Tiger takes shot at U.S. Open in praise of British

You know you wanna, so go ahead. You learned your lesson. Make it count. One & Doners trapped between caution and conviction were second-guessing themselves when Tiger Woods emerged from the logjam at the Masters to secure his fifth green jacket. Now there’s no doubt that Woods gets the call at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course, site of the PGA Championship as well as his 2002 U.S. Open title. You saw – and felt – what transpired at Augusta National, and you’ve observed him exert careful ownership of his schedule. If there are tournaments that you know he won’t bypass, they are the majors. Despite what you’ll find below, those are the only Future Possibilities on which you should be focusing. RELATED: Tee times | Power Rankings | Expert Picks | Horses for Courses | Fantasy Insider Pebble Beach hosts the U.S. Open in a month, so pick your pleasure. Woods is a winner there, too – twice, in fact, if you include the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It’s been 19 years since both, but it had been 14 years since his last victory at the Masters. As Woods has acknowledged, Father Time is undefeated, but GOATs make sure that he doesn’t prevail before receiving a powerful punch. If you’re also sitting on Phil Mickelson, then save him for Pebble Beach where’s he’s won five times in the annual PGA TOUR event contested every winter. That includes earlier this year. Lefty couldn’t have hand-picked a better site to convert on the career grand slam. Default to Woods at the PGA and you’re solid. Of course, it’s 2019 and not 2000 or 2002, so there are more than enough familiar faces in whom to invest at Bethpage. Defending champion Brooks Koepka will run away with the highest ownership percentage in PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done. And he should. His swagger is what every gamer wants. His form is tip-top and he has a chip on his shoulder since he probably still can’t believe how his birdie try on the 72nd hole of the Masters didn’t fall. Rory McIlroy has spent the majority of this year camped out atop leaderboards. He’s also proven that he’s human when the pressure mounts, but he’s going to thrive at Bethpage. Long and accurate off the tee plays everywhere, but it’s a cheat code on Long Island. Pause only to holster him for The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in his native Northern Ireland. Rickie Fowler continues to inch closer to his first victory in a major. You can’t rule it out anywhere, but Bethpage is the best fit of the remaining three this season. He’s ideal if you’re chasing. If you’ve burned Mickelson and have a plan other than Dustin Johnson this week, then save DJ for the U.S. Open. He’s another gem at Pebble Beach where his experience, success and comfort will supersede the setup. He’ll also be seeking revenge for a final-round meltdown the last time the course hosted in 2010. Of all of the other notables at Bethpage, only Jason Day and Francesco Molinari pique my interest. Pivot to either if you’re in need of a contingency. Like Fowler, Jon Rahm also presents strongly to cut into a deficit. He’s rapidly figuring out how to put four rounds together consistently by neutralizing emotion while saving strokes. It’s scary to consider his potential once he climbs over the hump of intangibles that have nothing to do with the swing. The Spaniard possesses every athletic requirement for golf. It’s where we can find Koepka now. All of the others in the first 20 of my Power Rankings deserve a peek in two-man games, but scan Future Possibilities to map out short- and long-term strategies. Choices such as Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele, Sergio Garcia, Matt Kuchar and Hideki Matsuyama project as smart saves given who’s expected to flex for the Wanamaker Trophy. 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 2018-19. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Byeong Hun An … Memorial (1) Daniel Berger … Travelers (1) Keegan Bradley … Memorial (5); Travelers (4) Rafa Cabrera Bello … Wyndham (4) Patrick Cantlay … Memorial (3) Paul Casey … Travelers (1); TOUR Championship (3) Jason Day … PGA Championship (3); U.S. Open (10); Open Championship (9) Bryson DeChambeau … Travelers (4); John Deere (7) Jason Dufner … Charles Schwab (6); Memorial (5); U.S. Open (2); Wyndham (8); TOUR Championship (10) Tony Finau … Memorial (2) Rickie Fowler … PGA Championship (9); Memorial (5); U.S. Open (10) Sergio Garcia … Open Championship (5); TOUR Championship (2) Branden Grace … U.S. Open (4) Emiliano Grillo … Charles Schwab (3) Adam Hadwin … John Deere (5) Brian Harman … Charles Schwab (1); Travelers (5); John Deere (4) Charley Hoffman … Charles Schwab (6); Travelers (1) Billy Horschel … Wyndham (6); TOUR Championship (1) Dustin Johnson … PGA Championship (11); Memorial (10); U.S. Open (1); WGC-St. Jude (6); TOUR Championship (7) Zach Johnson … Charles Schwab (5); John Deere (1); Open Championship (2); TOUR Championship (8) Kevin Kisner … Charles Schwab (2); Memorial (6) Brooks Koepka … PGA Championship (2; defending); Charles Schwab (6); U.S. Open (1; two-time defending); Open Championship (8) Matt Kuchar … Charles Schwab (7); Memorial (1); Open Championship (8) Marc Leishman … Memorial (4); Travelers (3); Open Championship (8) Hideki Matsuyama … PGA Championship (13); Memorial (8); U.S. Open (14); Wyndham (7); TOUR Championship (5) Rory McIlroy … Memorial (5); Travelers (8); Open Championship (1); TOUR Championship (6) Phil Mickelson … U.S. Open (6); Open Championship (9); WGC-St. Jude (3) Francesco Molinari … PGA Championship (4); Open Championship (1; defending) Ryan Moore … Memorial (11); Travelers (6); John Deere (8); Wyndham (2); TOUR Championship (9) Kevin Na … Charles Schwab (3); Wyndham (5) Louis Oosthuizen … PGA Championship (4) Ryan Palmer … Charles Schwab (4) Scott Piercy … Canadian (7; last winner at Hamilton in 2012) Jon Rahm … Charles Schwab (1); TOUR Championship (7) Patrick Reed … PGA Championship (4); U.S. Open (3); Travelers (7) Justin Rose … Charles Schwab (7; defending); Memorial (4); Open Championship (8); TOUR Championship (2) Xander Schauffele … Open Championship (4); TOUR Championship (1) Adam Scott … PGA Championship (8); U.S. Open (9); Open Championship (7); TOUR Championship (3) Webb Simpson … Charles Schwab (8); Travelers (9); Wyndham (1) Cameron Smith … Wyndham (3) Brandt Snedeker … Charles Schwab (7); U.S. Open (5); Travelers (9); Wyndham (1; defending) Jordan Spieth … PGA Championship (7); Charles Schwab (5); Memorial (13); U.S. Open (4); Travelers (9); Open Championship (6); TOUR Championship (8) Henrik Stenson … PGA Championship (4); Open Championship (6); Wyndham (8); TOUR Championship (7) Bubba Watson … Memorial (7); Travelers (2; defending); TOUR Championship (8) Gary Woodland … Memorial (4) Tiger Woods … PGA Championship (6); Memorial (4); THE NORTHERN TRUST (7); TOUR Championship (5; defending)

Click here to read the full article…

How it works: Each week, our experts from PGATOUR.COM will make their selections in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. Each lineup consists of four starters and two bench players that can be rotated after each round. Adding to the challenge is that every golfer can be used only three times per each of four Segments. Aside from the experts below, Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton breaks down the field at this year’s Sony Open in Hawaii in this week’s edition of the Power Rankings. For more fantasy, check out Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers and Reshuffle. THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN OUR EXPERTS? The PGA TOUR Experts league is once again open to the public. You can play our free fantasy game and see how you measure up against our experts below. Joining the league is simple. Just click here to sign up or log in. Once you create a team, click the “LEAGUES” tab. Then click on “FEATURED,” and then on the PGA TOUR Experts league that populates. SEASON SEGMENT

Click here to read the full article…

ERIN, Wis. – Xander Schauffele’s name may be featured prominently on the large white leaderboards at Erin Hills, but that doesn’t mean everyone on the property recognizes the PGA TOUR rookie who’s contending at the U.S. Open. “I’ll sign some autographs and kids will be like, ‘Dad, who is that?’â€� Schauffele said. “That’s just how it is. … Schauffele is a pretty weird name to remember.â€� More people are becoming familiar with the German surname that translate to “tiny shovel,â€� a testament to his family’s centuries-long lineage in the construction business. Schauffele held the lead for parts of Friday morning before finishing at 5-under 139 (66-73). Erin Hills’ wide, fescue-lined fairways and bent-grass greens remind the 23-year-old of one of his home courses in college, Barona Creek, where he won a tournament during his senior year. And the same strong ballstriking and mental fortitude that has helped him make a quick progression through pro golf’s meritocracy is paying off in this notoriously tough tournament. “That’s been engraved in him forever, to be tough,â€� said his caddie and former college teammate, Austin Kaiser. “His attitude is huge. … He doesn’t want it to be sugar-coated.â€� His father, Stefan, has tried to imbue such fortitude in his son from a young age. Stefan, whose German roots give him a strong preference for honesty over flattery, is his son’s only swing coach. Now he’s watching the fruits of their labor in this major championship that always concludes on Father’s Day. Stefan started his son in the game at age 9, when he was strong enough to carry his junior bag for 18 holes. Xander wasn’t allowed to use tees in those early junior tournaments on par-3 courses, knowing that the temporary disadvantage would pay off later. It has this week, at the tournament that puts such a heavy emphasis on accurate ballstriking. We may have seen a record number of sub-par scores in the first round, but this U.S. Open is not a warm and cuddly championship. The struggles of several of the game’s stars show that Erin Hills is no pushover for those who are errant off the tee. Schauffele has averaged 314.8 yards off the tee this week, while hitting 11 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in each of the first two rounds. He’s learned how to handle pressure from his father, who passed along the breathing and concentration techniques he learned from his own athletic days. Stefan played semipro soccer in Germany and was en route to a training session for Germany’s national decathlon team when he was hit head-on by a drunk driver. He was in and out of the hospital for two years because of multiple surgeries on his left eye, which he lost sight in. The accident convinced him to take a risk and move to the United States when he was 23. He landed in San Diego and lived next to a golf course. With his physical activity limited because of the accident, he decided to take up the game. His first instructor, A.J. Bonar, related the golf swing to the sports like discus that Stefan was familiar with. He was scratch within two years. Xander has had a rapid rise in pro golf. He aced the grueling examinations that young pros face, Q-School and the Web.com Tour Finals, on his first try. After turning pro in 2015, the San Diego State alum needed just one season on the Web.com Tour to earn his card. Now Schauffele, who ranks 135th in the FedExCup, is playing well in his first major championship. “He just keeps improving every year,â€� said Ryan Ressa, who recruited him to Long Beach State, where Schauffele played his freshman season before transferring to San Diego State. “He always seemed to have a knack for (playing well) when he needed to.â€� For proof, Ressa refers to a 2-under round during a windy final day at the 2015 Web.com Tour Q-School that allowed Schauffele to earn his card on the number. Then he finished T9 in the final tournament of last year’s Web.com Tour season to earn his TOUR card for this season. And now he’s excelling in his first U.S. Open.

Click here to read the full article…