Things can be flawed and still deliver what their creators intended. One example is the FedEx Cup, whose top-heavy points system rewards weaker scheduling. Turn up and finish second in Bermuda (OK, I've made that sound simple) and you're about halfway to making the Playoffs. Finish top-20 in three of the four majors, as Shane Lowry did, and you're about halfway to second place in Bermuda.
Another example is Southwind, which in many ways is about as artificial as they come, its thick rough, multiple water hazards and small greens providing a test not of thought nor creativity but pure execution. You could argue that it isn't a place the best golfers in the world should be playing, yet there is no denying that when it comes to separating them on Sunday, the kind of holes you'll find here often make for fascinating viewing.
That point has been rammed home in recent seasons as this event has taken on elite status, first as a World Golf Championship, then as part of the Playoffs. When Robert Garrigus took seven at the 18th hole to blow a three-shot lead at the start of the last decade we might reasonably have assumed that was peak Southwind, but things have been even more spectacular since the field strength increased.
It is very difficult to sum up just how superior Scheffler has been from tee-to-green this season, but my best attempt is this: the gap between Scheffler in first and Rory McIlroy in second is 0.669 strokes per round. That same gap covers more than 70 players from those ranked in the 30s to those who are about average. It's a small number on paper, but a wide margin in practice.
Scheffler is both the best driver and the best iron player on the PGA Tour this season and the last time he failed to deliver a top 30 performance in the tee-to-green stats was March 2022. What happened then? He was caught on the wrong side of the draw at Sawgrass, something he would put right when winning The PLAYERS 12 months later.
We were on Morikawa when he came within a whisker of winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic and that was another reminder that a missed cut last time out really shouldn't worry anyone too much. His form before winning reads 4-MC-20-43-71-7 and more so than most top-class golfers he's capable of wild swings over a very short period.
That was in evidence here last year, when he followed back-to-back missed cuts with fifth place, and Morikawa has played well on all three Southwind starts having been 20th and 26th in the first two. That he's done so without his best approach work can be viewed in one of two ways, but certainly gives us the potential for a big jolt of improvement.
Thomas's dramatic near-miss seems to have kept him right in the mix for a wild card but the next fortnight will be vital, with so many hoping to enhance their claims and Thomas hoping they don't. The fact that Morikawa isn't a guarantee says everything about the depth of this US side.
Burns is bordering on outsider status having endured a generally disappointing run away from the WGC-Match Play, but the fact that two of the final three events take place in the south is hugely to his advantage and he's a prime candidate to make a late bid for the 12th slot.
Born in Louisiana, Burns has won twice in Florida, twice in Texas, once in Mississippi and once in Georgia so far in his career, and while he's a good putter on all surfaces, he's an exceptional one on bermuda.
Undeniably frustrating to follow, there's a strong chance Riley finds a way to undo whatever good comes of his performance this week but I do think he's overpriced given what are ideal conditions, particularly having driven the ball so well to finish 31st on his debut here last August.
Like Burns, he's much more at home in this part of the US than the Midwest, where he showed plenty of good signs during June and early July and particularly with his driver, which remained strong in Scotland and England, too.
Eighth at Bay Hill came after he'd hit the ball well enough to do better than 29th in the Honda, and this followed a run of missed cuts on the west coast. He'd come to life in Florida during his rookie season, too, with second place there followed by fourth at Colonial in Texas, his two best chances to win so far.
He's since done that, in a manner of speaking, by capturing the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Nick Hardy, and while he's without a top-30 finish on his own since then, the way he struck it at Sedgefield last week is enough to consider him a live one at huge odds in this 70-man field.
I'll end on a more serious note with CAM YOUNG, looking to emulate his Wake Forest teammate Zalatoris by breaking through at Southwind.
The similarities don't end there, as Young also arrives in good form following two top-10 finishes in his last three starts, with a missed cut at the 3M Open easy enough to forgive following his contending performance in the Open before that.
Young gained a staggering 16-plus strokes with his ball-striking alone at Hoylake, evidence that his long-game is well and truly back. To contend and finish eighth in the Open while putting so poorly perhaps explains why Fred Couples seems to believe his Ryder Cup place is already guaranteed despite a generally quiet season.
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