ATT Byron Nelson - 2022

[fixyurdivot]

The tour now moves west to McKinney, TX for the ATT Byron Nelson.   This event has raised/donated over $167M to charity since its 1968 debut... pretty cool! TPC Craig Ranch is a Tom Weiskopf designed course and considered the most challenging test of golf in Texas.  It was Tom's hope that the course would eventually be selected to host this namesake event - which it will at least for the next 4 years. The field includes last years winner K.H. Lee along with a healthy handful of the top 20.  The weather forecast looks much better than the slop-fest at Wells Fargo and I'm sure the players will love that.

Not really sure who to pick on this one but think (hope) Brooks decides it's time to hoist some hardware.  With the PGA Championship just around the corner, there a number of "big name" players who haven't really played to form, that are no doubt wanting to get things rolling downhill.

Don't forget to make your pick for this weeks winner https://runmypools.com/JRMPNWWF.  Good luck!

[bens197]

Healthy handful of the top 20 is right...this is going to be a good one to watch...

[Kenny B]

I think it's time for Niemann to win again, but I like the way Aaron Rai plays, and how can you not root for Morgan Hoffmann.

The big guns are playing to hone their game for next week; they may do just fine, but I'm not picking them.

[fixyurdivot]

I just realized I forgot to make a pick for this weeks event... can't even follow my own reminder .  How come nobody is picking Will Z lately?

[Shankster]

I’m going to pick J. Day.  Redemption for this weekend.

[Hobert]

I'm going DJ this week and not just because he is on my fantasy squad....although that may be the primary reason 

[Bunker Snot]

Zalatoris will make at least one of my fantasy golf rosters this week otherwise don't know who to pick

[steveone]

Scheffler is hard to pick against, he'll score well but I'm off favorites. Dustin is coming off a wedding [just the celebration part - they've been together over a decade] and I think he's trying to get back to focus for a full four rounds; just not this week. JT has an upcoming wedding for distraction so he's out. Therefore I'm going with Sam Burns to win ----hold it Steve, he's not even in the 1st group. Xander looks good in bucket 1. Burns in 2. 3 is going to need some work - no love for any of them on current form. Bucket 4 is another mystery - got to check recent performance. Good luck to all.

 

O/T Phil needs face his gambling addiction. No sign of it yet. Barkley and Daly are cautionaly examples though Charles has pulled out of his tailspin recently.

[JerBooth]

On 5/8/2022 at 10:09 PM, Kenny B said:

I think it's time for Niemann to win again, but I like the way Aaron Rai plays, and how can you not root for Morgan Hoffmann.

The big guns are playing to hone their game for next week; they may do just fine, but I'm not picking them.

Be cool to see Max win 2 in a row!!

[Kenny B]

19 minutes ago, JerBooth said:

Be cool to see Max win 2 in a row!!

Yeah, it would be cool, but I think Max is gunning for the PGA next week and trying to keep in form.  Winning 3 in a row is likely not going to happen; even Tiger didn't win 3 weeks in a row.

[JerBooth]

32 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

Yeah, it would be cool, but I think Max is gunning for the PGA next week and trying to keep in form.  Winning 3 in a row is likely not going to happen; even Tiger didn't win 3 weeks in a row.

Oh ya. I totally forgot about that to be honest.

[fixyurdivot]

Sebastian Munoz shoots his second "60" of the season... nicely done .  But, as hot a start as it is, two 64's are in behind him and there are some still playing who look like they could get close. It's looking like Craig Ranch is going to get sliced up faster than a stick of pepperoni on 2 for 1 pizza night.

And JT... what up with the Van Rooyen leggings 

[fixyurdivot]

-35 anyone??  Will a new 72 hole scoring record be set tomorrow?  If it does happen, it won't be from the current record holder.  I mentioned this in our FTx chat but TPC Craig Ranch should seriously think about a name change TPEC (executive) .  

[Shankster]

Scotty wins tomorrow with a -6 round.

[Lmerrick]

Spieth to win the battle of the Texans in Texas. 

[fixyurdivot]

WE HAVE A B2B WINNER!! Congratulations K.H. Lee!! 

He was a man on a mission and played really solid.  He joins Watson, Nicklaus and Snead as the only players to defend the ATT Byron Nelson. I honestly thought they would eclipse 30 under but perhaps it was Sunday nerves showing?  Jordan chasing all the way gave the local patrons plenty to get buzzed over, but it wasn't to be. 

[Shankster]

I didn’t watch… what was the deal with all the double digit under par rounds?

[fixyurdivot]

1 hour ago, Shankster said:

I didn’t watch… what was the deal with all the double digit under par rounds?

The deal was that TPC Craig Ranch got played like an airport executive course.  They were on pace after Saturdays round to break Cam Smiths tour record (-34) but things slowed a bit today... "slowed" being a relative description.

[cnosil]

2 hours ago, Shankster said:

I didn’t watch… what was the deal with all the double digit under par rounds?

Par 5, short par 4s, downwind par 4s.  

[Kenny B]

2 hours ago, cnosil said:

Par 5, short par 4s, downwind par 4s.  

... and 50 yards of roll.  I bet the players were happy to get their driving distance stats up after last week.

[TBS]

Do you think that the image of this tournament (easy course... boring setup... etc etc) would change if they changed it to a Par 68? or even Par 66? (Par is irrelevant regardless, but that's a rant for another day.)

The course isn't that exciting to watch but I watched the final round for a couple of hours just because of the number of players in contention. I wonder how many people don't watch just because of the scores?

[ejgaudette]

30 minutes ago, TBS said:

Do you think that the image of this tournament (easy course... boring setup... etc etc) would change if they changed it to a Par 68? or even Par 66? (Par is irrelevant regardless, but that's a rant for another day.)

The course isn't that exciting to watch but I watched the final round for a couple of hours just because of the number of players in contention. I wonder how many people don't watch just because of the scores?

Personally I think the variety is great. Last week was a tough set of conditions and winning score is in the single digits under. This week is fast, easy, and the winning score is very low. It can be fun to see tour pros struggle, and then have a tournament where a par is losing ground. Even in the majors we have this a bit. The US Open is tough, the Open can be difficult or easy depending on the weather, PGA is set up a bit easier, and Masters in the middle. Variety is fun. Don't need every event to be a tough -4 to -8 winning score. Just my opinion.

[fixyurdivot]

3 hours ago, TBS said:

Do you think that the image of this tournament (easy course... boring setup... etc etc) would change if they changed it to a Par 68? or even Par 66? (Par is irrelevant regardless, but that's a rant for another day.)

The course isn't that exciting to watch but I watched the final round for a couple of hours just because of the number of players in contention. I wonder how many people don't watch just because of the scores?

Personally, I prefer courses that play really tough for these guys.  This is no doubt my envy talking here but the game is not supposed to be that easy... and is not for 99.7% of all golfers. What is relative to me as a viewer is seeing their scoring a bit more in line with our game.  Being 6-8 under par/round is not even close. Watching them play a course as if it was an executive layout gets a bit boring IMO.  A great example, and not helping with the excessive distance debate, is rollout on drives.  Between this event and the Regions Traditions, I was laughing at some of the rollout distances.  If we played courses like that I think our scoring would improve. These guys are at a stratosphere level of play and, because of that, I like the courses they play to be a commensurate level of difficulty.   

[cnosil]

I guess I take a different look at TV golf; score to me is irrelevant and I just watch to see who hits what shots and ultimately wins.  While score is the measurement of who wins the winner could be -24 or +5 and I still find it just as entertaining.  

[TBS]

29 minutes ago, cnosil said:

I guess I take a different look at TV golf; score to me is irrelevant and I just watch to see who hits what shots and ultimately wins.  While score is the measurement of who wins the winner could be -24 or +5 and I still find it just as entertaining.  

I agree but there is something about hitting a 3 wood into an easy Par 5 (TPC Craig Ranch) vs a tough par 4 (Kiawah ocean course). Both are exciting but there needs to be a balance. Fried Egg will talk about how courses are like a piece of classical music, needs a story as you go through the round and too much of one thing can get boring but the right amount of tough / easy can put together a very fun viewing product.