Rodgers ready for first win on TOUR

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Webb Simpson was over par while his playing partners were going low in Thursday’s first round of The RSM Classic. He bogeyed his second hole on Sea Island’s Plantation Course, the easier of the two courses used this week, then failed to birdie the par-5 14th hole. His caddie, Paul Tesori, preached patience, and it paid off. Simpson played his final 13 holes in 8 under to shoot 65 and take the first-round lead. RELATED: Leaderboard | Wagner ties TOUR record with third albatross | Howell III stiil has burning desire to win “He told me, no matter how I started out, to stay patient,� Simpson said. “I think he knew scores would be good over there (on the Plantation Course). He helped me weather the storm.� Simpson is making just his second start of the fall season. He finished seventh at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. It was his 13th consecutive finish in the top 30, a span that includes three runners-up. Simpson has been a consistent contender at Sea Island, as well. He was runner-up in 2011, losing a playoff to Ben Crane, and finished third last year, a shot out of the playoff won by Charles Howell III. Simpson got stuck on Seaside in the worse side of the draw in the first round, but battled back with a 63-65 weekend. The year prior, Simpson was in 12th place at the halfway point but withdrew after the second round to be with his ailing father, who died shortly after. Simpson thrives on classic courses and said he plays well anytime he’s near the ocean in the southeastern United States. “I grew up going to the beach in Wilmington, so I just love anytime I get close to the coast here,� Simpson said.� Simpson is seeking his first win since the 2018 PLAYERS. He had three runners-up last season. Rory McIlroy beat him with a final-round 61 at the RBC Canadian Open. J.T. Poston shot 62 on Sunday of the Wyndham Championship. Simpson’s final-round 64 at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational was the low round of the day, but he started too far back to catch Brooks Koepka. “It’s been awhile since I’ve won,� Simpson said. “I’ve given myself chances here. Starting this week, all I wanted was a chance Sunday because I do feel comfortable here.�

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I’ll open this week’s introduction with another. The band is back together again! If you missed it throughout the week of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, the fantasy section has a new contributor: Mike Glasscott. If you were familiar with my eight-year run at Rotoworld through 2015, you already know Glass. He was the lead columnist during the second half of my tenure. We had a great time arguing, er, generating thoughtful and helpful commentary, so we hope to bring some of that experience to you here, like it or not. Glass has assumed the reins of The Confidence Factor and he’s the main man for the brand-new Emergency 9, which is a nightly recap of fantasy-relevant nuggets after every day of a tournament. I’ll sit in from time to time as we bring to you wall-to-wall fantasy coverage throughout every week. Shifting our attention to the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, it leads off the final fortnight of the fall during which ShotLink is not utilized. This means that bonus points for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO are equal to one-half what your starters in the final round earn. Since rationing starts isn’t a concern in Segment 1, there’s no need to toy with saving anyone who you even remotely consider to be a threat to win. Elsewhere, there’s a misconception that to read my public tweets, you have to register for Twitter. In fact, the microblogging platform acts as any regular website. So, non-users can see when I tweet field changes, links to all of my work and anything else of relevance to games. To engage, view at-replies and perform other functions, registration is required. This means that you can also read Glass’ Twitter page, at your own risk, of course. Look for him as @MikeGlasscott. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the OHL Classic at Mayakoba (in alphabetical order): Kevin Chappell Rickie Fowler Chesson Hadley Zach Johnson Pat Perez Gary Woodland You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Charley Hoffman; Sung Kang; Luke List; Graeme McDowell Driving: n/a Approach: n/a Short: n/a Power Rankings Wild Card Charley Hoffman … It’s either a blessing or a curse that he’s the Wild Card in consecutive weeks, but after a T18 in his backyard in Vegas where his motivation was entirely selfless, he makes the most sense in this position again. He has only one top-30 finish in five straight trips to El Camaleón, but the outlier was a victory in 2014. And anyone paying attention in the last several months knows that he’s flirted with winning time and again, only to fall short. He makes sense in any format this week. DFSers have limited options among the top tier, while he sets up as a defensive tactic for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO gamers. Draws Ryan Moore … If there was anything to glean from last week’s T51 in Vegas, it was that he’s OK. He eschewed the entire three-week stint in Asia, including the CIMB Classic where he’s a two-time champ. Now slated to make his second appearance at El Camaleón (T23, 2013) with enough recent form to warrant a complementary role in DFS. Sung Kang … Perfect DFS plug-in. Since a 3-for-3 open to the season that included a T3 at the CIMB Classic, he added a co-runner-up finish at the K.J. Choi Invitational two weeks ago. Already his fifth start at Mayakoba where he’s cashed three times. Johnson Wagner … Cheap DFS option given his affinity for and success at El Camaleón. Overall, he’s 4-for-6 with a win (2011) and a pair of top 20s. Jordan Niebrugge … Still unproven at this level, but the upstart made noise on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada this year. With that experience in tow and everything to gain this week, he projects to reward the risky in the DFS crowd. Scott Brown (DFS) Patton Kizzire (DFS) Nick Taylor (DFS) Jhonattan Vegas (all) Fades Russell Knox … He’ll snap out of his funk at some point and El Camaleón might rank first on the most likely of sites for that to happen – he chased a playoff loss here in 2015 with a solo third last year – but he has trap written all over him this week. Zero top 25s in his last eight starts and only one stretching back to late April. Patrick Reed … As one who has unintentionally drifted into an apologist, an accidental role in the world of only the most skeptical, I’m with you this week. El Camaleón will spotlight his short game, but gamers aren’t keen to rely on that for value. It’s definitely not rewarded in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. And because he’s not among the proficient tee-to-green performers, he’s an easy no-play. Alex Cejka … He treated his season-long investors to a close call at TPC Summerlin on Sunday, but it was made possible by a devil-may-care 63 in the finale. That’s one way to approach closing out a tournament, but it’s not a sustainable formula. What’s more, he’s never carved out a reliable groove in which to trust. It might be a slightest different story if he was a horse for a course in Mexico, but he’s gone five consecutive rounds at El Camaleón without signing for a red number. John Huh … The 2012 champ has added three top 30s since but he’s been in a slump virtually all year. He’ll appreciate this week’s opportunity, but DFSers need to give him some time. Cameron Champ … The exceptionally long hitter is making his pro debut on a course that benefits shorter knockers. That serves as the analytical explanation that walks in lockstep with the respect for all that is new to his life. Aaron Baddeley Harris English Emiliano Grillo J.J. Spaun                                                                                                                                          Returning to Competition Mac Hughes … Alert your commissioners about the contraction of his first name. He’s back in action after a month off to become a father for the first time. If the Nappy Factor kicks in, it might be tough to tell as he’s been a relatively reliable source of value since breaking through as a rookie last fall. Give him a week to normalize (and sleep), but also beware that he’ll be defending his only PGA TOUR title at next week’s RSM Classic as that will be unlike anything he’s ever experienced. J.J. Henry … With a 7-for-7 record at El Camaleón that includes four top 25s and a scoring average of 69.14, some DFSers will take the plunge. However, if there’s a time to step away from the allure of that course history, this is it. In his last start, he withdrew during his third round of the Sanderson Farms Championship with a sore back. Bronson Burgoon … He’ll try again this week. He walked off the Country Club of Jackson during his second round two weeks ago with discomfort in his back, and then withdrew early from the Shriners. The 30-year-old entered the season with considerable promise after an impressive flourish to conclude the 2017 Web.com Tour season. He then hung up a T17 at the Safeway. Consider as a flier in DFS at Mayakoba where he placed T25 in his only prior appearance in 2015. Notables WDs Webb Simpson … Was poised to seek redemption after closing with 74 last year to finish T24. He sat fifth and just four strokes off the lead entering the final round. Overall form has been terrific all year and especially consistent of late. Billy Horschel … Withdrew prior to his second round of last week’s Shriners with a sore left shoulder. Plans to get back after it in a month at the QBE Shootout. Scott Piercy … Most likely would have generated considerable interest in every format what with a T16 (2014) and T4 (2016) in his last two appearances. He’s also popped the top on 2017-18 with three straight paydays, although a T32 in his hometown of Las Vegas was disappointing. Ollie Schniederjans … To the dismay of DFSers everywhere, but we’ll be turning to the 24-year-old again and often. He opened the season with a set of three top 25s. Henrik Stenson … A rib injury forces him to miss this week’s Nedbank Challenge. While originally expected to sit out until the Hero World Challenge in three weeks, he hasn’t ruled out lacing up for the next week’s DP World Tour Championship. Power Rankings Recap – Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Webb Simpson  T20 2  Tony Finau  T16 3  Patrick Cantlay  Win 4  Luke List  T20 5  Ryan Moore  T51 6  Smylie Kaufman  MC 7  Jamie Lovemark  MC 8  Kevin Streelman  67th 9  Nick Taylor  T32 10  Scott Piercy  T32 11  Chesson Hadley  T4 12  William McGirt  T10 13  Shawn Stefani  T68 14  Austin Cook  T20 15  Anirban Lahiri  T51 Wild Card  Charley Hoffman  T18 Sleepers Recap – Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Golfer  Result Martin Laird  MC Tom Lovelady  MC Cameron Tringale  MC Tyrone Van Aswegen  MC Aaron Wise  T32 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR November 7 … none November 8 … Troy Matteson (38); Francesco Molinari (35) November 9 … David Duval (46); Ted Potter, Jr. (34); Nicholas Lindheim (33) November 10 … Ethan Tracy (28); Jon Rahm (23) November 11 … Robert Garrigus (40); Joel Dahmen (30) November 12 … Lucas Glover (38); Chez Reavie (36); Jason Day (30); C.T. Pan (26) November 13 … none

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