RBC Canadian Open Wrap Up
In the immortal words of Hannibal Smith, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
It only took me 2 preview articles to pull a winner. Tim Clark’s back nine 30 secured the win in last week’s RBC Canadian Open, his first win in 4 years on the PGA Tour and second for his career. He was my dark horse pick at 66/1. Was it beginner’s luck or outstanding prognostication? We shall see. In the meantime if you took my advice, a modest finder’s fee will suffice and can be sent to 3 Jack Headquarters…
As predicted, G-Mac stayed hot and got us a tie for 9th place. Scott Brown had a solid showing as well. A better Sunday could have really made my predictions look good, but he still finished T20.
Dustin Johnson on the other hand, missed the cut. He has since withdrawn from the WGC Bridgestone Invitational so it might be something physical (or maybe a temper tantrum).
WGC Bridgestone Invitational Picks
The PGA Tour returns to our backyard, Akron, Ohio this week. Firestone Country Club’s South course hosts the Bridgestone Invitational. This powerhouse tournament brings 49 out of the top 50 golfers into the field, among others, to fight for a $9 million purse.
$1.5 million awaits the winner after they navigate the South Course’s 7400 yards, yet it’s just a par 70 (let that sink in). Dear Firestone C.C., the 3 Jack Almanac would love to write a review on your wonderful course. Call us?
You may have heard by now that Tiger Woods is the defending champion. You may have heard that 64 year old Tom Watson is closer to claiming a spot on the Ryder Cup team than Tiger right now. You may have heard that Woods only has this week and next week’s PGA Championship to make the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs and further try to convince Watson to use one of his Captain’s picks on him. You may have heard Tiger has owned this tournament, winning it 8 times.
Tiger Woods is by far the most compelling story at the tournament this year. Personally, I can’t wait to see how this plays out. If he can keep his driver in his bag and knock some of the rust off his approach shots and his putter, he will be in the mix. We’re even getting decent odds on him at 14/1. With only 6 competitive rounds in the last 140 days though, I’m not touching him this week.
Rory McIlroy returns to action after winning the Open Championship. Will he suffer from a Major win hangover? I think he plays well, but I don’t think he wins.
So who do we like?
Keegan Bradley has played this tournament twice. He won in 2012. He finished 2nd to Tiger last year. He plays well here and needs a strong showing to get on the Ryder Cup team, which he very much wants to do.
Adam Scott once again finds the best in the world breathing down his neck threatening to take his #1 world ranking. The thing is, so far he has shown up each time. He won here in 2011 and finished top 10 in 2010. He scores on par 5’s, which is a necessity at Firestone. Two top 10 finishes in 2 majors this year also makes me like him this week.
Rickie Fowler is focused on winning a major. He has been a major factor in all 3 so far this year as the only player with top 5 finishes in each. He’s coming off a 2nd place finish at the British out of the final group and is staring the PGA Championship down next week. He is primed and ready. A WGC event win would be a logical step toward his ultimate goal.
Good luck this week. This should be fun.
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