Notable PGA Tour players to miss cut at Valero Texas Open include Phil Mickelson

No, it's not a new thing to reward a first-time major champion the option to select where he wants to relocate a World Golf Championships event in which he'll be participating, but given Bryson DeChambeau's unprecedented approach at his craft, it feels like an option necessary to rule out. Before DeChambeau broke through in a major at the 2020 U.S. Open, he prevailed as the individual champion of the 2015 NCAA Men's Championship at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida. For the first time, the 15-year-old course is hosting the PGA TOUR as 72 automatic qualifiers have assembled for the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession. For an explanation of how this came to be, what the field can expect and more, scroll past the extended ranking of projected contenders. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field POWER RANKINGS: WGC-WORKDAY CHAMPIONSHIP Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Joaquin Niemann, Hideki Matsuyama and Jason Day will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday's Fantasy Insider. Just as two of the three Asian Swing tournaments in the fall were moved to sites in the United States due to the challenges caused by the pandemic, the WGC-Workday in Florida serves as a temporary substitute for what was an annual excursion to Mexico City for the WGC-Mexico Championship from 2017-2020. The objective is to return to Mexico in 2022, but the focus right now is continue the tradition of this WGC no matter the stage. The timing of the WGC-Workday serves as an entry or a return for international talent to log four rounds in a no-cut, 72-hole competition, all in advance of THE PLAYERS Championship in two weeks, the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in four weeks, the Masters in six weeks, and so on. The timing of The Concession as host is serendipitous in the context of sports in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays returned to the World Series in 2020 and the Buccaneers just became the first team to win a Super Bowl in their home stadium. Local fans have been spoiled of late! DeChambeau isn't from Tampa - he's a California native - but he's undefeated on this week's host course. Four others in the field also competed in the 2015 NCAA Men's Championships: Thomas Detry (T3), Jon Rahm (T22), Scottie Scheffler (T33) and Xander Schauffele (T45). The Concession is the only collaboration between Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin. Suitably, it's named after Nicklaus' concession of a short putt to the Englishman during the 1969 Ryder Cup that resulted in a tie (and the U.S. retaining the trophy). It's a stock par 72 with 7,474 yards of eye-popping imagery. Set entirely in native Florida landscape, there are over six dozen bunkers across the property. Typical of many Nicklaus designs, there's room to move it off the tee, but course management is as important as precision on approach. TifEagle bermuda greens average just 6,000 square feet, and that's generous in application because of the undulations, segments and a Stimpmeter prep of 12 feet. Typically, with unfamiliar greens that happen to be challenging, ball-strikers tend to hog the final leaderboard, but quick studies with the putter - and you don't qualify for a WGC unless you're that - will mix in. The course should present wonderfully in its debut. The weather forecast is outstanding. A primarily sunny sky will allow daytime highs to reach 80 degrees throughout. Winds will be tame by Florida standards. Even a push out of the north on Thursday shouldn't bother before ever-so-slightly stronger breezes rotate to blow in from the prevailing southerly direction. In addition to 550 FedExCup points and $1.82-million payday, the champion will earn a three-year PGA TOUR membership exemption. Should a non-member win and accept membership, the FedExCup points will not contribute to his membership total this season because it's a WGC. ROB BOLTON'S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM's Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings (WGC-Workday) TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Puerto Rico); Sleepers (WGC-Workday), Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM's Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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Six of the top 10 in the FedExCup roll into 7,392-yard, par-72 Muirfield Village Golf Club. In addition to No. 1 Matt Kuchar, No. 3 Xander Schauffele and No. 4 Rory McIlroy, the Memorial will feature five-time winner Tiger Woods, who is chasing what would be a record-tying 82nd PGA TOUR victory, Phil Mickelson, and Bryson DeChambeau, whose win here a year ago kicked off a stretch of four victories in 12 starts. Justin Thomas, coming off a wrist injury, will make his first start since the Masters Tournament. In all, the Memorial boasts 23 of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings. Related: Watch Tiger exclusively Thursday on PGA TOUR Live | The First Look | Power Rankings THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER Tiger Woods – Can he rebound after missing the cut at the PGA? It wouldn’t exactly be shocking, as the Memorial is one of seven TOUR events he’s won five or more times.  Rickie Fowler – Suffered first missed cut in 22 starts at the Charles Schwab Challenge, now looks to bounce back at Muirfield Village, where he was T8 last year and T2 in 2017. Matt Kuchar – The newly-minted 41-year-old is the FedExCup leader and playing in a high-wattage group (Phil Mickelson, Fowler), but Kuchar is the only one to have won here, in 2013. THE FLYOVER The hardest hole on the course, the 484-yard, par-4 18th hole played to a 4.211 stroke average last year, giving up just 51 birdies compared to more than twice as many bogeys (93), doubles (12) and others (five) combined. Add that it’s the hole players must face with the trophy on the line (sometimes more than once in less than an hour, in the case of playoff winner Bryson DeChambeau last year), and it’s all the more challenging. The hard dogleg right plays downhill off the tee, with trees, rough and a creek awaiting left misses, but right misses aren’t great, either, as Kyle Stanley found when he bowed out of the playoff last year. Uphill approaches are played to a large, two-tiered green protected by four bunkers and surrounded by spectators.     LANDING ZONE Hit the fairway on the 529-yard, par-5 15th hole and you’re in business; the players who found the short grass off the tee last year averaged 4.56 strokes on the hole, helping make it Muirfield’s third easiest hole. Players who missed the fairways off the tee averaged 5.06. The hole plays slightly uphill and is cut through a forest, so the ideal tee shot avoids overhanging trees on either side and crests the top of the hill, opening up the possibility of reaching in two for long hitters. WEATHER CHECK From meteorologist Wade Stettner: “Stormy conditions are forecast on Thursday with rain and thunderstorm chances possible through much of the day. It will not be an all-day washout on Thursday, but there will be threats for rain and thunderstorms in the morning and afternoon. Temperatures will be cooler on Thursday with a high in the middle 70s. Dry weather is expected on Friday with partly cloudy skies and comfortable temperatures. There is a chance for scattered thunderstorms on both Saturday and Sunday.â€� For the latest weather news from Muirfield Village, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK I learned very quickly there’s not a lot to do in South Florida when you can’t golf or fish. BY THE NUMBERS 1 – Number of players to have won the Memorial and the FedExCup in the same year. Woods did it in 2009.  T15 – Local resident Jason Day’s best result, in 2017, in 10 starts at his hometown tournament. It’s his only top-25 finish. 0 – Number of other courses to have hosted the Presidents Cup (2013), Ryder Cup (1987) and Solheim Cup (1998). Muirfield Village also hosted the U.S. Amateur in 1992. SCATTERSHOTS Rankin honored: Judy Rankin, an LPGA winner, a pioneering golf broadcaster, and widely known as one of the nicest people in the game, will be this year’s Memorial honoree in a ceremony planned for Wednesday. Peter Alliss, a broadcasting legend from the other side of the pond (BBC), will also be honored.   Strong international field on tap: In addition to Australia’s Day (who has adopted Columbus as his hometown), the Memorial will feature a deep roster of European players, including Danny Willett, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Alex Noren. Reigning British Amateur champion Jovan Rebula, nephew of Ernie Els, will make his seventh start as a professional. Brothers Carlos and Alvaro Ortiz of Mexico are in the field, too. Alvaro, the younger of the two, won the 2019 Latin America Amateur Championship to earn a spot in the Masters, where he finished T36. He has since turned pro.     Weather adds intrigue: Storms ripped through Ohio and elsewhere earlier this week, and they didn’t spare Muirfield Village. The course has taken a lot of rain and could get more Thursday and this weekend if the forecast is correct, which could put an added premium on distance off the tee. “This one is going to require a lot of good driving,â€� said five-time Memorial champion Tiger Woods. “It’s going to be soft. Guys are going to be aggressive. The ball is not going to be going anywhere.â€� Added Justin Thomas, “When it’s soft like this, it’s going to favor a long hitter.â€�

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JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Troy Merritt isn’t obsessed with his position in the FedExCup and what he needs to advance in the PGA TOUR’s Playoffs. He figures the best solution is good golf, and he delivered his best round of the year Thursday in THE NORTHERN TRUST. Merritt began with a 10-foot par save, followed with a pair of 20-foot birdie putts and took advantage of calm, rain-softened Liberty National by tying the course record with a 9-under 62 for a one-shot lead over Dustin Johnson. It wasn’t a career low — Merritt twice has shot 61 on the PGA TOUR — but it might have been his best round hardly anyone saw. The storm was so fierce on the eve of the FedExCup Playoffs opener that the public was not allowed in until 10 a.m., nearly three hours after the round began. And when the fans arrived, most of them were watching the action — what little there was — two groups behind him with Tiger Woods. Woods, in only his third round since the U.S. Open, made double bogey on the shortest hole on the course, three-putted from 15 feet and had three bogeys from the fairway in a listless round of 75. Along with being 13 shots out of the lead, he was in danger of missing the cut for the first time in the FedExCup Playoffs, which also would jeopardize a return to East Lake for the TOUR Championship. “We all knew it was soft out here with the rain last night,” Woods said. “I knew I had to go get it, post a low one, and didn’t do it. It’s certainly out there. Greens are soft. Fairways are soft. You can play aggressively and not have any real ramifications for playing aggressive.” Johnson ran off four straight birdies near the end of his round for a 63, a good start in a tournament he already has won twice. Kevin Kisner and Jon Rahm were at 64, while the group at 65 included Rory McIlroy and the suddenly hot Webb Simpson, who posted his sixth straight round of 65 or better dating to the final round of the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational two weeks ago. The wind arrived in the afternoon, slowing the onslaught of low scores, with no round better than the 66 by Justin Rose. “Got a bit tricky this afternoon,” Rose said. “I didn’t pay too much attention to this morning’s scores. Saw a scoreboard at one points — 9 (under), 8, 7s, 6s — and I knew it was on. This golf course, if you’re playing well, you can take it on and challenge it. … If you’re not 100 percent on your game, you have to play conservatively.” Merritt is No. 72 in the FedExCup, with the top 70 advancing next week to the BMW Championship at Medinah. Points are quadrupled in the Playoffs. “I know good golf will take care of itself,” he said. “You just try to play the best you can. Obviously, I’ll be watching throughout the weekend, but just getting off to a good start, put that to the back of the mind and try to win a golf tournament.” Johnson has no such worries as the No. 7 seed, though this time of the year means a lot to him only because of past failures. He narrowly lost out on the FedExCup in 2016 when he had a share of the 54-hole lead, shot 73 and still could have won the Cup if anyone but McIlroy had won. McIlroy won in a playoff. Four other times he went to the TOUR Championship among the top five seeds and didn’t get it done. “Absolutely — especially with what they’re paying this year,” he said with a smile, referring to the $15 million payout. “That’s like winning five majors.” His math was a little off, but point taken — his interest level is high, and his game was sharp. Even with a 63, Johnson couldn’t help but recall four birdie putts of inside 10 feet in a five-hole stretch around the turn that didn’t fall. Brooks Koepka, who has won four majors in the last three years, still hasn’t found his groove in the FedExCup. Koepka is the No. 1 seed. In 15 playoffs events, he has managed only two top 10s — his best is sixth place at the TOUR Championship two years ago — and he didn’t get off to a great start at Liberty National with only three birdies in his round of 70. Either way, he’s assured of being in East Lake. That isn’t the case for the likes of Phil Mickelson at No. 34, who opened with a 72. And it’s never been this big of a struggle for Jordan Spieth, who is No. 69 and can’t even bank on next week. He played bogey-free for a 67 in the afternoon. “I don’t like starting where I did this Playoffs, and I don’t plan on ever starting this far down again,” Spieth said before he paused to smile. “Last year I said that, and then I did. But things are improving. Today was a good day.”

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