2021 Northern Trust: Round 4 Matchups

Aug 22, 2021

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With Hurricane Henri passing through to the east of Liberty National Golf Course on Sunday, the final round of the Northern Trust tournament was postponed to Monday. Speaking of hurricanes, Saturday’s third round packed a punch of just about everything. Cameron Smith blew through the course, destroying the single-round scoring record by shooting an 11-under 60. He gained an unbelievable 6.3 strokes ball-striking with an average proximity to the hole of 19.5 feet (second in the field). Second-round leader and the top-ranked player in the world, Jon Rahm, faltered at times but salvaged a share of the lead going into Monday’s final round. Sitting a couple of shots behind the leaders are a trio of stars in Justin Thomas (-14), Tony Finau (-14) and Viktor Hovland (-13). Then you have the “underdogs” who are fighting for their FedExCup Playoff lives and the right to gain entry into the BMW Championship next week. This group includes the likes of Erik van Rooyen, Tom Hoge and Harold Varner. With the course already playing as soft as a pillow, expect more of the same as photos posted on Twitter have shown puddles of water still covering parts of the fairways. As of now, winds are predicted to be around 10-13 MPH throughout the day on Monday, with potentially higher gusts in the morning. At least a 50% chance of rain showers is also predicted throughout the day. I strongly encourage a weather check tonight for the Jersey City area to see if any weather-wave advantages present themselves. Absolutely nothing in the outright market stands out to me. This is mostly because I expect Jon Rahm to win going away tomorrow.