Friends in fore,
LOOK AT THIS MAN.
How can you not like him? How can you not root for him to slay the dragon (Scheff)?
This is actually Sahith Theegala's Wikipedia photo. It might also be his Tinder photo?
Or maybe there's a GolfersMingle app now?
MeetNiceGuysWearingNiceShirts?
DeceptivelyRich.com?
Anyway, he's our overwhelming top pick this week. WE'RE MOVING ON.
FUN PICK STATS
These are highlights - cool/fun/interesting things I see in our pick data.
Pick rate on Theegala ranged from 24% to 37% across our pools.
Survivor #1 (37%) was his highest mark, likely owing to other top guys having already been picked by a decent share of survivors.
100 Tier (24%) was his lowest mark, though still similar to his YEYPO rate (26%).
Nobody else was north of 10.6% (Willy Z) in YEYPO.
Theegala shot even par (T54) in his opening round.
Scheff was picked by 65% of us in Top 10s... and Commish is surprised it wasn't 80%+.
The mid-60s seems to be a sort of asymptote in Top 10s picking.
Check out our four biggest Top 10s picks of the SZN:
- 65.0% (Scheff, this week)
- 63.2% (Scheff, TPC)
- 62.0% (Finau, Mexico Open)
- 60.8% (Scheff, Phoenix Open)
Commish has no explanation for Scheff's 65% not being higher, beyond 35% of us thinking we're better off shooting for a 6-point week (meaning two picks outside this week's top 15 ranked golfers).
Or maybe a good % of us find Scheff boring and just want some spice in our lives?
Survivor #1 is sneakily getting close to the paid places.
After last week's bloodbath, we're down to just 70 survivors after 10 weeks.
But keep in mind, last year's Survivor #1 went ALL 27 WEEKS. Both @tmacderment and @bowser48 made all 27 cuts.
So while this year has been MUCH harder, it's still a bit too early to claim that this thing will be over in a matter of weeks.
We had a whopping 26 FULL skin opportunities in YEYPO this week.
- Full skin opportunities: Adam Svensson, Alejandro Tosti, Alex Smalley, Austin Cook, Brandon Wu, Cameron Champ, Chesson Hadley, C.T. Pan, David Skinns, Davis Riley, Garrick Higgo, Gary Woodland, Harry Hall, Justin Suh, K.H. Lee, Lanto Griffin, Matt Wallace, Max Greyserman, Nate Lashley, Nick Dunlap, Padraig Harrington, Peter Malnati, Pierceson Coody, Scott Stallings, Taylor Montgomery, Tyson Alexander.
- Half skin oppos: Cam Davis, Hayden Springer, Joseph Bramlett, Mark Hubbard, Matti Schmid, Robert MacIntyre.
Somehow, Wilson Furr (who?) did not make our pick list. He was tied for the lead after round 1.
COMMENT AWARDS (THEME OF THE WEEK: WEIRDEST THING YOU'VE SEEN ON THE COURSE
The 1-iron Moxie Award
Boldest pick (with a comment). You can't win a SZN competition without a little Moxie!
@cmart1220 (Joel Dahmen, Survivor #2): "I guess I'm going all in..."
Commish says: [cmart, Monday night] "... do I have that dawg in me?" || [cmart, Thursday morning, as Dahmen bogeys his first hole] "I HAVE THAT DAWG IN ME!!!"
John Daly's Pants Award
The best weekly comment (or three), because John Daly's pants always win.
@TSuthe88 (Wyndham Clark, 100 Tier): "The Coatis in Cancun are wild. If you are not familiar, they look like long nosed racoons with long tails. Anyway, these things would roll up on our cart while we were hitting/looking for balls. One started running off with my backpack, and while I was chasing it, the other was pounding down my buddies vodka soda lol"
Commish says: First, I'm surprised the Coatis didn't just drive the golf cart away. Second, please invite me to your next golf outing.
"Bryson Approves This Pick" Award
Most convincing. (There's logic, and then there's Bryson-level logic)
@jrcondon (Cam Davis): "1998. Olympia Fields Country Club. Hole 15. A goose chases my fellow caddy. Caddy is running whilst looking @ goose. We shout. He turns... into a tree. Knocked himself out. I'm not sure I've ever laughed harder."
Commish says: NEW ON ESPN: Golf Injury Report. "OUT: Condon's caddy buddy (concussion - running from goose)"
Spieth's 89-degree Lob Wedge
Wildest take (like Spieth's wild short game)
@Ficus (Scott Stallings): "Once saw a guy take a 3 foot bong out of the driver slot of his bag. Had a head cover on it and everything. I’m not even mad, I’m impressed."
Commish says: Did he then proceed to pack it, light it, and pass it your way? Golf is all about proper etiquette. So if not, easy 2-stroke penalty.
MORE COMMENTS (THEME OF THE WEEK: WEIRDEST THING YOU'VE SEEN ON THE COURSE
@AldoRaine (Alex Noren): "After arriving at the tee and nearly teeing off, we noticed something going on about 150 yards from the tee on the wood line; come to realize its the group in front of us repeatedly throwing an iron ~20 feet up into a tree, trying to get another club that was stuck in said tree down. When the second iron got stuck slightly below the first, they waived us thru. I proceeded to double bogey."
Commish says: What was the most likely outcome? 1/ They realized the futility of their efforts and gave up; 2/ They got the first two clubs down; 3/ They got a third club stuck?
@HaveYouCheckedYourButthole (Tony Finau): "@suckitspanos hit a turkey once square in its chocolate starfish, even after all of his extensive shot assessments..."
Commish says: With almost any other group of people, I wouldn't believe this happened. But with you all... my only question is whether one of you then took the turkey home with you to forever honor this moment.
@suckitspanos (Si Woo Kim): "What’s the next move after Harman ruthlessly decided to thermo nuke my chances of an ascendancy to first (even after I defended his slow play that miserable &!$#%¥) Who the hell knows but I’m never picking Harman Dorf on golf again."
Commish says: So Harman was... a... turkey?
@Lambda_derg (Scheffler and Clark, Top 10s): "I wasnt there but my grandma rolled a golf cart down a hill and got helivac'd, so I've always thought a helicopter setting down in the 7th fairway was quite a sight. She no longer golfs but is still bowling at age 92. "
Commish says: GET GRANDMA DERG IN THE POOL!!!
@mahatma19 (David Skinns): "Roughly 20 years ago, I rented an apartment next to a golf course. My girlfriend at the time was 19 and I was her second boyfriend so she was limited in experience. After some drinking, she decided that she really wanted to have sex outside so we climbed a fence and ended up doing the deed on the third hole (unfortunately, this is literal and not figurative). This isn't the "weirdest" thing I've seen on a golf course per se, but it does give me a chance to brag... so thanks."
Commish says: And from that point forward, "TO THE THIRD HOLE!" became your life's rallying cry.
@Sixers6thMan (Jason Day): "Okay, I couldn't pull the trigger on Finau after what I've seen. I'll save him for when his putter returns. Let's roll with Jason Day. He seems like the kinda golfer who may show up this week. The Weirdest/Scariest thing I have ever seen on the golf course was in Myrtle Beach - a crocodile sunny in a bunker. "
Commish says: I envision this croc bunker like The Beast's yard in Sandlot. Any ball that went in there was now someone else's property.
@bowser48 (Will Zalatoris, Survivor #2): "Malnati, Scheffler & Zalatoris threesome - here’s to oil and water, apples and oranges! Woohoo!"
Commish says: You mean you don't think the man with the bucket hat and yellow golf ball is friends with Scottie Scheffler? ON WHAT GROUNDS
@Eannarelli (Nate Lashley): "I know one thing I haven't seen on the golf course is Tommy Fleets winning on US soil. I yearn for it weekly."
Commish says: OK but can we start planning The SZN party we'll throw after that Tommy Fleets W? Where will it be? How many people on the invite list? Tommy must drink how many BLLs at the door before he's let in?
@YikesVikes (Mackenzie Hughes): "My SZN projection brain model simulated the 2024 Houston Open 100,000 times (I need something to dwell on when I can't sleep at night) and came up with a jittery leaderboard - Mackenzie Hughes comes out on top, tied for 3rd last week and #1 this week. Maybe bourbon would be a better night cap than coffee, BLL makes me peeee to much so that's out. "
Commish says: OK OK but hear me out. They make peach flavored bourbon. Blackberry bourbon. GET THIS MAN SOME BLL-FLAVORED BOURBON!
@Ickey_Woods_Shuffle (Sahith Theegala): "I drilled my best friend with a drive off an elevated tee at Ft Knox Country Club in 1973. He went to retrieve a mulligan and walked back up the base of the elevated tee unexpectedly. A foot left and the shot would have done massive damage. I was lucky. He was luckier. My luck has changed dramatically recently. My last 3 picks have failed to make the cut. I'm so far behind I might as well throw in the towel. Perhaps I'm paying for my wayward behavior of 51 years ago..."
Commish says: Golf Karma: UNDEFEATED FOR LIFE.
@ContrarianDFS (Pierceson Coody): "The first time I saw someone driving their cart on the course with music blasting from it. I guess it’s normal now, but f*** that. I’ll never get used to it. "
Commish says: THEY WERE JUST BEING CONTRARIAN, MAN. Like picking Pierceson Coody unironically.
@Mcheavens13 (Scheffler and Keith Mitchell, Top 10s): "Jesper Parnevik"
Commish says: OK I lol'd. Loved that guy.
@Autovhanchilly (Will Zalatoris): "Zally from dally"
Commish says: NEW SZN T-SHIRT DROPPING SOON!
Yours in metal stick swinging,
The Commish