Pick for this tournament in Honolulu on the Waialae Country Club Golf Course (7,044 yards, Par 70) is Chris Kirk. Kirk shot a 62 in the final round of the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii last week, which Patrick Reed won, and he finished second here last year; Jimmy Walker won it. Going with a Georgia Bulldog, Kirk, to win this week. Another Dawg, Russell Henley, will be right there as well. No.18 is a 551 yard, Par 5 with a prevailing right to left wind and trees and out of bounds on both sides of the fairway. There’s a bunker that comes into play off the tee, so accuracy is at a premium off the tee box. Reachable in two with wind at your back. Accuracy is the key on this course, so the guy who is leading in driving accuracy percentage, and greens in regulation is in good shape here, if he putts well also.
The weather is perfect as you would expect in Hawaii. Partly cloudy today high 78, and sunny the rest of the weekend with a high of 78-79. Wind 10-11 MPH in the afternoon. Golf Channel will televise beginning tonight @ 7- -0:30 ET, 6-9:30 CT, Friday, 7-10:30 PM ET, 6-9:30 PM CT, Saturday 7-10:30 PM ET, 6-9:30 PM CT and Sunday, NBC has coverage from 4-6 PM ET, 3-5 PM CT and Golf Channel takes over from 6-8 PM ET, 5-7 PM CT.
Three of the Golf Channel’s experts, Tripp Isenhour, Aaron Oberholser and author and sportswriter John Feinstein, were asked which of the four, Rickie Fowler (26 years old), Billy Horshel (28), Patrick Reed (24) or Jordan Spieth (21) would win a major first. Isenhour and Oberholser both picked Fowler pointing out numerous stats like tee to green strokes gained and various other extraneous stats. Feinstein picked Spieth. I like Spieth too. His mental toughness, his ball striking and his elite putting make him the best candidate to win at Augusta, the U.S., the British or the PGA under intense pressure. But I would put Reed right up there too. Johnny Miller said during the NBC Ryder Cup telecast last fall when most of the American players were not getting it done, that Spieth and Reed weren’t used to losing and they didn’t like it. Sure enough Spieth and Reed were the only two to give the American team some spark. They won some matches. The other guys just didn’t have it in them. Those two guys look like major winner guys, and I’m talking multiple majors. I like Henley (25 years old) as well. He’s a stud who does not back down from anybody. I might even put Kirk (29 years old) in that category depending on how his early season goes. Harris English is not far behind though he needs to start playing better, but he’s got a chance.
But I’ll take Spieth with Reed right there along with Henley and Horshel too. Horschel is a player and a big time competitor. Tom Watson could have used him on his Ryder Cup team last fall. They are guys who have major championship titles in their bags. Fowler to me will get in the top five some, but I’m not so sure he can win a major. I don’t like his chances of getting it done in crunch time. Possible, but I like the other guys better, particularly Spieth and Reed.
But I’ll take Kirk this week with Henley being a factor.
Ohio State and running back Ezekiel Elliott were just too much for Oregon to stop. The Buckeyes’ defense played extremely well also. A lot of these Buckeye players are sophomores, so the future is very bright in Columbus next season and beyond that.
NFL playoffs move into the Championship games in the AFC and the NFC. Playing @ New England and Seattle will be tough assignments for both Indy and Green Bay respectively. Both of those teams are very good– Indy’s defense is for real, Andrew Luck can make a lot of plays and the Packers offense has playmakers all over the place led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers– so these games should be interesting. I’ll have my previews and picks tomorrow.
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Jimmie Walker is my pick, a repeat. If one can ever get the ball rolling well on Bermuda grass, which is extremely difficult to read all the time, it will be Walker, in his DNA. Like an Aussie on Bermuda. Mother’s milk to him. He will bounce from that final eight holes on Monday and return to the winner circle. Look for Patrick Reed to continue to be on the first page as well.
Don’t know if Walker has that clutch gene, Brombey. Reed sure does.