MVP

Mike Trout, LA Angels

AL Cy Young

Glasnow, Rays

World Series MVP

Bellinger

***Note***

MLB and the Players Association are negotiating on a 16 team playoff format with 8 teams from each League qualifying for the postseason. That would make 3 divisions winners and 5 Wild Card teams in each league. That’s a lot of teams. It’s a last minute proposal so it may not pass, but it could, so that’s on the table as of right now. They have to come to an agreement by first pitch tonight at 6 PM CT. Something to keep an eye on.

2020 MLB Hype Song

The 43rd Ryder Cup, scheduled to be played this September 25th-27th at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin, has been postponed until 2021.

The players were completely on board with it and I agreed with the decision by the PGA and R&A, too. The event needs fans, there would be no fans there and with more outbreaks around the country, staging the Ryder Cup may not have worked anyway as it got closer to time to play. Having the fans makes it like the Super Bowl, it’s a Spectacle and one of the best events in sports. It’s thrilling with the fans packed on the course. Whistling Straits will be rockin when they hold the event next year. Justin Rose said it would have been an advantage for the European team to not have fans at Whistling Straits, but was on board with the decision. It would be a real advantage for the European team, so it’s the right thing to do. Looking forward to it as always in 2021. Will be a late September event.

Tiger Woods has committed to play next week in the Memorial Tournament. The 5 time champion at Muirfield Village has yet to play since golf restarted 5 weeks ago at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in Fort Worth, so we’ll see how he fares against guys who are totally prepared for this awesome event. 

The Big Ten has cancelled out of conference games this season. The SEC is still waiting it out, which I’m happy about. All Power 5 Conferences should wait to see how things transpire at the end of the month. Like how Commissioner Greg Sankey and this conference are playing it. 

 MLB and NBA seasons start at the end of this month. It’s a tricky proposition, but it could work.  Both leagues are taking major precautions to make sure they can have seasons. In MLB, the Yankees and the Dodgers are the favorites to play in the World Series with the Yanks as the favorite to win it all. The Astros, despite last year’s scandal, will be loaded, as will the Bravos. The Nationals will be tough with Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer headlining their pitching rotation, and the Minnesota Twins, Oakland A’s and Tampa Bay Rays will also be good in the American League. The St. Louis Cardinals should have a very good team, and in the NL East it’ll be highly competitive with the Braves, the Phillies, the Mets, and the Nats. So should be a thriller this season in MLB. I like a 60 game schedule and playoffs with the usual 10 teams. A shortened schedule is a nice change. There will be 3, 10 team Divisions matching up regional opponents to avoid major travel across the country. There will be many interleague games, so it sounds pretty good.

I picked the Milwaukee Bucks over the Los Angeles Clippers in my NBA Championship with the Bucks over the Philly 76ers and the Clippers over the Lakers in their respective Conference Finals. Pretty excited about that too.

Bryson DeChambeau now wants to get up to 270 pounds. He’s around 220-225 right now. Seems pretty big for a golfer to me. Maybe for a Crimson Tide or Auburn Tiger defensive end, but not a golfer. He’s living on the edge with his physique and just begging to get hurt. It happened to Tiger. He certainly is playing superb golf right now. Not only is he crushing the ball off the tee 360 to 370, he’s putting lights out as he led the field at the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club in Strokes Gained Putting, a huge factor in winning a tournament. So the guy, if he’s not stupid about this, can really excel this year. He’s the favorite in the Fed Ex Cup, and all 3 majors. The 102nd PGA Championship is August 6th-9th at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, the 120th U.S. Open is  September 17th-20th at Winged Foot Golf Club, a total classic course and tough, in Mamaroneck, New York, and the 84th Masters will be played November 12th-15th. The Fed Ex Cup starts August 20-23rd at the Northern Trust at TPC Boston. The BMW Championship will take place August 27th-30th at Olympia Fields in Olympia Fields, Illinois, and the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta will commence Sept. 4th-7th. With this tournament, the Memorial next week, the 3M Open in Minnesota, July 23rd-26th, the PGA Champ, and then the Wyndham Championship, Aug. 13th-16th, there is some riveting action forthcoming.

Collin Morikawa, one of the young stallions on tour at 23 years old, who’s from L.A. via Cal-Berkeley, and has already won on the tour, he did it last year at the Barricuda Championship, and went into a playoff with Daniel Berger at this year’s Charles Schwab Challenge before succumbing to Berger, is leading the Workday Charity Open at -11 through 15 today. Ian Poulter is 2nd at -8. through 14. Play has been suspended  due to inclement weather. They’ll get back to it soon enough. There’s some shaky weather in Dublin, Ohio this weekend, so there could be some delays. But they always seem to get it in eventually. Will have more next week.  

Little Omaha and I were having a fun email exchange last night. LO has had a good month at work and we were joking that his favorite color is “Green’ and he said his favorite team is the “GREEN “Bay Packers. I then asked him if his favorite player of all time was Pittsburgh Steelers great, L.C. “Green” wood. LO said LC and “Mean” Joe Greene were right up there. Then we started reliving what I would call the greatest play in sports history, the “Immaculate Reception.”

It’s one of those sports moments where you remembered exactly where you were when it happened. It was Saturday, December 23rd, 1972. I had a sore throat and a cough and my dad took me to Dr. Dewey White, one of the all time great doctors and people I knew. Andy, his son, was a great guy and an outstanding tennis player and was Mr. Mountain Brook. Dr. White said I had strep throat, so I was in our playroom watching the game with my dog, Napolean. Napolean was a French Poodle, my mother was into that France thing, so we had a couple of French Poodles. He was a tough little fella though as he got hit by 3 separate cars in his career and survived all 3. He was an all time great dog for me. Him, a couple of my black Labs, Cody and Josh, and another French Poodle, Biscuit, were all time greats. We also had a dog named Chris, an Irish Setter. He was the most rambunctious, hyperactive dog you’d ever meet. My father and mother were always saying to him “Stay, Stay,” and he never would. He’d get on Mountain Brook Golf Course, run in the sand traps and gobble up the golfers’ golf balls. The golfers were irate and the pro, Paul Stapp, wanted to shoot the dog. One of my dad’s best friends from Nashville, Joe “Buddy” Whitson, was in town and at our house and heard my parents saying “Stay,, Stay” and he just named the dog “Stay.” Uncle Buddy was quite a character. My mother and father would have their Vanderbilt Phi Delta Theta and Theta Sorority friends down from Nashville for the weekend and the Birmingham friends would come over for parties. Great group of men. War heroes, the Greatest Generation. Uncle Buddy would walk around the party and say to the women, “Let’s have an affair.” He, the Nashville men, and my father’s Birmingham friends gave my dad a pretty hard time but in a funny way. They really liked him, but would get on him some. His nickname at Vanderbilt was “Bathless” White, not because he was dirty, but that he just wore the same clothes and was an easygoing, agreeable guy, who put up with their chatter. When my Dad got married to my mother, Uncle Buddy was walking down the aisle as one of the groomsmen and walked by my father and said, “David, you’re zipper’s down.” It wasn’t but my father was a wreck and sweated it out through the entire wedding. There was a classic group of Birmingham friends as well. Jack Blackwell, 99 years young today, was and is one of them. He’s a WW2 vet and working out twice a week and his mind is as sharp as a sharpened No.2 pencil.

Back to the Irish Setter, Chris. Hatton Smith, my oldest sister, Lisa’s boyfriend, who you may know as he is from B’ham, took Chris up to W&L because our golf pro had had enough. As expected, “Stay” escaped from Hatton’s fence and we figured a week later he was probably in L.A.. Quite a dog. He was a great one most of the time.

Onto the Immaculate Reception. Little Omaha and I were talking about Ken Stabler running the ball in for a touchdown to put duh Raiduhs ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers, 7-6, with 40 seconds left. The Steelers got the ball back and had no success on the first 3 downs. On 4th and 10 from their own 20 with 22 seconds left and no timeouts, the game looked lost. I had become a big Steelers fan that season, and while it wasn’t over, chances looked pretty slim to none. Terry Bradshaw dropped back to pass, avoided the pass rush and heaved it downfield for the Steelers fleet footed running back, John “Frenchy” Fuqua. The great enforcer, Raiders safety Jack Tatum, ran up and laid serious wood on Fuqua just as the ball was arriving. The ball ricocheted off Tatum’s should pad and was dropping unabated to the turf when the great Franco Harris reached down and caught it 2 feet above ground and started racing for the Endzone. It was surreal. Raiders linebacker Phil Villapiano looked like he was going to tackle Harris, but tight end John McMakin blocked him to the turf. Villapiano said after the game it was an illegal block in the back, clipping then, but replays showed it was a clean block. Harris was racing down the sideline now heading for the game winning TD. Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh was rockin, and there was one man left to beat, Raiders defensive back Jimmy Warren. Warren had a good angle on Harris and looked like he could shove him out of bounds, but the great Harris stiff armed Warren to the ground and cleared the end zone for the game winning TD in the first round of the AFL playoffs. LO and I were saying it’s just one of those moments where you’ll never forget where you were. I was sitting in my beanbag chair with Napolean and went berzerk when Harris caught it and ran it in. The Steelers won 13-7, but lost in the AFC Championship game to the eventual Super Bowl VII champions, the Miami Dolphins, at Pittsburgh. That was the year the Dolphins went 17-0 with a 14-7 victory over the Washington Redskins in the Super Bowl played in L.A. Memorial Coliseum. The Dolphins are the only undefeated team in the history of the National Football League. That mark may never be equaled. The Patriots had their sites set on it in 2007, winning 16 in a row, but the great Eli Manning and the Giants defeated them in Super Bowl 42 in January 2008, 17-14. That was the game in which Giants wide receiver David Tyree caught a bomb from Manning catching it while it was on the back of safety Rodney Harrison’s helmet. It is the greatest catch in Super Bowl history to this day. It led to a game winning TD and Eli’s name etched in as one of the great Quarterbacks of all time. He added to that legacy when he led his Giants over the Patriots and Tom Brady in the 2012 Super Bowl 46 at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Giants won 21-17 and that featured another spectacular throw and catch from Eli in his own endzone heaving it downfield to Mario Manningham who caught it over his left shoulder. It led to the game winning TD. it was the perfect throw and catch.

The Steelers of the 1970’s, to me, are the greatest teams of all time. They won 4 Super Bowls in the 70’s and are the gold standard all time for Professional Football, the gold standard for the game overall. I would argue that all 22 of their starters belong in the Hall of Fame. Running back Franco Harris, quarterback Terry Bradshaw, running back “Frenchy” Fuqua, running back Rocky Bleier, their phenomenal wide receivers, the great “Swanny,” Lynn Swann, the great John Stallworth, from? Alabama A&M University and a Tuscaloosa native, why didn’t Bear Bryant want him? The offensive line led by mauler Mike Webster, their center, and that “Steel Curtain “Defense. Mean Joe, Dwight White, L.C. , Ernie Holmes, what a front. Maybe the greatest, toughest and meanest linebacker of all time in Jack Lambert. Jack Ham was another amazing linebacker/ player. The Steelers’ also had all time great cornerback Mel Blount and their phenomenal safety Donnie Shell. Know I’m leaving some out, but this team was built to win.. The great Chuck Noll was their coach. He said of Harris, after the Immaculate Reception, “Good things happen to people who hustle.” The Steelers won Super Bowls 9, 10, 13 and 14. The greatest collection of players and teams to ever suit up in my opinion.

This week on Tour

The Workday Charity Open

With the John Deere Classic getting cancelled in May because of the pandemic in Illinois at the time and tournaments getting cancelled back in late March, the PGA went outside the box and decided to play 2 weeks in a row at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin Ohio, Jack Nicklaus’s course. Tiger may have been the most talented player to ever play the game, but Jack was the greatest to me. He didn’t have the technology that players in Tiger’s era and players today had and have, but he was hitting it well over 300 yards with Persimman Drivers. Tiger was using metal stuff and Jack’s drivers were made of wood. He also won 18 Majors to Tiger’s 15, and finished 2nd a record 19 times. Winning the Masters in 1986 at age 46 clinched it for me. Beyond that, he was the ultimate gentlemen, and while he was a ferocious competitor and had concentration skills that were beyond spectacular, he was a great sportsmen, and when guys like Tom Watson and Arnie would defeat him occasionally, he would handle it in as classy a manner as anyone ever did in sports, always congratulating them for their great play and never making excuses for why he didn’t win. It was a refreshing approach. He didn’t lose a lot though. He lost more than he won, as all golfers do, but he won a lot and was the ultimate champion and gentleman. He still is today.

This is an inaugural tournament on tour and one of the players’ favorite venues as the course is immaculate and the service by the tournament staff is considered second to none. Next week is the great Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village. All the top players in the world will be there except for maybe Tiger, who’s looking at selected tournaments and majors this year at 44 years old. He has won the Memorial 5 times. As of now, it’s unclear if he’s playing.

Featured groups this week are Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Jason Day at 6:45 AM CT, tomorrow, Patrick Cantlay, the Memorial defending champion, FIGJAM Mickelson, and Jordan Spieth tee off at 12:10 PM CT. Patrick Reed, Matthew Wolff, 2nd last week to DeChambeau at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, and Rickie Fowler are at 11:59 AM CT,. And Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm and Gary Woodland are off at 6:34 AM CT. 7 of the top 15 players in the world are playing. Justin Rose is in the field as is Xander Schauffele and Bubba Watson are too.

Muirfield is a 7,392 yard, Par 72 layout. Challenging course and one with many thrills on the backside.

Key Holes

No.11, 567 yards, Par 5

Double dogleg, left then right, water is in play on the tee shot, the second shot and approach in. The green is shallow from front to back and there is a big bunker up front. The only way to get there, according to the write up, is a long draw off the tee and a high cut second shot in. Could lead to a 3 shot hole and putts for birdie to take advantage of the competition.

No. 16, 201 yards, Par 3

This Nicklaus designed hole is very similar to the Par 3, 16th at Augusta National. The key is to not hit it left in the lake that guards he entire left side of the green.

No.17, 478 yards, Par 4

There are 4 bunkers in play off the tee, and while it’s an expansive landing area, driving accuracy is at a premium with the sand. The second shot is to an elevated green with several bunkers in front and in back. Quite a challenge.

No.18, 480 yards, Par 4

Driver off this tee will hav4 to be accurate as there are several bunkers on the right side and a chance to hit it in the creek on the left side. The second shot is uphill to a tightly shaped green Jack may be waiting to shake hands, or I guess now, an air fist bump. The winner will get a thrill with that on Sunday. Jack’ll definitely do that at the Memorial next week.

Weather

Thursday, 91 PM, T-storms possible, wind 5 MPH.

Friday, 89, Scattered T-storms, Wind 8 MPH.

Saturday, 86, Scattered T-storms, Wind 9 MPH.

Sunday, 85, Scattered, Wind 10 MPH.

So will be humid and maybe wet all weekend.

TV: Thursday-Friday, 2-5 PM CT, Golf Channel

Saturday-Sunday, 12-2 PM CT Golf Channel; 2-5 PM CT CBS

Winner

I’m going to take a little reach this week with the 24 year old from Portola Valley, California, by way of Stanford University. This guy finished tied for 8th last Sunday and shot 66. It’s a reach, but that’s more fun.

Maverick McNealy

The College Football 2020 season is certainly up in the air with the Coronavirus alive and well right now. There may not be another decision made on it until mid-to-late July. Looks like they’re waiting as long as possible to see if they can pull it off. Whether it’s delayed this year or they have a spring football season, there are a lot of interesting storylines for teams in the SEC and nationally. It’s hard to gauge whether we’ll have a season, and Oklahoma Coach Lincoln Riley has warmed up to the idea of having a spring season, and after hearing him talk about it, I kind of like that too.

The spring season would be an 8 game conference schedule for the SEC and they could add an extra highly competitive non-conference opponent, which would be terrific as it would keep teams from playing lightweight games. The PAC-12, the Big Ten, the Big 12 and the ACC all play nine conference games, so the SEC would make it up with a 9th non-conference opponent.

With the fall featuring the U.S. Open, and the Masters on the PGA major season along with the possible 43rd Ryder Cup, Professional tennis Grand Slams, the Preakness Stake and the Kentucky Derby, Major League Baseball and the NBA if they can pull those latter 2 off, it makes sense to have spring football. The NFL may go ahead and play and get everybody sick knowing them. The uncertainty of the Coronavirus makes it too difficult to predict what will happen by August. But a spring football season to me is highly appealing. There would be so much sports in the spring, and that would be pretty awesome after suffering through this drought of sports we had this spring and so far this summer.

The PGA Tour has been better than ever the last 4 weeks with no sports to go with it and some incredible individual play by an assortment of players. Bryson DeChambeau is the latest player to excel. He shot a 7 under 65 yesterday and finished -23, while bombing drives 30 to 50 yards past his opponents over the weekend in the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. He won by 3 strokes over Matthew Wolff, who made a slight charge on the back, but DeChambeau’s 3 birdies in a row on 16,17 and 18 clinched it. DeChambeau sank a 30 foot birdie putt on 16 and wrapped it up on 17 and 18 with birdies. He led the field in driving distance, outdriving even the longest hitters by 30 yards. He hit drives that carried 325 yards and was routinely hitting his driver 350-360 yards leaving himself 9 irons into the green. He hits a 9 iron 175 yards and an 8 iron 190 yards. That’s phenomenal stuff. Wasn’t a big fan of his bulking up with 40 extra pounds, but his distance is historically long. He led the field in Strokes Gained Off the Tee at 6.672 AND in Strokes Gained Putting at 7.831. Pretty astounding stuff. DeChambeau was trending very well with top 10 finishes in 6 of the 8 tournaments he played in before the Rocket Mortgage. So he was due and delivered.

This week on Tour is the Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, Jack Nicklaus’s course. It’s a first time event that takes the place of the John Deere Classic, which was cancelled due to Corona in Illinois earlier this season. Another fine field is competing at the Workday. The week after this one, the players will compete again at Muirfield Village in the prestigious Memorial Tournament, Nicklaus’s tournament. DeChambeau won it in 2018, so he’s an obvious candidate to win the event. He is not playing this week but will of course be in a loaded Memorial field. Patrick Cantlay is the defending champion at the Memorial.

Golf has been spectacular since this summer. The PGA Championship will be held August 6th-9th at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, right at a month away. The Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin is still scheduled as of right now for September 25th-27th. There has been much speculation that it will be postponed until 2021, but that has not been confirmed by the PGA, so that will be a developing story in the coming days/weeks. It comes the week after the U.S. Open, so that’s a bit problematic. Not sure how I feel about it. The players would rather not play this year without fans, and the fact that it’s the week after a Major, there may be some burnout amongst the players from their major grind out at Winged Foot the week before (Sept. 17-20th). It might make sense to postpone it a year for the quality of the event. It’s such a high caliber event and you want the players at their best.I can see them postponing it a year. Will keep you posted on that.

The Masters will be played November 12th-15th. The Fed Ex Playoffs begin August 20th-23rd at the Northern Trust at TPC Boston, followed by the BMW Championship at Olympic Fields in Illinois, August 27th-30th , and the final event is, of course, the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta Sept. 4th-7th. The top 5 in the Fed Ex point standings are 1. Webb Simpson, 1,660 points, 2. Justin Thomas, 1,543 points, 3. Sungjae Im, 1,537 points, 4. DeChambeau, 1,514, and 5. Rory, 1,270 points. Rory is the defending Fed Ex Cup champion. There are only 3 Fed Ex Cup Playoff tournaments which was changed from 4 tournaments in 2019.

The Fed Ex payout is beyond phenomenal. Here is Wiki’s explanation of it.

The Trophy

As of 2019, the player with the most points after the Tour Championship wins the FedEx Cup itself and $15 million of a $70 million bonus fund. The runner-up gets $5 million, 3rd place $4 million, 4th place $3 million, 5th place $2.5 million, and so on down to $70,000 for 126th through 150th place.[5] Beginning with the 2013 season, non-exempt players who finish 126th-150th in the FedEx Cup are given conditional PGA Tour status, but can attempt to improve their priority rankings through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Previously, conditional status was earned through the money list.

So, the Fed Ex Cup sets the winner up for life, and 2nd through 5th places pay handsomely as well. Major incentive for these guys to compete as much as possible the rest of this season.

College Football

In the SEC West I like the order of finish to be

1. Alabama, 2. LSU, 3. Auburn 4. A&M 5. Ole Miss, 6. Miss State, 7. Arkansas.

Bama

The Crimson Tide has a really fine and undervalued quarterback returning in Mac Jones who completed 97 of 141 passes, 69%, for 1,503 yards, 14 TDs against only 3 Ints. There is 5 star freshman Bryce Young as well who will compete for the job too. But to me, it’s Mac Jones’ job to lose. He proved at the end of last season that he can be a championship quarterback. He was a 4 star signee out of high school. He threw 5 TDs against Auburn in that highly entertaining game last November, especially if you’re an Auburn fan, but threw a couple of pick 6’s that were costly in the Tigers’ 48-45 victory. But he now has more experience, and I see a guy who can win an SEC and national championship for you in Jones with the pieces surrounding him. Najee Harris returns, amazingly. The maturity of Harris, Dylan Moses, DeVonta Smith and Alex Leatherwood to return for their senior seasons is beyond impressive. Harris rushed for 1,224 yards and 13 TDs and caught 27 passes for 304 yards and 7 TDs. I like him as the SEC Player of The Year this season, and a guy who will be clearly in the mix for the Heisman Trophy along with Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence. DeVonta Smith caught 68 passes for 1,256 yards and 14 TDs last fall putting together a spectacular season. The electric Jaylen Waddle caught 33 passes for 560 yards and 6 TDs, and ran a kickoff and a punt back for touchdowns. Waddle had himself a day against Auburn catching 3 touchdown passes and taking a kickoff back to the house for 98 yards. He should provide major entertainment this football season. The offensive line returns 4 starters led by left tackle Alex Leatherwood, 6’6”, 310. Right tackle Evan Neal is 6’7”, 360, left guard Emil Ekiyor, Jr. is 6’3”, 327, center Landon Dickerson is 6’6”, 308, and right guard Deonte Brown, who’s gotten in some trouble but looks to be good to go now, is 6’4”, 338. Quite a force up front.

The defense got rocked at times last season, but injuries at linebacker played a part as starters Dylan Moses and Josh McMillan were hurt before the season started and missed the entire 2019 campaign. Both Moses and McMillan are back and now sophomores Shane Lee and Christian Miller have valuable experience under their belts. Lee is slated to start at Middle Linebacker with Moses at the other inside backer spot, a resurgent and former 5 star Ben Davis and Christopher Allen at the other LB spots. Expect Miller to see plenty of playing time though and he can definitely start. He’s a talent like the 4 others. The front looks imposing with 6’3”, 308 pound D.J. Dale in the middle, and bookends, LaBryan Ray, 6’5”, 292, and the aggressive Christian Barmore, 6’5”, 310. The secondary is led by corner Patrick Surtain II, who’s expected to have a tremendous year, an All-American caliber season. The rest of the secondary will be rebuilt somewhat. I’m a big fan of cornerback Josh Jobe. He has a chance to be special. Jordan Daniels and Daniel Wright are the first stringers at the safety spots as of right now.

Will Reichard returns for his sophomore season as kicker, and shows promise. He’s got a powerhouse of a leg. Consistency has always been the issue for Alabama kickers, so Reichard will have to answer that bell. Ty Perine and Skyler DeLong will compete for the starting punting job. Waddle will return punts and kicks. Running back Brian Robinson Jr. has worked with Waddle on kickoff returns.

The Crimson Tide got the No.2 class in the country in 2020. Young is a 5 star quarterback and was on campus for very limited spring practice. Defensive end Will Anderson (6’3”, 230), defensive end Chris Braswell (6’3”, 220), and athlete Drew Sanders, 6’5”, 232, are also 5 star players in the 2020 class.

Georgia had the No.1 class in 2020 according to 247 sports and Rivals. Bama was No.2 in 247 and No.3 in Rivals. Clemson had the No.2 class in Rivals. Alabama currently has the 12th ranked class by 247 Sports in 2021 with 10 commitments. Five Star Offensive Tackle JC Latham, 6’6”, 305, and 5 star wide receiver Jacorey Brooks, 6’3”, 185, along with 97, 4 star defensive end Dallas Turner, who just committed on July 1st, headline the class. Turner is 6’4”, 235.

I like the Crimson Tide to a part of the College Football Playoff. Ohio State is another, Clemson is another. And I’ll take either Florida or Georgia as my fourth team. I’ll lean towards Florida. I’ll put Oregon in that discussion too. It’s hard to get 2 teams from the same conference, but there’s precedent for it as Alabama played Georgia in the 2018 National Championship game, played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, a thriller that will be remembered for Tua’s Tagovailoa’s 41 yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith to win the National Championship in overtime, 26-23. Oregon has arrived after their 12-2 season in 2019 including their 28-27 Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin. Bama Golf made a great call on that game with a lot of the experts predicting a Wisconsin victory. Believe in what Mario Cristobal is doing in Eugene. They’ll have to replace quarterback Justin Herbert, who was terrific last season, but the talent is off the charts now.

Auburn

I’ve got the Auburn Tigers finishing 3rd in another highly competitive West Division. Auburn is @ Georgia October 10th and @ Alabama, Nov. 28th, so that’ll be tough. A&M and LSU are at home, but those will be tough too. I like the Tigers to win over A&M, but to lose to LSU. Bo Nix returns for his sophomore season after having a fairly successful freshman campaign. Nix completed 217 of 377 passes, 58%, for 2,542 yards, 16 TDs against 6 Interceptions. Nix is expected to take his game to the next level this season and have a breakout year. He had a good year last year, but some subpar performances, in the Georgia loss, the LSU loss and a disappointing 31-24 Outback Bowl loss to Minnesota. But that may have been due more to Gus Malzahn’s inept play-calling as anything else. He’ll have a pair of excellent targets in the great Seth Williams, who caught 59 passes for 830 yards and 8 TDs last season, and Anthony Schwartz, the world class speedster who caught 41 passes for 440 yards, but only 1 TD. That number is expected to increase this season. He did rush for 118 yards on 10 carries and 2 TDs. I’d like to see a 100 meter race between Schwartz and Jaylen Waddle. That would be a spectacle. Running back will have plenty of talent. D.J. Williams returns, redshirt talent Mark-Antony Richards and heralded 5 star freshman Tank Bigsby will also do the heavy lifting along with the scrappy and speedy Shaun Shivers. JaTarvious Whitlow transferred. The offensive line returns only center Nick Brahms, 6’3”, 301, but there is plenty of talent and new offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. is an accomplished line coach, and should do well with his material. Another major factor for the Tigers offense is new offensive coordinator Chad Morris, who was fired as head coach at Arkansas last year, but had major success as offensive coordinator at Clemson. He will have a lot of control in the gameplans though Gus will play a big part like he always does, for better or worse. Morris will also be the principal play caller, though Gus may try to wrestle that from him too, which would most likely be a mistake.

On defense, Kevin Steele always produces a stellar unit and this year should be no exception. While Steele lost his 2 studs on the defensive front to the NFL in Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson, defensive end Big Kat Bryant returns to lead the Tigers upfront. BIg Kat is 6’5”, 247. Linebacker is the strength of the defense led by K. J. Britt, 6’0”., 236, and Owen Pappoe, 6’1”, 219. Christian Tutt is back at corner, and Smoke Monday returns at free safety. Roger McCreary and Jamien Sherwood are listed as the other starters at corner and strong safety respectively.

I like Auburn to win 5 SEC games and 9 games overall. I have trouble picking the Tigers over LSU, Auburn is at home, but I’ll take the Bengal Tigers in what should be considered an upset on the road if it happens . The LSU game is the week before the Alabama game, so that’s a major challenge for the Tigers.

Auburn posted the 7th best class in the country in 2020 led by 5 star running back Tank Bigsby, and has the 27th ranked class in 2021 with 10 commits.

SEC East

I like

1. Florida, Kyle Trask is the real McCoy at quarterback and Dan Mullen has recruited well and returns playmakers on offense and an aggressive defense under defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. 2. Georgia. Though I believe Georgia is a top tier team nationally, Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman threw 26 TDs but 11 ints last season at Wake. And against the 6 winning teams Wake played in 2019, Newman completed only 56% of his passes. with 12 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Florida’s Trask completed 237 of 354 passes, 67%, for 2,941 yards, 25 TDs against 7 interceptions. I like Trask over Newman in the Cocktail Party game on Oct. 31st in Jacksonville. No.3 Tennessee, Jarrett Guarantano led the Vols to 6 straight victories and a 23-22 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl victory over Indiana as the Vols completed an 8-5 season. Jeremy Pruitt has the No.2 recruiting class in the country for 2021 at present, so Pruitt is building a renewed powerhouse in Knoxville. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when Saban retires. If Pruitt has major success at Tennessee, he may be the next head coach at Alabama. Dabo Swinney will have his hat in the ring as well if he wants that. No.4 Kentucky, Mark Stoops keeps producing successful seasons and recruiting at a high level for Kentucky. 5. South Carolina, Will Muschamp needs to get better results this season or it could be curtains. 6. Missouri, Eli Drinkwitz takes over from Barry Odom, who was let go after last season. Drinkwitz went 12-1 for the Mountaineers before taking the Missouri job. App State defeated UAB in the New Orleans Bowl, 31-17, to complete a 13-1 season. App State keeps hiring great coaches which makes it hard to keep them. Shawn Clark is the new coach at App State after being a successful player and assistant there, so maybe he’ll be loyal for the long term. Drinkwitz has the 22nd ranked class for 2021, so he’s making some inroads. Might take him a year to get it going, but the Tigers will be competitive this season. 7. Vanderbilt, Who else? Under Derek Mason, who else? Mason is continuously on the hot seat year after year and you would think another 3-9 season would be it for him, but somehow, some way, he seems to survive. They don’t seem to care at Vanderbilt, but if they ever want to get better, they should try looking another direction for a coach if this season goes South. Again.

A lot of compelling possibilities this fall in College Football.

Ohio State has Justin Fields returning at quarterback. Fields completed 238 of 354 passes, 67%, for 3,273 yards, 41 touchdowns against only 3 interceptions. Wow. Ohio State will be there come playoff time and Coach Ryan Day has the No.1 recruiting class in 2021 so far. Clemson returns Trevor Lawrence, who completed 268 of 407 passes, 66%, for 3,665 yards, 36 TDs against 8 ints. He had his struggles in the national championship game against the LSU Bengal Tigers though. He pretty much got schooled by Joe Burrow and the the Tigers’ defense. But he’ll be back with a vengeance this season so expect to see Clemson in the playoff as well. Penn State and Oklahoma are also contenders for the Playoff.

So another extraordinary season in store if it’s this fall or next spring.

The PGA Tour convenes in Detroit this week at the Detroit Golf Club, a 7,334 yard, Par 72 layout designed by famed Golf Architect, the late Donald Ross, for the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Three of the top 10 players in the world are in the field. Webb Simpson, fresh off his victory at the RBC Heritage 2 weeks ago, checks in at No.6. Patrick Reed checks in at No.7. He’s started all 3 events since the resumption of the Tour and has finished T-7 at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Missed Cut at the RBC Heritage and T-24 at the Travelers Championship last week. Bryson DeChambeau, the man with the mammoth physique, he’s gained 40 pounds since last year, too bulky in my opinion and I’ll talk more about him below.. DeChambeau is No.10.

Defending Champion:

Nate Lashley. Lashley, the 37 year old from Scottsbluff, Nebraska, was a Monday qualifier last year, but shot -25 to win by 6 shots over runner up and last year’s U.S. Amateur Champion Doc Redman.

Last week was amazing. Not only did Dustin Johnson emerge victorious, so did Bama Golf. Again. Bama was right on the mark on Tiz the Law in the Belmont Stakes 2 weeks ago and he kept the momentum going by picking DJ last week. He also picked Vanderbilt’s Will Gordon as his sleeper and Gordon finished 3rd, 1 behind Kevin Streelman for 2nd place earning him a special sponsor’s exemption for the rest of the regular season. Gordon shot 62 on Friday to take the lead and 64 on Sunday. Remarkable performances by Gordon and Bama G. Bama G needs to go to the Bellagio and hit the Blackjack and Craps tables AND the sports book. Maybe not now, but as soon as it’s all clear. Great stuff, Bama.

On DeChambeau. His numbers are impressive. In his last 6 starts, he’s finished T-5th at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera CC in L.A., 2nd at the WGC-Mexico Championship in Mexico City, 4th at the Arnie, T-3rd at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth 3 weeks ago, T-8th at the RBC Heritage, and T-6th at the Travelers last week. He’s leading the tour in Strokes Gained off the Tee at +36.2. Rory is second at +21.7, so quite a discrepancy there. DeChambeau is 2nd on the tour in Driving Distance at 320.1. Cameron Champ, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week, leads at 320.8. Since the Tour’s restart, DeChambeau is -46 which is 1st on the tour, he leads the tour in Strokes Gained off the tee, he’s first in Driving Distance and he’s Tied for 1st in Greens in Reg. He’s 23rd in Strokes Gained Putting which is very solid. So the only thing missing is a title. At 26 years old, the Modesto, California native, by way of SMU, has won 5 times, the 2017 John Deere Classic, the 2018 Memorial Tournament, the 2018 Northern Trust, the 2018 Dell Technologies, and the 2018 Shriners Hospital for Children Open. He hasn’t won since 2018, but I expect him to win soon. His putting has let him down at times lately. I think the extra muscle can tighten you up and take away from your feel around and on the greens. But he’s been doing well. Certainly one of the favorites this week.

Golf Channel commentator Tripp Isenhour was asked whether Rickie Fowler has underachieved at 31 years old. He said yes. I agree with that. Fowler has won only 5 times on tour, and while any victory on tour is a great victory, he should have more victories by now. And no majors. He’s finished 2nd in all 4 majors. He’s not a super closer. He’s won the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship, the 2015 Players, the 2015 Deutsche Bank Championship, part of the Fed Ex Playoffs, the 2017 Honda Classic and the 2019 Waste Management. Jack Nicklaus has said he doesn’t like the fact that Fowler, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas all hang out together in their off time. His opinion is it takes away from each player’s competitive edge when those guys are out on the course together. I don’t disagree with that. Spieth has won 3 majors and Thomas has won a major, so they’ve achieved, but they haven’t won a major in a while. Spieth last won the Open Championship in 2017 and that’s his last victory, while Thomas has torn up the regular events, but his last and only major came in 2017 too. That’s not a major time lapse and I expect JT to get another one if not multiple majors. Not sure about Spieth. Thomas is 27 and Spieth will be 27 at the end of this month so they’ve got plenty of time. Spieth has got to get control of himself on the course if he’s ever going to win a major again. He can’t stop talking to himself out there and his body language is terrible. He needs some serious sports psychology if he ever wants to win a Green Jacket, a U.S Open., an Open or a PGA. Fowler is still only 31, but you’re starting to wonder a little bit if he can ever close the deal. Sergio Garcia got the monkey off his back in 2017 at Augusta National at 37 years old, so Fowler has time. He sure is talented, but he seems to come in as a favorite in majors and doesn’t get the job done. Will keep an open mind though on Fowler.

Six players have now tested positive for the Coronavirus. They are Nick Watney at the RBC Heritage, Cameron Champ at the Travelers, Denny McCarthy at the Travelers, Dylan Frittelli this week, along with Harris English and Chad Campbell also this week. Frittelli won the John Deere, Champ is accomplished as are Campbell, English and Watney. McCarthy is not a familiar name. So COVID is still a major factor in golf and could very well be for a pretty good while longer.

Featured groups

6:35 AM CT-Tyrrell Hatton, Arnie champion this year, Sungjae Im, Honda Classic champion, and Brandt Snedeker.

6:45 AM CT-Webb Simpson, Nate Lashley and Fowler.

11:50 AM CT-Brendon Todd, 2 time winner on tour this season but had a colossal and painful meltdown last Sunday at the Travelers, Bubba, Jason Day, who hasn’t been heard from much since his victory at the Farmers Championship in 2019.

12 PM CT

Patrick Reed, DeChambeau, Hideki Matsuyama. Matsuyama is ranked 23rd in the world, but hasn’t been heard from much lately either,.

Some other notables are World No.17 Tony Finau. He only has 1 victory on the tour, the 2016 Puerto Rico Open, but went into a playoff 2 weeks ago with Webb Simpson at the RBC Heritage where he lost on the 2nd playoff hole. He’s 30 so it’s a bit surprising he doesn’t have more than 1 victory. Still has plenty of opportunities left. Kevin “Neh” is in the field. Na always plays. He’s done pretty well lately. He finished 5th last week. Will Gordon is in the field after his most impressive performance last week. So is Viktor Hovland. The 22 year old Norwegian by way of OK. State won this year’s Puerto Rico Open in February and finished tied 11th last week. I really like watching him play. Seems like a super guy. Really looks like he enjoys playing golf and he enjoys life.

Weather: no rain forecasted, winds 5-7, and temperatures in the low 90’s. Pretty hot for Michigan.

TV:

Thursday-Friday-2-5 PM CT, Golf Channel.

Saturday-Sunday, 12-2 PM CT, GC, 2-5 PM CT, CBS.

One last thing and this is pretty interesting. FOX opted out of its 12 year contract with the USGA, so NBC will now be televising the U.S. Open starting this year and continuing on through 2026. The Golf Channel is also part of the deal as NBC owns the Golf Channel. The Open will be held at the famed Winged Foot Golf Club in New York state this year and will take place Sept. 17th-20th. NBC will telecast Thursday from 1-4 PM CT, Friday, from 3-6 PM CT, Saturday, from 10:30 AM-6:30 PM CT, and Sunday, from 11 AM-5 PM CT. Golf Channel will pick it up at earlier times on Thursday and Friday. Glad NBC got the Open back. FOX was getting better at covering the Open, but NBC just seems like it should be the home to the Open. NBC also telecasts the British Open, which has been cancelled this year and will resume in 2021 at Royal St. George’s in England. CBS has the PGA Championship and the Masters. The PGA is scheduled for August 6th-9th at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. The Masters commences November 12th-15th.

The Ryder Cup is scheduled for Sept. 25th-27th at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisc. but reports are is it will be postponed until 2021. Hoping that the PGA and R&A (European Tour governing body, the Royal and Ancient) maybe reconsider and have it any way. Sports fans need some sports and with football questionable at this point, golf would be a savior for a lot of sports fans. There’s some time for everything, we’re just starting July, but the deadline for deciding on football is getting closer. It’s scheduled to go as of right now, but that is a fluid situation depending on how COVID operates this month. The NBA, MLB and NHL are having issues with restarting. Some of those players are not playing this year because of COVID. Don’t say I blame’em.

Key Holes at Detroit GC

No. 4, 635 yards, Par 5

Long hitters certainly have the advantage here. Green is tough, bentgrasss, and the rough at Detroit GC is thick, along the lines of 4 inches.

No.6 461 yards, Par 4

Accuracy again at a premium. To have a clear approach shot at the green without tree interference, players will need to drive it on the left side of the fairway while avoiding the left side bunker. A birdie here will likely allow a player to pickup a stroke on the field.

No.11 233 yards, Par 3

Can play anywhere from 180—233. Players will be challenged by difficult pin locations and a bowl shaped front.

No.15, 160 yards, Par 3

The Par 3 plays longer than the posted yardage and there are large bunkers protecting the front, left and right sides of the green.

No.17, 577 yards, Par 5

There will be some electricity on this hole with the tournament on the line Sunday and players going for it in 2 to post an eagle and to try and clinch the title.

No.18 455 yards, Par 4

The hole is a great finishing one with a ditch running the entire length of the hole. There is a bunker and Sycamore tree on the left and bunkers on the right, so driving accuracy is again at a premium with rough also in play. The putting surface is considered maybe the most difficult on the course, so after a red number on 17, par may be all the eventual winner needs on this hole.

Winner

I’m tempted to take my Vanderbilt man, Will Gordon, because last Sunday he looked like the best player in the field. But I tried to get an interview with him this week for this blog and his agent told me in an email that he has been flooded with interview requests from media throughout the country. And while I think Gordon is a sharp guy and can handle it, I still think that could be a factor in wearing him down a little bit at Detroit Golf Club. I’ll take him as my sleeper and take another young talent to win this week.

Viktor Hovland