Rahm builds 4-shot lead at Memorial in his quest to be No. 1

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – The first sign of contender futility came, fittingly enough, on the opening hole Sunday at The Open Championship. Shane Lowry hit a “ropyâ€� tee shot into the rough. Playing partner Tommy Fleetwood hit two “great’ shots to set up a birdie. Lowry was left with an 8-foot putt just to save bogey. What started as a four-shot lead for Lowry could’ve been reduced to one in a flash. With 17 holes left, the entire field would’ve received a boost. Instead, Lowry made his clutch bogey putt. Fleetwood missed his short birdie attempt. Yes, Lowry’s lead was reduced to three shots, but it could’ve been much worse. Related: Final leaderboard | Lowry goes from despair to Claret Jug | Hometown club cheers for Lowry And in the end, no chaser was really able to apply much pressure on Lowry, who ended up winning by six shots – the largest margin in a major in five years and the largest at The Open since Louis Oosthuizen’s seven-stroke win in 2010. “The first few holes, when you start four back, pretty crucial,â€� said Fleetwood after his 3-over 74. “I didn’t do a good enough job of pressing at that point.â€� No one did. Lowry did his part, shooting a 1-over 72, a terrific score given the pressure of holding the lead and the intense weather that kicked in mid-round. He never gave anyone an opening, forcing the rest of the field to make moves. Fleetwood had his opportunities but missed too many early putts. He failed to convert a birdie chance at the par-5 second, and then missed a short par putt at the par-3 third after his nice recovery off a poor tee shot. He hit a lull in the middle of the round when rain, then strong winds made their presence known. And when Lowry did stumble with a bogey at 14, Fleetwood responded with double-bogey. “14 was killer,â€� Fleetwood said, who finished solo second. At least he was close to keeping up. J.B. Holmes, who started the day six back of the lead, opened with a double bogey at the first on his way to a front-nine 41. Then it got worse. Holmes had been the tournament leader in fairways hit and ranked T-2 in greens in regulation, but his tee-to-green game failed him Sunday. He started the back nine with triple bogey-double bogey en route to a 16-over 87. Holmes’ playing partner, Brooks Koepka, showed he was human after 15 impressive rounds in majors this season. Koepka started with four consecutive bogeys to shoot himself out of it. Still, his 74 left him at 6 under and tied for fourth to go along with his win and two runner-up finishes this season in the majors. He also moved into No. 1 in the FedExCup standings with just two weeks left in the regular season. It’s the first time in his career he’s led the FedExCup at any point of the season. “As a whole it’s awesome,â€� Koepka said of his results. “That’s what I’m striving to do, play well in the big events. And I sort of did that. This week is disappointing, but the rest of them have been — it’s been great. I’m not going to lie. It’s been fun. I would have liked to have just made a few more and finished it off with a bunch of second places.â€� With the challenging weather – Lee Westwood called it “some of the toughest conditions I’ve played in an Open Championshipâ€� – few players were able to find red figures. In fact, of the top 10 on the final leaderboard, only Bob MacIntyre (68) and Tyrrell Hatton (69) shot under par. Tony Finau managed an even-par 71 to finish solo third. That’s his best finish in any major – and his fifth top-10 in his last eight major starts. “My game travels,â€� Finau said. “I continue to just prove to myself one day I can win one of these. No doubt.â€�

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How it works: Each week, our experts from PGATOUR.COM will make their selections in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. Each lineup consists of four starters and two bench players that can be rotated after each round. Adding to the challenge is that every golfer can be used only three times per each of four Segments. The first fantasy golf game to utilize live ShotLink data, PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf allows you to see scores update live during competition. Aside from the experts below, Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton breaks down the field at this year’s Wyndham Championship in his edition of the Power Rankings. For more fantasy, check out Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers and Reshuffle. THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN OUR EXPERTS? The PGA TOUR Experts league is once again open to the public. You can play our free fantasy game and see how you measure up against our experts below. Joining the league is simple. Just click here to sign up or log in. Once you create your team, click the “Leagues” tab and search for “PGA TOUR Experts.” After that? Pick your players and start talking smack. Want to represent the fans against our experts? SEASON SEGMENT

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Phil Mickelson gets his post-holiday slate underway in his usual desert locale at the CareerBuilder Challenge, joined by Jon Rahm and reigning champ Hudson Swafford to headline the traditional first stop on the U.S. mainland after the calendar turns. Adam Hadwin, whose third-round 59 wasn’t enough to avoid getting pipped down the stretch last year, returns to take another run. Ditto for David Lingmerth, who lost playoffs in both 2013 (to Brian Gay) and 2016 (Jason Dufner). FIELD NOTES: Two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson ends a six-year hiatus in the California desert, where he shared runner-up honors in 2010. … In all, PGA West is anticipating five of the FedExCup’s current top 10 and five of the top 30 in the world rankings. … Corey Pavin, twice a winner when the event was Bob Hope’s court, is set for his first PGA TOUR start since Colonial in 2015. It’s been 31 years since his first Hope victory. … John Daly, Mark Brooks and Lee Janzen make it a quartet of PGA TOUR Champions entrants. … Local high schooler Charlie Reiter is in on a sponsor invite, the first time the tournament has given a professional spot to an amateur. Reiter won Southern California’s individual title two years ago. … Former Stanford star Maverick McNealy also got an exemption. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: Mickelson, who also serves as a Challenge ambassador, seeks again to end a winless spell now reaching nearly five years since the 2013 Open Championship. He notched a pair of top-15 finishes during the fall schedule, including third at the Safeway Open. … Rahm has top-2 finishes in his past two starts bridging the holidays. His runner-up at the Sentry Tournament of Champions was preceded by a win in the European Tour finale. … 13 of the past 14 Challenge winners have been U.S.-born champions. The exception: Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas (2011). … La Quinta Country Club marks its 47th year in the rotation, missing only eight editions since its debut in 1964. That’s a longer tenure than all but four PGA TOUR venues. COURSE: TPC Stadium Course at PGA West, 7,113 yards, par 72. Three decades after a dubious first impression, Pete Dye’s vexing design now seems entrenched in its originally intended role as host. The Stadium course was unveiled at the 1986 Skins Game and joined the Hope rota in 1987, but lasted just one year when players petitioned for its removal. Charged with building golf’s toughest venue, Dye sculpted a bumpy moonscape with deep bunkers, pushed-up greens and plenty of water. The Skins Game stayed five more years, and the course later staged six editions of the TOUR’s qualifying finals. The event’s pro-am format also will utilize PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament course (7,159/72) and La Quinta CC (7,060/72) in the first three rounds. 72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Patrick Reed (2014). Note: Steve Stricker shot 255 through his first 72 holes in 2009, when the Hope was a five-round tournament. 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, David Duval (5th round, 1999 at PGA West/Palmer), Adam Hadwin (3rd round, 2017 at La Quinta CC). Stadium Course record: 63, Jonathan Fricke (2nd round, 2008 Qualifying Finals*), Whee Kim (2nd round, 2012 Qualifying Finals*). Nicklaus Tournament record: 59, Harrison Frazar (4th round, 2008 Qualifying Finals*). Note: Q-School does not count as an official PGA TOUR event. LAST YEAR: Swafford stared down his demons from a day earlier with three birdies in his final four holes, overtaking Hadwin and Bud Cauley for his first PGA Tour victory. After seeing his third round spoiled by playing Nos. 16 and 17 in bogey/double bogey, Swafford two-putted for birdie at the par-5 16th and ripped an 8-iron inside 2 feet for birdie at No. 17. A closing par left him with a 5-under-par 67, enough to hold off Hadwin’s closing flourish. Hadwin, whose Saturday 59 at La Quinta CC matched David Duval’s tournament mark, made only two birdies in the final day’s first 15 holes. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Sunday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-7 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Thursday-Saturday, 1-7 p.m.; Sunday, 2-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).  

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