Bob Hope Classic Review

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

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

1. Alex Prugh | 106 (MC) | $0
2. Bill Haas | 2 | $440,000
3. Matt Kuchar | 7 | $150.625
4. Bo Van Pelt | 74 (MC) | $0
5. Rory Sabbatini | 89 | $0

Here are the results for the Tour Insider's (Bolton's) picks.

1. Matt Kuchar | 7 | $150,625
2. Bill Haas | 2 | $440,000
3. D.J. Trahan | 61 | $10,700
4. Steve Marino | 66 | $10,350
5. Ryan Moore | 125 (WD) | $0

 Here is the comparison of the results for our picks.

	Tour Outsider	Tour Insider	Winner
Total Earnings	$590,625	$611,675	TI
Avg Rank	55.6	52.2	TI
Made Cut	2	4	TI
Outcome	--	--	TI

The Total Earnings category was won by the Tour Insider.

The Avg Rank category was won by the Tour Insider.

The Made Cut category was won by the Tour Insider.

This tournament overall was won by the Tour Insider.

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

Bob Hope Classic

The US PGA Tour moves to the mainland to play the Bob Hope Classic.

Below is the list of the top 15 players in the CLi rankings for the Bob Hope Classic.

#	Player	CLi
1	Alex Prugh	4.60
2	Bill Haas	5.90
3	Matt Kuchar	13.05
4	Bo Van Pelt	13.85
5	Webb Simpson	13.95
6	Chad Campbell	15.15
7	Rory Sabbatini	15.50
8	John Senden	16.30
9	Pat Perez	19.15
10	D.J. Trahan	22.70
11	Colt Knost	23.90
12	Steve Marino	25.25
13	Brian Gay	25.85
14	Charley Hoffman	26.85
15	David Toms	27.80

For my first 4 picks, I am going to go with the CLi: Prugh, Haas, Kuchar, and Van Pelt. Three of those picks are logic. It is the Prugh pick that is a little strange. I would not have picked Prugh normally, as he is not a known player. however, the CLi calculation has him at the top of the list. He has only played the Bob Hope once, but in the time he did play (2010), he finished 5th. In the previous tournaments leading up to this week (Sony Open, Justin Timberlake, and Frys.com), he has finished 20th, 41st, and 2nd respectively. So he is playing well leading up to this tournament.

For my final pick, I am going to skip down to Rory Sabbatini.  I had the choice of picking Simpson or Campbell, both good picks.  However, I am going to go with Sabbatini because of his good play last week in the Sony Open (13th) and his finish in last year's Bob Hope (10th).

Below are my 5 picks for the Bob Hope Classic :

#	Player	CLi
1	Alex Prugh	4.60
2	Bill Haas	5.90
3	Matt Kuchar	13.05
4	Bo Van Pelt	13.85
5	Rory Sabbatini	15.50

Below are the top 5 players in the Power Rankings from Rob Bolton:

1. Matt Kuchar
2. Bill Haas
3. D.J. Trahan
4. Steve Marino
5. Ryan Moore

Here is a link to Bolton's Power Rankings so that you can read more about his thoughts on his top players in this week's Power Rankings:

Bolton's Power Rankings: Bob Hope Classic

We have 2 players in common this week: Kuchar and Haas.

Below are the settings for the CLi calculation I used for the Bob Hope Classic:

Number of Past Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA1)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA1)
5	25%	25%
Number of Days Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA2)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA2)
30	5%	5%
Number of Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA3)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA3)
4	20%	20%

Sony Open in Hawaii Review

It is now time to review the picks for the Sony Open of Hawaii to see how the results turned out.

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

1. Charles Howell III | 68 (MC) | $10,395
2. Kevin Na | 20 | $57,357
3. Ernie Els | 42 | $19,800
4. Adam Scott | 102 (MC) | $0
5. Steve Stricker | 9 | $143,000

Here are the results for the Tour Insider's (Bolton's) picks.

1. Steve Stricker | 9 | $143,000
2. Jim Furyk | 93 (MC) | $0
3. Robert Allenby | 102 (MC) | $0
4. Carl Pettersson | 84 (MC) | $0
5. Charles Howell III | 68 (MC) | $10,395

 Here is the comparison of the results for our picks.

	Tour Outsider	Tour Insider	Winner
Total Earnings	$230,552	$153,395	TO
Avg Rank	48.2	71.2	TO
Made Cut	3	1	TO
Outcome	--	--	TO

The Total Earnings category was won by the Tour Outsider.

The Avg Rank category was won by the Tour Outsider.

The Made Cut category was won by the Tour Outsider.

This tournament overall was won by the Tour Outsider.

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

Sony Open in Hawaii

The second tournament of the 2011 US PGA Tour season stays in Hawaii, as the first full field event takes place: Sony Open in Hawaii.

Below is the list of the top 15 players in the CLi rankings for the Sony Open in Hawaii.

#	Player	CLi
1	Charles Howell III	11.70
2	Kevin Na	16.50
3	Charles Warren	16.70
4	Ernie Els	16.85
5	Adam Scott	17.40
6	Webb Simpson	19.50
7	Chad Campbell	19.75
8	Steve Marino	20.20
9	Steve Stricker	20.80
10	K.J. Choi	22.10
11	Carl Pettersson	22.50
12	Tim Clark	22.55
13	Zach Johnson	22.75
14	Ryuji Imada	24.60
15	Robert Allenby	25.65

For my first 4 picks, I am going to go with the Howell, Na Els and Scott.  I am skipping Warren because I needed one player removed to be able to pick Stricker for my 5th pick. Warren seems to be the weakest out of the top 5 players in the CLi rankings.

Below are my 5 picks for the Sony Open in Hawaii :

#	Player	CLi
1	Charles Howell III	11.70
2	Kevin Na	16.50
3	Ernie Els	16.85
4	Adam Scott	17.40
5	Steve Stricker	20.80

Below are the top 5 players in the Power Rankings from Rob Bolton:

1. Steve Stricker
2. Jim Furyk
3. Robert Allenby
4. Carl Pettersson
5. Charles Howell III

Here is a link to Bolton's Power Rankings so that you can read more about his thoughts on his top players in this week's Power Rankings:

Bolton's Power Rankings: Sony Open in Hawaii

We have 2 players in common this week: Sticker and Howell.

Below are the settings for the CLi calculation I used for the Sony Open in Hawaii:

Number of Past Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA1)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA1)
5	25%	25%
Number of Days Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA2)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA2)
90	15%	15%
Number of Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA3)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA3)
4	10%	10%

Hyundai Tournament of Champions Review

It is now time to review the picks for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions to see how the results turned out.

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

1. Joanthan Byrd | 1 | $1,120,000
2. Geoff Ogilvy | 33 (WD) | $0
3. Adam Scott | 21 | $71,000
4. Ernie Els | 17 | $87,000
5. Hunter Mahan | 25 | $62,000

Here are the results for the Tour Insider's (Bolton's) picks.

1. Geoff Ogilvy | 33 (WD) | $0
2. Ernie Els | 17 | $87,000
3. Graeme McDowell | 3 | $412,000
4. Steve Stricker | 4 | $286,500
5. Tim Clark | 17 | $87,000

 Here is the comparison of the results for our picks.

	Tour Outsider	Tour Insider	Winner
Total Earnings	$1,340,000	$872,500	TO
Avg Rank	19.4	14.8	TI
Made Cut	4	4	DRAW
Outcome	--	--	DRAW

The Total Earnings category was won by the Tour Outsider.

The Avg Rank category was won by the Tour Insider.

The Made Cut category was a draw.

This tournament overall was a draw.

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

....are there carry overs? :-)

Hyundai Tournament of Champions

This is the first tournament of the 2011 season for the US PGA Tour. As usual, the tour starts in Hawaii with a tournament that has a limited number of players and no cut. It is the newly named Hyndai Tournament of Champions (formerly know as the SBS Championship and prior to that as the Mercedes-Benz Championship).

Below is the list of the top 15 players in the CLi rankings for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

#	Player	CLi
1	Jonathan Byrd	7.70
2	Geoff Ogilvy	8.65
3	Adam Scott	10.15
4	Ernie Els	10.70
5	Hunter Mahan	11.35
6	Zach Johnson	12.40
7	Ben Crane	12.60
8	Jim Furyk	12.65
9	Steve Stricker	12.95
10	Matt Kuchar	13.80
11	Anthony Kim	14.00
12	Dustin Johnson	14.20
13	Cameron Beckman	14.40
14	Charley Hoffman	15.85
15	Camilo Villegas	16.40

Usually it is difficult to pick players during the first couple of tournaments in the season because of the previous 2 month layoff. However, with this tournament being a limited field and has no cut, it makes it a little easier to pick players although it is the first tournament of the season,

For my picks, I like the top 5 in the CLi rankings: Byrd, Ogilvy, Scott, Els, and Mahan.

I was thinking about skipping on Mahan and going with Furyk. The reason I was thinking about Furyk iis because there is not much difference in their CLi rankings although Mahan is ranked 5th and Furyk 8th (difference of 4 spots in the CLi rankings). In addition, Furyk tends to play well in Hawaii. He has a house in the state of Hawaii, which basically makes him a local boy; local boys tend to play well in their tournaments. But I am going to trust the CLi this week and pick Mahan over Furyk.

Below are my 5 picks for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions :

#	Player	CLi
1	Jonathan Byrd	7.70
2	Geoff Ogilvy	8.65
3	Adam Scott	10.15
4	Ernie Els	10.70
5	Hunter Mahan	11.35

Below are the top 5 players in the Power Rankings from Rob Bolton:

1. Geoff Ogilvy
2. Ernie Els
3. Graeme McDowell
4. Steve Stricker
5. Tim Clark

Here is a link to Bolton's Power Rankings so that you can read more about his thoughts on his top players in this week's Power Rankings:

Bolton's Power Rankings: Hyundai Tournament of Champions

We have 2 players in common this week: Ogilvy and Els.

Below are the settings for the CLi calculation I used for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions :

Number of Past Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA1)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA1)
5	25%	25%
Number of Days Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA2)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA2)
90	15%	15%
Number of Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA3)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA3)
4	10%	10%

That Time of Year Again

Happy new year everyone!!!

It is that time of year again...the start of the US PGA Tour season.  As usual, the tour starts this week in Hawaii with a selective set of players.  So tomorrow I will get back on the horse and start posting my weekly predictions for tournaments again. 

Rob Bolton will remain the competitor of the Tour Outsider...and thus has the label of Tour Insider (even though he is the Power Rankings persons on the US PGA Tour web site).  Bolton won last year; hopefully I will get the upper hand this year.  If not, at the very least the combination of both of our picks should be rewarding to readers.

Enjoy the year.