Can Phil go wire-to-wire at Desert Classic?

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Talor Gooch (+500 for a top 10) … A consequence of him withdrawing early from last week’s Sanderson Farms Championship is that he’ll soar under more radars in Vegas this week. But he shouldn’t. The 29-year-old splashed into this season with a T4 at Silverado, his best finish of calendar-year 2021. It’s redundant to cite that he does it all inside the ropes and throughout his bag, but it doesn’t mean that that should go unnoticed every time, either. Recorded his first-ever top 25 at TPC Summerlin in 2017 when he chased a dreadful 77 in the third round with a 64 in the finale to climb 39 spots for a T16. Scott Piercy (+1000 for a Top 10) … It’s been a challenging couple of years for the 42-year-old, but despite him salvaging his card at the buzzer last season and his position at 197th in the Official World Golf Ranking, he really isn’t a Sleeper at the Shriners. For one, he’s a homegrown talent from Las Vegas who made three starts in the tournament before his rookie season of 2009. Since he’s connected for four top 10s among eight top 25s, including a T19 last year. He also opened this season with a T11 at Silverado, so he didn’t exhaust all his energy locking up fully exempt status. Nate Lashley (+1200 for a Top 10) … If you squint in places, TPC Summerlin could resemble TPC Scottsdale where he’s finished T3 (2020) and T17 (2021) a mere car ride from his own pillow, so it’s proof that he can excel in the desert. He sat T19 entering the final round here last year before blowing up for a closing 75 to finish T52. For what is now his fourth appearance, the 38-year-old brings the mojo of consecutive top 20s to open the new season. He didn’t qualify for the 2021 FedExCup Playoffs but he’s fully exempt by virtue of his win at the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic and extended eligibility due to the pandemic. Alex Smalley (+1200 for a Top 10) … If you tuned into the Sanderson Farms Championship, you likely learned that PGA TOUR rookie Sahith Theegala eked into the Korn Ferry Tour Finals via his equivalent of non-member FedExCup points. To wit, his 97.917 points would have slotted him 199th among members. After a timely surge in the Finals to secure his card, Theegala held at least the co-lead after every round before fading for a T8 in Mississippi. Smalley doesn’t have as strong a pedigree, but he, too, barely cracked the field at the Finals as his equivalent of 108.961 points would have positioned him 195th among members, and he needed a T29 at the regular season-ending Wyndham Championship to clear the hurdle. After rising in the Finals to join Theegala in the class of 27 rookies, the Duke University product missed the cut at Silverado and opened with 76 at Country Club of Jackson. However, he responded with a bogey-free, 9-under 63 in the second round to survive the cut on the number (en route to a T31), and then open-qualified for the Shriners with a bogey-free, 9-under 63 at Boulder Creek Golf Club. He’s a fighter personified. Harry Hall (+2500 for a Top 10) … The recently betrothed 24-year-old from England is making his third career PGA TOUR start. He was a Sleeper in each, so it’s apropos that the third time presents as the charm in the shadows of his collegiate stomping grounds at UNLV. After missing the cut at the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open, he finished T47 at The American Express to kick off his 2021. Middling results followed on the Korn Ferry Tour until he broke through for victory in Wichita in June. He’s a terrific putter but this endorsement leans strongly on the intangibles of his confidence and familiarity of the local connection on the coattails of a joyous life experience. Odds were sourced on Oct. 5, 2021. For live odds, visit betmgm.

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This is an important time in history for golf in Japan. The inaugural edition of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP this week reflects a commitment – at least six years to be exact – of the PGA TOUR visiting and growing with the country. After an extended hiatus, the PGA TOUR Champions returned to conduct events in 2017 and 2019, almost as a soft reopen for what’s coming. The renewed focus in the landing of the rising run includes next summer’s Olympic Games. The Japan Golf Tour is among the preeminent circuits around the world, but there hasn’t been a men’s event eligible to all since the World Cup of Golf in 2001. That was held in the afternoon shadow of Mount Fuji at The Taiheiyo Club in Gotemba City. The co-sanctioned ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP is hosted by Narashino County Club in the Chiba Prefecture east of Tokyo. Scroll past the projected contenders in the field of 78 for details on the tournament, the course and more. POWER RANKINGS: ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Marc Leishman, Ian Poulter and THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES runner-up Danny Lee will be included among the notables covered in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. ZOZOTOWN is the apparel company responsible for making the PGA TOUR’s first-ever annual tournament in Japan possible. The ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP debuts with a prize fund of $9.75 million and there is no cut. The winner will receive $1.755 million, 500 FedExCup points and fully exempt membership through 2021-22. The field reserves space for 60 golfers in order of final position in the 2019 FedExCup Playoffs. As of midday Monday, Kevin Streelman (75th) was the last man in the field via that conduit. Ten spots are reserved for members of the Japan Golf Tour. Eight sponsor exemptions complete the field. Fifty golfers from last week’s THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES made the trip to the ZOZO. Narashino CC is a 36-hole facility. A composite course has been routed for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. It’s a par 34-36—70 stretching 7,041 yards. The five par 3s range from the 141-yard 13th to the 191-yard fifth. The longest of the trio of par 5s is the 608-yard 14th. The closing hole is a par 5 tipping at 562 yards, so the opportunity for walk-off heroics is in play. Golf courses of some age in Japan were built with two greens on every hole. At the time, it was a solution to present different strains of healthy grass no matter the season. Today, bentgrass blankets most greens primarily because advances in agronomy have allowed for improved conditioning where possible year-round. Narashino opened in 1965 with two greens per hole. They remain today. Those utilized for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP have been prepped to run 11-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter. To honor the tradition of two greens in Japan, both the A and B greens on the par-4 fourth hole will be used at some point during the tournament. It’s possible that another hole or holes also will use alternate greens. As usual, targets in play for every round will be determined when hole locations are posted. If a golfer lands an approach on the incorrect green, the “wrong green” local rule will be enforced. It will allow the golfer relief off the green no closer the hole. No penalty will be assessed. Just like last week’s stop in South Korea, Japan has been hit by significant rain in recent weeks, so the greens will be receptive. Primary rough extending as high as three-and-a-quarter inches defending them and the Korai zoysiagrass fairways will be lush. More rain is on the way during the tournament. It’ll fall on Friday for sure and it can’t be ruled out on any of the other days. Strong winds will protect scoring during the first two rounds. It’ll abate on the weekend, which will allow the potential for a shootout to develop as ball-strikers tend to emerge on unfamiliar greens. Daytime highs will flirt with 70 degrees throughout. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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