In the second round of The CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges, Luke List moves ahead of 18-hole leader Justin Thomas by two with his flawless 5-under 67.
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This is hilarious. There’s no other way to describe what arguably is the most obvious choice of any golfer in any tournament. No matter your philosophy, which tournaments you include or your current ranking, the only reason you don’t burn Hideki Matsuyama at the Waste Management Phoenix Open is because you already did in one of his four previous starts this season. OK, there are two reasons. The other is that you’ll forget to submit your pick. But that wouldn’t be funny at all. As of late Tuesday night, Matsuyama was chosen by 29 percent of all gamers in PGA TOUR One & Done. He’s projected to be selected almost twice as many times as the second-most chosen, three-time tournament champion, all-time earnings leader at TPC Scottsdale and World Golf Hall of Famer, Phil Mickelson. How do you say, “No big deal,” in Japanese? Truth be told, I went into this column with the intent to go against the grain. Short of the preposterousness of all pivots, it was going to be an exercise. Alas, after reviewing all of the options and angles, only four words are necessary. Hideki Matsuyama. The End. It’s a bedtime story that Sean Martin will read to his kids for years. If it puts smiles on their faces like Matsuyama initiates adoration from their devout daddy, sweet dreams and restless nights are guaranteed. Matsuyama at TPC Scottsdale is like Tiger Woods and Torrey Pines, Bay Hill or Firestone during his prime but minus the three-way coin flip. Look up “don’t overthink it” in any fantasy guide and you’ll see Sean pointing at the Japanese star inside The Coliseum. Now, because it’s my duty to connect with the 71 percent who can’t or won’t execute the obvious, there are eight legitimate short-listers who deserve a thought (or less). • For One & Doners who have already burned Matsuyama, Mickelson is the ideal alternative. The only reason you wouldn’t is because he loves Quail Hollow Club, host of the Wells Fargo Championship on the first weekend of May. The caution to consider is that he’s committed this week and there’s no guarantee that he’ll appear in Charlotte. • If Matsuyama and Mickelson are off-limits, Jon Rahm. The Spaniard checks all of the boxes. • Gary Woodland didn’t crack the top 30 in the tournament in the prior four editions before emerging from a playoff with Chez Reavie last year. The defending champion’s Future Possibilities are thin to none, but he’s been so consistently strong that the absence of more on the horizon transitions his value into that of a wild card. Think Lucas Glover, Tyrrell Hatton and Kyle Stanley in various forms. • Rickie Fowler is No. 9 in my Power Rankings out of respect for his capability and course history, but let’s see him connect for something special with the new golf ball first. • Matt Kuchar is humming along. I could have forced an argument on you, but Matsuyama is available to me and I wanted to respect myself in the morning. • Even I’m a little surprised that the WMPO slots second in Webb Simpson’s Future Possibilities, and most of his success at TPC Scottsdale occurred either when he could still anchor or before he became one with his putter. • Bubba Watson deserves a mention for his allegiance to and success at the tournament, but c’mon, the Travelers Championship is his quality jam. • Martin Laird presents best as a tail of the tandem in two-man games, but you’re going to miss him in Reno. Other two-man options include Reavie, Byeong Hun An, Sam Ryder and Vaughn Taylor. 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 2018-19. 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. Byeong Hun An … Waste Management (2); Honda (3); Memorial (1) Daniel Berger … Waste Management (2); WGC-Mexico (3); Travelers (1) Keegan Bradley … Memorial (5); Travelers (4) Tony Finau … Valero (5); Memorial (2) Rickie Fowler … Waste Management (1); Honda (3); Arnold Palmer (8); Masters (2); Wells Fargo (6); PGA Championship (9); Memorial (5); U.S. Open (10) Branden Grace … Heritage (1); Valero (3); Byron Nelson (5); U.S. Open (4) Emiliano Grillo … Arnold Palmer (2); Charles Schwab (3) Bill Haas … Genesis (3); WGC-Match Play (8); Heritage (4); Charles Schwab (2); Wyndham (6) Adam Hadwin … Waste Management (4); Genesis (3); Valspar (2); John Deere (5) Brian Harman … Arnold Palmer (7); Charles Schwab (1); Travelers (5); John Deere (4) Russell Henley … Honda (4); Masters (3) Charley Hoffman … Genesis (5); Arnold Palmer (2); Masters (4); Heritage (7); Valero (3); Charles Schwab (6); Travelers (1) J.B. Holmes … Waste Management (3); Pebble Beach (2); Genesis (4); Wells Fargo (5) Billy Horschel … Honda (4); Arnold Palmer (7); Valero (2); New Orleans (3; defending); Wyndham (6); TOUR Championship (1) Zach Johnson … Waste Management (6); Arnold Palmer (7); Valero (4); Charles Schwab (5); John Deere (1); Open Championship (2); TOUR Championship (8) Si Woo Kim … PLAYERS (3); Heritage (1) Chris Kirk … Valero (3); PLAYERS (5); Charles Schwab (2) Kevin Kisner … Heritage (3); New Orleans (5); Charles Schwab (2); Memorial (6) Russell Knox … Heritage (2) Matt Kuchar … Waste Management (4); PLAYERS (5); Valspar (9); Masters (6); Heritage (2); Charles Schwab (7); Memorial (1); Open Championship (8) Martin Laird … Waste Management (1); Genesis (3); Valero (5); Reno-Tahoe (2) Hideki Matsuyama … Waste Management (1); Genesis (10); Arnold Palmer (11); PLAYERS (9); Masters (4); PGA Championship (13); Memorial (8); U.S. Open (14); Wyndham (7); TOUR Championship (5) Phil Mickelson … Waste Management (4); Pebble Beach (5); Genesis (6); WGC-Mexico (1; defending); Masters (9); Wells Fargo (2); Open Championship (8); WGC-St. Jude (3) Ryan Moore … Waste Management (12); Genesis (5); Valspar (3); Valero (7); Masters (13); Memorial (11); Travelers (6); John Deere (8); Wyndham (2); TOUR Championship (9) Kevin Na … Genesis (2); Valspar (6); Charles Schwab (3); Wyndham (5) Ryan Palmer … Valero (2); Charles Schwab (4) Scott Piercy … New Orleans (1; co-defending); Canadian (7; last winner at Hamilton in 2012) Jon Rahm … Waste Management (4); Masters (5); Charles Schwab (1); TOUR Championship (7) Xander Schauffele … Genesis (6); PLAYERS (5); U.S. Open (3); Open Championship (4); TOUR Championship (1) Webb Simpson … Waste Management (2); Honda (10); PLAYERS (5; defending); Heritage (6); Wells Fargo (7); Charles Schwab (8); Travelers (9); Wyndham (1) Cameron Smith … Wyndham (3) Brandt Snedeker … Waste Management (8); Pebble Beach (2); Masters (10); Heritage (6); Charles Schwab (7); U.S. Open (5); Travelers (9); Wyndham (1; defending) Brendan Steele … Waste Management (2); Honda (7); Valero (8); Wells Fargo (9); Travelers (4); Reno-Tahoe (3) Kevin Streelman … Pebble Beach (1); Valero (9); Heritage (5); Memorial (4); Travelers (7) Justin Thomas … WGC-Mexico (2); Honda (7; defending); PLAYERS (11); PGA Championship (9); Memorial (8); TOUR Championship (3) Jimmy Walker … Pebble Beach (1); Valero (2); Byron Nelson (6) Bubba Watson … Waste Management (4); Genesis (1; defending); WGC-Match Play (6; defending); Masters (5); Memorial (7); Travelers (2; defending); TOUR Championship (8) Gary Woodland … Waste Management (3; defending); Memorial (4)
NAPLES, Fla. — Steve Stricker provided the pep talk and Sean O’Hair delivered the shot to secure victory Sunday in the QBE Shootout. Stricker and O’Hair closed with an 8-under 64 for a two-shot victory over Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry, effectively clinching it when O’Hair made an eagle on the par-5 17th hole at Tiburon Golf Club. In the final round of better ball, Stricker and O’Hair rallied from a two-shot deficit on the front nine, built a two-shot lead through 14 holes and were ahead by one shot heading to the reachable 17th with the green guarded by a huge bunker with a vetted, waist-high wall. “Walking to 17 tee, Steve said, `A 3 would go a long way right now,'” O’Hair said. O’Hair hit 7-iron from 195 yards over the bunker and it bounced onto the green about 12 feet away. McDowell and Lowry both hit into the bunker, with Lowry’s ball against the face of the wall that forced him to play sideways into the bunker. Both players had to settle for par, and O’Hair rolled in his eagle putt for a three-shot lead. “He played great today,” Stricker said. “He hit a great shot on 17. That’s the stuff you need to do to win a tournament, and Sean pulled it off.” McDowell holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole as he and Lowry closed with a 66. Stricker and O’Hair finished at 26-under 190 and each earned $410,000. It was the second time Stricker and O’Hair won the team event hosted by Greg Norman, but the first time as partners. Stricker won in 2009 with Jerry Kelly, and O’Hair won in 2012 with Kenny Perry. Pat Perez and Brian Harman shot 64 to finish third. Lexi Thompson, the only LPGA Tour player in the 12-team field, and Tony Finau closed with a 66 and tied for fourth. O’Hair was playing for only the second time since he had surgery after the BMW Championship in Chicago to clean up cartilage in his right knee. “This is always a great event to finish the year off with, and to pull this off is special,” O’Hair said. “But to do it with Steve is even that much better for me. I’m a golf geek, so he’s a friend of mine, but still it’s kind of hard not to look at him and kind of put him a little bit up on a pedestal.”
PGA TOUR statement regarding additional tournament cancellations: The health and safety of everyone associated with the PGA TOUR and the global community is and will continue to be our No. 1 priority as we navigate the ongoing health crisis related to the Coronavirus Pandemic. On March 12, the PGA TOUR made the announcement to cancel or postpone four weeks of events on all six Tours through the week of the Valero Texas Open (March 30-April 5). Augusta National Golf Club also announced the postponement of the Masters Tournament (April 6-12). With the most recent recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and the Office of the President of the United States, the PGA TOUR will now cancel four additional events: RBC Heritage (April 13-19); Zurich Classic of New Orleans (April 20-26); Wells Fargo Championship (April 27-May 3); and AT&T Byron Nelson (May 4-10). Furthermore, the PGA of America has postponed the PGA Championship (May 14-17) for a date later this year, to be announced. Also announced today, the USGA is currently holding the dates for the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club as scheduled (June 18-21) but will, as all of us are, continue to monitor the developing situation and follow recommendations by government authorities. As we receive more clarity in the coming weeks, the TOUR will be working with our tournament organizations and title sponsors, in collaboration with golf’s governing bodies, to build a PGA TOUR schedule for 2020 that ensures the health and safety for all associated with our sport and a meaningful conclusion to the season. We will provide further updates when those plans come into focus. Today’s cancellation of PGA TOUR events through May 10 applies to all six Tours, although PGA TOUR Champions has rescheduled The Regions Tradition. Originally slated for May 7-10, the event will now be played September 24-27. PGA TOUR Champions previously announced on March 16 that the Mastercard Japan Championship (June 12-14) will not be contested due to the current travel advisories in place from the CDC, the WHO and the U.S. Department of State. We will continue to work with the tournaments and partners affected by the schedule changes to make a positive impact in their respective communities and allow those events to come back at full strength in 2021. To give our fans respite from this ongoing situation, the PGA TOUR is working with its partners to make available archives of past PGA TOUR competitions and additional programming for fans. More details will be made available soon.” SUMMARY OF CHANGES As we work together to help reduce the spread of Coronavirus, we urge our fans – and everyone around the world – to be mindful of the health and safety measures in place: 1) Wash or sanitize your hands frequently. 2) Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze with your elbow. 3) Observe social distancing and avoid large crowds. 4) Avoid contact with your face with your hands. 5) If you have symptoms related to Coronavirus, please stay home from work or other obligations and seek medical attention. For more please visit the Centers for Disease Control’s information page.
