1.22.22

Its currently 12 degrees and windy in Hoboken. I tried to take the dog on our normal loop around town, but we only made it about a quarter mile before turning around and heading for home. Everything is frozen solid. At one point, Barkley turned and looked up at me, with a facial expression that said, “really? are we actually doing this?” Safe to say we will be spending the weekend indoors, so any golf related activity will be limited to hitting putts on my carpet. As someone who can get a little stir crazy, this time of year is rough. We have been opportunistically taking long walks when the weather permits, and doing online Yoga classes when it doesn’t. Since there is very little of my own golf game to report on, I figured I would look to the PGA tour to get my fix. One of my favorite things to do at the beginning of each year is predict the champions of each major tournament, so might as well share with you…

The Masters, Augusta National Golf Club, April 7th - 10th

A tradition unlike any other - me, calling in sick to work on Thursday and Friday of Masters week. Easily my favorite sporting event of the year, I am especially excited for the 2022 edition, because it feels wide open. Jon Rahm is the obvious pick here - he’s had success in the past (4 straight top 10s at ANGC), he broke through with a major victory in 2021, he’s the number 1 player in the world by a wide margin. He’ll get one eventually, but not this year. I’m taking Cam Smith. Could be recency bias, but I was super impressed with him at the Tournament of Champions. First of all, he shot freaking 34 under, so you know he can make birdies - which always helps at Augusta. More impressive to me was that he did it playing with Rahm; he went head to head with number 1 and didn’t back down. He’s a gamer. He’s not the longest driver, but his short game and putting is incredible. His game reminds me a little of 2018 champ Patrick Reed, so I think Cam is a good pick here. Plus, according to datagolf.com, the most similar course fit to Augusta is Kapalua (no rough, lots of uneven lies, slopes and elevation changes, etc), so it all adds up. And I would love to see that beautiful mullet draped over a green jacket.

The PGA Championship, Southern Hills Championship Course, May 19-22

The 2022 PGA Championship marks the return to Southern Hills 15 years after Tiger won there in 2007. I really only remember two things about Southern Hills - it was sweltering hot in 2007, I think Tiger was changing his shirt every 3-4 holes. And Retief Goosen missed a 3 footer on the 72nd hole of the 2001 US Open, that would have won it (he later would win in an 18 hole playoff over Mark Brooks. So I’m flying blind on this prediction. So I’m going with a guy who has 5 top 5s in 9 starts at the PGA, and has two trophies - Brooks Koepka. I feel like Brooks is due for a bounce back year. He gets it done in May at Southern Hills.

The US Open, The Country Club (Brookline), June 16-19

Again, I really only have one memory of The Country Club, and its these outstanding and ridiculous polos the US team wore on Sunday of the 1999 Ryder Cup:

When I think of “US Open” type players right now, a few names immediately come to mind - Rahm (obviously), Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay. I want to pick Cantlay - he’s been playing so well - but he hasn’t really seriously contended in a major up to this point. I would like to see him get in the mix more before picking him to win. Schauffele has been there enough, but he hasn’t won any tournament in a while. I’m taking Morikawa - when his putter gets hot, no one can beat him. I’m banking on that happening for 4 days in June.

The Open Championship, The Old Course at St Andrews, July 14th-17th

I’m going to pick with my heart here - Jordan Spieth. The Old Course is quirky, and I feel like Spieth does well on non-typical PGA courses. It’s wide open, so he can spray it all over the park and rely on his magical short game and putting to get it in the hole. Plus, I can’t imagine anything more exciting than Jordan having the lead on Sunday, and having to play the Road Hole - a spectacular birdie or a spectacular triple bogey would be equally likely. I also considered DeChambeau here, especially if the wind is down that week. It truly is a par 68 for him, it will be super interesting to see how he approaches it. But I’m sticking with my guy Spieth.

So that’s where I’m putting my money for 2022. And it’s only because FanDuel wouldn’t let me place the parlay I really wanted: the Kevin Na - Slam:

COWARDS!!!

Baby Update:

Julia hit the 7 week mark this past week. And I can’t say we are in a full blown routine, but at least the days are getting a little more predictable. Most nights she sleeps for 5-6 hour stretches, and she has even made it fully through the night on several occasions. Most nights, we are only up once for a feeding, so its pretty manageable between the two of us. When she is awake, she is definitely more alert and engaged vs the first two or three weeks. We are starting to see some personality, and I think I can make her smile? Tough to say at this point, but it’s great to see nonetheless (even if its still just gas…)

With the surge in Covid, I’ve been pretty much exclusively working from home the last few weeks - which has been great. Julia has become my own personal comfort animal - whenever I am stressed about work, or just need a 5 minute break to decompress, I can walk into the living room and hold her. It’s wonderful, and I feel bad for any new Dad who doesn’t have that opportunity.

At 8 weeks, Julia gets her second round of vaccines which means we can be a little more adventurous with where we bring her. To this point, we have had to be very selective about where we take her and who she is exposed to. But I am hoping that with the Covid cases will continue to fall and some warmer temperatures allow us to introduce her to the rest of our friends and family soon.

Until then…