AT&T Byron Nelson: Expert Picks

Entering my PLAYERS Championship picks I was feeling quite self-confident, coming off the Wells Fargo Championship were I was 6 for 6 on made cuts with 5 of those six landing inside the top 20. It might have been my greatest set of picks I’ve ever made. Well, the Golf gods are all too eager to make sure that they keep everyone humble. Last week Dustin Johnson’s 17^th place finish was the only top 20 placement I would see. I watched as Russell Knox, Hideki Matsuyama, Louis Oosthuizen and Francesco Molinari joined the ranks of Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Kevin Kisner, Bill Haas and Zach Johnson all missing the cut at TPC Sawgrass. It was nothing short of a brutal showing from me.

Tournament Information

AT&T Byron Nelson

Date: May 17^th – 20^th

Course: Trinity Forest Golf Club

Purse: $7.5MM ($1.4MM to each winner)

FedEx points: 500 to the winner

2017 Winner: Billy Horschel (-12)

Course: Trinity Forest Golf Club. Located in Dallas, this course was founded in 2014 but did not open until late in 2016. Built on a landfill and designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, this 7,450 yard par 71 course will make its inaugural appearance as host for the AT&T Byron Nelson this year. Host to SMU collect, Trinity hosts Bermuda grass, large bunkers and some rolling hills. Attempting to mimic a links style course, it is far from the more native courses in northwest and Great Britain. This course will be open with lush grass but requires a tactical approach often deciding which side you want to pursue and allow gravity to aid each shot.

Full candor, I really wish I wasn’t coming off such atrocious picks into a tournament with a new challenging course that is intentionally unfamiliar to many of the entrants. I have a strong suspicion we are going to see a very weird field as a group will have wild success but some big names will struggle given how different this course is from every other course in Texas.

Starting 4

Jordan Spieth. He does have some experience here. A native of Texas he has had a chance to play this course a few times and comes as close as any to knowing how to play it.

Matt Kuchar. He has not missed a cut this year, he has four finishes inside the top 25 in his last 7 starts. He finished 2^nd last year at the Open Championship and 16^th at the US Open last year (Erin Hills which is a Links Style). He’s currently 38^th in strokes gained putting, 55^th in total strokes gained which he will need to harness with these greens.

Sergio Garcia. Struggling lately, he is generally strong on links courses. 14^th in OWGR, 4^th in strokes gained approaching the green, 13^th in strokes gained tee to green and 26^th in total strokes gained.

Adam Scott. A nice 11^th place finish at The PLAYERS Championship brings him to Trinity. He has a history of decent links finishes and his 18^th in strokes gained approaching the green as well as 18^th in strokes gained tee to green.

Bench 2

Andrew Putnam. Aged 29 out of Pepperdine University he turned pro 2010. He’s only played a handful of events this year but he made the cut AND finished in the top 15 for three of them (Zurich Classic, Valero Texas and Corales Puntacana). There is nothing overtly flashy about his game, he sits in the middle in most categories but at the same time he’s not atrocious at anything either.

Brandt Snedeker. Historically a strong links player, he’s having a decent season with a mixture of some missed cuts (5) and top 25 finishes (5). He’s 43^rd in strokes gained around the green, 46^th in strokes gained putting. He’s quite accurate off the tees (36^th) which is a must.

2018 Stats:

Starting 4: Average Finish 43^rd (33^rd percentile)

Bench 2: Average Finish 45^th (35^th percentile)

Missed cuts: average of 1.4 per tournament