PGA Tour: Reed, McIlroy cases properly handled

Man, it’s good to be back. That goes both with you and as it concerns our motley task force vying to take down 2016-17 champion Jonathan Wall. Not unlike your experience with fellow opponents, some of us don’t connect unless there’s action, so the Sentry Tournament of Champions couldn’t roll around soon enough. Before we dive into the headliners among the 34-man field at Kapalua, two matters of business need to be tackled. • The Puerto Rico Open has been modified to an unofficial charity event over the first weekend of March. (It will return as an official event in 2019.) Proceeds will go to the ongoing recovery due to the devastation from Hurricane Maria. It’s a terrific decision for obvious reasons, but the tournament has been removed from the choices in PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. There are now 48 events contributing to the game in 2017-18. • Future Possibilities below has been enhanced. In addition to potential spots to burn all listed, you’ll now see my subjective ranking of those tournaments (that are still listed chronologically). This additional layer is meant only as a guide when planning long-term, but it also could help break some ties down the road. When the PGA TOUR Champions opens its 2018 season on Jan. 18-20 for the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, the dedicated section for those guys will be presented similarly. This is to say that if you’re new to that game and not as familiar with the 50-and-over circuit, it will have immediate added value. You’ll see. Shifting to the here and now, with not even three dozen pegging it on Maui where there is no cut, your only interest might be to learn why I’m not on board a usual suspect, but if you read my Power Rankings, you’ve pretty much gleaned where my allegiances lie. Cross off first-timers. The popular dots connected between Kapalua and Augusta National what with their dastardly greens run parallel to the same for first-timers. If you’re a veteran, you know to avoid the wide-eyed at the Masters and stick with experience. This week is no different. That’s because it matters. That leaves 20 options. Scanning Future Possibilities, five are accompanied with bolded mentions that the Sentry TOC should be considered. None other than defending champion Justin Thomas is tagged with the only “1” among them, but his collection of smart sites runs seven deep, so feel free to remain patient. In a vacuum, only Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama and Marc Leishman would generate the automatic selection if this tournament was slotted later in the season, but even then, the promise of slapping something significant on the board begs you to steer into a next-tier talent. This is why I’ve circled Brendan Steele. At No. 8 in the Power Rankings and with prior experience at Kapalua, including a T6 just last year, that’s enough for me. He’d be my pick for the Barracuda Championship in seven months, but he’s already eligible for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational contested concurrently (which explains why the Barracuda is omitted from his list of events in Future Possibilities). Brian Harman was the only other in the field who tempted me, but I want to keep him available for one of the next two weeks. Two-man gamers can ignore the rule against exhausting a first-timer. Give Xander Schauffele and Cameron Smith consideration as your tail of the tandem. 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 2017-18. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … Waste Management (4); Houston (3); St. Jude (1; two-time defending); Travelers (2) Kevin Chappell … Valero (1; defending); St. Jude (4); WGC-Bridgestone (2); Dell Technologies (3) Jason Dufner … CareerBuilder (5); Valspar (1); DEAN & DELUCA (2); Memorial (3; defending); U.S. Open (4); Wyndham (6); TOUR Championship (7) Rickie Fowler … Sentry (2); Waste Management (5); Honda (1; defending); Houston (4); Masters (8); Wells Fargo (7); PLAYERS (9); WGC-Bridgestone (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (10); Dell Technologies (6) Brian Harman … Sony (2); CareerBuilder (1); Arnold Palmer (5); DEAN & DELUCA (4); John Deere (3) Russell Henley … Sony (3); Houston (1; defending); Greenbrier (2) Billy Horschel … Honda (2); Arnold Palmer (5); Valero (3); St. Jude (1); TOUR Championship (4) Dustin Johnson … Sentry (4); Pebble Beach (2); Genesis (1; defending); WGC-Mexico (6; defending); WGC-Match Play (15; defending); Houston (14); Masters (3); Memorial (11); St. Jude (7); U.S. Open (12); Canadian (9); WGC-Bridgestone (13); PGA Championship (8); Dell Technologies (10); TOUR Championship (5) Kevin Kisner … Sony (2); Heritage (3); DEAN & DELUCA (1; defending); Memorial (4); Wyndham (5) Brooks Koepka … Sentry (6); WGC-Match Play (7); St. Jude (3); U.S. Open (1; defending); Open Championship (4); WGC-Bridgestone (5); PGA Championship (2) Marc Leishman … Sony (5); Arnold Palmer (3; defending); DEAN & DELUCA (6); Memorial (4); Travelers (2); Open Championship (1) Hideki Matsuyama … Sentry (2); Waste Management (1; two-time defending); Genesis (5); Arnold Palmer (9); Masters (3); Wells Fargo (10); PLAYERS (7); Memorial (8); U.S. Open (4); WGC-Bridgestone (6; defending) Pat Perez … Sony (3); Farmers (2); Pebble Beach (1); Houston (5); Heritage (4); Valero (6) Jon Rahm … Farmers (defending) Jordan Spieth … Sentry (3); Pebble Beach (5; defending); Valspar (8); Houston (11); Masters (1); Heritage (12); DEAN & DELUCA (2); Travelers (6; defending); John Deere (7); Open Championship (9; defending); WGC-Bridgestone (10); TOUR Championship (4) Brendan Steele … CareerBuilder (3); Waste Management (1); Honda (4); Valero (5); Wells Fargo (6); Travelers (2) Justin Thomas … Sentry (1; defending); Sony (3; defending); WGC-Mexico (5); Valspar (6); Wells Fargo (7); Dell Technologies (4; defending); TOUR Championship (2)

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Scottie Scheffler outlasted Ryder Cup teammate Patrick Cantlay on the third hole of a playoff Sunday in the WM Phoenix Open, making a 25-foot birdie putt that had just enough momentum to tumble in. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Get to know Sahith Theegala in 10 stories | Winner’s Bag: Scottie Scheffler, WM Phoenix Open Cantlay missed an 11-foot birdie try after Scheffler holed his putt. Scheffler birdied four of the final six holes for a 4-under 67 to match Cantlay at 16-under 268 at TPC Scottsdale on another sunny, 80-degree day. Cantlay, playing a group ahead of Scheffler, had a bogey-free 67. Scheffler broke through in his 71st PGA TOUR start. Before Sunday, the 25-year-old former University of Texas star’s biggest professional highlights were beating Jon Rahm in September in United States’ Ryder Cup victory at Whistling Straits and shooting a 59 in the 2020 THE NORTHERN TRUST. Scheffler and Cantlay matched pars on the first two extra trips down 18, with both players hitting the fairway and green the first time and both scrambling to save par on the second. Scheffler missed a chance to end it in regulation when his 5 1/2-foot birdie try slid right. On the stadium par-3 16th, he left a birdie putt 2 inches short. Nine strokes back entering the weekend, Scheffler shot a 62 on Saturday to pull within two strokes of leader Sahith Theegala and get into the final group. Scheffler played the first 12 holes in even par Sunday, with four birdies and four bogeys, before the late charge. The fourth-ranked Cantlay was making his first start in the event, adding it to his schedule only because he figured it would be easier to play three straight weeks instead of traveling back and forth from Florida between two of his favorite events in California. The FedExCup champion nearly left with his third victory in his last six starts. On the 18th in regulation, he left a 9-foot birdie putt short. Theegala, the rookie who took the lead into the day, lost a share of the top spot with a bogey on the par-4 17th after driving left into the water. The 24-year-old shot a 70 to tie for third at 15 under with 2021 winner Brooks Koepka (69) and Xander Schauffele (68). Theegala missed a chance to become the first player to win on a sponsor exemption since Martin Laird in the 2020 Shriners Children’s Open. Koepka, also the 2015 winner, closed with birdies on 17 and 18. Billy Horschel (66) and Alex Noren (68) were 14 under, with Justin Thomas (66) another stroke back with two-time winner Hideki Matsuyama (69). Rahm had a 67 to tie for 10th. The top-ranked former Arizona State star lives a few miles from the course. “The only time I really felt in command of the golf swing was the first 18 holes and the last nine,” Rahm said about the week. “That’s about it. Everything else in between, there was a bit of doubt in a lot of the swings.” With the leaders just getting started, Carlos Ortiz brought the wild 16th hole to life before noon with the second hole-in-one in two days. His 8-iron shot on the 178-yard hole landed in front of the pin and rolled in, catching the left edge. The ace was the 11th at No. 16 since the tournament moved to the course in 1997. The last time there were two aces on 16 in a week was 1997 when Tiger Woods did it in the third round and Steve Stricker in the fourth. Playing the back nine first, Ortiz followed with a 13-foot eagle putt on the par-4 17th — becoming the first player this season with consecutive eagles — and finished with a 67 to tie for 33rd at 7 under.

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DALLAS – A year ago, in its debut as the host venue for the AT&T Byron Nelson, Trinity Forest yielded a winning score of 23 under to then-rookie Aaron Wise. No previous champ in the tournament’s 65-year history had ever reached that level, and only Sam Snead in 1957 made it to 20 under. That was at Glen Lakes Country Club, a defunct course once divided by a freeway. Among all PGA TOUR winners last season, only Michael Kim at the John Deere Classic went lower in relation to par, finishing at 27 under at TPC Deere Run. First impressions, then, is that Trinity Forest – a links-type layout, built on a landfill by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, that drew attention for being different than most TOUR venues — is a pushover, the world’s best golfers lighting up a course most had never previously seen. But Harrison Frazar, the retired PGA TOUR pro who helped bring Trinity Forest to life in 2016, was not surprised. Earlier this week, he was in the midst of explaining why Wise’s score was so low. As if on cue, the wind kicked up into his face. “What you’re feeling right now – this is the normal wind,â€� Frazar said. “This is here almost every day – 12 to 15 mph, just like that. “If you get this, the scores are naturally just going to go up.â€� Trinity Forest obviously didn’t get the wind much last year, an unusually quiet week by Texas standards. Add in course conditions that made the 7,380-yard layout play significantly shorter, and it’s no wonder players went low. “It was firm and fast last year. Tee balls were going a country mile,â€� said PGA TOUR agronomist Mike Crawford. “50, 60, 70 yards of roll – almost unheard of. I think there was at least one drive of 400 yards. “But this year, we’ll see the golf course play differently.â€� Year 2 of Trinity Forest will indeed have a different vibe. Record rainfall last fall – more than 28 inches of rain combined in September and October – along with a wet winter and spring has continued into this month. Last week, 2-1/2 inches of rain fell at Trinity Forest, and Wednesday’s thunderstorm left several areas of the course with standing water. More rain is expected, especially on Friday and Saturday. Related: Origin of arm-lock putting | Featured Groups, tee times | The Flyover | Koepka keeping focus on AT&T Byron Nelson | Tiger receives Medal of Freedom Directly above the landfill is a clay cap of several feet in depth that prevents moisture from infiltrating the landfill. To work as a sealant, the clay cap must stay intact, which means water can only evaporate through the topsoil. Miles of drainage above the clay cap have been installed, but Crawford recognizes that Trinity Forest’s grounds crew must “actively tackleâ€� drainage issues on “an ongoing basis probably forever.â€� So what’s this mean for this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson? Trinity Forest should play longer. Players who used wedges and short irons into some holes last year may find themselves using mid-irons this week. “Instead of a 3-wood and a wedge into a par 5,â€� added Crawford, “hopefully it’ll be driver, iron – and maybe another iron. Would be nice to see some 3-shot par 5s.â€� Also, the par-3 eighth and 12th holes will play longer, thanks to new tee areas. The eighth is now 160 yards; last year at 140 yards, it was the easiest par 3 among the 204 played in the entire 2017-18 PGA TOUR season, playing to a stroke average of 2.646. Players also are expecting some tees to be played back this year. Beau Hossler, a member of Trinity Forest, said after his practice round Tuesday that he hit 6-iron into the 18th green. A year ago, he used 9-iron. “Strategically, they set up the golf a little bit longer,â€� he noted. Of course, the wet weather may also make the greens more attackable, said the defending champ. “I know the scores were still low last year but it was a lot more layups and positioning off the tee,â€� said Wise, whose win at Trinity Forest fueled his Rookie of the Year campaign. “This year might be a lot more drivers being sent around the golf course.â€� But the real difference-maker at Trinity Forest is the wind. You can say that about most courses in Texas, but perhaps none moreso than this one, given that not only is it a flat surface on a landfill, but that few trees exist inside the course boundary to block the wind. “The cool thing with this piece of land – flat with no trees – is that it’s very susceptible to get wind,â€� said Hossler, who shot a final-round 64 last year with birdies on his last five holes. “That changes the golf course entirely. The direction of the wind also could make a big impact. The winds have been coming from the south early this week but are forecast to switch on Thursday to a north wind for the rest of the week. That means players will have to adjust their gameplans. Still, the winds aren’t forecast to be overly severe, outside of gusts to 20 mph during the first two days. While 23 under might not be needed to win this week, the scores could again be low if the winds don’t make their presence known. And maybe that’s OK. “When we were out here building it, Ben talked about how with the greatest links courses, the defense needs to be the wind and the turf,â€� Frazar said. “So if you have no wind and the best players in the world? They’re going to tear it up. “He wanted the golf course to be built that if there was no wind, then give the guys a chance to shoot 61, 62, 63. But if the wind blows? 71, 72 is going to be a good score.â€�

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