From March 9
From: Patrick Smith (Getty Images)
What is considered by many to be the “5th Major” takes place this weekend at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida at the famous TPC Sawgrass stadium course. The reigning champ Cam Smith will not be participating in the tournament this year because of his departure to the Saudi backed LIV Golf League. This allows John Rahm to open up as the clear favorite for this week followed by Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler. Rahm has been red hot so far this season and has worked his way up to the ranking of world #1 for the 2022-2023 season. Rahm had a difficult past week at the Bay Hill Golf Club this past weekend in the Arnold Palmer invitational, however, he hopes to rebound this week in hopes to maintain his world #1 ranking. Some of the star studded featured groups for Thursday and Friday include the top-heavy matching of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and John Rahm as well as a pairing of Max Homa, Justin Thomas, and Jordan Spieth. Any one person from either of these groups has a real shot at competing on Sunday. Aside from the pure skill of these groups, one thing to keep in mind is the pairing of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. The two have been friends for many years now and neither enjoys losing to each other. This should allow for a great 36 holes of action that is bound to be entertaining for everyone. Players to look out for this week are Will Zalatoris and Victor Hovland. Hovland, coming off a very strong showing this past weekend, unfortunately fell apart on Sunday which blew away his terrific performances the days before. Hovland has yet to have made a splash this season, with 0 top 10 finishes despite playing in 5 events so far. Will Zalatoris is hoping to return from his back injury full strength this week at Sawgrass with big hopes. He is looking for his 2nd win and is hopeful that he can find that in order to make his presence known on the tour.