Rory hopeful home cooking will do him well

Here are nine tidbits from the third round of the Travelers Championship that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. TPC River Highlands has played host since 1991 and measures 6,841 yards (Par-70). Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 selected golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf game presented by SERVPRO. The weather that looked impending never materialized during the round. The course was receptive due to the overnight rains and there was hardly any wind. It was easily the best round of the week for scoring. Players who didn’t post 67 or better probably didn’t hold their place in the standings from Friday. Berger is going to be an interesting call tomorrow as he didn’t fire for the second day in a row. He closed with 67 last year and 74 the year before so that’s not much help. Round of the Week Paul Casey took complete advantage of the conditions to post 62 and stake himself to a four-shot lead heading into Sunday. His six birdies and an eagle were the result of fantastic approach play as he painted all 18 GIR. He also led the field in proximity and only needed 29 putts. In 15 rounds the last four years at this event he’s 49-under par. It will take a Furyk-ian effort to run him down and win tomorrow. Closest Russell Henley will have a front-row seat and can apply the most pressure as he will play in the final group four shots behind. Henley only has squared one bogey on the week and he can’t add to that number much tomorrow. As great as Casey has been into greens, Henley leads the field in GIR (48 of 54) for the week. Henley has unfinished business here as he was 14-under after three rounds in 2016 before limping home with 73 (T11). Joiners The group at five shots back includes 36-hole leader Brian Harman and he was joined by J.B. Holmes and Anirban Lahiri. While Harman bogeyed two of his last three to fall back, Holmes and Lahiri shot up the board in Round 3 because of their prowess on the back nine. Both players signed for 30 and each had an eagle as they both moved up eight spots to T3. Holmes is trying to back up his solo third in Memphis while Lahiri hasn’t cashed inside the top 25 since last November. Top 10 in the Top 10 Gamers have been riding Bryson DeChambeau for most of 2018 and he hasn’t disappointed. After a tough first 10 holes (+1) he made three birdies against no bogeys in his final eight holes to stay in the top 10. He was a whopping four shots worse on the greens today and still signed for 68. I’d point out he has two doubles on the week and he’s only five back. Bubbling Bubba Watson had to 12-under with three holes to play but two bogeys on the way in knocked him back to T6. Looking to become the only player in recent memory to win this event for the third time, he’ll need nothing short of his best tomorrow. The good news for his investors is he’s posted a few low ones here including 63 already this week. Moving Day The back nine was the place to make up ground today and Jamie Lovemark (64) took advantage coming home in 31. He’s seven back after moving up 23 spots to T11. Brad Faxon made up seven shots in his victory in 2005, the largest come-from-behind win in history. He’s looking for his first top-10 check on his own ball since The Honda Classic … Kyle Stanley (65) joined Lovemark on T11 after moving up 14 spots. He defends next week at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm and looks to be right on schedule. … Patrick Cantlay (65) is eight back and he’ll need to probably match the 60 he posted as an amateur here in 2011 to have a sniff. Moving Day: Wrong Way Rory McIlroy began the day T8 and was torching the joint tee-to-green in the first two rounds. It all came to a screeching halt in Round 3 as he only found 12 of 18 GIR and he lost over 2.5 strokes putting. His investors are all shouting at me that he shot 64 on Sunday last year. He sure did. … Zach Johnson matched McIlroy as the first two activities on his card in Round 3 were squares. He righted the ship before a double on No. 16 killed the momentum. His 71 took him from T2 to T15 and eight shots back. Study Hall Round 1 scored 69.776 (-0.224) while Round 2 crept just higher at 69.994 (-0.006). Saturday’s excellent scoring conditions were realized as the field averaged 69.108 (-0.892)… Casey, Henley, Lovemark and Cantlay were joined in the clean card club by Emiliano Grillo (66) and Chase Seiffert (!!) (67). James Hahn carded his first hole-in-one on TOUR on No. 11 and sits T22.

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Bee-yoo! Bee-yoo! Arnold Palmer alert! Arnold Palmer alert! That line from “The Other Guys” is ironic because The King needs no introduction. His legend will last forever. It’s a fact cemented further with Monday’s announcement that the Rookie of the Year will now receive the Arnold Palmer Award. Of course, as much it all started in golf, his cool was kept fresh throughout his life thanks in part to his dedication to keeping golf courses current. This is perhaps no more evident than at Bay Hill Golf Club and Lodge. It hosts the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard for the 41st time this week. For the latest modifications to the track, expectations for those in the field and more, scroll past the ranking. Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will include Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Bubba Watson, Louis Oosthuizen and The Honda Classic champion Keith Mitchell among other notables. Bay Hill is a stock par 72, but it wasn’t always. It debuted as a par 71 in 1979, transitioned to a par 72 in 1990 (when Robert Gamez holed out for eagle on the par-4 finisher to win; he’d go on to claim what is now the Arnold Palmer Award) and tightened to a par 70 from 2007-2009 before it reclaimed its par of today (following a significant renovation). Palmer’s penchant for tinkering served as the common thread for the fabric of his tournament’s history. It’s a theme carried on this year with new tee boxes on the par-5 fourth hole and par-4 ninth that have lengthened the course by an aggregate 35 yards to a tournament-record 7,454 yards. In addition to other upgrades such as a new area to work on the short game and numerous spots of improved landscaping, modern irrigation has been introduced to water only the primary rough whenever preferred. Speaking of which, the longest rough, which is overseeded, has been allow to grow as high as three-and-a-half inches. TifEagle bermudagrass greens, which are not overseeded, are average in size but prepped to run as fast as 13-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter. Of all publicized measurements, that’s as slick as it gets on the PGA TOUR. Rory McIlroy put on a clinic with his putter en route to a three-stroke victory here last year, but that’s what he needed to do to prevail. He ranked just T45 in greens in regulation (at the field average). However, when he manufactured those scoring opportunities, he led the field in proximity to the hole and paid them off also by pacing it in strokes gained: putting, fewest putts and scrambling. Of 61 attempts inside 10 feet, he whiffed just twice. While the primary rough separates the excessively wayward, hitting fairways isn’t a prerequisite to contend. At T48, McIlroy felt short of the field average. Instead, distance off the tee is more valuable, especially when it concerns gettable par 5s, while the greens are as fair as the field would want. Mother Nature should cooperate. After some rain, wind and cooling early in the week, a dry, calm and warming trend will take over. Sunshine is expected through Saturday while daytime highs will climb 10 degrees or so and into the low 80s by the weekend. The return of the threat of rain re-enters the picture on Sunday when the high could climb into the mid-80s. The impact of wind will be felt only with the energy. As of midday Monday, the field stood at 123. That’s three more than what’s scheduled because Gamez, Ernie Els and Tim Herron are exempt as winners prior to 2000. They’re considered add-ons and would not be replaced if any withdrew. For the fifth consecutive year, the champion will receive three-year exemptions for PGA TOUR membership and into THE PLAYERS. 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: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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