Predictions: US Open 2013
June 12, 2013
Answers added 6/19/2013 in BOLD
In preparation for this year’s second major, we boldly offer our US Open Predictions 2013.
ACTUAL:
Winner: Justin Rose
Winning Score: +1
Runner Up: Jason Day and Phil Mickelson
Low Amateur: Michael Kim
“Unknown” in the Top 10: Billy Horschel (T-4), Hideki Matsuyama (T-10), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (T-10)
Last Year’s Winner (Webb) Will … (Win, Top10, Make the Cut, or Miss the Cut): Made the cut
How many prior winners will be in the Top 10: 1 (Ernie Els)
Will someone win it, or will everyone else lose it?: Phil lost it, but Rose won it too.
Best finish:
Phil, Kuchar, or Stricker?: Phil (T-2 +3)
Els, Vijay , or ZJ?: Els (T-4, +5)
Rory, Luke, or Westwood?: Luke Donald (T-8, +6)
Furyk, Tiger, or GMAC?: Woods (T-32, both others MC)
Sergio, Bubba, or DJ?: Watson (T-32, +13)
JK:
Winner: Steve Stricker (Rose, Stricker T-8 and had a good chance but tripled #2)
Winning Score: E (+1)
Runner Up: Tiger Woods (Phil and Day, Tiger was T-32)
Low Amateur: Steven Fox (MC, Michael Kim, T-17 at +10)
“Unknown” in the Top 10: Scott Stallings (T-53)
Last Year’s Winner (Webb) Will … (Win, Top10, Make the Cut, or Miss the Cut): Make the cut (true)
How many prior winners will be in the Top 10: 3 (1)
Will someone win it, or will everyone else lose it?: likely Stricker barely hangs on, but everyone else will lose it (you decide)
Best finish:
Phil, Kuchar, or Stricker?: Stricker (T-8, but Phil T-2)
Els, Vijay , or ZJ?: Els (Yes)
Rory, Luke, or Westwood?: Rory (T-41; Luke T-8)
Furyk, Tiger, or GMAC?: Can’t go against GMac at the US. He just has magic there. (Furyk and GMac MC’d, so Tiger won by default)
Sergio, Bubba, or DJ?: DJ (Bubba, but DJ was not far behind)
BOLD prediction? Tiger gets into another controversy that keeps him from winning (partially true–his elbow became an issue)
LG:
Winner: Tiger Woods (Not even close)
Winning Score: -6 (not even close)
Runner Up: Steve Stricker (T-8, not bad)
Low Amateur: Michael Weaver (solo 64th. Good job picking a guy who made the cut though)
“Unknown” in the Top 10: Charley Hoffman (sectional qualifier has to be an unknown, right?) (MC, and, no, he’s one of the most recognizable players on tour, and a prior PGA TOUR winner)
Last Year’s Winner (Webb) Will … (Win, Top10, Make the Cut, or Miss the Cut): Miss the Cut (made the cut)
How many prior winners will be in the Top 10: 2 (just els)
Will someone win it, or will everyone else lose it?: Tiger wins by 3. (Tiger won the second hole by 3 when he tripled it)
Best finish:
Phil, Kuchar, or Stricker?: Striks (Phil)
Els, Vijay , or ZJ?: ZJ (yes, JK, ZJ). (MC)
Rory, Luke, or Westwood?: All three MC. (Luke was top 10, all 3 made the cut)
Furyk, Tiger, or GMAC?: Tiger (by default)
Sergio, Bubba, or DJ?: Sergio (Mr. Quad did not win this group)
BOLD prediction? Americans take the top 5 spots. (Too bold. An englishman won it)
2012 PGA Championship Predictions – Glory’s Last Shot
August 7, 2012
updated Monday, 8/13
Alright, JK. It’s our last shot of the year to call ’em. The course: The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.
LG:
Winner: Dustin Johnson T-48, +5 – winner, Rory Mcilroy
Winning Score: +2 -13
Runner Up: Tiger Woods David Lynn (who?)
Low PGA Professional: Mitch Lowe No idea
“Unknown” in the Top 10: Branden Grace M/c – how about David Lynn?
Last Year’s Winner (Keegan Bradley) Will … (Win, Top10, Make the Cut, or Miss the Cut): Top 10 Correct, T-3, -4
The Master’s Winner (Bubba) Will: MC T-11, -2
The US Open Winner (Webb) Will: MC correct
The Open Champion (Ernie Els) Will: MC T-48, +5
How many prior winners will be in the Top 10: 2 1, Keegan Bradley
1 Rory McIlroy -13 67 75 67 66 275 $1,445,000 600
2 David Lynn -5 73 74 68 68 283 $865,000 0
T3 Justin Rose -4 69 79 70 66 284 $384,500 147
T3 Keegan Bradley -4 68 77 71 68 284 $384,500 147
T3 Ian Poulter -4 70 71 74 69 284 $384,500 147
T3 Carl Pettersson -4 66 74 72 72 284 $384,500 147
T7 Blake Adams -3 71 72 75 67 285 $226,000 91
T7 Jamie Donaldson -3 69 73 73 70 285 $226,000 0
T7 Peter Hanson -3 69 75 70 71 285 $226,000 0
T7 Steve Stricker -3 74 73 67 71 285 $226,000 91
T11 Ben Curtis -2 69 77 73 67 286 $143,286 65
T11 Bubba Watson -2 73 75 70 68 286 $143,286 65
T11 Tim Clark -2 71 73 73 69 286 $143,286 65
T11 Geoff Ogilvy -2 68 78 70 70 286 $143,286 65
T11 Graeme McDowell -2 68 76 71 71 286 $143,286 65
T11 Tiger Woods -2 69 71 74 72 286 $143,286 65
T11 Adam Scott -2 68 75 70 73 286 $143,286 65
Will someone win it, or will everyone else lose it? DJ Wins it. No more bunker issues. Rory won it…period
What will be the biggest story of the tournament? John Daly making the cut. 8-shot win by Rory, although Daly was a nice story for a little while
Jason Dufner will: Top 10 T-27, +1
Tiger Woods will: Top 10 T-11, -2
Rory McIlroy will: Make cut HA!
Zach Johnson will: MC Solo 70th at +12
Steve Stricker will: Make cut T-7, -3
Dustin Johnson will: WIN!! T-48, +5
Who is most likely to “Jason Dufner” it on the 17th hole on Sunday? Jason Dufner. it didn’t matter
Adam Scott will: Go home early – MC. T-11, -2
JK
Winner: Matt Kuchar Cut with an 82 on Friday!
Winning Score: -7 -13
Runner Up: Zach Johnson took down solo 70th.
Low PGA Professional: Mitch Lowe again, no clue, but congrats to mitch for making the field
“Unknown” in the Top 10: Brenden de Jonge T-54, +6
Last Year’s Winner (Keegan Bradley) Will … (Win, Top10, Make the Cut, or Miss the Cut): Make the Cut T-3, -4
The Master’s Winner (Bubba) Will: Make the Cut Correct, T-11, -2
The US Open Winner (Webb) Will: Make the Cut nope..MC
The Open Champion (Ernie Els) Will: MC T-48, +5
How many prior winners will be in the Top 10: 2 just keegan
Will someone win it, or will everyone else lose it? Kuchar putts his way to a championship Rory does everything on his way to the championship
What will be the biggest story of the tournament? Should we ban the arm-putter? record-breaking rory
Jason Dufner will: Top 10 T-27, +1
Tiger Woods will: Top 10 close, T-11, -2
Rory McIlroy will: MC lol
Zach Johnson will: Runner up lol
Steve Stricker will: Make the Cut T-7, -3. Good showing for Strick
Dustin Johnson will: Top 10 no
Who is most likely to “Jason Dufner” it on the 17th hole on Sunday? Jason Dufner who cares?
Adam Scott will: MC. And take the long putter home with him. fail
Predictions: 2012 British Open
July 18, 2012
UPDATED 7/23/2012: Way to go Ernie!
I know they call it “The Open Championship,” but we’ve got one of those that’s pretty important too, so I’m going with what they used to call it. I looked back to last year’s predictions (here https://thepowerfade.com/2011/07/18/conversation-british-open-predictions/), and it’s a good thing LG and I have other careers to take besides predicting golf tournaments. Anyway, without further ado:
7/17/2012
JK:
Winner: Phil Mickelson m/c – Ernie Els
Winning Score: -3 -7
Runner Up: Lee Westwood T-45 at +6 – Adam Scott
Low Amateur: Are there really only two amateurs in the field? How about Alan Dunbar i think they both m/c
“Unknown” in the Top 10: Greg Chalmers T-45 – Nicholas Colsaerts was T-7, Alexander Noren was T-9, Thorbjorn Olessen was T-9. Other than that, actually a pretty strong Top 10:
1 Ernie Els -7
2 Adam Scott -6
T3 Tiger Woods -3
T3 Brandt Snedeker -3
T5 Luke Donald -2
T5 Graeme McDowell -2
T7 Thomas Aiken -1
T7 Nicolas Colsaerts -1
T9 Ian Poulter E
T9 Zach Johnson E
T9 Miguel Jimenez E
T9 Mark Calcavecchia E
T9 Matt Kuchar E
T9 Geoff Ogilvy E
T9 Vijay Singh E
T9 Dustin Johnson E
T9 Alexander Noren E
T9 Thorbjorn Olesen E
Last Year’s Winner (Darren Clarke) Will … (Win, Top10, Make the Cut, or Miss the Cut): Drink a lot of beer on Saturday and Sunday. M/c yah
The Master’s Winner (Bubba) Will …: wear pink socks on the plane home. M/c was in it for awhile; T-23
The US Open Winner (Webb) Will …: Stay home with his wife and potential new baby. Congrats Webb
The current PGA Champion (Keegan Bradley) will …: miss the cut. still learning how to do this thing T-34
How many prior winners will be in the Top 10: 3 YES! Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, and Marc Calcavecchia
Will someone win it, or will everyone else lose it? Someone will win it. Sans Carnoustie, the British Open is usually won by the most composed player. Els won it, but Scott defintely lost it as well
What will be the biggest story of the tournament? Phil finally comes through at the British fail
Who is most likely to “Tom Watson At Turnberry” it? Tiger he kind of did, but it was clearly Adam Scott who choked it
Will you watch on Sunday? Probably about half of it yep
Jason Dufner will: Top 10 T-31
Tiger Woods will: Top 10 Correct, T-3
Rory McIlroy will: Make the cut Correct, T-60
Zach Johnson will: Make the cut (no hating, LG) Top 10, T-9
Steve Stricker will: miss the cut T-23. Stricker played pretty well considering
Dustin Johnson will: he’s actually playing? make the cut Top 10, T-9. Good job freak of nature
LG:
Winner: TW T-3
Winning Score: -3 -7
Runner Up: Justin Rose M/c
Low Amateur: Are there really only two amateurs in the field? The one JK didn’t pick. both m/c
“Unknown” in the Top 10: Does Kevin Na count? If not, let’s go with Sam Walker. First, you know Kevin Na doesn’t count. Second, he shot 73-77 to m/c. Finally, Sam Walker shot 76-70 to m/c
Last Year’s Winner (Darren Clarke) Will … (Win, Top10, Make the Cut, or Miss the Cut): MC sorry Clarkie
The Master’s Winner (Bubba) Will …: MC T-23
The US Open Winner (Webb) Will …: MC If by “MC” you mean “not show up because he was home with his wife waiting on their new baby to arrive,” you’d be correct, but I suspect that is not the case.
The current PGA Champion (Keegan Bradley) will …: Make the cut T-34
How many prior winners will be in the Top 10: 2 3
Will someone win it, or will everyone else lose it? Hard to say – depends on the weather. Let’s go with Tiger wins it. Tiger won nothing
What will be the biggest story of the tournament? Tiger’s 15th. do you just copy/paste this from one prediction to another?
Who is most likely to “Tom Watson At Turnberry” it? Lee Westwood. Go read a book, guy. I wish it were Westwood.
Will you watch on Sunday? Yes. Live? no. did you?
Jason Dufner will: Make Cut T-31
Tiger Woods will: Win T-3
Rory McIlroy will: Top 10. T-60
Zach Johnson will: MC Top 10, T-9
Steve Stricker will: MC (sorry, Steve) T-23 (sorry, LG
Dustin Johnson will: Top 5. Top 5 isn’t a choice. He was close though. T-9
Play of the Week 36
July 13, 2012
This week’s POTW is the John Deere. Normally, we wouldn’t be worried about a “grade B” tournament, but watching the coverage of the first two rounds, I’m brought back to my childhood.
But, not by the John Deere itself–by the players.
When I was young, I was a nerd. Being a nerd, I played golf as a kid (before Tiger Woods–I got cool really fast when he jumped on the scene). I enjoyed watching the tournaments. My favorite player at the time–Nick Price–was doing a great job cleaning up majors and dominating the tour with his Ram Zebra and Goldwin AVDP. Davis Love III was in his prime, and “the greatest player never to win a major.” Phil Mickelson was young…and skinny. Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book was the best seller for golf instruction.
I thought it was odd when I saw some Tour Balata and Professional 90 golf balls on sale earlier this week. But theres something to this nostalgia thing. It helps remind you of your past and gives you a flashback to some great memories. I remember the first time I hit a Tour Balata….pretty awesome.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only person to buy some of those Professional 90s, because the guys on the leaderboard this week at the John Deere sure are the ones who know to use ’em. Let’s look at it this way: If I told you that Jeff Maggert was T-2 going into the weekend after shooting 68-62, that Lee Janzen was T-7 at -10, and that Steve Stricker was going for his 4th win, your first reaction would probably be “where’s Greg Norman on the leaderboard” followed by “hey, did you hear what the president said at the deposition? ‘It depends on what the meaning of the words “is” is.'” Yet that’s the leaderboard at the John Deere classic this year.
Alas, it IS 2012. Davis Love III is all but forgotten on the PGA Tour. Nick Price is on the “Champions Tour” (back when I was growing up, we called it the Senior Tour). Phil Mickelson turned out to be every bit the player everyone thought he would be and more so the eater that no one thought he would be. Goldwin and Ram are no longer companies. And if you ask a playing competitor for his “little red book,” you better be ready for some funny looks and a quiet rest of the round. Still, I love when the Tour shows up at an “easy” course, and the old-timers (short hitters) come out and show these young kids how it’s done. Even Stewart Appleby has shown up at T-23, -7.
I’m sure some of the younger kids in their Puma Monolines and Cobra Amp driver are probably thinking “what is this guy talking about?” The golfers of today just are missing something. I won’t say class, but there’s a way the game used to be played that just doesn’t exist anymore. It’s nice to see a flashback of some of these guys–I wish them all the best.
Thanks, guys, for the trip down memory lane. Now go out there and show the young guns how it’s done.
Play of the Week 16
June 8, 2011
This weeks POTW goes to Steve Stricker, champion of the Memorial Tournament.
Although a little belated, Stricker’s play this weekend needs to be commended. Stricker played incredibly, including two hole-outs in a four-hole span from Friday to Saturday. Although it’s not quite as impressive as Rocco Mediate’s 4-hole-out performance at CordeValle (the subject of POTW 2 and POTW 2.5), in four holes, Stricker hit an ace and holed out from the fairway on a par 4. He is now ranked 4th in the world, and he stands as the US’s best chance to overtake one of the pesky Euros (Westwood, Donald, and Kaymer) for the #1 ranking.
Although Stricker only managed a one-shot victory, a win is a win, and we’re proud of it.
So here’s to you, Steve. We hope to see you represent us (or, US) well at Congressional.
The Power Fade Golf Blog 