Mad Bets: Should you bet on Tiger Woods?

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"Next week I’m going to be trying a 48-inch driver. We’re going to be messing with some head designs and do some amazing with things with Cobra to make it feasible to hit these drives maybe 360, 370, maybe even farther. I don’t know.” That was said by none other than Bryson Dechambeau after his six-stroke victory at the U.S. Open. It was validation to many that hitting it six miles is the way of the future. Oddly enough, the player at the complete opposite side of that spectrum is also a player who has had monumental success in 2020 — and to take it even further just a short time ago, Brendon Todd was "short" and couldn't hit the ball straight. Talk about digging yourself into a hole. This is where his story gets downright amazing. While players like DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, and the likes were getting faster and stronger, Brendon was finding his game—and ultimately his joy again. Keep in mind, at a certain point not so long ago he was having trouble keeping even a 4-iron on the map. There was a stretch during the dark times when he missed 37 of 40 cuts. “A year ago, I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep playing. So it’s really special to get this win this soon.” – Brendon Todd after his 2019 Bermuda Championship Like any great story, somehow, someway, grit and perseverance won the day. Last November, Todd won twice (Mayakova, Bermuda) in three weeks. His bag setup may look complex but it's not, he seeks help where he needs it (4 and 5 irons for example) and the bag is dialed in perfectly for precision. If you compare him to the bigger hitters on the PGA TOUR, Brendon Todd's launch data is very much closer to earth. With the driver, he's at 12 degrees of launch (not high or low), 2300-2400 RPM spin, and 160 MPH ball speed with the driver. If you're curious, Rory gets 165-plus MPH out of his 5-wood … So what does Todd's success say? Good accurate golf still has a place amongst the 320-plus gladiators, if you stay in your lane. Golf is still chess not checkers. And players like Brendon Todd, Ryan Moore, Kevin Na and even Colin Morikawa hope to keep it that way. Take a look at the clubs Brendon Todd will have in his bag this week. Driver: Ping G410 LST (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Blue 60 TX 3-wood: Ping G425 Max (14.5 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Blue 80TX 43 Inches 5-wood: Ping G425 Max (17.5 degrees) Shaft: UST VTS Black 8 X Irons: Titleist 718 T-MB (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6) Titleist 718 CB (7-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT S400 Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 (50/12F) SM8 (54/08M @55), Fourteen Golf RM-Proto (60-10T) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (50, 54), KBS Tour S+ (60) Putter: Sik Pro C-Series Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

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It’s not often that the most-owned golfer started the week outside the top 10 in my Power Rankings, but it’s also that time of Segment 4 when fantasy atrophy sets in. We have only so many starts remaining on so many notables that we’ll take what we can get. Jon Rahm is still a sensible No. 1 at the Dell Technologies Championship. He emerged as a midseason force who helped spell starts. Patrick Cantlay at 16th overall is in a similar position now. A T10 at THE NORTHERN TRUST reinforced his reliability. Before you know it, we’ll be looking to ration starts on both wunderkinds, just as we have the regulars for whom they’ve substituted. The only curious component of the breakdown at TPC Boston is that Rahm leads at just 45.8 percent. While it was projected in this space last week when Hideki Matsuyama garnered the most faith at Glen Oaks with 48.1 percent, there are fewer golfers from which to choose during every leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, so we couldn’t have ruled out an uptick. Atrophy. It’s a real thing. Stay hydrated. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO NOTE: Rob’s Rating refers to where our Fantasy Insider slotted a golfer in his Power Rankings (“PR”) and other preview material. Owned Rank  Player  Percentage  Rob’s Rating 1st  Jon Rahm  45.8%  PR12 2nd  Paul Casey  41.5%  PR3 3rd  Rory McIlroy (defending)  40.5%  PR4 4th  Justin Thomas  40.3%  PR10 5th  Dustin Johnson  33.1%  PR1 6th  Jason Day  32.9%  PR5 7th  Matt Kuchar  27.21%  PR11 8th  Jordan Spieth  25.7%  PR6 9th  Rickie Fowler  25.3%  PR2 10th  Hideki Matsuyama  23.4%  PR13 Golfers in the Power Rankings and outside the top 10 in most owned Power Ranking  Player  Owned Rank  Percentage 7  Patrick Reed  11th  23.1% 8  Louis Oosthuizen  12th  22.0% 9  Adam Scott  13th  18.7% 14  Webb Simpson  28th  4.8% 15  Kevin Chappell  25th  5.0% 16  Charley Hoffman  18th  13.9% 17  Brooks Koepka  14th  17.4% 18  Jhonattan Vegas  29th  3.4% 19  Patrick Cantlay  16th  15.7% 20  Justin Rose  17th  15.0% Wild Card  Chez Reavie  35th  2.5% Other notables Owned Rank  Player  Percentage 15th  Sergio Garcia  16.8% 19th  Jason Dufner  11.1% 20th  Keegan Bradley  10.4% 27th  Bubba Watson  4.9% 30th  Phil Mickelson  3.3% PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO No two fantasy games are alike even when game play is identical. That includes One & Dones. Because PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO uses FedExCup points to measure performance, the Playoffs can make your season in a single bound. Of course, you have to connect with the right guy at the right time, but interest in the format is sustained significantly longer than in earnings-based formats in which apathy set in for many weeks ago. It’s with that reality in mind that we shouldn’t be surprised that many of the usual suspects populate the top-10 most-owned at the Dell Technologies Championship. Louis Oosthuizen checked the boxes of form and history stronger than most, at least on balance, but 4.6 percent of you sat on your hands long enough to burn defending champion Rory McIlroy. Kudos. Yes, by McIlroy’s (and our) lofty standards, he’s misfired too often in 2017, so there was reason not to invest earlier, but you can’t go an entire season without him. This is especially relevant when the winner of every Playoffs event banks 2,000 FedExCup points. Jason Day and Paul Casey present as one of the stronger 2-3 couplets in recent memory. Of course, we don’t know how many league leaders are on board, but gamers who are chasing aren’t complaining about their prospects at TPC Boston. Owned Rank  Player  Percentage 1st  Louis Oosthuizen  10.8% 2nd  Jason Day  9.7% 3rd  Paul Casey  8.3% 4th  Kevin Chappell  5.0% 5th  Rory McIlroy (defending)  4.6% 6th  Patrick Reed  4.5% 7th  Justin Thomas  4.5% 8th  Jon Rahm  4.1% 9th  Dustin Johnson  3.6% 10th  Hideki Matsuyama  3.3% Other notables Owned Rank  Player  Percentage 11th  Rickie Fowler  2.8% 13th  Jordan Spieth  2.5% 15th  Adam Scott  2.1% 16th  Matt Kuchar  16th  2.1% 18th  Sergio Garcia  2.0% 20th  Brooks Koepka  1.7% 22nd  Justin Rose  1.5% T26  Bubba Watson  0.8% T32  Phil Mickelson  0.5%

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