Friends in fore,
First, you can now join Golf Survivor #2, which starts in Week 11 with the Valero Texas Open. $3K in prizes, with $1K to the champ. JOIN HERE >>
NOW, Rory was our most picked golfer in 2022 - the first-ever Golf SZN.
His stat line: 1,481 picks (85% utilization) (#1), 6% average pick rate in tourneys he played in (#1), four weeks with 10%+ of picks (#1), 86% cuts made (T6 among top 30 guys), $6.9M earnings when picked (#4).
Can he run it back? He'll need a strong finish this week, for starters...
ARNOLD PALMER PICKS
- YEYPO
- Big John
- Your group picks (get in a group with friends!)
Rory was tops in YEYPO (15%) and Survivor (17%), followed by Scheff (14% / 16%), Hatton (9% / 9%), and Homa (8% / 10%).
Thus far, Rory is just our 11th most picked golfer of 2023, in large part because he hasn't played that many YEYPO events.
Top of that list is Sungjae at 692 picks (40%), followed by Rahm (37%) and Homa (35%).
The same trio tops our Survivor Golden Spreadsheet, but all have higher utilization rates. Sungjae - golf's "makes every cut" maestro - is tops at 59%, followed by Homa at 49% and Rahm at 46%.
Reminder that this data is on the website for every Survivor and One-and-Done competition; we call it the "Golden Spreadsheet". The links are available above, as well as on the competition page.
Commish is pretty surprised only 4% of us picked Rahm, by far the hottest golfer on the planet, in an elevated event.
Totally hear the "can he really win AGAIN?" chorus, but he's already proven he can... and just last year at this time Scheff won like four tourneys in a row.
Rahm, fittingly, was the Round 1 leader. He's fallen back a bit today but is still lurking near the top and has to still be the betting favorite.
PICK STATS
YEYPO One-And-Done
- We finally registered our first Pick Boldness score above a 5/10 this year.
- We scored 5.2/10 (decently bold!) because we were big on Hatton (22nd in the field by World Rank) and Jason Day (48th), while also having decent pick volume on guys like Keith Mitchell (47th) and Rickie (57th).
- Have we already reached the "F*** it, I need to make up ground" portion of the 2023 Golf SZN?!
- Full skin opportunities (1 pick): Aaron Baddeley, Aaron Wise, Charley Hoffman, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Danny Willett, Joseph Bramlett, Justin Suh, Nick Taylor, Sepp Straka, Thomas Detry, Webb Simpson
- Half skin oppos (2 picks): Emiliano Grillo, Justin Rose, Seamus Power, Shane Lowry
- Rose won just a few weeks ago, and Justin Suh was T5 last week. Good value!
- Kurt Kitayama (46th in the world) is the current leader and garnered... zero picks.
- Corey Conners (currently T2) got three picks and Davis Riley (T4) also got zero.
Big John Survivor
- We're down under 400 remaining (392 to be exact).
- Through six weeks, we've had just two of our top 3 picks each week miss the cut - Brian Harman (top pick in Week 1, ugh) and Maverick McNealy (#2 pick in Week 3).
- We're perfect on our top 4 picks in each of the past three weeks.
- And it looks like a very safe bet we'll be 4/4 again this week, with Rory, Scottie, Hatton, and Homa all well inside the cut line.
- We had just 31 golfers picked (second lowest this year), and our Pick Boldness score was well below YEYPO's, at 4.3/10.
- Shout-out to FIVE people taking Rickie (looks like it'll pay off), and to our lone picker on Gary Woodland... who has not been his former Major winning self in some time.
WEEKLY AWARDS
The 1-iron Moxie Award
Boldest pick. You can't win a SZN competition without a little Moxie!
@Awuwert (Rickie Fowler, YEYPO): "Picking a flier in an ELEVATED event seems stupid, but when you’re 6 million back already, gotta try and make a move. Here’s to honoring the king with a big one!"
Commish says: *Checks notes* ... Yep, we are DEFINITELY already in the "F*** it, time to pick a flier to make up some ground!" portion of Golf SZN!
John Daly's Pants Award
Our best weekly comment (or three), because John Daly's pants always win
@mahatma19 (Will Zalatoris, Survivor): "I really wish these photos next to the golfers had them flexing. Instead, it's like "do I want to go with the guy that looks like he's selling me cell-phone service or the dude that looks like an assistant mortgage broker?" (I think I chose one of the Harry Potter kids all grown up this week.) Shrug."
Commish says: I'm all for the "LOOK AT HIS 1-PACK!" photos. But don't you think that the more your guy looks like a mortgage broker or legacy at Yale, the more likely he is to be a good golfer?
"Bryson Approves This Pick" Award
Most convincing comment (There's logic, and then there's Bryson-level logic)
@Ickey_Woods_Shuffle (Max Homa, YEYPO): "Arnold Palmer was my favorite golfer growing up. The Arnold Palmer is my favorite non-alcoholic drink. So I'm an Arnold Palmer homer. 'Homer' in Boston would be 'Homa". Could be a Rafael Devers' homa. Could be Homa Simpson. In this case it's Max Homa... "
Commish says: You lost Bryson with this but YOU DIDN'T LOSE ME.
Spieth's 89-degree Lob Wedge
The spiciest/wildest take (like Spieth's wild short game)
@Eannarelli (Tommy Fleetwood, YEYPO): "I have a green shirt with Tommy Fleetwood's beautiful face on it. I intend to wear it for four straight days starting tomorrow. When I wear it in public people often ask, "Isn't that the guy who has never won on U.S. soil? I eventually wipe away the tears and respond, "yes, but when Tommy Fleets does win on U.S. soil, I'll bring the beers...I'll bring the beers.""
Commish says: Do you have a teenage kid who can make this into a TikTok set to Don't Stop by Fleetwood Mac? Or wait, are YOU a teenager who lives on TikTok, has no idea what Fleetwood Mac is, and for some strange reason LOVES HIM some Tommy Fleets?!
MORE COMMENTS
@Jevans4 (Rory McIlroy, YEYPO): "Rory will have a closet full of red cardigans before he ever adds a green jacket to his wardrobe."
Commish says: We've got someone out here predicting that Rory will become the Mr. Rogers of the new millennium. The shade is STRONG.
@MONSTERXXX (Jon Rahm, YEYPO): "I'm going old school , I'm grabbing my eraser and taking the chalk WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH !!"
Commish says: Could it be true that the more words you use, the less Moxie you possess? COULD IT?!
@YikesVikes (Tyrrell Hatton, Survivor): "Tyrrell Hatton - My hats off to Tyrell who has never missed the cut at the Arnie Palmer. Might be he's a lover of iced tea with lemon.... no cuts missed again this week."
Commish says: OK OK but listen, who DOESN'T love a nice cold glass of Arnold Palmer?
@Merf (Jon Rahm, YEYPO): "Is there a more versatile lid imaginable than Cantlay's Goldman Sachs/Dewalt trucker hat?"
Commish says: Just checked the Vegas odds that Merf owns one of these. -10000. Absolutely horrible value. Did not place bet.
@kbanaian (Tyrrell Hatton, Survivor): "That face! Doesn't Tyrell Hatton look like an extra from the set of Mad Men?"
Commish says: I think you meant this as an insult but it's really a tremendous compliment.
@StatCzar (Max Homa, YEYPO): "Homa’s first name is Max. Isn’t it funny how some guys just lose their first name (unfortunately I am one such person). But anyway, Max is also the first name of Goofy’s son in A Goofy Movie and I may or may not have a list in my phone of all my thoughts on A Goofy Movie."
Commish says: You... you what? Related: DOES MAX GOOFY LOVE NFL SURVIVOR POOLS?
@BadHawks (Will Zalatoris, YEYPO): "I wish Zzzzzzzzzz had been a sleeper this week, but I have a feeling I'm not going to win the $1,000 skin."
Commish says: Willy Z's days as a true sleeper are long gone, just like his days eating an appropriate amount of food.
SupaFlyeSnuka (Cameron Young, YEYPO): "I got nothing…
Commish says: Are you channeling your pick's press conferences? Cam Young: The Marshawn Lynch of Golf.
@Ebonecapone (Jon Rahm, YEYPO): "Back to making my survivor and yeypo picks the same. Rahm will continue his dominance of the season."
Commish says: Throwing down the RAHM DOBLE!
Mr_Rodgers_Neighborhood (Scottie Scheffler, YEYPO): "Golf is hard."
Commish says: SURE BUT EASIER THAN POWERBALL.
@NEELERSBTB1 (Jason Day, YEYPO): "Does this make me a Day Dream Believer?"
Commish says: We're ending this post.
Yours in metal stick swinging,
The Commish