The PGA Tour is well underway and following this week’s RBC Canadian Open the tour will move on for the 1st time to the R. T. Jones Gold Club for the Quickens Loan National in Gainesville, Virginia from the 30th of July thru the 2nd of August, with some of the better golf players on earth gather to play. The Quickens Loan National Tournament is in its 9th year and this year has a purse of some $6.6 million dollars and the players also get more points for the upcoming PGA FedEx Cup Tournament.
The field consists of some 120 players and this time led by J. Rose, who is seeking to win his 2nd straight title here, and do you think he can achieve that?
Taking a look at the favorites, who are J. Rose and R. Fowler and Rose is the 2014 Champion and is planning on defending his title this coming weekend beginning on Thursday the 30th of July 2015. Time has passed very fast since last year when Rose fended off S. Stefani and won his 6th Title in the Tours of the PGA. Rose also won this tournament back in 2010. Presently Rose is ranked 5th in the World and the only person to win this tour multiple time other than Tiger Woods. Rose now 34 is coming off the British Open where he placed 6th in the tournament. He is seeking his 8th PGA title after winning the Zurich Classic this season.
Then R. Fowler will join Rose as the only 2 top 10 golfers playing in this Quickens tournament and Fowler is the 6th ranked on the PGA tour and will seek his 3rd tour win this weekend and that come after he won the May’s Players Championship as he beat K. Kisner and S. Garcia in a 3 hole playoff for that title. But since then he has not played will, especially in the last 3 matches. He did not make the cut and the U.S. Open or the Memorial, and tied for 30th at the British Open a week ago. Then turned things around and on the 12th of July the American, now 26 won the A. A. Management Scottish Open this 2015.
The tournament sleepers are T. Woods and S. Percy, as Woods not the player he used to be as it appears his age has but his career in a decline status, as he has had his problems in recent tournaments. Having won some 79 times the PGA Tours, he now is ranked at No. 258 on the planet. Woods is thinking differently as he host this Quickens tournament and is playing as well. Here at this tournament he has won it several times between 2009 and 2012, and this might be his chance to prove those that are no longer believers in Tiger by adding another title to his already fabulous career.
The other sleeper is S. Percy who is seeking to add to his win at the Barbasol where he shot a 65-6 under par and won by 3 shots. That happened to be his 3rd Tour win in his career after the 2012 Canadian Open and then the Open at Reno-Tahoe. Percy is presently ranked at 71st and been in the top 25 some 7 times and played in 22 tournaments this season. Percy now 36 ranks 8th in the PGA in driving at 296 yards each and 22nd in birdie average at 3.96.
The 2 long shots who could win this coming weekend are S. Gallacher and A. Sullivan, as Gallacher the Scotsman is ranked 66th who last season made the top 25 twice. While Sullivan has won 2 tour titles in the Open of South Africa and the Joburg Open which qualified him for the U.S. Open this season.
The prediction for this tournament is that Rose will defend his title and win the Quicken Loans National Tournament.