Sportandfashion-news PGA: Reed Finishes The Job & Snake Pit Awaits...

 It is not every week we see a final scoreboard like the one posted at Doral Sunday evening. Trump’s masterpiece proved to be even harder than expected, with only three players finishing in red numbers. In second round, we saw extreme winds make the tough course even harder but the players could not capitalize, even when the weather was right. Doral produced a record number of water balls, which was extremely impressive considering the reduced field size. Although we saw a lot of inconsistent golf, not everyone fumbled all week.

Prior to this year’s event, Tiger Woods held the title for the youngest competitor to win a World Golf Classic event. Now, Patrick Reed can proudly say he stole that title. Reed won the event with a score of four under, holding off Bubba Watson and Jamie Donaldson with a finishing bogey. Players like Dustin Johnson, Woods, and Luke Donald had their shots to seize this tournament, but their inability to outsmart the course lead to their demise. Following the victory, people widely criticized  Reed as he praised himself as one of the top five golfers in the world; it is only fair that I interject my opinion.

Patrick Reed gathered two tournament victories in less than two months plus another win in August 2013 meaning he won three times in seven months coming at the ripe, young age of 23. For him to claim that he is top five in the world is not only an outstanding display of his self-confidence but it also an indication of his vulnerability. When Jimmy Walker was standing on the 18th at Pebble a few weeks back, everyone considered whether or not he was the next great thing. As we have seen, he is a good golfer, but not yet great. Reed is the same. I will step back to say Reed has the skill set and ability to place himself among the world’s best but he is not there yet. Professional golf has always been about consistency and replication. If I was going to send out five guys to get the job done, I can’t say Patrick would even cross my mind. That storyline will be buried by the time The Masters rolls around where he should not even be among the favorites to win.

With that being said, Patrick will take the week off as the field opens back up to 144 at The Valspar Championship, formally known as the Tampa Bay Championship. Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, site of the elusive ‘Snake Pit’, will challenge the players with one of the most difficult tracks on Tour. In order to grab victory here, the winner will have to fight the breeze yet again but remain long off the tee and accurate to the large greens.

My favorite to make it happen is Harris English. I have to admit, this is not an abnormal pick, but I think his game is too hot to deny right now. Harris is fifth in the current FedEx Cup standings and finished in a tie for 16th among the big names last week. He already has one win in this wraparound season and is yet to finish outside of the top 50 in said tournaments.

The 24-year-old ranks fifth in par 3 scoring; which is huge considering he will encounter five each round this week. He also ranks first in scoring average, highlighted by impressive numbers before the cut. You will not see much emotion out of the Georgia native but he is yet another young gun looking to stamp his name on this Tour season.

While the young guns seem to be the ones to watch for lately, I think Luke Donald is looking ready to make a splash. Luke finished well here last year and put together a few solid rounds last week. After some tinkering with his game over the offseason, keep an eye on Donald this week to get back in elite form.

Last week, I thought I had finally picked you guys a winner with DJ, but he let me/us down. I feel good about my pick this week, but hell; I say that every week. Cheers.

Bryan