Travis Fulton and “The Coach” Jonathan Coachman bring you the best golf betting picks for this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson. The Coaches give you the insight and analysis you need to make your bets as the PGA Tour stops at TPC Craig Ranch.
Cash-out with the Coaches is hosted by Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman, reputable Golf handicapper, and Travis Fulton, Golf Coach/Instructor to some of the best professionals in the game. Join us every week for the best betting picks in golf.
Full Transcript
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Is there a better time in golf than where we are at right now? Speed this one in 2021, now Rory gets it done for the first time since 2019 and we’re here for it, and we’re here for it every single week on the PGA tour. Welcome into Cash-Out with the Coaches. I am Jonathan Coachman “the Coach”, he is one of the great golf instructing minds in the world today, Travis Fulton.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Trav, how are you, sir?
Travis Fulton: Coach! Hello from Jackson, Mississippi. How’re you doing my man?
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Jackson, Mississippi?
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: What are you doing in Jackson, Mississippi?
Travis Fulton: Well, I just got done with a little seminar; was speaking with the Gulf States PGA section here.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Okay.
Travis Fulton: And, talking golf swing. We were talking some of the Rory changes, some of the little flexion in the lead wrist, how that leads to rotation. People will play better golf. I love this place. Everybody’s so nice here. I love it.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: That was an answer I didn’t expect to be honest with you. I was like, “Oh wow, he went to Mississippi to talk about Rory’s swing changes.” Well, I’m glad that you’re in Mississippi. I’m glad that you’re getting speaking gigs because you’re an incredible speaker, and very eloquent when it comes to the golf swing.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Now, for those people that are new to the show, welcome. Every single week, we give you information on the upcoming tournament, whatever it is. By the way, we’re going to do a very special PGA championship preview later this week, so make sure you follow our YouTube channel so you know exactly when that falls into your feed; and, we give out several match-ups at the end of the show. But at the beginning, we recap and we look forward to the week.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: So, Trav. That’s where I want to start this.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Rory McIlroy, very, very popular win on Mother’s day. He got kind of emotional after the win talking about his wife; talking about his mother. It’s his first win as a dad,
Travis Fulton: Yup.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: He had his beautiful little baby there, but he said after the tournament that he found something the weekend before. With your trained eye, what do you think he found to get him that first victory in over two years?
Travis Fulton: Well, the path of that driver was not going excessively to the right, for a while. He was getting under it. The path was going to the right and he had to over-cook the face. And, you start getting that push hook combination. So, to me it looked like Rory did a couple things. It looked like the club was more out in front of him going back. It certainly was not in; it was wider out in front, and then he would make that big turn, of course. And then, the commitment was there to hit the face, to kind of get on top of it, turn, and exit the club more to the left. I thought the club going back looked much better, much wider, much more out in front of him. And then, the club coming through and the way it was exiting, you could see it more under his lead shoulder. And anytime you see that, you know the path is working more to the left. He was able to hit that little fade out there.
Travis Fulton: It wasn’t the most amount of fairways hit, right?
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Right, very few actually.
Travis Fulton: Yeah, from that statistic; but, it was in front of him. He wasn’t fearing what he was doing before, and you could see the improvement in the iron game as well. But make no mistake coach, I mean the biggest difference here for Rory was the putting. Positive 6.9 putting strokes game? That’s a huge number. Rory hasn’t been…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Big.
Travis Fulton: … there in a long time. He looked as committed and decisive with the putter, maybe that I’ve ever seen before. I mean, it was almost like hitting his putts, and it almost felt too soon, you know? You kind of get that cadence of the player, they get up, they do this, they do that, and then they hit it…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Yeah, he’s only been so fast, yeah. Yeah.
Travis Fulton: And, Rory was like, wow this is a lot faster, more committed. I loved it. He putted beautifully on those greens.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I’ll give him a lot of credit, too; because, you talk about the fade that he had going on 18, the fade didn’t fade. And, he went kind of left of the hazard. But, he was very smart. I thought his caddy did a great job of talking him through what they should have done. They said, you know what? Fives going to be good enough to win. That’s what he played for. That’s what he got and he got the win.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: There were some other names though, last week, I thought did a lot for their years; but also, did a lot for what’s coming up, which is this week at the Byron Nelson, but more importantly, the PGA championship, namely Gary Woodland…
Travis Fulton: Yup.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: … kind of came from the abyss and he was very much alive going into the final nine holes.
Travis Fulton: Yeah. I mean, Gary Woodland came from nowhere. I mean, he’s been playing some bad golf coming in. He hasn’t had really any success at all, well at Hollow. All of a sudden he finds something and off he goes. This width word, you hear that a lot, players wanting width, which is kind of out away from. Get the hands moving out away from the chest. Don’t get narrow in tight, coming down. Gary has a unique swing in that, when you watch him coming down, he kind of… It’s almost like he’s holding it down.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: It looks that way, yeah.
Travis Fulton: … and it gets in narrow and when you get in narrow, then you have less time to really let go and you can’t rotate and hit’s those high blocks off to the right, which he still hit a few of those, but I know he’s been working with his coach, Justin Parsons, who will be on my podcast. The striped show podcast on Thursday, and we’re going to talk about that. But, the lead wrist, keeping it up flatter, out away from the chest, clearly they’ve made some ground with that because, wow, what a difference a week makes. Gary Woodland came out of nowhere.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Yeah, that was really cool; but, probably the biggest story that came out of the week, it wasn’t Rory winning, it wasn’t Gary Woodland coming from the abyss, former US Open Champion, it was the fact that… and I had this guy in several matchups. Bryson DeChambeau. The man is at plus two; he putts on 18. Says, “I need a miracle”…
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: “I need a miracle.” He said that. He doesn’t make the putt. He goes. His caddy gets on a flight. He gets on a private jet home and as he’s in the air, because now you can text with wifi, his agents texting him that he continues to move from 78, up to 70th, and by the time he lands back in the Dallas area, he was in 64th place. And, the story is really remarkable.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I remember talking to Mark Wilson, we were doing PGA tour live a couple years ago, and the subject came up about leaving when you thought you weren’t going to make the cut. He was like, “Oh yeah. Geoff Ogilvy once famously did it,” and told me a couple other stories, and then it happens to Bryson.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: He couldn’t get a flight back that night. So, he went and got a workout in. Went to bed at eight, he said. Got up and flew back at 2:45 AM because for people who have never flown private… I’ve flown a lot of private… the crew just can’t take the plane back. You’ve got to have rest time. So, he got a new crew; got back, landed at six, went straight to the course, ate, played, ended up with a top 10. A top 10, Trav! That may have been the most remarkable story of the entire week.
Travis Fulton: Yeah, I mean it’s kind of on brand, right?
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: It really is. It really is for him. It really is for him.
Travis Fulton: This is the what…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Amazing.
Travis Fulton: This is the life of Bryson DeChambeau and played quite well in the weekend. He came back. Got in the top 10. I think he finished T9. Bryson right now has got to get his iron game going. Whether he flies home or he stays, or whatever he does; he’s got to get I think a little more dialed in, here, controlling trajectory, controlling the distance the balls traveling with his irons, touch. I think he needs to dial that in. We know he can play the long ball. We know it’s going to be a huge advantage this week, I believe, at Craig’s Ranch. But, he’s got to get that dialed in. And when he does, he’s going to be lethal because, to your point, he putted very well. So, he brings that putting form with the distance and some improvement in proximity with the iron game. I think this golf course is made for a Bryson DeChambeau. It’s made for a Jon Rahm where you can step up. Let the big dog hunt and go low here and make a lot of birdies.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: And sometimes we have a tendency, those of us in the golf community, to try to overthink things. Try to say, “You know what? I’ve got to go down the list and find a guy there, find a guy there”…
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: And it ends up fighting us.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: And this week it just screams top guys; birdie fest, whoever’s in the best form…
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: And really, really, a lot of motivation because you’ve got a major next week that we know is going to be windy, tough, a lot of water, and players really need to get all parts of their game dialed in. So, I think the top guys are going to be really locked in this week.
Travis Fulton: I do too. I think this tournament every way you look at, at least for me, is screaming chalk. TPC Craig Ranch, I was there years ago when they very first opened it and they’ve been preparing this place for a tournament for a long time. And, of course, the Byron Nelson was at TPC Las Colinas, the Four Seasons there, for many years. And then, it went to Trinity Forest. So, TPC Craig’s Ranch, man, has been waiting in line perse, so they’re excited to get it there. They’re going to put on a good show. McKinney, Texas is where it is outside of Dallas. It’s private. Par 72. It’s just over 7,400 yards. Back nit grass greens here.
Travis Fulton: So, that’ll be interesting to watch and play out. It looks like it’s in great shape. I think this course, though, what I can tell our viewers here, I think it’s pretty open off the Tee. I think these guys are going to be… you’re going to be seeing some serious red ass here off the Tee. They’re going to be hitting it hard off of the Tee. I think par fives are very hittable. There’s some big par threes. You’ll see some bigger par threes for sure. But, these guys are going to go low. I think they’re going to tear it up. I can see these big hitters, these big guns, coming in and just playing… just really some instinctive golf here and letting it go off the Tee.
Travis Fulton: You get the iron game polished. You start making some putts. We’re going to see scores well into the mid 60s. We’ll probably see some low 60s if the greens are receptive enough. It screams chalk. I could sit here… I love Jon Rahm. I love Bryson DeChambeau. I went with a different name to get some better odds, but I think this is going to be a pretty tasty leaderboard with some rich names for sure come late Sunday.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: You don’t normally see a field this good the week before a major.
Travis Fulton: Right.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: But, because of how the schedule lays out now, a lot of players like a Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris, Hideki, they’ve taken some time off. And now, they’re all coming back this week to get in form before next week’s major, and then of course US Open is in a few weeks. Or names like Brooks Koepka, in addition to the names that you’ve already mentioned. Why do you think so many big names put their schedules together to play this event?
Travis Fulton: That’s a really good question because Wells Fargo, of course, was before this and we saw some bigger names there. We saw some guys hold out. It makes sense for Spieth, certainly, being from Texas. I think Jon Rahm, I think he needs the reps right now.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I do, too. I do, too.
Travis Fulton: When I look at a Rahm. I think Bryson needs the reps right now. I think Bryson’s trying to find and dial some things in. We saw DJ has already withdrawn. I think he needs the reps.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: You know how I feel about that.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I just I never believe him anymore.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I don’t believe that he had a knee issue. I mean, and I don’t want to call him a liar. I’m not doing that.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: This is now the second time in what, a month?
Travis Fulton: This is the third time.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: A month and a half?
Travis Fulton: Third time.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Third time. Yeah. Okay, so.
Travis Fulton: Yeah, it’s a bad look. Let’s just say it. Like, it’s a bad look.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: It is.
Travis Fulton: He’s jumping. He’s doing back-flips off a boat the week before.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Yup.
Travis Fulton: It’s a bad look, and clearly I miss peak DJ right now. I was certainly… He would have probably been my favorite coming into this particular tournament if he would have played. But to answer your question, I think there’s some guys that need reps. I think they need reps. They’re trying to work through something. Jon Rahm has a chilly putter. He didn’t play good last week; missed the cut. Byrson’s still not hitting on all cylinders. I think he needs to work some things out. I think this is a venue where he can probably see if he can get his play speed up and see how far he can hit it off the Tee.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Yeah.
Travis Fulton: And then I think, Will Zalatoris needs a width, right? And I think like a Daniel Berger, a Koepka, coming back like they’ve taken some time off. They need a tournament before the PGA. So I think there’s a number of things working into this and it’s a great field. I mean, I’m ecstatic here with this field.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I’m pumped. I think a lot of those names, Bryson, this is essentially home game for him. He went to SMU. Still lives in the area and Will Zalatoris is a very, very interesting name for me this week.
Travis Fulton: Yup.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Because, I think it’s a travesty. It’s an absolute travesty that the PGA tour has not adjusted their rules to allow a guy like a Will Zalatoris into the FedEx Cup playoffs. So, he has to win…
Travis Fulton: Right.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: … in order to get in, even though right now he would be ranked 15th; or something like that. It’s absolutely insane. So, I think he got caught up in that to be honest. And he played so many weeks in a row that it caught up to him at the RBC and anybody that played him that week lost big. But, I just think he was worn out after the second place finish and the Master’s. I think now he’s had a couple weeks off and he’s a guy that I’m really looking towards that, you said it, needs a win. But, he needs a win for all the other reasons that the other…
Travis Fulton: Yeah
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: … that the other players don’t.
Travis Fulton: Right.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: And I think that’s really interesting. I really do.
Travis Fulton: Yup. Well, we know he’s got fire power. I mean, we know this kid can send it off a Tee. He’s a good iron player. Can he do enough with his putter? It’ll be interesting to see here. You’re going to have to make some birdies here. We’re going to get into the 20s here for sure. I think winning score… Weather permitting. There is forecast for some wind which can always change that up. But, I just, through my resources, Coach, through my resources…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Your resources and your model.
Travis Fulton: I think they’re going to beat this place up.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Okay. Well, let’s get into it then because we love throwing out these picks. We’ve been really, really good on our head-to-head matchup and we tell you all the time for those of you playing at home, where you’re going to make the bulk of your money…
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: … is head-to-head matchups. We want you to lower your units on the props because it’s just more different to hit top 20s in winners and those things. So, here’s what we do. We take $100. We do two head-to-head matchups, a top 20, a tournament winner, and a wildcard play that can be anything on the board.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Follow our incredible partners and sponsors of the Sports Pub Media. Send in what you want to play. Tweet us. Let us know what would be your five plays this week as well, because we want to know. We want you to be interactive with us.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: All right, Trav. You’re up first. What’s your first head-to-head matchup?
Travis Fulton: All right. Let’s get after it. Big week last week. We’re going Jordan Spieth minus 125 over your boy Hideki Matsuyama who…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Love him.
Travis Fulton: … has been put on a pedestal here for the last better part of the month all over the world and deservedly so. What an ambassador for the game. An incredible win at Augusta. Now, he’s coming back to reality and it’s going to be a birdie fest. I don’t really like Hideki so much at these kinds of venues. Of course, we know what’s happening with George Coetzee right now as the come back has been complete. His win earlier in the year and now he’s back in Texas. I think Jordan knows a thing or two about playing golf in this part of the country.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I would say so.
Travis Fulton: And look, wide-open fairways; I know Jordan’s got the driver more under control, but you’re hitting it better, get up there. Let’s let the driver out. Let’s let this iron game continue to go to work. He’s iron game, Coach, has been so hip. I mean, this is becoming now. We talked about a Justin Thomas. We talk about a Collin Morikawa. I think we have to start putting Spieth now back into this conversation as one of the best iron players in the game. We know he can fill it up with the putter. I think all systems go. It’s funny how the narrative has changed so quickly with Jordan now in that… Man, he couldn’t do anything there for the better part of three years. Now, he’s back. He’s playing great golf. I don’t need to list all the great finishes he’s had. It’s been well documented.
Travis Fulton: But, here we are now. He’s one of the favorites of this tournament. He’s going to beat Hideki comfortably, and I wouldn’t put it past him to go to the PGA next week and complete the grand slam. That’s where the narrative is now.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Yeah. It’s a really, really big couple of weeks for him. We know how much these Texas tournaments mean to him. I don’t believe that he’s ever missed one.
Travis Fulton: No.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: And, you also say, back in January, he was in that 50 to one category to win the Master’s; and, it’s funny how quickly numbers change because this week he is plus 1,200. 12 to one…
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: … and he’s among the betting favorites and that’s a number that I never recommend playing anything below 1,500 because you just get no value there. So, right now I don’t think you can pick Jordan’s peak to win, but I love picking him in a head-to-head matchup against Hideki. I think it’s going to take Hideki a little bit of time to get going on Thursday. Spieth will have a lead and then he’ll be able to coast through on Friday. I don’t even know if Hideki makes the cut to be honest with you.
Travis Fulton: Whoa!
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I don’t know. I don’t know. I think Thursday is going to be really hard for him.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: He hasn’t played in a month and he’s traveled all the way back from these countries.
Travis Fulton: Right.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: So, I just think he could stumble on Thursday, but we will see.
Travis Fulton: Yup.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I want to go with my first pick. At any time you give me Rickie Fowler. I don’t care of the numbers at this point. He’s going to have to prove to me that, not only can he win a head-to-head, Trav, he’s got to make the cut.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: He has to make the cut. Last week, and this is the one thing I’ve learned not to do, is not Tweet on Thursdays. I don’t care what happens because you always get bit in the butt on Friday.
Travis Fulton: Yup.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: And, that’s what happened with one of my followers. Coach, you said, “Fade Fowler.” You said, “Fade Fowler.” I said, “I did?” He shot at like 69 in the first game, and then shot like a 78 on Friday. He is lost right now. He has no idea what he’s doing. He has changed a swing to the point that from one day to the next, it looks different and Sergio is just a great iron player. He’s not scared to go low. He’s one of those big names that he’ll go out and shoot a 65, 65. He’s done it before and so I think this even though it’s minus 150, I don’t like that high of a juice, but as I like to say, “Sometimes the juice is worth the squeeze.”
Travis Fulton: Hey. Stay away from Fowler. You’re hard on him now every single week. The reality with Rickie, his driving has shown some signs the last two weeks. You see approach game, that negative 4 number, just consistently… I mean he’s just, it’s bled into his putting clearly now, too. So…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Clearly.
Travis Fulton: Yeah, it’s gosh…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: It’s tough because he’s such a good guy. We know. And, he even answered the right questions about all of his endorsements. I’ve seen two new commercials since he got called out by Faldo about making more commercials; and, you can’t hate on him for that because we all have to earn a living…
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: … and if somebody’s going to pay you a million bucks, you go and make a commercial; but, when you’re at his level and you still haven’t won a major…
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: … and your game is falling off, and you’re outside what? The top 70 now? So, at some point you’ve got say, “What’s more important perception wise?”
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: And right now, it’s got to be the golf game and not the commercials. He needs to tell his team, let’s stop with the commercials and let’s just get my game back.
Travis Fulton: Yeah. Amen. Amen.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: All right.
Travis Fulton: I think Butch Harmon told him that years ago: Do you want to be a Kardashian or do you want to see how great your golf game can be? And, I think Rickie’s made some decisions and perhaps his worst one is trying to work on his golfing, because he had work.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Wow.
Travis Fulton: His drive is a little better, but his iron game is just nowhere near where it needs to be; and unfortunately now, it’s lead into his short game and his putting taking all that pressure and stress.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Oh, so much pressure.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Okay. Matchup number two. Trav, where are you going?
Travis Fulton: Tough. You’re so tough on Rickie Fowler.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Wait a minute. It’s funny how we produce it that way.
Travis Fulton: Right off the turn buckle.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Thank you, Cody.
Travis Fulton: Off the turn buckle, down…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Look at you! Channeling my old days. Channeling my old days. Let’s go.
Travis Fulton: We’ve beat up Rickie enough. Let me tell you some positive stuff here…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Okay.
Travis Fulton: … about the South African Charl Schwartzel. I am here for Charl Schwartzel right now. He made me some money last week and I am doubling it down again this week. I think Charl, speaking of finding some stuff…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: He has. Oh, he has.
Travis Fulton: He’s playing some good weeks and he has been very good to me here as of late. 26th in the Master’s. 21st at Valspar. Second at Zurich. 14th at Wells Fargo. I mean, he’s getting better, Coach. Like he’s just… It’s just getting better. He’s hitting the ball as well. I was looking here, statistically, his irons right now are as good as they’ve been, I’m scrolling, maybe ever. Honestly. From a strokes hand approach standpoint.
Travis Fulton: Maybe…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I would agree. I would agree.
Travis Fulton: Positive six and a half he was, or no. 6.8 at Wells Fargo. Positive 4.6 at Valspar. Second at Zurich. We don’t have those stats. They had to be pretty darn good. His iron game is exceptional right now and he’s driving the ball fine. So, why not? Let’s keep this train going. Rickie’s obviously still trying to find it. I think Charl Schwartzel is hands down right now the better player over Rickie Fowler.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I put Charl in the Lee Westwood, the Charley Hoffman, the Ryan Palmer, category of guys that are into their 40s now, that had to look themselves in the mirror and say, “Listen. There’s all these young cats that are coming up from the Korn Ferry Tour, do I want to continue to play on the PGA Tour, and if I do, I’ve got to put more into my game.” And they’re realizing, when they put more into their game, that they’re really good player because there’s a reason that Charl won the Master’s at one point. And now, his game is back because I think he’s being motivated, Trav, by the idea of his career going down the other side because of guys like Will Zalatoris, and Morikawa and all these guys, and I think it’s a really, really good thing. I really do.
Travis Fulton: Yeah. Well, if he putts at all last week, he’s definitely in the top five at Wells Fargo. He hit the ball exceptionally well; didn’t make really anything and still finished 14th. So, let’s change the surface up. He’s pretty good on dead grass. I like it. I think this is a no brainer here.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: And I like the number, too. Only laying 10 cents.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I always like that in a head-to-head matchup.
Travis Fulton: Yup.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Okay, my second head-to-head matchup looks like this: I told you I’m pulling for Will Zalatoris, and it’s plus 100. So, I love that. Now, Matt Fitzpatrick. That scares me just a little bit, but…
Travis Fulton: Yup.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: … the reason I made this pick, Trav, is because whenever you travel to a new course, a new track, for everybody, it’s an even playing field. Yes, Fitzpatrick’s been really good that last couple of months. I think he’s had a little bit from time to time, some putting issues on short putts; but right now, to me if you’re going head up with Will Zalatoris’ game, or Matthew Fitzpatrick’s game, to me Will Zalatoris is just more consistent. He outwardly, overtly, says, “I want to be the best. I want to beat everybody that I play against, and I should be a top 15 player in the world.” And I could absolutely see, this may be a little far fetched, I could see Will Zalatoris being on the Ryder Cup Team this year if he continues to play as well as he has been playing. I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: And so, I think he is motivated on tournaments like this, to not only get a win, but to show everybody that he is one the best American players out there and I think he beats Matthew Fitzpatrick head-to-head and I love the numbers.
Travis Fulton: Yeah, I think you’re discounting Fitzpatrick, maybe a little bit.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Maybe a little.
Travis Fulton: He’s certainly playing some good golf. I mean, he’s a good driver of the ball. He’s an excellent putter. I think Fitzpatrick is a genius on Bermuda greens. I mean, him and Denny McCarthy are probably one in 1A when it comes to Bermuda…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Yeah.
Travis Fulton: I think bent, he’s not as good. So, I think that probably helps Will. But, make no mistake, both these guys are good drivers of the ball. Will’s is certainly longer and probably the better iron player. I think that’s where Will’s probably got the big advantage here, short game wise, they’re probably fairly close. So, I think this is a good matchup here. I really do.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I do.
Travis Fulton: Both of these guys…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I think it’s going to go the full four days.
Travis Fulton: Both these guys really are playing good golf.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: All right. Very good. All right. Let’s move on. Our top 20 pick. Travis, who do you like to finish in the top 20 this week?
Travis Fulton: Well, I went down the board a little bit.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Okay.
Travis Fulton: Talking with my sources.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: You and your damn sources.
Travis Fulton: Priming my throttle. You know I…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Did it work in Jackson, Mississippi, by the way?
Travis Fulton: I think, yes.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Do they have Wifi there?
Travis Fulton: I think Luke List continues to good play for another week. Luke played very well last week; finished sixth. Finally, finally, Luke List made some putts. I think this is a bit of a bomber’s paradise open. I think he can take advantage of his length here. Let’s keep the good iron player going which I think he has been. I think off the tee, iron game very good; round the green. I think solid, improved. Just comes down to making putts for Luke and I think distance can play out a little bit more here. I think you can probably force the hand a little bit more here distance-wise which is going to help him from a proximity stand point.
Travis Fulton: And coming off last week, positive 2.7, that’s one of his best putting weeks of the year. That was the difference finishing sixth verus missing the cut at the Valspar where he basically, he hit the ball a little worse, but loss for 58th at RBC; lost five and half putting.
Travis Fulton: He feels good. This a great track for him. This is a really, really good course for Luke List. So positive 250. Let’s do it again, Luke. Let’s do it again. Top 20.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: He won… Last week he was one of the players that actually the numbers and the course was supposed to matchup perfectly and it did. He had won a couple of head-to-heads, for me, round bets. But, there were a lot of players, like a Jon Rahm that he’s a bomber, should have been played well there. It just didn’t.
Travis Fulton: Right.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I think Luke List is now the new Sam Burns. He’s showing up a lot. He’s getting close, but he’s not finishing the deal. And, I think he’s really motivated. He’s also one of those bombers that can score. He can get on a hot streak and go four or five birdies in a row.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: So, I love this play. Plus you’re getting a plus 250. That’s a really good number for top 20.
Travis Fulton: Yeah. It feels that, doesn’t it?
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Yeah.
Travis Fulton: It feels like it’s good value here for Luke who was sixth last week, and to your point, he usually puts two or three together, so. I feel like we’re kind of going into maybe another run here for Luke. Why not? This is a perfect set up for him, 7,500 yards open off the tee. Let’s go. Give me the…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Grip. Grip.
Travis Fulton: … and let me tell you something. Let me tell you something. Luke List can freaking bomb it, too. It’s easy to leave Luke of the list like, hey, it’s a bomber’s paradise; the big guys: Rory, Bryson. And we don’t really get to Luke’s name. I’m telling you, Luke can let the dog hunt.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Keep and eye out for him this week. I actually had him in a head-to-head that I was thinking about playing here on the show, and I didn’t. So I am also bullish on Luke List. My top 20: I’m going a little bit off the beaten path here. And, here’s another guy that has recently been playing some pretty good golf last week. He was right there in the mix, name on the first page of the leader board for a lot of the week.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Scott Stallings…
Travis Fulton: Yes.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: … and, I love the numbers; plus 335. The market hasn’t caught up with how well Scott Stallings is playing; however, he has a tendency, Trav, to give away a shot or two at the end of a round.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: That’s always been kind of his thing is finishing rounds. He did it again last week. Double on 18 and when you’re at the top of the leader board a double can cost you a top 10 and sometimes take you out of the top 20. You know? So, hopefully he doesn’t do that this week. I think he’s in tremendous shape. I think he’s one of those guys that can go. I think he’s fired up and he wants to get back up in the upper echelon of guys that we talk about. I really believe that. And, all he has to do is a top 20, incredible value at plus 335, I’ll take Scott Stallings.
Travis Fulton: Yeah. I think it’s a long shot. I think it’s a long shot. But, I think…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Hence the number. Hence the number.
Travis Fulton: He’s certainly putting well. Yeah, I agree. He does give some silly shots back. I think that’s a good observation with Stallings. Can he do enough with the ball striking, I think, will be the question here for sure.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: All right. We will find out. All right. It’s that really that time of the week where winners for this week, and you had a tendency to pick them. I’ll give you credit for that, Travis.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I’ll give you credit for that. All right. Time for our winner. Who do you got this week?
Travis Fulton: Well, I had almost picked my third one last week, Viktor. He made a run, speaking of giving away a couple silly shots in three putts that cost him in the end, but Viktor Hovland, man, so impressive.
Travis Fulton: Anyway…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: How impressive?
Travis Fulton: You know, I’ve got to find some value here, Coach, you talked about it in the beginning, right? You could convince on Bryce and you can convince me on Rahm, like I get it. Spieth. But, it’s like, I can’t get excited for them. Plus you know, eight to one, 11 to one…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: What’s that going to do? What’s that going to do?
Travis Fulton: So, I…
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: You can’t take your life out on that.
Travis Fulton: So, my default. I’ve done this before. Give me some odds in my DraftKings Sportsbook and go in and looking through, give me some value that I can get excited about. All right. Yeah. Why not? This should be a good spot for him. I know he has a play with his knee. I get it. But, he’s got to be feeling better. Let’s come out there. I think it’s a good place to come back. It’s not going to be overly tight. He could probably just let it go a little bit with the driver.
Travis Fulton: Let’s see if we can do enough Thursday here with Brooks. Let’s put maybe a three under on the board. Get one under our belt and then get some mojo heading into the weekend. And then, let’s see if we can go low on the weekend and maybe clip one off here. And I just think about… I’m like playing this tournament out in my head and then I see Brooks when he was really rolling and just making the game look easy; bombing the driver, proximities with the irons, making eight footers with the putter, just like he does.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I hate that. I hate that.
Travis Fulton: I just feel like, why not? 23 to one; find a little fire here. I can get excited at this number. Brooks Koepka coming back with the knee. Why not?
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Do you want to know the picture I see in my head? So the picture I see in my head, is Brooks Koepka at the Masters not being able to bend over on one of his knees because he wasn’t even close to 100% gutting it out…
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: But alas he was never in contention at all. Now, he’s had a month…
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: … Over a month; and, he would not be playing this week if he was not able to. So I will give you that. I just wonder where his game is at. How much has he been able to practice?
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Because, he didn’t like to practice before anyway.
Travis Fulton: Right.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: How much has he practiced since the Master’s would be my only concern in picking him to win.
Travis Fulton: Sure.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: But, that would be it because I think motivation is not a factor for him right now. He’s sick and tired of not being included in the conversation anymore now that Spieth is back, Rory’s back, all these guys. Nobody is talking about him.
Travis Fulton: Right.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: And you know he’s got a big ego. We know that.
Travis Fulton: Yup.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: So, I think he wants to get back in the conversation. I really do.
Travis Fulton: Yeah. He’s not going to be limping around and having a hard time getting… like you’re going to see a normal gait pattern here. I think speeds up. Like, he’s not playing if he’s not close to 100%.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: I agree.
Travis Fulton: There’s no reason for him to come out and play this week if he’s not close to 100%. So, I think we’re going to see a healthy Brooks Koepka. There’s certainly going to be some rust; but look, Brooks is kind of like… That’s what he does; he plays. I don’t think he really looks that I need a lot of ramp up time and a lot of reps to go out and compete. Like, his mentality is, “I’m here. Let’s go. Give me the ball. Let’s do enough on Thursday and then maybe go from there.”
Travis Fulton: Again, looking for some odds, 23 to one, Sports Book Draft Kings. I found myself this is the best. Now, outside of that, if I want to go really deep, then I’d be like, “Okay, give me a Doug Ghim at 80 to one who’s a ball striking machine.” But, he can’t putt to save his life.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: He can’t.
Travis Fulton: Maybe that’s the play. So that would be another name for those looking for a long, long shot.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Doug Ghim is actually minus 170 in the head-to-head matchup I saw with Vincent Whaley, and I’m like how far is Doug Ghim come in the last month? The dude didn’t even have status basically and now he’s a minus 170 in a head-to-head matchup? Whatever.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: All right. My winner this week, I’m going to go with… you know I like things and we’re in Texas. This man played well at the WGC in Austin and now he’s coming back to his home state. I think he really wants to get that first win under his belt; would love to do it in front of all of his friends and family and, maybe, teammates from college I think Scottie Scheffler is primed and ready. He’s another guy that we haven’t seen in a few weeks. He took some time off; but, now he’s coming back in a place that he loves, Dallas, and I think Scottie Scheffler at plus 2,500 is incredible value for a guy who nearly won about six weeks ago.
Travis Fulton: Yeah. We know he can drive it. I think his iron game is trending. His putter has been a little chilly. I think if you asked Scheffler to this point, evaluate the season, I think he’d be a little disappointed, right now. I just kind of get the sense like he’s kind of stuck in neutral just a little bit, right? And, I think mainly because of the putter, he really hasn’t had, other than waste management where he finished seventh, that really hot putter week. So, yeah. Coming back to Texas, can he get some mojo going there? I think if he does, he’ll certainly be a guy that will be in the top 20 and a name that could certainly be contending late on Sunday.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: All right. Very good. All right. We’re up against it. It’s time for our final pick of the show. Wildcard. Trav, it can be anything on the board, what do you like?
Travis Fulton: Going back to my boy: The Gooch.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: The Gooch. The Gooch.
Travis Fulton: Positive 225 Draftlings Sportsbook, top 20. I’ll tell you what, I’m just going to give you this. I think Gooch is a very solid player. I think he’s a player like I’m going to talk a little bit about Gooch kind of like I used to talk about Sam Burns, right? Because I touted Burns for a long, long time before he won. I don’t think Gooch is quite that talented. I think he’s close. But I think he’s getting to that point where Taylor Gooch is going to pop one of these off, right, and win. I don’t think he wins here, but I was really impressed how he played last week. I really like the way Taylor Gooch played last week. His approach game is very good. I think he’s very good on dead greens. He’s played well in Texas. I feel like the way he played last week, all the mojo about Texas, I think this is a good track for him, Gooch, top 20 wildcard.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: All right. He’s definitely somebody who is trending upwards.
Travis Fulton: Yes.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: My wildcard, I’m going to go with Daniel Berger. Top 10.
Travis Fulton: Never heard of him.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Plus 140. We know that almost a year ago, almost a year ago, in the first tournament back on the PGA Tour schedule, he won in this area.
Travis Fulton: Oh, that’s right.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: It was a colonial because this tournament was not played last year.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: But, he loves coming to his area. He’s also one of that big group of players that we haven’t seen in a few weeks.
Travis Fulton: Right.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: So, he’s going to be very, very, very, not only motivated, but he’s going to be fresh. And, I’ll take a fresh Daniel Berger and that ego. I’m here for it.
Travis Fulton: Yeah.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: So, give it to me. I’m getting plus 140. Top 10. I’ll take that all day.
Travis Fulton: Yeah. I like that bet. Yup. Yup. I like that. Yup.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: All right. Final thoughts, Trav, before we get out of here and make sure everybody follows Sports Pub Media and don’t forget we have that special PGA championship episode coming out later in the week. Your final thoughts?
Travis Fulton: Yeah, I think it’s going to be interesting here, TPC’s Craig Ranch; the guys did go low last week. Quail Hollow put up a big fight. Rory getting it to 10 under. I think we’re going to get well into the 20s this week. It’s going to be a birdie fest. It’s going to be fun to watch. Rumor has it, the par three lake, I think it’s 16? Or 17? I don’t have it right in front of me, a little bit of a stadium atmosphere. So, I think it’s going to be cool to see how this course plays out watching a lot of birdies, some of the interesting things about TPC Craig’s Ranch because like I said, they’ve been thinking through this for a long time now. This course is a big opportunity for them, so I think they’re going to roll the red carpet out here and put everything out there for this to perhaps be the home long term for the Byron Nelson.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: Boy, that would be super, super cool. And, they’ve got very, very luck this year that they have the field that they have…
Travis Fulton: Yeah! Great field!
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: … And, I think it’s going to be a really fun week as we really get started, started with last week into the summer portion, the most important portion of the PGA tour schedule.
Travis Fulton: Yup.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: And we’ll be here for it every single week. All right, that’s going to do it for our incredible partners at SportsPub Media. Follow them on Twitter, on Instagram. For Samantha, for Cody, for everybody that helps out with the show that makes it look so good… He’s Travis Fulton. I am the Coach. Remember, this is the only place every single week that if you’re going to cash out, how about you cash out with the coaches? See you.
Travis Fulton: See you from Mississippi.
Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman: No Wifi.
