TOUR Insider: Is winning momentum immediate?

We are just a couple of weeks shy of the return of Tiger Woods and it got me thinking … just how much immediate momentum does winning on the PGA TOUR bring? Woods defied the odds in modern times by winning seven-straights starts in 2006-07, including two majors and two World Golf Championship events. He won six in a row in 1999-2000 and added five consecutive wins in 2007-08. And he didn’t even really sniff the overall record held by the legendary Byron Nelson. Nelson won an unfathomable 11-straight starts on the PGA TOUR in 1945. The current depth of fields on TOUR is arguably some of the best ever, so while we don’t see many ultra-long streaks, there is no doubt players can get an immediate boost from a win. That might seem obvious. But the joy of winning brings an inevitable celebration. And the energy it takes to win brings a natural lull afterwards. It can be hard to focus in immediately again. Sometimes the benefits to the win come down the road, not right away. But immediate winning momentum is something FedExCup champion Justin Thomas believes in. As does Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth. And if last season is any indicator and the early goings of this one are anything to go by, Patton Kizzire should be feeling very good heading into The RSM Classic, where he’s a pretty good bet to finish inside the top 25. The winner of last week’s OHL Classic in Mayakoba is also a Sea Island local, so he’s really riding high. “There’s been some celebrating, but luckily I know these courses really well and I’ve spent a lot of time learning them,â€� he said. “It’s good to be back home and sleep in my own bed and see friends and family, a lot of hugs a lot of high fives. It’s a great week and I’m looking forward to teeing it up tomorrow and seeing if I can continue making birdies.â€� The winners of the 47 official PGA TOUR events last season certainly didn’t take the following start for granted. They combined for four wins, nine top-fives, 15 top-10s and 29 top 25s. Just 11 times did a winner follow up the trophy hoist with a missed cut in their next start. In other words, over 60 percent of the time a winner backed up his performance with another top-25 finish. Johnson was the benchmark. He backed up two of his wins with another win as he won three straight at the Genesis Open, the World Golf Championships – Mexico Championship and the World Golf Championships – Dell Match Play. We were robbed of the chance to see how he may have gone in the Masters after his freak stair accident, but when he did return, he finished runner-up at the Wells Fargo Championship. His win at THE NORTHERN TRUST in the FedExCup Playoffs was also backed up with a T18 finish. Thomas was also pretty decent off a win. He was T23 after his first win last season, backed up his second win with a third win, backed that up with a rare missed cut before backing up his fourth win with a T6 and his fifth win with a T47. Spieth was three-for-three at being inside the top 25 post win. He was T22 at the Genesis Open after his win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am and backed up his win at the Travelers Championship with victory at The Open Championship. His next start after winning the Claret Jug was a was a T13 at the World Golf Championship – Bridgestone Invitational. Strengthening the momentum argument is a quick dissection of those who missed the cut in their next start … there are some decent excuses. Kevin Chappell’s next start after his win at the Valero Texas Open was part of a team at the Zurich Classic… he can only be held half responsible. On the flip side Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith helped each other to win in Zurich but both missed cuts on their own at THE PLAYERS. Si Woo Kim’s back was playing up on him in his first start after his PLAYERS win and Jason Dufner’s next start after winning the Memorial was a tough and very long U.S. Open layout. Bryson DeChambeau only got his Open Championship start on the back of his John Deere Classic win and as such had to deal with the whirlwind change of plans. This season the trend is continuing and even doing better. Brendan Steele backed up his Safeway Open win with a T13, Pat Perez was T5 next start after winning the CIMB Classic and Ryan Armour was T20 after winning at Sanderson Farms. Thomas and Patrick Cantlay haven’t played since their recent wins. Neither technically has Justin Rose, in terms of the PGA TOUR, after his win in China. Those keen observers would know he actually won again right away on the European Tour. It all adds up to one thing. Draft Kizzire into your fantasy team while you still have time!

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