After a subpar finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, World No. 1 Jordan Spieth is back on his horse to try and secure his second win of the season at the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club this week.
However, are the analysts around the web as sold on Spieth this time around, especially after that lackluster performance in Pebble Beach? Let’s take a look below for three of the internet’s trusted golf experts to find out who they predicted as the winner in Pacific Palisades.
Afterwards, head on over to our complete preview and sleeper picks for even more sagely advice on this upcoming tournament out in the West Coast.
On Sam Belden’s column for Pro Golf Now – Fansided’s dedicated portal for everything PGA – the featured columnist went with up-and-comer Hideki Matsuyama to take home the win.
Belden argued that the Japanese sensation has been extremely consistent of late with nine top-25 finishes over his last 11 starts, including four top 10 finishes. And let’s not forget that he’s also hot off his first win of the season earlier this month at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Sports Chat Place
Randy Chambers of Sports Chat Place is also high on the 23-year-old Matsuyama as the Northern Trust Open winner this week. Chambers dished out some solid stats in support of his pick, stating that the six-time Japan Golf Tour winner is currently second in the PGA in strokes gained from tee to green, fourth in birdie average and sixth in scoring average.
Apart from that, Chambers also reminded us that Matsuyama finished fourth here at Riviera last season, plus another top-25 finish (T23) the year before that. Matsuyama’s had great runs in West Coast tournaments, alright, and another win this week could validate him as a true PGA hotshot at last.
U.S. Golf TV
Over at U.S. Golf TV, resident contributor Troy Klongerbo has another wild prediction in store for us. Last week, Klongerbo went with Kevin Na as his pick to win at Pebble Beach (Na was cut from the final round of that tournament). This time around, he chose English veteran Luke Donald to emerge victorious on Sunday.
Why did Klongerbo pick Donald instead of the likes of Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia, you may ask? Well for one, he found a lot to like in the 38-year-old’s form at Pebble Beach this pas week, claiming that Donald’s driving and putting had significantly improved.
However, Klongerbo’s primary defense was a rather weak one, as he admitted to picking World No. 87 Donald based on a sheer hunch. Then again, unheralded Vaughn Taylor recently managed to steal the spotlight as well by winning at Pebble Beach this past weekend. A win for Donald at the Northern Trust Open doesn’t sound that farfetched anymore, eh?
Do you agree with the experts here that are favoring a win for Matsuyama? Why not create a betting account now and put your very own prediction for the Northern Trust Open to the test?
