Dean & Deluca Invitational 2017: 5 groups to watch in Rounds 1 & 2

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May 14, 2017; Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, USA; Si Woo Kim kisses the trophy after winning The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass – Stadium Course. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Sergio Garcia, Si Woo Kim, Jon Rahm

Round 1: 10th tee, 7:55 a.m.

Round 2: 1st tee, 12:55 p.m.

Normally, a group with two former champions would get the top spot on this list but there’s just too much to ignore with a group that features the winner of The Masters, the winner of THE PLAYERS and the most exciting rookie on the PGA TOUR.

Si Woo Kim is making his first start since his life-changing victory at TPC Sawgrass and it will be very interesting to see how he plays. He vaulted into the top 30 in the world with his win at THE PLAYERS, secured a spot at the U.S. Open and now has a lot of eyes on him at the age of 21. And the win really came out of nowhere. In the 13 tournaments in this calendar year leading up to golf’s unofficial fifth major, he missed five cuts, withdrew three times and finished no higher than 22nd in the five in which he played all four rounds. We’ll see how his back holds up as he takes his second shot at Colonial. Kim missed the cut here a year ago.

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Sergio Garcia is another player that I honestly didn’t expect to see here. Yes, he’s a former champion at this event, winning here in 2001 by two strokes over Brian Gay and Phil Mickelson, but I really thought he’d be at the BMW PGA Championship. But again, he’s a plus for the field and comes to Colonial after a tie for 20th at the Byron Nelson. It’s been five years since Garcia has played this event, finishing in a tie for 13th back in 2012, so it will be interesting to see how things play out for him. But then again, is Sergio Garcia never not interesting?

Rounding out this exciting threesome is Garcia’s fellow countryman, Jon Rahm, who in less than a year has vaulted 539 spots in the world rankings, currently sitting at No. 12. The 22-year-old Spaniard is must-see television and is only going to get better. Since turning pro after last year’s U.S. Open, he already has a win and outside of a disappointing showing at THE PLAYERS, he’s finished inside the top 10 in five of his last nine tournaments, including that victory at the Farmers Insurance Open, and will likely be around the top of the leaderboard over the next four days. This is Rahm’s first appearance at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational.

Next: Dean & Deluca Round 1 &2 tee times

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