One & Done fantasy golf: Sentry Tournament of Champions

The PGA TOUR returns to Canada this week for the RBC Canadian Open. This year marks the first time since 2019 that the event will be featured on the PGA TOUR schedule, as the pandemic led to cancelations of the event in 2020 and 2021. Rory McIlroy is the last winner of this event when it was held at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in 2019. This week does feature a full field, with more than 150 golfers in the attendance, and will feature a strong top end, with five of the top 10 golfers in the OWGR teeing it up. The event will take place at St. George’s G&CC, a 7,014-yard par 70 that last hosted the event in 2010. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $800,000 Pitch + Putt [$200,000 to 1st] With the U.S. Open taking place the week after the RBC Canadian Open, a lot of big names have made the trek up North to get in some competitive practice. Both Justin Thomas ($10,900) and Scottie Scheffler ($11,100), the year’s first two major championship winners, are in the field. Sam Burns ($10,000), winner at another tricky par-70 track (Colonial) two weeks ago, is also making an appearance. As is Cameron Smith ($10,300), who suffered a dismal Sunday last weekend and ended the Memorial Tournament T13. The last time we saw the RBC Canadian Open played, it was on another shorter par-70 track in Hamilton, and that event was won at -22 by Rory McIlroy ($10,500). Given the way some of the top names in the world have performed this year, it wouldn’t be shocking to see another dominate win by one of them on what will be a shorter than normal setup for the pros. STRATEGY Shorter courses tend to put an emphasis on short irons, short games and putting. We should expect the Stanley Thompson-designed St. George’s G&CC to emphasize those specific facets of the game. In 2010, we saw Carl Pettersson take down the event at St. George’s, a player who ranked 137th in driving distance that season. Pettersson also ranked third in strokes gained putting that year and was able to craft a round of 60 on St. George’s in the third round, on his way to the win. The greens at St. George’s are bentgrass and, with rain in the forecast, could be very receptive for 2022. McIlroy ranks first in Strokes Gained: Putting on bentgrass greens over the last 24 rounds. Players who have good track records at short courses and have solid proximity stats with their short irons should also be valued highly this week. Matthias Schwab ($7,300) and Rory Sabbatini ($7,200) both rank inside the top 10 in proximity from 125-150 yards over the last 24 rounds while Smith and David Lipsky ($7,300) both rank inside the top 10 in proximity from 100-125 yards over that same span. Last year, the week before the U.S. Open, we saw Garrick Higgo take down his first PGA TOUR title at the Palmetto Championship, in what was only his second PGA TOUR start. Strange things can happen the week prior to a major, and there’s plenty of interesting names down the field to take a look at this week for our daily fantasy golf lineups. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Cameron Smith ($10,300) Smith found himself in contention again last week but fell back to T13 after a poor Sunday. He has wins at both Waialae Country Club (Sony Open) and TPC Sawgrass (THE PLAYERS), two shorter tracks on the PGA TOUR where short irons, short games and putting are all magnified. The course this week will be much less demanding off the tee than the venues seen in Smith’s last two starts, and that should allow the rest of his game to shine through. He’s been showcasing an elite approach game of late and ranks first in proximity from 100-125 yards out over the last 24 rounds. Starting DFS lineups with Smith this week on a suitable layout makes complete sense when looking at the top of the board. Corey Conners ($9,600) Conners has typically held himself very well at some of the shorter tracks on the PGA TOUR. He landed a T12 at Hilton Head in April and was also T11 at the aforementioned Waialae Country Club in Hawaii this January. Obviously, the Canadian will be playing in his national open, which will make this week a little more special for him than the rest of the field, so seeing him attack with a little more seriousness wouldn’t be shocking. A wet course with high greens in regulations also wouldn’t be terrible for Conners, as he gained over 8.0 strokes on approach last week at the Memorial and is second in the field in proximity stats over the last 50 rounds. David Lipsky ($7,300) If you’re looking to take a shot with a player lower down the board this week, then perhaps think about looking to Lipsky, who has been playing solid golf of late. The former Korn Ferry Tour and European Tour winner ranks 12th in Strokes Gained: Approach stats over the last 50 rounds and has done well over the last couple of weeks on tougher setups (T37 last week at Muirfield). Lipsky’s strong short-iron game should shine through at St. George’s, and he won’t be as disadvantaged by his lack of distance off the tee. Stephan Jaeger ($7,300) and C.T. Pan ($8,100) are a couple of other potential value targets for DFS this week, as they’ve been trending well on approach and should set up well for this older, more technical venue. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $800,000 Pitch + Putt [$200,000 to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is wavegoodbye) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. 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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – It goes beyond the winner’s prize, which has changed over the years and been used in different manners. Tom Ryan set up most of the house at the Black Pearl in Newport, Rhode Island, with his set of crystal for winning in 2003 alongside Brad Faxon. Air Force Chaplain Father John Durkin in 1971 used his prize, a Chalice, for more sacred reasons with communicants at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. It goes beyond thinking that there is a blueprint for success, because there isn’t. D.A. Points, for instance, chose a laugh-a-minute route to victory with Bill Murray in 2011. Art Wall Jr., on the other hand, did quite well on two occasions by teaming with classic chalk – Gene Littler in 1954, Charlie Coe in 1959. And it goes way beyond lining up tools for amateurs to use on stage. Tom Brady tossed footballs. Justin Timberlake strummed a guitar. Years earlier, Francis Ouimet strolled along with an aura. Then there was Tommy Smothers and his yo-yo. It goes beyond all of that and lands at this: there is nothing like the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, of which it emphatically can be said, “Often imitated, never duplicated.” “Growing up, I understood it to be a great event, but when I found myself in that position (2014), I thought it was the coolest thing,” said Jim Renner, whose 18th-hole experience in the final round that year personifies what this tournament is all about. Then 30, Renner had a chance to win the tournament – if he made this 6-foot birdie at the final hole. The crazy thing is, he wasn’t thinking in those terms. “I knew we (Renner and amateur partner John Harkey) were in contention and his birdie putt (of 10 feet) might do it for us,” said Renner. “(John) had made an incredible (third) shot, under the circumstances, and I was so pumped he made it.” Harkey’s birdie-net eagle did spell victory for the team, but Renner recalls that watching Harkey’s smile sort of woke him up. “All of a sudden I remembered I had to make my birdie putt,” said Renner. As fate would have it, Renner did make his putt to get to 10-under, but Jimmy Walker made par at 18 to preserve his one-stroke win. To Renner, the tie for second was good for $580,800, but the pro-am title was worth “the wall,” a plaque at Pebble Beach’s first hole where team winners of this annual tournament are inscribed. “Whoever thought I would be on the wall at Pebble?” said Renner. “But that’s what that tournament is all about.” What “it’s all about” remains in line with what Bing Crosby envisioned in 1937 when he put up the $10,000 purse and invited a group of his friends from entertainment, golf, and business – worlds, by the way, in which “Der Bingle” was equally comfortable and masterful – to play in a little pro-am at Rancho Santa Fe in Southern California. Writing for Sports Illustrated in 1961 in advance of the 20th edition of Crosby’s iconic pro-am, Alfred Wright said “it has grown in stature and importance, but it has never lost the spirit that motivated (it).” In advance of the 75th playing of the tournament at Pebble Beach (with Monterey Peninsula’s Shore Course and Spyglass Hill in supporting roles), one could say that sentiment holds true. The voices of the game’s best speak fervently about melding the “pro” with the “am” when it comes to this tournament. For example, while Tom Watson is connected eternally to Pebble Beach for the unforgettable chip-in at the par-3 17th to win the 1982 U.S. Open, he feels equally passionate about his 28 trips to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Those visits included two individual wins and nine other top-10s, but first he’ll point to “the wall” and 1941. That was the year Leonard Dodson won with Raymond Watson – a “very good 12 (handicap) who plays to several strokes less,” writers reported. Raymond Watson was Tom’s father. And Michael Watson, who played the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am 15 years ago and helped by 28 shots to get his team a top-10, is Tom’s son. A sweet circle of life, in golf terms. “These are the kind of events that define the PGA TOUR,” said Tom Watson, explaining why he requested an exemption to play with Michael in 2007. “I want to be part of that any time I possibly can.” There is a long list of the game’s greatest players who shared Watson’s love of the event, and those who won savor it. Sometimes, the winning team had major sex appeal – like Fred Couples and George Brett in 1987. Or that most popular pairing of Byron Nelson and Eddie Lowery in 1955. And don’t sleep on 1948, when Ben Hogan won with Johnny Dawson. Sometimes, the winning team involved a legend who didn’t mind having fun with golf writers and teasing partners. “He’s my thief,” Lee Trevino quipped to reporters about Don Schwab after they prevailed in 1972. Said Johnny Miller after winning in 1974 with Locke de Bretteville in a competition halted at 54 holes, “That’s another reason why I’m glad they stopped it (at 54 holes). My partner was starting to choke.” Johnny being Johnny, of course, because de Bretteville’s play in miserable conditions was quite good. But if ever a sense of pressure could have entered the pro-am picture, it was in 2001 when Phil Mickelson and his teammate Kenny G collapsed at the 72nd hole. Lefty needed an eagle to win or a birdie to tie Davis Love III, and a par would seal the team deal. He made double bogey. Kenny G needed net par to clinch the team title. He made double bogey. The team title ended in a tie between Tiger Woods (with Jerry Chang) and the Mickelson-Kenny G duo. Imagine leaving folks hanging and not pursuing a Tiger-Phil playoff? Then again, the payoff at the AT&T – four days of misfits, mis-hits, and mischievous – renders a playoff meaningless. The fun has been had. Want a poster to highlight what the tournament’s all about? Drift to 1987 and the edge of that priceless real estate that is No. 16 at Cypress Point. Jack Lemmon’s tee shot had come to rest in an ice plant on the edge of the cliff, well short of the green. He chose to play it, but first, a safety net. As Lemmon got in position, Clint Eastwood got a grip on Lemmon. Peter Jacobsen, Lemmon’s playing partner, took hold of Eastwood, and Greg Norman, Eastwood’s partner, held to Jacobsen. It’s a timeless photo of a veritable human chain that reinforces the notion that this tournament is less about golf as an individual sport and more about golf as a unifying affair. Consider Lemmon’s 25-year quest that went unfulfilled – he never made the cut that he so desired. Consider that Johnny Weissmuller once gave the crowd of thousands what they wanted – his ball stuck in a tree, he climbed up, got the ball out, and let out a “Tarzan” cry while hanging from a branch. Consider how Crosby once stood so nervously over a 6-foot birdie putt on 17 – to give his team the lead – that in his herky-jerky pre-shot routine, he accidentally tapped the ball backward, so he now had a 9-footer for par. He missed it, and Crosby never did win his own pro-am. Nor did Lemmon. Nor did Weissmuller. Nor did Eastwood or a parade of other notables. But that isn’t the point. The point is all of them found boundless joy in this AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where golf is the common ground that can even unite a Catholic priest with a colorful gent such as “Champagne” Tony Lema. When he won at Pebble Beach in 1964, Lema played through heavy rain and wind on the final day where the best score was 73. A closing 76 was enough to win, but Lema – who would win four more times that year, including the Open Championship at the Old Course at St. Andrews – said it was his partner, Father John Durkin, who kept him together. “The influence of Father John Durkin on me certainly helped,” said Lema. “Among other things, I couldn’t swear. Oh, I did once, but he pretended not to hear.” (Yes, that’s the same Father John Durkin who would win the pro-am with Lou Graham, but that partnership only developed out of tragedy – the airplane crash in July of 1966 that killed Lema, his wife, the pilot and co-pilot.) Lema and Father Durkin played together three times – in 1964, 1965 and 1966 – and while never did they take the team title, their partnership went beyond the golf course. Father Durkin often said Mass at the Old Mission Church in Carmel, and Lema helped as an altar server. Communion wine and Champagne. An odd combo. Only at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am could they be mixed so tastefully and beautifully.

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