Chasing Pars Golf Podcast

Ep 72 WGC Matchplay, Qatar Masters & Corales Puntacana

This week is the return of the ever unpredictable lottery WGC Dell Technologies Matchplay in Austin, Texas where the world's top 64 players minus a few noteable withdrawals are battling it out over 5 grueling days to become Matchplay Champion. Billy Horschel was your winner last year defeating Scottie Scheffler 2&1 in the final to win his 5th PGA Tour title. Jamie & Ryan return this week as they dive into the Matchplay madness with some predictions while building their own brackets etc. We also have the Qatar Masters on the DP World Tour where Antoine Rozner is the defending champion as the players return to Doha GC after the last 2 years being played at Education City it's expected to be heavy winds at the weekend in Doha so should be fun ending. We also have the alternative event on the PGA Tour as we are back in Dominican Republic for the Corales Puntacana Championship where Joel Dahmen grabbed his maiden PGA Tour victory in breezy conditions. A lot of Golf this week, should be fun. Enjoy!

Ep 71 Deon Germishuys

In this latest episode of the podcast. Craig is joined by 2018 South Africa Amateur Champion & Current Sunshine Tour star Deon Germishuys as he joins us in his home from Johannesburg to talk to us about last week's event at Pecanwood Estate where he narrowly missed the cut while playing good golf at -5 Deon also gives us a nice insight to how it will play this week at Steyn City a course he has played a couple of times before with it set to rain on Wednesday it should yet again be a scoreable test with the greens soft & receptive. With it playing longer than last week at Pecanwood, Steyn City should play at about 7,700 yards with over 1,350 metres of elevation above sea level. We also go over Germishuys' brilliant Junior & Amateur Career success with 3 wins at Junior level & 2 wins at Amateur level including the big one in 2018 winning South African Amateur Championship. Deon turned pro in 2019 after winning a card on Sunshine Tour at Q School he talks about the transition from Amateur career to playing competitively on the Sunshine Tour. Yet to win on Sunshine Tour I am sure it is only a matter of time before Deon wins his first professional title. It was great to have Deon come on the pod to chat with us, enjoyed it & I hope we have done a good job at pinpointing the growth and insane amount of talent South African Golf has at its disposal. Thanks Deon, Enjoy!

Ep 70 The Players’ Championship

In a week full of places with Jamie having T2 Horschel & T6 Kirk at 40/1 & 66/1, Craig having Tarren T5 in Puerto Rico 80/1 & Ryan having Hatton T2 at 33/1 was another step in the right direction for the podcast. This week Jamie has the daunting task of going solo this week in a short but sweet episode for the flagship event of PGA Tour that being The Players' Championship at TPC Sawgrass designed by The Dye's often described as 'The 5th Major' it's the one event everybody on the PGA Tour roster wants to add to their CV it's so prestiged. Justin Thomas is the defending champion this week after a clinical masterclass of a performance last year gave him win number 14 for him as a professional. Follow us on Twitter @ChasingPars_Pod, @ThomsonGolf94, @Js_GolfingTips & GolfTipster5 for all our picks & thoughts while following @chasingparspodcast on Instagram & be kind to follow our brand new Telegram page dedicated to the DP World Tour with lots of info going up on the app in the next few weeks or so. Let's carry on, Enjoy!

Ep 69 Arnold Palmer Invitational & Magical Kenya Open

After a fantastic viewing spectacle at the ever exciting PGA National for Honda Classic after all the trials, tribulations, thrills and spills it was the year of the Sepp with Sepp Straka winning his 1st PGA Tour title at -10 to become the first Austrian born PGA Tour title holder defeating Shane Lowry in the rain in Florida and the biggest Daniel Berger collapse we have seen. This week we are back to historic Bay Hill Club & Lodge at Arnie's place for this year's Arnold Palmer Invitational where Bryson DeChambeau bomb & gouged his way round to win at -12 last year. A notoriously tough golf course measuring around 7,500 yards it is one of the longest & toughest on Tour. Craig & Jamie are back to talk all things Bay Hill with both having picks we feel have plausible chances to fulfil their destiny of winning the prestigious API title. It always is a cracking event and this should be no different. The DP World Tour is back this week as we are in Nairobi, Kenya for Kenya Open where it is being played at Muthiaga GC which lasted hosted the event on the Challenge Tour in 2018 where Lorenzo Gagli defeated Jens Fahrbring in a play off at -11. In a weakened field there is still some value to be had as the DP World Tour returns. Shout-out to Sporting Life don Ben Coley for mentioning our podcast in his recent Sporting Life column for Kenyan Open in regards to our player interview with Wil Besseling. We appreciate it alot and we hope Besseling goes well for you this week! All the best & enjoy!

Ep 68 Honda Classic

It was a non entity week really for the picks for Jamie & Craig but a nice 20/1 T2nd with Morikawa & 150/1 T3rd with Tom McKibbin places for Ryan as keep the current streak of places going. What a fantastic performance by the talented Chilean Joaquin Niemann who blitzed The Riv away in spectacular fashion eventually winning by 2 shots at -19 although did get to -21 at one stage but nonetheless very impressive from a player with a big future. This week Craig is joined by Owen Vrabel of Draws n Fades Podcast to go over Honda Classic as we arrive at the start of the Florida Swing for the better part of PGA Tour season starting at PGA National (Champion Course) which historically is won between -6 & -12 so it is a very firm test for players. It's just a shade over 7,045 yards originally designed by Fazio's then took a redesign by Jack Nicklaus in 2014 including the gruelling 3 hole stretch from 15-17 known as 'The Bear Trap' which I one of the toughest stretches on Tour. Follow & listen to Owen & co-host Matt on Draws n Fades Podcast on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. Follow us on Twitter @ChasingPars_Pod & @chasingparspod on Instagram. Enjoy!

Ep 67 Genesis Invitational

Scottie Scheffler was triumphant for us last week in Phoenix to win Waste Management Phoenix Open at 28/1 to take the win tally for the pod so far in 2022 to 4 wins! Scheffler thoroughly deserved his maiden PGA Tour victory defeating the form player in the world Patrick Cantlay in a play off. In a spectacular week on and off the course last week in Arizona Craig & Ryan go over the major talking points from TPC Scottsdale as we gloss over the pandemonium of the 16th hole witnessing 2 hole in ones at 16 in the same tournament with Sam Ryder & Carlos Ortiz making aces to absolute set the fans into a frenzy in what is a notoriously noisy hole regardless of that. We also go over the fallout from Charley Hoffman rants at PGA Tour while insinuating Saudi money along with Phil Mickelson & Bryson DeChambeau, getting blocked on Twitter by the easily offended Phil. This week we are back in California at the traditional Riviera CC in Pacific Palisades where traditional one of the tougher scoring events in the PGA Tour circuit. Tight narrow fairways, tough fast greens it should be a cracker this week. Enjoy!

Ep 66 Waste Management Phoenix Open & Ras Al Khaimah Classic (1 Year Anniversary show)

Welcome ladies & gentlemen to the scene of where this podcast started in February last year at Waste Management Phoenix Open. It's been a whirlwind of a year doing this but we have enjoyed bringing you content every week plus some specials! We appreciate your support! Firstly give us a follow on Twitter @ChasingPars_Pod & on Instagram @Chasingparspodcast. You can follow us on Twitter @ThomsonGolf94 @Js_GolfingTips & @GolfTipster5. So this week we are back at Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona for Waste Management Phoenix Open which was designed by Tom Weiskopf & Jay Morrish in 1987. Traditionally this event is won by a high calibre player that is playing in the field. Brooks Koepka won last year and is a 2 time winner, Hideki Matsuyama is a 2 time winner while likes of Webb Simpson, Gary Woodland & Rickie Fowler have also won this event in the past which is famed for the rowdiness of the Par 3 16th hole which is possibly the noisiest hole in Golf. Brooks Koepka chipped in at 17 last year to steer his way to a victory last year after sudden collapses from Xander Schauffele & Jordan Spieth. Superb field, should be a good event. On DPWT this week we stay yet again in United Arab Emirates at the same course as last week in Al Hamra GC for Ras Al Khaimah Classic where last week Nicolai Hojgaard was sensational winning by 4 shots at -24 to win his 2nd DP World Tour Title at age of 20. Nicolai Hojgaard, Jordan Smith, Adri Arnaus, Robert MacIntyre & Adrian Meronk are your top 5 in the market for this week! Enjoy!

Ep 65 Ras al Khaimah Championship

After a gutting play off defeat to Viktor Hovland at Dubai Desert Classic it was a valiant effort from the evergreen Richard Bland who placed for Craig at 100/1 to have another profitable week on DP World Tour. In the 3rd event of DP World Tour season we stay in Dubai for part 1 of Ras Al Khaimah at Al Hamra GC it is a 7,325 yard par 72 Peter Harradine design. It played 3 times on Challenge Tour from 2016 to 2018 with Jordan Smith (2016), Jens Dantorpn (2017) & Adri Arnaus (2018) the winners. Bernd Wiesberger is the clear favourite at 10/1 with Jordan Smith, Bob MacIntyre, Romain Langasque & Adrian Meronk the top 5 in the market this week. New event to DP World Tour schedule could be intriguing. Let's keep the heater running this week. Enjoy!

Ep 64 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

It was another winner for the pod in back to back weeks after last week's success with Thomas Pieters winning Abu Dhabi HSBC & Danielle Kang winning Tournament of Champions last week it was a monumental win for Luke List who won Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines at 80/1 for Jamie defeating Will Zalatoris in a dramatic playoff. Was an impressive performance from List to win his first PGA Tour title at such aniconic venue such as Torrey Pines made it even more impressive. This week we are back to the stunning setting of Pebble Beach Golf Links for AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where Daniel Berger is this week's Defending champion in what is usually one of the more shortest courses on the PGA Tour. Patrick Cantlay is the clear favourite at 7/1, Dan Berger 14/1, last week's runner up Will Zalatoris is 16/1 while course horse Jason Day is 20/1, 2017 Champion Jordan Spieth is also 20/1. This event usually throws up a surprise winner and quite often the same players turn up and play well here at Pebble Beach year in year out. Let's follow up last week's winner with another good week! Enjoy!

Ep 63 Diane Knox Balas

In this episode Craig is joined by Golf Broadcaster Diane Knox Balas. Diane talks about her upbringing in Inverness starting off in Media working for local Moray Radio for 6 years before moving to Glasgow working for Clyde 1 & sometimes Forth 1 stations as a Sports Broadcaster for another 6 years always having a special place for Golf. Diane's younger brother is none other than 2x PGA Tour & 2x European Tour winner Russell Knox! We speak about her favourite moments with Russell whether that be out supporting him on the course or spectating winning tournaments from his first win at WGC event in China to the unbelievable clutch double 50ft+ putting performance when winning the Irish Open on European Tour defeating Ryan Fox in a playoff. Diane goes on to talk about getting involved with 10x PGA Tour winner, 1995 US PGA Champion & 2x Players Championship winner Steve Elkington on the show Secret Golf which has been a part of since 2016 the show which dedicates to PGA Tour side of things from interviews with some of the PGA Professionals to the Wednesday show Tour Report where Elk & Diane makes their picks & handicap the PGA Tour events. In 2020 Diane got the opportunity of a lifetime to be with the European side for The Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits working behind all access and witnessing all the play of America's demolition of Europe but was still an opportunity that Diane will never forget! Recently Diane has teamed up with Duncan & Neil Campbell the brains behind The Golf Betting Club project to present 'The Closing Stretch' every Sunday looking into the final round plays aswell as Pre event picks. Finally we talk about the rise & growth of Women's Golf where the amount of talent coming onto LPGA & LET Tours is better than ever! Would like to thank Diane for coming on & being a great guest! We wish you all the best & will be sure to cheer on for Russell on PGA Tour in the future to hopefully another win! Enjoy everyone!