Ok... it's been 6 weeks since I last shared any commentary. Pretty pathetic, I'll admit. And the weather that affected several of the tournaments in the last 6 weeks, well... its been quite the opposite up here in the great white north. Warmest winter ever recorded in Minneapolis, actually (150 years documented). And no real snow storms to speak of other than Halloween (yes, Halloween!) and Valentine's Day. Golf is already open on some courses too (although I haven't golfed)! So let's recap what went on the last month and a half.

Week 4 - You Serious, Clark?!
Wyndham Clark was the definition of a bad buy coming into this season. He blew up last year and his 2023 season was 4 times better than any previous year on Tour. No surprise, only 1 team rostered him. Clark had been fading a bit through the winter but he recaptured the magic in Round 3 of the AT&T ProAm at Pebble Beach and shot a jaw-dropping 60! The most amazing fact was that an amateur had actually shot the course record, 61 - better than any pro had ever managed until Clark's 60. So, at the end of Saturday, Clark found himself in 1st. Heavy storms shut down Southern California on Sunday and again Monday and Clark walked away a winner! JJ Hardy wins the week.
Diamond in the Rough: Seriously? Wyndham Clark.
Turd - The Weather. What a shame - no play of the final round of a high-paying Signature event! Aberg didn't get his chance to seal the deal, either.

Week 5 - Sorry, Charlie
This one was tough to watch in two ways. First, the tournament was marred by inclement weather from the beginning. So round 1, 2, 3 and 4 were continually running into one another. But as it often does, when the rain clears and the winds die down, the scores go low. Second, it's always fun to watch a guy who hasn't done it in a while, take 1st place for possibly one last time. Coming into Sunday, many expected the greatest golfer on earth to walk away with another one... I mean, Scheffler did win the WM Phoenix the previous 2 years. Charlie Hoffman appeared to have different plans with an eagle, birdie, birdie on holes 13-15. With Scheffler playing a couple holes behind him, Hoffman put the pressure on - and it appeared to finally break Scottie Ice. Hoffamn made sure to not screw up the rest of the round with 3 pars to close the round. Then, Nick Taylor birdied five of his last six holes in an incredible display of putting to shoot a bogey-free 6-under 65 and win a two-hole sudden-death playoff over Hoffman. NO ONE owns Nick Taylor! Crouch Potatoes wins with Hoffman and Burns going 2, 3.
Diamond in the Rough: Charlie Hoffman and Burns
Turds - Fowler and Poston missed the cut. And the drunk fans took it way too far by the sounds of it.

Week 6 - LIVLaughLoving it all the way to the Bank
Hideki was a good buy this year. And he proved it by earning most of his salary in one week! I missed this one, but Hideki shot 9 birdies on Sunday and no one was even close to that. Zalatoris also earned over half his salary in this tourney too. Chris Rocheford had them both on his team. Oh, he had Adam Hadwin too. He shot -6 on Sunday to finish 4th. Some guys have all the luck!
Diamonds in the Rough - Matsuyama, Zalatoris and Adam Hadwin
Turds - There's a lot of em. Tiger WD. Spieth DQed! JT, Kirk, Murray and Bradley all missed the cut. The final group... Cantlay and Xander. OMG did they suck - and I had Xander and Hideki on the same team - what could have been.

Week 7 - Jake "Dirt" Knapp wins on the Korn Ferry Tour
This tournament was worse then the 3M! The top ranked golfer was Thomas Detry at 27th on the Fed Ex rankings! There were hardly any big names to speak of... a real sleeper. Of course, Tony Finau was ready to put another notch in his belt - smh. Poor Tony only finished 13th though. Once more, nobody owned the eventual winner - Jake "Dirt" Knapp. The cheesy 'stache must hold some power like Sampson's hair, I guess. One team did have another rookie who finished 2nd. Sami Valimaki. Numbermunchers2 was crunching the numbers to fit Zalatoris on his squad with Scheffler... we'll get back to that in a little bit. Nice pick, Tyson!
Diamond - Sami! Jaeger, Pan and Lower all finished T3
Turd - Tony cuz he's always at the Amateur hour events. Detry and Hoffman missed the cut.
PIERCESON COODY W/D! He's the biggest turd of the year, no question.

Week 8 - Eckroat/Dreiling Prove Cognizant
Austin Eckroat had slept on a 54-hole lead before. How would he sleep on a 61-hole lead? That was the question as Eckroat left the course on Sunday night clinging to a one-stroke lead with 11 holes to play as he readied for (another) weather-delayed Monday finish? Just fine, apparently. Eckroat entered the Bear Trap — the diabolical three-hole stretch of 15-17 — with a two-shot lead. He two-putted for par on 15 and rolled in a 12-footer for birdie on 16 to stretch his lead to three. Stress-free pars on 17 and 18 secured the win — and unlocked a handful of new tournaments he’s now exempt into, including the Masters. Erik's Van Ruining my season! I was so close to choosing him - he's been pretty great. His -8 on Sunday was good enough for T2. Min Woo Lee finally showed the promise we expected too. Congrats to The Dolts2 (I'd say Mr. Dreiling is proving quite the opposite) for the weekly win. He owned 5 players that finished Top 10! Lowry and Horschel were the other 2.
Diamonds: Eckroat and Van Rooyen.
Turds - Eric Cole was bad. Berger and Im didn't make the weekend either. The final pairing (Lowry/Skinns) both sucked! I was high on Sepp Straka. I was wrong. Coody - shocker - missed the cut.

Week 9 - Scottie learned how to putt. Uh oh.
Already the best in golf from tee-to-green, Scheffler had a hot putter and no one stood a chance. He built a three-shot lead at the turn and poured it on to deliver a bogey-free round and the best Sunday score by two shots. It's going to be a long season for most of us if Scottie has indeed found the missing link. And here's NumberMunchers2 in the winner's circle for a 2nd time in 3 weeks! And his Sami Valimaki didn't even make the cut. The other 3 Scheffler owners will surely be bitter.
Diamonds in the Rough - Scheffler, but Zalatoris was the guy who won it. Lowry is banking too. Clark looking worthy with a 26 ft birdie on 18 to capture sole second.
Turds - Morikawa, Fleetwood and Svennson all shot 80 on Friday.