Jimmy

Walker

This week’s field was overallocated due to the high demand of it being a designated event. That, combined with an 84-minute weather delay, is what prevented this round from finishing on time. Jimmy Walker was unphased by the delay as he piled up seven birdies through 16 holes to erase a lone bogey. He was one of just six golfers left stranded and they will return on Friday morning before heading right back out for their second-round tee time.

In what will be his eighth start at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, the former PGA Championship winner has posted impressive results. Withdrawing in his tournament debut in 2009, Walker has since gone 5-of-6 making the cut. With his three latest outings coming in the form of top-30 results, Walker’s prior statistical output at the Copperhead Course brings some intrigue for gamers. Positive in SG: Approach and SG: Putting numbers in each appearance, those skillsets will be needed as the 43-year-old has struggled on the greens in recent memory.

Garnering a scoring average of 68.50 at Waialae CC, Walker has collected not only two victories, but an additional top-5 finish in 2011. Outside of those three starts, the 42-year-old has found some trouble, missing the cut six times at the Seth Raynor design. Unable to find the top-40 on the leaderboard since 2017, perhaps some form from the fall of 2021 can carry into this week. As he began his swing season strong, posting solid approach figures at the Sanderson Farms Championship before coming in a tie for 24th at the Shriners Children’s Open. Sputtering a bit in his final two starts, Walker is now set to begin his Sony Open tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. EST alongside Matt Kuchar and Luke Donald.

Carrying the momentum of the summer into the fall months, Walker shot out of the 2021-2022 gates. Collecting finishes of T-45 at the Sanderson Farms Championship and T-24 at the Shriners Children’s Open, the 42-year-old appeared prime to carry the success into the mini, international swing. Withdrawing before the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, Walker instead took his game to Mexico where he missed the cut at the World Wide Technology Championship before missing the cut last week at the Houston Open. Hoping to regain his early season form, Walker is set to make his debut in Sea Island starting tomorrow at 9:50 a.m. EST alongside Brendon Todd and J.T. Poston on the Seaside Course.

The Texan ended last season with a T11 at the 3M Open and he’s opened this season with a T45 (Sanderson Farms Championship) and T24 (Shriners Children’s Open). The 42-year-old is playing on the final year of his exemption from winning the 2016 PGA Championship. He’s finished outside of the top 150 in the FedExCup in each of the last three seasons. Walker won’t be making the trip to Japan to secure some free FEC Points, though. Seeing two finishes of T11 or better in his last eight starts is promising but he will remain a risky weekly investment in fantasy leagues until he strings together a few more steady weeks.

Walker is just 12-for-25 on the season and currently sits at 163rd in the FedExCup race. He’s landed just two top 25s on the season, a T6 at the Memorial Tournament and a T11 at the 3M Open (his most recent start). That finish at the 3M Open likely provided him a nice confidence boost. His exemption from winning the 2016 PGA Championship will last him one more season in terms of keeping his full status out on the PGA TOUR.

The 42-year-old has recorded just two top 10s in his last 72 events, one this season in 24 starts, a back-door T6 at the Memorial four starts ago, where he wrapped with a day-low, bogey-free 7-under 65. This is his first time in the top 10 after 54 holes since the 2018 Byron Nelson 3 years, 2 months and 72 starts ago, where he was T5 before finishing T6, his other top 10 mentioned above. After kicking off with 68 and bogey-free 67, the Baylor product nearly went error-free for a second straight lap, but ate a bogey-6 at 18 (watered tee ball). On six (of 14) fairways and 14 greens in regulation, he lost 1.065 strokes off-the-tee but gained 1.785 approaching and 1.382 around. The Oklahoma native ticked four birdies, each from inside of six feet, missed four other scoring tries from between 13 and 15 feet, and posted a 0.204 SG: Putting. He’ll play out of the third-to-last twosome in R4 with Cameron Champ.

Once ranked as high as 10th in the OWGR in 2015, the 42-year-old checked in at No. 504 and records his 46th career top 10 in 366 events, first since T6 at the 2018 Byron Nelson 68 starts ago, and his first top 60 at the Memorial. The closing 65, just the fourth bogey-free lap of the week thus far, is currently 8.249 better than the field average in R4, and just his second score in the 60s at Muirfield Village GC in 20 rounds. On 12 (of 14) fairways and 14 greens in regulation, the Baylor product posted 1.596 SG: Off-the-Tee, 1.503 SG: Approach, 2.589 SG: Around, and 5.735 SG: Tee-to-Green. He rang up seven birdies at holes 1 (hole-out from 27'7" away), 3, 5, 6, 9. 11 and 15, four conventionally from between 11 and 32 feet, recording 2.514 SG: Putting with 25 total putts. For the week, the Oklahoma native carded rounds of 74-69-74-65, tallied two eagles and 15 birdies against 11 bogeys and a double, and currently ranks T1 in Total Eagles, 3rd in SG: APP (7.131), 2nd in SG: TTG (11.917), and 59th in SGP (-1.648). He is still exempt into the U.S. Open in two weeks from his most recent of six TOUR titles at the 98th PGA in 2016 at Baltusrol GC in New Jersey as the 54-hole leader by one.

The Texan missed the cut last week at Colonial Country Club and now he’ll try to snap out of his slump at Muirfield Village Golf Club. He’s shown up to this event five times in the past and settled for finishes of T62 or worse in all five of those appearances. Walker currently ranks 196th in the FedExCup race so his playoff hopes are getting thinner and thinner with each passing week. He’s likely not in full panic mode, just yet, as he still has one more year of full exemption via the victory at the 2016 PGA Championship. Walker arrives without a top 25 all season, in 20 starts, so gamers should leave him off their radar until he finds some form.

The Texan started the year with missed cuts in six of seven starts but has snapped out of that slump more recently. The top-heavy finishes still aren’t there for Walker but he has earned a payday in five of his last seven starts with the most notable being a T29 at the Valspar Championship. Now he’ll turn his attention toward a home-state event, which has yielded top 30s in four of his seven trips. Walker is still far removed from his 2013 thru 2016 baseline level of play, but gamers can start to give him a look again in weekly formats.