Louisiana natives Sam Burns, David Toms have special relationship

Welcome back, fellow gamers. It’s my pleasure to return as well. This begins my ninth year in this seat and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. So, as always, thank you for your time and loyalty. Even though the PGA TOUR has been off since The RSM Classic in mid-November, there’s been no such halt to action around the world. In the field for the Sentry Tournament of Champions alone, Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Smith hoisted hardware somewhere where they also collected Official World Golf Ranking points. Those and other performances are included in player capsules in the Power Rankings and below. No player is ignored in the 34-man field. Also resuming this week is PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. The Sentry TOC is the first of 13 tournaments in Segment 2, but it’s one of only nine for which ShotLink will measure performance. All three events on the West Coast Swing contested over multiple courses and the inaugural stop in the Dominican Republic in March will reward only actual scoring before bonus points are calculated. While it wasn’t included in the Roster game, the Puerto Rico Open will be an unofficial charity event this year to benefit the island in the wake of Hurricane Maria, so it won’t contribute to the season-long One & Done game. This means that the 2017-18 season will feature 48 events. The PRO will return as an official tournament in 2019. If you sat out fantasy coverage in the fall, you missed a couple of notable introductions: • First, Mike Glasscott is now on board as a contributor for our fantasy content. He assumed the reins of The Confidence Factor in November and launched a new series entitled “Emergency 9,” which feature takeaways after every day’s action during tournaments, including ownership percentages for the fantasy games. It’s our foray into in-tournament coverage, so be sure to check it out. Glass and I worked together at Rotoworld for several years, so it’s a treat to reunite here. Look for him on Twitter as @MikeGlasscott. • A new item can be found on the Fantasy page. My Twitter feed is now visible after a brief scroll. If you’re not familiar with how I use Twitter, I always tweet published fields, field changes and links to just about everything that publishes that I’ve either written or in which I’m included. Having my feed on the Fantasy page is just one more way of narrowing the focus for you to find what you want and need. Now that we’re up to date, let’s get back after it! PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the Sentry Tournament of Champions (in alphabetical order): Rickie Fowler Dustin Johnson Marc Leishman Hideki Matsuyama Jordan Spieth Justin Thomas You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Patrick Cantlay; Brooks Koepka; Jon Rahm; Cameron Smith Driving: Patrick Cantlay; Russell Henley; Kevin Kisner; Jon Rahm; Kyle Stanley; Brendan Steele Approach: Kevin Kisner; Jon Rahm; Kyle Stanley Short: Brian Harman; Russell Henley; Kevin Kisner; Brooks Koepka; Pat Perez Power Rankings Wild Card 16. Cameron Smith … First-timer comin’ in hot. If you weren’t already convinced that the 24-year-old Aussie is the real deal, take notice of his latest burst of form. Since wrapping the 2016-17 season with a T12 at the BMW Championship, he’s finished a respective T5, third, fourth and first. The victory occurred at the Australian PGA Championship, so it carried additional significance. My only advice as it concerns him is not to load up on debutants at Kapalua. Rest of the Field 17. Kyle Stanley … Reached the TOUR Championship after ranking second in greens in regulation and T4 in proximity to the hole last season. With all of that to remain hopeful, he opened 2017-18 with a T21-T19-T5 spurt abroad and sits just inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. A 30th-place showing in his only prior appearance at Kapalua in 2013 fulfills the requirement of experience, so he’s a worthy complement in any format. 18. Russell Henley … T3 in his last appearance three years ago and sports a strong skill set putting on Bermuda. In short, serves as a nifty fit to complement the chalk in every format. 19. Austin Cook … First-timer and only 2017-18 rookie in the field. The last man to qualify has been on a tear for months. Fellow first-timers Jon Rahm (No. 10), Xander Schauffele (No. 13) and Patrick Cantlay (No. 14) appeared in the Power Rankings, but Cook also hurls a wrench into neatly laid plans to swerve around these guys because of form. So, approach each as a contrarian, if that’s even possible in a field of only 34. 20. Jason Dufner … With just one top-15 finish (fifth, 2014) in three tries and a relatively quiet second half of calendar-year 2017 (no top 10s), he’s an easy fade in this field despite his tee-to-green strength. Just bank on something in the middle and move on. 21. Bryson DeChambeau … First-timer. In a special edition of “Talk of the TOUR” in mid-December, I circled him as one of my most compelling values for 2018. And while nothing he achieves is surprising, investing in the absence of experience at Kapalua is a recipe for regret. 22. Patton Kizzire … First-timer. He loves himself the fall events, so it’s really not too surprising that he’s atop the FedExCup standings as the season resumes. One of the more favorable among the fresh flock of talent at Kapalua, but respect the learning curve if you’re torn between him and an experienced competitor. 23. Kevin Chappell … First-timer. The frequent foil is barely average in proximity to the hole, so you’d be pressing right out of the gate as he builds his résumé at Kapalua. He’s also not a short-lister in shootouts, but his ball control will be an asset in the wind. Bottom line, you’re unlikely to need to dig this deep. 24. Hudson Swafford … First-timer. Since breaking through at the CareerBuilder Challenge just two weeks after last year’s Sentry TOC, he managed three more top 10s and turned 30 in September. As he continues to creep up in value in long-term formats, his proficiency on approach projects to give him a chance at Kapalua, but he’ll need a magical week with the wand to end the 10-year drought for a debutant champion. 25. Grayson Murray … First-timer. Earned his exemption with a victory at the Barbasol Championship. Inconsistency marked most of a rough-and-tumble rookie season, but that’s to be expected. The long hitter should have some fun off the tee on Maui. He’s also a sneaky scorer, a characteristic that’s benefited by large greens. 26. Billy Horschel … A month after withdrawing during the Shriners with a sore left shoulder, he honored his commitment to the QBE Shootout in his native Florida. That’s good news in advance of his third trip to Kapalua where he’s finished T6 (2014) and T22 (2015). However, he struggled something fierce for three months-plus until succumbing to the injury. Use this week as a barometer. 27. Adam Hadwin … First-timer. Scuffled often after securing his maiden title at Copperhead. His not-so-secret weapon is his putter and the sizeable greens give him an edge if a putting contest breaks out, but it’ll take him a round or two to get the feel for and learn the undulations in tournament conditions. Yet, he’d be a Sleeper if I didn’t cover the remainder of the field on this page. He’s long enough off the tee and the trade winds shouldn’t get under the Canadian’s skin or in between his ears. 28. Wesley Bryan … First-timer. As reliant as he is on his putter to make noise, he’s cast off into the monitor-only bucket in his debut. That decision is aided by the fact that he went nine straight starts worldwide without a top 30 until a T9 at the Dunlop Phoenix in his last. Indeed, the 2016-17 rookie is enduring the learning curve, but I still love its trajectory. 29. Ryan Armour … First-timer. Here he is, having the time of his life. As he should be. The veteran will turn 42 next month. He’s compiled an impressive record since rising to a T4 at the Wyndham Championship in August. Even better, he has no qualms with going low, so that aligns with the opportunity at Kapalua. Dive in if you simply can’t help taking a dip, but understand that flames with his series of factors that sparked it don’t flicker long. 30. Jhonattan Vegas … Maybe his third appearance is the charm. He finished last (of 27) in his debut in 2012 and tied for second-to-last in his return trip last year. Stick with full-season formats. 31. Jonas Blixt … His team title with Cameron Smith at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans didn’t yield Official World Golf Ranking points, so Blixt slots just 281st. That’s second-worst in this field (to D.A. Points at 292nd), but the Swede was outside the top 425 until a co-runner-up finish at the Australian Open in late November. This is to say that his game hasn’t been up to the standards necessary to resonate in individual competition for some time. Case in point, he’s gone nearly 23 months without a top 15 in the format on the PGA TOUR. He also failed to cross that threshold in both of his previous appearances at Kapalua. 32. Chris Stroud … First-timer. Gone quiet since his out-of-nowhere win in Reno and a T9 at the PGA Championship the following week, but it stands to reason that the impact of Hurricane Harvey in his community of Houston took a toll on the comparatively unimportant task of hitting a golf ball with two years of guaranteed employment secure. At the same time, gamers require results to invest, so let him come to you now that we’re back in business in 2018. 33. Si Woo Kim … So extreme in a land of extremes on a course of extremes that anything is possible and nothing is surprising. The fact is, even full-season gamers sign on with lowered expectations to survive the roller coaster. Shared second-to-last place as a first-timer last year. 34. D.A. Points … The 41-year-old is back at Kapalua for his third appearance. Since capturing the title at the Puerto Rico Open, he’s manufactured only two top 50s, but has gone 16 straight starts without one. Notables WDs Justin Rose … Arguably the planet’s hottest talent at the moment. His title at the WGC-HSBC Champions was the first of three victories in his last six starts worldwide and he didn’t finish outside the top 10 in any of his last 10. This is the sixth consecutive time he’s declined to compete at Kapalua. Will be back inside the ropes no later than the Farmers Insurance Open on Jan. 25-28. Sergio Garcia … The 2017 Masters champ won at Kapalua as a first-timer in 2002. Since his last appearance in 2006, he’s passed on all four opportunities to return. Scheduled to make his 2018 debut at the SMBC Singapore Open on Jan. 18-21. Henrik Stenson … Despite qualifying five times, he hasn’t pegged it at Kapalua since he first earned the exemption for the 2008 edition. Only one start in the last two months (17th, Hero) while nursing a sore rib. Expected to take part in the Eurasia Cup in Malaysia on Jan. 12-14. Power Rankings Recap – The RSM Classic Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Webb Simpson WD 2 Kevin Kisner T4 3 Charles Howell III MC 4 Chesson Hadley T37 5 Brian Harman T4 6 Bill Haas MC 7 Ollie Schniederjans MC 8 Scott Brown MC 9 Jamie Lovemark MC 10 Patton Kizzire T45 11 Patrick Rodgers MC 12 Kevin Streelman T17 13 Matt Kuchar T29 14 William McGirt T8 15 J.J. Spaun 2nd Wild Card Zach Johnson T8 Sleepers Recap – The RSM Classic Golfer  Result Jonathan Byrd MC Chad Campbell MC Tom Hoge T25 Sean O’Hair MC Michael Thompson T17 Power Rankings Recap – Hero World Challenge Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Justin Rose T5 2 Brooks Koepka 18th 3 Dustin Johnson T14 4 Rickie Fowler Win 5 Jordan Spieth T3 6 Matt Kuchar T9 7 Justin Thomas 11th 8 Hideki Matsuyama T5 9 Henrik Stenson 17th 10 Patrick Reed T5 11 Kevin Kisner T12 12 Francesco Molinari 8th 13 Charley Hoffman 2nd 14 Daniel Berger T14 15 Tommy Fleetwood T3 16 Tiger Woods T9 17 Kevin Chappell T14 18 Alex Noren T12 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR January 2 … none January 3 … Charlie Wi (46) January 4 … none January 5 … Shaun Micheel (49) January 6 … Tyrone Van Aswegen (36); Corey Conners (26) January 7 … Camilo Villegas (36); Keith Mitchell (26) January 8 … none

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – The 14th green at Pebble Beach is hard enough to hit with a wedge, let alone a 3-wood. Out-of-bounds stakes aren’t far from the putting surface, either. Gary Woodland wasn’t sure he should take the risk while holding the lead on the final holes of the U.S. Open. Woodland, the former college basketball player turned professional golfer, has physical gifts that few players possess, though. His caddie, Brennan Little, urged him to use them at this crucial moment. The uphill hole annually ranks as one of the hardest par-5s on the PGA TOUR. It’s the rare three-shotter where par is acceptable. Most players never have to consider reaching it in two. Woodland’s 3-wood carried the gaping bunker in front of the green and settled in the rough, just left of the flag. The birdie gave him a two-shot margin and the confidence to close out his first major championship. “It would have been pretty easy to lay up there. … (My caddie) is the one that told me play aggressive,â€� Woodland said. “Him telling me to do that gave me confidence, and it ended up in a perfect spot. That birdie there kind of separated me a little bit from Brooks and gave me a little cushion.â€� That shot was impressive, but it was a shorter stroke three holes later that illustrated Woodland’s progress from promising prospect to major champion. After his tee shot drifted to the wrong side of the hourglass green on Pebble Beach’s 17th hole, he nearly holed his chip shot from off the putting surface. That par save allowed him to play the picturesque finishing hole comfortably. But he added one more magnificent stroke to his triumph with a 30-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the championship. A final-round 69 gave Woodland a winning score of 13-under 271. He held off the TOUR’s most intimidating man in majors, Brooks Koepka, who pulled within one shot on the back nine, but could never overtake Woodland. Koepka fell three shots short of winning his third consecutive U.S. Open. He’s finished in the top 2 in five of the past six majors. Woodland didn’t dream of sinking big putts on the 18th green when he was growing up in Topeka, Kansas, though. He wanted to hit game-winning jumpers. However, he knew his basketball career was on borrowed time after the first game of his college career. He was a freshman guard for Washburn University when the Ichabods visited Lawrence Fieldhouse to face the Kansas Jayhawks. His assignment was to guard future NBA player Kirk Hinrich in the season-opening exhibition. “I was guarding Kirk Hinrich and like, OK, I need to find something else because this ain’t gonna work,â€� Woodland said. He transferred to Kansas the following year to play college golf. Woodland always thought he’d be a professional athlete. Golf was going to be his vocation now. His athleticism helped him get to the PGA TOUR in 2009, less than two years after he turned pro. Woodland’s physical prowess has received plenty of press ever since he arrived on TOUR. The college basketball player epitomized the bigger, stronger athletes who were migrating to the course. The expectations were raised even higher when he won just two years later. His ascension slowed because of an unpolished, one-dimensional game. His win at last year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open was just his third in nearly a decade on TOUR, and first in five years. “From a golf standpoint, I was probably a little behind, and that gets frustrating at some point, because my whole life I’ve been able to compete and win at everything I’ve done, and I haven’t been able to do that as much as I’d like to in golf,â€� said Woodland, 35. “It’s taken a while, but I think we’re trending in the right direction.â€� When he arrived at Pebble Beach, he was the highest-ranked player in the FedExCup without a victory. His first major title moved him to fifth in the standings. This is the first time in his career that he’s won in back-to-back seasons. He credited the work with Pete Cowen, who became his short-game instructor 18 months ago and then started coaching all facets of his game after Butch Harmon retired from instructing on TOUR earlier this year. Woodland was stellar around the greens at Pebble Beach, which is not an easy task on the steeply-pitched, poa annua putting surfaces. He didn’t three-putt all week. He made just four bogeys over 72 holes, tying a U.S. Open record. He was second in Strokes Gained: Putting this week, as well. His +8.3 strokes gained marked the second-best putting performance of his career. “He’s experimented, and he’s put the time and effort in to get better,â€� said his friend Matt Kuchar. “He’s really refined his skills. Not only does he have potential, but he gets a lot out of it now. He’s figured out how to play golf, how to keep it in play, how to work it both ways and his short game has vastly improved. It used to be a liability and now he’s gaining strokes around the greens.â€� Woodland is 54th in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green this season, an improvement of more than 100 spots in that statistic since last season. Earlier in the week, he and Cowen were working on hitting pitch shots off tight lies. That helped him execute that difficult pitch on the second-to-last hole. “I competed all my life at every sport and every level,â€� Woodland said. “It was just learning how to play golf. It was learning to complete my game, to get that short game, to get that putting, to drive the golf ball straighter. And that was the big deal.â€� The ability to perform under pressure is one of those intangibles that statistics can’t accurately measure, though. On Sunday, Woodland didn’t look like a man who’d never converted a 54-hole lead into victory. He’d taken at least of the share of the lead into the final round on seven occasions. He was winless in all seven. He started Sunday with a one-stroke lead over Justin Rose. Major champions like Koepka, Louis Oosthuizen and Rory McIlroy were still within reach. Woodland didn’t blink when Koepka made birdie on four of the first five holes Sunday. He made birdies on Nos. 2 and 3 to keep his lead. Playing with Tiger Woods in the final round of last year’s PGA Championship taught him about handling the final-round pressure. Woodland and Woods were both in contention, and Bellerive was overflowing with fans eager to see Woods win his first major in a decade. The chaos distracted Woodland early in the round. It was too late by the time he gathered himself. Woods and Koepka were already locked in a showdown. That experience helped him at Pebble Beach, especially as Koepka put pressue on him. “I think from a mental standpoint I was as good as I’ve ever been,â€� Woodland said Sunday. “I never let myself get ahead of myself. I never thought about what would happen if I won, what comes with it. I wanted to execute every shot. I wanted to stay in the moment. I wanted to stay within myself.â€� Woodland, who didn’t have a top-10 in his first 27 majors, now has three in his last four. That shows a more complete game, one that’s able to withstand the toughest tests. Pebble Beach, which played just a hair over 7,000 yards, forced him to rely on more than just his driving distance. The small greens demand precise iron play. He finished second in greens in regulation this week, hitting 52 of 72. “People probably growing up said the U.S. Open wouldn’t suit me, because I’m a long hitter, I’m a bomber,â€� Woodland said. “Coming to Pebble Beach, on top of that, it’s a shorter golf course. And I went out and proved, I think to everybody else, what I always believed, that I’m pretty good.â€�

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