The 2nd Rocket Mortgage Classic is in the books and Bryson DeChambeau took down the tournament. He has been the talk of the PGA Tour with good reason, but it is almost getting to a nauseating level. They were actually breaking down what he eats on a daily basis over the weekend. I mean, we get it, he drinks a lot of protein shakes and hits the ball a mile. The good news is that we’ll get a break from all the Bryson love this week as he’ll take a rest and let a pretty stellar field tee it up at the Workday Charity Open.
The next two weeks will be strange because for the first time that I can remember we’ll have back to back tournaments played on the same golf course. The John Deere Classic would have typically been in this spot on the PGA Tour schedule but once that was canceled due to COVID-19, this was the result. So, this is just a warning that my course write up for Muirfield Village will basically be the same the next two weeks.
The first thing I think about whenever I hear Muirfield is Jack Nicklaus. This course is in Dublin, Ohio which is about a 20 minute drive from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Muirfield typically plays host to his tournament, The Memorial which will be the second tournament in our double header. The course will be set up slightly differently between the Workday and the Memorial. The course will measure out at 7,456 yards which is a little longer than it plays for the Memorial. That length is a little above average for length on the PGA Tour these days. It’s known as a golfers’ golf course because it really does not favor any specific type of player. You can beat this course in a number of different ways from the risk/reward style to a more patient approach. The greens are on the smaller side and they are fast, but the reports are that the greens will be slowed down this weekend compared to the typical week at Memorial.
When you start looking at this golf course and what key stats to target, I’ll start where I do most every week with Strokes Gained: Approach. While hitting the fairway is always important, these fairways are not the toughest on tour to land. I spoke about the greens being smaller, this is why I feel like you have to focus on ball strikers (Strokes Gained: Tee to Green) and their approach. Proximity to the hole will be vital to success on these greens even when they are slowed down. Scrambling will be very important when these players miss these smaller greens. There are seven Par 4s which stretch out 447 yards or further, that means I’m immediately taking a look at Par 4 Efficiency 450-500. 3 of the 4 Par 3s are right at 200 yards and the other one is 185. I’ll take a closer look at Par 3 Efficiency 175-200.
While the field last week was not what we had been used to since the PGA Tour returned from hiatus, that changes this week. We should also see a slew of these same guys tee it up next week as well and maybe even a few more.
The weather for this weekend does not look great. Friday looks to be the worst of it with a 90% chance of thunderstorms, we could see these guys finishing their rounds on Saturday morning. Saturday is calling for scattered showers and it looks to move out of the area on Sunday. This course is already a little long but add in wet conditions, that'll play to the advantage of the bombers.
KEY STATS TO TARGET: Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, Strokes Gained: Approach, Proximity, Scrambling, Par 4 Efficiency 450-500, and Par 3 Efficiency 175-200.
ONE & DONE PICK OF THE WEEK: Justin Rose
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