Fumbleweed

What do you have against OKC? They were organically built, play unselfish team basketball, and are super exciting to watch. What's not to like?

Mike contacted me and asked about 6/9 as a start date for the June Mock. That works well for me and I hope for others as well. So, mark your calendars...

Ten days from now, golf's second major will commence at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, NC. I have always enjoyed the PGA Championship as the actual tournament is often more compelling than both the US and British Opens, and it is the only major I have ever attended in person (on three different occasions). The following is my top ten predictions ten days out, which means they're pretty close to final. 1. Scottie Scheffler- It's time Scottie wins a major that's not the Masters. Coming off his romp in Dallas this past weekend, I think he's the lead horse in this race. 2. Ludvig Aberg- I don't have any idea when Aberg will pick off his first major, but I think it's going to be sooner than later. Maybe it's at one of the Opens this summer. Or maybe here? 3. Rory McIlroy- Incredible record at Quail Hollow and no more pressure to win another major means he's top-3 here even if there's some understandable hangover from the Masters. 4. Jason Day- Former winner here and I love how his game sets up for the course. I am no longer thinking Day will ever win a second major, but I think he'll contend in 1-2 more this year. 5. Bryson DeChambeau- Fresh off a LIV win and runner-up in last year's PGA, there's just no good reason to leave Bryson out of the top five. Should be a factor next week. 6. Collin Morikawa- If ever there was a player built for PGA Championship courses, it is this guy. Would not be a surprise if he won this. Not at all.  7. Viktor Hovland- Hard to know what to make of Hovland's game over the past year. Finished third at Valhalla. Like Morikawa, I think he's a horse for this particular major. 8. Daniel Berger- Quietly, Berger has been resurrecting his career and I think he'll put it together next week to the tune of a top-10 finish. We shall see. 9. Sergio Garcia- Odd pick I realize, but Garcia has been solid this year so far and the PGA gave him an exemption which I think he greatly appreciated. 10. Ben Griffin- Coming off the win in New Orleans, I contemplated both Griffin and Novak for this spot. Just seems like the better fit for the course. I realize that Justin Thomas won the last time the PGA was here, but I just don't trust him in majors right now. Seems to come up small most of the time. Also, leaving Schauffele out of a top ten at major is generally foolish, but I just don't think he's established any sort of rhythm this year yet coming off his injury. Again, we shall see.

Picked the winner here, but so did about the half the people out there. Other than that, the best pick was Ben Griffin for his first top ten in a major...only to see me chicken out on picking him in the EdEx draft. Also, I was right about Justin Thomas and majors, but wrong about plenty else as always.

Griffin is more pissed at me than I thought.

Clark is fun to watch. The way she passes the ball really sets her apart.

I am such a chicken. Picked Ben Griffin in my top ten and then picked Bhatia instead when my chance to take Griffin came. I do it every time.

Alt: Ben Griffin

6.02- Akshay Bhatia

I paid my $10 to Wonder

5.07- Sergio Garcia

He was my #4 overall pick, but I feel a withdraw coming

4.02- Wyndham Clark

3.07- Daniel Berger

2.02- Jon Rahm

1.07- Ludvig Aberg

For once, first pick isn’t a foregone conclusion…

I owe $10 for this tournament.

Megla stops by for a visit. Very cool.

Arlington Road

It's not odd actually. He was simply the better of two bad choices. He's currently unpopular while the democratic party is even more unpopular.

I will say this for the PGA. They're willing to come to Middle America which is why I've been to three of them. And, the PGA is usually hugely exciting. The US Opens just bounce from East Coast and West Coast and back.

Well, as usual, I was so-so in projecting what would happen at the Masters. Picked the winner correctly, but seeing as that was the #2 player in the world, that's nothing to write home about. Conners turned out to be a solid pick also, but I have got to stop trusting Justin Thomas at majors. His major record outside of the two PGA wins simply isn't that good. Apologies, finally, for putting Zach Johnson in the "no chance" category. He proved a lot this weekend. Not as much as Rose did, but quite a bit.

The Masters is now three weeks away and the field is rounding into form. For a few of us, it is just about our favorite sports weekend of the year. For most, probably not, but still a weekend of interest. Here are my initial top ten favorites for this year as has been done for several years now. List is subject to minor changes as the month of March deepens in golf. Should be a great tournament! Top Ten: 1. Rory McIlroy-Won the Players with his B game. Never a better time to claim this with no one else playing elite golf. 2. Justin Thomas- 2025 has brought back moments of greatness. Here’s thinking those moments turn into four solid days. 3. Corey Conners- Just plays effective golf every time out. I think his time to nearly win a major has come. 4. Joaquin Niemann- The one LIV player that seems to still play with fire in his belly. 5. Scottie Scheffler- Look for more frustration for Scottie…and a back door top five come Sunday afternoon. 6. Patrick Cantlay- Played well at Sawgrass. I see a couple of top-ten finishes in majors for him this year. 7. Brooks Koepka- Not sure if he’s hungry, but he does seem relatively healthy for a change. 8. Sepp Straka- Only Rory has looked better this season. Sepp is a legit contender. 9. Jon Rahm- LIV’s best player should at least get a top ten finish in a major he’s won before. 10. Ludwig Aberg- Kind of all or nothing this year so far. I think that levels out at Augusta. Players outside of my top ten who still have a very legitimate shot at winning: Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele Highly ranked players who are off to slow start in 2025, but could catch lightning in a bottle for a week: Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau, Max Homa, Viktor Hovland, Sungjae Im, Jordan Spieth, Sagith Theegala, Cameron Young, Will Zalatoris Young, exciting players with little Masters experience, but tons of game: Akshay Bhatia, Thomas Detry, Stephen Jaeger, Tom Kim, Min Woo Lee, Robert MacIntyre, Taylor Pendrith, Aaron Rai Other LIV participants: Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith, Bubba Watson Solid, tested players...wouldn't be a shocker if they won: Daniel Berger, Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns, Jason Day, Harris English, Matt Fitzpatrick, Lucas Glover, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Tom Hoge, Billy Horschel, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, J.J. Spaun Guys who have a punchers chance, but would make for a somewhat shocking winner: Byeong Hun An, Christian Bezuidenhout, Brian Campbell, Rafael Campos, Laurie Canter, Cam Davis, Nick Dunlap, Nico Echavarria, Austin Eckroat, Max Greyserman, Joe Highsmith, Hojgaard Brothers, Chris Kirk, Patton Kizzire, Thirston Lawrence, Denny McCarthy, Matt McCarty, Maverick McNealy, Mattieau Pavon, J.T. Poston, Davis Riley, Adam Schenk, Nick Taylor, Davis Thompson, Jhonathan Vegas, Kevin Yu Guys who have no real shot at winning from my perspective: Angel Cabrera, Fred Couples, Zach Johnson, Bernhard Langer, J.M. Olazabal, Charl Schwartzel, Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, Danny Willett, All amateurs

Waiting to see if I finish 3rd. If I do, no money exchanged.