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About The Model Maniac
A South African native living the American dream. I played college golf in Iowa where I spent four years playing and two coaching, while grabbing 3.5 finance related degrees along the way. As my twitter handle suggests, I am obsessed with my very own excel model. Tournament long matchups are my favorite bet and I love nothing more than a Sunday golf sweat.
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The Model Maniac has written 138 articles so far, you can find them below.
Joaquin Niemann Needs Putter To Cooperate
Joaquin Niemann has not finished worse than T25 in the six starts he gained more than two strokes on the greens this year. His ball striking has seemed to provide him with a high floor that allows him to be in immediate contention once his putter starts contributing to the team project. Niemann was neutral... Read More
Matt Fitzpatrick A Safe Play With Immense Upside
Matt Fitzpatrick has worked tirelessly on all aspects of his game to reap the rewards of winning the U.S. Open last month. His game seemingly has no weaknesses as he is averaging no less than +0.41 strokes gained in all four of the major strokes-gained categories this year. Regardless of the conditions we get this... Read More
Christiaan Bezuidenhout Putting Lights-Out
Christiaan Bezuidenhout enters the week with four top-20s in his last six starts, courtesy of a putter that has averaged plus-1.04 strokes over his last 24 rounds. Bezuidenhout has also gained strokes off the tee in his last five starts and has flashed upside on approach, too. Renowned as a tough-condition specialist, his putter has... Read More
Viktor Hovland Continues To Struggle Around The Green
After rattling off three wins and seven top-10 finishes in a nine-event stretch across the globe earlier this season, Viktor Hovland has yet to crack the top 20 in any standard event since March. Although he is still typically gaining on the ball-striking front, he has regressed on his approach and off the tee relative... Read More
Tommy Fleetwood A Contender If Conditions Are Tough
Tommy Fleetwood continues to shine in low-scoring, tougher events, claiming his second top-five finish on the PGA Tour. His two T5s this year have had a winning score of five- and seven-under, which are considered tough conditions in the current PGA climate. If the wind does not blow and St. Andrews' firm and crusty underbelly... Read More
Brooks Koepka Lacking Major Form
Brooks Koepka has only played in three events since April, all three being majors, with his best result being a 55th-place finish at the U.S. Open. His approach play and short game are diminishing any opportunity he might have of contending at these high-level events. With very little form to write home about heading into... Read More
Justin Thomas Lost Strokes Ball-Striking After Tweaking Back
Justin Thomas lost strokes on approach and off the tee for the first time since the PGA Championship in May of 2021. The concerning part about this is that it came in his first start since withdrawing from the Travelers Championship citing a tweaked back. There are no reports confirming that he is still dealing... Read More
Breaking $100: PGA Betting Picks and Strategy - Scottish Open
Denny McCarthy's putter and biggest weapon mailed it in on Sunday, allowing the Postman, J.T. Poston to go wire-to-wire for his second career win. An incredible display of composure at the top of the leaderboard for four straight days is what allowed J.T.'s exceptionally well-rounded game to run like a Deere. It was the weakest... Read More
Keegan Bradley Gaining With Putter Since March
Keegan Bradley has gained half a stroke per round with his putter since March. This is a statistical revelation considering he has lost an average of -0.55 strokes per round over his last three years on tour. His incredible turnaround with the flat stick has seen him finish top-10 in five of his last nine... Read More
Joaquin Niemann Can Go Low Enough To Win Scottish Open
Joaquin Niemann has the length, approach play and short game to win tournaments on tour, validated by his record-setting win at the Genesis Invitational in February. However, Niemann has only gained strokes across all four major categories once since doing so at Riviera Country Club. If he can keep his concentration this week, he has... Read More
Christiaan Bezuidenhout Capable Of Hitting Driver Further
After a one-on-one discussion with Christiaan Bezuidenhout's trainer at the John Deere Classic, he mentioned that Bezuidenhout has gained a full club worth of distance recently and can hit his driver further than his on-course metrics portray. The reason this has yet to come to fruition on the course is because the distance he has... Read More
Viktor Hovland Can Limit Poor Chipping On Links Course
Viktor Hovland's only major weakness is his around-the-green game, losing an average of 0.67 strokes per round this year. The rest of his game has been sensational for the most part. At a links-style course, the undulations and grass type around the green allow significantly more opportunities to putt your ball onto the putting surface,... Read More
Matthew Fitzpatrick Looking For Consecutive Wins
Matthew Fitzpatrick will tee it up for the first time since winning the US Open. He did so without gaining any strokes putting, which is a testament to his hard work on the ball striking front finally paying off. He now is considerably longer off the tee and that will come in handy at a... Read More
Tommy Fleetwood Dependent On Tougher Conditions
Tommy Fleetwood's ball-striking has not been consistent enough for him to find himself regularly contending for wins, particularly on easier courses that require a multitude of birdie opportunities. His short game is the best aspect of his skill profile, and that is often emphasized when conditions get tougher and greens are harder to hit. His... Read More
Justin Thomas Looking To Capitalize On Revitalized Putter
Justin Thomas heads to the Scottish Open refreshed after teeing it up last at the US Open a few weeks ago. He is also in incredible form with his relatively poor performance of T37 at the US Open resulting from some sloppy short game which is typically the most volatile area of a golf game.... Read More
John Deere Classic - Showdown Round 4 (Premium Content)
All other PGA Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Hi Folks, Your friendly neighborhood Model Maniac checking in during Spencer's brief absence. I will do my best to replicate what he has provided in the past while also adding my personal showdown philosophy on how I go about targeting players in showdown... Read More
John Deere Classic - Showdown Round 3 (Premium Content)
All other PGA Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Hi Folks, Your friendly neighborhood Model Maniac checking in during Spencer's brief absence. I will do my best to replicate what he has provided in the past while also adding my personal showdown philosophy on how I go about targeting players in showdown... Read More
John Deere Classic - Showdown Round 2 (Premium Content)
All other PGA Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Hi Folks, Your friendly neighborhood Model Maniac checking in Spencer's brief absence. I will do my best to replicate what he has provided in the past while also adding my personal showdown philosophy on how I go about targeting players in showdown slates.... Read More
Breaking $100: PGA Betting Picks and Strategy - John Deere Classic
Since the last article two perennial bridesmaids managed to win the last two events. Matt Fitzpatrick waltzed down the grassy Country Club aisles on Sunday of the US Open with unabated blissful grins, showing off his braces which I believe are testosterone injectors, as Fitzy stole the show on the back of a powerful ball... Read More
PGA DFS Vegas Report - Betting Picks for the John Deere Classic (Premium Content)
All other PGA Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. A Note From RotoBaller PGA Editor, Joe Nicely: Hello RotoBallers and thanks for checking out the Vegas Report. As many of you have probably noticed, Spencer Aguiar has been away recently dealing with a family matter. We know you guys love his content... Read More
Breaking $100: PGA Betting Picks and Strategy - US Open
After many weeks of sharing our gambling trials and tribulations together, I am boarding a cruise ship and unplugging for a week. For those of you that are familiar with my personality, it will come as no surprise that I will be the official Flower Bro for the wedding taking place on the "Mariner Of... Read More
Breaking $100: PGA Betting Picks and Strategy - RBC Canadian Open
For the first time in this series and my personal betting history, we had a bet lose because Hideki Matsuyama decided to play with white-out on his 3-wood and was promptly disqualified for playing with a non-conforming club. Collin Morikawa (T20) had his worst around the green performance of his professional career and Seamus Power... Read More
Corey Conners Gaining Around The Green For First Time As Pro
Corey Conners heads to his home country to contend for the RBC Canadian Open. He is having his best putting year on tour, gaining +0.11 so far this season. He is also gaining around the greens for the first time since turning pro. With a rejuvenated short game aiding his impeccable ball striking there is... Read More
Scottie Scheffler Seeking Fifth Win This Year
Looking for win No. 5 on the season, Scottie Scheffler will tee it up at the RBC Canadian Open this week. Seemingly no course is insurmountable for Scheffler, who has won on varying course layouts this year. He has gained handsomely across all four major statistical categories, with approach play being his biggest weapon so... Read More
Justin Thomas A Great Play The Week Before A Major
Justin Thomas lost strokes on approach on US soil for the first time since February of 2021. An incredible stretch of iron play came to a screeching halt, losing -4.66 on approach, missing the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge. If we chalk down his performance to what he may have been drinking out of... Read More
Breaking $100: PGA Betting Picks and Strategy - the Memorial Tournament
Scottie Scheffler was denied his fifth win of the season when Sam Burns buried a birdie putt from off the green in their first playoff hole. Sam managed to go low while the weather permitted and then sat back for a few hours and watched the leaderboard get blown away as each contender made their... Read More
Breaking $100: PGA Betting Picks and Strategy - Charles Schwab Challenge
Justin Thomas managed to withstand the heat that melted away the competition around him on Sunday afternoon at the PGA Championship. Although Thomas missed THAT birdie putt, the one you practice and pretend is to win a major championship on the 72nd hole, he clutched up in the playoff against Will Zalatoris who is officially... Read More
Talor Gooch Offers Medium Upside At Colonial Country Club
Talor Gooch made the cut at the PGA Championship and continued his streak of top-30s once making the cut. In the 13 starts since his win at the RSM Gooch has either missed the cut or finished top-30. Although he has nine top-30s, he only has one top-10 in that span, offering a high floor... Read More
Will Zalatoris May Continue To Struggle With Wedges At Colonial
Will Zalatoris finishing runner-up in a playoff for the PGA Championship and what would have been his first win on tour. Zalatoris continues to prove that he is a major contender with his fifth T8 or better in the seven majors he has not withdrawn from. Leading the tour in strokes gained approach, Zalatoris' tour... Read More
Jason Kokrak Looking To Defend Title
Jason Kokrak enters the week of his title defense with two top-20s in his last four starts. With only two missed cuts on the season, he has been playing remarkably steady golf on most fronts. His driver continues to be his best weapon from tee-to-green. But once his sporadic approach play and mediocre around the... Read More
