CareerBuilder Preview: From California to Abu Dhabi, Plenty Of Big-Name Golf This Week
The boys have packed up shop from Hawaii and moved over to the mainland. This week kicks off the Tour’s annual West Coast swing, as they’re now in La Quinta, California followed next by San Diego (Torrey Pines), then Scottsdale (Phoenix Open), Pebble, and LA (Riviera).
Hudson Swafford notched his first PGA Tour victory last year, birdieing the 15th, 16th, and 17th holes then holding on to par the 18th and win by one.
In 2016, Dufner won thanks to this heroic rock shot on 17.
Gotta love Duf.
History
From 1965-2011, the CareerBuilder was most famously The Bob Hope Classic (or some variation of this name with different sponsors). The pro-am gained notoriety for its huge celeb draws (Eisenhower became the first president to play).
Nowadays, the Pebble Pro-Am acts as the Tour’s biggest celebrity draw (ehhhm, sup AT&T).
The Track
They do a 3-course rotation for this thing. All at PGA West property. The Stadium Course is the main attraction, as it hosts the final round.
The Stadium is a 7,300-yard, 76.1 rating/150 slope (yikes) Pete Dye design. Completed and introduced to the Tour in 1986, it was HATED by pros. So much so, they refused to play in following years. Eventually this resulted in a course ban that lasted through 2015. 2016 was its first out of the sin bin.
Some refer to this place Pete Dye’s “sequel” to Sawgrass.
Notable Holes
11th, 617 yards, par 5
A long par-5 with rolling fairways and very few gimmicks. Pretty straightforward. Pretty in front of you. This thing’s got more of an old school feel and is no gimme birdie by and stretch of the imagination.
17th, 168 yards, par 3
A sister course to Sawgrass, it’s no surprise PGA West’s Stadium Course’s 17th is an island green. At 168 it’s a little longer, but also elevated. This is where Duf heroically got up and down from the rocks. A fun one-shotter down the stretch.
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18th, 439 yards, par 4
Water left, bunkers right, cool rocks lining the hazard. The 18th is a tough finisher, playing as the course’s fourth hardest hole in 2016.
Clubhouse
Apparently they call this thing the Greg Norman Clubhouse. Always loved the Shark.
Clubhouse grade = 7.9.
Weather
0% chance of rain? Like NONE? That’s bold.
The Field
Phil makes his 2018 debut along with American hero Patrick Reed. Here’s a fun flashback to Reed last year, when asked if he was happy then-red hot Justin Thomas was skipping the event:
“I wish he was (here). I’m not going to shy away from someone who is playing their best at the moment,” Reed told reporters. “That’s not who I am. I want to go up against the best players at the best time.”
That’s our (American) guy.
We’ve also got studs like Jon Rahm, Brian Harman, Zach Johnson, Duf, Kisner, and last week’s Sony Open winner Patton Kizzire teeing it up. Patton hopped on Fore Play Tuesday to talk about the win, the missile scare in Hawaii, and much more.
Here are some winning odds.
Predictions
Winning Score
Here’s the top-10 from last year.
The scores have been pretty good lately with the exception of last week. Felt like somebody would get to 20 or 21-under, but no one did.
Think that turns around this week. 20-under wins it again.
Winner
He’s the favorite and he’s the favorite for a reason. Rahm finished runner up at Kapalua and he’s the no. 3 ranked player in the world. I’ve come close the last two weeks, with Hideki finishing T4th at the Tournament of Champions and Brian Harman playing in the final group at the Sony, so we’re due.
Jon Rahm wins in La Quinta.
Dark Horse
The fact that Patton Kizzire is THIRTY TO ONE after winning two of his last four starts is insane. Insane. Patton Kizzire would be my dark horse because that’s an embarrassment to gambling but I can’t pick Patton. Just can’t justify calling last week’s winner the dark horse.
James Hahn lost in a 6-hole playoff last week and he’s 50-1 this week. Dark horse city.
DFL
Honestly when I started the DFL it was mostly for fun just to give Steven Bowditch a hard time. Now that he’s gone it doesn’t quite feel the same.
That said, Michael Kim is the pick for DFL this week. He missed the cut with 70-75 at Waialae, including bogeying 5 of his last 7 holes. Not good.
He’s 300-1 though. Maybe take him for shits and giggles now?
Abu Dhabi
The bigger, more interesting tournament this week may actually be the HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi. Some serious names in the field: Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Matt Kuchar, Martin Kaymer, Ernie Els, Thomas Pieters.
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Final Thoughts
A week ’til Tiger kicks off 2018 at Torrey and there’s already a mountain of storylines to be excited about this year. Feels like we’re turning the corner and setting our sites for Augusta, far off in the distance but within reach. I’m even wearing my Masters quarter zip today.
The CareerBuilder is meh, it’s whatever, but there’s a few big names pegging it and there’s also compelling golf with big names over in the Middle East. Should be a fun weekend. Arguably good for golf.
Enjoy.