U.S Open Preview & Picks
June 13, 2023
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2023 U.S Open Preview & Picks The 123rd U.S Open bring us to Los Angeles Country Club for the first major ever held at the
The Masters Recap
Dominick Stefanacci
The Masters, also known as the time of year when golfers traded in their khakis for green jackets, was a tournament that had people saying “fore” more times than they ever thought possible. The Augusta National Golf Club, known for its pristine green grass, vibrant flowers, and strict rules (seriously, don’t even think about bringing your cell phone onto the course). But let’s be real, the real stars of the show were the golfers. As it should be!
We got our first taste of the PGA Tour versus the LIV Tour. Although I must say that headline didn’t appear at all during the tournament as we got some new and refreshing headlines. We saw injuries, rain and fantastic golf. I was curious to see if the LIV Tour golfers could compete on the 4th day. To my surprise, most of them did outstanding on the 4th day of the event. Very quickly, this tournament turned into a 2-horse race going into Day 3. Let’s see how it shook out!
Top of the Leaderboard
The Winner - Jon Rahm
Rahmbo!!! Notching his second career Major Tournament Victory with the last being the U.S. Open in 2021. Rahmbo started the Masters Tournament with a 4-putt double bogey. Uncharacteristic like of him, he decided it was time to turn it on. Firing off a 65 (-7) to concluded the first round. Rahm, Hovland & Koepka were in the driver seat with weather in the forecast for round 2 & 3.
As the rain came down in Round 2, Rahm continued to stay on top of the leaderboard. While getting about half of Round 3 in Saturday before the rain took over the day, Rahm kept in striking distance of the hot Brooks Koepka.
Heading into Sunday, Rahmbo was down 4 shots to the LIV Tour Pro Brooks Koepka. To me, it seemed over right after the first tee box when Rahmbo center cuts the fairway while Koepka snap hooks his tee shot into the woods. Continuing his success from earlier in the year, Rahm was cool and consistent as they come, only carding 1 bogey on the day and bringing home the Green Jacket.
With 1 Major played and 1 win for Rahm, let’s keep track to see if he can complete the calendar grand slam.
Jon Rahm wins the Green Jacket. #themasters pic.twitter.com/WZ2P2ehDP7
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 9, 2023
Top 3 Moments
#1 Sam Bennett
What a story. These are the kind of moments and opportunities that people dream of. The current U.S. #1 Amateur Sam Bennett took the field by storm in the first 2 rounds in Augusta. After carding a 68 (-4) in Round 1 and another 68 (-4) in Round 2; Sam Bennett earned the right to play in the final grouping with Rahm and Koepka in Round 3. While he struggled in Round 3 & 4, Bennett received the heart of the fans this past weekend. Finishing the Tournament at T16(-2), Bennett should be proud of what he accomplished this past weekend.
#2 The Rain
This was the story heading into Friday and Saturday at The Masters. Thursday was the day to go low with Friday and Saturday to be the days to hold your score. This Story held true as we saw Rahm and Brooks jump out to an early lead, never looking back to the rest of the field with any real threats. The rain got to be so bad on Saturday that [2] trees fell down and finally the tournament committee called it a day after they came down. Check out the scene. Luckily no one was harmed or injured.
#3 Jon Rahm Self-Proclaimtion
Check out a Tweet from Jon Rahm on November 8th, 2013. Did anyone even know twitter was a thing back then?? Anyways, after opening up a fortune cookie, this is what he finds. “Your Talents will be recognized and suitably rewarded” Pretty cool if you ask me. Guess I’ll start tweeting my own fortune cookies here soon
Update: He did it. https://t.co/c9OTx1EjgU
— Skratch (@Skratch) April 9, 2023
Pick Results for the The Masters
Top 20 Finish:
Brooks Koepka +150
Cam Smith -105
Brooks was ready to compete this weekend. With taking a commanding lead going into Sunday, this bet was locked up. Brooks had a self-proclamation on taking home the Green Jacket during Netflix’s Full Swing Documentary and I was convinced for a while it was his for the taking. Unfortunately, he did fall a bit short of his own goal, but a Top 20 we will take and run with!
I am going to give Cam Smith an out here. He got hosed with his tee times and seemingly got the worst of it compared to the field with this weekend’s rain. Cam will still be a top pick in the majors moving forward.
Top 10 Finish:
Will Zalatoris +330
Jordan Spieth +165
Will Zalatoris had to withdraw due to a back injury in Round 1.
Jordan continues to impressive the golf community showing he can go low on Sunday’s. Finishing T3 (-7) this weekend, Speith also got short end of the stick getting the opportunity to play in the rain. Having a stellar Sunday, he cashes the bet and earns himself a whole lot of prize money.
What to say……Patrick had all the chances and just couldn’t get it done. He was in prime position to chase down the leaders but slowly fell down the leaderboard. Always the next one Pat
Max had an interesting weekend to me. He seemed to be a bit overwhelmed by the stage of The Masters and the rain didn’t help. Going into this weekend as one of our favorites to win, he didn’t rise to the occasion quite as we thought. Don’t write him off though……with more experience at Major events this can propel him to the winner’s circle. Let’s go Max!
Swindle of the Week:
Tiger Woods any bogey free round +700
Tiger still just doesn’t seem quite healthy. After playing in the rain and walking the slopes of Augusta National, Tiger’s injuries seemed to be stirring up again as he had to withdraw. Of course that didn’t help this bet whatsoever as he carded [5] bogey in Round 1 and [3] in Round 2.
The scene is set . . .#RBCHeritage pic.twitter.com/yxtRv63y63
— RBC Heritage (@RBC_Heritage) April 10, 2023
Coming up for the PGA Tour
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