Day: November 9, 2020

First Black man to play Masters gets his dueFirst Black man to play Masters gets his due

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Power Rankings: Masters TournamentPower Rankings: Masters Tournament

Answer: This golf tournament, while traditionally contested in April, was shifted to November for the first time in 84 editions. Question: What is the 2020 Masters? The playful tribute to the late Alex Trebek, the long-time host of "Jeopardy!," aside, the Masters really is a tradition unlike any other, and especially amid a pandemic. Not only are there two editions during the 2020-21 PGA TOUR super season, they will occur consecutively as it concerns the six majors. For more on the when the field was determined, a review of the weather, how Tiger Woods prevailed and other information, scroll past the projected contenders. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field | Nine things to know: Augusta National POWER RANKINGS: MASTERS TOURNAMENT Tuesday's Fantasy Insider will include 2015 champ Jordan Spieth, Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler and first-timers Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff among the notables. The construct of the field for the 2020 Masters was announced months ago but it's timely to revisit it once more. The qualifiers for the tournament were set as if it had been staged in its usual slot in April. Winners of eligible tournaments since play resumed in June qualified only for the 2021 Masters. With the recent withdrawals of Joaquin Niemann and Sergio Garcia, both due to COVID-19, the field stands at 92 as of Monday afternoon. Twenty-six (or 28 percent) are first-time participants, a not-so-insignificant fact given the documented value of course knowledge at Augusta National Golf Club. Because the par 72 is so consistent over time, the golfers aren't just playing the course, they're playing against relative experience of others. It's as close to a home-course advantage as a veteran can get at what technically is a neutral site. The variable that's new to all is the weather, at least as it concerns the seasons. However, with traces of summertime heat and humidity hanging on, it's possible if not probable that only the reduction of daylight hours will feel different to everyone who has traveled to Augusta, Georgia, in early April. Daytime highs will eclipse 70 degrees and even flirt with 80 during the first two rounds. Winds will be light, but rain is all but guaranteed thanks in part to the encroachment of what's left of Tropical Storm Eta that made landfall in southern Florida late on Sunday night. Suffice it to say that the SubAir system has been oiled and will be engaged. Advance forecasts were suggesting much cooler air. The compromise is that it'll likely be warm enough for fewer hours every day, but the impact on the distance the ball flies won't be as substantial as previously considered. Even so, because Augusta National is a second-shot test and favors placement off the tee over length, the conditions could influence roll on the fairways and the greens. Because of the unprecedented transition to the fall, comparisons to the last edition in 2019 should be left to the record only, but there's still a curiosity for how Augusta National will stack up against it this week. With a scoring average of 71.865, the 2019 field was the first to break par since 1992. The average driving distance of 296.5 yards was much longer than usual (although only holes 1 and 2 are measured) as driving accuracy also rose. Those two statistics rarely evolve with a direct relationship, but all other facets of completing a round also were easier. Defending champion Tiger Woods navigated a scintillating finale to prevail and he led the tournament in greens in regulation. That's job one for anyone who intends for him to slip the green jacket over his shoulders come Sunday. ShotLink isn't utilized at Augusta National, but it's not dumbing down the recap by attaching other analytics to his performance. Woods ranked 10th in converting GIR into par breakers, 14th in putts per GIR and T10 in bogey avoidance. On the whole, it was just enough to escape with a one-stroke victory, his 15th in a major. For the second consecutive edition, Augusta National tips at 7,475 yards. The addition of 40 yards to the par-4 fifth hole last year yielded a scoring average of 4.336. Not only was it the hardest hole on the course, but it also was the 10th-hardest of 522 par 4s in all of 2018-19. That's notable because as recently as 2016, it wasn't inside the top-half hardest holes on the course. In addition to a new format that will send groupings off split tees in the first two rounds, the 36-hole cut has been modified to low 50 and ties. The previous provision of including all within 10 strokes of the lead has been eliminated. Included in a series of spoils, the champion will receive a lifetime exemption into the Masters, five-year exemptions into the other three majors and a five-year membership exemption on the PGA TOUR. ROB BOLTON'S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM's Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM's Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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‘It was nonstop’: Betting on the 2019 Masters‘It was nonstop’: Betting on the 2019 Masters

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DraftKings preview: Masters TournamentDraftKings preview: Masters Tournament

A tradition unlike any other holds new meaning this year as the PGA TOUR travels to Augusta, Georgia, for the Masters Tournament. Removed from its usual post of the first full week in April, The Masters got rescheduled to this week due to COVID-19, which also means (barring any changes) we'll have two Masters Tournaments played in six months. The course is a par 72, measures 7,475 yards and will be played on bentgrass greens. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $4M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st] STRATEGY Augusta National hasn't seen a ton of changes except a few revisions made between 1999 and 2006. Before the 2019 edition of The Masters, the course added 40 yards to the fifth hole, making it a par 4 just under 500 yards, totaling six par 4s that'll play at or over 450 yards. The course has little to no rough and the regular four par 5s, all of which play as the four easiest holes, but Augusta National is far from easy. The golfers will start each round on the second-hardest hole and end it with the fifth toughest. If that wasn't enough, the 240-yard par-3 fourth hole is no easy task. Last season, it surrendered a 29-percent bogey rate, and if that's where you think it ends, you're wrong. The next hole is the 495-yard par-4 fifth hole, which recorded less than an 8 percent birdie rate and a 25-percent bogey rate in 2019. Those who navigate the tough test this week will join past winners like Tiger Woods ($9,100), Patrick Reed ($9,200), Danny Willett ($7,000), Jordan Spieth ($8,200), Bubba Watson ($9,000), Adam Scott ($8,900) and Phil Mickelson ($7,500). If you're hoping to have the million-dollar lineup, you'll need to have all six players on your roster not just make the cut this week but place high. The field consists of only 93 golfers, and the cut will be top 50, the first time the tournament has changed the cut rules since 2013. Augusta National is a course that usually rewards those with experience and course knowledge; there hasn't been a first-time winner since Fuzzy Zoeller back in 1979. The top 5 in Strokes Gained Total since 2015 are Jordan Spieth ($8,200), Rory McIlroy ($10,200), Justin Rose ($7,700), Dustin Johnson ($10,000) and Hideki Matsuyama ($8,700). Augusta National also doesn't allow green-reading books, which will be tough for first-timers on these fast, bentgrass greens. Greens will be averaging 13.5 on the stimpmeter and will sport massive undulations where Approach into the correct quadrants is of the utmost importance. The top 5 in Strokes Gained: Putting on fast bentgrass greens over the previous 36 rounds are Rickie Fowler ($8,100), Kevin Na ($6,700), Andrew Putnam ($6,200), Webb Simpson ($9,300) and Kevin Kisner ($7,100). Along with some course history and a hot putter, they'll also need to have an elite Approach game and distance off the tee this week, especially if the weather softens the course. All six golfers in the winning million-dollar lineup ranked 35th or better in Strokes Gained Approach over their previous 36 rounds heading into Augusta. In 2018, all six golfers were inside the top 46 in Approach over the same timeframe. Rostering golfers who have a top-tier around-the-green game should also work to your benefit. In an ESPN article, McIlroy recently mentioned that "the greens are exactly the same as they always are (in April). But for the fairways, it just hasn't been cold enough for the bermuda to die off. That's going to make things very interesting around the greens. Chipping will be a lot trickier." Course history is more important this week than others, but it shouldn't overtake your entire process. Patrick Reed lost strokes in 50 percent of his prior 12 rounds before winning, and both Danny Willet and Jordan Spieth only had one start before their wins. Dustin Johnson ($10,000) Johnson has been spectacular at Augusta National, ranking fourth in Strokes Gained: Total since 2015. Johnson led the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee last week in Houston and was top 15 in putting, gaining 3.5 strokes with the flatstick. Johnson's wedges have also been elite, ranking sixth in proximity from 100 to 125 yards over the previous 36 rounds. His mix of power with the driver and precision with his wedges makes him a contender at Augusta every year. Aside from missing The Masters in 2017 with an injury, Johnson hasn't finished worse than 10th and recently came in second at the Vivint Houston Open last week, gaining just above 7.5 strokes Tee-to-Green over the weekend. Jason Day ($8,400) A 1-over on Sunday tempered a hot start in Houston, where Day finished seventh, gaining 7.44 strokes Tee-to-Green. He was able to gain just under two strokes through Approach this week, which is precisely the positive splits, after losing strokes in five straight tournaments, you want to see coming into Augusta National. Day ranks 20th in putting on bentgrass greens and third in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green over the previous 50 rounds. Day's record at Augusta since 2015 has been no worse than T28 and should be in a great position to win his first green jacket. Rickie Fowler ($8,100) Few have been better than Fowler on these bentgrass greens. Ranking sixth in Strokes Gained: Total here, Rickie is always someone to consider when Augusta National is next on the PGA TOUR schedule. Fowler's been in the penultimate group twice here and has a scoring average of 71.5 in his starts at The Masters. Other than a missed cut in 2016, Fowler hasn't finished worse than 11th here since 2014. His current form is nothing to be confident in, with his best finish being a 15th place coming back in August at the WGC St. Jude Invitational. Still, if you're prescribing to course history over current form, then there are few better than Fowler at his favorite course. Cameron Champ ($7,100) Bryson DeChambeau ($11,200) will get all the publicity about his distance, but don't forget about Champ, who ranks second to only Bryson in driving distance over the previous six months. Champ struggles on bentgrass greens but is hitting his irons well, gaining 8.7 strokes total through Approach over his past two tournaments. This is Champ's first appearance at Augusta National, so winning may not be in his range of outcomes, but he's got some recent history playing well in a major with a 10th-place finish at the PGA Championship back in August. Si Woo Kim ($6,800) Kim plays some of his best golf when the stakes are the highest, winning THE PLAYERS back in 2017, a recent top-13 finish at the PGA Championship in August and no worse than a top 25 over the past two years at Augusta National. Kim's ball-striking has always been tremendous and he's hitting it well right now, ranking 24th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and 12th in Approach over the previous 36 rounds. Kim is also elite around the greens, ranking second in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green over the past six months. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $4M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is reidtfowler) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.

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Sergio tests positive for virus, won’t play MastersSergio tests positive for virus, won’t play Masters

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