Wes Roach leads Palmetto Championship at Congaree

Suffice it to say that Padraig Harrington’s victory in the 2008 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale has stood the test of time even though it was challenged immediately. It was the first major that Tiger Woods missed as a professional (due to reconstructive surgery on his left knee). Of course, Woods had just won the U.S. Open and with an injured leg, so a common narrative was that Harrington’s title deserved an asterisk. Never mind that the Irishman successfully defended his 2007 victory during which Woods competed. Careful also not to be lost to manipulated memory is that Royal Birkdale was a bona fide beast. The par 70 averaged 74.869 for the week. It’s remained the hardest course in relation to par of any on the PGA TOUR since, and it’s back to host the 146th Open Championship. More on the test beneath the ranking. A Texan in the wind. First start since exhilarating finish at TPC River Highlands. Perfect in four Opens with a T4 in 2015. Second in adjusted scoring, sixth in bogey avoidance. Among notables axed at Erin Hills, the FedExCup points leader hasn’t slumped in a long time. Perfect at The Open since 2010 with five top 15s. Fifth in bogey avoidance. The Masters champ has been off since a T2 at the BMW International Open. Two seconds and another eight top 10s in The Open, including in each of the last three years. Struts in with top 10s in four of last five starts to extend form dating back much further. Leads TOUR in adjusted scoring. Ninth in both scrambling and bogey avoidance. His T4 as an amateur in 1998 at Royal Birkdale remains his best finish in 15 starts in this major. T4 in his last start at the Irish Open. Five top-four finishes worldwide in 2017. Ended a cooling with a co-runner-up at Erin Hills, and then warmed for Royal Birkdale with a T14 at the Irish Open. Eighth on TOUR in GIR and 17th in scrambling. Second in all-time earnings among non-winners (Garcia). Connected top 10s in The Open from 2012-2015. T16 at Royal Birkdale in 2008. Co-leads TOUR in par-3 scoring. Rested since U.S. Open breakthrough. No doubt brimming with confidence; back where he belongs on the stage. European experience is invaluable. Superb record in majors. Took last week off after lapping the field in Ireland. Will win majors, of course, but even he needs experience in The Open. It’s his only weakness. Placed T59 in his debut last year. Winless since lifting the Claret Jug at Muirfield in 2013, but came close in the phenomenal finish among 40-somethings last year. Strong form throughout 2017. If he has even an average week putting, he’ll be right there given the premium on ball-striking. Top 15s in The Open Championship in 2013 and 2014. Just two top 25s in 12 appearances (both were top 15s), but he’s in a groove right now. Three top 10s and another two top 20s in last five starts. Low ball flight is his weapon. Last year’s title fulfilled the long-range possibilities in this event in which he logged three top threes previously, including a T3 at Royal Birkdale in 2008. It’s kismet for the local. Since the U.S. Open, he’s gone 4th-T5-Win-T10. Leads Race to Dubai standings. Twelfth on European Tour in fairways hit, second in GIR. The latest winner on the European Tour happens to still be chasing his first top 20 in The Open. This is his sixth start. Leads PGA TOUR in strokes gained: putting. Consistently lurking for the last 12 months. Since last year’s T22 at Royal Troon, he’s registered 12 top 20s worldwide. T9 (U.S. Open) and T14 (Travelers) in last two. The Englishman has been a surprising non-factor in most of his 14 appearances, but he placed T7 here in 2008. Eight top 25s in last 10 starts. T3 on TOUR in bogey avoidance. He’s thriving in every role right now and it shows on his scorecards. Solo fourth at Royal Troon last year was a career best. Moxie trumps length at Royal Birkdale. Often under some radars, but never should be. Top 20s in five Open Championships since 2010. Maximizes limited scoring opportunities with confident putting. Converging trends don’t last nine years, but it doesn’t hurt that he’s the last winner here. Since returning from injured elbow, he’s 3-for-3 with T4 last week in Scotland. Power Rankings: The Open Championship RANK PLAYER COMMENT Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will include Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Justin Thomas, Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters among the many notables. The first matter of business when sizing up any Open Championship and its venue is the weather. While it can change noticeably hour to hour (and usually more frequently), this week’s forecast is commanded by prevailing breezes off the Irish Sea due west of the course. Gradually rising daytime high temperatures will climb into the 60s. The greatest threat for rain exists on Friday and Saturday, but it can’t be ruled out at any time. The constant of strong winds will test the patience and reveal who has the mettle to overcome unlike anywhere else, but it’s worth noting that the forecast in advance of the 2008 edition was more favorable. Yet, scoring averages by round ranged from 73.78 (second round) to 75.88 (first round). For the week, the field hit an average of 48.48 percent of the greens in regulation. That’s the lowest measurement on any course since 2004. The birdie-or-better percentage, which calculates how many par breakers are converted after hitting greens in regulation, was just 18.85. That clip is the lowest recorded on any course since. This meant that the field averaged 8.72 greens in regulation per round and buried just 1.64 par breakers after lining up those opportunities. Harrington ranked T30 in GIR but second in par breakers with two eagles and 11 birdies. His 3-over 283 is the highest winning score in relation to par since the carnage at Carnoustie in 1999 when Paul Lawrie emerged from a playoff after finishing regulation in 6-over 290. Adding to the perspective at Royal Birkdale in 2008, 10-over 290 was good for fifth place even though the 36-hole cut fell at 9-over 149. Royal Birkdale tips at a modest 7,156 yards, so length off the tee is all but irrelevant. This will play like a traditional U.S. Open at which finding fairways and salvaging pars are of considerable value, not to mention experience. Both of the par 5s are on the inward side (Nos. 15 and 17) of the links course that lays out like a parkland track. The Confidence Factor on Tuesday will expand on how recent winners have captured the Claret Jug, which statistics should identify this week’s champion, notable experience in this major and the results of the 38 golfers in this week’s field who teed it up here in 2008. ROB BOLTON’S WRITING SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Columnist Rob Bolton will be previewing both The Open Championship and Barbasol Championship. Look for the following columns this week: MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings (The Open) TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Barbasol), Sleepers (The Open), The Confidence Factor (The Open), Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done (The Open), One & Done (Barbasol) THURSDAY: Ownership Percentages in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf and One & Done presented by SERVPRO * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – It was an incredible performance. The largest margin of victory in the modern Ryder Cup. And so the U.S. Team should celebrate their efforts long into the night and beyond. But they’re not truly great. Not yet. History may very well one day anoint this the greatest U.S. Ryder Cup team we’ve ever seen. It certainly has the makings of it. Captain Steve Stricker even suggested it was. But those throwing the bold new wave superlatives should slow their roll. There is still an asterisk attached to the youthful squad who produced the 19-9 rout of Europe at Whistling Straits. RELATED: Match recaps from Sunday | Inside the equipment of U.S. Team Stricker’s 12-man team sported eight players under 30 and six Ryder Cup rookies. Their average world ranking came in at an incredible 8.9. But if they want to truly be considered an epic team, they have to do the job on European soil. The simple fact is the U.S. haven’t won away from home since 1993. When they get to Rome in 2023, it will have been 30 years since an American team has pulled that off. After the celebrations die down in Wisconsin the planning should begin again. We’ve seen this movie before. After a 17-11 win at Hazeltine in 2016 the talk of a changing of the guard was the U.S. narrative but the 2018 team who went to Paris were humbled 17.5-10.5 by Thomas Bjorn’s European squad. Until the U.S. can match what Europe did in 2012 and 2004 – win away from home – they are just part of a predictable two-year cycle. “This is a start to a new generation. We are going to be doing some incredible things moving forward,” rookie Bryson DeChambeau stated confidently afterwards. But while his teammates reveled in the large win, Jordan Spieth, at just 28, showed the wisdom of a veteran. Spieth was the second most experienced player on the U.S. side playing in his fourth Ryder Cup. Twice he’s felt the heavy end of losses in Europe and as such he was quick to make it clear this side was not done. “This is unfinished business. We needed to win this one and it was a massive steppingstone for this team and the group that we have here that have really known each other since almost back to grade school,” Spieth said after the victory. “It’s one thing to win it over here and it is a lot easier to do so but it is harder to win over there. If we play like we did this week, the score will look the same over there in a couple years, and that’s what we’re here for.” It’s rare to see the same side return in back-to-back Cups. Two years is a long time in golf. Injuries, form lapses, all sorts of things can change who might be on the team in Rome. Prior to the that the U.S. will take on the Internationals in 2022 at Quail Hollow in the Presidents Cup. But this squad could very well stay unchanged. They might have had just 11 Ryder Cup appearances between them leading into the contest, but they weren’t without significant pedigree. The “grandfather” of the team – 37-year-old Dustin Johnson became just the fourth U.S. player to go 5-0-0 in a Ryder Cup. He joined Arnold Palmer (1967), Gardner Dickinson (1967) and Larry Nelson (1979). A former FedExCup champion, two-time major winner and 24-time PGA TOUR winner – Johnson has plenty more to offer. Under the old man are multiple major winners Spieth, Brooks Koepka and Collin Morikawa. Justin Thomas, and Bryson DeChambeau also have a major win to their name. Patrick Cantlay, Spieth and Thomas join Johnson as FedExCup winners. Thomas has a PLAYERS win. Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau, Harris English and Daniel Berger are also multiple time TOUR winners. Schauffele is the Olympic Gold medalist. Only Scottie Scheffler, the 2019-20 PGA TOUR rookie of the year, is without a win. “We had a lot of young guys and rookies in the Ryder Cup, but it didn’t feel like they were,” Johnson said. “They have all played well in such big moments and big tournaments that it didn’t feel like they were rookies. And they didn’t play like they were rookies. They stepped up to the plate and they all wanted it.” Stricker felt blessed to be handed the reins of the side. He joined Arnold Palmer as the only two to win a Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup as Captain on their first attempts. And he did it in his home state. He presided over a 19-11 rout at Liberty National in 2017 and created history with the 19-9 win amongst his fellow cheese heads. “I’ve said it a number of times all week long about how these guys came together … how they started two weeks ago when they showed up for the practice round. I could see the camaraderie then. I could see the willingness to prepare and get ready for this event prior to us even arriving,” Stricker said. “It’s a special group of guys. I could see it in these guys’ eyes last night when we left the course, after just saying a couple words, I could tell they felt like there was unfinished business, and they came out and they were ready today. They wanted more.” Stricker’s secret is staying out of the way and creating an environment for the players to thrive. He got rid of half the hoopla usually associated with the lead up and didn’t call in any motivational speakers and create any big video montages. He let players rest, take naps, even sleep in. And his players responded in kind by dominating. But the team wasn’t without an old-fashioned rev up. That came via the injured Tiger Woods. Unable to attend as a vice-captain as he recovers from his car accident in February, Woods remained an honorary part of the crew via text messages with captains and players. His message on Cup eve resonated all week. Without giving up the full details, the team confirmed the vibe was to not only win, but to dominate. To dispel the narrative that Europe come together better. To step on their throat. To ram home how special this group could be. “We were told by a member of the team today that the record was 19 points and that we should go out and try to get 19 points, and that’s what we did,” Spieth confirmed. Woods is a Captain in waiting. He was already in charge at the 2019 Presidents Cup. As to who will hold that position in Rome is yet to be decided. The succession plan put in place would indicate either Woods, Phil Mickelson or Zach Johnson is next in line if Stricker doesn’t reload. It will be their job to lead the team to true golfing immortality. And so we must turn to Europe who will try to thwart that once more. Where to from here for Padraig Harrington’s squad who were blown off the park? Can they just expect to be able to repeat the home field narrative or do we face a serious crossroads? They too may have a changing of the guard. Lee Westwood is 48. Ian Poulter 45, Paul Casey 44 and Sergio Garcia 41. Just Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick are in their 20s. Rory McIlroy has sensed the change in attitude from the U.S. and expects his side will need to lift. Emotional after a 1-3-0 week where he needed to salvage a Singles win to contribute at all, McIlroy is under no illusions of the job ahead. “It seems the way the Ryder Cup is going, the home team certainly has an advantage every time that we play this thing. That was apparent in Paris a couple years ago and it was pretty apparent this week, as well,” McIlroy said. “But there’s phenomenal talent on that team. The most important thing for the U.S. Team is a lot of young guys that are great players have bought into the Ryder Cup. That was probably missing in previous generations. “And having guys like that on the team they are going to be formidable opposition from now until I’m probably not playing Ryder Cups, whenever that is, in hopefully 20 years’ time.” Captain Harrington refused to shift blame to his players and their commitment. And he’s not convinced a clean out of the old generation is needed. They were just beaten by a red-hot team in red-hot form. He reminded his side that to earn glorious moments you have to put your head out there … and sometimes you get your head knocked off. “There are young guys in this team that will be the heart of the team going forward. Jon Rahm, clearly; Viktor, these are young guys that will be there for a long time. But there’s (also) a good heart to the team elsewhere,” Harrington stressed. “Most of these guys were winning in Paris, so there’s still quite a winning mentality there going forward. Everybody keeps going on about the experienced guys, but there is a really solid heart on this team of players who are still coming into the peak of their careers. “Yes, we would look to young guys coming in over the future, but the heart of this team will be here for a few more years for sure. We should see some strength going forward.” Harrington wouldn’t throw up any young names but some of those in their 20s that might factor include Victor Perez, Robert MacIntyre, Thomas Detry, Rasmus Hojgaard, Sam Horsfield, Callum Shinkwin and Aaron Rai. The veterans weren’t prepared to throw in the towel yet and Garcia was brilliant, going 3-0 with Rahm as a partnership. But Westwood was realistic. He’s actually a Captaincy candidate for Rome and showed guts on Sunday to rally from 2-down with four to play to win his match 1-up. With his son on his bag the Englishman took a moment to reflect on his now record 11 Ryder Cup appearances. The tears came as he wrestled the desire to keep fighting as a player, against the reality of his age. “The future is bright for European golfers. Shane (Lowry), Viktor (Hovland), Bernd (Wiesberger), Jon (Rahm) … watching him and Sergio is like watching Seve and Ollie. I’m 49 in April. The next time a Ryder Cup comes around I’ll be 50. It’s a bit old to be playing Ryder Cup isn’t it,” Westwood said with the emotion of the moment painted on his face. “People keep coming up and saying are you going to be the captain in Rome … and I’d prefer to play, but father time is not kind is he. Being Ryder Cup Captain is a massive honor and it’s something I want to do. I’m sure Padraig has enjoyed it even though it’s not gone right for him this week. It’s going to be some time in the future but I don’t want to let go yet; I still feel competitive.” To a man, the Europeans vowed the loss would make them hungrier. Stronger. More determined to reverse the result in Rome. McIlroy, who between the last two Cups matured into a father, knows the torch is his to be the leader he was off course, but also on the course come Italy. “I was emotional because it’s a highly charged event and it sucks to lose, it really does,” McIlroy said while describing the moment he broke down in tears on live television. “And listening to, “We Are the Champions” out there and those guys celebrating … hopefully I’m on that team in Rome and we have that opportunity. It will make getting that Cup back even sweeter.” His teammates nodded in unison. They won’t go down without a fight. Just 732 sleeps to go …

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