Playoff changes could be coming to PGA Tour Champions

Retired Romo to try to qualify for U.S. Open

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PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – The first omen appeared Monday when amateur Lukas Euler, currently a junior on the University of Kentucky golf team, earned an exemption into the Genesis Open by winning the Collegiate Showcase at Riviera. On Sunday, the two most notable active PGA TOUR pros from Kentucky battled for 34 holes to decide a much more lucrative prize. Fittingly, with their home state famous for its equine competition, the final round essentially became a two-horse race. In the end, it was J.B. Holmes, the older of the two thoroughbreds, who caught Justin Thomas down the home stretch to win at Riviera in an afternoon of challenging, windy conditions. In the scoring tent, Thomas noted that the final leaderboard had the Bluegrass State going 1-2. “Obviously wish I was on the other part of that,â€� Thomas said, wondering if it’s “ever happened before on the PGA TOUR, two Kentuckians finishing first and second.â€� Holmes and Thomas have known each other at least 15 years. When Thomas was still in grade schools, Holmes showed him the ropes by allowing him inside-the-ropes access during practice rounds. When Holmes and fellow Kentuckian Kenny Perry were on the American team at the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla in Thomas’ hometown of Louisville, a teenaged Thomas was part of the victory celebration. Holmes said he’s basically a “big brother, mentor a little bitâ€� to Thomas. They’ve played practice rounds together, but this weekend was the first time at a regular TOUR event they’ve been paired in the same group. Due to the schedule adjustment forced by a seven-hour rain delay to start the tournament, rules officials decided not to re-pair the groups between the third and fourth rounds in order to make sure the playing schedule was not pushed into Monday. That meant Holmes and Thomas – along with Australian Adam Scott – played two holes late Saturday afternoon to start the third round, then 16 holes to complete the round Sunday morning before teeing off 20 minutes later for 18 more holes in the final round. “It was great being able to go out and play with him and battle it out,â€� Holmes said. “He’s such a great player, so it was fun being out there, talking and just battling it out.â€� It probably didn’t seem as much fun for Holmes when Thomas appeared to take control of the tournament with a third-round 65 that put him four strokes ahead. But that lead evaporated five holes into the final round, when Holmes gained a stroke on four consecutive holes with a birdie and three Thomas bogeys. Once Scott fell off the pace at the turn, the outcome was left in the hands of Holmes and Thomas. Holmes took his first outright lead of the day with a birdie and a Thomas bogey at the drivable par-4 10th. He promptly gave the lead back with his first three-putt of the week, at the par-5 11th, while Thomas birdied. At that point, Thomas was 15 under, Holmes 14 under. Holmes had entered the week ranked 202nd in Strokes Gained: Putting but found a hot hand on Riviera’s greens. He refused to let his season-long putting struggles create doubt in his mind down the stretch, especially with wind gusts of 30 mph creating indecision with every shot or putt. “I knew were getting on the holes that were very, very difficult and that anything could happen,â€� Holmes said. “For me to get upset was just going to hurt me there. It was over and I had to do the best I could to get back in it.â€� Holmes did exactly that by playing par golf the rest of the way. He made a crucial par-saving putt from 12 feet on the 13th hole and another one from 11 feet at the 16th. Meanwhile, Thomas self-destructed with a double at the 13th and a bogey at the 14th. He admitted to struggling with the putter, adding that it showed a flaw in his game. “J.B. won, he played great,â€� Thomas said. “But it’s always a bummer to hand him a tournament. I feel like I should’ve won that thing.â€� Instead of Thomas winning for the 11th time on TOUR, it was Holmes who claimed his fifth win, and first since the 2015 Houston Open. Known for his length off the tee, it was, surprisingly, the putter that gets most of the credit for ending his victory drought. He credits time spent with his coach Matt Killen. “We spent a lot of time this week with the coach and getting on the green and trying to find the right ball position and how it set up, and putting through some gates, making sure I was starting the ball online,â€� Holmes explained. “I putted for several hours throughout the week in the morning, we changed our routine and we had a string and a mirror and just made sure that everything was dialed in.â€� On the 18th green late Sunday, Holmes made a terrific lag putt to set up a short par putt for his final-round 1-under 70 that won him the tournament when Thomas missed his birdie attempt from 19 feet. The two guys from Kentucky – Holmes is from Campbellsville, Thomas is from Louisville – then hugged, competitors for 36 holes who shared more than just a thirst for victory. Perhaps one day, they’ll race down the stretch again. â€�I’ve known J.B. since I was 7 or 8 or 9 years old,â€� Thomas said. “He was always so great to me. He would always pull me in the ropes in practice rounds in PGAs and stuff like that. I mean, that’s stuff I never forget.” “I just never thought, you know, 15 years later he would beat my ass at Riviera. That was a bummer.â€� But for the Bluegrass State, it was pretty cool.

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As of Tuesday afternoon, Webb Simpson is rostered by two-thirds of gamers in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf for the Wyndham Championship. Only two-thirds! How does this happen? Here, I was ready to recommend that only gamers in pursuit should abstain because front-runners will be using him for defensive purposes. Simpson at Sedgefield probably is on the podium of sites at which One & Doners write him down in ink before the season starts. Despite its slot on the schedule, it’s an acceptable push because you can’t lose ground in that format, but in the roster game that totals the scores for four golfers and with quadrupled bonus points in each of the three FedExCup Playoffs events lined up next, the smarter play is the no-play. Even if Simpson wins (again) at Sedgefield, you can absorb the hit with the promise of volatility straight ahead. If you’re still with me on that approach, pivot to Will Zalatoris. Because he’s not eligible for the Playoffs unless he wins the Wyndham, it’ll be his last start of the 2020-21 season. If you’re concerned about his health, that’s fair, but consider that he mustered the strength to sign for four rounds in the 60s at TPC Southwind en route to his T8. He’s absolutely ideal to spell Simpson for chasers. RELATED: Power Rankings | PGATOUR.COM Expert Picks PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf My roster for the Wyndham Championship (in alphabetical order): Russell Henley Sungjae Im Si Woo Kim Kevin Kisner Webb Simpson Will Zalatoris You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Joel Dahmen; Brian Harman; Jason Kokrak; Hideki Matsuyama; Seamus Power; Rory Sabbatini; Adam Scott; Brandt Snedeker; Matthew Wolff Driving: Joel Dahmen; Lucas Glover; Brian Harman; Jim Herman; Jason Kokrak; Hideki Matsuyama; Louis Oosthuizen; Harold Varner III POWER RANKINGS WILD CARD Rickie Fowler (+5000) … He’s fully exempt through the 2022-23 season but he’s not inside the bubble to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs, so there is pressure to perform slotted 130th. We give him the benefit of the doubt that he’s invigorated by the immediacy of something so valuable at stake, so reserve him for fractional purposes in DFS. DRAWS Lucas Glover (+8000)… He hadn’t yet qualified for The Open Championship (MC) and the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational (T57) until he won the John Deere Classic a month ago, so treat those starts as bonuses on which he didn’t capitalize. The Wyndham Championship has been a staple on his schedule throughout his career, so anticipate a rebound and a springboard into the Playoffs. At Sedgefield, he’s gone 8-for-12 with five top 25s. It’s a test that rewards his skill set as a ball-striker and it won’t overpower as the 41-year-old ages. Jim Herman (+10000)… It’s strange but true that he’s defending a title for the second time in three starts. Four weeks ago, he placed T20 at the Barbasol Championship after sitting on that trophy since 2019. Now he returns to Sedgefield where he shot 16-under 124 on the weekend to prevail by one shot. He had hung up a pair of top 20s previously on this track, so it already was a comfort zone for the ball-striker. With five consecutive paydays upon arrival this time, he projects to serve DFSers well. Tommy Fleetwood (+5000)… Good for the payday but he’s gone five months without a top 10 and sits 136th in the FedExCup. His worst-case scenario is that he falls short of the Playoffs and then focuses on the Ryder Cup. Ryan Armour Joel Dahmen Talor Gooch Zach Johnson Kevin Na Patrick Rodgers Charl Schwartzel Adam Scott Roger Sloan Harold Varner III Matthew Wolff Gary Woodland Odds sourced on Tuesday, August 3 at 5 a.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. FADES Erik van Rooyen (+6600)… Nappy Factor, uh, baby! Gotta credit him for retaining this week’s commitment after last week’s career-changing experience, and we know that he’s won abroad, but it’s been a heavy, life-changing summer for the 31-year-old South African. Let’s give him the week to decompress and celebrate. If he goes on to contend again, then it’ll be the exception for a scenario like his. Bubba Watson (+6600)… First trip to Sedgefield in 12 years, so I’m lowering expectations based on that alone. The 42-year-old has had a terrific season with five top 10s among nine top 25s, but he’s still just 71st in the FedExCup, so the timing to contribute once more and slide inside the top 70 for a deeper run is perfect. Francesco Molinari (+12500)… The cynic in me has to give attention to the fact that this will be his 15th start of the season. It meets the membership minimum to retain voting privileges and avoids a one-year restriction from membership. He’s 140th in the FedExCup (and has missed six of his last eight cuts worldwide), so he likely would need to finish no worse than sixth to qualify for the Playoffs. This is just his second appearance at Sedgefield (T24, 2014). Matt Jones Matt Kuchar Luke List Chez Reavie Justin Rose Kyle Stanley Brendon Todd Jhonattan Vegas RETURNING TO COMPETITION Hank Lebioda … Hasn’t played since the 3M Open where he made the cut but withdrew at the midpoint to be with his father who was experiencing a serious health-related issue. Prior to it, the lefty was on some kind of tear. He was 7-for-7 with a pair of top 20s ahead of a T5-T4-T8 run into July. Also 2-for-2 at Sedgefield, so with the resolution of knowing his dad is on the mend, the byproduct of what happened is experienced in the form of a mental break from the day job and physical rest. At 90th in the FedExCup, he’s poised to make noise now and next week. Kramer Hickok … Rested since walking off TPC Deere Run during the second round of the John Deere Classic with a sore rib. He’s 86th in the FedExCup on the strength of the eight-hole playoff loss at the Travelers two weeks prior. Wildly inconsistent, so invest elsewhere. Vaughn Taylor … Injuries to his lower back (3M) and a rib (Barracuda) forced mid-tournament withdrawals in consecutive starts. He’s 148th in the FedExCup and 6-for-8 at Sedgefield, but he is unownable until he proves he’s healthy. NOTABLE WDs Patrick Reed … It’s not often when I drop an “indefatigable” on a golfer, as I did on him in the Power Rankings before he opted out on Tuesday. You can’t play them all, which is how the conclusion of his season was lining up because of the late call to compete in the Olympics. He was on the road for four straight weeks through Memphis and the three-event Playoffs await. If there’s a negative to the rest, it’s that he’s forfeiting the chance to finish inside the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10. At 22nd in the FedExCup, he had a chance to rise to as high as eighth. Sam Burns … Now 10th in the FedExCup following his playoff loss at TPC Southwind. Pat Perez … It was interesting for a while there, but he climbed from outside the top 125 in the FedExCup with a sturdy summer that included a trio of top 15s. Currently 104th and headed back to the Playoffs. He’s missed only one edition in his career (2016) and that was because he was sidelined for eight months after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Rafa Cabrera Bello … At 169th in the FedExCup, the Spaniard will qualify only for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, but he already had locked that up when he finished 129th in the 2019-20 FedExCup. He’s a good reminder that all who finished 126-200 in points both last season and this season are eligible. Kevin Stadler … It would have been his last start on a Major Medical Extension. POWER RANKINGS RECAP – World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Brooks Koepka T54 2 Jordan Spieth T12 3 Daniel Berger T5 4 Louis Oosthuizen T17 5 Dustin Johnson T10 6 Collin Morikawa T26 7 Matt Fitzpatrick T57 8 Scottie Scheffler 14th 9 Viktor Hovland T36 10 Rory McIlroy T12 11 Justin Thomas T26 12 Webb Simpson T15 13 Billy Horschel T17 14 Abraham Ancer Win 15 Xander Schauffele T46 16 Shane Lowry T23 17 Corey Conners T36 18 Brian Harman T36 19 Phil Mickelson T17 20 Sergio Garcia T26 Wild Card Patrick Cantlay T23 SLEEPERS RECAP – World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational Golfer Result Jim Herman T46 Ryosuke Kinoshita T43 Martin Laird T57 Carlos Ortiz T36 Aaron Rai T26 POWER RANKINGS RECAP – Barracuda Championship Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Branden Grace T30 2 Maverick McNealy T18 3 Ryan Moore MC 4 Emiliano Grillo T27 5 Brian Stuard MC 6 Brandt Snedeker MC 7 Chez Reavie T43 8 Thomas Pieters T54 9 Mito Pereira T39 10 Justin Suh MC OTHERS TO CONSIDER RECAP – Barracuda Championship Golfer Result Ryan Armour MC Brandon Hagy 5th Aaron Wise MC BIRTHDAYS AMONG ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE PGA TOUR August 10 … none August 11 … Morgan Hoffmann (32) August 12 … Chase Seiffert (30) August 13 … Tommy Gainey (46) August 14 … Lucas Bjerregaard (30) August 15 … Ted Purdy (48); Harold Varner III (31) August 16 … Will Zalatoris (25) Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. 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