Summerhays pushes ahead, Dufner collapses at the Memorial

Four of the top five in the FedExCup are at historic Hamilton Golf & Country Club for this year’s edition of the RBC Canadian Open. FedExCup leader Matt Kuchar, PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka and defending champion Dustin Johnson are among the headliners this week. There are also more than 20 Canadians in the field trying to become the first of their countrymen to win this event since Pat Fletcher in 1954. Here’s a look at this week’s Featured Groups (note: FedExCup ranking in parentheses): HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 11:00 to 22:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 12:30 to 22:00. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). Thursday Graeme McDowell (53) – He earned his fourth PGA TOUR title at this year’s Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Next week, he returns to the site of his 2010 U.S. Open victory. Bubba Watson (68) – The 12-time PGA TOUR winner is making his ninth start north of the border. He was runner-up in the 2015 RBC Canadian Open. Scott Piercy (21) – Piercy was the victor the last time this tournament visited Hamilton. He shot a first-round 62, then rode three consecutive 67s to a one-shot victory. Round 1 tee time: 12:40 p.m. ET Round 2 tee time: 7:40 a.m. ET Brooks Koepka (2) – He’s one of three two-time winners this season. This is his first start since winning the PGA Championship. Next week, he’ll try for his third consecutive U.S. Open. Brandt Snedeker (43) –The 2013 RBC Canadian Open champion has finished in the top 10 in his last two trips to this tournament. Justin Thomas (14) – Thomas, one of two FedExCup champions in this group, is making his first trip to the RBC Canadian Open.  Round 1 tee time: 12:50 p.m. ET Round 2 tee time: 7:50 a.m. ET Related: Tee times | Conners on home turf | Power Rankings | The First Look Friday Rory McIlroy (4) – This year’s THE PLAYERS champion headlines this group of three former winners at TPC Sawgrass. McIlroy is playing the Canadian Open for the first time. Matt Kuchar (1) – The 2012 PLAYERS champion has two wins this season.  Webb Simpson (42) – The 2018 PLAYERS was Simpson’s most recent victory. He has three top-10s this season, including a third-place finish at The RSM Classic and fifth-place finish at the Masters.  Round 1 tee time: 7:40 a.m. ET Round 2 tee time: 12:40 p.m. ET Corey Conners (23) – The Canadian started the season with conditional status but arrives in his home country as a PGA TOUR winner after claiming the Valero Texas Open. Dustin Johnson (5) – The defending champion won this year’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. Jim Furyk (32) – The 2010 FedExCup champion counts two Canadian Opens (2006, ’07) among his 17 PGA TOUR wins. His 2006 win came at Hamilton. Round 1 tee time: 7:50 a.m. ET Round 2 tee time: 12:50 p.m. ET 

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My Power Rankings for The Open Championship include all 156 golfers in the field, so this Fantasy Insider column is abridged. The Wild Card, Draws and Fades will return for next week’s RBC Canadian Open. Segment 4 of PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO begins at Carnoustie. When you’re thrown a bone, you take it. Just make sure to take a bite out of it, too. There are only nine tournaments to go in the Roster game – the One & Done will include all of the remaining 11 on the schedule – but navigating the final phase is tricky. The Open is the last tournament for which ShotLink is not used to measure performance, so you can get away with stowing two probable contenders for the bonus points on your bench at least until the 36-hole cut falls, but if neither is in the mix for the Claret Jug at the midpoint, consider keeping at least one benched until the conclusion of the third round, and then decide whether it’d be worth burning a start for potentially modest bonus points instead of holstering it for the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, PGA Championship or any of the four Playoffs events. Yes, this strategy would mean swallowing a zero (or two), but to pay off losing the start, your guy might need a podium finish. Otherwise, you’re losing points later for mild returns now. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for The Open Championship (in alphabetical order): Tommy Fleetwood Rickie Fowler Dustin Johnson Rory McIlroy Alex Noren Justin Rose You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Jason Day; Zach Johnson; Brooks Koepka; Marc Leishman; Hideki Matsuyama; Phil Mickelson; Jon Rahm; Justin Thomas Driving: n/a Approach: n/a Short: n/a Returning to Competition Nate Lashley … The rookie is scheduled to compete at the Web.com Tour’s Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Heartland Chevy Dealers. He had been sidelined for a month after having knee surgery. This week’s return qualifies as a rehab start in advance of a medical extension on the PGA TOUR for 2018-19 (assuming he doesn’t play the TOUR again this season and finish inside the top 125). Currently 162nd in the FedExCup standings, he’ll be eligible for the Web.com Tour Finals on merit. Notable WDs Bernd Wiesberger, Paul Lawrie and John Daly … All withdrew from The Open Championship due to injury. Alex Cejka … Out at the Barbasol Championship. It’s his second consecutive early withdrawal and fifth on the season, but we see this coming almost every season. As evidenced by a T13 in his last start at Greenbrier, he still delivers when his 47-year-old body allows for it. Currently 89th in the FedExCup standings. Denny McCarthy … Fell to 144th in the FedExCup with a T34 at the John Deere Classic, but he’s been in that vicinity for months. If he doesn’t make the FedExCup Playoffs, he’s still a good bet to survive the Web.com Tour Finals given he’s risen to his current position after an awful first nine events of his rookie campaign. Brett Stegmaier … He was a surprising removal from the Barbasol field. He’s 190th in the FedExCup standings and has ripped off three straight cuts made. Power Rankings Recap – John Deere Classic Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Zach Johnson  T16 2  Bryson DeChambeau  WD 3  Francesco Molinari  T2 4  Steve Stricker  T43 5  Kyle Stanley  MC 6  Joaquin Niemann  T23 7  Ryan Moore  T55 8  Chesson Hadley  T72 9  Austin Cook  T34 10  Scott Stallings  MC 11  Kevin Tway  T50 12  Kelly Kraft  T63 13  Brian Gay  MC 14  Joel Dahmen  T2 15  Scott Brown  T12 Wild Card  Chris Kirk  T23 Sleepers Recap – John Deere Classic Golfer  Result Wesley Bryan  MC Peter Malnati  MC Trey Mullinax MC C.T. Pan  T34 Daniel Summerhays   MC Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR July 17 … none July 18 … Brendon de Jonge (38) July 19 … none July 20 … Conrad Shindler (30) July 21 … Robert Gamez (50); Paul Casey (41) July 22 … Brendon Todd (33); David Lingmerth (31) July 23 … Craig Barlow (46); Boo Weekley (45); Kevin Tway (30); Harris English (29); Kiradech Aphibarnrat (29); Tom Lovelady (25)

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2020 Houston Open, Round 2 Delayed (due to darkness) Top 10 win probabilities: Peter Malnati (1, -10, 16.5%) Sepp Straka (T3, -8, 10.7%) Talor Gooch (2, -9, 10.6%) Nick Watney (T3, -8, 9.8%) Carlos Ortiz (T5, -7, 7.5%) Lanto Griffin (T5, -7, 6.2%) Mark Hubbard (T5, -7, 6.2%) Stewart Cink (T5, -7, 4.3%) Austin Cook (T10, -6, 3.8%) Cameron Tringale (T13, -5, 2.7%) Top Strokes-Gained Performers from Round 2: Putting: Mackenzie Hughes +3.9 Around the Green: Carlos Ortiz +3.8 Approach the Green: Sepp Straka +3.5 Off-the-tee: Sebastian Cappelen +1.8 Total: Peter Malnati +8.4 NOTE: These reports are based off the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live “Make Cut�, “Top 20�, “Top 5�, and “Win� probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 20K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of the Houston Open, or to see how each golfer’s probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model’s home page.

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