Lord John Byron Nelson JR.

“Putting affects the nerves more than anything. I would actually get nauseated over three-footers.”

Golfmoolah is all over Jeff Overton and D.A. Points in this years Byron Nelson Championship !! Usually we don’t just come out and say it, but sometimes you have to just go with your gut and see what happens !! Once again we are at a TPC venue and letting it fly in the big state of Texas !! With the course record standing at 61 by a handful of guys including Cameron Beckman in 2010 i think we might have someone challenge that this year…guys are going low and doing it more often.

In 2011 number 15 was the most difficult hole by far with 0 eagles, 16 birdies, 259 pars, 167 bogeys, 21 double bogeys and four train wrecks !! With that said the easiest hole is number 7 which is a shorter par 5 the players have really eaten up in the past years. It gave up 14 eagles and 218 birdies allowing the players to count on that hole throughout the week. You will need to be a good ball striker as the Four Seasons course ranks 5th out of 51 in difficulty on the PGA Tour…..fairways and greens boys !!

Lord Byron will be watching and hopefully a good show at that !! If the previous handful of tournaments is any indication the field is wide open and the winner can come from the last hour on Sunday…hold on to your texas sized hat and watch out picks roll on through to the bank !!

Down the Road

Don’t Be A Playa Hater @ The Players Championship

If you’re a true PLAYA then you won’t have any problems with The Players Championship and the dreaded 17th that separates the men from the girlie-men. This year it has become increasingly difficult to pick a winner with the immense amount of talent on the tour…last week we nailed it but what about this week. If you look at the list of past winners it ranges all over the map from the big guns, to no names to everyone in between. Will there be a great story to emerge from the pack…possibly Ernie winning to secure a Masters bid next year and close out what he has been so close to doing in several tournaments all year. Maybe it will be someone who is always close but has never been able to close the door on the win like Dufner & Fowler already did this year…….Bud perhaps. Or, could the run of the “OH BOYS” be complete with a Ben Crane win this week? Karma seems to be on their side with an avalanche of wins coming from the other guys and Ben’s solid play this year.

Stats show that the winner will need a lot of starts under his belt and have a great GIR average to come away with the win at the TPC…..does this carry any weight? We like a combination of familiarity, solid play this year & the ability to be cool under fire.

Golfmoolah’s TPC Players Championship picks:

Ernie Els

Ben Crane

Bud Cauley

Rory Mc

Luke Donald

Wells Fargo @ Quail- Who To Follow Club

The Wells Fargo Championship will be blazing into town at Quail Hallow this week and traditionally boasts one  of the most difficult par 72’s on the PGA TOUR. With the exciting green mile of 16, 17 & 18 giving the players the opportunity to really display their talents for the gallery who will be front and center hoping for an exciting tournament.

It seems to be one of the favorite stops for most players and conjures up a lot of good memories of recent winners who grace the tops in the game: Rory, Tiger, Phil, Bubba, Hunter and the list goes on. The speculation is how does this course set up for the wild tee shots as the fairways are tough to hit with trouble lurking around each corner. Luckily, the rain this week might minimize some of the errant shots but the winner will need at least 14 fairways hit and 12 GIR.

With that said, this is who GOLFMOOLAH likes to win:

• Rory
• Rickie (go time) Fowler
• Some guy named Tiger
• Stricker
• Phil
• Cameron Tringale

SLEEPER – Vijay

It should be a star studded field this year…..if the trend is right and who wants to fight the trend? One of the Tweeters will win.

Down The Road

Masters Eve

Santa Claus beware – Masters Eve is closing in on your turf !! This week is seriously the real holidays for adults…..what person wouldn’t want a Masters hat or some sort or paraphernalia from the hallowed grounds? Nobody i want to know…that’s for damn sure !!

Today marks the start of the par three tourney which as we all know comes with much superstition and voodoo to the winner. Maybe we should be turning the odds on who will break through with a win in the par three and the main tourney…it will happen eventually just not sure when or who will give it a real shot without tanking the last couple holes to avoid the jinx. I say make the par three worth a butt load of money and then you will see guys making a real run at winning both events.

OK, this is a follow up entry to last weeks predictions as many things have changed, players have dropped out, pairings have been published etc. Not much has changed at the top of our picks…the chalk we truly believe will just run away with it this year…no first timer or out of the blue player doing a one and done job.

We want to know if you can pick who will come in 7th place? Try that on for size why don’t ya? Send us an email balls@golfmoolah.com with your pick and if you are correct you will receive a splendid prize at your doorstep !! Don’t all jump at once

Tiger wins

Phil comes in 4th

7th place goes to stricker

Down the road people

Green Jacket Off The Rack or One In pursuit Of Jack?

Golfmoolah can’t believe it’s that time again? The Masters seems to creep up on you each season even with their commercials running during the NFL season. We will be doing two entries for the Masters this year: One with our predictions and Two a follow up saying “i told you so”, haha

In all seriousness, this Masters has the making of becoming the most interesting and most viewed in history with all the stories that surround it. The obvious story: Tiger coming off a win at Bay Hill with a steam train full of momentum right down magnolia lane to his favorite place on tour. What about Rory? does he still have visions of a complete melt down spraying shots into every hazard on the course? Phil….does he have the mojo to grab another major despite his up and down play in the last 8 months? Will a relative nobody come out of the grass to grab the green jacket from the chalk on the Vegas sports books?

Preparation comes in many different forms for Augusta…each player has their own version of what works best for them and will ultimately give them the best chance down the stretch as all anyone wants is to be in the hunt on the back nine sunday afternoon with a gallery transfixed on their every move. So, will Dustin Johnson’s two week stint away from competition help his knee and mentally prepare him for a run? Maybe Phil and Keegan playing together last week is the answer …wait…what about whispers of Tiger going out last sunday to bang out a round pre- Bay Hill..thats gotta do something for the good feelings of past greatness…right? However you prepare, however you deem ” I’m ready”, However you process the fact that you are about to tee off in the greatest golf tournament know world wide…one things for sure; You better get ready for the crowd cause one mishap, one tip of the ca at the wrong moment or one glorious shot could be the difference between wearing a custom fit green embroidered jacket and going back to your rack suite until next year.

GOLFMOOLAHS 2012 MASTERS PREDICTIONS:

TIGER - the guy is on some roll in the last couple of weeks and coming of a solid final round of putting he looks primed to absolutely crush the field in an embarrassing fashion…just CRUSH them.

RORY – We have no idea what his mental capacity is for Augusta…he seems to be stripping them all over the world but will the ghosts of the past rear their ugly heads…we think so, he will play great all weekend but there will be that one hole that shakes his confidence like a 7.5 earthquake squashing his hopes of a win

DUSTIN JOHNSON – He is the X factor in this…we think he could be great but he could also be one of those guys that just never breaks through. We think he will make a good run at it this year and smart money is with him…Go Low and play Slow DJ !!

BUBBA WATSON – Love his game, his attitude and his flair for the treasured game of golf…but his distance could get him in trouble here .

FREDDY – Couples is just a solid dude and player when it comes to the Masters….we don’t care what his state of game is we like him and will be with him all the way through.

LUKE DONALD – Not a chance in hell he sniffs this jacket…NO WAY NO HOW

STRICKER – He is our sleeper cause the guy can putt on concrete and get it close if it was downhill on Laguna Secca…..watch him to be there.

ONE EUROPEAN PLAYER – One of these guys always makes a stab at it but can’t seem to deal with the pressure….we think this trend continues, Westwood, Clarke, Rory etc

CRAZY WHACKY CANT BELIEVE IT HAPPENED – Hunter Mahan is the recipient of this time honored tradition….when you scratch your head and say WTF was that guy thinking

TIGER WINS BY A LOT, SOMETHING CRAZY WILL GO DOWN, RECORD NUMBER PUT UP & IT WILL BE HOT AS HELL

The list of odds will change after the Shell Houston Open but these are the current odds to win the 2012 Masters which we will update come next week.

Twitter or Pinterest for Athletes?

Social media has obviously brought the professional athlete and the fan closer together then ever before. Do you think Jack or Arnie would have imagined shooting chats back and forth with some random that is following their career from half a world away? Today, Athletes and more specifically the pro golfers have embraced what twitter can do for their fan base and endorsements having the ability to go directly to the fan bypassing the retail store.

Pinterest in the new kid on the block and while it is most appealing to the female demographic it’s starting to gain steam in users and Athletes who want to create a brand around their career. Forecasts have Pinterest ready to explode in popularity so the question begs who has the upper hand with the golfers today and moving forward?

After polling 10 well know athletes its clear that twitter is the overwhelming favorite but Pinterest is starting to creep around the corner coming into the eyesight of some. So, get your fingers warmed up, hit the socila sites and start hammering your favorite golfer with questions, thoughts, concerns or opinions cause you might just get a reply !!

Next entry will entail our Masters predictions

AT&T Pebble Beach ProAm…who’s who

The AT&T pebble Beach Pro Am always provides an interesting twist to the normal grinds of the tour schedule for both players and fans alike. For some reason it gives the regular weekend golfer an insight into what it might be like to play on the big stage and see who might be sand bagging with their handicap just like the local muni tournaments they play in, haha

I have no idea how the committee comes up with the pairings for the tournament or how they decide if someone is a celebrity or not as we all know many people playing under that category conjure up questions of “who is that” ? Which brings us to the ever important thought of how do you accurately predict a winning team for this event?

Do you pick a high handicapper with a medium ranked pro? do you go with the chalk or maybe just throw a dart and see what happens? I know the network likes to zero in on a handful of celebrities year after year but who the hell decided it was a good idea to label George Lopez a celebrity? Can anyone explain this? It’s truely the myth of the tournament and to all watching at home.

Some notable pairings that will surely grab the attention of viewers are:

Tiger & Romo – maybe Romo will close in this since the grid iron has not been so kind and this is coming from a huge Cowboys fan

Bud Cauley & Nick Saban – This is certainly a power pairing as bud is just coming into his own and has the roll tide by his side. Does anyone remember Saban bailing on a few jobs not that long ago?

D.A. Points & Caddy Shack – The defending champions and crowd fav might have a good shot at it depending on Murray’s game this season….couple putts drop who knows

Furyk & Hootie – This seems to be an interesting pairing….hootie always does the day after the masters charity event and Jim could use a bit of a nudge in the right direction….keep an outside eye on these two

Stadler & Drexler – For some reason the Stadler family always does well in these things…maybe it’s the stage, incredible buffets of just good play but keep your thoughts on this odd couple

Who would be your dream teammate and what course would you rather play during this event?

Down the road People

PS – The Tiger Woods mania is about to go ballistic with the TV coverage, announcers, press, twitter, blogs and Vegas….for all of you who sealed his fate during some down years it seems as though you have jumped back on the band wagon !! He did not lose his arms and as we stated here many times on our blog will return to prominence again…starting with the Masters this year as his first major of the year.

Qatar Masters or Should I Say…Lets Go JD !!

I can’t express enough how great it would be to see JD pull off a win after many years or fighting it….the guy is a fan favorite and deserves t hoist the trophy at least one more time. After all the turmoil with Tiger does his antics look that bad in hind sight? Answer: NO WAY… it was self inflicting. The tournament has been shortened to 54 holes due to weather so lets see what the Loudmouth pant wearing ball striker has in store for his second round…..watch out for camels and those crazy wind storms my man. Go low, knock down & worm burner…whatever it takes to make the masses cheer for Mr. daly !! He’s one of the good guys

The Farmers Insurance Open @ Torrey Pines

The tour stops at the incredible Torrey Pines where Bubba Watson aka The General Lee is defending champion. This will be a relatively short entry as this tournament offers little to the imagination other then the hang gliders and surfers at blacks beach.  With some deciding to split the world in half and play The Abu Dabi HSBC Challenge to pocket some appearance fess…you know who you are. That in conjunction with the PGA Merchandise Show it feels like the golfing world separated for the weekend !!

We like the following guys to make a solid run at the money this weekend :

Rickie Fowler - just because if we pick him enough times he has to win eventually…RIGHT?

Ben Crane – PLaying solid golf with an emphasis on his incredible putting so far this year…..viral video junkie his reputation has seriously take a 180 for the good

Phil - This is his home turf and a previous winner we need Phil to get his game in gear so he can challenge at the Masters where it will be a classic Phil vs. Tiger Duel.

Dustin J. – We are hoping his back, knee, toe, fingers and anything else that is bothering him has healed enough to where he can concentrate on birdies instead of DNF’s

SLEEPERS:

JJ Henry – One of the guys from our home town and we would be remiss to not pick a homer…..get it done JJ and stay away from the fast food please

Bud Cauley – The guy is just pure talent and will be a star…..will win this season for sure

Send us your pick to win and we will send you a super special gift !! Ready? GO

Humana Challenge

There’s nothing like the desert of Palm Springs and one better the Vodka Lemonade drinks at the Parker Hotel that will knock you on your ass after a couple rounds of life size chess or ping pong pool side……wait, the purpose of this entry was to talk golf !!

The Humana Challenge @ PGA West, La Quinta, California kicks off tomorrow worth 500 FedEx points and more importantly 5.6 mill in prize money. What other sport can the guy who never wins or comes in a consistent 30th place be a millionaire at the end of the season….that’s insane !! Anyway, i keep getting off track here…lets get to this lame tournament and be done with it already.

There are 13 major winners in the field all averaging 41 years of age so lets just toss that group out of the mix. Most of the previous winners of this tournament are not serial winners so lets toss them out as well since a repeat or multiple win at the same event is not likely here.The international players will melt under the heat of the sun or pressure so lets get rid of them also. The 40 plus group just doesn’t have the gusto to manage a win here either which leaves us by process of elimination with the Younger sharp shooters listed below.

The winner will come from the group below as far as we can estimate & by quantitative intelligence applied using rankings, age, nationality and tour stats. We have highlighted who we think will win from this list so take a look and check back post tournament and thank us then.