Posted by Jason Sobel
There are two main reasons this week's Buick Open is one the year's least anticipated PGA Tour events, failing to generate much buzz outside of Flint, Mich.:
1. It's being played directly opposite the U.S. Women's Open, easily the most important tournament on the LPGA schedule.
2. Sam Alexis Woods.
The recent birth of Tiger Woods' daughter means the folks at Warwick Hills are without their biggest draw and the guy who (literally, if you can imagine what kind of stock options he receives from the endorsement deal) owns this tournament. The stats don't lie; he's played this tournament eight times and has two wins, two runner-up finishes and no result worse than T-11.
Joining Woods on the sidelines this week are fellow big-timers Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh, nursing wrist and shoulder injuries, respectively. Adam Scott, Ernie Els, Henrik Stenson, Geoff Ogilvy, Luke Donald and Retief Goosen have each decided to skip the Buick, too, leaving Jim Furyk as the lone top-10 player in the field. That means the action at Pine Needles -- which include Lorena Ochoa, Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis, Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lincicome, Se Ri Pak and, yes, Michelle Wie, among others -- will have about 10 times more star-power than Warwick Hills.
It also means Furyk is the obvious favorite entering the week and, really, he's not too far behind Tiger in his proficiency at this event. Furyk won by two strokes back in 2003 and he also owns two runners-up, with four other top-10s. Factor in his recent results -- a pair of second-place finishes (at the Colonial and U.S. Open) in his last three starts -- and it's tough not to pick Furyk to win this week.
Well, since our weekly "experts' predictions" focused on the Women's Open this week, I figured I'd drop some knowledge for the Buick in this blog. Here are the picks:
• Horse for the Course: Eight different players recorded four rounds in the 60s last year, including Fred Funk, who somehow only managed to turn 69-69-68-69 into a T-25 finish. Freddie's playing very well right now and with an eye toward another Presidents Cup berth, he's a guy to watch.
• Birdie Buster: The last player to win at Warwick Hills not named Woods, Singh or Furyk was Kenny Perry back in 2001. After a long spell of injuries, Perry is now fully recovered and rejuvenated. Don't be surprised to see those good memories spark some good play this week.
• Super Sleeper: Something tells me this could be a week where a longtime pro finally gets his due. Harrison Frazar has been on the cusp of victory for a while now, so why not this week, where he finished T-7 a year ago.
• Winner: OK, OK, you got me. I'm going chalk. It's just too difficult to resist. Like I wrote earlier, Jim Furyk's record is almost as solid as Tiger's at the Buick. With Woods out of the way this week, the path is clear for Furyk to claim his first title of the season. If he does, here's hoping he'll spend a chunk of that winner's check on a nice gift for little Sam Alexis, since she kept her dad from winning another one this week.
