Romo suffers late collapse in PGA Tour debut

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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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — PGATOUR.COM’s staff will dive into the big issues each evening after play concludes at Shinnecock Hills. Dustin Johnson has built a four-shot lead at the halfway point, but there’s still a lot of golf remaining on a difficult track. Here are our predictions for the weekend. There is only one man under par. Is the U.S. Open over?  Cameron Morfit, Staff Writer: Absolutely not, especially in light of what happened at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, the 2010 PGA Championship, and the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions last fall. That last one was probably the most shocking, mathematically, given that DJ had a six-shot lead over his nearest pursuer but shot 77 to lose. And it’s easier to have a meltdown at Shinnecock than any of those places. Just look at Ian Poulter’s triple-bogey, bogey finish Friday. Ben Everill, Staff Writer: Not yet, but it is close. Dustin Johnson has given up leads before but he just looks like he is in that mood where he is going to blitz them. If he shoots 1 under over the next two rounds I don’t think anyone can catch him. Sean Martin, Senior Editor: Hardly. As Brooks Koepka said, “This is the U.S. Open. There’s disaster lurking around every corner.â€� I feel like every time the media prematurely hands a player a trophy, the golf gods yank it out of his hands. Dustin Johnson is definitely the favorite but there is still a lot of golf to be played. History does favor Johnson, though. This is the seventh time someone has led by four or more shots after 36 holes. Only Tom McNamara in 1909 failed to convert such a large lead into victory. Jonathan Wall, Equipment Insider: I think so. DJ isn’t anywhere close to the player he was in 2010 when he collapsed over the weekend at the U.S. Open. He won’t run away and hide, but he’s not giving up this lead the way he’s playing at the moment. Four shots feels like eight the way Shinnecock is playing. There’s no rain in the weekend forecast and the winds are supposed to be relatively calm. What do you think will be the winning score? Morfit: Having seen Tommy Fleetwood and Brooks Koepka each put a 66 on the board today, I’d say the winner will have to get to 4 under, which means DJ merely has to tread water. Easy, right? Everill: I think 5 under is enough to win outright. If they set it up super hard then as low as 1 under could still win. Martin: Johnson holds the answer in his oversized palms, but I think 5 under is a safe bet. Shinnecock Hills drains easily so, even with two days of rain, Shinnecock Hills can still play firm and fast this weekend. And that is a scary proposition for the field because of the steep slopes of closely-mown grass that surround these poa annua putting surfaces. Wall: My guess is 5 under. I think DJ posts another red number tomorrow and strolls to victory.  How far down the leaderboard can you realistically look for a potential champion? Morfit: I would say anyone at 4 over is still within shouting distance, but obviously in need of a terrific weekend. Alex Noren is on that number and has the chops to make a big move like that. Everill: I don’t think you can go past the guys at 3 over. That’s already giving the world’s best player a seven-shot head start. If those guys can manage a 5-under weekend and get some help from Johnson, they have a slim chance. Martin: The 10-shot rule is no longer used in determining the cut, but I’m going to apply it here. Players at 6 over par should have the benefit of playing in good scoring conditions Saturday morning. We saw a couple 66s on Friday. If someone at 6 over can shoot 65 on Saturday, they’ll likely start Sunday in contention. Wall: I think anyone at 3 over has a chance, but someone is going to need to throw out a 65 or 66 to have a realistic shot on Sunday.  Who do you expect will make the biggest move into contention on Moving Day? Morfit: I like the fire that Rickie Fowler is showing right now. He’s been asked a lot this week about not having won a major, and he hasn’t shied away from saying he’s got the game to get it done. He’s showing as much so far and is right there without shouting distance. He’ll start Saturday in ninth place, six shots behind Johnson. Everill: Defending champion Brooks Koepka. A very nice 66 today continues his form of late. Since his return from injury he has gone low multiple times and having already won the event the nerves shouldn’t be a factor. Plus he loves DJ, and loves beating him more. Martin: My heart says Phil Mickelson. And I can talk my head into agreeing. He is 6 over par but hitting the ball really well. He’s missed just two fairways this week and hit 15 of 18 greens Friday. He knows how to play Shinnecock Hills. I could see him taking advantage of some good scoring conditions early Saturday. Wall: I love Rickie Fowler’s position. He looked under control today and has a realistic chance to take down DJ if he posts 66 or 67 on Saturday. Sooner or later he’s going to shed the major-less title. This feels like another great opportunity.  Halfway through the U.S. Open, how do you feel about Shinnecock Hills’ performance? Morfit: The golden sunlight that fell over the course Friday afternoon was absolutely stunning, and with the wind down I really think it was Shinnecock at its best. I’m glad some of the ones who were caught in the strongest winds Thursday morning got to play in those absolutely primo conditions Friday night. Everill: It is a gorgeous part of the world and a wonderful golf course. I feel nostalgic for the sand belt courses of Melbourne with every step. I think it has proven itself a worthy part of the championship rotation. Martin: We saw completely contrasting conditions over the first two days at Shinnecock Hills and it was a challenge in both of them. It isn’t hard to find an unhappy player at a U.S. Open, but even Ian Poulter, who admitted that he hated this tournament for 14 years, said that he was pleased with the course setup. Johnson, Tommy Fleetwood and Brooks Koepka showed us that good scores are out there but Shinnecock Hills is a bear even in the best conditions. Wall: Tough but fair. This is exactly what the USGA was hoping for at the beginning of the week. Even without the wind over the weekend, players are still going to get all they can handle. In my opinion, Shinnecock helped the U.S. Open reclaim its identity as the toughest test in golf.

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