Morikawa delivers a great shot in quiet moment to win PGA

The biggest Round 2 showdown in our Mythical World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play tournament? Gotta be world No. 1 Rory McIlroy vs. defending champ Kevin Kisner, who’s been near-unbeatable in the last two years at Austin Country Club. There are plenty of other intriguing matchups on this day, including a couple of top-5 seeds suffering upsets. To review, our Mythical event is the just-for-fun exercise we’re conducting this week in lieu of the real tournament, which was among the events canceled by the PGA TOUR in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The TOUR conducted a draw to produce a bracket, and now our 10 experts are voting for the winner of each match. We released the Round 1 results on Wednesday (click here) and now the results of the 32 matches that would’ve been played in Thursday’s Round 2. The 16 Group Stage winners will be determined on Friday, then we’ll vote for single-elimination matches this weekend to crown the Mythical champion on Sunday. The voting rules are simple: Each expert was asked to pick a match winner, and the golfer with the majority of votes is the match winner. In the case of an equal split of votes, the match is considered tied. Our 10 expert voters include: GolfBet’s Jason Sobel from The Action Network; GolfTV’s Jamie Kennedy; Tom Alter and Jim McCabe from PGA TOUR Communications; Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton; PGATOUR.COM writers Ben Everill, Sean Martin, Mike McAllister and Cameron Morfit; and a combined vote from the TOUR’s ShotLink team. Here are the experts’ picks for Round 2 (each player’s seed is in parentheses). GROUP 1 Rory McIlroy (1) vs. Kevin Kisner (36): 8 votes for McIlroy, 2 votes for Kisner. McILROY wins. Why we picked McIlroy: “McIlroy ranks second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, Kisner has gone from 39th in 2017 to 129th this season in this category.â€� – ShotLink team Gary Woodland (18) vs. Sung Kang (52): 7 votes for Woodland, 3 votes for Kang. WOODLAND wins. Why I picked Woodland: “Woodland made it to the finals in this event, losing to Rory McIlroy at TPC Harding Park in 2015, and simply has too much firepower for Kang.â€� – Cameron Morfit Group standings: McIlroy 2-0, Kisner 1-1, Woodland 1-1, Kang 0-2 GROUP 2 Jon Rahm (2) vs. Chez Reavie (37): 10 votes for Rahm, 0 votes for Reavie. RAHM wins. Why I picked Rahm: “At Whisper Rock, maybe I’d go with Chez, but Austin CC fits Rahm nicely.â€� – Jim McCabe Bernd Wiesberger (26) vs. Tom Lewis (59): 7 votes for Wiesberger, 3 votes for Lewis. WIESBERGER wins. Why I picked Wiesberger: “Since coming back from injury, Wiesberger has been on a tear. His all-round game is elite and while Lewis is extremely streaky, he won’t hang this time.â€� – Jamie Kennedy Group standings: Rahm 2-0, Wiesberger 2-0, Reavie 0-2, Lewis 0-2 GROUP 3 Brooks Koepka (3) vs. Collin Morikawa (44): 7 votes for Morikawa, 3 votes for Koepka. MORIKAWA wins. Why I picked Morikawa: “Koepka’s fought injury and rust and hasn’t been able to find his footing this season. Meanwhile, Morikawa is the TOUR’s Steady Eddie.â€� – Sean Martin Abraham Ancer (29) vs. Shaun Norris (60): 10 votes for Ancer, 0 votes for Norris. ANCER wins. Why I picked Ancer: “Stirring victory sets up pivotal match in Round 3 with Brooks Koepka.â€�- Jim McCabe Group standings: Morikawa 2-0, Koepka 1-1, Ancer 1-1, Norris 0-2 GROUP 4 Justin Thomas (4) vs. Erik van Rooyen (42): 8 votes for Thomas, 2 votes for van Rooyen. THOMAS wins. Why I picked Thomas: “Van Rooyen can shred on guitar, but Thomas is the chalk pick here.â€� – Sean Martin Paul Casey (24) vs. Viktor Hovland (57): 6 votes for Hovland, 4 votes for Casey. HOVLAND wins. Why I picked Hovland: “You know I mean business when I expect a first-timer — who just happens to flash the newest, best smile in the game — to take down my man crush.â€� – Rob Bolton Group standings: Thomas 2-0, Casey 1-1, Hovland 1-1, van Rooyen 0-2 GROUP 5 Dustin Johnson (5) vs. Cameron Smith (35): 6 votes for Smith, 4 votes for Johnson. SMITH wins. Why I picked Smith: “Smith has always been a match play stud waiting to burst forth. Coming from 3 down to beat Thomas in the Presidents Cup Singles shows his competitive fire in this format.â€� – Ben Everill Hideki Matsuyama (22) vs. Keegan Bradley (62): 10 votes for Matsuyama, 0 votes for Bradley. MATSUYAMA wins. Why I picked Matsuyama: “If there’s a bugaboo in Matsuyama’s game, it’s that he isn’t a terrific putter, but in match play, his tremendous ball-striking can overcome a lack of red numbers, which was the case in this one.â€� – Jason Sobel Group standings: Matsuyama 2-0, Johnson 1-1, Smith 1-1, Bradley 0-2 GROUP 6 Adam Scott (6) vs. Shugo Imahira (41): 10 votes for Scott, 0 votes for Imahira. SCOTT wins. Why I picked Scott: “Scott’s match play record is one that has irked him over the years, but he’s riding high confidence after his win at The Genesis Invitational earlier this season.â€� – Ben Everill Lee Westwood (31) vs. Jordan Spieth (56): 6 votes for Westwood, 4 votes for Spieth. WESTWOOD wins. Why I picked Westwood: “Westwood has been playing with nothing to lose recently, just enjoying the back-nine of his career and competing with a smile on his face. It’s amazing how much that can free up a guy, as he was still smiling when this one was over.â€� – Jason Sobel Group standings: Scott 2-0, Westwood 2-0, Imahira 0-2, Spieth 0-2 GROUP 7 Patrick Reed (7) vs. Rafa Cabrera Bello (46): 6 votes for Reed, 4 votes for Cabrera Bello. REED wins. Why I picked Reed: “Despite how it looks at first glance, this is a virtual coin flip, but Reed’s consistently strong form since relying on feel mid-2019 just might propel him to victory in his home state.â€� – Rob Bolton Matthew Fitzpatrick (25) vs. Andrew Putnam (63): 9 votes for Fitzpatrick, 1 vote for Putnam. FITZPATRICK wins. Why I picked Fitzpatrick: “Fitzpatrick’s in fine form, with six top-10s in his last 11 worldwide starts. Meanwhile, Putnam’s missed the cut in his last three PGA TOUR starts.â€� – Mike McAllister Group standings: Reed 2-0, Cabrera Bello 1-1, Fitzpatrick 1-1, Putnam 0-2 GROUP 8 Patrick Cantlay (8) vs. Sergio Garcia (38): 9 votes for Cantlay, 1 vote for Garcia. CANTLAY wins. Why I picked Cantlay: “Cantlay is 29th in the FedExCup (seventh in the world) and does everything well, while Garcia is 179th in the FedExCup, recently turned 40, and has been quiet since winning the 2017 Masters.â€� – Cameron Morfit Tyrrell Hatton (21) vs. Adam Hadwin (55): 5 votes for Hatton, 5 votes for Hadwin. TIED. Why I picked Hadwin: “Still dealing with the API hangover — a figurative one (we think) — Hatton struggled with the ever-steady Hadwin, who simply didn’t have any unforced errors in this match.â€� – Jason Sobel Group standings: Cantlay 2-0, Hatton 1-0-1, Hadwin 0-1-1, Garcia 0-2 GROUP 9 Webb Simpson (9) vs. Scottie Scheffler (45): 7 votes for Simpson, 3 votes for Scheffler. SIMPSON wins. Why I picked Simpson: “Webb Simpson is on a roll. Hitting fairways and making putts always works in match play.â€� – Tom Alter Rickie Fowler (27) vs. Lucas Herbert (64): 7 votes for Fowler, 3 votes for Herbert. FOWLER wins. Why I picked Fowler: “After dismal start to his season, this is a massive week for him.â€� – Jim McCabe Group standings: Simpson 2-0, Scheffler 1-1, Fowler 1-1, Herbert 0-2 GROUP 10 Tommy Fleetwood (10) vs. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (47): 7 votes for Fleetwood, 3 votes for Bezuidenhout. FLEETWOOD wins. Why I picked Fleetwood: “There was some thought that Bezuidenhout could be this year’s Bjerregaard — an impossible-to-spell non-PGA TOUR member who makes his mark in match play. Perhaps he still will, but Fleetwood’s talent was too much to overcome here.â€� – Jason Sobel Francesco Molinari (28) vs. Byeong Hun An (50): 8 votes for An, 2 votes for Molinari. AN wins. Why I picked An: “Sadly, Francesco has been a shell of his best lately and still has some injury concerns while An has the Presidents Cup experience to draw from.â€� – Ben Everill Group standings: Fleetwood 2-0, Bezuidenhout 1-1, An 1-1, Molinari 0-2 GROUP 11 Tiger Woods (11) vs. Victor Perez (40): 8 votes for Woods, 2 votes for Perez. WOODS wins. Why we picked Woods: “Tiger’s one of the best iron players ever, not to mention his 18 WGC wins, including three times in this event. Oh, and did we mention he’s been PGA TOUR Player of the Year 11 times, most of any player?â€� – ShotLink team Kevin Na (30) vs. Phil Mickelson (61): 10 votes for Na, 0 votes for Mickelson. NA wins. Why I picked Na: “Na makes tons of putts. That’s tough to beat.â€� – Tom Alter Group standings: Woods 2-0, Na 2-0, Perez 0-2, Mickelson 0-2 GROUP 12 Xander Schauffele (12) vs. Danny Willett (33): 8 votes for Schauffele, 2 votes for Willett. SCHAUFFELE wins. Why I picked Schauffele: “Danny Willett’s comeback story has been nice to see, but Schauffele is the clear favorite here.â€� – Sean Martin Shane Lowry (20) vs. Jason Day (51): 6 votes for Day, 4 votes for Lowry. DAY wins. Why I picked Day: “A two-time winner in this unique format, Jason Day is too much for almost anybody in match play.â€� – Tom Alter Group standings: Schauffele 2-0, Lowry 1-1, Day 1-1, Willett 0-2 GROUP 13 Bryson DeChambeau (13) vs. Jazz Janewattananond (39): 9 votes for DeChambeau, 1 vote for Janewattananond. DeCHAMBEAU wins. Why I picked DeChambeau: “Just gotta love Bryson’s form right now (and I’m not just talking about the added muscle to his frame),â€� – Mike McAllister. Henrik Stenson (32) vs Ian Poulter (58): 6 votes for Poulter, 4 votes for Stenson. POULTER wins. Why I picked Poulter: “Putting prevails here. Stenson has potential to dominate tee-to-green but Poulter’s edge comes on the greens and this gives him the edge in this match-up.â€� – Jamie Kennedy Group standings: DeChambeau 2-0, Stenson 1-1, Poulter 1-1, Janewattananond 0-2 GROUP 14 Justin Rose (14) vs. Matt Wallace (43): 5 votes for Rose, 5 votes for Wallace. TIED. Why I picked Rose: “Two English players, two players battling their game somewhat early in 2020. Ask me in a couple of years and I’ll take Wallace but for now, Rose wins this.â€� – Jamie Kennedy Sungjae Im (23) vs. Bubba Watson (53): 8 votes for Im, 2 votes for Watson. IM wins. Why I picked Im: “Bubba’s a wild card – he could get on a roll and run to the title, as he did in 2018. But I like Im’s steadiness.â€� – Mike McAllister Group standings: Im 2-0, Watson 1-1, Rose 0-1-1, Wallace 0-1-1 GROUP 15 Marc Leishman (15) vs. Billy Horschel (34): 8 votes for Leishman, 2 votes for Horschel. LEISHMAN wins. Why we picked Leishman: “Currently seventh in the FEC standings and three consecutive trips to East Lake, not to mention on pace for his best season on TOUR.â€� – ShotLink team Matt Kuchar (17) vs. Graeme McDowell (49): 6 votes for Kuchar, 4 votes for McDowell. KUCHAR wins. Why I picked Kuchar: “GMac can be a tough out in match play, but Kuchar has too much good mojo in this event – he won it all in 2013 and was runner-up to Kevin Kisner last year.â€� – Cameron Morfit Group standings: Leishman 2-0, Kuchar 2-0, Horschel 0-2, McDowell 0-2 GROUP 16 Tony Finau (16) vs. Brandt Snedeker (48): 5 votes for Finau, 5 votes for Snedeker. TIED Why I picked Snedeker: “After seeing Finau’s dance vid with his wife, I’d like to use a Mulligan.â€� – Rob Bolton Louis Oosthuizen (19) vs. Brendon Todd (54): 8 votes for Oosthuizen 2 votes for Todd. OOSTHUIZEN wins. Why I picked Oosthuizen: “Todd may have been the man last fall, but Louis has match play acumen that cannot be denied.â€� – Ben Everill Group standings: Finau 1-0-1, Oosthuizen 1-0-1, Snedeker 0-0-2, Todd 0-2

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FORT WORTH, Texas – The Texas swing this season ends with this week’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational, held on one of the PGA TOUR’s most historic courses. Colonial Country Club has been a regular stop since 1946, and its list of winners is topped by the local legend, Ben Hogan, a five-time champion. Another nearby-local legend, Dallas’ Jordan Spieth, is the defending champ this week. Spieth comes off a missed cut in his hometown event, the AT&T Byron Nelson, but now has a chance to put his name next to Hogan’s in the tournament record book. Thus far, Hogan is the only player to have won this event in consecutive years; in fact, he did it two different times. Colonial’s Horrible Horseshoe – hole Nos. 3, 4 and 5 – is the signature stretch on this course, with the average strokes over par since 2003 at plus-0.465. “The Horrible Horseshoe it’s called,â€� said Colonial member Ryan Palmer, “and it can be horrible to a lot of people.â€� PGA TOUR LIVE’s coverage of the first two rounds will be from 8 a.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET with a mixture of morning Featured Groups and afternoon Featured Holes (the par-4 5th and the par-3 16th). The broadcast also will be available on Twitter from 8 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. ET on Thursday and Friday. PGA TOUR Radio’s coverage is from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET for the first two rounds and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. for the final two rounds. Here’s a look at the Featured Groups (current FedExCup ranking in parentheses): Thursday Jon Rahm (4), Sergio Garcia (13), Si Woo Kim (22). Kim is making his first start since winning THE PLAYERS Championship two weeks ago. He was originally scheduled to play last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson but was forced to withdraw with a sore back. He said it’s fine now. Garcia won at Colonial in 2001 in his first start in this event and is playing Colonial for the first time since 2012. Rahm is making his DEAN & DELUCA debut. Tee time: 8:55 a.m. ET off 10th tee. Wesley Bryan (19), Matt Kuchar (40), Phil Mickelson (43). Mickelson, a two-time champion (2000, 2008) is making his first appearance at Colonial since 2010 when he missed the cut. Kuchar has two top-10 finishes in his last three starts here, including a tie for sixth last year. Bryan, like Rahm, is making his first appearance. Tee time: 9:06 a.m. ET off 10th tee. Friday Billy Horschel (15), Paul Casey (27), Brandt Snedeker (48). Having won last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson, Horschel – the 2014 FedExCup champ — will look to become the first player to win both Metroplex TOUR events in consecutive weeks. Hogan is the only player to win both in the same year (but not in consecutive weeks). Snedeker – also a past FedExCup champ, having won in 2012 — tied for second here two years. Casey finished fifth in his first start at Colonial in 2009. Tee time: 8:55 a.m. ET off 10th tee. Pat Perez (5), Jordan Spieth (7), Zach Johnson (95). Spieth, the defending champ, also tied for second the previous year and has another top-10 finish among his four starts at Colonial. Johnson’s track record here is even more impressive – two wins (2010, 2012) and two other top 10s among his 11 starts. He’s won more money at this event ($3.4 million) than any other player. Perez has four top-10 finishes here. Tee time: 9:06 a.m. ET off 10th tee.

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Here are nine tidbits from the third round of the Quicken Loans National that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm hosts for the second time and measures 7,107 yards (Par-70). Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 selected golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf game presented by SERVPRO. As the temperatures rose on Saturday the scoring continued to drop for the second day in a row. The course record set on Friday by Streelman was equaled by Abraham Ancer on Saturday. Ancer and Molinari both posted 197 (-13) and will be the last pairing off No. 1 tee Sunday afternoon. Neither has won on TOUR before and they are two shots clear of the field. Of the eight players within five shots only four have won on TOUR before but Woods isn’t out of it just yet as he’s six back. Round of the Week Part II Don’t wake him up! Abraham Ancer tied the course record today with eight birdies and a clean card. For the week he’s squared only two bogeys and has been playing lights-out. He’s second in SG: off the tee, third tee to green and first in scrambling. His putter isn’t holding him back either as he’s ninth in SG: putting. Since his career-best T8 at the Houston Open he’s MC in four of his last eight with his best payday cashing for T42. It’s a very big day for him tomorrow but living in Norman, Oklahoma, I know the heat won’t get to him! The Favorite The other half of the final pairing also has only made two bogeys all week but has a much deeper resume. Francesco Molinari hasn’t won on TOUR but he did beat an elite field last month as he won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on the European Tour. Molinari won’t be intimidated by Ancer or his excellent numbers tomorrow as the former Ryder Cup player is leading the field in SG: tee to green and GIR and is seventh in fairways. Winning the first one is always the toughest but he’s the favorite tomorrow The Tiger The hump is still there and it’s spectacular as Tiger Woods cannot find the magic on the back nine on Saturday. Out in 32 with five birdies and within two of the lead, the greatest of this generation couldn’t keep the momentum going. He came home in 36 with only one birdie and sits six back entering the final round. It’s not a hard case to crack as he hit six fairways and got up-and-down once in five tries. He’ll need one of those special rounds we haven’t seen yet if he’s going to crack the code Sunday. The Defending Champ Many of us (raises hand) have Kyle Stanley in multiple formats this week and it’s nice to see him bounce back with 67-66 after his opening round 71. He didn’t have his best stuff tee-to-green as he only hit seven fairways and just 10 GIR but he scrambled all of the eggs and made omelets to lead the field in SG: around the green. Chasing the Final Pairing Ryan Armour was the only player of the 36-hole triumvirate to hold it together in Round 3 and will begin Sunday in the second-to-last group with Zac Blair. Armour’s blue-collar 68 included four squares and six circles but he birdied three of his final six to join Blair just two back. … Blair is making his 13th start of the season and his best previous payday is T16 but that was last October. His best finish in 2018 was T36 at the Valero Texas Open, another demanding layout. He’s doing everything well this week and a podium finish will go a very long way to having full membership next year. Let’s see how he handles the pressure as his only podium on TOUR was the 2016 Sony Open. Moving Day Gamers who have been on the scent of Ryan Blaum over the last few weeks will be acutely aware of his 64 in Round 3. He’s up 35 spots to T10 as he looks to finish T18 or better for the fourth time in five tries. … Bronson Burgoon hasn’t had a top 10 in 16 previous events this season but his bogey-free 65 on moving day shot him up 26 spots to T10. … Former event champ Troy Merritt has buried his demons from his 66-82 MC in 2017 with a pair of 68’s to make the cut. His 66 in Round 3 moved him up 13 spots to T7. … Anirban Lahiri fired 65 last Saturday at TPC River Highlands. He signed for 65 this Saturday at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farms and moved up 41 spots to T25, the biggest mover of the day. He’ll need another low one Sunday to match his T9 from last week. Moving Day: Wrong Way Gamers were inquiring why I didn’t address Billy Horschel yesterday. The simple is answer is I don’t have time and room for everyone. He dropped from T4 to T34 if you’re wondering how Round 3 went. … Kevin Streelman backed up his course record 62 with 67 in Round 3 and is sixth. J.J. Spaun backed up his course record 63 from Round 1 with 73-73 and is now T49. … Joaquin Niemann is uber-talented but his 74 dropped him 11 spots to T49. He’s still learning but doesn’t have far to go. That happens with youngsters! Study Hall The scoring average dipped to the lowest point of the week as Saturday’s 69.860 (-0.140) bested that of Round 1 69.992 (-0.008) and Round 2 69.908 (-0.092). … There’s no wind and the refrain from the players is the course is not as firm and baked out as last year. The 54-hole leader last year was David Lingmerth on 203 (-7). That was also Stanley’s winning score. Not this year! … First round co-leader Andrew Landry dusted himself off after a disappointing 72 in Round 2 with 65 in Round 3 and sits fifth. … C.T. Pan (67-67) broke his driver on No. 14 in Round 1 but the new piece in his bag didn’t hold him back in Round 2. His bogey-free 68 on Saturday was just one of three for the round joining Ancer and Burgoon. He’s currently T7.

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