Read The Line

Teamwork makes the dream work The 2025 PGA TOUR season starts three weeks from tomorrow! Remove a couple of holidays, weekends, and we are literally 11-12 days away from the trade-winds of Kapalua. While you wait, I present the Grant Thornton Invitational. Formally the QBE Shootout cash grab that started back in 1989, the event has transitioned into a mixed PGA TOUR and LPGA cash grab starting in 2023. I realize this isn't the Masters and I will get to the goods in a second, but the Grant...

Still "the needle?" Is Tiger Woods losing his touch? The gifted GOAT of modern golf had the unique ability to wave his wand (or wedge) and make magic happen. Lately, the 15-time major champion is struggling to just make life's weekend cut. A couple months ago when the field was announced for the Hero World Challenge, I wondered why some of the world's best have chosen to skip the December date. I realize the OWGR adjusts every year and that creates some changes, but the actual field continues...

What "The Kid" did ST. SIMONS, GA Prior to playing in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, Rafael Campos missed 11 of his last 13 cuts. His pre-tournament odds were +30000 (300-1!) Campos is officially our fourteenth first-time winner on the PGA TOUR in 2024. Considering Scottie won every other event this season, 2024 has been a tale of two types of champions. All kidding aside, in 46 events, first-time winners (14) and Scottie (7) accounted for nearly 50% of the trophies on the PGA TOUR....

Port paradise Just two stops left on the PGA TOUR's endless event schedule for 2024. Don't worry if you want more, we still have Tiger's tourney in the Bahamas and a team event in Naples following the Thanksgiving break. To those in search of top 125 status and a 2025 TOUR card, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship awaits. A field of 120 is headed to the pink sands of Bermuda to compete for $6.9 million and one more invite to the Masters in April. Yes, the winner of each fall event gains...

The cutline is coming The FedEx Cup Fall has just three weeks remaining. This eight event sprint to qualify for 2025 TOUR cards takes us to Los Cabos, Mexico. For the second year in a row, the World Wide Technology Championship will be contested at El Cardonal at Diamante. Designed by Tiger Woods in 2014, this seaside setting allowed record scoring in 2023. Erik van Rooyen won last year by two strokes over Camilo Villegas at 27 under par! Speaking of Camilo, the PAC Chairman made the...

Keeping score Read The Line has posted 1,171 individual wagers this year producing a +18.3% net return. Outrights are the ultimate prize and our record of 36 wins since January of 2022 is incredible. But when they don't hit, the key is to balance our betting card with live in tourney bets. This weekend was a perfect example. Kurt Kitayama played well at the ZOZO and finished fifth, but that won't cash any outright tickets. As Kurt contended, we also added 10 live H2H matchups in rounds two,...

The Postman delivers in Vegas! Decisions, decisions I sat down with Smylie Kaufman for his podcast earlier this week. Those who watched the Shriners heard his voice covering the event. We discussed the weather in Vegas and number of other things. Heading into TPC Summerlin, we were all focused on the weather, wind, and wave advantage. A substantial delay on Friday morning may have altered the results slightly, but in the end those who played the PM/AM wave had a stroke average approximately...

Matt McCarty with his fourth win in 10 starts! Back in black The PGA TOUR heads two hours southwest to the Las Vegas strip. The Shriners Children's Open is the fourth event of the FedEx Cup Fall. A mainstay on the annual fall schedule for some time, two-time defending champion Tom Kim heads to sin city in search of his third straight win at TPC Summerlin. The betting favorite by far, Kim is the only competitor with odds under +2500. I address Kim's chances in my Monday Odds Drop article, and...

Look at this place! Brand new Two hours northeast of Las Vegas in southwest Utah sits a stunning setting of red rock mountains overlooking beautiful black lava fields. The Black Desert Championship is a new event on the schedule and if this landscape is any precursor of the competition, it should be very entertaining. Designed by Tom Weiskopf and Phil Smith, the course opened in 2023. Not only is this a new event, but this is a brand-new course. In many ways, it fits the fall. We always see...