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Byron Nelson Preview, Picks & Analysis

By: Golfshake Editor | Mon 16 May 2016


Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements


TWELVE months ago Steven Bowditch was celebrating a stunning victory at the Byron Nelson Classic - he shot a stunning 72-hole total of 259 to win by four shots at TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving, Texas. It is a par 70 and measures just 7,166 yards, and it is made for Jordan Spieth. Or rather it is made for the Jordan Spieth we thought we knew leading up to The Masters.

The 2015 player of the year was not at his best at the Players Championship at Sawgrass upon his return to action after his meltdown at The Masters - that was always going to be a tough venue for a golfer struggling to put behind him memories of dumping two balls in the water at Augusta's 12th hole. But this place is different, exactly the sort of course where he will expect to get back to winning ways. However, to do so, he is going to have to give himself a good talking to because the bad-tempered young man we saw in Florida bore little relation to the golfer we all came to admire so much last year.

The most recent winners around here are Bowditch, Brendon Todd in 2014, Sangmoon Bae (2013), Jason Dufner (2012), Keegan Bradley (2011) and Jason Day (2010). What do they have in common? Well, there's the rub - apart from all having won the Byron Nelson Classic, they are all very different types of players. Day hits the ball a mile, as does Todd. Bowditch and Bae both miss a lot of fairways. Dufner and Bradley are both renowned for their dodgy putting strokes. In other words, just about anybody can bowl up here and win.

Bradley has a good record at Four Seasons, having won once and also been runner-up. The former US PGA champion has endured a pretty miserable time of it of late and makes no secret of his struggles on the greens. He hated having to stop using the belly putter, and has probably let it get to his brain more than any other player who found himself in the same boat. Bradley is a confidence player who needs a good run of form to prove to himself and everybody else that he can win again with a traditional putter in his hands. If he is going to do it anywhere, this is the place where it is most likely to happen. But there are few signs that he possesses the self-belief.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1zqTJ00DaU

He should take heart from Jason Dufner, who has found a way to win again despite possessing possibly the worst putting stroke on the PGA Tour. Dufner works on the basis that if you keep hitting the ball close enough with your irons then you are bound to hole a few putts, regardless of what the stroke looks like. There was a prolific money winner called Billy Mayfair who used to take his putter way outside the line and cut across the ball - it looked awful but it worked, and he lost his touch only when he decided to change his stroke and tried to do things in a conventional manner.

Spieth, as you all know, doesn't even bother to look at the ball when he faces short putts, choosing instead to eye the hole. He expects to hole every putt he hits and although he showed plenty of ring rust at Sawgrass, there was nothing wrong with his putting (although he may say different). He is from Texas, will have tremendous support from the fans and will feel right at home here. He doesn't hit the ball huge distances, but proved last season that was no handicap. It would be a big, big surprise if Spieth is not there or thereabouts come Sunday afternoon.

And I reckon he will be fighting it out with two fellow Texans, Jimmy Walker and Ryan Palmer. Walker has been fairly quiet this season but, like Spieth, he enjoys the windy conditions that are likely to prevail in Irving and, again like Spieth, he is a phenomenal putter - and he hits the ball long and straight. Speaking of which, a certain Dustin Johnson is also in the field. We know all about  the distance the Dustinator hits the ball, but he is also straighter than most long hitters and if he strikes the ball well here, he could reduce this place to the realms of pitch and putt.

To Win

Jordan Spieth. Ready to win again

Each Way

Jimmy Walker. Sneaky long, great putter

Each Way

Dustin Johnson. Victory long overdue

Fantasy Picks

Jordan Spieth. Who is going to finish second?

Jimmy Walker. Will be lifted by home support

Dustin Johnson. Crash, bang, wallop

Ryan Palmer. Coming back to his best

Brandt Snedeker. Having a great year

Matt Kuchar, Mr Consistency

Brooks Koepka. World-class player

Sergio Garcia. If he putts well, he wins

Russell Henley. Will win again very soon

Bryson DeChambeau. The most self-confident player in the field

 


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Tags: PGA Tour



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