British Open: 5 questions heading into Sunday

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Here are nine tidbits from the first round of the BMW Championship gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Aronimink Golf Club just outside Philadelphia plays 7,267 yards to Par-70. Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 selected, plus TWO, golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf game presented by SERVPRO. I included all players who were owned by 20 percent or more. Big temperatures, big landing areas, big greens and big amounts of birdies welcomed the remaining 69 players in the FedExCup Playoffs at Aronimink Golf Club. The wind was non-existent so fairways and greens were to be had. Perfect greens were running at around 11.5 feet on the Stimpmeter that rounded out perfect scoring conditions. First In #59Watch was in full effect as Tiger Woods went out in 29 to kick-start the buzz for the week. His four birdies and an eagle set the tone but he couldn’t keep up the pace on his final nine (front nine). His 33 included his only bogey of the day plus three more birdies. It was by far his best opening round in sometime and it tied the course record. Gamers will point out it wasn’t based smoke or mirrors. He checked in second in Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green, third in proximity and sixth in Strokes-Gained: Putting with old favorite Scotty Cameron bag in the bag. Not bad for a guy who didn’t break par here in four rounds in 2010! 62 No. 2 After hearing the roars all afternoon in front of him, Rory McIlroy didn’t exactly back down from the challenge in the opening round. After making eight birdies in a row in his pro-am round on Wednesday, he added 10 more in Round 1 to share the course record with Woods and Nick Watney (2011). After five consecutive birdies to open his final nine (front nine), the 2014 BMW champ was nine-under with four holes to play. Our second #59Watch ended with bogeys Nos. 16* and 17* before a final birdie added up to 62. People’s Choice I was surprised that Bryson DeChambeau didn’t grace more than 70 percent of the rosters this week but the contrarian in me made me see the light. Winning two FedExCup Playoff events in one year is pretty astounding; winning two events in a row is even crazier. He hit it great and is T20 after three birdies against only one bogey with a chilly putter. Tony Reward It was pointed out by colleague Sean Martin that Tony Finau has been in pretty elite company despite not winning this season. The big hitter opened with 68, another round in the red, and sits T30. He’s posted four rounds above par since Shinnecock Hills. That’s insane. He’s collected cash for solo second and T4 to open the FedExCup Playoffs and should be awarded the final spot on the Ryder Cup team. Returning to Action Rickie Fowler suggested that in a long season his injury was probably fortunate as he was forced to recharge his battery. He took his time coming back and the patience was rewarded with a bogey-free 65. The iron play was rusty but his trusty short game (5 for 5 scrambling) and smooth putting stroke kept him in the top 10. Defender No player in the history of the FedExCup Playoffs has defended an event title. Marc Leishman is the defending champion of the event but Aronimink is hosting for the first time. The Aussie, along with countryman Adam Scott, looked anything but comfortable on the new digs as they joined Brendan Steele T67 (last) on four-over 74. Bubble Boys The top 30 will advance to the next round of the FedExCup Playoffs next week at East Lake Golf Club. Here’s how the guys under the gun are performing: Study Hall Round 1 played under-par at 68.130 (-1.870) with 48 of 69 rounds under-par. … Fowler was joined in the bogey-free department by Brian Gay, Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson. … Billy Horschel (T4) and Xander Schauffele (3rd) made eight birdies, two shy of McIlroy’s 10. … Of the top 10 players in Strokes-Gained: Approach-the-Green seven are T12 or better. … Gamers will need to adjust their lineups ASAP as tee times have been moved up Friday to avoid afternoon storms. Round 2 will tee off from both tees between 7 and 9 am.

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Rikuya Hoshino (+10000) … Qualifying for the Olympics in his native Japan is reason enough to celebrate, but he’s also been assigned the opening tee ball at Kasumigaseki Country Club’s East Course on Thursday morning. Fellow countryman Hideki Matsuyama, who is positioned 20th in the Official World Golf Ranking, has hogged international headlines as the first male Japanese golfer to win a major (2021 Masters), but the 25-year-old Hoshino is second-best at 86th in the OWGR and he continues to pace his home circuit’s money list with a trio of victories in the 2020-21 season. The intangible benefits of the home game also should ease him quickly into a comfort zone. Henrik Norlander (+10000) … The 34-year-old from Sweden has had little trouble in retaining his position in the heart of the FedExCup in what is his now his fourth season on the PGA TOUR. He’s 81st in points with a T5 at the Barbasol Championship as the nearest event in his rearview mirror. His performance at Keene Trace was a microcosm of why he’s dangerous every time he pegs it, with better-than-average metrics across the board. His tee-to-green game not only is his moneymaker, it’s also the default expectation to define who medals on the unfamiliar greens of Kasumigaseki. Thomas Detry (+8000) … It’s just a matter of time before he wins for the first time on the European Tour, and if it happens at the Olympics, it’d qualify as his breakthrough since it’s an official event on the circuit. In the last 12 months, the 28-year-old Belgian has a quartet of runner-up finishes, including a pair in his last five starts. Since joining the European Tour in 2017, he’s totaled five seconds and five thirds. While prone to the big number, his proclivity to attack pins is encouraged by large greens and the absence of a cut. Carl Yuan (+15000) … After relocating from his native China to Florida, he played collegiately at the University of Washington for three years before turning professional in 2018. It was that summer when he prevailed as an amateur at the Qingdao Championship on the PGA TOUR China. By 2019, he was a regular on the Korn Ferry Tour where he remains a member. At least for now. Currently 31st in KFT points on the strength of a trio of runner-up finishes among six top 10s, he’s challenging for one of the 25 automatic cards reserved for the 2021-22 PGA TOUR. Ranks 24th in greens hit and second in par-5 scoring average. With that success and his muscle off the tee, the 640-yard par-5 fifth and 625-yard par-5 14th holes will be opportunities for the 24-year-old to separate. Kristian Krogh Johannessen (+40000) … Joins countryman Viktor Hovland and representatives of Norway, and the attention here is all about striking while his irons are hot. It was earlier this month when Johannessen rose to a career-best 280th in the Official World Golf Ranking because the 26-year-old has been lighting up the Challenge Tour for two months. In his most recent six starts on that tour, he’s gone T5-T2-T23-T15-T9-T16. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, July 27 at 5 a.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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