Tommy Fleetwood $7,900: His usual Sunday slide at Bay Hill may have suppressed his ownership at Sawgrass just enough to break out The Hammer. He still T-10’d there, along with back to back T-10s at Sawgrass, I’ll be all in on Tommy Boy this week. His time to win on US Soil is near, as it has been for several seasons now. One time.
Jason Kokrak $7,700: The KOKRAKEN as I’ve coined him due to his Earth-shaking drives, the big boy from North of the Border has been ripping off T-20s like a bandit of late, really dating back to the Fall Swing. A win at the CJ Cup was a breakthrough and despite a suspect track record here at Sawgrass, I expect his recent good play to continue.
Max Homa $7,600: There’s something to be said for youthful blood I guess-as the Twitter (and ball-striking) maven tees it up for the eighth, yes, a Sungjae-esque EIGHTH straight week. That stretch includes a win and two other T-10s which for me outweigh him being a first-timer on Pete Dye’s diabolical Stadium Course.
Lanto Griffin $7,300: Queue the classic Rodney Dangerfield line because this poor guy simply gets no respect on DK-a weekly mainstay in lurk range with finishes of T-26 or better in his last four outings, the Ponte Vedra Beach local should know this track quite well despite technically being a first-timer at the TPC.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout $7,100: Thank goodness he survived the childhood rat poisoning because this guy is a stud. The Pride of Johannesburg is in incredible year-to-date form, and although he hasn’t completed four rounds here, he fired a 65 on his first round here before the pandemic shut down last year’s event. Keep a close eye on THE BEZ this week.
SICKO SPECIAL-Andrew Putnam $6,300: Last week we hit an incredible T-4 with “Richy Dimaso” Werenski and we’ll try to follow it up with another guy who poked his head into top of the leaderboard at Bay Hill, Mr. Andrew Putnam. An up and down player who thrives in warm climates, he has found a recent resurgence with his new Srixon irons (4th, 5th, 7th in three of last five outings). An elite putter to boot, I wouldn’t be shocked if he was this year's surprise contender, at a tournament notorious for implosions and surprise T-5s.
Hear more from Chief by following him on Twitter at @Blatant_Chief.