Most-Picked Players: Travelers Championship

The sheer length of most PGA TOUR courses makes driver a must-have club in the usual equipment setup. At just over 7,300 yards, Sedgefield Country Club isn’t short by TOUR standards, but that didn’t stop Henrik Stenson from removing his Callaway GBB Epic driver and going with a 13-degree Callaway Diablo Octane Tour 3-wood as the longest club in the bag. The Swede didn’t suffer from a lack of distance in Greensboro. He still averaged 294.4 yards off the tee and ranked 8th in the field in driving accuracy (75 percent) with a fairway wood that was produced in 2010 and retails used for around $20. In addition to the trusty 3-wood, Stenson’s Callaway Legacy Black irons and Odyssey White Hot XG #7H played important roles during the final round. Stenson finished third in greens in regulation for the tournament with the set of Endo Forged S20C irons that are only available in Asia. The irons have a wider sole that improves forgiveness and turf interaction, and an undercut cavity that minimizes vibrations. Stenson has been using the irons going all the way back to his FedExCup title in 2013. The Odyssey White Hot XG #7H putter (34.5 inches with 3.25 degrees of loft) has been another mainstay in his bag for several years. Stenson used the putter to make three consecutive birdies over the final four holes, including a 27-footer on the 17th that gave him a one-shot cushion heading to the last. Here’s a look at Stenson’s entire equipment setup. 3-wood: Callaway Diablo Octane Tour (Grafalloy Blue X shaft), 13 Degrees 5-wood: Callaway XR 16 Pro (Grafalloy shaft), 18 degrees Irons: Callaway Legacy Black (3-PW; Nippon Pro Modus3 120X shafts) Wedges: Callaway Mack Daddy Forged (50 and 56 degrees; Nippon Pro Modus3 120X shafts), Callaway Mack Daddy PM Grind (60 degrees; Nippon Pro Modus3 120X shaft) Putter: Odyssey White Hot XG #7H Ball: Titleist Pro V1

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On the surface, THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES looks like it would be a tougher week for earnings-based gamers than those of us plugging away at PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. After all, the purse is a meaty $9.25 million. That slots is behind only the four majors, four World Golf Championships and THE PLAYERS. It’s more lucrative than each of the four stops in the FedExCup Playoffs. When your objective is putting dollars on the board instead of FedExCup points, you’re keen on elevating the most reliable talents into position to pounce. At The Club at Nine Bridges, Justin Thomas, Jason Day, Adam Scott and Patrick Reed likely populate your short list in some order. The thinking is simple. You expect them to strap in and chase the $1.665-million first prize. The rub is that THE CJ CUP is a new tournament. Course history doesn’t exist. Expectations for how Nine Bridges will score – or limit red numbers, although this is unlikely – cover the spectrum. In that context, the last thing you want to do is burn a big name. It’s the third tournament of 49. Patience, Jedis. The solution caters to gamers pursuing both measurements. Limit your choices to proven notables who yield as much bang for the buck as they do bridge into next week’s doubleheader. If you’ll buy into that approach, there are two in the field in 78 who sit on the top shelf: Paul Casey and Marc Leishman. Anyone who knocks the Englishman for not winning enough doesn’t play fantasy golf. He’s gold. His form is on point and he flashes a twinkle in his eye when discussing how he maintains consistently strong form. This proves that life really does begin at 40. Leishman, who will celebrate his 34th birthday on Oct. 24, will test his reputation as a star in the wind. It’s a fact that I usually inject into his comment when he crashes the Power Rankings (he’s No. 8 for THE CJ CUP), but it’s so widely understood by now that it’s evolved into a redundancy. The Aussie is also gunning for this third victory of 2017, which will go into the history books as the beginning of his career peak. Right on time. As much as I’m endorsing both for either format, I’m sticking with the guy atop my Power Rankings, Tony Finau. He recorded his only PGA TOUR victory (to date) in his debut and in the wind at the Puerto Rico Open in 2016. Sure, the field in South Korea is deeper, but all he’s done since is sharpen and adapt. He can perform anywhere. What’s more, if you’re skeptical but open to the shove, Finau also spells Casey and Leishman. Two-man gamers should give Ollie Schniederjans a look. He’s one of my Sleepers, a weekly staple that yielded a third-place finish in the first two events. After Chesson Hadley converted at the Safeway Open, Sung Kang delivered at the CIMB Classic. Speaking of Kang, he’s also a crafty play for two-man gamers in his native South Korea. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2017-18. All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … WGC-HSBC; Waste Management; Houston; St. Jude (two-time defending); Travelers Keegan Bradley … Farmers; Waste Management; Genesis; Houston; Memorial; WGC-Bridgestone Paul Casey … Genesis; Masters; Travelers; WGC-Bridgestone; Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship Jason Day … Sentry; Farmers; Pebble Beach; Arnold Palmer; WGC-Match Play; Masters; PLAYERS; U.S. Open; Canadian; WGC-Bridgestone; THE NORTHERN TRUST; Dell Technologies Tony Finau … Farmers; Valero; Memorial; Greenbrier; Canadian Branden Grace … Heritage; Valero; U.S. Open; WGC-Bridgestone Brian Harman … Sony; CareerBuilder; Arnold Palmer; DEAN & DELUCA; John Deere Russell Henley … RSM; Sony; Houston; Greenbrier J.B. Holmes … Farmers; Waste Management; Pebble Beach; Genesis; Houston; Wells Fargo; Greenbrier Charles Howell III … Shriners; Mayakoba; RSM; Sony; CareerBuilder; Farmers; Valspar; Houston Marc Leishman … WGC-HSBC; Sony; Arnold Palmer (defending); DEAN & DELUCA; Memorial; Travelers; Open Championship Jamie Lovemark … RSM; Sony; Arnold Palmer Graeme McDowell … Mayakoba; RSM; Pebble Beach; Honda; WGC-Bridgestone Kevin Na … Shriners; Waste Management; Valspar; Arnold Palmer; Heritage; Memorial; John Deere; Wyndham; THE NORTHERN TRUST Pat Perez … Mayakoba (defending); Sony; Farmers; Pebble Beach; Houston; Heritage; Valero Patrick Reed … WGC-HSBC; Sentry; Pebble Beach; Valspar; Travelers; Wyndham; THE NORTHERN TRUST; Dell Technologies Charl Schwartzel … Valspar; Memorial; U.S. Open; Open Championship; WGC-Bridgestone Adam Scott … WGC-HSBC; Genesis; Honda; Arnold Palmer; Masters; PLAYERS; U.S. Open; Open Championship; WGC-Bridgestone; Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship Justin Thomas … Sentry (defending); Sony (defending); Genesis; WGC-Mexico; Valspar; Wells Fargo; Dell Technologies (defending); TOUR Championship Gary Woodland … Sony; Farmers; Honda; Wells Fargo; Barracuda; Dell Technologies  

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Danielle Kang posted the low score Sunday at 4-under 68 and sprinted away to a 3-shot victory at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on Sunday.

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