Branden Grace might have been a first-time PGA Tour winner at the RBC Heritage on Sunday, but he's well-versed in the art of victory. So will those titles start coming in bunches for the South African here in the U.S.?
And Bryson DeChambeau followed up his low-amateur showing at the Masters with a T-4 at Hilton Head in his first tournament as a pro, good enough for a cool $260K and well on his way to PGA Tour status. But can he keep that momentum going?
Our experts delve into these topics and more in our latest edition of Monday Four-Ball.
1. Fill in the blank: At the end of 2016, RBC Heritage champ Branden Grace will __________.
SportsCenter anchor Jonathan Coachman: Be in the top 10 in the world. I would love to predict he wins the FedEx playoffs or a major, but I can't do that. What he's proven to be is incredibly consistent no matter which side of the world he is playing on in a given week. He showed last year at the U.S. Open that no stage is too big for him and he feels comfortable playing here in the states. I honestly believe he is good enough to get to the top 5 in the world, but those five players right now are really, really good.
ESPN.com senior golf analyst Michael Collins: Will make it to the Tour Championship but still only have one win on his résumé. Grace is a very good player and he'll have success on the PGA Tour. His second win will come next year and so will his third!
ESPN.com senior golf writer Bob Harig: ... be threatening the top 5 in the world if he's not there already. Grace has contended at majors, won on the European Tour, dominated at home in South Africa. This is the logical next step.
ESPN.com senior golf editor Kevin Maguire: Win again on the PGA Tour. It's a little early to label him the next Ernie Els with the South African ties to his countryman, but Grace owns some serious game. Not until late in the final round of the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay last year, where we saw him blast a shot practically into Puget Sound, Grace was right there with Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson. Surely Grace learned from that and will parlay those experiences into more success this year on the PGA Tour.
ESPN.com senior golf writer Jason Sobel: ... be writing a New Year's resolution about contending in more big events. He already had 10 career pro titles and top-20 finishes in each major prior to his first PGA Tour victory. Now he's ready for the next step.
2. Fact or fiction: Bryson DeChambeau earns his PGA Tour card by the end of the 2015-16 season.
Coachman: Absolute fact. Since the Australian Masters late in 2015, DeChambeau has proven that he is absolutely world class and, more than that, he is a draw and a star. With a top-5 finish at Hilton Head, he proved that it still doesn't matter to him if there is an actual check on the line. He told Jim Nantz that money doesn't concern him. Well, money might not with his new endorsements, but best believe he does not want to try and get his card the hard way. There is a lot of pressure with only so many sponsor exemptions, but I know he is more than capable and will do it.
Collins: Fact. DeChambeau has the most important thing it takes to get a tour card in the way he's trying: moxie. His self-confidence might rub some people the wrong way. Fair enough, but for a guy who's been told, "it won't work" over and over again, you better have moxie to prove them all wrong.
Harig: Fact. With his tie for fourth at the Heritage, DeChambeau earned 123 non-member FedEx Cup points -- which puts him just 97 points out of the current top 125 -- where he will need to finish in order to earn his card. But first he needs to earn 361 points (last season's top 150 total) which gets him temporary member status and unlimited sponsor exemptions, making the top 125 goal easier.
Maguire: Fact. He hasn't missed a cut in 2016 and that includes his T-21 at Augusta, which would have earned him around $100K but didn't because he was still an amateur. After a T-4 in his pro debut last week that paid out $260K at the RBC Heritage, the self-described golf scientist is well on his way to status on the world's top tour starting this fall. The best part about the T-4 at Hilton Head? He doesn't have to use up one of his seven sponsor exemptions because the top-10 gets him into this week's field at the Valero Texas Open, so he can pocket that one for another tournament down the road ... assuming he actually needs it.
Sobel: Fiction. He's made it look easy against the pros so far, but he'll soon find out that playing for a purpose is much tougher than playing with house money. Don't get me wrong -- I think DeChambeau is a great talent and will be around for a long time, but gaining a card this late in the season is a difficult proposition.
3. Steve Stricker was named U.S. Presidents Cup captain for the 2017 matches at Liberty National. How much does that hurt his chances to lead Team USA at a future Ryder Cup?
Coachman: I don't know why it would. In fact, if he does well and is well-liked, this will absolutely help him. The United States can no longer act like these two events are polar opposites. For the most part, it is the same players and the same rules. Stricker will make a fantastic Ryder Cup captain after he makes a fantastic Presidents Cup captain.
Collins: Doesn't hurt them at all. Stricker is so respected throughout the game that the Ryder Cup "task force" couldn't afford to leave him off their captain's list. He is the perfect candidate to bridge the crossover between the PGA of America and the PGA Tour.
Harig: In the past, you would have said it destroyed his chances. Only Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus have captained at both, and they were Ryder Cup captains first. But this is a new time for the U.S. Ryder Cup effort, and serving as an assistant for both Cups and then becoming the Presidents Cup captain should only help him get the job for the Ryder Cup, almost certainly in 2020 when it is in his home state of Wisconsin.
Maguire: A couple of years ago, I would have said absolutely this move nixes Stricker's chances at a Ryder Cup captaincy, if that was even a possibility after taking the Presidents Cup job. But with the nicey-nice play between the PGA Tour, which runs the Presidents Cup, and the PGA of America, who heads up the U.S. side of the Ryder Cup, this could all be part of the master plan to "train" future American captains. The Ryder Cup heads to Whistling Straits in 2020, so don't be surprised if Wisconsin native Stricker gets the call.
Sobel: It shouldn't hurt his chances. If Stricker leads the U.S. team to a Presidents Cup win -- and more importantly, endears himself to those on the roster -- he'll certainly have a chance to become a Ryder Cup captain someday. Those two things are no longer mutually exclusive.
4. What do you make of Vijay Singh's decision to skip the Olympics?
Coachman: I believe he will ultimately regret it. If there was a super serious threat, Brazil wouldn't allow the games to go on. This is a special year and to be eligible and not go -- I just don't understand. And to use the excuse that it's in the middle of the PGA Tour schedule is ridiculous. He has not won since 2008. He has not been competitive very often. So why not enjoy an event that golfers have been unable to play until this year? It doesn't make sense to me, but it's not my life.
Collins: It'd be easy to jump on the conspiracy theory bandwagon on this one, but I won't. Singh believes he can still win on the PGA Tour and his best chance will be when most of "the world" is playing in Brazil. He might just be right, too.
Harig: The best way to describe it is disappointing. Singh at once expressed great interest in the Olympics and now at age 53 he's more concerned about his PGA Tour card? He's a lifetime member anyway, so that should not be a concern. You would think he would completely embrace the idea of the Olympics.
Maguire: It's a bit puzzling, to be completely honest. Coming into the RBC Heritage, Singh was 215th in the world rankings and would have been 49th in the 60-person field on the men's side. That being said, why come out with this announcement now? We're still nearly four months to the Opening Ceremony in Rio. Singh has always gone to the beat of his own drummer, and that trend continued with the timing of this decision.
Sobel: Singh has never been the type to go along with what's expected of him just because it's the right thing to do. The fact that the PGA Tour is on the frontline of bringing golf to the Olympics -- the same PGA Tour which Singh is suing -- likely helped make his decision even easier.
