Off the Top

• Scottie is taking the week off! He’s skipped the Wells Fargo every year, and despite it being at a different course, his quotes about how he was tired out by the time we saw the U.S. Open last year are holding water.

• This is a small-field, no-cut event. Unlike the “hosted” signature events, there is no 36-hole cut and everyone will (barring a WD/DQ) play the weekend.

• It’s been greatly discussed, but in case you’re late to the game: The PGA Championship is next week at Quail Hollow, so we’ll be playing up in Philadelphia at a course we’ve not yet seen on the PGA.

Since it’s a course we’ve never seen before, I’ll throw in a larger chunk of Ron’s excellent course preview to help get you up to speed on “Phillly Cricket”

The Philadelphia Cricket Club (Wissahickon Course)

Wissahickon is a par-70 that will play to a modest 7,100 yards. One of the best layouts in the Philadelphia metro area, it’s a great example of classical golf course architecture. The routing, combined with the rolling terrain, creative bunkering, and the unique green complexes are some of the highlights of this Tillinghast masterpiece.

The property is bisected by an antiquated rail platform that separates the elevated section of the course. Most of the front nine is in the lower half and contains heavier tree growth. It was routed by Tillinghast to create an intimate feel. The back nine has a much more expansive feel, as it makes its way out to the far corner and then back to the grand finish at the clubhouse.

The biggest adjustment the PGA Tour is making for the Truist is the routing of the holes. Players will start on what is usually the 365-yard par-4 8th and move to another short par 4 on the 9th. Then they’ll play 10 through 18 before moving to 1 and 2. The picturesque par-3 3rd, measuring only 122 yards, will be their 14th hole. Then they’ll take on the “Great Hazard” for an exciting risk-reward par-5. The final three holes—the 5th, 6th, and 4th—will challenge anyone trying to cling to a lead.

One of the main descriptions of the course (including from members) is that it possesses an excellent blend of demand and opportunity to score. Even with difficult greens and challenging bunkers, because of the short course length, there will be plenty of birdies this week. Most of the holes contain an abundance of strategic options, including aerial or ground approaches. Numerous holes, including both second shots on the par 5s, offer risk-reward opportunities.

At an average width of 32 yards, the course is fairly wide open and forgiving off the tee. While an errant drive will rarely result in a penalty stroke, it will lead to a difficult approach due to having a bad angle into a heavily-bunkered green. Other than penal fairway bunkers, there are few hazards, and the fescue rough is between 3″-4″ and not as difficult as other Tillinghast courses like Winged Foot or Bethpage Black. Another challenge players will face off the tee is that the rolling topography leads to uneven lies and the possibility of drives bouncing sideways into the rough. This will force players to hit different shot shapes and favor those with the skills and experience to do so.

The course is littered with 118 cavernous bunkers, including numerous adjacent to fairway landing zones with high lips that will challenge players who are going for the green. At Wissahickon, accuracy trumps distance. “We play a lot of golf courses that are ‘bomb it and go find it.’ You can’t necessarily do that here,” says Stewart Moore, PGA Tour vice president of championship management.

Perhaps the biggest course defense is the green complexes, which should play firm and are subtle and nuanced with their undulations. Some greens are open across the front and entice a running shot, while others are elevated and heavily defended. The design reflects Tillinghast’s genius for varied green settings. The different tiers and quadrants will penalize players for being on the wrong side of the hole. Similar to Augusta National, this is a course where you need to understand where to miss and to sometimes simply aim for the middle of the green. Missing on the short side in one of the deep greenside bunkers will present a near-impossible up-and-down. There are also numerous options for tough pin placements due to the small plateaus on most greens.

With nine of the 12 par 4s under 450 yards, there will be a high amount of wedges and short iron approaches. Players who miss greens will find themselves with some tricky chips and sand saves from around the green. While the greens don’t have massive slopes, there are only three that are relatively flat and devoid of contours. Lag putting and avoiding three-putts will be crucial for success this week.

There is not a weak hole on the course along with an amazing variety of par 3s and par 4s, both long and short. The finishing stretch of holes (Nos. 15-18) will provide a measure of drama on Sunday no matter how big the lead is. The “Great Hazard” 15th is a diabolical risk-reward par-5 with 13 bunkers smack in the middle of the fairway. The 16th is a well-protected, 215-yard par-3, and both Nos. 17 and 18 are 500-yard par-4s. The 18th is one of the East Coast’s best finishers, a tough risk-reward hole with a creek that comes into play if you don’t hug the left side of the fairway off the tee.

and a quick look at Myrtle Beach as well:

Betting

Happy to have gone lightly spraying the board for longshots last week as the tournament was cut short due to dominance. Not as many bets this week, but for sure a few guys I really like on this short, wedge-heavy course with bent grass greens.

Justin Thomas +1850
Patrick Cantlay +2050
Wyndham Clark +5500

I touch on some of the key stats I leaned on in my one and done thoughts for the week:

Myrtle Beach

Using last year’s model, popping some names I love at alt events anyway, so I’ll be taking a few shots in South Carolina as well.

Harry Hall +3500
Rico Hoey +4000
Joel Dahmen +5353
Chan Kim +6253

Weather

I suppose we can look at both tournies, although the small field in Philly really stops us from seeing any sort of a wave advantage.

Philly: Plenty of rain chances starting later in round 1, which may explain the compressed tee times for a field of this size. They’ll be going off the 1st and 10th tee despite the small field. Friday looks pretty rough and we may see a repeat of last week’s delays.

Dirty Myrtle: Rain chances all week, but they should be light showers for the most part, outside of the Thursday evening call for some storms. Either way, the course will be playing soft, and we might see some more preferred lies.

News and Notes

• We may not get carnage this week or next, but it appears that it’s on the horizon…

• It’s been a minute since we’ve had a Justin Ray stat bomb. While Scottie hasn’t won as much as last year, it’s still staggering how well he’s done in the big spots:

• In case you were wondering who qualified from the tour no one watches (a couple of these names were invited to the Ryder Cup dinner):

• RIP Seve. I’ll always stop to watch clips of him.

As always, bet responsibly, have fun, and see you next week for another major!

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