Drop Zone: Drop Score Week 1 Recap / Week 2 Preview

Week 1 Recap

Both the Southern Highlands and Cabo Collegiate were played under tough conditions with scores higher than we're used to seeing from many of the top amateur players.  As is often the case, the Drop Score "In's" and "Out's" came down to the wire for many teams, and we saw a few players drop their first or second score of the year.  Four players correctly picked Caden Fiorini of UNLV to win the Southern Highlands and seven players picked one of the three golfers to tie for the individual championship at Cabo.

If there is one thing that is clear after one week, it is that Drop Score is HARD! My picks of defending champion Ian Gilligan at Southern Highlands and former Cabo champion Wells Williams both counted for their respective teams in each of the three rounds, but both finished well back in the pack.  Might previous success not be a great indicator of future performance?  We may have to adjust our DRVN.Golf models!

At Southern Highlands, Gilligan was the most popular pick and most of the top picks survived all three rounds. Max Herendeen of Illinois was the most popular pick with a dropped score for his third round +3. 85% of users survived the three rounds of Southern Highlands.

The Cabo Collegiate was a little bit more of a bloodbath.  Not only were scores about a stroke higher per round than in Las Vegas, only 68% of users survived all three rounds in Mexico.  This was largely driven by the most popular pick, U.S. Amateur champion Jose Ballester, shooting +4 in the second round.  Both he and Preston Summerhays show the challenge of picking a player on a really deep team.  Arizona State won the team title based on the strength of having 3 or 4 par or better scores in each round and a different player being dropped in each round.

All in all, 58% of users picked players that counted for all six rounds of Week 1.  At this rate, we'll be lucky if anyone is still standing by Week 8 when the Conference championships roll around.  To that end, we're going to tweak the competition a bit. There will be three different ways to compete:

1. Last-User Standing - survive and advance (tiebreaker: cumulative score relative to par)
2. Number of Counting Rounds - cumulative over the course of the season (tiebreaker: cumulative score relative to par)
3. Cumulative Score - relative to par (tiebreaker: number of counting rounds)

The stated objective of Drop Score is to promote engagement in the college golf season, so hopefully these modifications create the right incentive for users to keep checking in and submitting picks even if they get a drop score early.  And to that end, we'll keep the registration window open for anybody who wants to jump in for Week 2 or later.  Obviously they won't be eligible for the first category but can still compete for Categories 2 & 3 (with an appropriate score penalty for missed weeks).  New users can signed up for a Drvn.Golf account here. 

Leaderboard after Week 1

We'll build out the ability to look up your picks and place in the standing soon, but for now here is the top 10 after Week 1. User names have been truncated from First and Last Name.

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Week 2 Preview

With Week 1 in the books, Drop Score players now turn their attention to The Hayt and the Lamkin Invitational. The Drop Score craze is literally spreading coast-to-coast this week.  Let's dive in.

The Hayt

March 8-10, 2025
Sawgrass Country Club – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

A staple on the college golf calendar, The Hayt is hosted by North Florida and contested at Sawgrass Country Club, a challenging layout that demands precision. Wind, firm conditions, and demanding approach shots separate contenders from pretenders. Sawgrass CC serves as one of the courses used in the Korn-Ferry Q-School Finals.  Many in this field will be returning here to retain or earn tour status in the future, perhaps as early as this December.  The Hayt features five teams in the top 25, and three of the top 10 amateurs in the world (Ben James, Tommy Morrison and David Ford).  North Carolina returns as the defending champion and Deven Patel of Virginia returns as the defending individual champion.

Year-to-Date Performance

Among the teams in the field, here are players that a) have had at least 12 rounds starting for their teams and b) have at least a 90%+ counting rate.  Six players  have a 100% Counting Rate so far this year and another 18 players have only one dropped score this season.

Last Year

Three players from last year's Top 10 are likely back with their team this season:

• Deven Patel, Virginia (1st, 74-68-71)
• Ethan Evans, Duke (T2, 73-68-73)
• Jonathan Griz, Alabama (T6, 70-73-73)

Captain Mo's Recent Form

The top 5 Momentum Watch players likely in the field are:

1. Tommy Morrison, Texas (most recent tournament: won Amer Ari Invitational)
2. Jonathan Griz, Alabama (2nd at Watersound Invitational)
3. Christiaan Maas, Texas (4th at DP World Tour South African Open)
4. Ethan Evans, Duke (21st at Southwestern Invitational)
5. Nathan Franks, South Carolina (13th at Puerto Rico Classic)

My Pick: Jake Peacock, USF
Backup Pick: Sebastian Moss, Louisville

Lamkin Invitational

March 10-11, 2025
San Diego Country Club – Chula Vista, CA

The Lamkin Invitational is a 2-day event with 36-holes on Day 1. Host school #35 University of San Diego won the team title last year so consider the home-course advantage in your draft board.  The event features mostly teams from the west coast, with #22 BYU, #25 San Diego State and #32 Notre Dame headlining. There are some mid-major teams with strong number one guys anchoring the lineup.  This might be a good week to pick one.

Year-to-Date Performance

I count nine players without a drop so far this year and another 11 with only one dropped score. Note Justin Hastings of San Diego State is once again playing in the PGA Tour event this week, so in all likelihood won't be in the lineup for this event that starts the next day. Check Scoreboard by Clippd for more on line-ups as the event gets closer.

Last Year

Four players from last year's Top 10 are likely back with their team this season:

• Mason Snyder, Loyola Marymount (2nd, 65-71-70)
• Joseph Lloyd, Fresno State (T5, 68-71-70)
• Hunter Swanson, Colorado (T9, 72-67-72)
• Baron Szeto, Cal Poly (T9, 69-69-72)

Captain Mo's Recent Form

The top Momentum Watch player amongst top 125 WAGR players in the field is Dylan McDermott of Colorado, who last finished 7th at the Prestige

My Pick: Baron Szeto, Cal Poly
Backup Pick: Dylan McDermott, Colorado

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Note the deadline for Week 2 is the start of the Hayt on Saturday March 8th.  Please submit for both tournaments, but if you want to change your Lamkin pick prior to its start on Monday March 10th, please submit another form and we'll update your pick for Event 2.  See Entry Form here.

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