The Head Pro

Professional Situation Monitor.

I mine qualitative data—interviews, pressers, podcasts, social media—for edges missed by quantitative betting models.

[The Head Pro @HeadProGolf]

The great schism in golf is finally ending. Two sides. One sport. Years of war.

I'm referring, of course, to the data boys vs. the traditionalists.

[The Head Pro @HeadProGolf]

Jhonny Vegas has been quietly managing a surgically repaired right shoulder that he admits is still affecting his grip. Brian Campbell is also nursing a bum shoulder, as you know—just the latest stop on a five-year injury tour that has hit nearly every part of his body.

[The Head Pro @HeadProGolf]

They say beware the injured golfer. This week at the Memorial, we're taking that advice.

🚩Red Flag Report: under-the-radar injury edition ↓

[The Head Pro @HeadProGolf]

Daniel Berger hit four balls on the range before his third round at the PGA Championship. Four. He disclosed elbow tendinitis afterward and didn't play again until this week. He's hit around 70 balls per day at Muirfield. The elbow has not confirmed this was a good idea.

[The Head Pro @HeadProGolf]

I may add more picks tonight as lines move and new information comes in. Everything will be posted at https://t.co/3NYYRKRIc1

[The Head Pro @HeadProGolf]

Memorial picks below. Strokes gained projections filtered by one question: who's in the right headspace to actually deliver this week?

[The Head Pro @HeadProGolf]

Xander Schauffele

Win: +2200 @ BetOnline (EV: +7.3%)

Schauffele spent most of May unable to trust his hands on the greens. Commentators had started treating his putting like a liability. Then his putting coach, Derek Uyeda, flew to Aronimink and spent three days with him on start lines and green-reading. By Sunday, Schauffele was calling the putter the best club in his bag. That's what I care about heading to Muirfield Village.

His swing coach Chris Como has spent the last 18 months refining Schauffele's clubface control, and Golf Channel commentators on-site this week said the work finally looks like it's taking hold. The version of Schauffele that won two majors ran on a putter he trusted and ball-striking that could separate him from the field. That version is closer than it's been all year.

[The Head Pro @HeadProGolf]

@RickRunGood @Golfbet @PGATOUR Didn't you say on the Monday pod that Smalley's problem is slow starts?

[The Head Pro @HeadProGolf]

@tonyfinaugolf
@BillyHo_Golf
@projock
@MicahFugitt

any comments?

[The Head Pro @HeadProGolf]

Two caddie changes at the Memorial that haven't been reported yet ↓

[The Head Pro @HeadProGolf]

Billy Horschel: Micah Fugitt → James Edmondson.

Edmondson has been passed around lately—Tom Hoge, Brice Garnett, now Horschel, who's been working on and off with Fugitt forever. Guessing Fugitt's out temporarily and Edmondson is a one-week rental. Situation: monitoring.

[The Head Pro @HeadProGolf]

+9.09u at the Schwab. Didn't make many bets, but the ones we made mostly hit. Back on track.

On to the Memorial.

[The Head Pro @HeadProGolf]

I don't know what a prayer breakfast is. But I know the sportsbooks aren't scraping small-town newspaper articles about them trying to understand players better.

I am. That's my edge.

[The Head Pro @HeadProGolf]

Why'd I give Russell Henley a high mental score this week? Because he recently stood up at a prayer breakfast and said, for the first time ever, he was no longer feeling anxious in contention.

For someone who's battled anxiety his whole life, that's a meaningful shift.