This is not a week for the casual golf fan. After the high of The Masters, followed by a signature stop at Harbor Town, then the team format at Zurich, this week we are back to your regularly scheduled PGA Tour programming with The CJ Cup Byron Nelson. This tournament calls TPC Craig Ranch home and has a field full of recent KFT grads and players who are often fighting to keep their tour cards. In the past few years this event has been an absolute birdie fest and there is no reason to expect anything different this time around. This is all about identifying who you think can make birdies in bunches, or is just named K.H Lee with his recent dominance in this event. With the stage now set, let us get to our picks for the week. We will be following our standard format of having one selection from the top, middle, and bottom of the odds board.
Ben An
Ben An has really burst onto The PGA Tour scene since making the switch to the broomstick style putter. This year Ben An is 10th on The PGA Tour in total birdies made. He absolutely mashes the ball off the tee, but tends to be a little wild with it sometimes. At TPC Craig Ranch, you see wide open massive fairways on many of the holes, so driving distance tends to be more important than accuracy, playing again into Ben An’s hands. His form is good enough and the caliber of player he is is high enough that he is my pick to win this week at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
Michael Kim
Michael Kim has finished T14 and T11 in his last two starts. He is a relatively well rounded player who’s biggest weakness is usually driving accuracy. However, as we have already stated that is not much a factor at TPC Craig Ranch. What really stands out for Kim, is that he is 14th on The PGA Tour in Birdie or Better Percentage this year. With a profile like that, I feel good about him being our middle of the odds board pick this week. Look for Michael Kim to pick up a Top 10 finish this week.
Patrick Fishburn
This is purely a form pick here. Fishburn finished T4 with his partner Zac Blair last week at The Zurich Classic. Before that, he had his best finish of the year with a T23 in Punta Cana. His biggest strength is how far he hits it, which should suit him well for the week. I am projecting a top 20 finish for Fishburn this week at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
