Five more weeks have flown by, and the first big tournament is upon us. There’s been some unexpected winners lately that will surely look to stake their claim as one of the new (or old) faces of the PGA with a signature win at The Players added to their list of accomplishments. Let’s review what’s happened over the last month.



Week 4 - Gotter-Up even higher
Last year, with a win at a lower level event in 2024, Chris Gotterup was considered one to watch in 2025. He was mostly invisible through the first half of the year, with 8 cuts before the end of April. Then the proverbial switch flipped. He went on a hot-streak that included a win and 3 other top 10 finishes while missing only 1 more cut (just barely) the rest of the season. He’s arguably already taken his place as a new face of the PGA - but we all know a win here or a Major is the only thing that place him with the world’s best. Bingo Bango Bongo rode him, along with Thorbjornsen and Nic Hojgaard to victory. Congrats on the weekly win, Mark!



Week 5 - Mori-WOWZA!

A few years back - I used that same recap title. He leaped into the spotlight as young and fast as Spieth and Tiger before him. He looked to be the next great one and was on that path in 2021 when he'd already claimed his 2nd Major. This just in... golf is fickle. 2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025 passed without another win - that's more than 4 years! In 2026, Collin has swatted the monkey off his back with a win and 2 top 10s in his last 3 starts. I'll admit, I thought he’d never achieve the same level of greatness he achieved years ago. Good call for Joseph Breen and Lancer5 in week 5 (must have been his lucky number) as Morikawa and Bhatia (more to come) put him on top.



Week 6 - Bridging the Gap
Jacob Bridgeman was a classic bad buy in 2026. He went from earning 760k in a full season in 2024 to 4.4M in 2025. Usually there’s regression in such a disparity. What made him an appealing risk, though, was that he didn’t win a tournament in 2025. Well, not only has he done that, he’s finished in the top 20 in all 6 events this year and forced chumps like me to take notice! So far, he’s the MVP this season - already earning 5.5M. Many of the teams in the Top 10 own Bridegeman, including Week 6’s winner Hit It Fat. Looks like Nate Hit It Big as well - nice job! At 26 years old, the conversations of the next great one will include Bridgeman with another win this weekend.



Week 7 - NNNNNico! Suave!
How’s that blast from the past, lol. With perhaps the most still to prove, 31-year old Nico Echavarria has been on the radar for sometime. He broke through with a win in Puerto Rico in 2023 but experienced cuts almost weekly besides that win. Still, a win is a win and every golfer needs one before any further consideration of greatness. 2024 saw some improvement, and 2025 saw even more consistency - making him a decent consideration coming into this season. After a rough start, Nico didn’t take long to reward those willing to believe in him. It would be a surprise, but a Players victory would go a long way in getting Nico into some conversations. Congrats to D-Web’s Chisolm All Star’s on a solid pick - along with another possible late-bloomer in Smotherman!



Week 8 - We ALL saw this one coming

Akshay Bhatia. What’s not to like about this kid? (besides the long putter if you’re a purist ;) Most already know the story - he competed on Tour at 17 years old, immediately turned pro and skipped college, took his lumps as he grew into an even better player. High expectations have followed him for the last several years. Not much to add here. He’s already shown why he could be considered the greatest threat to Scheffler... Now with 3 PGA Tour wins under his belt, all he needs is to get a bit better off the tee, make cuts more consistently and start finishing 1st in tournaments like The PLAYERS. Thank You Parm's roster has a bunch of possible all-time greats. Well done!

THE TURDS
Many golfers haven't performed up to expectations so far this season... We knew JT was going to miss some time before our season started, so he gets a pass. But Sungjae Im and Will Zalatoris - those two turds had us duped. Both have only played twice so far this year and haven't earned much. Many are getting Burned by Burns with only 2/5 cuts made. Keegan Bradley has been terrible so far as well. Other slow starters include Corey Connors, Brian Harman, Wyndam Clark and even Brooks Koepka - but they all still have time to make things right.

The first big payday is upon us - except for you Morikawa owners! $400 to the #1 team this weekend - Good luck!