Photo Gallery: FedEx St. Jude Classic, Saturday

FORT WORTH, Texas – Jamie Sadlowski’s first tee shot in his first round of his first PGA TOUR start travelled 365 yards. Nobody was surprised. The two-time winner of the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship is expected to hit it far. But the Canadian native is determined to prove he’s more than just a bomber. That he can use all 14 clubs in his bag and can manage his way around the golf course – and not just impress fans at the range. “I look at this as I’m trying to start a new career and I’m working hard at it,� Sadlowski said after his 3-over 73 left him tied for 75th after Thursday’s first round of the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. “At the end of the day, I want to prove myself I can play out here.� It was roughly a year ago that Sadlowski decided to retire from his career as a long drive champion – he had performed in approximately 600 exhibitions and show – to pursue his dream as a pro golfer. He’s played a handful of Web.com Tour and Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada events, as well as some overseas events in Australia. But Thursday was the first time he had teed it up in a PGA TOUR event. It was just his 51st competitive round as a pro. Sadlowski is in the field as one of Colonial’s Champions Choices, in which all the tournaments’ living champions choose two promising newcomers. That’s how Jason Day in 2008 and Jordan Spieth in 2013 made the field. The phone call came about two weeks ago and Sadlowski obviously was thrilled to receive the opportunity. Yet it’s ironic that his TOUR debut comes on a course that sometimes gets accused (perhaps unfairly) of taking driver out of a player’s hands. The old-school, tight course is a shot-maker’s dream, hardly a bomber’s paradise. It’s nothing new, though, for Sadlowski. He has played at the Web.com Tour event in Boise, Idaho, and said that Hillcrest Country Club is even tighter than Colonial. He said another Web.com Tour event in Bogota, Colombia, also is not long, even though it’s at altitude. “I haven’t ever found a bomber’s paradise track,� he said after a round in which he hit six drivers on holes 1, 2, 6, 11, 14 and 15. “But this doesn’t take driver out of my hand. And I have a 2-iron that I’m comfortable with. Maybe that helps me, I don’t know. One of these days, I’ll get a longer golf course. But I think I can play this one.� He held his own with playing partners Kevin Tway (who finished at 2 under 68 after a late double bogey) and Brandon Hagy (who shot a 75). And they held their own off the tee – again, no surprise, considering both Tway and Hagy are ranked inside the top 10 in driving distance on TOUR. Sadlowski knows both players, so it was a comfortable pairing. And no, there was no discussion about trying to one-up each other off the tee, no mini-long drive contest suggestions. “I think everybody knows [about the power],� he said. “I don’t think we needed to talk about it.� Sadlowski had the longest drives in the field on hole Nos. 1 (the 365-yarder) and 2 (a 350-yard drive on his hardest swing of the day). He also had a 368-yard drive on the par-5 11th. Only one player hit it farther – Tway, whose drive went 371 yards. For the day, Sadlowski averaged 297.5 yards off the tee on all drives – third highest average behind Jon Rahm (304.3 yards) and Jhonattan Vegas (298.8). But it’s not just power off the tee but also on any shot – Sadlowski will likely face shorter approaches than most of his playing partners, and can reach par-5s with short and mid-irons, like he did on the second hole. He realizes he needs to work on his short game – he successfully scrambled on just two of eight chances and made just one putt over 10 feet. But hey, it’s his first time out. The power will obviously be there. Now it’s just refining the other parts. Getting a taste of TOUR life this week certainly offers plenty of motivation. “It wasn’t that long ago that I was a kid sitting on the couch watching PGA TOUR events – which I still do,� he said, still soaking in the surroundings. “This just doesn’t feel real.�

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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Bryson DeChambeau shot a career-best 7-under 64 on Friday to take a one-shot into the weekend at the RBC Heritage Classic. DeChambeau’s first event as a pro was at Harbour Town Golf Links in 2016. Two years later, he posted his lowest ever on the PGA TOUR to get to 10-under 132, one ahead of red-hot Ian Poulter and Si Woo Kim. Poulter showed he’s not done playing high-level golf with a bogey-free 64. Kim, The Players Championship winner, had a 65 that included a two-shot penalty for touching sand after a bunker shot. Two shots behind DeChambeau were Chasson Hadley (68), past RBC Heritage winner Brandt Snedeker (64), Luke List (64) and first-round leader Rory Sabbatini (70). World No. 1 Dustin Johnson shot a second straight 69 and was tied for 25th, six shots off the lead.

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Former world No. 1 and reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler is commanding a large portion of the handle at the BetMGM online sportsbook as he looks to break a near eight-month win drought in his home state Texas this week. After claiming his first four PGA TOUR wins in a six-event span last spring, a run that included the Masters title at Augusta National and a World Golf Championship in Austin, Scheffler has gone winless in his previous 14 starts as he lines up for the Cadence Bank Houston Open. Despite losing top spot in the world to Rory McIlroy a few weeks ago, Scheffler has still played solid golf during his “drought”. He has five top five finishes over that span, including a T3 last week in Mexico. This has ensured he remained a favorite each week in golf betting and that is once again the case as early action at BetMGM suggests bettors like his chances in Houston. As of Tuesday, Scheffler has the most handle (22.3%) on the third-most tickets (6.7%). He has the best golf odds to win at +600, which makes him a massive betting favorite, with Sam Burns having the second-best odds at +1400. The 26-year-old’s T-3 finish at the Worldwide Technology Championship at Mayakoba last week featured a final round 62 giving him significant momentum. He also enjoys playing at Memorial Park, not just because he’s back in the state where he went to college (University of Texas) and now resides, but also because of past results. Scheffler has made the cut both times the event has previously been played at the course, including a T-2 a year ago when he shot a second round 62. A year prior he settled for a T32 but shot a 65 in the final round. There’s no question he should have good vibes at a course that won’t yield as many birdies as the other events this fall. A win sends him back to world No.1. Tony Finau is another popular player ahead of the event, drawing the most tickets (10%) and third-most handle (10.3%). At over 7,400 yards for a par-70, Memorial Park is a much longer course than players have faced of length and should be a place where Finau can use his distance off the tee to his advantage. Current Handle & Tickets Handle Scottie Scheffler – 22.3% Sam Burns – 16.2% Tony Finau – 10.3% Hideki Matsuyama – 6.8% Keith Mitchell – 6.4% Tickets Tony Finau – 10% Sepp Straka – 7.8% Scottie Scheffler – 6.7% Taylor Pendrith– 4.7% Keith Mitchell – 4.7% With the second-best odds, Burns is pulling in the second-most handle at 16.2%. He had a strong showing at his event a year ago, finishing T-7. With a longer course, sharp runoffs around the greens, and the potential for windy conditions, don’t expect super-low scores this week. In fact, in the two years this event has been played at Memorial Park, the winning scores have been 13 and 10 under. * Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. BetMGM is available in AZ, CO, DC, IA, IN, IL, KS, LA, MI, MS, NJ, NV, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, or WY only. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Paid in free bets. Free bets expire in 7 days from issuance. Minimum deposit required. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO, DC, LA, NV, WY, VA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-GAMBLER (IN, NJ, PA & WV), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA) or call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), call or text the Tennessee REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN) or call 1-888-777-9696 (MS). Sports betting is void where prohibited. Promotional offers not available in Nevada. Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org

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