This year we will be tracking each of our writers’ performances in our 94 person One And Done (OAD) pool. For those of you who do not know what a OAD pool is, it is a season long contest in which you select one golfer per week with the golfer’s earned money that week adding to your season total. Once you select a golfer, you cannot use him the rest of the year (so, no, you cannot pick DJ or Tiger every week).

Sony Open Results

The first normal (full field/cut) event of 2019 did not suit us well. We clearly have some rust to shed off, but we got a looong way to go:

Bear: Cameron Smith, T22-58K
Sean Carney: Cameron Smith, T22-58K
Frank Laterza: Ian Poulter, T33-31K
Mike McNamara: Hideki Matsuyama, T51-15K
Jack Corrigan: Gary Woodland, MDF-12K
Kevin Walsh: Paul Casey, MC-0K
Sam Scherman: Paul Casey, MC-0K
Tony Kasper: Pat Perez, MC-0K

-I mean… woof. Just not great across the board. But it’s early and it’s just one week.

-Cameron Smith played solid (4 rounds in the 60’s), but couldn’t replicate the first round 66 to get into the serious money conversation. Bear and Sean definitely feel like they could’ve gotten 6 digits out of Cam this week, but it just wasn’t in the cards.

-Poults also put up 4 rounds in the 60’s. He, too, couldn’t take that next step to get Frank any substantial coin.

-Matsu’s 65 on Saturday gave him (and Mike) a realistic chance for a backdoor top 10 on Sunday. He followed that 65 with a 73, which was tied for the second worst round on the day. Sunday night, Mike was reached for a comment: “Deki birdieing the last 3 holes on Saturday made me believe a little, but it was all for nothing.” Not quite nothing Mike, that 15K separates you from being tied with Sam and Kevin in 81st place!

-As for Woodland, Casey, and Perez, always a yikesy week when your guy doesn’t complete 4 rounds.

Season Standings through Week 2:

	Place (1-94)	Points	Wins	Top 5’s	Top 10’s
Tony	13th (↓9)	759000	0	1	1
Frank	39th (↓23)	336373	0	1	1
Bear	53rd (↓14)	248691	0	0	1
Sean	76th (↓4)	131691	0	0	0
Mike	78th (↓10)	107394	0	0	0
Kevin	81st (↓13)	92333	0	0	0
Sam	81st (↓13)	92333	0	0	0
Jack	84th (↓12)	85520	0	0	0

Congrats to Sean on winning (?) this week by dropping the least amount of places in the standings!

Desert Classic Picks

I’m feeling a big bounce back week for everyone this week, let’s get it:

Tony Kasper: Bud Cauley — Looking to bounce back after a MC last week, I’ll roll with someone who has a strong recent history in this event. I considered Hadwin, who has three top 10’s the last three years. He’ll likely be a chalk pick, so I’ll go with Bud’s consecutive top 15 finishes in his last three years here instead.

Frank Laterza: Abe “The Answer” Ancer — I hate this field. I hate this tournament. You won’t be able to watch your on at least 50% of his rounds, unless it’s Rahm, Rose, or Phil, but Abe hits the ball dead straight off the tee, and you by no means need to be a bomber here. His putting has improved tremendously, and he had a great fall swing. If his irons can be simply average in the field, I think he has a chance to top 10. The Ancer will rise this week.

Bear: Andrew Putnam — I’m riding a hot hand here in AP, with solo second last week and 3 straight Top 15s this season. He’s been the best putter on tour this season (#1 in SG: Putting), and I fully expect him to continue rolling the rock this week. Career win #2 on the way for the Pepperdine graduate lacing em up in SoCal.

Sean Carney: Aaron Wise — We’re hoping Aaron makes me look like his last name this week, Wise. Wise, a California native, should be fired up this week playing in front of some familiar faces. Have to hit birdies at this tournament to contend and hoping Wise’s high birdie rate will hold true.

Mike McNamara: Peter Uihlein — Top 20 in his first trip to La Quinta last year. Poised for a breakout 2019, and I think it starts this week. Expect the bomber to be right there come Sunday afternoon, and he will not be afraid of the moment.

Kevin Walsh: Aaron Wise — I’m not a huge fan of this tournament and don’t want to burn Rahm here, so I am rolling with a guy who has serious firepower to go low if he gets hot. Distance is not a problem for Wise, so I am hoping he takes advantage of the Par 5’s and creates some hometown magic in his return to the West Coast.

Sam Scherman: Ryan Palmer — He didn’t play in the Hawaii swing which is normally the kind of guy I like to target here, but I like Ryan Palmer to capture his first win in several years and remedy his playoff loss to Jason Day at Torrey Pines last year. Palmer’s last 2 starts were a 7th place finish at the Shriner’s and a 3rd at the CJ Cup overseas, and he has excelled at this course in year’s past, posting a 6th in 2013, 2nd in 2014, 10th in 2015, 17th in 2016, and 20th in 2018. He hits some of the most greens in the field, makes birdies in bunches, and has historically gained more strokes in the California swing than anywhere else on TOUR. The past year we’ve seen many “non winners” win, so why not Palmer?

Jack Corrigan: Adam Hadwin — Call me Jack Chalk, I don’t care. Adam Hadwin is a grinder and for some reason, he finds this course extremely easy and has been extremely successful here. My Gary pick from last week may have the fans down on me, but Adam Hadwin didn’t miss an 8-foot putt to force a playoff last week. Gary obviously did not get that out of his head going into Sony. Bear with me here; I believe Adam is a legitimate title contender here, and I believe he will finish strong.