TOUR Insider: 18 bold predictions for the 2017-18 season

PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO is back for another season. The third of 24 contributing events is this week’s Chubb Classic. It begins on Friday. I wrote a primer for the game, which you can read here. The Expert Picks has returned as well. You’ll find our selections, explanations and other considered on Thursday. And I’ve modified how Future Possibilities for notables for PGA TOUR Champions events is constructed. You’ll always find that section in this weekly column. Scroll for 23 from the field of 78 in Naples, Florida. One & Doners should never whine about a T2 even if it’s split four ways, but in the relative world of fantasy sports, not all T2s are the same. At last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Phil Mickelson (Mark), Jason Day (Sean) and Dustin Johnson (Rob) all came to rest three strokes off Ted Potter’s championship-setting pace. With those FedExCup points being equal, you could wage a winning argument that I suffered the most in losing DJ to what amounted to a push. My objective is a top 10 in every event, but when DJ is your bullet, a four-way T2 in a non-Playoffs event can sting. Now double that agony at this week’s Genesis Open. DJ is atop my Power Rankings in an exponentially thicker field. Toss on the reduced face value of the likes of Mickelson, Adam Scott, Bubba Watson and Jimmy Walker – all for different reason in real time – and DJ’s failure to turn his 54-hole co-lead on the Monterey Peninsula into victory suddenly bounced me from his fan club at Riviera. (Yet, I’m still very much bullish in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. It’s not hedging when the investment stands on its own merit, at least that’s what I tell myself when I don’t have a choice.) No matter your measurement, Johnson is the man for the mission. As Frank Sinatra used to belt, L.A. is his lady. Not only is DJ the defending champion, but the Genesis Open slots first in my subjective ranking of his Future Possibilities (below). Unless you’re willing to hurl caution to the wind in favor of any in the aforementioned quartet, you’re going to be plucking from plums currently dialed in. In other words, course history offers little in the way of a solution. Thomas Pieters does check both boxes, but his small sample sizes merely represent evidence that they are better than the alternatives. Still, what he has achieved at Riviera is second to none. He won the NCAA individual title here in 2012 and tied for second in his Genesis debut last year, albeit with a closing 63. Sold. Riviera isn’t a slam dunk in our world for Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar, Paul Casey and Daniel Berger. However, it’s a perfect position for two-man gamers to circle Ollie Schniederjans and K.J. Choi. 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. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … Houston (3); St. Jude (1; two-time defending); Travelers (2) Keegan Bradley … Genesis (4); Houston (3); Memorial (5); WGC-Bridgestone (2) Paul Casey … Genesis (9); Honda (6); WGC-Match Play (7); Masters (1); Travelers (4); WGC-Bridgestone (5); Dell Technologies (2); TOUR Championship (3) Kevin Chappell … Valero (1; defending); St. Jude (5); WGC-Bridgestone (2); Dell Technologies (3) Luke Donald … Honda (2); Valspar (3); Heritage (1) Tony Finau … Valero (5); Memorial (3); Greenbrier (2); Canadian (4) Jim Furyk … Genesis (6); Valspar (5); Heritage (1); Memorial (7); U.S. Open (8); Canadian (3); WGC-Bridgestone (2); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9); TOUR Championship (4) Branden Grace … Heritage (1); Valero (2); U.S. Open (4); WGC-Bridgestone (3) Bill Haas … Genesis (3); Valspar (4); WGC-Match Play (5); Wyndham (2) Charley Hoffman … Genesis (6); Heritage (7); Houston (5); Valero (1); DEAN & DELUCA (4); Travelers (2); Canadian (3) J.B. Holmes … Genesis (3); Houston (2); Wells Fargo (7); Greenbrier (5) Billy Horschel … Honda (2); Arnold Palmer (5); Valero (3); St. Jude (1); TOUR Championship (4) Charles Howell III … Valspar (4); Houston (7) Dustin Johnson … Genesis (1; defending); WGC-Mexico (7; defending); WGC-Match Play (16; defending); Houston (15); Masters (4); Memorial (12); St. Jude (8); U.S. Open (13); Canadian (10); WGC-Bridgestone (14); PGA Championship (9); Dell Technologies (11); TOUR Championship (6) Matt Kuchar … Valspar (8); Masters (5); Heritage (1); Valero (10); PLAYERS (11); DEAN & DELUCA (6); Memorial (2); Canadian (3); WGC-Bridgestone (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9) Martin Laird … Genesis (3); Valero (7); Barracuda (1) Marc Leishman … Arnold Palmer (3; defending); DEAN & DELUCA (7); Memorial (5); Travelers (2); Open Championship (1) Jamie Lovemark … Arnold Palmer (3) Graeme McDowell … Honda (1); Heritage (4); WGC-Bridgestone (3) William McGirt … Genesis (3); Heritage (1); Memorial (4) Rory McIlroy … Arnold Palmer (10); WGC-Match Play (11); Masters (2); Wells Fargo (1); PLAYERS (8); Memorial (9); Open Championship (4)WGC-Bridgestone (7); Dell Technologies (5); TOUR Championship (3) Phil Mickelson … WGC-Mexico (9); Houston (3); Masters (4); Wells Fargo (2); St. Jude (1); Open Championship (5) Francesco Molinari … Arnold Palmer (1); PLAYERS (2) Ryan Moore … Genesis (9); Valspar (5); Masters (8); Travelers (2); John Deere (3); TOUR Championship (6) Kevin Na … Valspar (5); Arnold Palmer (7); Heritage (6); Memorial (10); John Deere (9); Wyndham (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (11) Pat Perez … Houston (6); Heritage (5); Valero (7) Charl Schwartzel … Valspar (1); WGC-Match Play (3); Memorial (4); U.S. Open (5); Open Championship (6); WGC-Bridgestone (2) Adam Scott … Genesis (1); Honda (2); Arnold Palmer (11); Masters (4); PLAYERS (5); U.S. Open (10); Open Championship (8); WGC-Bridgestone (3); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (6) Jordan Spieth … Valspar (8); Houston (11); Masters (1); Heritage (12); DEAN & DELUCA (2); Travelers (6; defending); John Deere (7); Open Championship (9; defending); WGC-Bridgestone (10); TOUR Championship (4) Brendan Steele … Honda (5); Valero (6); Wells Fargo (7); Travelers (3) Kevin Streelman … Wells Fargo (3); Memorial (1); Travelers (2) Justin Thomas … WGC-Mexico (7); Valspar (8); Wells Fargo (9); Dell Technologies (6; defending); TOUR Championship (3) Jimmy Walker … Genesis (5); Valero (6); Greenbrier (8); Dell Technologies (7) Bubba Watson … Genesis (2); Memorial (6); Travelers (5); Greenbrier (8); WGC-Bridgestone (1); TOUR Championship (4) CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE Chubb Classic The Talon Course at TwinEagles Golf Club in Naples, Florida, has hosted the tournament since 2012. It’s a stock par 72 clipping at 7,193 yards. Bernhard Langer (2013, 2016) is the only multiple champion. Among the five different winners, Kenny Perry (2012), and injured defending champion, Fred Couples, are not in this week’s field. Like last week’s Boca Raton Championship, the Chubb Classic will distribute a season-low-tying $1.6 million in prize money. In fact, it has since 2003. To the victor goes $240,000. 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 2018. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Stephen Ames … Cologuard (3); Mitsubishi Electric Classic (1; defending); Insperity (4); Principal (8); U.S. Senior Open (6); Boeing (2); Shaw (7) Billy Andrade … Cologuard (1); Toshiba (3); Mitsubishi Electric Classic (5); Bass Pro Shops (4) Joe Durant … Toshiba (4); Bass Pro Shops (5); Insperity (15); Principal (2); American Family (8); U.S. Senior Open (7); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); 3M (6); DICK’S (12); Boeing (10); Shaw (11); PURE (3); SAS (13) David Frost … Mitsubishi Electric Classic (6); Bass Pro Shops (3); U.S. Senior Open (4); 3M (7); Boeing (5); Shaw (8); PURE (1) Fred Funk … Toshiba (2); Mitsubishi Electric (4); Bass Pro Shops (1); Regions Tradition (3); Boeing (6); PURE (5) Doug Garwood … SAS (1) Paul Goydos … Mitsubishi Electric Classic (6); Bass Pro Shops (2); Insperity (7); 3M (1; defending); DICK’S (3); SAS (5) Lee Janzen … Rapiscan (1); U.S. Senior Open (2) Miguel Angel Jiménez … Chubb (8); Rapiscan (1; two-time defending); Mitsubishi Electric Classic (2); Insperity (13); Senior PGA (6); Principal (10); U.S. Senior Open (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (3); Senior Open Championship (4); 3M (9); Shaw (7); SAS (12) Brandt Jobe … Chubb (7); Mitsubishi Electric Classic (6); Senior PGA (2); Principal (3; defending); U.S. Senior Open (4); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); 3M (5); Boeing (8) Jerry Kelly … Chubb (3); Boeing (1; defending); Shaw (5); PURE (2); SAS (4) Bernhard Langer … Usable everywhere. Defending five titles. Tom Lehman … Cologuard (6; defending); Bass Pro Shops (7); Insperity (8); Regions Tradition (5); Principal (1); U.S. Senior Open (3); SAS (9) Jeff Maggert … Cologuard (2); Rapiscan (4); Insperity (1); American Family (3); Shaw (5) Billy Mayfair … Boeing (2); PURE (1) Scott McCarron … Toshiba (9); Rapiscan (7); Regions Tradition (2); Senior PGA; Principal (1); SENIOR PLAYERS (3; defending); Senior Open Championship (10); DICK’S (4; defending); Shaw (5; defending); PURE (8) Colin Montgomerie … Chubb (9); Mitsubishi Electric Classic (5); Senior PGA (1); U.S. Senior Open (6); SENIOR PLAYERS (2); Senior Open Championship (10); Shaw (4); PURE (7); SAS (3; defending) Tom Pernice, Jr. … Chubb (4); Cologuard (6); Rapiscan (1); Principal Charity (2); Shaw (3); SAS (5) Gene Sauers … Cologuard (4); Rapiscan (2); Insperity (7); Regions Tradition (3); U.S. Senior Open (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (6); Boeing (1) Kevin Sutherland … Usable everywhere. David Toms … Regions Tradition (3); Boeing (2); SAS (4) Kirk Triplett …  Insperity (2); Regions Tradition (6); American Family (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); Shaw (4) Duffy Waldorf … Cologuard (3); Toshiba (2); Bass Pro Shops (2); Insperity (4); Principal (6); Shaw (5)

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ALBANY, Bahamas – Rickie Fowler likened his early birdie blitz on Sunday at the Hero World Challenge to a rodeo ride on a wild bronco. He wanted to just hang on till he was bucked off. The up and down crazy ride could be a metaphor for his career where he’s had plenty of highs, but some lows as well. Fowler’s lows are first world problems. He’s failed to close out as many tournaments as he believes he should have. Including major championships. He has four official wins on the PGA TOUR – this one is unofficial – but he has 12 runner-ups and seven thirds. He has seven top-5 results in majors without a win including his incredible 2014 where he was T5-T2-T2-T3 across the four majors. The trend continued this fall where in his one start this season at the OHL Classic in Mayakoba he was second. But if his Sunday 11-under 61 at Albany – which set up a four-shot victory margin after coming back from a seven-shot deficit – showed anything… it is that he’s capable of riding that horse till it’s worn out. He will always get back on and ride again. With this attitude he can be a champion more often. This week Fowler is the champ. The 28-year-old was actually the solo leader before the turn such was his incredible opening. He made seven straight birdies to open the round, cooled off with a near miss for another on the eighth before adding another at the ninth. An 8-under 28 front nine. Astonishing. Thoughts of 59 were certainly on the cards when he was 10 under through 13 holes, needing just three birdies in his last five holes. But he could only find one. “You kind of just try… you ride until the horse kicks you off,â€� Fowler said of his incredible start. “You start getting amped up or excited at times so you have to kind of pull yourself back and make sure you stay in the moment. “It’s fun when you get on birdie runs just to see how far you can go. You know it’s not going to last forever…â€� Now he will enter 2018 full of confidence hoping to once again get up on the horse multiple times. Last season he claimed the Honda Classic but just as importantly ranked inside the top 40 on TOUR for every category in the important Strokes Gained statistics. “The big thing was to not lose what we had going this past year because it was a very solid year across the board, and what we’re going to work on going forward is just picking up a few of the little things that could have made just that difference to put us in the winner’s circle more on Sunday,â€� he added. Fowler wants more wins, but refuses to measure himself purely on trophies. He says frustration has never really entered the picture. “If you look at winning as your only sense of success, you’re going to deal with failure a lot,â€� he explained.  “There’s a lot of times where you could pick it apart and last year I could have gotten down on myself a handful of times for not getting the job done or not winning more, but it was a fun year.  “Being in contention with your buddies and some of the best players in the world, if you keep doing that trophies will fall into place.â€� How will he continue to prepare himself over the holiday break? With money games against Tiger Woods and others at their Medalist base in Florida. “I think he sharpened me up a little bit,â€� Fowler said of getting into fierce battles with Woods. “I’ve gotten a little scared of how good he was playing at home, thought I needed to start playing a little bit better or something. “There’s no better way than putting yourself against guys that you’re going to be playing with, putting yourself in game‑time situations.â€� You can expect him to be in these situations often – both at home and on the TOUR – again in 2018. Don’t be surprised if he stays on the horse more often next year.

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