Articles
Sungjae Im Poised To Keep Rolling In Phoenix
Can Sungjae Im keep things rolling at the WM Phoenix Open? A couple of weeks ago, the South Korean golfer tied for fourth at the Farmers Insurance Open. Other than missing the cut at The Sony Open, Im has shown an ability to stay in round and contend in tournaments. With a stocked field in […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoTom Kim Expects To Contend At Phoenix This Week
Tom Kim figures to be in the mix at the WM Phoenix Open this week. The South Korean golfer is one of the best when it comes to strokes gained overall. He ranks eighth in 16 measured rounds so far in 2023. Kim's only real glaring weakness is some erratic putting. Normally he is above […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoJoey Logano Facing Different Reality At Los Angeles
Joey Logano comes into 2023 as the defending NASCAR series champion. Also, Logano won the Busch Light Clash At The Coliseum last year. After Saturday, the Team Penske driver has a little work to do. He spun out in practice and qualifying ended up a so-so 17th. Logano's No. 22 car was not very fast […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoRoss Chastain And The Clash On Sunday
Ross Chastain had the 12th fastest car in qualifying on Saturday night. The TrackHouse Racing driver brought his No. 1 car with decent practice results. That may help for the heats where the Coliseum track expects to be 10-15 degrees warmer at a minimum. It will be intriguing to see what happens on the longer […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoTy Gibbs Has To Race Into Coliseum Main Event
If someone was looking for Ty Gibbs and his name on qualifying list, you were not going to find it. Gibbs was lightning fast in practice but then his car caught on fire literally. That resulted in enough damage to the Toyota to keep the Joe Gibbs Racing driver from qualifying. He will begin Sunday […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoKyle Larson Bit Of A Wildcard At Los Angeles
Kyle Larson had a quick car in practice at times and finished tenth in qualifying on the 1/4 mile track at the Coliseum. Now, the question is can he keep the emotions in check? Last year, he finished a distant fifth. However, practice showed the No. 5 car to be a bit slower coming out […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAlex Bowman Qualified Ninth At Los Angeles
Pouring through the numbers and seeing Alex Bowman qualify ninth at the Coliseum was a mild surprise. Bowman and his No. 48 car turned in a best lap of 13.624 seconds. Hendrick Motorsports have three of their cars in the top ten (Chase Elliott was 30th). It is a challenge to gauge how fast the […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoA.J. Allmendinger Has Exciting Saturday At Coliseum
A.J. Allmendinger got ready for the Busch Light Clash At The Coliseum with an eventful Saturday. He qualified eighth for Kaulig Racing with a time of 13.623 seconds. What will be talked about is his run-in with Chase Briscoe during the group practice session. Some adjustments did not work well for the No. 16 Chevy […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoDenny Hamlin Starts Second In Heat Three At Coliseum
Denny Hamlin turned in the seventh quickest time in qualifying on Saturday night. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver got his Toyota around the track in 13.621 seconds. The No. 11 car will start Sunday afternoon behind teammate Christopher Bell. Getting behind Bell may be quite the boost for Hamlin who should be able to ride […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAustin Dillon Continues Chevy Theme In Los Angeles
Austin Dillon ended up sixth-fastest in qualifying on Saturday. His 13.605 second time was good enough to put him in a prime position. The Richard Childress Racing driver will begin Heat 2 behind new teammate Kyle Busch. That No. 3 car did get faster and faster as the laps ticked down in practice too. Last […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAric Almirola Rises To Fifth In Qualifying Saturday
Aric Almirola was fairly consistent in practice much like William Byron. The results were nearly similar too in qualifying. Almirola finished with a best lap of exactly 13.6 seconds. That qualified the Ford racer fifth for Sunday's heats. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver will be behind Justin Haley for Heat 1 at the Coliseum. These Busch […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoWilliam Byron Qualifies Fourth For Sunday At Los Angeles
William Byron sneaked into the top-five in qualifying on Saturday night with a time of 13.596 seconds. That gets him to the front of Heat 4 on Sunday afternoon with a great chance to easily qualify for the main event. The top-five drivers from each of the four heats automatically advance. Byron was consistent in […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoChristopher Bell Surprises Some At Coliseum Saturday
Christopher Bell enjoys short-track racing, dirt racing, Chili Bowl racing, and simply just racing. Bell and his Joe Gibbs Racing car ended up third in qualifying on Saturday night. He will lead the racers coming out for Heat 3 on Sunday afternoon. Bell turned in a qualifying lap of 13.569 seconds and did not appear […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoKyle Busch Loves Los Angeles Again On Saturday
Kyle Busch may have switched racing teams in the off-season, but he can still race fast around the 1/4 mile Coliseum track. Busch and his Richard Childress Racing car qualified second on Saturday at 66.41 mph (13.55 seconds). The No. 8 car stayed fast in practice but as track temperatures dropped, Busch's brakes stuck less […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoJustin Haley Heats Up Coliseum Track Saturday
While temperatures cooled down, Justin Haley heated things up on Saturday at the Coliseum. The Kaulig Racing driver topped all racers with a lap speed of 67.099 mph in qualifying Saturday night. Qualifying at night did not slow down the No. 31 car much at all. Haley will reach in Heat 1 of the Busch […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoTaylor Pendrith Seeking Better Fortune At Pebble Beach
Taylor Pendrith has not seen the start to 2023 he expected. The Canadian golfer seems to be having issues with working approaching and around the green. He loses nearly 0.8 strokes gained combined in those two metrics. That hurts. Add in tour-average putting and that is a recipe for disaster for Pendrith. Accuracy has been […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoJustin Lower Sets Up Well For Pebble Beach
Justin Lower is getting putts in the hole. The American golfer ranks 27th on the tour at 0.669 strokes gained putting. The problem lies in a few other metrics. Driving distance at 289 yards is far from optimal but at least Pebble Beach courses are right around 7,000 yards. Therefore, driving is not as much […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoDavis Riley Not On Many Radars For Pebble Beach
Davis Riley has struggled with his putter early. At 177th on the tour, the American golfer just cannot strike anything into the cup. Add in some errant drives off the tee and Riley imploded with a 78 at the American Express. That is what causes much concern heading into the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Honestly, […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoMatthew NeSmith Trying To Turn Back Clock At Pebble Beach
Matthew NeSmith was rolling in October with three straight top-10 finishes. The American golfer looked poised to win a tournament early in 2023. Then 2023 happened. NeSmith has missed back-to-back cuts. Arguably, the problems started in November with a 78 in the third round of the Houston Open. After that, starts have been hit or […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoJustin Rose Needs To Avoid Mistakes At Pebble Beach
Justin Rose can putt with the best in the world when he is in good form. Rose ranks 25th early in 2023 in putting. The English golfer gains nearly seven tenths of a stroke in the putting discipline. However, the rest of his game shows a few more dings in the armor. Too many missed […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoSungjae Im Could Continue Momentum At Farmers
Sungjae Im played very well last week at The American Express. The Korean golfer shot in the 60's during all four rounds. That resulted in a solid top-20 finish. Im is masterful at times around bunkers as his 73.08% sand save percentage suggests (10th on tour). He drives the ball well and mostly straight (66.56% […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoTony Finau Aims To Battle For Farmers Insurance Title
Tony Finau is playing some great golf right now. He has eight straight rounds of shooting in the 60's. Only a few errant show and missed putts kept him from winning the Sentry two weeks ago. He won in Houston in November and even last week managed to end up tied for 16th. Finau is […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoHayden Buckley Creates Intrigue At Farmers This Week
Hayden Buckley is very young at just 26. The American golfer turned pro in 2018 and has turned some heads. Last week, he could not get past Jon Rahm but no one did as the Spaniard led wire-to-wire. However, a second place finish is nothing to be ashamed of for Buckley. Since, the Fortinet Championship, […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoMax Homa One Of Those Californians To Contend
Max Homa has only played once on the PGA Tour in 2023. That came at the Sentry Tournament Of Champions. The American golfer finished third behind a sizzling 63-66 over the weekend. Homa is one of the golfers that comes in just outside +2000 in the odds. He knows Torrey Pines well and could enjoy […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoGary Woodland Seeks Rebound After Sony Open
Gary Woodland wishes the first round from last week did not take place. It was an unmitigated disaster as the American golfer shot a whopping 76 on the La Quinta course. Shots were missed, putts were missed, and worse he played much better on Friday with a 65. So with the Farmers Insurance Open starting […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoTony Finau Is An American Express Contender
Tony Finau took the week off at The Sony Open and maybe that was a wise move. The American golfer finished tied for seventh at the Tournament Of Champions. Finau comes in fourth in the odds at +1500. He also came close two years ago after co-leading through three rounds. Four wins later and Finau […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoK.H. Lee's Consistency May Not Be Good Enough
K.H. Lee shot in the 60's all four rounds last week at The Sony Open. That gave the South Korean golfer eight straight rounds under 70 to start 2023. However, this time that was only good enough for a tied for 28th. The one weakness Lee has is his sand saves which rank just 116th […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoTom Hoge Expects To Rebound At American Express
Tom Hoge is a bit more of a longer shot this weekend at La Quinta. At +4200, no one should be surprised given the American golfer finished just outside the top 40 last week (t-41st). The smaller fairways and approaches to the green hindered Hoge, but he managed to shoot three-under-par during each weekend round. […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoSungjae Im Trying To Get Back In Groove
Sungjae Im let things snowball last week at The Sony Open. His second round, in particular, was a disaster for the South Korean golfer. Not only were putts not dropping, but Im got wild on holes five and six. That led to a bogey and double bogey. Im never recovered and missed the cut after […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoTom Kim Looks To Bounce Back At La Quinta
Tom Kim looks to a much better weekend after what happened at The Sony Open last week. Kim just could not make enough shots or birdies as he missed the cut. Given how good the start of the season was for the South Korean golfer, Kim maybe just had one of those tournaments. This week […]
Chris Wassel 2 years ago