Live leaderboard: Round 2 of Quicken Loans

Gamers, time to put down the Eggnog and Champagne and get back to business! The PGA TOUR kicks off the 2020 segment of the schedule with a winner’s-only field on the newly refined Plantation Course at Kapalua in spectacular Maui this week. The winners of the new season will join the other victors from 2019 to comprise the field of 34. On the line is a prize pool of $6.7 million, with $1.34 million (500 FedExCup points) and a really cool trophy going to the first champion of 2020. The Plantation Course (Par 73, 7,518) was regrassed from corner to corner with new Celebration Bermudagrass with the exception of the greens (TifEagle Bermudagrass). Almost every green was reconfigured (expanded or shrunk), with slopes softened or rebuilt completely. The addition of new hole locations will provide a new twist and should slightly influence scoring. New tee boxes will also add or reduce yardage and enforce strategic decisions around shifted and newly-added bunkers. Repeat customers to Kapalua will have to recalibrate their yardage books and green maps but new challenges rarely bother multiple-time winners on TOUR. They’ll remember how handle the elevation changes, side-hill lies and the shots required when dealing with gusting winds and the new folks will have to adjust quickly. The field of 34 will all get four cracks at the newness this week, as this is a no-cut event. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks Recent Winners 2019: Xander Schauffele (-23, 269) Fourth winner of the last five picked up the trophy in just his second try on the Plantation Course. Schauffele, as he’s wont to do, won his third, limited field title as he closed with course-record tying 62 (31-31) to defeat 54-hole leader Gary Woodland by a shot. Trailing by five, he threw caution to the wind (there wasn’t any on Sunday) after an opening bogey and circled eight birdies and two eagles in an epic performance. He became the fifth consecutive winner in the top three in bogey avoidance and fourth consecutive winner in the top TWO in Putting: Birdie-or-Better Percentage. Notables: Woodland led by three after 36 and 54 holes and tied Justin Thomas for most birdies with 25 in his first trip since 2014. … Thomas, the 2017 champ, closed with 65 but was five behind in solo third. … 2018 champ Dustin Johnson was the only player in the top 10 to have a round OVER par (74, Round 2) yet still cashed T4. … Rory McIlroy (not entered) was the best first-timer last year as he also cashed T4. 2018: Dustin Johnson (-24, 268) The bomber continued his dominance on Maui as he boat-raced the field in gusty conditions by eight shots to win for the second time (2013). He closed 66-65 (-13) and that would have been good enough for T7. Became the fourth consecutive winner to lead the field Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green and third consecutive winner to lead the field in Par-4 scoring. His 23 birdies were the most of anyone entered for this week’s event. Notables: Jon Rahm was second alone on debut (-16). … Rickie Fowler picked up his third consecutive top-six paycheck with T4. … Johnson, Rahm and Fowler were the only three players INSIDE the top 14 returning this year. … Only five rounds above par in the top 20 players even with gusty winds all four rounds. 2017: Justin Thomas (-22, 270) A trio of 67s set the 54-hole lead by two and Thomas won by three to pick up another win in the Pacific. Leading the field in ball-striking, Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green and Par-4 scoring, Thomas made it look easy as he won for the second time that season after he picked up the title, again, at the now defunct CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur. Thomas circled 25 birdies to just three bogeys. Notables: Johnson couldn’t find anything better than 69 over four rounds but still picked up T6. … Patrick Reed, read more below, had the T-low round of the week with 65 and also T6. … Jim Herman cashed T12 on debut. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-20 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week.  * –  previous top 10 finish here @ – first-time event Strokes-Gained: Tee -to-Green  2 *Justin Thomas  5 Patrick Cantlay  6 *Paul Casey  8 *Dustin Johnson  9 @Corey Conners 10 *Jon Rahm 11 *Xander Schauffele 16 *Gary Woodland 23 @Joaquin Niemann 29 Chez Reavie 30 *Matt Kuchar Strokes-Gained: Putting  4  *Graeme McDowell 13 *Rickie Fowler 20 *Kevin Kisner 26 Patrick Cantlay 36 *Jon Rahm 40 @Nate Lashley 41 *Matt Kuchar 44 *Patrick Reed 46 *Xander Schauffele 50 @JT Poston Par-4 Scoring  3 *Justin Thomas  3 *Jon Rahm  3 Patrick Cantlay  8 @Nate Lashley  8 @Joaquin Niemann  8 *Patrick Reed  8 *Rickie Fowler  8 *Xander Schauffele  8 Ryan Palmer  8 Chez Reavie 23 *Gary Woodland 23 Dylan Fritteli 23 *Kevin Kisner 23 *Paul Casey 23 *Matt Kuchar Pineapple Express Dustin Johnson: The only multiple winner in the field, Kapalua has been Johnson’s personal playground as he’s cashed seven top-10 paychecks from nine starts. His scoring average of 69.03 includes only ONE round above par from 35 chances. Top six in four of his last six visits, which includes both wins. Patrick Reed: After T16 in his first visit, Reed rebounded with a playoff win in 2015, solo second in 2016 and T6 in 2017 before stubbing his toe (T26) in his return last year. Of his 20 rounds, six are 67 or better, including a pair of 65s. Jon Rahm: He’s 29 under in the last two years and it’s not surprising he’s a quick study. His worst round is 71 and best is 66. Rickie Fowler: The knock on Fowler is that he doesn’t win enough but this will be his fourth visit to Maui. Each trip has produced a better result, as T6 in 2013 was followed by solo fifth in 2016 and capped with T4 in 2018. His stroke average in 11 rounds is a stout 69.18. Digging Deeper Matt Kuchar: After ripping off four straight top-10 finishes in the early part of the decade, Kuchar’s last two trips in 2015 and last year have cashed T17 and T19, respectively. Paul Casey: His first visit in 2010 saw 15 under go for T10. His return last year cashed T16 with four rounds of par or better. Patrick Cantlay: Looking to become the fifth winner in the last six to pick up the check on his second try. All four rounds last year were under-par but none broke 70. Kevin Kisner: Eight rounds of red but the last six are all in the 70s. He’s cashed solo ninth and T17 in two trips since 2016. Wait, What? Cameron Champ: T11 on debut last year with rounds of 71, 67 and 68. Now, about that 74 in Round 2…

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The third tournament on the Florida Swing is THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The tournament will play as a par 72, measuring 7,189 yards and will be putt on TifEagle bermuda overseeded with Poa Trivialis/velvet bentgrass. The tournament was canceled after the first round last season due to COVID-19, and the TOUR subsequently shut down for three months. Before the tournament cancellation, Hideki Matsuyama (+4000, $8,700) shot 9-under in the first round, tying the course record. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $2.5M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Entry] STRATEGY Forty-eight of the top 50 ranked golfers will be in attendance, all looking to win this illustrious tournament. The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is a Pete Dye design and probably his most notable. The course isn't challenging, it's not even Dye's most formidable track. Still, Sawgrass plays challenging when the wind picks up, especially if the golfers' irons aren't precise. TPC Sawgrass is a vintage Florida course with many bunkers and water hazards to navigate, bringing big numbers into play. In 2019, the tournament recorded the ninth-most bogeys and fourth-most double-bogeys. Dye also made sure golfers don't get "used" to the course by not having back-to-back holes featuring similarities of any kind. They'll dogleg in opposite directions, either into or against the wind, and vary substantially in distance. Par 5s follow par 3s, which then go onto a par 4. Some of these par 4s are behemoths, with four measuring over 460 yards. There are also three under 400 yards, so golfers will need to adapt at every turn. Like last week, scoring on the par 5s is a must with the difficulty and uniqueness of the par 4s. TPC Sawgrass recorded the second-most eagles on TOUR in 2019 and the third-most in 2018. The greens will be small and fast, which means overall proximity and Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green will be a priority. The tournament moved back to its March date last season for the first time since 2006. The course usually plays fast and firm when in May. One prominent difference golfers have mentioned is the use of more drivers off the tee. Winds are more troublesome in March than in May, and temperatures are a little cooler, so golf shots aren't going to roll out as much. Speaking of the winds, if it's gusting, this course will be challenging. If not, it should play relatively easy as a shorter, par 72. Similar to other Florida courses like Bay Hill last week, golfers with a lot of course history at TPC Sawgrass prevail. The last three winners have played this course a combined 21 starts with Rory McIlroy (+1600, $10,600) winning in his 10th and Jason Day's (+5000, $8,000) first win coming in his sixth. Pricing is generous this week, and lineups could skew more balanced. Contrarian lineups should consider pairing expensive golfers with players priced in the bottom half of salaries. In 2018, the top seven golfers in DraftKings scoring were below $7,300 with two below $7,000. In 2019, three of the top six golfers in DraftKings scoring were in the $6,000 range, with Jhonattan Vegas (+30000, $6,300) finishing in third place while priced at $6,100 GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Rory McIlroy (+1600 to Win, $10,600 on DraftKings) No one has been better on Pete Dye courses over the previous 50 rounds, tee-to-green, than McIlroy. We should see more drivers used this week over past years with its March date, and for the first three rounds last week, Rory was extraordinary, gaining 2.73 strokes off-the-tee. Rory also ranked ninth at Bay Hill with his irons and has been elite here, ranking second to only Adam Scott (+8000, $8,100) in Strokes Gained: Total since 2016. The move to March will give players like Rory a slight edge with how well he hits it off-the-tee. Patrick Cantlay (+2200 to Win, $9,200 on DraftKings) A recent pre-tournament WD back at the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship may temper his projected roster percentage, but if (and when) it doesn't, he should still be a worthwhile pick for your lineups. Cantlay ranks second to only Dustin Johnson (+1200, $11,200) in Strokes Gained: Total over the previous 36 rounds on Pete Dye courses and is averaging 3.7 strokes gained with his irons. He missed the cut in 2019 but finished with back-to-back top 25s in his two previous starts. This year will be Cantlay's fourth start at TPC Sawgrass, which could also be his fourth career win if he keeps striking the ball like he has been so far this year. Paul Casey (+4000 to Win, $8,400 on DraftKings) Casey's Sunday last week was forgettable, but it shouldn't overshadow an otherwise successful week, ranking sixth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green at Bay Hill. The Englishman is on a fantastic run with a win, a top 5 and no worse than a 12th-place in his past four worldwide starts. His record here is less than ideal over his 13 previous starts, with six missed cuts and two withdraws. Still, the years he's made the cut are impressive with no worse than a T23. Two of his three wins on the PGA TOUR have come in Florida, and he ranks 12th in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green over his previous 36 rounds on Dye courses. Abraham Ancer (+8000 to Win, $7,500 on DraftKings) Ancer missed the cut at The Genesis Invitational but gained seven strokes tee-to-green at the WGC event at The Concession Golf Club a couple of weeks ago. A good Masters Tournament showing last November and an excellent track record on Pete Dye courses should put Ancer right in the mix like he was back in 2019, when he finished 12th. Another golfer in this range, Russell Henley (+12500, $7,400), should garner some attention at $100 cheaper. Henley is one of the best ball-strikers on TOUR and is making his eighth start at TPC Sawgrass. Like Casey, his finishes are a mixed-bag of missed cuts and good golf, finishing no worse than a T35 in the three tournaments he's made the cut. Ryan Moore (+27500 to Win, $6,800 on DraftKings) Moore had been inconsistent this year with three missed cuts before his 26th-place finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last month. His experience at this course rivals few with 13-straight starts, finishing with a 20th-place finish in 2019. Moore has been great tee-to-green at Dye course, ranking seventh over the previous 24 rounds on his courses. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $2.5M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Entry] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. 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Keith Mitchell wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders in the rain-delayed final round of THE NORTHERN TRUST at Liberty National on Monday. And yet he knew he couldn’t let wild tee shots on 14, 15 and 17 define his day. On the bubble all week for the second event of the FedExCup Playoffs, the top-70 BMW Championship, Mitchell knew he had no choice but to somehow find a way to survive and advance. With a scrambling par on 15 and three closing birdies – the second from deep in the native area on 17 – Mitchell shot 69 to finish T8 at 13 under par, more than good enough. He moved from 101st to 63rd in the FedExCup heading into the BMW at Caves Valley this week. “I was pretty down on myself in the middle of 15 fairway,” Mitchell said, “and to be standing here getting up and down on 15 for par and then birdieing the last three holes to play next week, it took a lot of, I guess just calming my nerves and trying to remember that this is it, I’ve got three holes left to keep playing or I’m going home. “I just decided to stick with it and really that put on 18 just sealed the deal.” Mitchell’s birdie-birdie-birdie finish was the highlight among the group of six players who went from outside to inside the top 70 thanks to their play at THE NORTHERN TRUST. Tom Hoge (T4, 108 to 48 in the FedExCup), Alex Noren (T4, 91 to 43), Erik Van Rooyen (7th, 76 to 45), Harold Varner III (T11, 72 to 56) and Harry Higgs (T16, 80 to 69) were the others. Mitchell said the pressure he felt down the stretch was similar to the pressure he felt late in the day in winning The Honda Classic, his lone PGA TOUR victory, in 2019. “Usually there’s always next week, there’s always next week,” he said. “Well, there is no next week if I don’t birdie those last three holes. It’s very similar.” Notes: Erik Van Rooyan, who won the recent Barracuda Championship, quadruple-bogeyed the par-3 11th hole but rebounded somewhat for a 72 and solo seventh place. “Really happy to go to BMW, obviously,” he said after moving from 76 to 45 in the FedExCup. “That was the goal. But poor day. I hit it really bad, to be honest.” … Harry Higgs shot 68 to finish T16 and move on by a whisker, moving from 80th to 69th in the FedExCup. He admitted he had a hard time figuring out where he stood. “I kind of thought four birdies on the back nine would be in enough,” he said. “Three would have a very good chance. I guess fortunately made three to just scrape by and get in.” … Harold Varner III shot even-par 71 to finish T11 and move from 72nd to 56th and move on. “Today was a grind and just hung in there,” he said. … Alex Noren shot 66 to finish T4, making a massive jump from 91st to 43rd. That puts him just outside the top 30 who will advance to the season-ending TOUR Championship at East Lake. “I’ve never seen a drier course after I don’t know how many inches of rain,” he said. “The greens played softer, but they rolled good. I took advantage of it early and had great round. I’m very, very excited, yeah.” … Tom Hoge had missed four straight cuts and hadn’t had a top-15 finish since April, but shot a final-round 69 to finish T4, jumping from 108th to 48th. “Been struggling coming in here for a few months,” he said. “I haven’t made any cuts. It’s nice to play four good days more than anything. I would have taken this week coming in. I was 108th coming into the week and I was trying to play well. I wasn’t thinking a whole lot of next week and yeah, really excited for next week.”

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