Leaderboard: RBC Canadian Open

ORLANDO, Fla. – They’ve been on different sides of the course for two days here at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, but Henrik Stenson and Bryson DeChambeau have certainly been on the same page. Try 12 birdies for the big Swede and 14 birdies and an eagle for the former U.S. Amateur champion. Pretty much having their way with things at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard, Stenson added a 3-under 69 to his opening 64 to get halfway home in 11-under, tied with DeChambeau (67-66). If the Thursday noise belonged to Stenson, Friday was more about DeChambeau. He made an early bogey, then birdied five times in a 10-hole stretch starting at the par-5 fourth. Shaking off a bogey at the par-3 14th, DeChambeau hit his second shot to 7 feet and made eagle at the 497-yard, par-5 16th. A closing birdie got him even with Stenson, who was finishing at about the same time on the other side of the course. DeChambeau credited a good week of rest after withdrawing from last week’s Valspar Championship, but Stenson had a time-honored explanation: “Putting, more than anything.� Indeed, his great work Thursday could have been squandered away in his opening nine holes in Friday’s winter chill, only Stenson converted testing par saves of 5 feet at the 15th, 7 feet at 16, 15 feet at 17 and 5 feet at 18. “I scrambled for par after all those holes after hitting some not so good golf shots,� said Stenson, who has four top 10s here, but is looking for his first win. NOTABLES Wearing several hats: Sporting the famed Arnold Palmer umbrella logo on his shirt and hat, Rickie Fowler is clearly invested in this tournament. Just don’t suggest the “host� duties have been a hurdle. “It’s been fun being able to be here and represent Arnie and be one of the hosts,� said Fowler, who added a 71 to an opening 67 and at 6 under is five off the lead. Veteran’s corner: Davis Love III, Paul Goydos and Ernie Els combine for 154 years in the life department and 68 starts here at Bay Hill. It seems to be helping, too, as they each made the cut. Els, 48, shot 69-70, in his 23rd start; Love, 53, went for 73-71 in his 26th appearance; and Goydos, 53, making his 19th start, shot 70-74. But at the other end of the spectrum: The only two amateurs in the field made the cut – Doc Redman (72-72) and Collin Morikawa (72-72). Don’t look now, but . . . Young Sam Burns is at it again. The former LSU star breezed into the weekend on the strength of 69-70 as he continues his stellar play. He was T-8 at the Honda Classic and T-12 at Valspar last week. He needs 88 non-member FedExCup points to secure temporary membership, which translates into at least a four-way tie for sixth. A top 10 would get Burns into next week’s Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. QUOTABLES Oh, he hits it good. It’s nice; it’s really nice.Yeah, well, I call BS on that.It doesn’t look nice.   SUPERLATIVES Best Arnold Palmer imitation: How can you not like what Sam Saunders brought to Round 2? Having opened with a 77, Palmer’s grandson was miles off the cutline – especially when he bogeyed the par-4 11th, his second hole. He then birdied six of the next 14 holes to get to even par and inside the cut, before a bogey-bogey finish left him outside. Best par: It’s hard to ignore Tiger Woods’ effort at the par-4 15th. With his approach buried under the lip of a bunker and having very little green to work with, Woods somehow blasted out, then drained a 22-footer to stay 3-under. Longest putt: David Lingmerth made a putt of 59 feet 10 inches to birdie the par-4 third. Longest drive: Adam Scott hit one 354 yards at the par-5 16th, though he couldn’t covert the ensuing 15-foot eagle try. Straightest shots: Both Stenson and Love lead the way, having found the fairway with 24 of their 28 tee shots. SHOT OF THE DAY

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The west coast swing ends in the picturesque Pacific Palisades at The Genesis Invitational. The Riviera Country Club hosts and will play as a par 71, measuring 7,322 yards with poa annua greens. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1.2M Pitch + Putt [$300K to 1st] STRATEGY The top 10 golfers in the world are in the field, which includes the likes of Dustin Johnson (+1600, $10,200), Rory McIlroy (+2200, $9,700), Cameron Smith (+2200, $9,100) and Collin Morikawa (+2000, $10,400). With its elevated Invitational status, a smaller field of 120 golfers will compete, with the top 65 and ties making it to the weekend. The smaller field gives you a better chance of getting your entire DFS roster through the cut, with 23% fewer players in the field than a regular tournament. Even with no water hazards, The Riviera CC notoriously plays difficult, ranking inside the top 10 in scoring relative to par over the past few seasons. The fairways are tough to hit, recording close to a 7% less hit rate than the TOUR average. Same goes in terms of hitting greens with about an 8 % fewer green-hit-in-regulation rate than the TOUR average due to heavy undulations that runoff to tight collection areas. When golfers miss these greens, gaining strokes Around-the-Greens (ARG) becomes more necessary than usual. We’ve seen winners here gain an average of 2.2 strokes ARG over the past five years. The par-3 sixth hole is famous for its bunker in the middle of the green, and the par-4 10th hole is arguably the best short par-4 on TOUR. The novelty eventually wears off with how difficult this course has played in years past, especially on the closing eight holes. The closing nine is a contributing factor to why we’ve only seen eight golfers since 2000 go on to win after having the 54-hole lead. Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green and those who are playing well Tee-to-Green are golfers we need to consider. Also, look at rostering players who perform well in par 4 efficiency on holes measuring 450 to 500 yards, with six in this range. For contrarian roster construction, build lineups will golfers who have distance Off-The-Tee. Even though it’s not a long course, past winners include Johnson, Bubba Watson (+4500, $8,500), who has won here three times, and J.B. Holmes. Last season, three golfers who finished inside the top 5 in driving distance here also placed inside the top eight for the tournament. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Will Zalatoris (+2800 to Win, $8,800 on DraftKings) The last time we saw Zalatoris was in a playoff loss at Torrey Pines, where he led the field (on the South Course) in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (12.4). Last season, a top-15 finish at The Riviera CC came thanks to excellent iron play and solid navigation of the poa annua greens, which is what he should recall rather than his struggles a few weeks ago in San Diego. Zalatoris was able to gain 4.9 strokes on Riviera’s greens last season, the highest he’s achieved in any tournament during his professional career. His ball-striking has been elite, gaining strokes with his irons in seven-straight measured events. The former Demon Deacon performs well on par 4s measuring between 450 to 500 yards, ranking fifth over the previous 24 rounds. Scottie Scheffler (+2200, $9,200) got his first win last week, and it’s time for Will’s this week. Marc Leishman (+6000 to Win, $7,900 on DraftKings) The Aussie is always a threat in California, with a win at Torrey Pines and two top-five finishes here dating back to 2016. Leishman has a knack for playing these traditional courses well, finishing top five twice at Augusta National along with a pair of top five finishes at Muirfield Village (Memorial). He’s gained strokes with his irons in eight straight Genesis Invitationals and has shown he can compete with the best in the world. Leishman ranks 33rd in par 4 efficiency on holes measuring 450 to 500 yards and 15th in par 5 efficiency in the previous 24 rounds. Si Woo Kim (+9000 to Win, $7,300 on DraftKings) This three-time winner should feel comfortable with how well he plays on the West Coast. A 26th-place finish last week, gaining 1.63 strokes with his irons and 1.91 Off-the-Tee on Sunday and three top 11s in his California events this season (Fortinet Championship, The American Express, Farmers Insurance) are enough to give him a nod this week. A win at the 2021 American Express and a third place in The Genesis Invitational in 2019 make him one of the favorites in this range. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1.2M Pitch + Putt [$300K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. Place your golf bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app. All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests. The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.

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The Barracuda Championship will become the first PGA TOUR event to accept cryptocurrency payments, joining other pro sports teams from the NBA, NHL and MLB to embrace digital currency. Beginning May 26, spectators can purchase tickets, hospitality and sponsorship packages with over 300 different cryptocurrency options including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin. “We are incredibly excited to take this first step in innovating the sport we all know and love, and to offer our spectators a new way to enjoy the tournament,” said tournament director, Chris Hoff. “The professional golf landscape continues to innovate and evolve, and we are honored to usher the PGA TOUR into this new space.” In addition to offering crypto as a new payment option for ticket purchases, the Barracuda Championship will also offer an exclusive VIP experience package that will only be available for purchase with cryptocurrency. The VIP package will include private hospitality, an official tournament Pro-Am team and honorary observer experiences. For more information or to purchase tickets for the July 14–17 event visit BarracudaChampionship.com.

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