Friends in fore,

Sam Burns won this event in 2021. He won it in 2022. And he started Thursday's round birdie, birdie, birdie.

Our 430 Burns pickers in YEYPO - a SZN high thus far - collectively screamed "KNEW IT" while wearing plaid knickers and a tucked in polo because golf.

Naturally - because this is the 2024 Golf SZN and Scheff is not playing in this event - Burns carded two double bogeys from there and we're firmly back in "who knows what will happen this week" territory.

Xander and Nick Taylor were also big picks, and they're both at 3-under (T12) after one round. So, "normalcy" still has a fighting chance this week.

FUN PICK STATS

These are highlights - cool/fun/interesting things I see in our pick data. 

Maverick McNealy - perhaps the worst Golf SZN performer of all time - got 42 picks.

Am I too hard on Mav? (Cue Rory on a conference call...)

MAYBE PLAY BETTER, MAV.

Every time we've ever picked Mav with any volume, he crashes and burns. And then he randomly pops a top 10 when we aren't looking, causing us to ride the Mav Trainwreck again.

At least he's gonna make the cut this week!

Our top 10 Survivor #2 picks accounted for a whopping 91% of picks.

"SAFETY!" we collectively screamed, in the first week of Survivor #2.

Commish gets it. Truly. It's more fun to keep picking in Survivor than it is to not be picking.

That number was 72% in Survivor #1, for comparison.

Let's look at our weekly YEYPO skin opportunities.

• Full skin opportunities: Adam Svensson, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Beau Hossler, Ben Griffin, Brice Garnett, Bud Cauley, Chandler Phillips, Chan Kim, Jimmy Stanger, Kevin Yu, K.H. Lee, Mackenzie Hughes, Matt Wallace, Nico Echavarria, Peter Malnati, Ricky Castillo, Robby Shelton, Robert MacIntyre, Sami Välimäki, Scott Stallings, Taylor Montgomery, Zach Johnson.
• Half skin oppos: Brendon Todd, Davis Riley, Eric Cole, Gary Woodland, Lee Hodges, Matthew NeSmith, Ryan Fox, Thomas Detry, Thorbjørn Olesen, Victor Perez, Webb Simpson.

SKIN CITY this week. Our 33 skin picks is easily the highwater mark of this Golf SZN.

And LOTS of those guys are in contention. Definite skin alert.

COMMENT AWARDS (THEME OF THE WEEK: YOU'RE IRRATIONALLY EXCITED WHEN ___ IS IN CONTENTION)

The 1-iron Moxie Award

Boldest pick (with a comment). You can't win a SZN competition without a little Moxie!

@kbanaian (Jimmy Stanger): "PGATour.com sold me this week on a 29-year-old rookie from Tampa. First name Jimmy, even. I'll be looking for Dennis Quaid in the gallery. Any Quaid, for that matter. Now Jimmy cards a quad. Wait! What's happening? "
Commish says: You could have told me that this guy is literally Dennis Quaid's forgotten son and I wouldn't have blinked. Though "Jimmy Stanger" is a GREAT golfer name.

John Daly's Pants Award

The best weekly comment (or three), because John Daly's pants always win.

@Ficus (Sam Burns): "If you show me Francesco Molinari in contention on Sunday, I’ll show you a freshly opened Cabernet, delivery from the expensive pizza place, and just how long I can sit on the couch without moving."
Commish says: The Molinari Heater is a summer I'll never forget. Did you leave your couch at all that summer, Ficus? Also, why wasn't Edoardo (the "other" Molinari) as good as we all wanted him to be?

"Bryson Approves This Pick" Award

Most convincing. (There's logic, and then there's Bryson-level logic)

@suckitspanos (Brian Harman): "This pick is for all of us who know that extensive shot trajectory review, meticulous ball lie analysis, 6 practice swings minimum, and backing off a 1 ft putt when the gust gets above a blustery 1kt is how you win major golf tournaments. Valspar is no exception. Long live the slow pla."
Commish says: Spanos you're making yourself sound like the world's most brutal person to have in your foursome, but also the guy everyone calls for picking advice. DOES IT BALANCE OUT?

Spieth's 89-degree Lob Wedge

Wildest take (like Spieth's wild short game)

@hockey3430 (Nick Taylor): "This week, I want Nick Taylor in contention. I am but an irrational sports gambler. Every other week of the year it's Will Zalatoris. Maybe it's the name (Z's are popular in our culture), maybe it's the Happy Gilmore caddie look, maybe it's just because he's just insanely rootable? I legitimately do not know. In fact, while writing this out I now have more questions than answers. What is a horseshoe? What does a horseshoe do? Are there any horse socks? Is anybody listening to me?"
Commish says: You, Nick Taylor, Willie Z, and Happy Gilmore. Y'all ride horses on the beach, talking golf and gambling. START FUNDING YOUR DREAM WITH SZN WINNINGS, HOCKEY.

MORE COMMENTS (THEME OF THE WEEK: YOU'RE IRRATIONALLY EXCITED WHEN ___ IS IN CONTENTION)

@mahatma19 (Matti Schmid and Joe Highsmith, Top 10s): "I have picked 2 right and 16 wrong in this competition, so saying that I am not very good at this is pretty obvious. But maybe I'm missing an obvious system here. 3 of my 6 points came from a vacation at a place called Solvang where everything about the town is Danish (stayed at the Copenhagen Hotel). So, I took this Højgaard dude and he got second. Today, I woke up in Tashkent, Uzbekkistan so I'm choosing... [scans the options]... Okay, this isn't going to work. Going with the two coolest hats. Gotta love Detry's "P" hat. (I'm also a fan, Thomas ;)"
Commish says: Mahatma, when is your Travel Channel show dropping, and WHEN ARE YOU INVITING COMMISH? What's a guy gotta do, man.

@Tauschek (Victor Perez): "Happy Gilmore! He gets the crowd fired up and at that point you get endless entertainment for the final round on Sunday."
Commish says: Yes but what's more exciting - Happy in contention or Happy in a fight with a gameshow host?

@Nova_nation (Keith Mitchell): "Happy Gilmore. He's playing to save Grandma's house!"
Commish says: GET GRANDMA HAPPY IN THE POOL!!! (That's not how it works, Commish.) I DON'T CARE GET HER IN!!

@Mcheavens13 (Doug Ghim): "I will be irrationally happy this week to see Doug Ghim up there in contention. Gonna call in the UT Crazies, make a last minute trip to the Snake Pit, and paint my chest kind of irrational. Every time he's in contention in the future it's Ghimmies all day long during the weekend round. "
Commish says: Did I just become a Doug Ghim fan? DOUG WE NEED YOUR A GAME THIS WEEK!

@jrcondon (Doug Ghim): "I'm gonna go with The Ghim Reaper this week. These days I get irrationally excited when Tiger is in contention. This week I'll be irrationally excited when The Ghim Reaper is in contention!"
Commish says: THE GHIMMY HIVE!!

@Irishkelly22 (Xander, Survivor #1): "Tiger woods."
Commish says: I mean... fine... this is actually an acceptable answer.

@Scombs (Sam Burns): "Tiger!"
Commish says: The idea that you can be "irrationally" excited about Tiger being in contention - and that this makes sense - is something I'll never get used to.

@AldoRaine (Sam Burns): "Unfortunately the answer has to be Tommy Fleetwood, simply because I know that @Eannarelli is busy in Texas pitching a tent big enough for PT Barnum to perform a show under"
Commish says: Are you the one who just added the new Urban Dictionary entry for "pitch a tent" meaning to talk about Tommy Fleetwood?

@Eannarelli (Keegan Bradley): "If and when Tommy Fleets is in contention on the weekend a couple things happen. My kids immediately start behaving. My wife brings me lemonade on ice in a sun dress. The plans I had made for that afternoon get canceled. The laundry folds itself. The dog lets himself out to relieve himself. The timer for the apple pie in the oven just went off. I'm out of space."
Commish says: I'm pretty sure Norman Rockwell is gonna rise from the grave to paint the scene you just painted.

@Jevans4 (Min Woo Lee): "Rickie Fowler. No matter what. If you don’t get that way, are you even American? "
Commish says: PUT ORANGE IN THE AMERICAN FLAG.

@GIZZ (Sam Burns): "RICKIE FOWLER!! @PUMA"
Commish says: This is like Noah's Ark of irrational golfing favorites. They appear to be coming in pairs.

@Jts5522 (Sam Burns): "Timmy Fleetwood... This guy has more talent than most but has struggled to win on Tour. Right now, he may be the best player on tour without a win. "
Commish says: I'm gonna pretend this isn't a typo and you really do root for some imaginary golfer named Timmy Fleetwood (who you created on PGA2K) so that I can keep my pairs theory in tact.

@HaveYouCheckedYourButthole (Sam Burns): "Gotta be none other than Kim Jong Il's favorite player... "Joel Daaahhman!" He's like a little Giligan that like's to play golf. You go get em lil' buddy!"
Commish says: Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I'm pretty sure knowing Kim Jong Il's favorite player gets you on some sort of surveillance list, HYCYB.

@NEELERSBTB1 (Doug Ghim, 100 Tier): "Ghimmy Love, Ghimmy love, Ghimmy peace on earth. On second thought Gimmy Ghim!"
Commish says: NO MAN HAS INCREASED HIS BRAND VALUE MORE THIS WEEK THAN DOUG GHIM.

@Sixers6thMan (Sam Burns, Survivor #2): "I'm looking for Burns to put together 4 rounds this week. He better not burn me, yeah I went there. I'm not proud but..."
Commish says: I'm imagining Usher and Sam Burns in the same room together, trying really hard to talk about anything other than this pun.

@MintBagpipe (Tony Finau): "My friend Jerry."
Commish says: GET YOURSELF A FRIEND (BAGPIPE?) LIKE @MINTBAGPIPE.

@rileytagtmeyer (Xander, Survivor #2): "I might just pick the betting favorite every week so I dont flame out immediately again. Nobody else will think of this I am sure."
Commish says: WHEN DOES ANTI-MOXIE BECOME MOXIE? (Never, Commish.) OK BUT LET'S THINK ABOUT IT.

@Pmaione (Xander Schauffele): "No idea why I picked who I picked"
Commish says: ASK RILEY.

@Ickey_Woods_Shuffle (Brian Harman, Survivor #2): "I've had 3 players miss the cut in a row in YEYPO. So I'm hoping the diminutive one, Brian Harman, can hide in the tall rough and avoid the cut. Instead of going "big", I'm thinking "small". "
Commish says: OK but if your streak reaches 5, you gotta go to the barber and get a fade. THE ICKEY FADE, BB.

@Autovhanchilly (Keith Mitchell, Survivor #2): "I LOVE COCAINE (Keith)"
Commish says: -Rick James (Bitch)

@StatCzar (Justin Thomas): "My YEYPO pick of course!!’"
Commish says: Stat Czar did you see me try to get you a date in the March Madness PICKS email yesterday? DID YOU

Yours in metal stick swinging,
The Commish