Tour Outsider: Wachovia Championship

The US PGA Tour heads to Charlotte, North Carolina after playing in Texas last week.

Let's look at the Golf CLi and see who the top 15 players are for the tournament ranked by the CLi figure.

Rank Player CLi 1 Vijay Singh 6.60 2 Vaughn Taylor 10.20 3 Tiger Woods 15.85 4 Nick Watney 16.30 5 Ken Duke 20.45 6 Stephen Leaney 20.60 7 Scott Verplank 22.40 8 Luke Donald 23.05 9 Bo Van Pelt 24.35 10 Phil Mickelson 26.15 11 D.J. Trahan 27.50 12 John Senden 31.25 13 Sergio Garcia 34.55 14 Retief Goosen 35.15 15 Jeff Maggert 35.50

Vijay Singh, Vaughn Taylor, and Tiger Woods look like good picks. All three are playing solidily at this time.

I will pass on Nick Watney, as he is a little green for this tournament. He played well several weeks ago when he won the Zurich Classic. However, this tournament is a little different than the Zurich Classic.

I will also pass on Ken Duke. As with Watney, Duke has played well over the past several weeks. As well, he had a good showing here last year. However, it is hard to see his top 10 finishes continue this week.

I will pass on Leaney and Verplank, and pick Luke Donald and Bo Van Pelt to round out my 5 picks.

So the Tour Outsider picks for the Wachovia Championship are:

Rank Player CLi 1 Vijay Singh 6.60 2 Vaughn Taylor 10.20 3 Tiger Woods 15.85 4 Luke Donald 23.05 5 Bo Van Pelt 24.35

The Tour Insider's (Dave Shedloski) picks are:

• 1 Vijay Singh
• 2 Jim Furyk
• 3 Ian Poulter
• 4 Rory Sabbatini
• 5 Nick Watney

The only pick in common is Vijay Singh this week.

Tour Outsider: EDS Byron Nelson Championship Review

It is now time to review the picks for the EDS Byron Nelson Championship to see how the results turned out.

Here are the results of the Tour Outsider (my) picks.

Rank Player CLi Rank Earnings Rd4 Rd3 Rd2 Rd1 Actual 1 Sean O'Hair 3.25 25 28 2 1 $50,243 2 Stephen Leaney 11.10 29 28 18 38 $36,729 3 Vijay Singh 15.05 13 5 7 21 $111,300 4 Jerry Kelly 18.50 3 10 30 21 $302,400 5 Luke Donald 31.45 2 1 1 4 $680,400

Nice to see all players make the cut, with the highest rank of a player (Leaney) being 29th. Definitely, Donald and Kelly played well, placing 2nd and 3rd respectively. Donald was leading after the 2nd and 3rd rounds, having a chance to tie Verplank (the ultimate winner) with a 10 foot birdie on the last hole. He, however, missed it to finish in a strong 2nd place. Kelly played solidly on the weekend, while birding the last hole to get into 3rd place.

Here are the results of the Tour Insider (Dave Shedloski) picks.

• 1 Sergio Garcia | 70th | $12,726
• 2 Luke Donald | 2nd | $680,400
• 3 Shigeki Maruyama | 44th | $18,594
• 4 Rory Sabbatini | 3rd | $302,400
• 5 Brett Wetterich | 10th | $157,500

For the Tour Insider, Donald, Sabbatini, and Wetterich all played well.

Here is the comparison between the Tour Ousider and Tour Insider picks.

	Tour Ousider	Tour Insider	Winner
Total Earnings	$1,181,072	$1,171,620	TO
Avg Rank	14.4	25.8	TO
Made Cut	5	5	DRAW
Outcome	--	--	TO

The Tour Outsider won the Total Earnings category, but just barely, by less than $10,000

The Tour Outsider won the Avg Rank category.

The Made Cut category was a draw, with both of us having all of our players make the cut this time.

This tournament was won by the Tour Outsider, with the score 2-to-0.

The overall results between the Tour Outsider and the Tour Insider to date is, 1 win to the Tour Outsider, 0 wins to the Tour Insider, and 1 draw.

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The Cli top 15 looked like this (see below).

Rank Player CLi Rank Earnings Rd4 Rd3 Rd2 Rd1 Actual 1 Sean O'Hair 3.25 25 28 2 1 $50,243 2 Stephen Leaney 11.10 29 28 18 38 $36,729 3 Vijay Singh 15.05 13 5 7 21 $111,300 4 Bo Van Pelt 17.05 13 28 45 9 $111,300 5 Jerry Kelly 18.50 3 10 30 21 $302,400 6 Luke Donald 31.45 2 1 1 4 $680,400 7 John Senden 31.50 39 16 7 4 $25,830 8 Robert Allenby 37.00 39 16 18 9 $25,830 9 Jason Bohn 38.00 MC MC 136 137 $0 10 Jonathan Byrd 39.35 25 10 18 21 $50,243 11 Sergio Garcia 40.60 70 62 58 61 $12,726 12 Bob Estes 40.75 MC MC 74 21 $0 13 Brett Wetterich 41.40 10 10 2 2 $157,500 14 Briny Baird 41.70 MC MC 74 61 $0 15 Tommy Armour III 41.85 25 28 58 84 $50,243

Tour Outsider: EDS Byron Nelson Championship

The US PGA Tour heads to Irving, Texas, just outside of Dallas (as well as being just outside of Ft. Worth). The tournament is being played on two courses: TPC at Las Colinas and Cottonwood Country Club.

Let's look at the Golf CLi and see who the top 15 players are for the tournament ranked by the CLi figure.

Rank Player CLi 1 Sean O'Hair 3.25 2 Stephen Leaney 11.10 3 Vijay Singh 15.05 4 Bo Van Pelt 17.05 5 Jerry Kelly 18.50 6 Luke Donald 31.45 7 John Senden 31.50 8 Robert Allenby 37.00 9 Jason Bohn 38.00 10 Jonathan Byrd 39.35 11 Sergio Garcia 40.60 12 Bob Estes 40.75 13 Brett Wetterich 41.40 14 Briny Baird 41.70 15 Tommy Armour III 41.85

Sean O'Hair looks like a good pick. He has been playing well of late, and has played well at this tournament in tbe past.

Stephen Leaney hurt me last week at the Zurich in New Orleans, missing the cut. However, he is playing well, and these two course this week suit his game. So I will stick with him again this week. [ this pick could hurt me again, but hopefully not ]

Vijay Singh plays well here. I will pick him as well.

Bo Van Pelt looks like a good pick. However, I am liking two players behind him more (Jerry Kelly and Luke Donald). So i will have to pass on Van Pelt this time (I picked him last week in the Zurich).

Jerry Kelly is playing well and is a fighter. I can see him playing and placing well this week, however, I do not see him winning. I still feel good about him, so I will include him in my picks this week.

Luke Donald likes these courses, and he is playing well. So I will round out my 5 picks with him.

So the Tour Outsider picks for the EDS Byron Nelson Championship are:

Rank Player CLi 1 Sean O'Hair 3.25 2 Stephen Leaney 11.10 3 Vijay Singh 15.05 4 Jerry Kelly 18.50 5 Luke Donald 31.45

Note: I also picked O'Hair and Leaney last week in the Zurich. O'Hair was a good pick last week (placed 15th); Leaney was not a good pick last week (he misssed the cut). Hopefully both of them play to their strengths this week.

Some of the strong players that are in the top 15 of the CLi which I left out of my picks, but have a good chance to play well this week include Robert Allenby, Jonathan Byrd, Sergio Garcia, Bob Estes, Jason Bohn (birthday boy this week), and Brett Wetterich (last year's winner).

The Tour Insider's (Dave Shedloski) picks are:

• 1 Sergio Garcia
• 2 Luke Donald
• 3 Shigeki Maruyama
• 4 Rory Sabbatini
• 5 Brett Wetterich

So the only pick in common is Luke Donald. As with last week, when we ended up in a draw, it will be interesting to see how our picks compare at the end of the tournament.

Tour Ousider: Zurich Classic Review

It is now time to review the picks for the Zurich Classic to see how the results turned out.

Here are the results of the Tour Outsider (my) picks.

Rank Player CLi Rank Earnings Rd4 Rd3 Rd2 Rd1 Actual 1 Stephen Leaney 13.30 MC MC 124 32 $0 2 Sean O'Hair 13.80 15 11 30 52 $103,700 3 Bo Van Pelt 33.20 28 27 30 32 $37,210 4 Bob Estes 37.20 8 11 20 15 $176,900 5 Bubba Watson 38.60 5 6 12 77 $222,650

My number 1 pick, Leaney, didn't fare very well. He missed the cut. Not good. However, Watson and Estes pulled their weight, which was nice. They played solidly.

Here are the results of the Tour Insider (Dave Shedloski) picks.

• 1 David Toms | 44th | $16,521
• 2 Steve Stricker | 11th | $134,200
• 3 Jeff Quinney | 115 (MC) | $0
• 4 Sean O'Hair | 15th | $103,700
• 5 Anthony Kim | 3rd | $353,800

For the Tour Insider, both Stricker and Kim pulled good final rounds. Stricker moved from 36th to 11th with a final round of 67. Kim made the biggest move of the day shooting 65, which moved him from 27th to 3rd. Nice moves in the final round.

Here is the comparison between the Tour Ousider and Tour Insider picks.

	Tour Ousider	Tour Insider	Winner
Total Earnings	$540,460	$608,221	TI
Avg Rank	36.0	37.6	TO
Made Cut	4	4	DRAW
Outcome	--	--	DRAW

The Tour Insider won the Total Earnings category. The strength of Stricker's and Kim's final round pulled him through in that category.

The Tour Outsider won the Avg Rank category.

The Made Cut category was a draw, with both of us having one player missing the cut.

This tournament was a draw between the Tour Insider and the Tour Outsider, with the score 1-to-1.

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The Cli top 15 looked this (see below). Interesting that the CLi picked Ken Duke to play well, leading during part of the final round, and ultimately finishing 2nd. As well, in the top 15 was the veteran Mark Calcavecchia, who lead after two rounds, and finished 5th.

Rank Player CLi Rank Earnings Rd4 Rd3 Rd2 Rd1 Actual 1 Stephen Leaney 13.30 MC MC 124 32 $0 2 Sean O'Hair 13.80 15 11 30 52 $103,700 3 Ken Duke 20.85 2 2 20 15 $658,800 4 Tommy Armour III 23.95 85 53 64 32 $10,370 5 Fred Funk 30.35 MC MC 102 101 $0 6 Bo Van Pelt 33.20 28 27 30 32 $37,210 7 Bob Estes 37.20 8 11 20 15 $176,900 8 Chris Couch 37.35 80 79 64 77 $10,736 9 John Cook 38.10 66 68 64 117 $12,261 10 Bubba Watson 38.60 5 6 12 77 $222,650 11 Paul Stankowski 40.60 56 6 6 15 $13,481 12 Mark Calcavecchia 46.25 5 3 1 2 $222,650 13 Daniel Chopra 47.20 15 36 6 32 $103,700 14 Lucas Glover 48.75 8 11 2 3 $176,900 15 Brian Gay 49.90 74 82 47 101 $11,529

Tour Outsider: Zurich Classic

The US PGA Tour heads to New Orleans this week, playing the TPC of Louisiana golf course again. Last year the tournament was played at the Nicklaus track, English Turn, as the TPC course was closed for renovation due to the wreck caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Let's look at the Golf CLi and see who the top 15 players are for the tournament ranked by the CLi figure.

• 1 Stephen Leaney (cli: 13.30)
• 2 Sean O'Hair (cli: 13.80)
• 3 Ken Duke (cli: 20.85)
• 4 Tommy Armour III (cli: 23.95)
• 5 Fred Funk (cli: 30.35)
• 6 Bo Van Pelt (cli: 33.20)
• 7 Bob Estes (cli: 37.20)
• 8 Chris Couch (cli: 37.35)
• 9 D.J. Trahan (cli: 37.40)
• 10 John Cook (cli: 38.10)
• 11 Bubba Watson (cli: 38.60)
• 12 Paul Stankowski (cli: 40.60)
• 13 Mark Calcavecchia (cli: 46.25)
• 14 Daniel Chopra (cli: 47.20)
• 15 Lucas Glover (cli: 48.75)

Stephen Leaney looks like a good pick as he has played well the last couple of tournaments, especially in last week's Verizon Heritage in the wind, finishing 3rd.

Sean O'Hair also looks like a good pick as he has played well the last couple of weeks.

I will pass on Ken Duke (lake of experience in the tournament), Tommy Armour III (inconsistent), and Fred Funk (playing well, however, has pulled out of the last couple of tournaments because of back problems)

Bo Van Pelt looks like a good pick as he played well in New Orleans and around this time each year has some good finishes.

Bob Estes also likes New Orleans, so will pick him as well.

Will pass on Chris Couch (gut says no), D.J. Trahan (gut says no), and John Cook (not sure he can still compete with the young players on this track).

And will make my final pick be Bubba Watson. He has been playing well, and his length should be a strength on this TPC course.

So the Tour Outsider picks for the Zurich Classic are:

• 1 Stephen Leaney
• 2 Sean O'Hair
• 3 Bo Van Pelt
• 4 Bob Estes
• 5 Bubba Watson

The Tour Insider's (Dave Shedloski) picks are:

• 1 David Toms
• 2 Steve Stricker
• 3 Jeff Quinney
• 4 Sean O'Hair
• 5 Anthony Kim

So the only pick in common is Sean O'Hair. It will be interesting to see how our picks compare at the end of the tournament.

Insider vs Outsider

This blog, Tour Outsider, will be used to post the "Tour Outsider's" player picks for US PGA Tour events, and then compare them to the "Tour Insider's" picks.

Dave Shedloski writes the US PGA Tour's Tour Insider column. I will write the Tour Ousider column (in blog format).

Shedloski has the insider information on his picks; where as I have the outsider information on picks using various 3rd party statistics, namely from our GolfInvestors site.

Let us see how the "Tour Oustider" picks compare to the "Tour Insider" picks. Hopefully Shedloski (the "Tour Insider") will do much better with his picks than mine (the "Tour Outsider"), as he is the "Insider".