The PGA Tour is back this week with another designated event at the Quail Hollow Club. 33 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking will be there, including multiple major winners. The field is headlined by Rory Mcilroy, Patrick Cantlay, last week’s winner Tony Finau, and the defending champion, Max Homa. Quail Hollow is one of the toughest courses on tour, as it is a Par 71 and stretches out to almost 7,600 yards, so look for the bombers to have an advantage.
Player to Fade:
Robert Streb has not been lighting it up this PGA Tour season at all. He has only made 3/17 cuts this year, and his T-13 finish at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans is his only made cut in 2023. I don’t see any signs of him figuring anything out, so look for him to add to his missed cut streak.
Dark Horse:
Being one of the best ball strikers on tour, you think, would lead to wins. That’s not been the case for Tommy Fleetwood, as he still hasn’t found the winner’s circle, but his game has been trending in the right direction. He’s made 9/10 cuts with multiple top 10’s this year. He continues to gain strokes off the tee, and at the RBC, he was able to gain 0.48 stokes putting. If he can raise that this week, then I look for him to be in the hunt on the weekend.
Top 10:
Sungjae Im has quietly put together a nice season this year. While he hasn’t won, he has 6 top 10s, and has made 15/16 cuts on the year. He’s been consistent ever since joining the PGA Tour, and he seems to find himself in contention a good bit. Sungjae has been consistently gaining strokes off the tee, as well as approach his last few events. He lost -.337 strokes putting at the RBC and still finished T-7. If he starts gaining strokes putting, then look for him to play very well this week.
Winner:
A young gun that burst onto the scene years ago has been off to a great start in his PGA Tour career. Viktor Hovland won at the Hero World Challenge during the off-season, has 6 top 10’s on the year, and has not missed a cut this season. Viktor is a great ball striker, and it really shows when you look at his stats. He almost gains a full stroke off the tee and approach, which will be big this weekend on a bomber’s course. His last event saw him lose -1.807 and he has lost -1.67 strokes putting on the season. If Viktor gets anything out of his putter this week, there is no doubt he can contend and win with how well he is striking it.