2024 Wells Fargo Championship DFS Preview – Picks, Strategy, Fades | The First Cut Podcast

Rick Gehman and Greg DuCharme preview the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship from a DFS perspective with picks, strategy and fades.

0:00 Intro + Ludvig Aberg withdraws from the Wells Fargo
3:00 Quail Hollow Course Breakdown – A Big Boy Course + scorecard and the Green Mile
7:30 10k+ | Rory and his Quail Hollow record sit at the top
12:29 9k | Do you *have* to get any of these guys?
21:23 8k | The range of “guys who make me rip my hair out” + Alex Noren’s consistency
31:35 7k | Play Will Zalatoris. Just do it. Him and Akshay Bhatia
41:20 6k | Rickie Fowler? Greg has an argument for him….

#golf #pgatour #golfoncbs #firstcutpodcast #wellsfargochampionship #GolfDFS #golfpicks #dailyfantasysports #PGADFS

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ABOUT THE SHOW: The First Cut brings you everything you need to know in the world of professional golf. Nearly every day Rick Gehman, Kyle Porter, Mark Immelman, Greg DuCharme, Sia Nejad and Patrick McDonald bring you the best analysis in the game. From DFS to betting previews, interviews and recaps… everything golf is on the table when you listen to The First Cut.

freaking first cut golly welcome to the first cup podcast I’m Rick giman and this is your DFS preview for this week’s Wells Fargo Championship joining me to break it all down Greg duch is here hey Greg Rick looking forward to this one uh great we got a great golf course we got a great field I’m getting us ready for a major championship I think there’s a lot of similarities between this setup and and a PGA Championship some differences but I think there’s some similarities as well okay I want to hear about those but before we do this is where I would be mashing the breaking news drop but we don’t have one so just assume that it’s like breaking news breaking news well maybe we have one now as of 20 minutes ago lud VI oberg has withdrawn from the Wells Fargo Championship he said quote unfortunately I’m dealing with a knee issue and after Consulting with my doctors we think it’s best that I take some additional time to rest I hope everyone has a great week and I look forward to teeing it up next week so that’s that’s a very professional statement he told us what’s wrong and he told us a timeline of when we can expect his return so uh I hate to see a guy this young dealing with any type of injury but already planning to be back in Action next week for the PGA Championship he is very young for something like this um you know I haven’t heard of any reports of him dealing with injuries like this in college um which is a good sign look golfers are people too and they can get hurt so it it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a long-term issue going on which I certainly hope is the case if there is any good news that comes out of this at all uh it does squash the idea that ludvig is a robot he is indeed human uh his blood is red he does feel pain and he’s dealing with knee pain yes unless he’s making it up he still could be a robot but I wouldn’t put I I wouldn’t say that’s uh very likely so um yes he’s human the other piece of good news is uh everybody else in the field doesn’t have to deal with his driver for the week which boy when I was looking at this I’m thinking this could be a ludig type Golf Course Big Time certainly could be that Golf Course is Quail Hollow it’s a course that we see every single year on the PGA tour sometimes a major championship sometimes on in the President’s Cup but mostly for the Wells Fargo championship before we jump into that Golf Course Greg reminder this is a signature event now down to 69 golfers there will not be a cut for guaranteed rounds this is not like Riviera it’s not like the memorial where they have those cuts for for those weeks so uh this is another small field with the top players in the world minus Scotty minus Ludi yes um first and second in the Masters uh missing both of those guys but still very very um High Caliber players behind him I’m looking forward to diving in and breaking that down but Rick when you look at this golf course it suits I mean there are great Champions here because it requires an allaround skill set and I I was making some notes before I’m looking at this saying okay well uh driving distance is a huge aspect here it’s a big Golf Course over 7500 yards of par 71 par adjusted it’s the longest course on the PGA tour um the fairways are hard to hit the greens are very hard to hit you know you’re talking about a graen of Regulation rate of about 60% a lot of approach shots come from outside of 150 yards so that that makes it challenging and um because of that short game comes into play your short game will be tested and these are some really tricky greens as well and you know winners here tend to have really good putting weeks as well so you got to drive it well uh at least long your iron play has to be spoton like it does every week to win um you got to get up and down when you do Miss greens and you got to make a lot of putts so you got to do everything well here which is why I think it produces the list of Champions that it does yeah that’s basically everything and you’re right it’s usually a big boys club when it gets to the Wells Fargo Championship Josh if you want to fire up my screen I’ve got the scorecard here and as Greg mentioned that’s a par 71 7558 and the thing about this and I’ll overlay the the scoring averages here Greg the the es and flows of this golf course uh you are going to run into some resistance immediately in your rounds all holes one through six have historically played over par you will get a slight reprieve around the turn seven is getable eight is scorable 10 is scorable you will go back 11 12 13 those are all difficult holes you’ve got one last crack at birdies on 14 and 15 before you get to The Green Mile which is uh a very difficult stretch one of the most difficult three- hole stretches that we get on the PGA tour that’s 16 17 and 18 so you’ve got a bob you’ve got a weep you’ve got to pick your spots and you’ve got to just take what this golf course is going to give you sometimes it’s going to give you Bogey and you got to have the ability to to make a bogey and kind of just keep your head down yeah you know even if you see a winning score like like last year get to 19 under uh there’s a lot of really challenging shots that you’re going to face uh during that stretch of four rounds there will be difficult moments which is a lot that’s why I think it’s a lot like a PGA Championship I know it’s a PGA Championship venue from time to time we will not see rough this week like we do when Quail Hollow hosts a PGA that’s the biggest difference in the golf course um when it’s a major and when it’s a Wells Fargo you’re talking about 2inch rough this week which makes the driving aspect the driving element uh significantly easier um and it and it enhances the importance of distance You could argue perhaps it perhaps when the rough’s long it enhances distance as well um but you have to navigate these difficult stretches you got to handle par fivs but when you get a wedge in your hand it’s rare so you got to take advantage yeah absolutely take advantage is a really good way to put it that should be the motto for the week and uh maybe exercise a little bit of patience I can’t wait any longer Greg I don’t have any patience I want to get to the top of the board I want to start naming some names and look at this field but first we’re going to take a quick break and hear a word from our partners one final stop on the road to London the UFA Champions League semi-finals on CBS and stream every match live on Paramount plus and we’re back here is the cheat sheet from my website rickr good.com and we now have three just three golfers over $110,000 Rory ma is 118 Xander Schley is 11,500 Windam Clark is 105 and ludvick who has withdrawn was in that $10,300 spot so there’s now a larger gap between Windam Clark and the guys in the 9k range so just a trio Now Greg at the top of the board yes and I have this feeling you want to go right to the top it’s not Scotty sheffler it is Rory mroy and when he comes to Quail Hollow he has a tendency of playing like Scotty sheffler has been playing um he has just a tremendous record which is not typically where I start but when you look at his record here it’s a good place to start he’s won three times he has a tied second way back in what 2012 uh tied eth the year before his most recent win um and a t22 in the p Championship he has another T4 in there he I mean he plays this golf course so well as as well as any on the PGA tour I think that has a lot to do with his driving and he has been driving the ball really well um away from Quail Halla so I expect it to I expect that to continue I I love what Rory’s doing with the driver I I think the win at the zurk classic even though it’s a team event and it’s much more light-hearted I think that’s going to have a really positive impact on Rory um and so for those reasons he’s really hard for me to stay away from yeah three times a winner going for number four around uh this event this golf course and fresh off that Victory with Shane Lowry as Greg alluded to okay so that leaves us with two Xander Schley Windam Clark is there a way that we can split hairs between these two yes um and I would have to lean slightly towards Windam Clark our defending champ our defending Champion um I love what Xander’s done but you know Xander record here isn’t quite I mean he did come in second last year came in second to Windham last year yes wind yeah um it was a T14 in 21 you know I I guess with that second last year it looks a whole lot better um and he’s been playing great golf but I am just so impressed with wendam Clark and it feels like his driver which can get a little you know he plays a lot of curve it feels like he’s got some space out here to really air it out and let it go um and and I think that he’s the best putter among the top players xanders right there with him so you are you are still splitting hairs but Windham just feels a little more ready to win than Xander feels like he’s expecting to win whether that’s right or wrong it just feels like a much more difficult thing for Xander to do so I I lean slightly towards Windham over Xander I probably agree with you the thing that uh I like about Xander is that he is very well-rounded he’s likely to be in the mix on Sunday I I think his floor is higher than windom’s we’ve seen Windom miss the the Masters missed the cut at Rivier but um the thing I like about wendam a lot of things you mentioned the driver I just think it’s also just Club head speed the ability to extract it from the rough he’s got a very sharp short game the other thing is uh he nearly played himself out of it at har in Harbortown in in round one and then he went nuts over the final three so I think it’s pretty easy to see the way that his game is trending right now and and he is $1,000 cheaper than Z which could open up some possibilities further down the board yes and we’ll see what happens here I’m wondering if there’s a way to get Rory and Windham on the same team oh um I I think that might be a stretch there there one guy that I think is really mispriced down there we’ll we’ll we’ll get to we’ll get to him yeah we we can get down there um because I I think with this kind of field there’s some good options so I’m very curious there I love love the 7K range that can open up a lot of opportunity for you um so yeah I I’d probably lean Windom but all the things we say about Windam that are so good I I really do think Xander has them too so I W I certainly wouldn’t if you were gonna fade Rory I wouldn’t uh criticize you for going Xander with the oberg WD there’s now $700 gap between Windam Clark and that 9k range that 9k range is Led off by Patrick can’t lay at 9,800 Tommy Fleetwood sits at 95 Max hom he’s won this event twice at two separate golf courses 9400 col morawa 93 Victor hin back in action at 9200 sah at 91 and that completes the $9,000 range Greg so certainly guys that I’m not uh super confident about the state of their game so what do we do here no um I’m not super confident either which plays in in some part the Rory Windam combo possibility I I don’t feel like you have to get any of these 9k guys into your lineup but that being said U going back to Max hom who plays really well here I don’t think we’ve seen anything from him that says there’s trouble um you know Max hom struggled he came in tied 55th at the RBC Heritage the week after a very emotional Masters I totally give him a break for that and I expect to see Max hom rebound and play some really good golf he is become an extremely complete player and a much better player than he was when he won at Quail Hollow in 2019 I mean he has Leaps and Bounds ahead of where he was then so max would be my favorite play in the 9k range I think my second favorite Rick would probably be Klay I’m a little reluctant there but I do think his form has turned a corner yeah I mean he finished t23 at Zurich which I whether he won or missed the with Xander I would throw that result out the window I don’t think it means anything so it was a third at Harbortown a 22nd at the Masters in his two starts prior to that what I’m very curious about your thoughts on Tommy Fleetwood here Craig because he’s been very well-rounded the the the bag has been uh fairly clean we saw the run at the Masters if we’re going to forgive Max hom for a subpar effort the week after the Masters then we’ve got to do it for other including Tommy Fleetwood and now I look at this profile I look at uh his history here which is a fifth and a 14th and I start to get pretty excited um so you’re expecting fairness I I totally understand it um and I completely agree I I think maxom I put at a I I would rate Max hom above Tommy Fleetwood in general especially because of the ability Max has shown to win when he gets in contention right that would be the big Edge why H’s above Fleetwood but Fleetwood has been Rock Solid he’s been very steady and could be a nice you know if you were going to go take a risk let’s say you’re gonna fade Rory so Windam would be more risky than Xander in my opinion um even though my preferred play so if you were going to go with Windam Tommy Fleetwood Maybe a nice safer option uh a high likelihood of a solid performance but maybe a little more limited in the possibility that he can win this section here 9300 colum morawa Victor hland 9200 feels like The X Factor spot you know this if if either one of these guys contended I don’t think there would be much surprise if either one of them or both of them miss the cut I don’t know if there’d be a ton of surprise what do we do here ex the fact that there’s no cut oh yeah I guess that would be pretty surprised wouldn’t I I would be very surprised yeah you’re right uh okay so if they both point is understood the top 60 I wouldn’t be surprised like what are we supposed to do with these two are we gonna try to be early do we need to see Signs of Life what are we doing ah what has Victor havin been up to you know that’s a that’s a big question because I think this is a really good golf course for him but it it feels like listening to him speak at the Masters watching the performance at the Masters it seems like there’s a lot going on and I’m very curious how quickly he can kind of unravel that in his mind uh and and perform like the Victor hin we know and love so I’m probably going to wait Victor I’ll watch very closely I would love to play him at the PGA Championship um I’m going to need a really good performance this week with morawa it it’s felt kind of while the results have been good it’s felt kind of manufactured you know it doesn’t feel like I agree it’s just a strange thing it’s not passing the ey test Greg no and so I don’t love it I don’t love either of these guys that being said if you play them and they’re on the first page of the leaderboard after two rounds you’re feeling pretty darn good having them in your lineup yeah um is there let me ask you this is there a big enough leverage opportunity do you think people are going to play away from morawa and hom and havland enough to where that’s worth the risk you know I don’t know because where does all the ownership in the 9k range go I guess I guess H maybe a little bit of Fleetwood maybe people go down to Hadi at 8900 and leave those guys there it’s just I don’t know if there’s enough natural builds that will allow those two to be forgotten um especially because just just results wise if you look at colins results the results are are not the end of the world yeah so how many how many many DFS players aren’t looking at Rick rung good.com they’re not looking at the red and green squares and they’re seeing Oh Mora is playing well well first off everybody should be using Rick run good.com so whoever’s not just absolute silliness but I I think that Victor could be the one that kind of gets left behind now what I want to see is I want to see 2022 Victor at least which is great ball striking and if he’s if he’s losing around the greens fine I can’t have both Le let’s get back home yes right let’s get back home um yeah I would love to see that too I’m not gonna take that leap no and then I think we would re-evaluate for Louisville yes well done by the way thank you I think the you know the other reason why I’m happy to leave these guys behind is I think Sai theala could be a fantastic play here as well well first off is there is there a course type for him anymore because I would argue I don’t think there is well that’s probably why like we’ve said for a long time he’s kind of hard to figure out harbort toown players Bay Hill Riviera the plantation course Silverado that’s not a that’s not one type no no and for a while I thought that’s just that was a sign of inconsistency but as I watch him um I think it’s actually the other side of the coin it’s a sign of him being just flat out good and if he plays if he plays his game it works everywhere which is pretty cool not a not a lot of guy there are a lot of players above him where that’s not really the case agreed probably not a lot of guys the guys above him are pretty darn good too but you know there in in other DFS slates we’ve seen that so I do think this is a good golf course for him I think it suits his skill sets um but he’s kind of getting to that point where you can play him anywhere and and his results have warranted a a start this week there are some very interesting names in the 8K range we’ve got to find some value in the sevens and the sixes if we want to get Al uh what’s the word I’m looking for if you want to get access geez oh man to Rory Moy and wendam Clark we are going to look for those names after a quick word from our partners and there started to get in the groove so impressive lock your schedules aces are coming to CBS Sports Network and we’re back the 8K range still filled with plenty of great names because of this signature event hadim Matsu cam young Matt Fitzpatrick C W Kim Justin Thomas and Jordan spe right there in the middle then we rounded out with Russell Henley Alex norin Benny on Brian Harmon and hunky Tony fena those are all the eights Greg pretty good group pretty um it’s pretty good there’s some question marks for sure but there’s some some pretty good stuff here this this is just this is just 12 guys or whatever however many of there are that just drive me crazy yeah I get that I’m Jordan spe makes me rip my hair out Justin Thomas makes me rip my hair out C just all all of I’ll start JT and spe their NOS for me just get it out there spe is a hard no I just can I cannot get away I like I fall for Justin Thomas every single week yeah I get it I totally get it I’m not I’m I’m not this week all right I I’m not even going to pull up his profile if I pull up his profile I’m gonna have the same problem where give me somebody else um all right so I I think Matt Fitzpatrick’s kind of interesting in a strange way I don’t really know why but I think Matt Fitzpatrick’s a great driver of the ball he has not been driving it his best lately um but he’s been putting very well and I think that could I I think his speed is up to a point where he can handle a golf course like this and he may be a guy on a leaderboard full of bombers that pops in there because of what he can do on the greens so I’m very curious with Matt Fitzpatrick he’s like one of the best Putters in the world in since February yes he’s gain Strokes putting every just about every week look at what he does look at what he did at the Players my goodness yeah yeah he’s he’s a good enough putter for that to carry him and if he’s leading after round one and leading in Strokes game putting I I don’t feel like he can’t win you know you you know that he’s got that kind of capability so yeah I I like guys who can fill it up on the greens here and if I’m looking at lineup construction and we get down into the sevens and 6K ranges and and we got a a bunch of bombers bunch of distance guys down there I I don’t mind mixing in a shorter hitter or two who’s more of a putting specialist Matt Fitzpatrick would I think would be a great option in that category um other names in the 8K range that I like would be I’ll just name you the other three that I’m very interested in SEIU Ben on Tony fow okay let’s start with uh F now because I want to hear I want to hear the case for f now and then I’m with you on Benny on I’m uh probably with you on SEIU but let’s let’s start with f now here this is the one another guy that um drives you crazy just just is causing more gray hairs each week yeah well um his record here is kind of Soo it’s average but I do think that it really allows just like we said for um for Wam Clark gives him a little room to hit the ball off the te even though the fairways are narrow um I I think he’s going to be a to air it out with that driver which is seems to only be getting longer uh his iron play has been phenomenal this season which is the main reason why I really like him even though he lost Strokes around the greens the last two weeks I think he has an extremely underrated short game um and I’m curious about the putter I’m just so curious and I’ve been on this bandwagon for a while since like Mexico uh maybe even before that I don’t even remember um and it it I still think that it’s going to happen I think something really special is going to happen for Tony feno and I don’t really want to miss it so it may be personal but there are definitely some elements in his uh ball striking a TD green Acumen that make him playable here how’d he turn into such a bad putter well he me he goes searching for it right he’s not a great putter because he’s a great ball striker uh he goes searching next thing you know you got you find something that works it’s the toe in the air and you’re like okay this is it and it cools off quickly after the success you stick with it for too long and now you’re back to you know building blocks yeah so search it something else search it for something else but again sometimes these light a spark and that’s what I would be going on if I were going with Tony feno trying to catch a spark on the greens speaking of uh catching a spark on the greens Ben on caught a spark at TBC Craig Ranch he gained three Strokes putting and put to uh put a very sour stretch of of putting uh behind him hopefully we’ll see now he has done this in the past where he can kind of snap out of this slump and then you know gain for a week or two in a row the driver’s a weapon for benon the second shots are a weapon for Ben on he is he is uh very long his season has been awesome he’s competed in Weak events strong events it doesn’t matter Ben On’s been like if there was a if there was still a most improved player award Ben on has my vote yeah Rick I mean he was playing on the corn FY tour two years ago it’s unbelievable it’s been great he’s he’s in the top 10 in the FedEx Cup without a win more than halfway through the season that’s incredible so I love what I love what he’s done and um and I think it’s the way he’s go going about it is extremely reliable extreme extremely reliable and I do believe there’s some win Equity there if you look at this record and there’s a win uh after the CJ cup Byron Nelson would you be surprised at all no like like you could write the story of why Bena won the Wells Fargo right now you know it might be a good idea for Patrick or Kyle to write their gamer right now they could do that with Ben on I would love it if they had to write two Gamers one before the week started and then one and then we would just be able to read them both oh that’d be just it’d be awesome so sick and we write him here right on this show writing them right now um so yeah I think Ben on is like rock solid uh Rock Solid and reliable are two words that you use to describe Ben on and you also said a little bit earlier about how you know there are some guys that have non-traditional skill sets it was like Matt Fitzpatrick relying on the Putter and and things of that nature well here’s Alex norrin who doesn’t do anything great but he does everything very good and he did it again at Byron Nelson where he gained over two strokes in each of the four major categories something that he is getting very used to doing his name is on the first or second page of every single leaderboard this is the best golf he has played in probably years at least six years yeah um he works so hard at the game and it looks like when you watch him he’s got to work really hard to hit the shot he wants to hit and it’s starting to look a whole lot easier I I think the work that he does is getting to a point where he can play golf um and that’s why you’re seeing such a well-rounded player and I love what he’s done off the te he is not long this would be a like I don’t think I’d put norin and Fitzpatrick on the same team just limits your chances I don’t know how many of these kind of players you’re going to have up near the top but Alex norin is certainly a viable option okay um anybody else in this AK range or should we roll on um one more would be sewu Kim and it’s basically everything that we said about Ben on maybe bet he maybe has been better around the greens which is why he’s priced a little higher um but he has been absolutely electric theer green yeah electric yep and he went to that leftand low putting style I think I think it’s close for him so do I I mean the stat the stat profile is one that’s like like it it’s about to it’s about to snap like that’s what it feels like and you mean that at a positive way 100 per. yeah I think so too I mean I mean that he is about to just pop up to the top of the leaderboard like it is that’s what this you cannot be this amazing from T to green and we know he is capable of gaining you know two three four strokes putting some we it’s like it is just going to marry up and it’s it’s going to be good and he’s he won the PLAYERS Championship at what was he 20 was he 23 or was he 21 I mean it’s a ridiculously young yeah and so you know that he has the ability to contend and compete and this is this is not an $8600 profile when you look at this statistically even when you look at the results it’s been amazingly consistent so yeah I think SEIU Ben on are as reliable As It Gets in the AK range the sevens start with sun JM who withdrew last week before uh the start of the Byron Nelson will alour both of those are 7900 Cory Connors Jason day Adam Scott uh the middle of the range I’m skipping guys here we’ll get you Stephen Jagger Shane Lowry the bottom of the range we’ll get you Tom Kim JT post and maybe a little bit of Adam shank so Greg how do you want to spend your funds here um well first of all this is just a general rule of thumb I’m going to play will zorus that’s the rule this is a major championship venue and major championship venues at least those in the US I play will zot Taurus every time I do that it works the cheapest he’s been definitely since the comeback right like since he since he came back and he’s played well since then it is very rare I’m scrolling it is very very rare to get a $7,900 will zator and it that should be taken advantage of you know I know there’s the back issue and that’s concerning for me too but um I have a sense that not playing last week had a lot to do with the schedule and it may have been more soreness than injury and for that reason I I think there’s a very realistic chance that that was no big deal there’s a chance that it’s a huge deal right um but you know that that’s the the risk we run here but I think the price doesn’t reflect the possibility that this was um yeah a little tight I’ll take a week off so I don’t have to play five weeks in a row including a major at the end of it so this a major championship venue with wills alluris at 7900 it feels like stealing um and I’m going to go ahead and walk right into that trap if it is one and I’m not going to look back I also think there’s a ton of viable options in this range yeah I think I think there are two especially down towards the bottom but before before we get to get there uh zorus 7900 as discussed if you liked Sun JM last week week and you just got a from what we understand he just a little little illness a little little maybe a little little under the weather I guess I gotta go back to him this week yeah we just learned like we learned nothing that should change my mind negatively no I don’t know I wasn’t really on him last week yeah well then you should stay away basically whatever whatever you thought last week should be your same thought this week all right good so I’m I’m staying away okay I’m not sold on the s j yet um are you sold on BB go yet after all those commercials get it out of my head so good it was just starting to get out of my head until you brought me up sorry about that it’s amazingly catchy it’s amazingly catchy I like the dance I’ve been working on it and the food is actually pretty good I had it before it’s like it’s like legit so all right good that’s good to hear I would try it I love that kind of food yeah all right where else we going okay um so Will’s Al is a must I I think OE batia sitting here oh well there are two two guys at 7500 both of them oxe batia and Stephen joerger I I love yeah I knew we were gonna get to joer so let’s start with OE all right so starting with OA uh t18 at the RBC Heritage look at what he did with the driver before the RBC Heritage yeah I mean every you got to go back to the Shriners in the fall to find him losing 03 BR off the te before that you got to go back to Wells Fargo from last year and what’s so nice is it kind of makes sense because of how unique Harbor toown is right that like there’s just like Z exactly zero care that a guy who always drives it well lost three Strokes at harbort toown right it it’s I know he lost Strokes last time he played here at the Wells Fargo but it’s unlikely to happen again so I’m all in on that I think what he’s done with his iron play like the one place uh since February that he lost Strokes approaching the green was at the Masters and as a rookie I know that um what lud viberg did was amazing but it’s very understandable for a great ball Striker to go to Augusta National and struggle on those approach shots so no fault there so you look at what he’s done with the putter you’re talking about Rick five events in a row he’s gained Strokes putting Yep this guy is checking every box for me um and I think he’s a must play yeah that’s interesting he wasn’t really on my radar um this is like the most quiet stretch of really good golf maybe because uh Scotty’s been eating up the oxygen and everything else that going on but yes this is this is pretty darn good Stephen Jagger uh also has a win in that stretch both these guys have won in their last five starts uh we talk about Stephen joerger basically every single week Greg and I continue to be as excited this week as I was last week the week before the week before that hey it’s like you said about sgj the way you felt last week you should feel the same again because that that T20 finish is it’s right in that spot Y where it’s it’s not going to sway me either way um I’m a little more concerned with his put in than oxs or less excited about it than oets I’m probably more concerned with o put in actually the than Jagger in general but I’m more excited about O’s putter if that makes any sense it does it why why would you be cons because OE is like 20 years old and he’s already trying out gimmicks yeah yeah it’s working for five weeks is that a crap I it could be but it’s worth the risk in my opinion but what joerger has done what he has changed in his game has changed his entire game and that’s his speed off the te he’s a totally different player and on a golf course now where distance will be very important the rough’s down at 2 Ines this week like I said uh Stephen Jagger’s like an absolute absolute go again this week uh the bottom of the range is pretty interesting as well I’m I’m fairly high on Adam shank who’s been playing Great Golf he’s starting to find the second shot uh again I don’t even mind uh Denny McCarthy Greg who finished eighth year last year remember if if OE doesn’t exist he wins the Texas open by like five shots so there’s a couple of I think really interesting pieces down here towards the bottom I uh I’m totally with you on Adam shank Denny is very interesting it’s a great point but the guy that’s really jumping off the page to me is sep straa oh okay I mean this profile is this is a totally different guy this was a this guy’s a a popper he’s priced like a popper right now but he’s been consistent I mean t16 T5 t11 he missed the cut at the Valar but before that t16 at the Players Championship he’s been phenomenal off the T which is is not really what he’s done throughout his career I I think I mean he’s had some good streaks but I really think sep straka has found something with his golf swing and he has uh such a strong ability to get just blazing hot hits a tons hits a ton of greens hits uh hits it well from those those longer proximities as well interesting yeah so he’s down in this R I love shank too but I I think in the lower 7K range staka is my guy this week I think he got a new head shot that looks new to me right I haven’t seen that one before that looks like a that looks like he just got a new new head shot done wow well it’s nice yeah does he looks nice I like I like the collar outside the sweater that’s a that’s a good that’s a good solid yeah very solid um what do you think about shank uh love him look at so look at what he’s look at what he’s done so so he has legit top 10 upside in a lot of different fields and look at what he’s done so he slumped here American Express to vbar he just could not I mean even find the back of the golf ball and then now he’s starting to get back to the form that we saw last summer which ran him all the way to the Tour Championship it’s why he’s in all these events he made it made a deep run into the playoffs and he’s playing now like he was then I’m I’m way in on shank best season of his career last year uh best performance in a major in his first masters with a T12 best finish ever at the Players Championship um he has a T5 at at the Valero Texas open and he’s coming off a couple of you know two out of the last three or t top 15 so I love what Adam shank’s doing and I think he could play well at Quail Hollow too agreed now if we’re trying to jam Rory malol and Windam Clark into the same lineup we’re gonna need to step down here into the 6K range it’s not always pretty starts with Keegan Bradley and Ricky Fowler the middle of the range Brendan Todd Jake knap the bottom of the range Ben Kohl’s Grayson Murray Nick Dunlap Peter malady I think there are options here Greg I think there’s op let’s let’s find them these are not going to look like what they look like at the top okay but I want to start I cannot believe I’m actually saying this oh no I wrote down five names and I have a line after the first two first two I’m willing and excited to play the other three I think are very playable options so we’ll start with the first two one I can’t believe I’m saying it I cannot believe it but it’s Ricky Fowler Ricky Fowler that was quick Josh did you tell Josh you were gonna say that no but he knew it he’s looking at it saying I know where he’s going what on God’s green earth has you interested in Ricky Fowler I think we’re seeing Signs of Life okay he’s the short game seems to be back that’s a strength a staple of Ricky Fowler’s game he’s gained a stroke or more stroke and a half or more in his last four events around the Green in his last three events he’s gain Strokes approaching the green um which so those two things are good signs the putter which was deep red early in the year seems to be leveling out getting to beige okay so we’re we’re seeing some positive signs like there’s some green on the board perhaps a little bit of momentum I have a sense that things are coming together in his golf swing and then you look at the record here you know he won his first PGA Tour event here uh back in 2012 he in his last three starts at Quail Hollow he’s got a T4 a miscut and a T14 which was last year um I am kind of excited about this record it it I mean it it’s a great record one two three four five five top 10 here at a T14 it’s pretty good I hate to say it I think I agree with you it’s early I’m not I’m not as excited as you are but here’s what I’ve always said when a golfer loses their best weapon it is long slump is coming Ricky lost the putter I would argue the putter is back okay one two four five five out of seven he’s gained with the putter okay that’s that’s fine I’m happy with that around the green you mentioned it that’s great check off a couple boxes approach play you’re right much better uh the the history here great okay uh no pressure not four guaranteed rounds okay I mean I could I can absolutely I can absolutely get here on Ricky yeah and he’s 6,900 right we’re not asking a whole lot no we’re not um now you probably need one or two additional 6K guys if you’re in the Windham Clark Rory mroy stack so we’re going to need more than just Ricky Fowler at 6900 as much as I love it um the next place I would go is Cameron Davis 6,400 6,400 which I think helps you with your salary and I think there’s very high upside I’m worried about the floor which is why he’s 6,400 but he’s gained Strokes off the te in his last three approach ing the green and two out of his last three uh two out of his last three on the greens I kind of like this combo T12 at the Masters t21 in Houston t49 at the RBC Heritage which was a little bit disappointing especially on the greens um but I I think I think Quail Hollow could kind of suit his game best finish year is of t26 in 20 2021 okay I I mean that’s fine I I’m um I I like Cam Davis in general so you’re not gonna that’s not going to beat me up too bad yeah yeah it’s uh again there’s it’s not as much of a hot streak as it is a kind of coarse fit um let me try a couple here yeah um this one okay I I’ll get to the one that I’m embarrassed about saying in a second uh I’m not super embarrassed about saying Austin ekro who after after after the win has just continued to to play Great Golf and he’s he’s piling up good finishes he’s a great ball Striker and then he puted well at Harbortown we didn’t see what he did at Zurich and I don’t really care what he did at Zurich but he finished t11 with his with his partner so I’ll just that that one’s interesting to me yeah I I can get on board there the one I’m probably uh the one I’m probably a little embarrassed is Brendan Todd I wouldn’t be embarrassed about it okay good because this is like on paper the an tius is like a good golf course for for Brandon Todd but he’s played well here yes and I I think uh I understand why he putts he putts the eyes out of it here he separates himself on the greens here 17 and a half Strokes gained putting in his last two starts the other thing Greg and I don’t know how much I should care about this but I was running the numbers today and all I was looking at was the green like how many strokes guys gain or lose on The Green Mile it’s kind of like where the event is one or lost and the guys who gain a lot um they’ve like won this event it’s like you know it’s like Ricky hom Rory Etc Brendan Todd has been better than anybody now he only has like uh I think I went back to 2018 so I think it was only two starts for him but he’s been better in The Green Mile than any anybody else in this field okay and handle The Green Mile if you can handle The Green Mile and uh Jordan’s be has been by far the worst by the way not surprising at all I I mean I picture Jordan at Quail Hollow he’s just around the creek like either in it right on the edge of it taking a drop near it he’s just waiting up he’s got his waiters on and he’s just like up walking up the creek at all times yeah it’s like this Fairway is so narrow no that’s a [Laughter] all right else all right I I’ll give you another guy um how about Lucas Glover okay I saw that I saw the green next to his name here so I was looking over here 11th at valbar 25th at Texas open 20th at the Masters 33rd at the RVC Heritage I I think it’s just a a situation where he’s kind of lost those putting gains right so he’s he’s kind of just back to valbar and Texas open were pretty good valbar and Masters excuse me but he’s kind of just back to like regular Lucas Glover which is pretty fine especially at this price yeah and he’s he played really well here when he was putting well um at least putting well he putted well here he won this event in 2011 uh he’s got a couple other top 10 he has a second so he has a a pretty decent record here and I just love the way he’s been hitting the ball I mean it’s like his whole career but I think Lucas Glover could be a nice value play um all right hit me with another I know it’s been maybe not a great couple of starts but there is zero planet in which Nick Taylor should be cheaper than web Simpson I don’t care where web web lives I don’t care what hole his house is on seven I don’t care why is he s why is Nick Taylor potentially a top 30 player in the world $6,200 it’s a very fair question now not a great course fit not a great recent success but look it’s better at the zerk and we don’t have numbers for that it’s not two bad starts he got he got smashed at the Masters and he didn’t play well at at Harbortown yeah he didn’t play well at valpar either I guess he yeah he struggled around the greens there right I don’t yeah give him a pass for that I think Nick Taylor’s a fine play i200 I think he’s way too cheap yeah you’re right he is too cheap thank you he’s definitely too cheap okay your turn uh all right so another guy I I I feel like he’s too cheap it’s probably not egregious as uh as Nick Taylor but that would be Matthew Pavone oh who I still think is just a great player yeah who can get redot on the greens pretty solid allaround game he’s the he’s the European Hideki the guy that’s just like no just no respect just like the price is always like $1,500 cheaper than it should be right so I’m willing to I’m willing to go in on that at 6,500 still play still plays all over the world still plays well no problem just a great golfer yeah and and this golf course suits that I mean every I know every Golf Course does but like these guys you don’t have to be a specialist here at Quail Hollow you know good golfs rewarded I think Matthew Pavone can do that let me get your thoughts on Nick Dunlap he is he is the Min price yeah $6,000 we are seeing um it’s a low bar but it’s better it’s better t11 in Houston he missed the cut at the Masters but he gained two and a half Strokes ball strike and gained three and a half on approach got obliterated at harbort toown and then was much more solid at the Byron Nelson I was uh he was a sneaky play for me at the RBC Heritage I thought he was going to do really well um I I I backed him played him I I really like Nick dlap and he hurt me I’m sorry but I’m not afraid of it I I think that corner will I think Nick Dunlap will turn a corner I think he’s good enough Greg is ready to get hurt again um I’m ready to get hurt again I he’s he is very fast he’s a lot longer than you think he’s he is the he is the the dead men in a no cut event H how how much could he possibly hurt yeah he could come and last okay that’s the worst worst it could get but if he comes in like 50th we got away with it and if he comes in 30th we’ve we’re laughing all the way to the bank yeah I I I see where you’re coming from I I mean I don’t know I’m I’m willing reluctantly willing you know if my if I get some five players in my lineup that I really like and I got $6,300 left to spend I’m prob I’m willing to go there they’re say I’m probably taking Adam spenc taking Nick Taylor I probably would take dick but if I have exactly $6,000 left I and I’ve already played Ben CO’s I I might take Nick D no I I give him more respect than that you know and if I have $6,100 left I would take Nick D there we go there we go that’s all I ask all right uh anybody else down here I um this is more of a question mark McKenzie Hughes I think McKenzie Hughes is a member here I plays here a lot I always get tripped up on that because I’ve heard guys who say like I I see the course so often one way and then when it’s tournament conditions it looks so different yeah totally get it scares me I just love what he’s done on the greens yeah he’s listen I mean he’s also very very cheap and he is he’s he is he’s been uh McKenzie who is like the blueprint of a popper and he has been his entire career yes and he pop he pops on hard coures a lot he does not keep his card with 40th Place finishes he keeps his card because three times a year he finishes second yep he’s got a chance to win which I love yeah that that’s if I was gonna be a card keeper I’d want it to be that way you know yeah of course you get a chance to win you’re he plays in final groups on Sunday and then he does it and then and then when it’s a bad week he gets he gets to go home early yeah he doesn’t I mean he hasn’t missed a cut all year Mexico he missed a cut in Mexico he’s actually been better than I’m giving him credit for he’s been very good yeah okay I think I like so yeah I’d be I’d be willing well we gotta get our oneandone Selections in not now we just got to get them in before Tuesday’s show and it’s a big boy 20 million dollar no Scotty no ludvick what are you gonna do oh know I’m going you do wow okay yeah it’s actually already submitted really yeah I did it today uh partly because I’m confident in it um also partly because tomorrow is just going to be a wild day for me I do not want to miss it so I put it in before this show and um I’m very confident in it wow okay I’m excited to see what it is now uh also breaking news uh Tuesday’s show will be 15 minutes earlier we are adjusting a little bit of the timing we we got some things we got to move around but we are going to go at uh God what time is that Josh 4:45 4:45 thank you P PM eastern time I knew it wasn’t 1:45 that’s my time 4:45 PM eastern time will be the mega preview pod and then Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday recap episodes then PGA Championship is like the full schedule where you get shows on CB Sports network uh where’re we got stuff from on the ground it the whole the whole shebang we’re running the gamut um we’ll be talking golf all week and you’ll you’ll be there again right this is the normal the typical shebang shebang shebang all right I love it I can’t wait the PGA Championship is an awesome tournament every year it’s had the best finishes for like the last five years every year I mean it’s a hard golf course and it’s hard for the right reasons it’s it’s like the fourth major which you’re talking about the fourth best golf tournament in the world and and it is so underrated it’s the only way I can put it’s it’s underrated and it’s the fourth best tournament in the world you know who’s not underrated Greg duor you can find him on Twitter at the real gfd producer Josh has all the hard work behind the scenes prod Josh here on a Monday that doesn’t usually happen but hey things are Brewing thanks Jos uh you can find me at Rick run good this has been the first cut we’ll catch you next time [Music] [Music]