Matsuyama breaks away from field at Masters

On the surface, THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES looks like it would be a tougher week for earnings-based gamers than those of us plugging away at PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. After all, the purse is a meaty $9.25 million. That slots is behind only the four majors, four World Golf Championships and THE PLAYERS. It’s more lucrative than each of the four stops in the FedExCup Playoffs. When your objective is putting dollars on the board instead of FedExCup points, you’re keen on elevating the most reliable talents into position to pounce. At The Club at Nine Bridges, Justin Thomas, Jason Day, Adam Scott and Patrick Reed likely populate your short list in some order. The thinking is simple. You expect them to strap in and chase the $1.665-million first prize. The rub is that THE CJ CUP is a new tournament. Course history doesn’t exist. Expectations for how Nine Bridges will score – or limit red numbers, although this is unlikely – cover the spectrum. In that context, the last thing you want to do is burn a big name. It’s the third tournament of 49. Patience, Jedis. The solution caters to gamers pursuing both measurements. Limit your choices to proven notables who yield as much bang for the buck as they do bridge into next week’s doubleheader. If you’ll buy into that approach, there are two in the field in 78 who sit on the top shelf: Paul Casey and Marc Leishman. Anyone who knocks the Englishman for not winning enough doesn’t play fantasy golf. He’s gold. His form is on point and he flashes a twinkle in his eye when discussing how he maintains consistently strong form. This proves that life really does begin at 40. Leishman, who will celebrate his 34th birthday on Oct. 24, will test his reputation as a star in the wind. It’s a fact that I usually inject into his comment when he crashes the Power Rankings (he’s No. 8 for THE CJ CUP), but it’s so widely understood by now that it’s evolved into a redundancy. The Aussie is also gunning for this third victory of 2017, which will go into the history books as the beginning of his career peak. Right on time. As much as I’m endorsing both for either format, I’m sticking with the guy atop my Power Rankings, Tony Finau. He recorded his only PGA TOUR victory (to date) in his debut and in the wind at the Puerto Rico Open in 2016. Sure, the field in South Korea is deeper, but all he’s done since is sharpen and adapt. He can perform anywhere. What’s more, if you’re skeptical but open to the shove, Finau also spells Casey and Leishman. Two-man gamers should give Ollie Schniederjans a look. He’s one of my Sleepers, a weekly staple that yielded a third-place finish in the first two events. After Chesson Hadley converted at the Safeway Open, Sung Kang delivered at the CIMB Classic. Speaking of Kang, he’s also a crafty play for two-man gamers in his native South Korea. 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. All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … WGC-HSBC; Waste Management; Houston; St. Jude (two-time defending); Travelers Keegan Bradley … Farmers; Waste Management; Genesis; Houston; Memorial; WGC-Bridgestone Paul Casey … Genesis; Masters; Travelers; WGC-Bridgestone; Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship Jason Day … Sentry; Farmers; Pebble Beach; Arnold Palmer; WGC-Match Play; Masters; PLAYERS; U.S. Open; Canadian; WGC-Bridgestone; THE NORTHERN TRUST; Dell Technologies Tony Finau … Farmers; Valero; Memorial; Greenbrier; Canadian Branden Grace … Heritage; Valero; U.S. Open; WGC-Bridgestone Brian Harman … Sony; CareerBuilder; Arnold Palmer; DEAN & DELUCA; John Deere Russell Henley … RSM; Sony; Houston; Greenbrier J.B. Holmes … Farmers; Waste Management; Pebble Beach; Genesis; Houston; Wells Fargo; Greenbrier Charles Howell III … Shriners; Mayakoba; RSM; Sony; CareerBuilder; Farmers; Valspar; Houston Marc Leishman … WGC-HSBC; Sony; Arnold Palmer (defending); DEAN & DELUCA; Memorial; Travelers; Open Championship Jamie Lovemark … RSM; Sony; Arnold Palmer Graeme McDowell … Mayakoba; RSM; Pebble Beach; Honda; WGC-Bridgestone Kevin Na … Shriners; Waste Management; Valspar; Arnold Palmer; Heritage; Memorial; John Deere; Wyndham; THE NORTHERN TRUST Pat Perez … Mayakoba (defending); Sony; Farmers; Pebble Beach; Houston; Heritage; Valero Patrick Reed … WGC-HSBC; Sentry; Pebble Beach; Valspar; Travelers; Wyndham; THE NORTHERN TRUST; Dell Technologies Charl Schwartzel … Valspar; Memorial; U.S. Open; Open Championship; WGC-Bridgestone Adam Scott … WGC-HSBC; Genesis; Honda; Arnold Palmer; Masters; PLAYERS; U.S. Open; Open Championship; WGC-Bridgestone; Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship Justin Thomas … Sentry (defending); Sony (defending); Genesis; WGC-Mexico; Valspar; Wells Fargo; Dell Technologies (defending); TOUR Championship Gary Woodland … Sony; Farmers; Honda; Wells Fargo; Barracuda; Dell Technologies  

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Kiradech Aphibarnrat found an unconventional way to secure a spot in next year’s Masters by withdrawing from an event, cementing his No. 49 world ranking.

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World Golf Hall of Fame will welcome its next class of inductees on March 9, 2022 during the week of THE PLAYERS Championship. The class includes competitors Tiger Woods and Susie Maxwell Berning along with contributors Tim Finchem and the late Marion Hollins. The Induction Class was announced earlier this year with the ceremony originally scheduled to take place in 2021. "Given the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, moving the ceremony back a year will give us a better opportunity to properly recognize and honor this important class," said Greg McLaughlin, chief executive officer of the World Golf Foundation. "We look forward to shining a light on their achievements and inspiring future golfers around the world through this ceremony and celebration." The inductees, who now will be recognized as the Class of 2022, will be enshrined at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, as part of the activities surrounding THE PLAYERS, the PGA TOUR's flagship event. A full schedule of Hall of Fame events surrounding the Class of 2022 Induction Ceremony will be released in the coming months. Additional information on the Class of 2022 is featured below. To learn more about the World Golf Hall of Fame, the Class of 2022 and our existing members visit www.worldgolfhalloffame.org. World Golf Hall of Fame - Class of 2022 Tiger Woods has won 93 worldwide events including a record-tying 82 on the PGA TOUR. He's a 15-time Major Champion and a three-time winner of the career Grand Slam. Woods completed the "Tiger Slam" in 2000-01 when he became the first golfer since Bobby Jones to hold all four major championship titles at the same time. A two-time champion of THE PLAYERS and the first two-time winner of the FedExCup, Woods has competed on eight Ryder Cup and nine Presidents Cup teams which includes when he served as a playing captain of the victorious U.S. Presidents Cup Team in 2019. He is an 11-time PGA TOUR Player of the Year winner and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019 following his fifth career victory at the Masters. Four-time Major Champion Susie Maxwell Berning began playing golf at the age of 15 and won three-straight Oklahoma State High School Golf Championships. She was the first female to be offered a golf scholarship from Oklahoma City University and played on the men's team. After becoming an LPGA professional in 1964, she earned the Rookie of the Year title and went on to win 11 times including an impressive four Majors - the 1965 Women's Western Open and the U.S. Women's Open three times in 1968, 1972 and 1973 - all while balancing family life as a mother. Under Tim Finchem's 22-year tenure as the PGA TOUR Commissioner from 1994 through 2016, prize money skyrocketed, moving from under $100 million on three tours in 1994 to more than $400 million on six tours when he retired in 2017. He created signature events in today's game, including the FedExCup and the FedExCup Playoffs, the Presidents Cup and the World Golf Championships. His impact expanded beyond the PGA TOUR as he left his mark on the global game, spearheading efforts to coordinate the bid for golf's return to the Olympics, which became a reality in the 2016 Games after a 112-year absence. He also worked to ensure giving back was part of the fabric of the PGA TOUR's business model and was instrumental in founding the First Tee in 1997. Marion Hollins, one of the only female golf course developers in history, was a visionary golf course architect and pioneer of the game. Hollins won the 1921 United States Amateur and was captain of the first American Curtis Cup team in 1932. Her influence on the game stretched beyond the fairways of competitive play. One of history's few female golf course developers, she took a lead role in developing the Monterey Peninsula into a golf mecca, which is now home to some of the biggest tournaments in play.

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