Defending Match Play champ is no fan

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Rory McIlroy – needing a win at Augusta National to complete the career Grand Slam — plays well late in the season, and therefore will benefit from a rescheduled Masters. RELATED: What to know about a November Masters | Roundtable: Most emotional Masters | All-time Masters Power Rankings That was the logic Jack Nicklaus used when he recently told the Golf Channel the new November date could benefit the two-time FedExCup champion. After all, it was only last November when McIlroy beat Xander Schauffele in a playoff at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. McIlroy’s late-season theatrics also include winning two FedExCups, two PGA Championships, and two (European Tour) DP World Tour Championships in Dubai. All of those accomplishments came in golf’s late, August-through-November stretch. And now the Masters is set for Nov. 12-15 in the revised golf calendar announced earlier this week. A win that week by McIlroy would make him the sixth player to achieve the career Grand Slam, although theoretically Jordan Spieth (PGA Championship, now Aug. 6-9) or Phil Mickelson (U.S. Open, now Sept. 18-21) could beat him to the punch. (Mickelson, by the way, is not yet qualified for the U.S. Open.) In a sense, trying to predict how McIlroy might fare at a November Masters is a fool’s errand. For one thing, the coronavirus pandemic may or may not allow for the tournament, and others, to come off at all. For another, the top-ranked player in the world is by definition best equipped to adapt to any change – be it a new date or some other twist. Oh, also: It’s not like McIlroy needs to change his fortunes all that much to win the Masters. He has finished in the top 10 there in five of his last six starts. That the course suits him has been obvious since he led by four shots through 54 holes in 2011, only to fall apart on the back nine on the way to a final-round 80. As he said last year about Augusta National, “If I haven’t figured it out by now, there’s something wrong.â€� Had the Masters been held as originally scheduled this week, McIlroy surely would’ve been a a big favorite. Not just because of his track record and obvious motivation, but also his recent form – seven consecutive worldwide top-5 finishes, including all four of his PGA TOUR starts in the 2020 calendar year that has left him currently No. 3 in the FedExCup standings. In fact, going back to his last 14 worldwide starts, he has two TOUR wins and 10 other top-10 finishes. He seemed to be peaking at the perfect time. Now he’ll need to peak again in six months. Asked on a Golf Channel media conference call Thursday what they thought of Nicklaus’ assessment, analysts Notah Begay III, Brandel Chamblee and Justin Leonard did not disagree, but gave their own reasons why November might suit McIlroy just fine, or better than that. “I’ve never been to Augusta in November, but my guess is that the golf course could play a little bit softer,â€� Leonard said. “… We know how well Rory McIlroy plays in kind of softer conditions.â€� (McIlroy cruised to his first major title, the 2011 U.S. Open, on a wet, soft course at Congressional and has since dominated on other wet, soft venues, particularly at the PGA.) Added Chamblee, “My friends who have played there in November tell me the golf course plays quite long.â€� (McIlroy was second in driving distance and sixth in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee when the season was suspended after round one of THE PLAYERS Championship last month.) “I can’t imagine any scenario that doesn’t favor Rory,â€� Chamblee added. Leonard and Chamblee also noted McIlroy’s remarkable consistency (a TOUR-leading 14 top-10s, with three wins, last season), and his ability to put together long stretches of greatness. That could bode well for him in a late summer and fall that could be chock full of big events. Begay seconded that and added another factor that might help McIlroy: No longer the season’s first major, the Masters – if the reconfigured schedule goes according to plan – would be the last. “So that might change a little bit of the mind-set,â€� Begay said. “That might change a little bit of the approach. He might have already won one by then.â€� Not only would McIlroy be coming in hot, he would be coming to a Masters for which the golf world would not be converging with quite the usual amount of pent-up anticipation. “So it actually could benefit him in a couple of ways from a mental standpoint,â€� Begay said. Added the Golf Channel’s Rich Lerner, moderating the discussion: “Just to put a button on this Rory conversation: 27 pro wins combined, European Tour and PGA TOUR, seven of those wins have come in the month of September or beyond, and deep into November.â€� Add it all up and a Masters in November might leave McIlroy with a very warm feeling, indeed.

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The PGA TOUR takes a break from stroke play for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana. The course is a par 72, measuring 7,425 yards and continues on Bermuda grass this week. Last year, the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19, but this will be the fourth year of the team format. There are 80 teams of two in the field this week, and the top 35 teams and ties will make the cut. Teams will play best ball during the first and third rounds, while the second and fourth rounds will be alternate shot. This week will be a touch different when it comes to DraftKings scoring. In a team event like this, every golfer in the field will be available to roster, similar to a stroke-play event, but only one player from that team can be in your lineup. Each player from that team will receive the same points for each round this week, no matter the format. The defending champions are Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer. STRATEGY TPC Louisiana will be the second Pete Dye course in a row, which means Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green will be a priority this week. With that said, there are minimal stats when it comes to team events other than how players/teams played in this event over the past three years, and how well teams potentially played in events like the QBE Shootout. The issue with trying to parse through the data mentioned above is the efficacy and accuracy of the stats and which golfers from those teams were playing well or not playing well. All of this is a long-winded way of saying stats might not help us as much as they usually do every week. Even though the format is different, players and teams will still need to be great with their ball-striking and ride a hot putter, similar to all Dye courses. They’ll also need to stay aggressive on the best-ball rounds when scores should be going low. Players don’t necessarily have to come into this week with great form; we’ve seen Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown do well here, finishing T5 in 2019 and T15 the previous year and not come in with great form. Past finishes at TPC Louisiana when it was a stroke-play event, past Pete Dye success and, of course, current form are other ways to help us decide which teams to chase this week. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $600K Resurgence [$200K to 1st] GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Billy Horschel/Sam Burns +2200 to Win ($10,500 on DraftKings) Both players were positive in Tee-to-Green last week at the RBC Heritage, a Pete Dye course. Horschel recorded a top 25 at Harbour Town and just won the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club, another Dye course. Burns is starting to look like how he played leading into the Genesis Invitational earlier this season when he finished third. Last week, Burns gained 6.36 strokes Tee-to-Green (12th in the field), 3.1 of which came from his irons. Burns is also returning to New Orleans, where he played his college golf at Louisiana State University. Both guys are excellent Bermuda putters, and Horschel has already won this event in 2018 with Scott Piercy. Jason Kokrak/Pat Perez +6600 to Win ($8,300 on DraftKings) It wasn’t long ago that we saw Perez and Kokrak dominate the charity challenge at Sedgefield CC, beating Charl Schwartzel and Brendan Grace. All kidding aside, these two are good friends and could be great partners this week given how well their games match up. Kokrak is playing unbelievable, with three top 10s in his past four events, and ranks sixth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green over his previous 12 rounds. Although Perez isn’t playing like his teammate, he finished runner-up here in 2018 with Jason Dufner. Perez can help out his teammate on the greens, where he’s much better than Kokrak on Bermuda. Perez has gained Off-the-Tee in six of his past seven measured tournaments and can get scorching hot with his putter when he (or his team) is playing well. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $600K Resurgence [$200K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. 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). Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ/WV/PA/MI), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (NH/CO), 1-800-BETS OFF(IA), 1-888-532-3500 (VA) or call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN). 21+ (18+ NH). CO/IL/IN/IA/NH/NJ/PA/TN/VA/WV/MI only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions. I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is reidtfowler) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. 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