England’s David Horsey fired a first-round 61 to seize the early lead in the Saudi International on Thursday, as US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and world number one Dustin Johnson got off to solid starts.
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Like the effects of full and new moons on tides, in a couple iterations of PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf over the years, shootouts have allowed for greater surges. Of course, this also means that there is the potential for a deeper setback with a poor team performance. RELATED: Horses for Courses, Statistically Speaking The phenomenon on the game play this season is more impactful because pars are worth one point. With solid, pre-cut play at the Shriners Children’s Open, because TPC Summerlin has been the easiest par 71 on the PGA TOUR three seasons running (and in ideal weather similar to this week’s), you already would be scoring more points with more par breakers than your opponents who don’t have at least four make the cut, but now you’re scoring more points overall because of the elevated value of pars. My first priority when building my roster is to establish six who are projected to make the cut. But, because golf if a four-letter word, better-laid plans often are ruined. To wit, I’ve had exactly and only three cash in each of the first two tournaments of 2022-23. The old chestnut about insanity doesn’t apply to this pursuit, however. Golf is golf, and fantasy golf is fantasy golf. Stick to your process because this is the wrong week to absorb more zeroes. POWER RANKINGS WILD CARD Si Woo Kim (-160 for a Top 20) … Speaking of golf is golf, he slotted No. 12 (of 12) for the Internationals in my Power Rankings for the Presidents Cup, and then led the team with three points by going 3-1-0 in the losing cause. Go figure. The swing to the extremes essentially defines our visceral reaction over time. We love that he loves to play often, but we could do without so many mid-tournament withdrawals. Of course, we also love how often he plays well, but there’s little causality from one start to the next. The positive spin, at least for him, is that if there was a Power Rankings based on the suspicion of which guys have the shortest memories, he’d be prominently positioned in it. So, here we are at TPC Summerlin where he’s 4-for-5 with a trio of top 15s and a scoring average of 68.22 in 18 rounds. Recent form suggests that he’ll add to the success, but he still angles in as a contrarian in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf because of the persistent doubt. DRAWS Rickie Fowler (+225 for a Top 20) … Set aside the enormity of his shortcomings of the last whatever period of time that you prefer. He’s poised for an inflection point right now. He’s fresh off a T6 at the Fortinet, which occurred amid news that he’s reunited with Butch Harmon, who’s based in Las Vegas, which is where Fowler finished T3 at THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT a year ago and where this week’s Shriners is contested. Fowler’s last of four career top 25s on TPC Summerlin was a T4 in 2018. It’s also a perfect time to remind you that the 33-year-old is in his contract season. Cam Davis (-145 for a Top 40) … I’m not cool, but I’m cautious. Continue to love him in the long-term, but he’s in a transitional spot right now. An outstanding last four months of the 2021-22 season proved why he shoulders high expectations, but it’s fair to wonder if a letdown is brewing if his Presidents Cup debut was the endpoint of the arc. He’s perfect in three tries at TPC Summerlin, but none went for a top 25 and none were in the context of what’s he’s experiencing right now. Mark Hubbard (-110 for a Top 40) … While he’s still falling short of what’s so often a first PGA TOUR victory, he still needs to be valued for continuing to put himself into position to strike. Last week’s T5 was his third top-five finish of the last three months and the latest in a litany of impressive results scattered across 2022. He’s 3-for-6 at TPC Summerlin and with no better than a T35 in 2015, but his current trajectory projects for a personal best this week. Alex Noren (-145 for a Top 40) … Reviewing his current two-week stretch, this is a little like if the Los Angeles Rams were coming off a tight game in the snow, wind and cold of Green Bay before returning home to the much more comfortable climes of a home game the following weekend. While there’s open air at SoFi Stadium in L.A., it’s essentially indoors, just like the Swede’s test at TPC Summerlin this week. He finished T2 in less-than-desirable conditions at the Dunhill Links last week and he’s making his Shriners debut. The last time he crossed continents in the same short time frame, he chased a T30 at the Genesis Scottish Open with a solo second at the Barracuda Championship. That was inside three months ago. Justin Suh (+125 for a Top 40) … Keep the faith, at least in DFS, but the leash is shortening rapidly. After opening his membership debut with a pair of bad missed cuts, TPC Summerlin will embrace his aggressive tendencies. He can reconnect with what got him here and what slotted him No. 1 on the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour in the all-around ranking. He’s also not a debutant in the tournament, having finished T8 in 2020. Christiaan Bezuidenhout Will Gordon Adam Hadwin Lee Hodges Chris Kirk Matt Kuchar K.H. Lee Denny McCarthy Scott Piercy Seamus Power Kevin Streelman Adam Svensson Nick Taylor Odds sourced on Tuesday, October 4th at 7 p.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm FADES J.T. Poston … Y’all know that I’ve never ridden fences and that I approach my opinion from a conservative position. The thought is to start at the bottom and work my way up. With only one winner every week and so much “losing,” it’s the proper way to prognosticate. I remind you of that because he’s been on some kind of run for a little over three months, but he missed the cut at the Sanderson Farms (where he was No. 3 in my Power Rankings; see RECAP below). If he had extended his form, he’d likely have been a mild draw because his course history at TPC Summerlin is a mixed bag. In six trips, he’s scored under par in every opening round but he’s cashed only twice. One of those was for a T4 in 2017. So, this week serves as a terrific test to observe how what’s been working for him lately can lift him in a tournament that’s given him fits more often than not. Mito Pereira … Life comes at ya fast when you’re a PGA TOUR rookie and one of the best in your class, as he was in 2021-22. The Chilean scaled into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking with his disappointing T3 at the PGA Championship, and he retained that form for another two weeks, but it’s been a whole lotta nada since – just 4-for-6 without a top 40 and a 0-2-1 showing in his Presidents Cup debut. Even with accepted rigors contributing to the slump, many others weren’t upended despite similar scheduling. Cameron Champ … Just 1-for-3 at TPC Summerlin (T28, 2018) and has continued to pop way too infrequently since winning the 3M Open a little over 14 months ago. Wrist issue, bad habits as a result of playing through it, or whatever, the struggle has been real for a guy who has made it look so easy at times. Keith Mitchell … The 30-year-old has been gliding along for about a year now, but he’s 0-for-4 at TPC Summerlin despite six red numbers among eight scores. Ben Martin … While your instinct might be to wonder why he deserved attention at all, much less as a Fade, it was at TPC Summerlin in 2014 where he recorded his lone PGA TOUR title. He answered with a T25 in his title defense, and then missed the cut in the following two editions and hasn’t returned since. His close call at Corales earlier this year was one of the most poignantly self-aware moments of 2022, so it was gratifying how he rose to the challenge in the KFT Finals to secure his PGA TOUR card once again, but all of these are short-lived and overextending examples of what he’s capable of achieving, not who has been week in and week out. Zac Blair … Served notice upon return this summer with three top 25s contributing to a 6-for-6 stretch across two tours. The streak was punctuated by a T12 at the season-opening Fortinet Championship. However, he missed the cut last week and he’s missed five straight at TPC Summerlin since 2015. Just don’t let it deter you from a full-season investment. He’s equipped with a full slate of starts via a Major Medical Extension, so he’ll be able to pick and choose the opens in which he competes. Byeong Hun An Jason Day Harris English Danny Lee Maverick McNealy Chez Reavie Patrick Rodgers Brendon Todd Gary Woodland NOTABLE WDs Trey Mullinax … It’s too soon to know for sure but it would be surprising if he didn’t tee it up in each of the next two weeks. He’s never qualified for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP and THE CJ CUP in South Carolina until now. So, after finishing 2021-22 with a flourish that included his breakthrough victory at the Barbasol Championship, and then opening this season 0-for-2, a break right now makes sense. It also gives him a chance to acclimate to Japan early if he makes the trip. Davis Riley … Like Mullinax, Riley also qualified for the first two invitationals of the 2022-23 season for the first time. If anything, no matter performances leading up to the forthcoming fortnight, the more surprising fact isn’t that each committed to and withdrew early from the Shriners, but that either committed in the first place. RECAP – SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP POWER RANKINGS Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Sahith Theegala MC 2 Harris English MC 3 J.T. Poston MC 4 Davis Thompson T67 5 Sam Burns T30 6 Denny McCarthy T39 7 Emiliano Grillo T5 8 Scott Stallings T13 9 Trey Mullinax MC 10 Taylor Montgomery T9 11 Russell Henley MC 12 Davis Riley T19 13 Byeong Hun An MC 14 Taylor Moore T24 15 Henrik Norlander T24 Wild Card Chris Kirk T30 SLEEPERS Golfer (Bet, if applicable) Result Adam Hadwin (+225 for a Top 20) T45 Aaron Rai (+225 for a Top 20) T61 MJ Daffue T61 Zecheng Dou T54 Lee Hodges T30 GOLFBET Bet: Davis Riley, Wyndham Clark and Taylor Moore – All the Make the Cut (+180) Result: Riley (T19), Clark (MC), Moore (T24) BIRTHDAYS AMONG ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE PGA TOUR October 4 … none October 5 … Kelly Kraft (34) October 6 … none October 7 … none October 8 … none October 9 … none October 10 … Charlie Beljan (38) Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org.
Joaquin Niemann … All right, here we go. It doesn’t seem like 10 months ago when he first appeared in this space (for the U.S. Open), but he kept busy in the interim. His whirlwind schedule included redemption at the Latin America Amateur Championship and another victory in a professional event in his native Chile, this time by five strokes four weeks before his first appearance at the Masters that his LAAC victory yielded. Speaking of debuts, the Valero Texas Open marks his first tournament anywhere as a pro. He leaves behind the No. 1 ranking in the World Amateur Golf Ranking at just 19 years of age. Starts at the AT&T Byron Nelson (May 17-20) and Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide (May 31-June 3) are among others to follow. Chris Kirk … A moving target no matter your criteria, he connected for a T8 and T13 at TPC San Antonio in 2015 and 2016, respectively, but bracketed them with a T48 in 2011 and a missed cut last year. The 32-year-old also has registered a trio of top 15s in 2018, the last a 13th-place finish at Bay Hill a month ago, but he finished outside the top 30 in all of his other seven starts. While inconsistency among most touring professionals isn’t unusual, it is surprising that he’s competed the entire season while positioned no better than 150th in the Official World Golf Ranking, especially when you further consider that he’s 41st in strokes gained: tee-to-green, 46th in proximity, 43rd in adjusted scoring and 28th in bogey avoidance. Shawn Stefani … As he has before at the Houston Open, the native Texan delivered in his last start there with a T24. He warmed up the previous week with a T13 in the strong winds at Puntacana. While comfortable in that challenge, he’s also proven to be streaky, so there’s multiple reasons to expect him to sustain form in San Antonio where he’s 3-for-3 since 2015 but still chasing his first top 25. His confidence comes to life on the greens on which he’s 41st in strokes gained: putting this season. Nate Lashley … The 35-year-old has endured the usual challenges facing rookies at this level, but he’s turned it around just enough to warrant some attention in the wind of the Hill Country. After placing T28 at Corales where he prevailed on the Web.com Tour last year, he recorded a career-best T18 in Houston. What’s more, his strength of striping irons matters most in his debut at TPC San Antonio. Currently 49th on the PGA TOUR in greens in regulation and leading the circuit in proximity to the hole. Also T26 in bogey avoidance. Daniel Summerhays … A tournament that has been very, very good to him extended another opportunity in the form of a sponsor exemption this week. Saddled with conditional status this season, playing time has been limited to seven starts. He failed to crack a top 50 in the three cuts he made, but since 2012 at TPC San Antonio, he’s 6-for-6 with three top 10s and a T13.
The top 70 in the FedExCup standings head to Olympia Fields Country Club for the penultimate event of the FedExCup Playoffs. As of Saturday, the field will feature 69 of the TOUR's top 70 players, including two-time FedExCup champions Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Those on the outside looking in will jockey for their spot in the BMW Championship this weekend in THE NORTHERN TRUST at TPC Boston. FIELD NOTES: Woods has committed to the BMW Championship as he looks to make another run at the FedExCup. He is a five-time winner of the BMW Championship, including twice in the FedExCup era. He went on to win the Cup both times that he won the BMW (2007, '09)... The PGA TOUR's latest member of the ‘59' club, Scottie Scheffler, will make his debut at the BMW Championship. Scheffler competed at Olympia Fields in the 2012 Junior Ryder Cup... Dustin Johnson - who nearly shot 59 the same day as Scheffler but ended with a 60 - is also a two-time winner at the BMW Championship. He's looking for more magic this week as he takes a run at his first FedExCup... Justin Thomas leads the FedExCup standings (as of Aug. 22) and not only will defend his BMW Championship title, but is gunning for his second FedExCup in four seasons... Other past BMW Championship winners who will be at Olympia Fields include Marc Leishman (2017), Jason Day (2015), Billy Horschel (2014), and McIlroy (2012)... Justin Rose finished T5 in the 2003 U.S. Open hosted at Olympia Fields, but save for a magical weekend at THE NORTHERN TRUST, he'll fall short of earning a spot to the BMW Championship. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 1,500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Olympia Fields Country Club (North Course), par-70, 7,366 yards. Located about 35 minutes from Chicago, this 36-hole facility has a long history. It hosted the Western Open five times, and is a storied major championship venue. Most recently on the men's side it hosted the 2003 U.S. Open (won by past FedExCup champion Jim Furyk) while the KPMG Women's PGA Championship came to the club in 2017 (Danielle Kang was the winner). Established in 1915, the North Course was designed by Willie Park Jr. It will play as a brute to the best golfers in the world with one par-3 longer than 250 yards and two par-5's (including the opening hole) playing longer than 600 yards. STORYLINES: The BMW Championship marks the final opportunity to earn a spot in the 30-man Playoffs finale at East Lake. This is the second year that the No. 1 seed in the FedExCup standings will start the TOUR Championship at 10 under par and with a two-shot lead before the tournament starts. That No. 1 seed will be determined at the conclusion of the BMW Championship ... Xinjun Zhang, who missed the cut at THE NORTHERN TRUST, will wait to see his fate. He came into the week on the bubble for the BMW Championship, ranked 70th in the FedExCup standings. 72-HOLE RECORD: 261, Marc Leishman (2017). *At Olympia Fields - 272, Jim Furyk (2003) 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Jim Furyk, (2nd round, 2013) *At Olympia Fields - 63, Vijay Singh (2nd round, 2003) LAST TIME: Justin Thomas captured his 10th PGA TOUR title at the 2019 BMW Championship, contested at Medinah Country Club. A six-shot lead early Sunday was reduced to just two as Thomas made the turn, but a birdie on the 72nd hole put a bow on a three-shot victory over Patrick Cantlay. Thomas came into Sunday after firing a tournament-low 61 in the third round and headed into the TOUR Championship as tops in the FedExCup standings. Hideki Matsuyama finished third at 20 under, but still five shots back of Thomas' 25-under winning total. Tony Finau, Jon Rahm, and past FedExCup champion Brandt Snedeker rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 10:10 a.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday, 8:15 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Sunday, 9:15 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m.-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).
