FedExCup scenarios for BMW Championship

Here are nine tidbits from the final round of the CareerBuilder Challenge that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Rah Rah Rahm The most picked player in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO and PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO did exactly what he was supposed to do. Jon Rahm, the highest ranked player in the field at No. 3 in the OWGR, needed four playoff holes to win for the second time on TOUR. What a difference a year makes as this time last year he was No. 137 and had zero wins. He’s added the Farmers Insurance Open, the Irish Open and the DT World Tour Championship in those 12 months. He’s played two events on TOUR this season and has finished first and second. There’s nothing better in fantasy golf when the player meets the gamer’s expectations. Gracias! #NappyFactor Andrew Landry’s wife is due in March. This is his third top 10 in seven events in the new season and best finish on TOUR. He showed his meddle down the stretch as his birdie putt on the final hole forced a playoff. He only made one bogey on the week, his 60th hole, but it didn’t deter him. He’ll rue his chance on the second playoff hole as his putt for birdie and the win didn’t scare the hole. He’ll add this to his Oakmont experience from last summer and should be in the mix as 2018 rolls on. I’d stick him in any keeper league and watch him grow. No Questions for John John Huh hasn’t cashed a top 10 check since last March at Innisbrook before T3 Sunday. He hasn’t landed on the podium since the 2014 Barracuda Championship! Gamers might want to put a circle around him for next year as this was his third top 30 in four tries in the Coachella Valley. His weekend (65-66) included eight birdies on Saturday and six birdies and an eagle on Sunday. Had Another Chance Adam Hadwin didn’t show any signs of life in four events during the fall and only put two rounds of 16 in the 60’s. Course historians will point out that he was T6 in 2016 and second last year after his 59 Saturday at La Quinta. While his normally trusty putter wasn’t firing like he expected, his iron game saw him peg T7 GIR. His 68 Sunday was his worst round of the week and he still finished T4. It’s obvious that this course rotation fits his eye and game. California Dreamin’ Fresno native Kevin Chappell (T6) is going to petition the tournament committee to have ALL four rounds at the Stadium Course. He fired a bogey-free 64 Friday on his first trip. He added six more birdies for 67 on Sunday. The Stadium Course was the only track of the three to use ShotLink and it validated Chappell’s love. He led those who played the Stadium Course twice in SG: Approach to the Green, Tee to Green and Total. He was also T2 in GIR for the week across all three tracks. Chappell has never MC in six tries at this event. All in the Family His grandfather Arnold Palmer won this event five times. Grandson Sam Saunders collected a check for the first time in four tries. His 64 on Sunday was the low round of the day by two shots and vaulted him up the leaderboard 34 spots to T8. His 28 birdies were T1 for the week. He flashed signs at the Web.com Finals last fall as he fired 59 at Atlantic Beach. He hovered around the top 10 at Sony last week before fading on Sunday to T25. He’s never had more than two top 10’s in a season or finished in FedExCup top 125. Caution. Grandstand Finishers Canadian Nick Taylor’s 66 saw him quietly collect his fifth top 32 paycheck in seven starts this season. … Bud Cauley, one of my favorites, kept his streak of hitting T14 or better in the new rotation with his closing 66. He’s now cashed T14, T3 and T14 the last three years and is 51-under-par. … Harris English popped onto the radar for a hot second last week. His second round 65 caught my eye but his weekend (70-72) kept me away. He flashed 66 Sunday to move up 22 spots to T11. Noted. Familiar Faces PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO most popular player won the tournament but only two of the top 10 selected players missed the cut, Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed. Mickelson broke a streak of 12 events in a row once again proving that there are no guarantees in fantasy golf. Reed is a former champion but his win is his only top 10 in six tries. Of those eight selected playing on Sunday none finished inside the top 20. Fantasy golf is hard. Study Hall Sergio Garcia won the Singapore Open by five shots to start his 20th year as a professional. Pat Perez collected T21 money but will not play in his hometown event this week at the Farmers Insurance Open. … Tommy Fleetwood shot 65 and came from five shots off the pace to defend his title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Rory McIlroy (70) cashed T3 while Dustin Johnson was T9. Justin Rose, who is playing Torrey Pines, was bogey-free in the final round to claim T22. … C.T. Pan tweeted Sunday he had the flu this week and that was a factor to him missing the cut. He was T2 at the Farmers Insurance last year. … The top four finishers at the Singapore Open (not previously qualified) Jazz Janewattananond, Lucas Herbert, Danthai Boonma and Sean Crocker booked their spots at The Open Championship at Carnoustie. 

Click here to read the full article…

Field for the RBC Heritage (How they qualified) Past champions of the RBC Heritage Wesley Bryan Glen Day Jim Furyk Branden Grace Matt Kuchar Davis Love III Graeme McDowell Winner – U.S. Open or PGA Championship playing 15 events last yr. Vijay Singh Winner – U.S. Open/PGA Championship (starting with 2005 winners) Jason Dufner Dustin Johnson Martin Kaymer Winner – THE PLAYERS Championship (Last 5 Years) Si Woo Kim Winner – The Open Championship (last 5 years) Zach Johnson Winner – THE TOUR Championship (last 3 years) Xander Schauffele Winner – HSBC Champions – Last 3 years Russell Knox Winners of the Arnold Palmer Inv. & the Memorial (Last 3 Years) Marc Leishman David Lingmerth William McGirt Winner – Prior Year U.S. Amateur Championship Doc Redman Winner – FedEx Cup – Last Five Years Billy Horschel Member of Last Named U.S. Ryder Cup Team Ryan Moore Brandt Snedeker Member of Last Named U.S. Presidents Cup Team Kevin Chappell Charley Hoffman Kevin Kisner Member of Last Named International Presidents Cup Team Emiliano Grillo Adam Hadwin Anirban Lahiri Charl Schwartzel Top 50 – World Golf Ranking – Graduate Decline System Paul Casey Tyrrell Hatton Brian Harman Francesco Molinari Patrick Cantlay Ross Fisher Matthew Fitzpatrick Webb Simpson Cameron Smith Satoshi Kodaira Dylan Frittelli Sponsors Exemptions – Web.com Tour Finals Jonathan Byrd Corey Conners Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt Darren Clarke Carl Pettersson Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted David Hearn Philip Knowles Dru Love Sam Saunders PGA Section Champ/Player of the Year Steve Scott Career Money Exemption K.J. Choi Top 125 on Prior Year’s FedExCup Points List Bill Haas Mackenzie Hughes Hudson Swafford Charles Howell III Lucas Glover Kevin Na Bryson DeChambeau Luke List Ian Poulter Stewart Cink Scott Brown Martin Laird Sung Kang Ollie Schniederjans Sean O’Hair Robert Streb Bud Cauley Grayson Murray James Hahn Kevin Tway Danny Lee Kelly Kraft Rod Pampling Jason Kokrak Jonas Blixt Chad Campbell Chris Stroud Kevin Streelman Cody Gribble Cheng Tsung Pan Whee Kim Harold Varner III Chris Kirk Nick Taylor Camilo Villegas J.J. Spaun Scott Piercy Patton Kizzire Michael Kim Scott Stallings Byeong Hun An Martin Flores D.A. Points Luke Donald Richy Werenski Ryan Blaum Geoff Ogilvy Robert Garrigus Brian Gay Vaughn Taylor Steve Stricker Derek Fathauer Tyrone Van Aswegen Harris English Dominic Bozzelli Nick Watney John Huh Blayne Barber Ben Martin Rory Sabbatini J.J. Henry Top 125 (Medical) Ryan Palmer Michael Thompson Current Tournament Winners Ryan Armour Aaron Baddeley Greg Chalmers Austin Cook Matt Every Brice Garnett Fabián Gómez Billy Hurley III Peter Malnati Ted Potter, Jr. Brian Stuard FedExCup Points – 5 players not otherwise eligible Chesson Hadley Beau Hossler Andrew Landry Tom Hoge Brandon Harkins Major Medical Extension John Senden Jon Curran Bob Estes

Click here to read the full article…

Collin Morikawa doesn’t always use a TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedge, but he does when he plays in a U.S. Open. On a week-to-week basis, the five-time PGA TOUR winner and two-time major champion travels with multiple lob wedges. For example, GolfWRX.com photographed Morikawa with four 60-degree wedges in the bag during a practice session at The Genesis Invitational, including a TaylorMade MG2 with 8 degrees of bounce, a TaylorMade MG3 with 9 degrees of bounce and a TaylorMade Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedge with 9 degrees of bounce. “Bounce” refers to the shaping of the bottom of a wedge, which is called the sole. Generally speaking, higher bounce options are best in soft conditions to keep the wedge from digging too much, and low bounce options are best in firm conditions. Morikawa keeps his options open by carrying lob wedges that have different sole shapes so he can easily adjust to the different courses and conditions he experiences during the season. He figures out what 60-degree wedge he’ll use for the week during practice rounds and practice sessions. When it comes to the U.S. Open, though, Morikawa opts for a TaylorMade Hi-Toe lob wedge, which has a unique shape and face design. This week, he’s using a model that has 7 degrees of bounce. Compared to a traditionally shaped wedge, the Hi-Toe has a raised toe section and grooves that stretch across the entire face, which is appealing to Morikawa when navigating the U.S. Open rough. “When people talk about U.S. Opens, they always talk about the rough and tough conditions,” Morikawa told GolfWRX on Wednesday. “I think every U.S. Open I’ve used a Hi-Toe. …When there’s really long rough and the ball sits down, and you’re going to have a lot of different lies, I think the Hi-Toe obviously gives you a lot more surface area on the face to hit the grooves. It just allows you to get away with the misses. I think it’s a lot easier to chip out of the rough. If you find a grind that works out of the fairways, it’s awesome. To be honest, I don’t know why I don’t use it more. It works.” Like most U.S. Open setups, The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., has long and thick rough surrounding the greens. Even though Morikawa is ranked fifth on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green, he’s bound to miss some greens this week due to their small size and the usually firm conditions. He uses the Hi-Toe to increase his chances of saving par, even from thick lies. When he does get the ball onto the putting surface, Morikawa is still rolling with a new TaylorMade Spider GT Rollback that he switched to at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday ( ). The switch to a mallet came as somewhat of a surprise, because Morikawa has traditionally used a blade-style putter. He’s relied on the TaylorMade TP Juno for most of his career, and he used it to win the Open Championship in 2021. While he has experimented in brief stints with mallet styles throughout his career, he putts most often with a blade. So why the recent change? Morikawa told GolfWRX.com that the Spider GT Rollback helps him better match speed with his feels, and it all comes down to TaylorMade’s Pure Roll 2 insert that has wide, downward facing grooves (which are designed to produce a quicker roll, rather than skidding). “It has wider grooves. I don’t really know the science behind it. It just comes off the face how I want, and that’s the biggest thing,” Morikawa told GolfWRX. “At least it’s reacting to how I’m feeling. And from there hopefully we can put a good stroke on it.” As Morikawa explained, the mallet style also helps with the way the putter sits on the surface, and the plumber’s neck on his Spider GT Rollback is similar to his previous Juno blade gamer, so there’s a sense of familiarity. These tools helped Morikawa to a 1-under 69 in the first round as he seeks to win the third leg of the career Grand Slam.

Click here to read the full article…