2016 Hyundai Tournament of Champions
Tournament: After a brief layoff, we’re back for our first tournament of the Calendar year. Just in time for the new year a tournament for winners only. The annual Hyundai Tournament of Champions starts Thursday in picturesque Hawaii. Any player who won during the 2015 calendar year on the PGA TOUR is invited to play this week. Should make for a great field and some exciting golf.
Course: The Plantation Course at the Kapalua Resort is located on the island of Maui in the tropical state of Hawaii. It is a very rare par 73 as it only calls for three par 3’s on the entire course. The Plantation Course is a Coore and Crenshaw design with Bermuda greens and wide undulating fairways. At 7450+ yards, the course is long but forgiving. Long inaccurate as well as short accurate players have won here in the past.
Field: Winners only. The field this year is headlined by Jordan Spieth and Jason Day. Bubba, DJ, and Fowler are also in this 32 man field.
What to Look For: This is a tough cookie to crack. Many players are coming off of long layoffs. Some players are simply not too motivated for these kinds of tournaments. And some players are just new to really big tournament golf. The keys to this week I believe are experience, par 5 scoring, and approach. Hawaii is known for its’ crosswinds and mastering them has proven to be a challenge for players. The last person to win this tournament in their first trip was Sergio Garcia in 2002. Over a third of the field will be playing here for the first time. Approach shots are the 2nd key. With wide fairways and forgiving rough, players will need to make a lot of birdies. And with 44/72 holes playing as par 4’s, players must take advantage by hitting it close if they want to go low.
Picks:
Graeme McDowell e/w*: G-Mac seemed to have lost his game in 2015 but found it near the end of the year and ended up winning in Mexico, which earned him a spot here this week. Being from Northern Ireland, McDowell knows how to play in the wind and has experience at this course in the past; finishing 3rd in 2011.
Jimmy Walker e/w*: We backed Walker in this event last year. He broke our hearts by losing in a playoff to Patrick Reed when he seemingly had the tournament wrapped up. That’s not the only negative with Walker. He also had an inexplicable decline at the end of 2015. He played well recently in the Bahamas in December and hopefully his new swing changes are working out well. Walker is an excellent putter who crushes the par 5’s and makes a lot of birdies.
2u Graeme McDowell e/w* @ 26/1
1.75u Jimmy Walker e/w* @ 28/1
7.5u Total @ Stake
munneypicks 
Leave a comment