This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
It was just a week ago I proclaimed Bryson DeChambeau was now among the "best golfers who have yet to win a major," but after winning consecutive weeks during the FedExCup playoffs, DeChambeau is not only a member of that group, he's now resides in a 50th-floor suite atop Hotel Unfinished Business. The odd thing about DeChambeau, though, is that there doesn't seem to be as much hype surrounding him as others who came before him.
Now, there's no way to measure hype – it's a completely subjective measure – but I doubt anyone can claim DeChambeau has received the accolades that fellow four-time PGA Tour winner Rickie Fowler has. Although they each have four PGA Tour wins, Fowler is still more accomplished as he's contended at majors, something DeChambeau jhas yet to do. But even before Fowler picked up his fourth win or contended at a couple majors, the television commentators specifically were drooling over him. The same could be said for Jon Rahm, who is not as accomplished as DeChambeau.
What is it about DeChambeau then? Maybe it's his robotic style or his pace of play, with which plenty have a problem. Whatever the reason, it really doesn't matter what people think of DeChambeau and his prospects for the future. He'll just keep on winning, and years from now everyone will revise history and pretend like they saw it was coming.
This week: BMW Championship - Aronimink Golf Club, Newton Square, Pa.
Last Year: Marc Leishman shot a
It was just a week ago I proclaimed Bryson DeChambeau was now among the "best golfers who have yet to win a major," but after winning consecutive weeks during the FedExCup playoffs, DeChambeau is not only a member of that group, he's now resides in a 50th-floor suite atop Hotel Unfinished Business. The odd thing about DeChambeau, though, is that there doesn't seem to be as much hype surrounding him as others who came before him.
Now, there's no way to measure hype – it's a completely subjective measure – but I doubt anyone can claim DeChambeau has received the accolades that fellow four-time PGA Tour winner Rickie Fowler has. Although they each have four PGA Tour wins, Fowler is still more accomplished as he's contended at majors, something DeChambeau jhas yet to do. But even before Fowler picked up his fourth win or contended at a couple majors, the television commentators specifically were drooling over him. The same could be said for Jon Rahm, who is not as accomplished as DeChambeau.
What is it about DeChambeau then? Maybe it's his robotic style or his pace of play, with which plenty have a problem. Whatever the reason, it really doesn't matter what people think of DeChambeau and his prospects for the future. He'll just keep on winning, and years from now everyone will revise history and pretend like they saw it was coming.
This week: BMW Championship - Aronimink Golf Club, Newton Square, Pa.
Last Year: Marc Leishman shot a final-round 65 on his way to a five-stroke victory over Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler.
PLAYERS TO CONSIDER
Justin Rose
This would be a good time to point out that you can toss all the event history as Aronimink has never held this event. That said, Aronimink was a PGA Tour stop in 2010 and 2011, and guess who won the event on this course in 2011? You got it, the same guy who has been the most reliable golfer week in and week out all season. Rose just refuses to go away, he never gives in. He was several strokes off the lead midway through the final-round Sunday, but he kept battling and ended up with another runner-up finish.
Bryson DeChambeau
Normally it's not wise to bet on the guy who won the last two tournaments, but normally said guy is a human and not a robot. OK, so he's not a robot, but he obviously has a routine and sticks to it better than most, which means he's less likely to fall victim to the hangover that success usually brings. Think about this – what if DeChambeau were to win this week and then lose at the Tour Championship? Someone else would walk away with the FedEx Cup trophy. Amazing.
Abraham Ancer
Ancer is not a name many are familiar with, but if he continues to play like he has the last couple months, people will get to know him quickly. Ancer predictably struggled in the final round Sunday, but chalk that up to inexperience. He's getting better every week and will post a win sometime soon. Prior to his T7 last week, Ancer had posted top-5s in two of his previous six starts.
Cameron Smith
You might have noticed a trend. It's no longer about your name, it's about how you are playing right now. All the big names are in the field this week, but most are not playing well, so it's best to take guys who have some momentum. Smith has plenty of momentum as he's finished third each of the last two weeks. Smith is no joke either, he has plenty of game.
Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama opened with a 71 last week at the Dell Championship and followed that with a 69 in round two. After that a 67 and a 65, but that doesn't quite tell the whole story. Matsuyama has been brilliant within in recent rounds, and he's been woeful. He's posted some incredible birdie streaks, only to lose all momentum with a couple bogeys. If he can avoid the big mistakes, he's capable of winning the next two weeks.
PLAYERS TO AVOID
Ryan Palmer
Palmer was one of a handful of players to start outside the top 100 in the FedEx standings and make it to the third week of the playoffs, but this is where his run ends. Palmer used a fantastic final round at the NTO to vault him into the top 50 on the FedEx points list, but he took that momentum and subsequently missed the cut last week. Palmer was a surprise entrant into the field this week and Will most likely play like one as well.
Luke List
List was on fire early in the season, but he has just one top-25 in his last 10 starts on the PGA Tour. Everyone in the field this week played their way in, but some did so recently and some did so early. It's obviously better to get shares of golfers who played their way in recently.
Henrik Stenson
Stenson also played well early in the season, but injuries have hampered his production during the second half of the season. Stenson just doesn't have much oomph in his game now, which means he certainly doesn't have enough to compete with golfers who are on top of their games.
Ted Potter Jr.
Low-hanging fruit, I realize, but with the top-70 golfers in the field this week, it's not that easy finding five golfers to avoid. This is an easy call as Potter Jr. made it into the field this week on the number after having won an event earlier this season. That tells you how much he's accomplished outside that victory.
Daniel Berger
Berger's season will mercifully end this week. It's not that he's had a terrible season – heck, if you make it to the third FedEx event, you've had at minimum a decent season – but after last year's breakout performance, much more was expected of Berger. Berger had only one top-10 this season. This after topping $4 million the previous season.
ONE AND DONE GOLFER
Last week: Patrick Cantlay (T24) - $71,228; Season - $9,455,470
This week: Abraham Ancer - A couple reasons behind this pick. First, I really do expect Ancer to play well this week. I don't like the way he finished last week, but that wasn't a surprise and he played well enough to put himself in that position, so that's a positive. Second, I need to keep my options open for next week, so I'm not going to take anyone who's pretty much locked in for the Tour Championship.
PGATOUR.COM PICKS
Starters: Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose, Abraham Ancer, Cameron Smith
Bench: Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson
SURVIVOR PICK
Last week: Patrick Cantlay - (T24); Streak - 9
This week: N/A
