Brooks Koepka shoots 65 to win WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational

The conditions were mild. The course was playable. The scores were good. All those bad things players were saying about Royal St. George’s? They stopped. Will it stay that way for three more rounds?

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NOTE: If you play PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO, the Regions Tradition begins on Thursday. It’s the first of five majors on the circuit, all of which feature a cut. See the possibilities at the bottom of the page to assist you in determining your pick. There are all kinds of takeaways from last week’s PLAYERS, but one of the overlooked facts is that only three of the golfers who finished inside the top 11 in the tournament are Americans. Kyle Stanley (T4), Lucas Glover (T4) and Brendan Steele (T6) have enjoyed varied levels of success all season, so none were surprises to threaten at TPC Sawgrass, but that they paced the host nation, as it were, was not expected. Now, that’s not necessarily a trend at the PGA TOUR’s flagship event as it is the latest evidence that global depth is as strong as ever. More importantly, it’s a reminder that THE PLAYERS presents a phenomenal opportunity to invest in it while reserving homegrown strength elsewhere. Going back three years, five internationals were sprinkled among the top 11 in the 2016 edition, six of the top 12 in 2015 and seven of the top 10 in 2014. We could keep turning back the clock, but you get the idea. But of the internationals who have finished inside the top 10 in the last six years, only two were non-members of the PGA TOUR. These are timely notes to log while any sting is still fresh from the fallout of last week. That we know is commonplace in that tournament. Just as the legion of champions at TPC Sawgrass is rich with golfers from all corners of the world, so goes the theme at the AT&T Byron Nelson at Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas. Since it transitioned to solo host in 2008, six of the nine winners are internationals, including defending champion Sergio Garcia of Spain. However, he’s the only non-American inside the top five of my Power Rankings from which I’m encouraging you find your pick. J-Dub, er, Jonathan Wall isn’t going to like it, but I’m matching him again this week in selecting Brooks Koepka (No. 2 in the Power Rankings). In the spirit of competition, pushes are lame but they’re still important. (This begs the question about what we’re going to do if it’s possible in the Playoffs. I’ve recommended solutions to gamers over the years about how to handle the dynamic, if necessary, and I’ll revisit the talking point in this space another time, but we’ll cross that bridge as a league later.) To be honest, Koepka was nowhere near my crosshairs for any stop as recent as two months ago. Why would’ve he been? As we’ve witnessed on occasion, the Match Play (where he escaped the round robin) can do wonders for confidence and form. He hasn’t backed down since. Before I confirmed that Koepka was still on my board, I was ready to pull the trigger on Tony Finau (No. 5). He stumbled in the team format in New Orleans and missed last week’s cut – he’s allowed dispensations for each – but he checks all of the other boxes for Las Colinas. Furthermore, and just like that, two-man gamers have their quinella: Koepka-Finau. If you’re in an earnings-based format, remember that you’ll want Dustin Johnson (No. 1) on your board at the sites with the biggest paydays. It’s that simple. Jordan Spieth (No. 3) remains chalk, of course, but his pedestrian interest in Las Colinas is realized in a lackluster record. Limit him to roster games this week. And if you didn’t burn Garcia (No. 4) at THE PLAYERS, you’ll appreciate him as an option when The Open Championship rolls around. Two-man gamers can have some fun complementing Koepka or Finau with a long hitter who in some form, so consider Byeong Hun An or Kevin Tway. Otherwise, Russell Henley is sexy, Chad Campbell is a man for the job and Bud Cauley offers risk-reward if you’re chasing. 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 2016-17. All are pending golfer commitment. Keegan Bradley … Byron Nelson; Memorial; WGC-Bridgestone; Dell Technologies Jason Day … U.S. Open; Canadian; WGC-Bridgestone; PGA Championship; Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship Jason Dufner … Byron Nelson; DEAN & DELUCA; U.S. Open; TOUR Championship Harris English … DEAN & DELUCA Tony Finau … Byron Nelson; Memorial Sergio Garcia … Byron Nelson (defending); Open Championship; TOUR Championship Charley Hoffman … Byron Nelson; DEAN & DELUCA; Travelers; Canadian Billy Horschel … St. Jude; TOUR Championship Dustin Johnson … Byron Nelson; Memorial; St. Jude; U.S. Open (defending); Canadian; TOUR Championship Brooks Koepka … Byron Nelson; St. Jude; U.S. Open; PGA Championship Matt Kuchar … Byron Nelson; DEAN & DELUCA; Memorial; Canadian; WGC-Bridgestone Marc Leishman … DEAN & DELUCA; Memorial; Travelers; Open Championship Ryan Moore … Travelers; John Deere (defending); TOUR Championship Louis Oosthuizen … Dell Technologies Ryan Palmer … Byron Nelson; DEAN & DELUCA; St. Jude Scott Piercy … John Deere; BMW Patrick Reed … Wyndham; Dell Technologies Charl Schwartzel … Memorial; U.S. Open; Open Championship; WGC-Bridgestone Jordan Spieth … DEAN & DELUCA (defending); John Deere; WGC-Bridgestone; PGA Championship; TOUR Championship Gary Woodland … Byron Nelson; Barracuda; PGA Championship; Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE POSSIBILITIES Regions Tradition The Founders Course at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama, hosts for the second consecutive year. It’s a par 72 with five par 5s. It hosted the Bruno’s Memorial Classic from 1992-2005, but widespread changes and upgrades were made in advance of its return to the PGA TOUR Champions in 2016. Golfers listed alphabetically. Rob’s serious considerations in bold. Stephen Ames … Won Mitsubishi Electric a month ago. T13 at Insperity two weeks ago. Ninth in earnings. Tommy Armour III … Co-runner-up at the Insperity Invitational two weeks ago was his first top 10 in nearly 12 months. Shared third at Greystone last year. Olin Browne … Distant runner-up finish here last year is attractive, but he’s gone five straight individual competitions without a top 40 entering this week. John Daly … Fresh off breakthrough title at The Woodlands and went a respective T12-T13 in his previous two starts. Jay Haas … Holding his own at 63 years young. Chased a T5 at the Bass Pro Shops Legends with a solo fifth at the Insperity. Ranks 17th on the money list. Miguel Angel Jiménez … Making his debut at Greystone. Currently third in earnings with a 2nd-Win-T8-T8-T7 run in tow. Bernhard Langer … Won by six here last year. Comfortably out front on the 2017 money list. Remember that the purse ($2.3 million) is the second-lowest among the five majors. Tom Lehman … Since winning in Tucson, he’s added a T16, T8 and T13, respectively, and sits 10th in earnings. His T35 here last year was his fifth-worst finish in 20 starts. Scott McCarron … After an early victory at the Allianz, he’s drifted to fifth on the money list, but has six top 20s this season. Leads the tour in par-5 scoring. Placed sixth here last year. Colin Montgomerie … T17 here last year. Still chasing his first top-five finish of 2017. Had six in 2016 and two by this point of the season. Kenny Perry … Held the outright lead after each of the first two rounds last year before fading to a T23. Sixth in 2017 earnings with a pair of T2s, including two weeks ago at the Insperity. Gene Sauers … He’s traded three top 10s with four results outside the top 25 this season and sits 12th in earnings. Tied for 12th at Greystone last year. Joey Sindelar … If not for his season-best T3 last year, he wouldn’t be mentioned here. Seven starts into 2017 and he’s yet to clear $50K in earnings. Vijay Singh … In his only start of 2017, he won the Bass Pro Shops Legends (with Carlos Franco). Made noise last week with a T16 at THE PLAYERS. Now making his Greystone debut. Steve Stricker … In three starts since turning 50, he’s finished second, T3 and T8, respectively, while working in a T16 (Masters), T14 (Zurich Classic) and a T41 (THE PLAYERS) on the PGA TOUR. Kevin Sutherland … The most reliable source to put points on the board. No worse than T8 in his last nine starts. Four top 10s and another six top 20s in his last 10 starts in majors. Kirk Triplett … Tied for third at Greystone in 2016, the second of six top 10s last year. Four top 10s already in 2017, including a T7 at the Insperity in the last event. Duffy Waldorf … Looking to rebound from an uncharacteristically poor showing at the Insperity, but still slots 14th in earnings. Back-doored a T7 here last year.

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If you don’t remember what we wrote in the opening last week, here’s the timely and relevant excerpt: “It’s unlikely that we’ll see this kind of real-time fluidity on the extreme again, but we didn’t expect to see it the first time.” That referred to Justin Thomas’ board values of +30000 and +25000 during his final round of the PGA Championship, both landing for multiple users en route to paydirt. Last week, it was Sam Burns who was positioned at +20000 on Sunday at Colonial Country Club. Again, boom! All of that suggests that you never know what you’re going to see and experience in PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live. It’s also blazing evidence of what to do with those odds when you do. Navigate to PointsBet and lay the wager. Even just $5 bets on JT and Burns would’ve netted as much as a total of $2500. That equals the top prize here and only when other levers would need to be pulled at the right time to contribute to the title. The commonality of the last two events extends to this week’s Memorial Tournament presented by Workday; that is, par will be a good score most of the time. If you think about how JT and Burns prevailed – both recorded the lowest rounds in their respective finales – they were the nuggets that emerged and without threatening course records. Think about it – and, anecdotally, you already know this – it’s much more likely for exactly one of the world’s best to have a great day at the right time in extreme conditions than it is for the same talent in a shootout. Who knows, maybe lightning can strike thrice in the same spot! Register for PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live here and monitor Rob’s and Glass’ progress as Influencers. For a broader explanation of the format and FAQs, click here. TOURNAMENT TO WIN Glass … Kevin Streelman (+15000) As always with this selection, shooting the moon is the No. 1 priority JUST IN CASE. The flexibility of changing, swerving and ducking is the best part of this game. There’s absolutely no reason to ride chalk Thursday. Or even Friday. Streelman hasn’t missed in his last seven here and five of them have cashed T18 or better. He’s a stalwart at Valspar because he’s had the reps and this week is similar. minus claiming the ultimate prize. You know what they say, Rob: The 14th time is a charm! Rob … Bryson DeChambeau (+9000) To win?! That’s so Bryson. Pure and simple, when are you going to find him at these odds? His opening line is based entirely on the mystery of his health, so to paraphrase Al Czervik, let’s pounce! If DeChambeau is above the projected cut line at the conclusion of R1, then you know the kickback will drop. But look, given how the winners of the last two weeks have reached the summit, I’m not holding my breath even if he’s poised for a wire-to-wire victory. TOP 10 Rob … Matthew Wolff (+1400) He’s a default fade for me in, where else, in Draws and Fades, but where isn’t he a fade? In PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live! Brendon Todd opened at +1100 last week, and I didn’t have to touch the remote control. He finished third. I don’t expect that to be the case with Wolff, but he’s more explosive than Todd, and we know he won’t slump forever. Take your cuts when the wind is blowing out, gang. Glass … Cameron Champ (+1100) If there is an angle to MVGC and ANGC this week, I’m going to ride it a bit. Champ has found his form on Magnolia Lane over the last few seasons and his ball-striking has a chance to carry over. He’s never broken 72 here in five rounds, but that’s why we’re getting +1100. He’ll have no problem eating it up if he finds a way to keep it in play. TOP 20 Glass … Brendan Steele (+400) Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me for two months, well SHUT UP, I GET IT. I’ve learned my lesson, finally, about trying to sync this angle up. NO LUCK. Steele has cashed in six straight here and has top 10s at both the PGA Championship and Zurich Classic (in two of his last three and among six straight paydays), so I’m not begging for form to appear. Connect dots. ANY DOTS! Rob … Patrick Rodgers (+425) Playing it safer with this bet. Only the Top 10 has opened regularly (during awake hours in Arizona), but we’ve learned not to expect the same here. The veteran of 207 PGA TOUR starts as a professional has logged six of them here. Two resulted in top 20s — T8 (2018) and T18 (2020). He’s comfortable to return to the FedExCup Playoffs, so it’s like old times. He has only one top 20 on his own ball in seven months, but he has the length and the precision to deserve this hope. ROUND 1 LEADER Glass … Cameron Young (+4000) I’d prefer him to be going off the front but my hedge is he’s in the first group out. His ride of podiums over the last three weeks has covered bermuda, bent and a major, but most importantly all new venues. I’ll highlight 66 at Riviera and 63 at Harbour Town – not exactly easy places to play or score – as my evidence to ride this rookie. And if not, I’ll recalibrate throughout the morning/afternoon. Rob … Patrick Cantlay (+2800) Let my Cameron go. Glass sniped me on the rook. This isn’t a draft, but I’ll counter with the defending champion and two-time winner who goes off No. 10 at 8:00 a.m. ET. If you include the Zurich Classic of New Orleans where Cantlay and his partner, Xander Schauffele, went wire-to-wire, he’s connected as the FRL twice in his last eight stroke-play starts (Amex). It’s a coincidence that Cantlay is in the same threesome as the 2021 FRL, Collin Morikawa, but I’ll take the cosmic connection. NOTE: While Glass and Rob typically stick with their selections as detailed in Pick ‘Em Preview, they are allowed the right to make changes at any time.

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