Wiesberger comes to life to lead Made in Denmark by 1 shot

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The 17th of 24 contributing events for PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO is this week’s 3M Championship. It begins on Friday. Scroll for tournament notes, 12 notables and five wild cards from the field of 78 north of Minneapolis. For the stand-alone One & Done for the Barracuda Championship, click here. It’s Turn Back the Clock week at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, for Tiger Woods is in play at Firestone Country Club’s South Course for the first time in four years. If you didn’t bite on Woods at Bay Hill (T5), Augusta National (T32) or Muirfield Village (T23) – all sites of historical success – your patience has been rewarded with one final go in Akron, Ohio. Even if you settle for a top 10, this is the final logical spot to burn the Secretariat of the horses of courses. Balk at the eight-time winner here if you wish, but if you’re forced to invest elsewhere anyway, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood present strong cases for getting the call. Sort through the dwindling assortment of Future Possibilities below and jot down a shot chart of how you might like to play out the string. As you do, remember the value that all of the 73 qualifiers for the final WGC of the season committed to the tournament. In other words, just like the South Course itself, all of the chalk is right there in front of you. An angle that I’ve hit a few times this year involves the curious trend of how well McIlroy has performed in the Playoffs in Ryder Cup years. In 2012, 2014 and 2016, he finished a respective second, third and first in the FedExCup with four wins, a T2 and another three top 10s in the last three events in the Playoffs alone. Furthermore, and oddly, he played in all four Playoffs events in each of those series. Compare that to 2013 and 2017 when he didn’t qualify for the TOUR Championship, and 2015 when he skipped the first event. This is to say that McIlroy is worth the wait especially if you use FedExCup points to measure performance. Dustin Johnson is atop the Power Rankings for the third consecutive week, but he doesn’t present as the smartest option in our game at Firestone. Even though he won here just two years ago, note that the WGC-Bridgestone slots 14th in terms of my confidence in Future Possibilities. The security basked into that subjection is that he looks great almost every time he pegs it, so if he’s still available to you, sit tight. One chance after another will continue to fall onto your lap. Same goes for Justin Thomas. Scorching-hot Francesco Molinari has an uninspiring record in this tournament, but he did at The Open Championship as well. He contended in his debut at the John Deere Classic and played TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in his own fast lane. His confidence is higher than anyone’s right now. Go along for the ride already. I gave a long stare at Fleetwood if for no other reason than he’s the prototypical wild card who will contribute. His form is as fine as his flow, but I’m of the belief that I’d miss Bubba Watson more. So, I’m going with the lefty. For a free spirit, he’s been predictable this season, and since 2015 at Firestone, he’s gone 2nd-T14-T17. This tournament also slots No. 1 on his strongest choices. I considered exhausting Fleetwood now and Watson at East Lake, but I’m saving Rose for the finale at which none of the others in my little league can. Jordan Spieth would also make a ton of sense at the TOUR Championship, but he still has work to do to qualify. Even at 42nd in the FedExCup standings, it’s hard to fathom that he won’t go all the way for the sixth consecutive season, but I’d endorse him at Firestone if you don’t want to play that game. He impressed at Carnoustie, which isn’t supposed to be the kind of track where a guy can find his game. For One & Doners at the end of their rope, you might as well give Hideki Matsuyama a try. While I hope you find a better option on this page, there’s nothing better than the feels of strutting around as the defending champion and with a course-record-tying 61 to close it out to boot. What’s more, he’s been just OK in the Playoffs, so this could be your last best chance. If by chance you’re dry on all of the aforementioned or your plans preclude usage now and you still need a guy at Firestone, consider pivoting to Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau, Adam Scott, Alex Noren or Patrick Cantlay. Two-man gamers who are swinging for the fences need to consider Russell Knox, Charl Schwartzel and Tyrrell Hatton. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2017-18. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Paul Casey … WGC-Bridgestone (5); Dell Technologies (2); TOUR Championship (3) Kevin Chappell … WGC-Bridgestone (2); Dell Technologies (3) Jason Day … WGC-Bridgestone (9); PGA Championship (1); THE NORTHERN TRUST (8); Dell Technologies (5) Rickie Fowler … WGC-Bridgestone (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (10); Dell Technologies (6) Sergio Garcia … TOUR Championship (4) Branden Grace … WGC-Bridgestone (3) Dustin Johnson … WGC-Bridgestone (14); PGA Championship (9); Dell Technologies (11); TOUR Championship (6) Zach Johnson … WGC-Bridgestone (6); TOUR Championship (8) Kevin Kisner … Wyndham (6) Russell Knox … Dell Technologies (7) Brooks Koepka … WGC-Bridgestone (6); PGA Championship (2) Matt Kuchar … WGC-Bridgestone (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9) Hideki Matsuyama … WGC-Bridgestone (8; defending) Rory McIlroy … WGC-Bridgestone (7); Dell Technologies (5); TOUR Championship (3) Kevin Na … Wyndham (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (11) Louis Oosthuizen … PGA Championship (4); Dell Technologies (3) Patrick Reed … PGA Championship (8); Wyndham (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9); Dell Technologies (2) Justin Rose … WGC-Bridgestone (7); TOUR Championship (2) Charl Schwartzel … WGC-Bridgestone (2) Adam Scott … WGC-Bridgestone (3); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (6) Webb Simpson … Wyndham (1) Jordan Spieth … WGC-Bridgestone (10); TOUR Championship (4) Henrik Stenson … WGC-Bridgestone (4); PGA Championship (7); Wyndham (8; defending); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (2) Justin Thomas … Dell Technologies (6; defending); TOUR Championship (3) Bubba Watson … WGC-Bridgestone (1); TOUR Championship (4) Tiger Woods … WGC-Bridgestone (3) CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE 3M Championship This is the last edition of the tournament as it’s been known since it debuted in 1993. Chi Chi Rodriguez’ victory in the inaugural was his last of 22 career titles on the PGA TOUR Champions. Before it transitions into its new role as host of the PGA TOUR’s 3M Open on July 4-7, 2019, TPC Twin Cities will serve as the backdrop for the seniors for the 18th consecutive year. It’s a stock par 72 that tips at 7,114 yards. Paul Goydos returns to defend his title. He emerged from a playoff with Gene Sauers after the duo completed regulation in 20-under 196. All but one of the last eight champions (Bernhard Langer, 2012) are committed, including two-time winner Kenny Perry (2014, 2015). For as long as TPC Twin Cities has hosted, total prize money has been $1.75 million with $262,500 going to the winner. All of the remaining tournaments this season will feature a larger purse. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2018. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Joe Durant … 3M (6); DICK’S (12); Boeing (10); Shaw (11); PURE (3); SAS (13) David Frost … 3M (7); Boeing (5); Shaw (8); PURE (1) Doug Garwood … SAS (1) Paul Goydos … 3M (1; defending); DICK’S (3); SAS (5) Tom Lehman … SAS (9) Billy Mayfair … Boeing (2); PURE (1) Tom Pernice, Jr. … Shaw (3); SAS (5) Kenny Perry … 3M (1); DICK’S (11); SAS (2) Gene Sauers … Boeing (1) Kevin Sutherland … Usable everywhere. Kirk Triplett … Shaw (4) Duffy Waldorf … Shaw (5) WILD CARDS (short list of golfers not included above but on the rise or still building portfolios after recently turning 50): Bob Estes; Steve Flesch; Rocco Mediate; Scott Parel; Tim Petrovic

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ST. LOUIS — Two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka took a step toward adding a third major to his short list of victories. Koepka bullied rain-softened Bellerive on Saturday on the front nine and built a four-shot lead, only to run into bad patch that brought a strong list of contenders into the mix — including Tiger Woods — going into the final round of the PGA Championship. Even with back-to-back bogeys on the back nine, Koepka had a 4-under 66 for a two-shot lead over Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion who has been struggling through his worst season in nearly two decades. Scott had a 65 to get into the final group. Gary Woodland lost his way in his footprints in a bunker and made triple bogey on No. 10, falling six shots behind, and still managed a 71 to stay within three shots of the lead, along with Jon Rahm (66) and Rickie Fowler (69). The biggest buzz, as always, belonged to Woods. Coming off a three-putt bogey on the fifth hole, Woods ran off three straight birdies to get in range, only to stall on the back nine like he has done so often this year. He hit a 4-iron so pure on the par-5 17th hole that he immediately began walking off to it, and thousands of fans roared when it settled 20 feet from the hole for an eagle that could have brought him within one of the lead. He missed. And then he missed the next from 4 feet for birdie and ended his day with 10 straight pars. Woods had to settle for a 66, and by the time everyone else came through the 17th hole, he slipped back to a tie for sixth, four shots out of the lead. That’s the same position he was in going into the final round of the British Open at Carnoustie, where he led briefly in the final before fading. Now he gets another shot, and it most likely will take another round like Saturday. “Not just myself, but everyone’s going to have to shoot low rounds,” Woods said. “It’s soft, it’s gettable, and you can’t just go out there and make a bunch of pars.” Koepka was at 12-under 198 and will play in the final group of a major for the first time. He won in the penultimate group at the U.S. Open each of the last two years. He already burnished his reputation two months ago by winning a U.S. Open on two entirely different courses — one at Erin Hills with a record-tying score of 16-under par, the other at Shinnecock Hills where he survived to win at 1-over par. He has only one other PGA TOUR victory, one in Europe and two in Japan. But put him against the strongest fields and the biggest events, and he’s a world-beater. This test figures to be different. Bellerive is so soft that a charge can come from anywhere. “I’ve watched Tiger win 14 of these things hanging around a lot of the time,” Scott said. “He ran away with a few, for sure, but he hung around for a lot. And I would love to hang around tomorrow. And that might mean shooting 5 under again to hang around, but I would love to be in the mix coming down the stretch and have the chance to hole some putts to win.” Ten players were within four shots of the lead, which includes defending champion Justin Thomas (68), Jason Day (67) and Stewart Cink, the 2009 The Open Championship winner who played with Woods and matched his 66. “It’s a pretty intense environment out there. It’s fun,” Cink said. “Hearing the crowd, and Tiger’s performing great, it was like turning back the hands of the clock.” Woods and Fowler were among those just happy to get off the course. They had to finish their second rounds on Saturday morning because of rain that deluged Bellerive late Friday afternoon. Woods played 29 holes, while Fowler played 26. No one caught Woodland, meaning his 36-hole score of 130 stood as the PGA Championship record. The cut was another record, coming at even-par 140 and knocking out the likes of Phil Mickelson. That means Mickelson will fail to automatically qualify for the Ryder Cup team for the first time since his first full season on the PGA TOUR in 1993.

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