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Quicken Loans National 2017: 5 groups to watch in Rounds 1 & 2

By Luke Norris

HARTFORD, WI - JUNE 17: Justin Thomas of the United States plays his shot from the 17th tee during the third round of the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills on June 17, 2017 in Hartford, Wisconsin. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, WI - JUNE 17: Justin Thomas of the United States plays his shot from the 17th tee during the third round of the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills on June 17, 2017 in Hartford, Wisconsin. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) /
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Quicken Loans National
May 12, 2017; Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, USA; K.J. Choi tees off on the 12th hole during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass – Stadium Course. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports /

4. J.B. Holmes, Keegan Bradley, K.J. Choi

Round 1: 1st tee, 12:59 p.m.

Round 2: 10th tee, 7:59 a.m.

World No. 50 J.B. Holmes leads this threesome off the 1st tee at the Quicken Loans National on Thursday afternoon and is looking to ride the momentum of his performance at the U.S. Open to a nice finish this week. Following a rough stretch of golf in the eight tournaments leading up to Erin Hills — he missed three cuts and finished no higher than tied for 36th in the five weekends he did play — Holmes was in prime position to contend at the U.S. Open, opening with a pair of 69s, but just couldn’t get anything going on the weekend, finishing at 7-under. He hasn’t played this tournament since 2014 and tied for 55th that week.

Keegan Bradley hasn’t had a win in nearly five years — his last victory came in 2012 at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational — but he played a solid four days of golf this past week to finish tied for eighth at the Travelers Championship, his first top 10 since January at the Farmers Insurance Open. Once thought by many to be one of the next major stars of the game, Bradley hasn’t lived up to that bill and could really use another good finish this week. He tied for 57th at Congressional last season.

The inaugural winner of this event in 2007, then called the AT&T National, 47-year-old K.J. Choi really needs something good to happen this week. In 17 PGA TOUR events this season, Choi has missed the cut 11 times and has only finished higher than tied for 47th on one occasion, that being a T-17 at the Genesis Open. Following this event a year ago — he also missed the cut that week — Choi was ranked 117th in the world and has dipped 141 spots to No. 258. One more run from the eight-time PGA TOUR winner would be a welcome surprise.

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