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PGA Tour: Choosing a Favorite Golfer to Start Rooting for

By Christopher O'Day

NASSAU, BAHAMAS - DECEMBER 03: Tiger Woods of the United States and Jordan Spieth of the United States laugh on the practice range during round three of the Hero World Challenge at Albany, The Bahamas on December 3, 2016 in Nassau, Bahamas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
NASSAU, BAHAMAS - DECEMBER 03: Tiger Woods of the United States and Jordan Spieth of the United States laugh on the practice range during round three of the Hero World Challenge at Albany, The Bahamas on December 3, 2016 in Nassau, Bahamas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Rory McIlroy Dustin Johnson PGA TOUR
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL – MAY 11: Dustin Johnson of the United States and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland look on from the fifth tee during the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship at the Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass on May 11, 2017 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

The Favorites

Sometimes, its nice to root for the favorite. Knowing that there is someone you can trust on to be in the mix heading into the weekend, that will be there on Sunday, or is at least capable of making a big charge during one of the rounds to put everyone on notice.

Dustin Johnson (1). Rory McIlroy (4). Tiger Woods (14). Bryson DeChambeau (6). The list goes on, as the top 15 or so golfers in the world are all incredibly talented. you are always hearing about them, as it seems whenever they play, they are making noise on the leaderboard.

There are a couple ways to look at which favorite to pick, and I’ll break it down for you. If you like the old guard or over 40 club, you are pretty much picking between Tiger Woods (14) and Phil Mickelson (21). Both are incredibly famous, and rightfully so, falling in the top ten for most all time victories. If its a righty vs. lefty decision, then its easy based on whichever you prefer.

Then there are the young guns. Those who are under 30, and seem like they were built in a lab. With these golfers, gone are the days of smoking cigars, and looking like a 18-hole walk will tire you out. Guys like Jon Rahm (8), Justin Thomas (5), and Xander Schauffele (9), look like they could play 18, and be ready for another 18 no problem.

They look young enough to be in college still, and hit it a mile off the tee. Yet those three aren’t who I am suggesting. That honor goes to Brooks Koepka (3) or Bryson DeChambeau (6). Both are young, unafraid of their competition, and completely different golfers. Koepka is a bull. He goes out and dominates the competition, admitting that golf does come easy to him.

DeChambeau is a tactical assassin. He analyzes every part of the game, from the lie to air density, and a multitude of elements in-between. If you are a fan of deep analyzation, DeChambeau is your guy. If you aren’t afraid to call out players, and let everyone know what is on your mind, then Koepka is the choice for you.

The last group is the ones who have been around for a while, but are still dominating, and might be playing their best golf. Between the ages of 30-40, they have played their fair share of rounds, but still have a lot of golf left. Here, let’s break it down by what country or region you want to root for.

Want to stick with an American golfer? Dustin Johnson (1) is the easy choice. He is the top ranked golfer in the world, and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. He cruised to his 20th career victory in his PGA Tour career earlier this year in Mexico, and hits the ball incredibly far. A bomber, who is good, and wins? DJ is the easy choice.

Maybe you want a foreigner. You could go across the pond, or even down under. There are so many options here, its hard to pick just one. You have the Englishman Justin Rose (2), Francesco Molinari (7) from Italy, and Jason Day (13) from Australia. Depending on what country you want to represent, there are plenty of choices.

My picks for you would be Tiger Woods (14), Brooks Koepka (3), and Francesco Molinari (7).

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