The Latest: List having to putt with wedge against Thomas

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Tommy Fleetwood won the Race to Dubai and the right to be called the top golfer in Europe after a tense battle with Justin Rose that was ultimately decided on the final green of the season on Sunday. Rose, seemingly in cruise control after 11 holes as he opened up a one-shot lead atop of the leaderboard on 19-under par, then wobbled and made bogeys on the 12th, 14th and 16th holes on the Earth course of Jumeirah Golf Estates. The 37-year-old No. 6-ranked golfer reached the par-5 18th hole three shots behind clubhouse leader Jon Rahm of Spain (19 under), and needed to make an eagle to move up to second. With Fleetwood in the clubhouse in joint 21st at 11 under, Rose needed to finish in solo fourth place or better to win his second Order of Merit title. Just short of the green with his second shot, Rose used his putter and came agonizingly close but the ball did not go in. He finished in joint fourth place at 17-under par with three other players, handing the title to Fleetwood. Spain’s Rahm, winner of the Irish Open earlier this year on the European Tour, fired a final-round 67 to finish on 19-under par 269 to win the tournament. Ireland’s Shane Lowry shot the day’s best round, a 63, to finish tied second at 270 alongside Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat (67). Masters champion Sergio Garcia (65) and South African duo of Dylan Frittelli (69) and Dean Burmester (68) were the other players tied for fourth with Rose. Rose made four birdies in his first seven holes, and played his first poor shot on the 12th when his approach found the greenside bunker. He made a bogey there, before finding the water with his second shot on the par-5 14th and missing a two-foot par putt on the 16th. After two successive rounds of 65, Fleetwood failed to make headway on Sunday, and could only watch the drama unfold in the scoring tent after a two-over par 74 round. “It’s the biggest day of my career for sure. The emotions were difficult on me. I don’t trust computers, so even when everything had finished, it was so difficult to get up or down. Then I felt for Justin a lot. He was so gracious when he came in.shows a lot about his character,” said Fleetwood after accepting his trophy. “The achievement of winning a year-long thing is massive and it holds a lot of respect among your peers and the players. It shows sort of the level of consistency and the amount I’ve improved as a player and as a person.” Rose was disappointed with his finish, but delighted for Fleetwood. “I just feel I went a bit flat around the turn. I had opportunities around 10 and 11 and didn’t take those. I got a little bit out of my routine and a little distracted, had a poor shot on the par-5 and then it was a struggle from there on in. The shots on 13 and 14 were the undoing,” he said. “Tommy, I’m pleased for him. He’s battled hard all year and put a good week in South Africa and had a great couple of comeback rounds this week to fight back and deserve it. He’s been leading all year and it’s good for him to finish it off.” As other players struggled down the stretch, Rahm birdied the 14th and the tough 16th to take the lead for good. “I was a little anxious before teeing off. I really wanted to win. I really wanted to finish strong,” said Rahm, who also won the PGA TOUR event in Torrey Pines and is expected to climb up to fourth place in the world rankings on Monday in his first full season as a professional.

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NOTE: If you play PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO, The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex begins on Thursday. It’s the last of five majors on the circuit and there is a 36-hole cut. See the possibilities at the bottom of the page to assist you in determining your pick. Part of our purpose as a sevensome of “experts” is to enjoy publicly battling in our little league, but we take seriously our positions of suggesting golfers you should consider for yours. Whether you’re chasing your own league title or gunning for the season-long prizes at PGATOUR.COM, we understand that you count on us to present options and sensible opinion if for no other reason than you simply don’t have the time to commit to the same. Jonathan and Chris are cognizant of the fact that you may have followed their lead, if possible, and selected Jordan Spieth and Grayson Murray for last week’s Open Championship and Barbasol Championship, respectively. Spieth was the fourth-most owned at Royal Birkdale at 6.4 percent, but Murray ranked 24th at just 0.4 percent in ownership percentage. As the steward of the weekly recaps on Thursdays, I’ve gleaned a sense for our influence over time, so I’m certain that Chris’ call for the PGA TOUR rookie in particular was heard out there. It’s decisions like Junior’s that can determine league championships, but no such guesswork is needed at the RBC Canadian Open. Matt Kuchar strolls and smiles into Glen Abbey checking all of the boxes. Sure, the runner-up finish at Royal Birkdale hurt like no other defeat in his career, but we also know that he takes too much pride in himself and his profession to mail it in anywhere, but especially at a tournament where he’s appeared every year since 2010. He’s not only finished T2, T7 and T9 in the last three editions of the event at Glen Abbey, he’s also an RBC ambassador, so there are all kinds of positive vibes assisting in taking his mind off what was effectively a Jordan Spieth victory and not a Matt Kuchar loss at The Open. In two appearances at Glen Abbey, Dustin Johnson has been beaten by only the winners in 2013 (Brandt Snedeker) and 2016 (Jhonattan Vegas). Skeptical gamers would like to see a reversal in his form, but gamers in earnings-based formats and chasing should plug him in. It’s in weeks like this one when so many of the game’s best talents are resting or competing elsewhere when DJ’s value is multiplied. Tony Finau sets up as a timely bridge in PGA TOUR One & Done presented by SERVPRO, but he’s worthy of a primary slot in two-man formats. He continues to impress as a special breed who retains above-average consistency while maintaining a busy schedule. If you’ve yet to burn Charley Hoffman, this is your last logical spot to invest. Do it with confidence. Chad Campbell, Scott Stallings, Daniel Summerhays and Sung Kang are dandy complements to two-man gamers. If you wanted to go all-in on having some fun with an all-Maple Leaf lineup, consider the duo of Adam Hadwin and Mackenzie Hughes. They’ve already lifted PGA TOUR hardware this season. 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 … WGC-Bridgestone; Dell Technologies Kevin Chappell … Dell Technologies Jim Furyk … Canadian; WGC-Bridgestone; TOUR Championship Charley Hoffman … Canadian Dustin Johnson … Canadian; TOUR Championship Matt Kuchar … Canadian; WGC-Bridgestone Graeme McDowell … WGC-Bridgestone; Wyndham William McGirt … Wyndham Scott Piercy … BMW Bubba Watson … WGC-Bridgestone; TOUR Championship Gary Woodland … Barracuda (already eligible for concurrent WGC-Bridgestone); PGA Championship; Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE POSSIBILITIES The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex Royal Porthcawl in Wales hosts for the second time (2014). It’s a par 35-36=71 with three par 5s and tips at 7,010 yards. As one of only three tournaments (all majors) with a 36-hole cut and with one of the lowest purses of the season (~$1.75 million), it’s a decent week to holster a notable if you can’t go the distance without searching on the fringe. Golfers listed alphabetically. Rob’s serious considerations in bold. Billy Andrade … Top 20s in his only previous appearances, but hasn’t played Royal Porthcawl in competition. Just one top-45 finish in his last four events upon arrival. Tommy Armour III … T9s in two of his last three starts but a non-factor in his last two Senior Opens. Paul Broadhurst … Defending champion (at Carnoustie) and 2016 Rookie of the Year. Missed the cut by two last week at Royal Birkdale. Top 25s in last three PGA TOUR Champions starts. Fred Couples … The 2012 champ placed T13 here in 2014 despite a closing 78. Returned from injury with a victory in Wisconsin a month ago. T4 at the SENIOR PLAYERS. Seven top sixes in 2017. Scott Dunlap … Really ideal is you’re front-running and are out of short-range options. Top 20s in all three Senior Opens (T6 in 2014) and fresh off a T14 at the SENIOR PLAYERS. Joe Durant … No matter the venue, he’s performed exceptionally well at the SENIOR PLAYERS (T6-T3-T2-T6), but has just four top 10s in 13 starts in the other majors combined. Save him. Steve Flesch … Intriguing fit with a pair of fifth-place finishes in five starts since turning 50 in May. Alas, his record in The Open Championship is pedestrian at best (3-for-5 with one top 50). Fred Funk … Somewhat tempting coming off a T6 at the SENIOR PLAYERS, but it’s been six years since his last top 25 in the Senior Open. T29 here in 2014 is the best in the interim. Miguel Angel Jiménez … Major breakthrough is imminent. An automatic if you’ve yet to pull the trigger. Solo fourth at Caves Valley and a T8-4th-T3 run in the Senior Open starting here in 2014. Jerry Kelly … As a first-timer, it’s relevant to comp to his record in The Open Championship, and it was forgettable. He went 5-for-11 with zero top 25s. Bernhard Langer … The 2014 champ and by 13 strokes! He’s had a week to recover from the stunning collapse late at Caves Valley, so if you haven’t yet burned him, ignore the reduced purse. Tom Lehman … By comparison, his worst major. Best finish in seven tries was a T10 in 2012. He’s either won or finished second at least once in each of the other four. Scott McCarron … So valuable as one of the most predictable when there are four par 5s. They are his moneymakers. Runner-up last year at Carnoustie but wasn’t yet eligible here in 2014. Colin Montgomerie … The 2014 runner-up and fresh off a T6 at the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS, which ended his drought without a top 15 at six starts. Tom Pernice, Jr. … Tied for third here in 2014, but has only one top-30 finish in the last 10 majors. Gene Sauers … Too inconsistent even as a bridge. Also making his debut at Royal Porthcawl. Target the Boeing Classic in late August instead. Jeff Sluman … Six top 25s in nine Opens, including in each of the last four (T16 at Royal Porthcawl in 2014), so he’s a fair surrogate during what has been a nice season at age 59. Duffy Waldorf … Didn’t compete here in 2014, but once again, save him for one of the remaining eight non-majors. In fact, pencil him in for the Shaw Charity Classic on Labor Day weekend. Tom Watson … It wouldn’t be an Open discussion without this guy. Tied for 10th here in 2014. Perfect if you’ve never rostered him ever before and you’re entirely about having a good time.

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THE OVERVIEW By Cameron Morfit, PGATOUR.COM Equipment issues. Kidney stones. A Ryder Cup hangover. Awaiting the birth of his second child, a son, in December. Life seemed to catch up to Patrick Reed last season. He came down from his electrifying Singles victory over Rory McIlroy, one of the most indelible moments in golf in 2016, and last season failed to win a tournament for the first time since he started on TOUR in 2013. At eighth in the Official World Golf Ranking when he traveled to Maui for the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, Reed dropped out of the top 20. Still, it was hardly a lost cause for the five-time winner Reed, 27, who showed signs of his old self with a tie for second at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, ensuring he would make his second Presidents Cup team. He advanced all the way to the TOUR Championship and finished 22nd in the FedExCup. And in compiling a 3-1-1 record, mostly with his usual wingman, Jordan Spieth, Reed was back to his old self for the U.S. Team’s easy victory at Liberty National.  If the positive trend continues, the 2018 season will see Reed and his wife, Justine, adjusting to being the parents of two, and Reed resuming his winning ways. These things take time, but such incandescent talent usually wins out in the end. Oh, and there’s always another opportunity to represent his country, this time in Paris. Imagine the kind of fun Reed could have in the City of Lights. BY THE NUMBERS How Patrick Reed ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 95th Playoff appearances: 5 TOUR Championship appearances: 4 Best result: 3rd (2016) INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Patrick Reed in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Ben Everill Captain America is still searching for a way to bring his team golf mentality to individual tournaments and if he ever does succeed in that mission, he will be the ultimate force to be reckoned with. For now, he is still an enigma. Brilliant some rounds and weeks and not so much the next. Made a late-season push in 2017, almost winning the PGA Championship, but then was unable to really press it forward in three fall starts. The talent is clearly there, but will we see enough of it? Click here to follow Ben on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton When you look at the numbers, it’s confounding that he’s rarely inside the top 10 in ownership percentages in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. That he averages in the high 20s for starts per season does dilute his dispersion, but he’s as dependable as it gets. Instead, the upset is that Captain America didn’t crack the top 15 in this month-long series. Full-season gamers usually pull the trigger at some point around 10th overall since he’s averaged one top-25 in every two starts over the past four seasons. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Reed has alternated drivers between Callaway’s Big Bertha Alpha 816 DDD and GBB Epic Sub Zero. Inserted a Titleist 716 T-MB 2-iron during the Wells Fargo Championship. Chose Callaway’s Chrome Soft ball because he picked up 10-12 yards with it off the tee. Callaway MB1 irons are the commercialized version of the company’s RAZR X Muscleback designed for better players who prefer workability over forgiveness. Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte Reed takes a no-frills approach to his style. He tends to favor high contrast looks by frequently playing bright red off of black and navy blue. If I had to give Reed two New Year’s fashion resolutions, one would be to eliminate contrast by matching his belt to his trousers. The other would be to push the boundaries of his comfort zone by adding new colors to his wardrobe. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter

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