Expert Picks: Farmers Insurance Open

AUSTIN, Texas — It’s time to shuffle up and deal. With the Round of 16 set at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, PGATOUR.COM’s Jonathan Wall ranked the 16 players left in the field based on current form and how they’ve fared after three days of play at Austin Country Club.  1. Alex Noren, Sweden: Last year’s quarterfinalist has trailed for just two of the 48 holes he’s played this week. Took out an in-form Tony Finau by making big putts down the stretch, including a 14-footer on the last to close it out. Leads the field in strokes gained: putting and has recorded just one bogey this week. Don’t forget he already has a runner-up (Farmers Insurance Open) and third-place (The Honda Classic) finish this year.  Next opponent: Patrick Reed.  2. Justin Thomas, USA: Looks like a completely different player after only winning one match the last two years. Hasn’t trailed this week in 48 holes and has form on his side with a win and runner-up finish in his last two starts. Match play is a different beast, but Thomas hasn’t skipped a beat this season.  Next opponent: Si Woo Kim 3. Patrick Reed, USA: Reed’s match play pedigree alone is enough to rank him inside the top-3. Went undefeated in group play and downed Jordan Spieth to make the knockout stage. Hasn’t advanced beyond the Round of 16 since the event went to a round-robin format in 2015, but he’s peaking at the right time.  Next opponent: Alex Noren.  4. Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Thailand: Looks right at home in his second appearance and has only trailed for one hole (out of 49) this week. Was victorious earlier this year at the World Super 6 Perth that features a match play final round. Defeated last year’s Match Play runner-up Jon Rahm to advance.  Next opponent: Charles Howell III 5. Ian Poulter, England: Thrives on the pressure of match play. Poulter’s return to the Odyssey mallet he used to win the 2016 Ryder Cup has fueled an impressive run that’s seen him win all three of his matches before the 18th hole.  Next opponent: Louis Oosthuizen 6. Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa: The 2016 runner-up advances to the knockout stage for the third time in four years. Ranks sixth this week in strokes gained: putting while recording 15 birdies. Made it through a tough group that included Jason Day, Jason Dufner and James Hahn.  Next opponent: Ian Poulter 7. Sergio Garcia, Spain: Has embraced the windy conditions at Austin Country Club. Leads the field in birdies (18) and ranks second in strokes gained: off the tee. Posted a spotless 3-0-0 record despite trailing after nine holes in all three matches.  Next opponent: Kyle Stanley 8. Bubba Watson, USA: Moves on to the knockout stage for the second straight year. Battled from 2-down with three holes to play to earn a halve against Julian Suri to advance. Game seems to be clicking on all cylinders since his Genesis Open win. Has the creativity to deal with the blustery conditions.  Next opponent: Brian Harman 9. Matt Kuchar, USA: Kuchar needed just 14 holes to defeat Ross Fisher on Friday in a must-win situation. Qualified for the knockout stage for the second time in the last three years. Only player in the field who recorded a hole-in-one this week.  Next opponent: Kevin Kisner 10. Charles Howell III: Ended all three matches before the 18th hole while going 3-0-0 in a group that included Phil Mickelson and Rafa Cabrera Bello. Second consecutive year he’s made the Round of 16 despite recording just eight birdies.  Next opponent: Kiradech Aphibarnrat 11. Si Woo Kim, Korea: THE PLAYERS Championship winner gets a red-hot Justin Thomas after getting through Group 15. Tends to play well on Pete Dye golf courses. Has yet to trail in the 51 holes he’s played. Recorded 15 birdies so far this week.  Next opponent: Justin Thomas 12. Cameron Smith, Australia: Smith has gone the distance in all three of his matches this week. Made it out of the group stage in his first Match Play appearance. Next opponent: Tyrrell Hatton 13. Kevin Kisner, USA: Trailed for just two holes in the three matches he’s played. Ranks fourth in driving accuracy. Defeated Dustin Johnson to move to the next round.  Next opponent: Matt Kuchar 14. Brian Harman, USA: Defeated Rory McIlroy to make the Round of 16 in his first Match Play start. Faces another fellow left-hander in Bubba Watson.  Next opponent: Bubba Watson 15. Kyle Stanley, USA: Two of his three matches went the distance. One of the best ball-strikers on the PGA TOUR, Stanley has the game to give Sergio Garcia a tough match.  Next opponent: Sergio Garcia 16. Tyrrell Hatton, USA: Recorded the fewest birdies (6) of any player who advanced. Managed to move on despite leading for only four holes (out of 32) in his last two matches.  Next opponent: Cameron Smith THREE MATCHES TO WATCH Alex Noren, Sweden vs. Patrick Reed, USA Based on the way Noren and Reed have played, this feels like a championship match. Both moved their way through group play without losing a match and have been making big putts when it counts. Expect a tightly contested battle that likely goes down to the last hole.  Bubba Watson, USA vs. Brian Harman, USA The former Georgia Bulldogs square off in a match between the only left-handed players remaining in the field. Harman comes in with six top 10s in his last 10 starts while Watson recorded a win last month at the Genesis Open. Given their current form, it’s difficult to pick a favorite between these two. Watson obviously has the length advantage, but Harman was able to take out Rory McIlroy on Friday with relative ease.  Justin Thomas, USA vs. Si Woo Kim, Korea Neither player has trailed at any point this week, so something has to give. Thomas is playing like the second-ranked player in the world this week and disposed of Francesco Molinari without breaking a sweat during their winner-take-all match. Kim has the game to hang with Thomas, but he’ll need to make sure it stays tight on the front nine. If Kim has something going for him, it’s that he seems to play his best golf on Pete Dye courses. 

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BLAINE, Minn. – When Tony Finau was a kid, he and his six brothers and sisters often came to Minneapolis to visit relatives. They’d have luaus, and he’d put his Polynesian dancing skills, which sometimes included fire and knives, on display. Finau still performs, even celebrating his 2018 Ryder Cup captain’s pick by tweeting out a dance, but he’d never played golf in Minnesota – until this week at the 3M Open. The 29-year-old made the most of the opportunity on Thursday, too, shooting a 5-under 66 at TPC Twin Cities and left him among the leaders in the inaugural event. “I think I had a few fans out there,â€� grinned Finau, who played with Phil Mickelson and last week’s surprise winner, Nate Lashley before a good crowd on a blustery morning. He would probably have had a few more people in his gallery had he been able to wear the jersey the Minnesota Timberwolves gave him earlier in the week. The 6-foot-4 Finau played center in high school, averaging 11 rebounds as a senior, and actually was recruited to play basketball in college. His love, though, was golf, and Finau turned pro after graduating from high school at the age of 17. The T-Wolves jersey had his name and his high school number – 34 – on the back. “It was awesome,â€� said Finau, whose cousin Jabari Parker most recently played for the Washington Wizards. “I was thinking about doing a funny free agency Tweet or Instagram story saying that I signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves. … Really thankful that they were able to do that. It’s pretty cool. “I’m a huge NBA fan, and even though I’m a Lakers fan, I’ll take a jersey from any team.â€� Finau came to TPC Twin Cities on the heels of three straight missed cuts that followed his best finish of the season, solo second at the Charles Schwab Challenge in May. Prior to Thursday, he hadn’t broken par in his last six rounds, so he summoned his coach Boyd Summerhays for a second set of eyes. “I think when you’re trying to get better, sometimes you complicate the process and you think about too many things, try to change too many things at one time,â€� Finau said. “Just keeping it simple, and that’s a lot easier said than done when you’re trying to get incrementally better in this game. “But I think we’ve done a good job of that in the last couple weeks to say, hey, those swing thoughts that have worked, stick with those, and I was able do that today.â€� Still, Finau, who is seeking the second win of his career and the first since 2016, didn’t feel particularly good as he warmed up on the range in advance of his 7:20 a.m. tee time. He wasn’t hitting the kind of solid shots he wanted to see, but was able to regroup once he got on the course. “Sometimes that’s how it goes,â€� Finau said. “You’ve got to muster up something to play with and I was able to find something out there and play well. I made some key putts I feel like were the biggest things.â€� Finau, who started on the back nine, made the turn in 32. He bogeyed the third hole, though, and drove into the deep rough at the sixth, but managed to save par, which he called a “huge turning point in my round.â€� Birdie putts of 3 and 15 feet followed on the next two holes to cap off the 66. The TPC Twin Cities has been toughened and lengthened to 7,468 yards in the year since the PGA TOUR Champions played its last tournament here. Finau, who averaged 324 off the tee on Thursday, called it a “beastâ€� of a golf course made more difficult by ample water hazards and lakes. “I think it fits a guy with length,â€� Finau said. “It’s a big golf course. I think three or four holes are 500 yards plus into the wind today. I was hitting some 5‑ and 6‑irons into some of those par 4s, which is not something I usually do on par 4s. “But I do like the golf course, but I wouldn’t say I’m extremely comfortable. Obviously, there’s a lot of water to deal with and trying to keep away from that.â€�

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