Back on the Rota

Neither The Belfry nor Olympia Fields CC have hosted a professional mens stroke play event in the last decade. This will change on Thursday, as the run of European Tour events in the United Kingdom wraps up in England at the former Ryder Cup venue, and playoff event number two gets underway in Illinois on the PGA Tour.

There will be a number of interesting storylines this week on both tours. The European Tour will have the strongest field since their return to golf, with Danny Willett, Bernd Wiesberger and Matt Wallace all returning to competitive action east of the Atlantic. 

Meanwhile, only 30 players will advance from Olympia Fields to the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta next week. Currently outside the FedEx 'bubble' are players such as Tiger Woods, Gary Woodland, Adam Scott and Matthew Wolff. Conversely, sitting precariously in the final two qualifying spots for the 30-person final event are former Tour Champion Billy Horschel, and one of this years most consistent players, Tony Finau.

The Belfry has not hosted a top-tier mens professional event since 2008. In the seven events that have been played here, winners at this course have included Lee Westwood, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson and Angel Cabrera.

Olympia Fields has not been visited in a stroke play setting since 2003, when Jim Furyk won the US Open. It has however hosted a US Amateur, won by Bryson DeChambeau (whatever happened to him?) and several NCAA Division I collegiate tournaments. The two most notable recent winners of these include Matthew Wolff and Cameron Champ.

Aside from not hosting professional events in over a decade, what else do The Belfry and Olympia Fields CC have in common? The answer to this is that great drivers of the ball have had great success at both courses.

Westwood and Stenson are two of the most formidable drivers of the ball of their generation, albeit with two different clubs. It does not seem hyperbolic to grant Wolff and Champ a similar title in the modern-era. I hear Bryson isn't too terrible with the big stick, either.

Even casting the net further back at both courses, we find champions like Greg Norman at The Belfry, and Jack Nicklaus at Olympia Fields. 

It can grow tiresome to say, at times, but superior play off the tee is going to be the great separator on both Tours this week (and next week, too, probably).

Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau appear to be promising selections Stateside, given ones recent form, and the others... do I really need to say? It might also be worth keeping an eye on Xander Schauffele, who looks ready to pounce any week now, and Matthew Wolff, who had success at this course in his illustrious college career. All four of these players are Top-15 in the category of Strokes Gained: Off the Tee.

In Europe, look for Rasmus Hojgaard to top the leaderboard early, and often. He's third on the European Tour in the category Strokes Gained: Off the Tee this season, has had four Top 6 finishes in his last five starts, and is quite simply the most talented golfer in the field this week. If he doesn't get the job done, Wiesberger seems like a wise pick.