The Long Shots Era Has Arrived

With another tournament coming to an end this Super Bowl Sunday, we saw outcomes that everyone could have expected at the storied Waste Management Phoenix Open. Overflow of crowds, light beers being heavily consumed, snow angles in a bunker..? Yes, even that was expected to some.

BUT, the unexpected happened in two cases. Scottsdale weather wasn’t the norm this year as viewers, players and spectators got a feeling of last years Masters. Having only 1.5 rds finished by the end of Friday, we had a long weekend for the leaders and those who wanted to compete with a volatile 16th hole come Sunday. Also, we experienced an unforeseen duel of the 2 names at the end of championship Sunday. Charley Hoffman & Nick Taylor gave us an amazing display of top-level golf and showed why the PGA Tour is still an amazing product.

Charley Hoffman. YES, the Waste Management Ambassador for over 15 yrs. THAT CHARLEY HOFFMAN. Known for his crazy colored gloves, long stringy hair, and leading after day one of the Masters. Showed up with 300-1 expectations to win this golf tournament. His 2nd place finish left him with roughly $1Million to his name, a ticket punched to Riviera CC for the Genesis Open, and a new swagger that will hopefully lead to great finishes as the tour finishes up their west coast swing. Can’t say that we saw this one coming, and I would be shocked to see anyone with a Charley Hoffman winner bet slip. But, as the early season is upon us, we have seen that the favorites haven’t been kind to the FL patron.

Onto our champion, Nick Taylor. The OH Canada chants were few and far between as he played his last 4 holes in 3 under par to claim a spot in a playoff, later on claiming the victory. Now with 4 wins on the PGA Tour, Nick is living up to his Amateur credentials. As a former World #1 Amateur, Nick played his college golf at the University of Washington. While playing for Coach Thurmond, Taylor would go on to have one of most underrated college careers of this century. Playing along players like Joel Dahmen, Richard Lee, and Chris Williams (future #1 WAGR Player) he showed early on that he had the makings to make an impact at the highest level. Just a few of his accolades can be seen below.

·         2010 Ben Hogan Award Winner

·         Three-time PING All-American, including twice named to the first team

·         Two-time Co-Pac-10 Player of the Year

See full list here.

Fair to say that this man has the resume and game to back up his play and love for the big moment. His four wins are quite impressive as well. Sanderson Farms (as a rookie), AT&T Pebble Pro-Am, the 1st Canadian to win the Canadian Open in a 69 years, and now the people’s open. Not saying he will be a major contender, but don’t be shocked to see him atop more leaderboards soon while also making noise at the Presidents Cup in Montreal this year!

But where does this lead to as a ForeLong aspect? People discuss often that they want to see the best players in the world at every event, and with LIV plucking players away we see some lacking weeks for sure. But a true sports fan loves an underdog story, and a true GOLF fan lives for a close Sunday finish.

Not sure if you’re paying attention, but we aren’t even to March and we have gotten nail biting finishes WEEK after WEEK. Minus a weather disaster at Pebble, we have had all 5 events win with no less than 1 stroke with 2 playoffs included. I don’t care if it’s Adam Schenk VS. Eric Cole, that makes for captivating TV.

All winners this year at 90-1 odds or better. I don’t expect this to keep pace, but maybe look further down the list to cash in at Riv.

·         Chris Kirk 125-1

·         Grayson Murray 300-1

·         Nick Dunlap 500-1

·         Matthieu Pavon 130-1

·         Wyndham Clark 90-1

·         Nick Taylor 150-1

Mahalo,

Dingo