Stephen Gallacher joins OCEANTEE for beach clean at Genesis Scottish Open

PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO If you ever wondered how many of you aren’t paying attention, the answer might be 5.7 percent. That’s Phil Mickelson’s ownership percentage at the U.S. Open. It ranks 19th-most overall. Of course, he was a threat to withdraw before the tournament started, and that’s what happened on Thursday morning. Gamers who rostered the lefty won’t be charged a start because he pulled out before his tee time, but that’s superfluous in the context of PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO since Segment 3 concludes at next week’s Travelers Championship. The more relevant and potential self-inflicted damage rests in the fact that the U.S. Open cut is arguably the toughest in golf. Only the low 60 and ties play the final two rounds, which means that as many as 96 will be done after 36 holes. So, even if Mickelson was stowed away on 100 percent of the benches of the 5.7 percent on board, this is the last tournament in which you want to play with fire. This is especially poignant in a tournament when only actual scoring and bonus points are measured. It presents the opportunity to be aggressive instead of relying on strategy when ShotLink is turned on. In other words, those gamers would have needed Mickelson not only to play but to contend to pay off the risk. Among the dignitaries who aren’t represented below, Paul Casey ranks 16th at 6.3 percent, Henrik Stenson is 17th at 6.1 percent, Brooks Koepka slots 18th at 5.8 percent and FedEx St. Jude Classic winner Daniel Berger checks in at 21st at 5.0 percent. NOTE: Rob’s Rating refers to where our Fantasy Insider slotted a golfer in his Power Rankings. Golfers in the Power Rankings and outside the top 10 in most owned PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO It’s been 28 years since Curtis Strange was the last to successfully defend a U.S. Open title, but that drought didn’t deter 21.5 percent of you from pouring your faith into Dustin Johnson at Erin Hills. Before you rush to defend DJ’s chances this week, consider that since Tiger Woods won his first of three U.S. Opens in 2000, he’s the only champion to finish inside the top 10 in his title defense. His T6 in 2009 is best among 11 of the 16 who survived the cut as the defending champion. Of course, even if Johnson repeats, he may eventually outscore himself in the FedExCup Playoffs when points are quadrupled. So, gamers invested this week pretty much need him to defend. As the fantasy columnist for the website, I know that I have influence on the decisions gamers make. That includes when you disagree, which also achieves the objective of making a decision. While I never pretend to manipulate thinking or go into any tournament with expectations that even one gamer will be impacted, I can’t help but wonder if my unilateral devotion to Rickie Fowler at the U.S. Open swayed many of you into plugging him in. Note that Fowler slots three clicks ahead of Rory McIlroy in ownership percentage. Before reviewing the data, I expect McIlroy to rank second behind DJ, but that he’s behind Fowler at all is one of the most surprising takeaways of the season. And so far, so good, too! Fowler opened with a bogey-free, 7-under 65 to assume the clubhouse lead. Notables outside the top 10 include Louis Oosthuizen (12th, 2.2 percent), Hideki Matsuyama (13th, 1.8 percent), Henrik Stenson (17th, 1.2 percent), Brooks Koepka (21st, 0.9 percent) and Tommy Fleetwood (one gamer). Phil Mickelson ranks 24th at 0.7 percent. Because he withdrew before his tee time in the opening round, he will remain available to the gamers who thought that the risk was worth it but are instead swallowing a zero.

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Rookie Cook increases lead to 3 at RSM Classic

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NASSAU, Bahamas — The latest comeback by Tiger Woods, this one following a 10-month absence from a fourth back surgery in three years, was sure to cause some disruption in the workforce with the weekday television coverage. That included the commissioner’s office at the PGA TOUR. “I would consider myself to be among the highly distracted as Tiger played his first round,” Jay Monahan said Tuesday. Monahan was at the Hero World Challenge the day before it began and stayed for the pro-am dinner, where he said Woods spoke from the heart about his foundation, thanked the other 17 players for coming and reminded them they had a chance to compete against a player at No. 1,199 in the world ranking. “That broke up the room,” Monahan said with a laugh. Indeed, it’s rare for a player to tie for ninth and move up 531 spots in the world ranking — Woods now is all the way up to No. 668 — but such were the circumstances. The field featured eight of the top 10 in the world, and it included one guy who had earned ranking points at only two tournaments over the last two years. There’s no way to go but up. That’s what Monahan took away from the holiday exhibition, only he wasn’t talking about the world ranking. “We had such a strong year with great, young players stepping forward,” he said. “You add Tiger back in the mix, and we all go away from it with a lot of excitement.” How much Woods is in the mix remains to be seen, although this was as strong as he has looked in four years. Next up is figuring out a schedule that Woods said would be geared around the four majors. He hasn’t played all four since 2015, and he hasn’t made the cut in all of them since 2013. Most of the young players at Albany Golf Club — Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Daniel Berger — know more about the legend of Woods than what it’s like to have him at tournaments. Thomas got a taste of it. He is the FedExCup champion and PGA TOUR Player of the Year after winning five times, including his first major at the PGA Championship. He started the new season by winning the CJ Cup in South Korea. And when he sat down for a news conference, his first six questions were about Woods. Thomas was paired with Woods for the first and final rounds, and while Woods had the largest gallery, there was rarely more than about 250 fans. It’s the Bahamas. So when Thomas was asked if felt the effect of Woods on the golf course or in his news conference, he smiled. “I would say more of the fact that I just won the FedExCup, Player of the Year, and all I get asked about is Tiger Woods,” he said. Thomas was not the least bit irritated, even though this was the 10th out 12 consecutive questions he fielded about Woods on that day. “I thought it was bad the questions I got asked about Jordan,” Thomas said. Golf wasn’t suffering without Woods, not inside the ropes. Dating to when Woods had his first back surgery, Rory McIlroy won two majors in 2014; Spieth got halfway to the calendar Grand Slam in 2015; Dustin Johnson fulfilled his potential with his first major in 2016 and was voted player of the year. And this year brought the emergence of the 24-year-old Thomas. None can draw attention to golf like Woods — not individually, maybe not collectively. That’s no surprise. “The keen golf fans will know Tiger moved the needle and brought people in that might be sports fans, but not golf fans,” Henrik Stenson said. “But everyone who follows golf closely, I don’t think they’ve been home thinking, ‘Oh, this is not exciting anymore,’ when all the guys at the top have been winning. It’s been a healthy couple of years, even though he’s not been on the scene. “I don’t think he can make it less good, having the old Tiger back and trying to charge through the field,” Stenson said. “It would make it even more exciting.” There’s also the danger, especially in today’s social media climate, to gush so much over Woods that it seems no one else is playing and tournaments that Woods doesn’t play are not worth watching. This is nothing new. The PGA TOUR has been facing questions like this for 20 years. Monahan sees only an upside now. “We have such a deep bench of young, international players, combined with a great group of veterans. All have accomplished a lot in their own right, week in and week out. The story lines will be strong,” Monahan said. “You take a strong PGA TOUR and just make it stronger. And it doesn’t just apply when Tiger is playing. The fact he’s back is bringing more attention, more eyeballs, and that’s going to benefit everyone. “It’s great to be back in that situation.”

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