So in an attempt to inject a bit more life and interest into tournaments, and because we're all inveterate gamblers who are one bad card from being out on the streets, Jay Busbee and I are playing a golf version of a football suicide pool: We each pick one golfer per tournament and see how they do against each other, straight up. Victory over the other guy gets one point, victory in the tournament gets three points, and a tie lands you half a point. (Double for the majors.) And when we burn a golfer, he's done for the year. We turn our attention to the Travelers Championship.
Wall: Another solid pick from yours truly! Not. OK, so instead of going the obvious route and taking Hunter Mahan or Bubba Watson, I'm tabbing Ryan Moore for greatness this week. He hasn't had the greatest year, but with two runner-up finishes at the Travelers (including last year), he's my guy. I also like the fact that in 12 rounds at TPC River Highlands, his scoring average is 66.17.
Busbee: Wow, we tore it up at Olympic, didn't we? At least we didn't have to waste any time over the weekend thinking about it. Anyway, I'm going with Matt Kuchar this week. He's already got that big Players win this year, hasn't missed a cut all season (jinx!) and seems as reasonable a pick as anyone in the field. Which is marginally better than our usual throw-a-dart-and-pray approach.
Last week: I think it's time to resort to picking names out of a hat. For the second straight week, both Wall and Busbee picked a golfer that failed to make the weekend, as Dustin Johnson and Luke Donald headed home early. This is why you should never bet on golf, folks.
Current score: Busbee - 6.0, Wall - 5.0.
Already Used: Wall - Gary Woodland, K.J. Choi, Martin Laird, Nick Watney, Lee Westwood, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson, Luke Donald, Ryan Moore. Busbee - Nick Watney, Webb Simpson, Bill Haas, Ben Crane, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Zach Johnson, Luke Donald, Robert Karlsson, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar.