Quicken Loans National: Expert Picks

Not to jinx this week but I’ve picked winners in back to back weeks now (Brooks Koepka at US Open and Bubba Watson at Travelers), let’s hope that luck carries to this week.

Tournament Information

Quicken Loans National

Date: June 28^th – July 1st

Course: TPC Potomac

Purse: $7.1MM ($1.3MM to the winner)

FedEx points: 500 to the winner

2017 Winner: Kyle Stanley (-7)

Course: TPC Potomac. This is the 2^nd year this tournament has been at TPC Potomac (previously at Congressional Country Club and Robert Trent Jones Golf Club). Established in 1986, this private club was designed by Ed Ault, Tom Clark and Ed Sneed. The 7,139 yard, par 70 has a course rating of 74 and a slope rating of 140. It’s featured hole is the sixth hole which mimics the 13^th hoel at Augusta.

The course holds a championship layout surrounded by wooded terrain and a handful of creeks running throughout. The course runs fairly flat with bunkers laid on most sides, the greens tend to run fast and present the area to make up ground.

Starting 4

Bill Haas (1^st selection this year). I am typically very bullish on Bill Haas as a sleeper in tournaments so I was surprised to see that I had not picked him yet this year. As the ONLY golfer with top 15 finishes each of the last three years at TPC Potomac. I imagine some of my bereft of selections revolves around a down season – his last 10 tournaments features four missed cuts, three finishes above 50 and just two top fifteens. His strokes gained aren’t the best but he is 7^th in strokes gained around the green currently.

Charles Howell III (4^th selection this year). He finished 11^th here in 2015 and 2^nd last year. Charles has made 11 consecutive cuts with seven top 25 finshes over that time. He is 35^th in strokes gained tee to green and 31^st in total strokes gained.

Jason Kokrak (1^st selection this year). Top 30 finishes each of the last three years here. A handful of missed cuts have mired his recent track record but he can hit the ball a mile (15^th in driving distance) and he is currently 43^rd in strokes gained off the tee.

Beau Hossler (1^st selection this year). Currently 31^st in FedEx Cup Ranking, Beau is coming off a 2^nd place finish at the Travelers Championship. He has made ten consecutive cuts which include three top 20 finishes. He is 58^th in total strokes gained and he is 44^th in birdie average.

Bench 2

Danny Lee (2^nd selection this year). He finshed 4^thhere in 2015 and 22^nd last year. He is very much hit or miss with missed cuts and top 20 finishes across most of the season. He tends excel at tournaments he is comfortable at and he has the track record here to succeed. He is strongest around the greens sitting 43^rd in sand save percentage and 86^th in strokes gained putting.

Nick Taylor (1^st selection this year). Despite the fact that he has missed the cut in seven of his last ten tournaments, Nick has a good track record at TPC Potomac where he finished 12^th in 2016 and 29^th in 2017.

2018 Stats (avg field of 133 golfers):

Starting 4: Average Finish 44th (33rd percentile)

Bench 2: Average Finish 46th (34th percentile)

Missed cuts: average of 1.4 per tournament