One & Done: Wyndham Championship

Both of this week’s tournaments are treated with stand-alone columns for PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. Look for the edition for the Barracuda Championship on the FANTASY page. Also, if you play PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO, the 3M Championship begins Friday. Review the notables at the bottom of the page to assist you in determining your pick. Funny what can happen en route to a league championship. Potentially. I don’t want to surrender the throne to J-Wall, but if he had any lingering doubt over burning Rory McIlroy at the Masters (despite a T7), it may have been eliminated in McIlroy’s comments after he finished T22 at the PGA Championship. When asked about his plans to address mild discomfort caused by a left rhomboid muscle that spasms after competing, the 28-year-old was elusive. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” McIlroy said on Sunday. “You might not see me until next year. You might see me in a couple of week’s time. It really depends.” Whether treatment allows him to get back inside the ropes sooner than later, at 41st in the FedExCup standings, he’s a virtual lock to stay alive in the Playoffs long enough to advance to the BMW Championship (on Sept. 14-17) even if he sits out the first two events. I hadn’t planned on deviating from my plan to burn him at the Dell Technologies Championship (Sept. 1-4), but that might not be up to me anymore. Simply put, it’s a bullet that J-Wall might have dodged. While Jonathan, Sean and Chris agree that Webb Simpson is the play at this week’s Wyndham Championship – how can you argue? Simpson named one of his daughters after the title sponsor; he secured his first PGA TOUR title at Sedgefield in 2011 – I’m forced to invest elsewhere since I’ve already exhausted the father of four. In fact, each of the top four in my Power Rankings is unavailable. Perch-holder Kevin Kisner is off the board for all of us. Simpson is No. 2. I love Bill Haas (No. 3) from whom I’m surprised that Mark Immelman deviated for Bud Cauley (No. 4), but we learned two years ago not to doubt Mark’s strategy. He entered the Playoffs in last place but won the league on the strength of a 1,200-point runner-up finish by Henrik Stenson at TPC Boston. Since that’s the kind of action I’m anticipating with the likes of Justin Thomas, Jason Day (penciled in for the BMW) and Dustin Johnson (TOUR Championship) at my disposal, I’ll grab Ryan Moore right now. He’s No. 5 in my Power Rankings. Sorry, Tom. Henrik Stenson would have been tempting (if available to me), but I’d encourage you to wait on him for the Playoffs no matter your measurement. With McIlroy potentially out indefinitely, the Swede becomes the suitable surrogate for the second stop. Jason Dufner is one of the obvious choices and might pace all golfers in ownership percentage, but Ben has warned you accordingly, categorically and objectively. Beware. Stalwarts such as Luke Donald, Keegan Bradley, Lucas Glover and Chad Campbell also present as smart selections. If I was in need of a long shot who has been trending – again, regardless of your measurement – submit Sam Saunders at Sedgefield. Two-man gamers would be wise to do the same to round out your lineup. And while we shouldn’t invest with our hearts, he’d be the perfect coda of a season devoted to remembering the phenomenal man and golfer that was his grandfather, Arnold Palmer. 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 2016-17. All are pending golfer commitment. Keegan Bradley … Dell Technologies Luke Donald … Wyndham; BMW; TOUR Championship Jason Dufner … TOUR Championship Bill Haas … Wyndham Billy Horschel … TOUR Championship Kevin Kisner … Wyndham Russell Knox … Dell Technologies Graeme McDowell … Wyndham William McGirt … Wyndham Ryan Moore … TOUR Championship Kevin Na … Wyndham Webb Simpson … Wyndham Henrik Stenson … Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE NOTABLES DICK’S Sporting Goods Open This is the 11th edition of the tournament. All have been contested at En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott, New York. It’s the former site of the B.C. Open on the PGA TOUR (1972-2005). Although it’s shorter than 7,000 yards, En-Joie is a par 72 with four par 5s, three of which are on the front side. Golfers listed alphabetically. Rob’s serious considerations in bold. Stephen Ames … String of four top 10s ended with a T55 at TPC Twin Cities. Recorded a T12 at En-Joie in 2015 and a T23 last year. Billy Andrade … After a quiet patch, he rallied for a T3 in Wales and T13 in Minnesota. Top 15s in both appearances at En-Joie. Joe Durant … Rebounded from a neck injury that led to a WD at Royal Porthcawl for a T13 at TPC Twin Cities, his fifth top 15 in six starts. T12 (2015) and T4 (2015) at En-Joie. Steve Flesch … Emerging nicely as a bridge since turning 50. Two fifth-place finishes among five top 20s in his last six starts. Fred Funk … The DICK’S rolls around at a good time given up-and-down form since late May. Two runner-up finishes among four top 20s at En-Joie. Paul Goydos … The best kind of converging trends. He’s the defending champ and fresh off a playoff win at TPC Twin Cities. Also placed second at En-Joie in 2015. Miguel Angel Jiménez … Tournament debut. All of his last 11 starts resulted in a top 20; seven were top 10s. Brandt Jobe … First appearance. Since breaking through at the Principal Charity Classic, he’s added three top-three finishes, two of which in majors. Bernhard Langer … Won here in 2014. Four-time winner this season, including three majors. Finished T13 at the 3M Championship two weeks ago. Jeff Maggert … Trap. Won in his tournament debut in 2015, but placed T36 last year. Only two top 10s this season are T9s. Scott McCarron … Loves himself the par 72s. Started the final round in his only appearance in 2015 one stroke off the lead and faded to T20. Two wins among six top fives this season. Corey Pavin … T2 (2013) and a T3 (2015) in last two appearances. Also posted top 15s in three of his last five starts, including a runner-up at The Senior Open Championship Kenny Perry … Tough to complain about a T7 at TPC Twin Cities, but it tied for his second-worst finish in seven appearances. T3 (2012), T7 (2013) and a T58 (2015) at En-Joie. Gene Sauers … Playoff loss at the 3M Championship was his sixth top 10 of 2017. With no top 25s at En-Joie since a T4 in his debut in 2013, he still presents stronger at next week’s Boeing Classic. Kevin Sutherland … Returned to his leaderboard-crashing form with a T3 at the TPC Twin Cities. Two top 10s and a T17 in three trips to En-Joie. Duffy Waldorf … T7 at the 3M was his fifth top 10 of the season. T4 in DICK’S debut in 2013, but no better than T20 since. Continue to holster until the Shaw Charity Classic in two weeks.

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