“Caddyshack” book goes in-depth on the cult classic

Putting a bow on the West Coast Swing, the TOUR makes its way to Scottsdale, Arizona, for this week’s WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course. The course will play to par-71, measuring 7,261 yards and contested on Bermuda greens. Currently, the field is 15% less than what we’ve seen in recent weeks. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $800K Pitch + Putt [$200K to 1st] STRATEGY Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green is still the priority, but Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee measures almost the same as approach in average strokes gained per round by former winners. On paper, the course doesn’t lean toward golfers who hit it far, especially not as much as Torrey Pines a couple of weeks ago, but this could be a contrarian strategy for lineup construction this week. Distance hitters like Tony Finau (+3500, $8,900), Gary Woodland (+10000, $7,300), and Bubba Watson (+4000, $9,000) routinely play well here, with the latter two winning this tournament. Bubba’s admitted to hitting drivers a lot here in the past, with the rough not being penal. Like Bubba, longer hitters have the advantage of hitting shorter irons into these fast greens. The course sits over 1,500 feet above sea level, which could be another reason we see the average driving distance 12 yards higher (293 yards) than the TOUR average. Also, consider golfers trending well in Par 4 efficiency between 450 and 500 yards and Par 5 efficiency this week. All the par 5s are reachable in two and need to be taken advantage of this week, with three of the last four winners ranking inside the top 11 in Par 5 efficiency in the years they won. Conversely, and maybe just as important, is driving accuracy with 70 bunkers and three water hazards. Golfers like Abraham Ancer (+5500, $7,900), who ranks top 10 in fairways gained over the previous 24 rounds, could fare well with accuracy this week like 2020 champion Webb Simpson (+3500, $8,600), who ranked third in fairways gained en route to his victory. The WM Phoenix Open has proven challenging to win as a 54-hole leader — only two out of the past 12 golfers have held on to win when leading after Round 3 — and six of the previous nine winners have come from two or more strokes back to earn the victory. Brooks Koepka (+3000, $9,400) was five shots behind Jordan Spieth (+1600, $9,900) and Xander Schauffele (+2000, $9,700) heading into the final round last year. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Justin Thomas (+1000 to Win, $11,000 on DraftKings) Those looking to chase the elite should consider Thomas, who’s finished 13-3-3 in his previous three starts in Phoenix. His ball-striking is elite, ranking 21st in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and third in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green over the past 24 rounds. It’s all about putting with Thomas, and two of his top-20 putting performances on TOUR have been at TPC Scottsdale. It’s been 16 weeks since Thomas’ last win on TOUR, his longest drought since 2018. That streak could come to an end this week. Scottie Scheffler (+2200 to Win, $9,100 on DraftKings) Successful finishes preceding the WM Phoenix Open haven’t been a prerequisite, but it never hurts. Looking deeper into his stats, Scheffler ranks top five in Par-5 efficiency and Greens in Regulation Gained over the previous 24 rounds and was top three in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green at Torrey Pines. A top-25 finish at The American Express and a top-20 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open is a good start for Scheffler, but he’s looking for his first win and it could easily be this week. Aaron Wise (+6500 to Win, $7,100 on DraftKings) Just missing the cut during his season debut at the Farmers Insurance, Wise comes into Phoenix well suited for a solid finish. Recently, few have been better than him on desert locales, finishing eighth at the 2021 Shriner’s Childrens Open (TPC Summerlin) and fifth at the CJ Cup (Summit Club). His putting looks good, gaining strokes on the greens in five-straight measured events heading into this week. Wise also looks solid on the par 5s, ranking 11th in Par-5 efficiency and fifth in eagles gained over his past 24 rounds. He also had one of the best Fall swings of anyone not named Talor Gooch (+5000, $7,800), finishing no worse than 26th in five starts across October and November last year. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $800K Pitch + Putt [$200K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. Place your golf bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app. All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests. The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. 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NASSAU, Bahamas — The latest comeback by Tiger Woods, this one following a 10-month absence from a fourth back surgery in three years, was sure to cause some disruption in the workforce with the weekday television coverage. That included the commissioner’s office at the PGA TOUR. “I would consider myself to be among the highly distracted as Tiger played his first round,” Jay Monahan said Tuesday. Monahan was at the Hero World Challenge the day before it began and stayed for the pro-am dinner, where he said Woods spoke from the heart about his foundation, thanked the other 17 players for coming and reminded them they had a chance to compete against a player at No. 1,199 in the world ranking. “That broke up the room,” Monahan said with a laugh. Indeed, it’s rare for a player to tie for ninth and move up 531 spots in the world ranking — Woods now is all the way up to No. 668 — but such were the circumstances. The field featured eight of the top 10 in the world, and it included one guy who had earned ranking points at only two tournaments over the last two years. There’s no way to go but up. That’s what Monahan took away from the holiday exhibition, only he wasn’t talking about the world ranking. “We had such a strong year with great, young players stepping forward,” he said. “You add Tiger back in the mix, and we all go away from it with a lot of excitement.” How much Woods is in the mix remains to be seen, although this was as strong as he has looked in four years. Next up is figuring out a schedule that Woods said would be geared around the four majors. He hasn’t played all four since 2015, and he hasn’t made the cut in all of them since 2013. Most of the young players at Albany Golf Club — Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Daniel Berger — know more about the legend of Woods than what it’s like to have him at tournaments. Thomas got a taste of it. He is the FedExCup champion and PGA TOUR Player of the Year after winning five times, including his first major at the PGA Championship. He started the new season by winning the CJ Cup in South Korea. And when he sat down for a news conference, his first six questions were about Woods. Thomas was paired with Woods for the first and final rounds, and while Woods had the largest gallery, there was rarely more than about 250 fans. It’s the Bahamas. So when Thomas was asked if felt the effect of Woods on the golf course or in his news conference, he smiled. “I would say more of the fact that I just won the FedExCup, Player of the Year, and all I get asked about is Tiger Woods,” he said. Thomas was not the least bit irritated, even though this was the 10th out 12 consecutive questions he fielded about Woods on that day. “I thought it was bad the questions I got asked about Jordan,” Thomas said. Golf wasn’t suffering without Woods, not inside the ropes. Dating to when Woods had his first back surgery, Rory McIlroy won two majors in 2014; Spieth got halfway to the calendar Grand Slam in 2015; Dustin Johnson fulfilled his potential with his first major in 2016 and was voted player of the year. And this year brought the emergence of the 24-year-old Thomas. None can draw attention to golf like Woods — not individually, maybe not collectively. That’s no surprise. “The keen golf fans will know Tiger moved the needle and brought people in that might be sports fans, but not golf fans,” Henrik Stenson said. “But everyone who follows golf closely, I don’t think they’ve been home thinking, ‘Oh, this is not exciting anymore,’ when all the guys at the top have been winning. It’s been a healthy couple of years, even though he’s not been on the scene. “I don’t think he can make it less good, having the old Tiger back and trying to charge through the field,” Stenson said. “It would make it even more exciting.” There’s also the danger, especially in today’s social media climate, to gush so much over Woods that it seems no one else is playing and tournaments that Woods doesn’t play are not worth watching. This is nothing new. The PGA TOUR has been facing questions like this for 20 years. Monahan sees only an upside now. “We have such a deep bench of young, international players, combined with a great group of veterans. All have accomplished a lot in their own right, week in and week out. The story lines will be strong,” Monahan said. “You take a strong PGA TOUR and just make it stronger. And it doesn’t just apply when Tiger is playing. The fact he’s back is bringing more attention, more eyeballs, and that’s going to benefit everyone. “It’s great to be back in that situation.”

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