Rumors of Tom Brady in an owner-player role with the Miami Dolphins have been “chatter,” says Buccaneers GM Jason Licht, and not the focus of team discussions.
Darnold went 4-7 in his first season with the Panthers. Carolina might still take a quarterback in the draft, having used seven of its 30 allotted visits with prospects on QBs.
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – Veteran standout Michael Herrera picked up his second APGA Tour win in 16 months with a decisive 18th-hole birdie to win the APGA Tour at TPC Scottsdale title Tuesday. Winner of the season-opening Crossings at Carlsbad APGA Tour event in January of 2021, Herrera obtained the sponsorship support for Pro Football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott later in the year and earned conditional status on PGA TOUR Canada earlier this month. Herrera shot a three-under 68 today, capping the round with a 30-foot birdie putt that he needed to pull into the lead at four-under 138. Daniel Augustus of Bermuda finished second at 3-under 139. Third place was shared by Kendall Hodges of Las Vegas, Rovonta Young of Huntsville, Alabama, and Tommy Schaff of Ridgeland, South Carolina, who finished at 140 during two days on the par 71, 7,115-yard layout. Notah Begay, the prominent golf broadcaster and four-time PGA TOUR winner, brought special attention to the tournament by testing his skills against the field and finished 20th. “I’ve been playing consistently well,” said Herrera, a resident of Moreno Valley, California. “I felt I left a lot out there yesterday, so knew I could roll in a few putts today and I did.” Herrera finished 27th at PGA TOUR Canada Q-School earlier this month, earning conditional status that provides Monday qualifying opportunities. He is one of several members of the APGA Tour Player Development Program and is in the field for next month’s Billy Horschel APGA Tour Invitational presented by Cisco at TPC Sawgrass. “It’s a great opportunity to play a great golf course,” Herrera added. “A win at the Billy Horschel Invitational can change your year.” Herrera also bested some of the APGA Tour top guns, including Tim O’Neal who finished tied for sixth with Jordan Bohannon. Other members of the Player Development Program headed to the May 6-7 Horschel Invitational are Ryan Alford, Aaron Beverly, Marcus Byrd, Mulbe Dillard, Kamaiu Johnson, Mahindra Lutchman, Willie Mack, Trey Valentine, Davin White, Andrew Walker and Rovonta Young. The APGA Tour was established in 2010 with the mission to bring greater diversity to the game of golf by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and introducing the game to inner-city young people. The tour has grown from seven events with $200,000 in prize money in 2020 and 14 events with over $400,000 in prize money in 2021, and now 18 events with over $700,000 in prize money in 2022.
The Zurich Classic of New Orleans presents a moment to take a breath in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. The game does not include the team event, so there is no action this week. Segment 3 will resume with the inaugural Mexico Open at Vidanta. So to will the traditional Draws and Fades that are omitted below. RELATED: How Team Format Works | Play Pick ‘Em Live | The First Look However, PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live will turn over on Wednesday for Zurich. Bets for outrights, Top 10s, Top 20s and R1 Leader will be among the options as usual. Regarding Pick ‘Em Live for a moment, remember that no matter how many entries are submitted for any tournament, prize money does not change. So, while the Masters always draws the most attention – it had more than 10,000 entries – you battled against more bodies for a payday than last week’s RBC Heritage that hosted 4,816 entries … for the same payday! Pick ‘Em Preview for Zurich will publish as usual on Wednesday. Mike Glasscott and I always include tips and tricks that will help you contend. I also practice what I preach. In the first eight tournaments, I’ve logged a third (Honda), 10th (PLAYERS) and a 19th (Heritage). If you’re an owner in a season-long format, your patience now is rewarded. After this week’s 160-man Zurich in which all golfers through conditional status have gained entry, and extending through the 156-man Wyndham Championship, 10 of the 11 opens will host the maximum. The Mexico Open has reserved tee times for 132, but the entire Korn Ferry Tour graduate reshuffle (at least) is expected to qualify on merit. (Bryson Nimmer, Jeffrey Kang, Patrick Flavin and Turk Pettit emerged from the open qualifier for the tournament on April 18.) So, while a few guys deep in the overall pecking order will moonlight on the KFT when the PGA TOUR is engaging in invitationals in the coming months, you can expect a regular schedule from your charges for whom playing time had been sporadic. It’s also the time to strike for free agents if you already haven’t. POWER RANKINGS WILD CARD Bubba Watson & Harold Varner III (-125 for a Top 20) … There are a few teams not included in my Power Rankings or Sleepers that present a compelling narrative, nonetheless. This is one of them. Of course, HV3 nipped Watson with a cross-court heave that found the hoop at the buzzer for victory at the Saudi Invitational in early February, and he’s kept the pedal down in recent weeks, connecting five cuts made from a T6 at THE PLAYERS to a T18 at the Match Play to a T3 at the RBC Heritage where he was the 54-hole leader. However, he’s 0-for-4 in the team format at TPC Louisiana. On the flipside, Watson hasn’t missed a cut in all four tries. He’s recorded a pair of top 10s (2017, 2021) and he prevailed as an individual in 2011. The lefty’s form upon arrival this week hasn’t been as impressive as his partner’s, but by no means is playing poorly enough not to deserve this value. RETURNING TO COMPETITION Brandon Hagy & Cameron Percy (+450 for a Top 20) … Both are coming off health-related issues, so it’s a coincidence that they’ve joined forces. Hagy called it quits during his second round of the RBC Heritage due to a sore back. He’s just 7-for-18 on the season and 200th in the FedExCup. Meanwhile, Percy has been sidelined since a T4 at Corales, his second top 10 in his last three starts. He forfeited the top-10 exemption into Valero to have lens-replacement surgery on both eyes (link: https://twitter.com/cameronpercy1/status/1514589194689122311). In the thread of that tweet, the Aussie quipped that he hopes to “see the hole from outside 15 feet now,” but the irony is that, if he’d qualify for official rankings, the 47-year-old would lead the PGA TOUR in conversion percentage outside 25 feet. He’s holed four of 32 attempts from that range. Both of these guys are familiar with TPC Louisiana, and they’re a combined 5-for-5 in the team format. Odds sourced on Tuesday, April 19 at 3 p.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. NOTABLES WDs None. RECAP – RBC HERITAGE POWER RANKINGS Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Shane Lowry T3 2 Justin Thomas T35 3 Cameron Smith MC 4 Collin Morikawa T26 5 Joaquin Niemann T12 6 Matt Fitzpatrick MC 7 Dustin Johnson MC 8 Daniel Berger T21 9 Corey Conners T12 10 Sungjae Im T21 11 Webb Simpson T59 12 Patrick Cantlay P2 13 Matt Kuchar T3 14 Tyrrell Hatton T26 15 Chris Kirk MC Wild Card Jordan Spieth Win SLEEPERS Golfer (Bet) Result Nate Lashley (+550 for a Top 20) MC Alex Noren (+175 for a Top 20) T42 Mito Pereira (+250 for a Top 20) T26 Scott Stallings (+450 for a Top 20) MC Brendon Todd (+400 for a Top 20) T26 GOLFBET Bet: Daniel Berger (Top 5), Sungjae Im (Top 10) and Tyrrell Hatton (Top 20) at +10000 Result: Berger (T21), Im (T21), Hatton (T26) BIRTHDAYS AMONG ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE PGA TOUR April 19 … Matt Jones (42) April 20 … John Senden (51) April 21 … none April 22 … Eric Axley (48) April 23 … none April 24 … Jason Bohn (49); Lee Westwood (49); Jonas Blixt (38); Carlos Ortiz (31) April 25 … Nick Watney (41)
Deshaun Watson reported Tuesday for the Browns’ voluntary offseason program but a source told ESPN that Baker Mayfield wasn’t spotted at the team’s facility.
One of the most interesting facets of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans is seeing how different two-man teams form for this unique event. Some are easy to piece together. Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose? European Ryder Cup teammates who have enjoyed a generation of success. Greyson Sigg and Sepp Straka? Teammates at the University of Georgia. Fellow countrymen match up easily on the pairings sheet, too, from Scotland (Martin Laird and Robert MacIntyre) to South Korea (Sungjae Im and Byeong Hun An) and many points in-between. Not all teams imply a clear origin story, though. And one of this week’s marquee teams – Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland – could have been forged together in some sort of stripe-show, analytical golf fantasy. Two of the best young players in the game will come together this week as one of the more formidable teams to play together since this tournament went to a team format in 2017. Lethal Combination Strokes Gained: Ball Striking combines a player’s performance off the tee and on approach shots. Basically, it’s the Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green metric, but with shots around the green eliminated from the equation. In this statistic, as one might expect, the Morikawa-Hovland team is a monster. There are 226 players with 30 or more ShotLink-measured rounds on the PGA TOUR since the beginning of 2021. Of that group, Morikawa and Hovland rank second and third in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking per round, trailing only Jon Rahm. The sum of their two rankings – 5 – is enormously smaller than any other team in this week’s field. The only other duo to have both players rank in the top-20 in ball striking during that stretch is the all-Chilean team of Mito Pereira (11th) and Joaquin Niemann (18th). Essentially, the two best ball-strikers in the field are on the same team. Going back another year, to the beginning of 2020, Morikawa ranks second in SG: Ball Striking per round among qualified players (+1.37 strokes), while Hovland ranks fourth (+1.27). The other two players in the top-four – Rahm and Justin Thomas – are not in this week’s field. When isolating their Strokes Gained: Approach numbers, the pair is equally as impressive. This season, Hovland ranks third on the PGA TOUR in that metric (+1.02 per round), while Morikawa is ranked seventh (+0.82). Looking at the larger sample size – back to January 2021 – Morikawa leads the TOUR, while Hovland is ranked fifth. The duo are forecasted to give themselves bushels of birdie opportunities all week long. Short Game Questions? In the Four-ball (best ball) format, played in Rounds 1 and 3, pressure on players’ short games is typically alleviated. That’s a nice break for the immensely-talented Hovland, who himself has bemoaned the deficiencies in that part of his bag. This season, Hovland is ranked last on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Around the Green (No. 205 of 205), losing 0.84 strokes per round. Since the beginning of 2021, he is ranked 216th of 226 players with 30 or more rounds played. Morikawa has lost strokes to the field around the greens, too. Since January of last year, his average of -0.10 Strokes Gained: Around the Green is just 168th on TOUR. Both are perfectly capable of turning those figures around, but it will be an interesting subplot, especially if they are in contention on Sunday. Statistically, Hovland has been the better putter of the two since turning pro. Hovland has been right around neutral in regard to Strokes Gained: Putting per round since January 2020, while Morikawa has lost about two-tenths of a stroke per round. Morikawa, however, has enjoyed one of the biggest improvements in Strokes Gained: Putting on TOUR this season, leaping up 119 spots from the 2020-21 season. A Morikawa that is consistently gaining strokes on the greens should be a terrifying prospect to his peers. Fast Success Those figures haven’t stopped both players from becoming prolific champions around the world in their young professional careers. With his win at last summer’s Open Championship, Morikawa became the first player since Bobby Jones to win two majors in eight or fewer career starts. His fifth-place finish at the Masters earlier this month made him the fourth-youngest player all-time to record a top-five finish in each of the four major championships. Last fall, he became the first American player to win the Race to Dubai, the DP World Tour’s season-long points competition. Hovland has won in each of the last three PGA TOUR seasons, in addition to two DP World Tour wins. Hovland’s third PGA TOUR title came just after he turned 24 – over the last 40 seasons, only Rory McIlroy won more times at an earlier age among players from outside the United States. Last December, Hovland capped off his year by coming from six back in the final round to win the Hero World Challenge. The man he chased down? Collin Morikawa. The duo appear poised to go toe-to-toe for the biggest titles in the game for years to come. This week, golf fans get the treat of seeing them compete together for a victory in Louisiana.
In the last three months, Scottie Scheffler has achieved what many would call a career’s worth of success. The 25-year-old has won four of his last six starts, including the Masters, to ascend to No. 1 in the FedExCup and Official World Golf Ranking. Scheffler has amassed a 1,236-point lead in the FedExCup, meaning it would take at least two victories for even second-ranked Cameron Smith to catch him, a significant lead in the world ranking and also earned over $10 million in prize money. Yeah, that’s not a bad start to the season. It’s been an eventful few months for Scheffler, who also signed with TaylorMade after his first two PGA TOUR victories. Last week, he got to enjoy some downtime after his life-changing victory at Augusta National. He was able to relax, be at home with his wife, Meredith, and reflect on his recent successes. During his off-week between the Masters and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans – he’s playing alongside fellow Texan, and former Zurich Classic champ, Ryan Palmer this week – GolfWRX.com’s Two Guys Talkin’ Golf (TG2) podcast caught up with Scheffler to talk equipment, signing with TaylorMade, winning the Masters, and what his first big purchase was following the major victory. Enjoy the Q&A below (which has been slightly edited for brevity). GolfWRX.com: Congratulations on the Masters victory, Scottie. Awesome win. Here at GolfWRX, we’re all equipment junkies. The first question we have is, you started off great this year, playing really well, and then you signed with TaylorMade, What made you want to join the TaylorMade team? Scheffler: Yeah, there’s a few different reasons. That’s not a decision I’ll make very lightly. I would say first and foremost would be the driver. I already used the (Taylormade P-7TW) irons for awhile. I like the irons. But the (TaylorMade Stealth Plus) driver, when we did testing over the winter, I saw some pretty nice gains. It was one of those things, like, I know I’m going to use this driver, I know I’m going to use the irons, so maybe let’s see if we can work something out. Just because having consistency with their brand, obviously I trust what they do. To be part of the family and be part of the team was pretty cool for me, and so we wanted to work something out with them, and we were able to get it done. I’m happy to be part of the team. GolfWRX.com: On that note, you had a Nike VR Pro Limited fairway wood in the bag for a long, long time. What did it take the team at TaylorMade to do to get that VR Pro out of your bag and into a TaylorMade Stealth? Scheffler: There’s a few things. One of the things I’ve struggled with was actually hitting 3-woods too far, and also just not seeing all my shots. These guys did something to the (Fujikura Ventus) shaft, honestly I can’t even remember what they did, but it was something with the tipping. They may have tipped it a couple extra inches and moved some weight around the head, and then started with a higher loft and bent it down. Adrian (Rietveld, Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade) and those guys, they did all kinds of stuff to it. … Austin was a good area for me to be like, ‘OK, I’m only going to hit this off the tee maybe a few times, let’s put it in the bag and see what I can do with it.’ And it was a pretty seamless transition. I saw the shots I wanted to see. My mishits were more accurate with the TaylorMade than they were than my Nike. I’ve seen some significant improvements already. GolfWRX.com: So you’re 25 years old and having this unbelievable year. Where do you see yourself going from here? Scheffler: I don’t really look too far into the future, so right now I’m just getting some rest at home. I think the last few weeks have been pretty draining emotionally, especially The Masters with it being a major. But then there was all the hype in Austin, that being a place that’s also so special to me and really wanting to win that event. Right now I’m just emotionally drained. So I’ve just been chilling at home, getting some rest, doing stuff around the house, just being normal. It’s been great. Going from here I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing. I’ve put myself in a good position in the FedExCup. I just got my first major. For me, I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing, working hard, keeping up the work in the gym, and just keep trying to improve. Goals for me, and stuff like that, nothing’s really going to change. GolfWRX.com: How much are you going to wear the Green Jacket over the next year? Scheffler: You know, it’s kind of funny. I put it on the other night. Meredith and I were just sitting around – I thought it’d be kind of a funny joke – we were having dessert, and I just went back in the other room and grabbed the Green Jacket and put it on to eat my ice cream with the jacket on. Just being us at home, having fun with it. Honestly, probably not too much. It’s just one of those cool things I’ll keep in the golf room. I want to represent the club well. I’m only going to wear it for certain, special occasions. GolfWRX.com: So like you said, you’re going to take a break. What does Scottie Scheffler do in this time? What’s your plan of relaxing between now and the next time you tee it up? Scheffler: You know, we have a little backyard here at our house. I went to Lowe’s yesterday and got some pool equipment to clean the pool. We’re redoing the grill area in the backyard, and I asked one of the guys that helps us around the house what I should do to clean the leaves up, and he was like, ‘You have to get this leaf vacuum.’ Now I’m kind of jacked up about the leaf vacuum. So I’m going to go to the store after this and get that. Just clean, get outside. The weather is so good here at home. I’m used to being outside practicing, but right now I’m just getting a bit of rest, maybe go clean the yard, go for a swim. Just do nothing. GolfWRX.com: So yeah getting back to a little bit of club stuff, you play the P7TW – the Tiger Woods iron – but TaylorMade also makes the P7MB. What made you go with the TW over, say, the P730 or the P7MB? Is it a Tiger influence, or was it a performance difference? Scheffler: I would say the reason I tested it was definitely a Tiger influence. I used the P730’s for a number of years, and I played with Tiger at The Masters in 2020, and I watched him it. He hits it so solid and he flights it so well and does all kinds of stuff with the ball. It kind of clicked in my head, I was like, ‘I used Nike clubs for so long when he was helping develop those irons.’ I’m like, why wouldn’t I at least test his new irons with TaylorMade because they’re his irons, and he obviously had some influence in the process of developing and producing the irons. I went home in the off-season, tested them out, and I saw that I was able to hit more shots with them. I was able to flatten out the flight a little bit more if I wanted to hit it low or hit it through the wind. And when I wanted to hit it higher, I could do that, as well. It gave me a little bit more variety in what I could do with the golf ball than the P730. And it’s not a big difference, it’s just when you put yourself in a 20mph wind in your face and want to flatten it out a little bit. I can flatten it out and have the ball be a little bit more stable with the head. It’s only a couple yards, but for me it felt like a huge difference. GolfWRX.com: You’ve achieved something literally every golfer has dreamed about, I’m curious what you’re feeling right now. World No. 1, and you just put on the Green Jacket for the first time. Can you put that feeling into words for golfers who have always wanted to feel what you’re feeling? Scheffler: Yeah, the walk up 18 was pretty special. Sunday had been such a long day and such a grind. Teddie (Ted Scott, his caddie) and I just enjoyed the walk up 18. What I’m feeling right now is it still hasn’t really sunk in. I’m pretty tired. I’ve just been chilling at home and enjoying the moment. Meredith always asked me how I would want to celebrate getting my first win, and winning tournaments what I wanted to celebrate, and one of my favorite things is just going back and just living our normal lives. Really, we’ve just been hanging out at home, reflecting the last few days, and trying to let it sink in. GolfWRX.com: If you could go back and give your 10-year-old self advice on life or your golf career, what would you go back and tell him? Scheffler: I’d probably tell my 10-year-old self not to take myself so seriously. I think you really build up what you’re doing at the time in your head, and I had a good support system around me that helped me not do that as much. But, when you’re a kid, sports are so important to you. So for me, just don’t take myself so seriously and understand that bad things are going to happen. It’s not a perfect game or perfect science. Just enjoy it. GolfWRX.com: Well said. Any idea what’s going on the Champions Dinner menu next year? Scheffler: You know, my guess would be, I’m from Texas, so y’all can probably predict 90% of my menu. I’m a meat and potatoes guy. I hope everyone there enjoys their meat and potatoes. If not, they might be going hungry.
Editor’s note: Due to the team format scoring, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans is not part of the official PGA TOUR Fantasy game, however our experts chime in here with which teams they feel will contend and win. For how the team format works, click here. The official PGA TOUR Fantasy game will return next week at the Mexico Open at Vidanta. Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton breaks down the teams in this week’s edition of the Power Rankings. For more fantasy, check out Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers and Reshuffle. RELATED: Play Pick ‘Em Live THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN OUR EXPERTS? The PGA TOUR Experts league is once again open to the public. You can play our free fantasy game and see how you measure up against our experts below. Joining the league is simple. Just click here to sign up or log in. Once you create a team, click the “LEAGUES” tab. Then click on “FEATURED,” and then on the PGA TOUR Experts league that populates. SEASON SEGMENT
Pat Riley and the Miami Heat have been able to sign some of the biggest names in the NBA — from LeBron James to Jimmy Butler — by turning undrafted players into rotation players.
Panthers LB Damien Wilson was arrested last week after threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend, according to the Dallas Morning News.
