Snedeker ‘felt great’ before his second-round 60

DUBLIN, Ohio – The rib is long gone and the blood thinners are no longer a part of his routine. Troy Merritt is slowly starting to feel like his old self again after dealing with the rigors of a blood clot in his arm last summer, followed by surgery early this year to remove a rib that was causing the issue. Related: Leaderboard | Watch PGA TOUR LIVE After feeling his way back into the PGA TOUR over the past two months, the two-time TOUR winner has opened the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide with rounds of 69 and 66 to set the morning wave pace at 9-under. Merritt won the Barbasol Championship last year in July, but soon after, his arm turned purple. He couldn’t lift it. His wife insisted he see the doctor. They found a massive blood clot that extended from his chest to his elbow. The underlying cause was a condition called thoracic outlet syndrome. “Basically my top rib and clavicle were too close together, and it pinched the vein and it caused the blood clot,â€� Merritt explains of the condition common in major league pitchers. Merritt had the clot removed and then played with the aid of a compression sleeve and blood thinners. He was over that by Janiary, so he decided to have the problem rib yanked out. Not only has that allowed the pills to go by the wayside, but it has also created a secondary benefit no one was expecting. “It’s freed me up a little bit more on my golf swing,â€� Merritt smiled. “My tempo has been better ever since it was out. I had tight scalenes (muscles that elevate the first rib) throughout the years, and I get to the top of my backswing and it would pinch a little bit and cause me to get a little quick. “Now they’re not tight anymore and I can take my time, and as a result I hit the ball quite well in 2019.â€� Merritt’s position atop the leaderboard at Muirfield Village is clearly one he is happy to be in, but not one he totally expected just yet. His always svelte frame has even less defined muscle these days, but he’s working on his strength and golfing endurance. At 110th in the FedExCup race, he could use some decent results to go with the T4 he had at the Safeway Open and the T10 he mustered at the RBC Heritage. But that is not his focus at the moment, especially as his latest win has him exempt through next season. “I’m just trying to get 20 starts. I’ll play all summer long. Not really looking at the points race too much. But just planning on playing a lot of golf,â€� he said halfway through his 12th start. “The course is still very scorable and very gettable. I think you’ll see a few guys get in double digits and stay there. We put our self in a good position for this weekend. We’ll see what the weather does. I can’t imagine the course is going to change too, too much. Just go out and make a bunch of birdies. It’s nice to be in contention.â€�

Click here to read the full article…

ORLANDO, Fla. – In terms of talent, Will Zalatoris is traveling at the speed of a bullet these days, a man whose strike just sounds different, and a tad more pure, than most others. A slender young man built for tough golf courses and big stages, Zalatoris got off to a fast start in the opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard on Thursday, shooting 4-under 68 in friendly scoring conditions at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. At 25, he has yet to win, but with the TOUR in a current run of first-time winners (four in the last five events), it would seem logical that Zalatoris might be a good candidate to join the club. He had his shot on the West Coast, missing a putt to win on the 72nd hole, and eventually losing in a playoff to Luke List at the Farmers Insurance Open. The good news? Zalatoris would be a young man who tends to view the glass as half full. He didn’t collect a trophy at Torrey Pines, but he hardly departed empty-handed. “Honestly, if you even want to call the failure, I guess, of not winning Torrey, it’s going to propel me to win more, because I learned so much about myself,” Zalatoris said. He went off the back nine early Thursday, the wind down, and, after making bogey at the water-guarded, par-4 11th hole, made birdies on five of his next seven. He made a key save on No. 1 after making the turn, laying up to 65 yards after his drive found thick rough, and getting that up and down for par. If he’s to be the last man standing on Thursday here at Arnie’s Place, he has a difficult man to chase in Rory McIlroy, who Thursday shot 7-under 65. McIlroy, the 2018 API champion, made his day appear rather effortless, making six birdies and an eagle. The course is expected to dry out and get firmer over the next few days. The tougher the test becomes, the more likely that Zalatoris is a name that might be sticking around. “It’s going to be fun,” said Zalatoris, the reigning Arnold Palmer Award winner as the TOUR’s Rookie of the Year. “This weekend is going to be tough. … I love it. I love playing firm, fast, hard, (and) rough is up. This is probably the closest to a U.S. Open, especially for a regular TOUR event.” Of course, Zalatoris burst onto the scene with a T6 in the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. He tied for 10th at Bay Hill a year ago, a nice week that helped to fuel a quality dash – he made seven starts in seven weeks as he tried to break into, and stay in, the world’s top 50. That got him to Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters, where, under the brightest lights, he stuck around to the very end, losing to Hideki Matsuyama by a shot. Zalatoris is a terrific fit for the API because he is one of the very best ballstrikers on TOUR – first in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green – and Bay Hill can be a place where ballstrikers can separate themselves from the pack. Zalatoris is highly effective out of the rough, too, because of his angle of attack and his strength to gouge the ball out of it. Josh Gregory, who coaches Zalatoris with his short game and putting, considers the Texan by way of California to be an old-school throwback. Two of Zalatoris’ mentors at home near Dallas are Lee Trevino and Lanny Wadkins, a couple of Hall of Famers who were elite ballstrikers in their respective eras. “All the young kids today are kind of robotic, super into Trackman, super into numbers, super into (swing) positions,” said Gregory, who has worked with Zalatoris for three years. “That’s not really him. He’s an artist, and he knows how to hit shots. He’s got more of the Tiger mentality back in the day of the ‘nine’ shots. (Woods would practice after rounds hitting shots through nine different windows – low cut, high draw, etc.) He (Will) can hit it out of any different window, he can curve it, he can shape it any way. That’s how he sees and plays the game, as an artist.” He can hit it out of any different window, he can curve it, he can shape it any way. That’s how he sees and plays the game, as an artist. Zalatoris’ runner-up showing at Torrey Pines was sandwiched by a T7 (The American Express) and T26 (Genesis Invitational). (He also tangled with a bout of Covid-19 after Farmers.) Zalatoris said it’s flattering that people expect him to win soon, and he just watched his pal Scottie Scheffler do it (Waste Management Phoenix Open), but he also is mature enough, and smart enough, to stay patient as he chases it. “Every week is just trying to get better with my golf game, whether it’s any aspect of it,” Zalatoris said. “If I keep doing the day-to-day stuff like I have been and keep asking questions of how I can get better, I know I’ll win. The first win will come, and I know that, if I keep putting myself in that position, the more comfortable I’ll be, and I know I’ll get one soon.” Trying to win at Arnold Palmer’s place would be extra special. Zalatoris attended Wake Forest University, Palmer’s alma mater, on a coveted Arnold Palmer Scholarship. As he visited potential schools and first heard he would be offered “the AP,” the former U.S. Junior Amateur champion really didn’t know what it was. When he discovered its importance, his college decision was a done deal. He would be a Demon Deacon. Zalatoris framed the letter that Palmer wrote congratulating him, and it’s on the wall at his parents’ house. A trophy one day from the API? Why, that would be a nice keepsake, too. All a matter of time, those around him say. “He’s so wise. His golf IQ is off the charts, understanding how to play the game, how to manage his game,” Gregory said. “He plays as smart as anybody, hits it to the right spots, hits it hole-high, 15 feet right or left. He doesn’t short-side himself a lot. My goal is to kind of challenge him with his wedging to keep reining in the targets. “When he’s got it, pedal down. I think he shot 61 twice this year. The wins are coming.”

Click here to read the full article…

The last regular-season tournament is the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield CC in Greensboro, North Carolina. The course is a par 70, measuring 7,131 yards. The greens this week will be Champion bermuda. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $750K Flop Shot [$200K to 1st] STRATEGY As mentioned, this is the last stop before the FedExCup Playoffs, which is vital for a few golfers in the field. After this week, the top 125 golfers in FedExCup (FEC) standings will play at Liberty National for the first leg of the playoffs. Golfers like Rickie Fowler (+5500, $8,600), Tommy Fleetwood (+4500, $9,700), Justin Rose (+7000, $8,000) and Francesco Molinari (+13000, $6,800) are inside the top 140 but currently outside the top 125; they’ll need a solid finish at Sedgefield CC this week to increase their chances of making the trip to New Jersey next week. Sedgefield CC is a reasonably straightforward Donald Ross design. Over the previous five years, the average winning score is 21.2 under par. Last year’s winner, Jim Herman (+15000, $6,900), ending up shooting 61 on Saturday and 63 on Sunday, totaling 16-under par over the weekend. We should see a ton of birdies and more eagles than usual this week, and the golfers we choose should be proficient in both over the longer timeframes or at least trending well leading into the tournament. The fairways are tree-lined, and accuracy Off-the-Tee is more critical than sheer distance. The green complexes are challenging with undulations and runoff areas into tight lies around the greens. The greens are Championship bermuda, which the golfers putt on last week at TPC Southwind. The Country Club of Jackson (Sanderson Farms) is another course with a similar green type. A solid putting week and precise iron play, especially with wedges, are paramount to success, particularly on the eight par 4s measuring between 400 to 450 yards. There are five water hazards, which come into play on six holes. You’ll hear a lot about who’s on the “bubble” needing a solid week, and while that is the case, it shouldn’t be weighted too much in your decision making this week. Instead, look at building a DraftKings roster with expensive golfers and cheap options this week. Last year, Jim Herman was $6,100, and 2019 winner J.T. Poston was $7,300. The course sets up for all types of games, and our lineups should reflect that this week. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Sungjae Im (+3000 to Win, $9,600 on DraftKings) It hasn’t been great for Sungjae, finishing outside the top 40 in his last two events. Over the previous three months, his best finish was an eighth-place at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, another Donald Ross design. While there isn’t a ton of correlation between Detroit Golf Club and Sedgefield CC, we should feel confident that we’re back on bermuda, a green surface Sungjae prefers. Yes, he lost 4.6 strokes putting last week on similar greens. Still, his long-term putting splits on bermuda are fantastic, and we should be treating last week as a potential outlier. His ball-striking hasn’t been elite, but he’s gained strokes with his irons in five-straight tournaments and gained 1.31 strokes with his irons in Memphis over the weekend. He’s done well on similar courses like Waialae CC (Sony Open) and Harbour Town GL (RBC Heritage), finishing inside the top 20 in both over his career. He’s finished no worse than ninth in his previous two appearances here and ranks 10th in Strokes Gained: Total over his last 24 rounds on Donald Ross designs. Sebastian Munoz (+5500 to Win, $8,200 on DraftKings) His ball-striking has been stellar over the past 12 rounds, ranking 11th in approach and just inside the top 45 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. His par 4 scoring on holes 400 to 450 yards is stupendous, ranking fourth over the previous dozen rounds. Munoz only has one career win, the 2019 Sanderson Farms, where he gained 6.9 strokes Tee-to-Green and 6.2 strokes putting; that’s what you’re going to need here. While CC of Jackson is not comparable to Sedgefield CC, they have similar green types, which bodes well for Munoz, who hasn’t been putting well of late. Brian Stuard (+10000 to Win, $6,900 on DraftKings) Few have been better with their irons over the previous 12 rounds, ranking ninth in approach heading into this week. With no worse than a 15th-place over his last three starts, Stuard is coming into the Wyndham with momentum. He’s exceptionally accurate Off-the-Tee and is putting well, ranking fourth on the greens over his last dozen rounds. Stuard’s only win was the 2016 Zurich Classic, the last year before it became a team event. If Stuard plays anything like he has been, he’s going to give himself an excellent chance to add another mark in the win column. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $750K Flop Shot [$200K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests. 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.

Click here to read the full article…