The Charles Schwab Challenge
What a week for golf fans across the world. This week we were blessed with history yet again. Phil Mickelson captured his sixth major victory this past week at The PGA Championship. Not only is this huge for Phil, but he now holds the record for the oldest major champion at 50 years old. Now it’s no secret that Phil has been working on his game both physically and mentally, but I don’t think many people ever believed that Phil could have accomplished this. What’s even more impressive is that he battled some of the toughest conditions between the golf course itself and the elements. Kiawah and pretty much every other major championship golf course requires a special amount of physical and mental toughness and Phil filled the order completely. Another huge benefit for Phil now that he’s won again is that he’s now exempt into the next five U.S. Open Championships. This is pivotal for his career because Phil now has at the very least five chances to complete the career grand slam. Another key question that is popping up now is whether Phil deserves a spot on the Ryder Cup tea team. In my opinion, yes Phil is playing well enough this year to deserve a spot, he’s earned it. Now Phil winning is not only good for his career but it’s so great for the game. Phil is one of the most liked players on tour and he plays an integral part in the growth of the game itself. However Phil wasn’t the only newsworthy thing that happened this past weekend.
This past weekend a video surfaced of Brooks Koepka giving a post round interview. Now during this interview Bryson DeChambeau walks past and Brooks casts a nasty eye roll towards Bryson and says some choice words on national television. Now to many this is funny and just banter but honestly in my opinion this is just down right immature. You’d never see Tiger or Phil act like this. They held themselves to a higher standard and I can promise you there were plenty of times when Tiger and Phil didn’t get along. I will be the first to say Bryson is full of crap. I totally agree there is a vast amount of science involved in the game of golf but Bryson believes that he’s superior to the rest of us and we won’t ever be able to understand his thinking. That is just wrong because there are so many knowledgeable players on tour that think very similar to Bryson. So I think this whole ensemble is a complete sham. Regarding Brooks, he’s a phenomenal player that shouldn’t lower himself to the likes of Bryson. He’s got more majors, and at the end of the day that’s what matters and that’s what gets you in the Hall Of Fame. Nevertheless the tour continues on, this week the tour heads to Fort Worth, Texas for the Charles Schwab Challenge.
I’m a huge fan of this event not only because of its long history but the venue, Colonial Country Club offers some top notch golf. This golf course much like Kiawah requires every single part of your game to be perfect. Now the history behind the event is just as incredible. The event is unofficially known as the Ben Hogan event on account that he’s won it five times and is from Fort Worth, Texas. This event is also one of the longest running events. The Charles Schwab Challenge has been around for 75 years. That’s one of the big reasons I really love this event because there is so much history and that history draws some of the best players in the world to compete. This week the field did not disappoint. Fans can watch the likes of Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau, Justin Rose, Corey Conners, Daniel Berger, and last but certainly not least Phil Mickelson. Gear up fans were in for another wild ride on tour.
In my mind this is like a major championship field, minus a small number of big names. Nonetheless it’s still tricky to pick a winner. However this week my winning pick of the week goes to Tony Finau. Now I know Tony can’t win, Tony can’t close but he’s due. He got off to a slow start last week but really came into his own by the weekend and put up some really solid rounds. He’s clearly got the game and I think mentally he’s ready to get over this hump.
My notable to miss the cut this week goes to Patrick Reed. As of late Reed has been struggling which happens a lot. The one stat that really speaks to me is his scrambling numbers. He’s only scrambling for par 59% of the time. Most tour players have that percentage up to around 70%. That stat alone keeps the number of bogeys down significantly.
Lastly, my sleeper pick goes to Harry Higgs. I’m living and dying by this guy. He’s coming off a hot top 5 at the PGA Championship which gets him into all the majors including next year's Masters. This kind of strong play carries over. Trust me when I say this, Harry Higgs will win on tour sooner rather than later. (Mike)