2022 Gifts to Play

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jordan Spieth gets his first shot at completing the career grand slam at this week’s PGA Championship. Check out PGATOUR.COM’s day-by-day coverage from Quail Hollow below. SPIETH’S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP SCORECARD Saturday: Hot streak, tough finish For the first seven holes Saturday, Jordan Spieth continued the frustrating play that has denied him a shot at history. Three bogeys had him free-falling down the leaderboard. But then he finally found the form — specifically, his putting stroke — that he had been seeking all week at Quail Hollow. A birdie from 10 feet at the eighth hole, followed by his longest made putt of the week, from 33-1/2 feet from the fringe at the ninth. Then four consecutive pars followed by three consecutive birdies, including a 23-foot putt at the 16th. His 5-under stretch in those nine holes had him on the verge of climbing inside the top 20 on the leaderboard. But on the final hole, his tee shot found the bunker and his second shot landed in the water. He ultimately suffered a double bogey, leaving him with an even-par 71 and 3 over going into the final round. It’s his best score of the week but even after his hot stretch, he had few illusions of becoming a contender. “If I had birdied one of the last two and I’m at even, it’s unrealistic,” Spieth said. “My goal was to try to work our way into a backdoor Top-10. Kind of stinks because it sets me back there. 18 is just a ridiculously hard hole today.” He’ll go into Sunday hoping to build some momentum going into the FedExCup Playoffs. Two months ago, he was out of contention at the U.S. Open but shot a final-round confidence-boosting 69. He said it was a catalyst to his wins at the Travelers Championship and The Open Championship. “Obviously any week you don’t have a chance to win, you’ve fallen short of where you would like to be,” Spieth said. “Disappointing would have been going home after two days. I think I saw some highlights today. “Like Michael [Greller, his caddie] was saying, we could break the season into quarters. This is the start of the fourth quarter. [Entering the] U.S. Open Sunday, I was out of it, but I gathered a little something off that Sunday round that led to two wins and two tournaments after that including a major. “Just one round like that can do that. That’s what I’m looking to do here.” — Mike McAllister Friday: Essentially out of it Jordan Spieth will start the weekend 11 shots behind co-leaders Kevin Kisner and Hideki Matsuyama. That means he has lots of ground to make up. Does he have a target score in mind for Saturday’s third round at Oak Hill? “54 would be nice,â€� he joked. Consider that Spieth’s way of saying he’ll likely have to wait another year to complete the career Grand Slam. His 2-over 73 on Friday leaves him at 3 over through two rounds and a tie for 46th, with some players yet to complete their second rounds. The good news for Spieth was that he did finish his round. The horn suspended play for darkness just before his chip shot onto the 18th green. Opting to finish the hole, Spieth chipped onto the green, then two-putted from 11 feet for bogey. It was that kind of day. Spieth posted just one birdie – he has just four through the first 36 holes – and never built any momentum. Instead, it was mostly just trying to scramble out of trouble. After a rain delay Friday afternoon softened the course and created prime scoring conditions, Spieth played even par once play resumed. He failed to birdie the drivable par-4 14th or the par-5 15th, missing a birdie putt from just inside 10 feet. He said he bailed out on both tee shots. He also thought 16 and 18 were playing easier, but he failed to take advantage of those opportunities others did, and consequently, he gave up ground quickly on the leaderboard. “It was more gettable after the rain delay than it was before, no doubt about it,â€� Spieth said. “I played even par after the delay and that’s not very good in my opinion on those holes that we had left.â€� So now his best chance is a Hail Mary on the weekend. “I kind of accept the fact that I’m essentially out of this tournament pending some form of crazy stuff the next couple of days,â€� he said. “I’m sure going to give it a try.”  — Mike McAllister Thursday: Putting struggles Jordan Spieth has displayed a new skill set in 2017, and it’s one that we still have to get accustomed to. His ballstriking has been the key to his success, while his trusty putter has failed to live up to his standards. That was the case again Thursday as Spieth began his pursuit of the career Grand Slam at Quail Hollow. This is a course that requires players to drive the ball well, and Spieth leaned heavily on the longest club in his bag. It was the shortest one that frustrated him, though. “It was just the putter,â€� Spieth said after a first-round 72 that left him five shots behind leader Thorbjorn Olesen. Spieth had 32 putts Thursday, and didn’t make a putt longer than 5 feet. – Sean Martin Click here for the full story on Spieth’s opening round Preview: No added pressure Jordan Spieth enters the season’s final major with a rare opportunity to wipe out one of Tiger’s records. Having just turned 24 in late July, Spieth is about six months younger than Woods was at St. Andrews. Should Spieth win at Quail Hollow, he would eclipse Tiger as the youngest player to complete the career slam. Theoretically, Spieth will have many opportunities – two decades? three decades? – to finish the career slam. But he’ll have only one shot to do it faster than Woods did. “He can accomplish something that has to rank up there with the greatest records in the history of this 500-year-old sport,â€� CBS golf anchor Jim Nantz said. “It’s a huge story. … Golf could be on the precipice of one of the greatest achievements.â€� Thanks to his win at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale – along with his Masters and U.S. Open wins in his magical 2015 season — Spieth has put himself in this position. He knows the spotlight will be heavily focused on him at Quail Hollow. He calls it “noise.â€� Whether he’s feeling any additional pressure, however, remains to be seen. His preparation will not deviate just because it’s his first slam opportunity. His goal of winning majors – “The four events that we try to peak and think most about at the beginning of every year,â€� he said – has not changed. — Mike McAllister Click here for the full story on Spieth’s grand slam bid

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The PGA TOUR turns to the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club, a par 72 measuring 7,370 yards with poa annua-bentgrass greens in Detroit, Michigan this week. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1M Pitch + Putt [$250K to 1st] STRATEGY With just a few weeks until the FedExCup (FEC) playoffs begin, golfers like defending FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay ($10,700), plus Will Zalatoris ($10,400), Tony Finau ($10,600), Cameron Young ($10,100) and Adam Scott ($9,300) are making their way to Detroit Golf Club to either bolster their points, or pick up some much needed ones. The scorecard will have the full complement of par 5s and par 3s along with an even balance of par 4s ranging from 372 yards (No. 8) to 461 yards (No. 6). Past winners in the field include Cameron Davis ($9,700) and Nate Lashley ($6,800). Detroit Golf Club features two courses (North and South), and the tournament will feature 17 holes from the North and one from the South (third hole). The golfers should play this as a typical Donald Ross design with precise approach shots into contoured greens while navigating tree-lined fairways. In the past the course has yielded higher-than-average returns in driving distance; greens in regulation and fairways hit, meaning players should need to score at an impressive rate. Last season the course was gettable, ranking as the fourth easiest in scoring relative to par with the sixth-most eagles and third-most birdies on TOUR. The course will have 87 bunkers with just one water hazard that will only come into play on one hole, much different than last week. Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green, putting and birdies or better gained should be the key statistics we should focus on when building our lineups. The guys should be able to score on the par 5s, but we should also focus on those who play short par 4s particularly well with four under 400 yards on the scorecard. Ross courses highlight those who hit it well into the back-to-front pitched greens, but those who struggle must be solid around the greens that feature runoff areas. Over the last few years, the winning daily fantasy golf lineups have all used the entire $50,000 salary. Also, only two of the 18 (six golfers per lineup, over three years) total golfers were above $10,000, and 22% (4) were at $6,900 and below. Don’t be too cautious about rostering high-sentiment golfers this week. More than half of the golfers in the winning lineups were in the double digits for ownership. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Cameron Young ($10,100) Bryson DeChambeau was rostered in 27.7% of lineups the year he won (2020) and was in the winning Fantasy Golf Millionaire lineup. Young is fourth in the field in driving distance and first in birdie or better gained over the past two dozen rounds. He also possesses one of the best putters on TOUR when he’s hot. Runner-up finishes at The Open Championship, the Wells Fargo Championship and the Genesis Invitational this season prove Young is on the precipice of victory. His ownership may be the highest in the field with how well he sets up at Detroit Golf Club, but he’s too good to pass up. Maverick McNealy ($8,800) There are good and bad outliers, and McNealy’s final two holes on Sunday last week fall into the bad bucket. A bogey-quadruple bogey finish erased four birdies through seven holes on his inward-nine. McNealy totaled 15 birdies and two eagles last week, but he couldn’t stay away from hitting it into hazards. He’s played a lot of golf over the previous two months, so fatigue may be a factor. Still, he sets up nicely and tends to play solid golf in this part of the TOUR schedule. We should also be heading back to Davis Riley ($8,600) this week. Nothing materialized last week, even though he was coming in with great form. Like Young, Davis has been trending all season, and it’s only a matter of time before he wins. Mark Hubbard ($8,000) A WD last week may keep people from rostering Hubbard as much as they should this week. Ranking 21st in birdies or better gained, fifth in approach and fifth in putting over the last 12 rounds is what you want in a golfer who doesn’t hit it a mile off the tee. He’s made six straight cuts and has finishes of third at the Barbasol Championship, 13th at the John Deere Classic, 15th at the Honda Classic and 16th at the Fortinet Championship. He’ll be my favorite daily fantasy golf sleeper this week. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1M Pitch + Putt [$250K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests. 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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jason Day may be known for his ability to launch golf balls into orbit, but it’s his performance with the shortest clubs that has him most excited about his game. Day is line to earn his second PGA TOUR win of the season after shooting 67 on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Championship. He made birdie on five of his final 10 holes Saturday to finish 54 holes at 10-under 203 (69-67-67). He’s two strokes ahead of Nick Watney, who’s seeking his first win since 2012. Day has made just three bogeys, the second-fewest in the field, at a demanding Quail Hollow layout despite ranking 52nd in greens in regulation (33 of 54, 61 percent). He leads the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and is 11th in Strokes Gained: Putting. He’s also perfect out of the sand this week, getting up-and-down all 12 times he’s been in a bunker. “It gives you all the confidence in the world sometimes,â€� Day said about his short game. “It doesn’t matter how bad you hit it, you know that in the back of your mind that you’re going to walk off with par.” “I’d much rather have a great short game than be the best ball-striker on the planet.â€� Day leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting this season (+1.386), just as he did during his three-win season of 2016. He fell to 39th in the statistic last season. This is just Day’s third appearance in this event, but he fell in love with the course at last year’s PGA Championship, where he finished ninth despite a quadruple-bogey on the 54th hole. Day loves hard courses, and his short game can help him grind out pars on such tracks. That aspect of his game has been especially important this week as he continues to break in a new set of irons. He won this year’s Farmers Insurance Open with his old set, but switched to new irons at Augusta National because he felt like they were causing his shots to fly too high and with too much spin. He is using a mixed set with TaylorMade’s P790s in the long irons and P730s in the mid- and short-irons. Day also said his desire has returned after going winless last season. He had won nine times in the previous three seasons and reached No. 1 in the world ranking, but the demands of his lofty position in the game and his mother’s cancer diagnosis, led to burn-out. A win would lift Day as high as No. 2 in the FedExCup standings entering THE PLAYERS Championship, which he won two years ago. He’s currently 16th in the standings after his win at Torrey Pines and runner-up at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. His 22nd-place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard is his worst finish in six individual stroke-play events this season. “If you get up and you kind of don’t really want it and don’t have the motivation to improve and get better as a person and as a player, then it’s a real struggle to come out and beat the best players in the world,â€� Day said. “This year I’ve kind of recommitted myself to try to get back to No. 1.â€� WOODS BREAKS PAR Tiger Woods shot 68 on Saturday, his first sub-par round of the week. He will enter the final round in 31st place, nine shots behind Jason Day. Woods made six birdies, but also had three bogeys, including a three-putt on the 18th green. He still gained strokes on the green (+0.55) for the first time this week. “My ball-striking’s been fine. I just haven’t made anything,â€� Woods said as his first PLAYERS Championship since 2015 approaches. He won at TPC Sawgrass in both 2001 and 2013. WISE’S WILD RIDE Aaron Wise made an important save on Saturday’s final hole to keep himself in contention. The rookie chipped in for bogey on 18 after whiffing a ball inside the hazard left of the 18th green. He can be grateful that his bogey wasn’t a bigger number. He shot 70 while playing alongside Peter Malnati in the final group and will start the final round in a four-way tie for third at 7 under par, three shots behind Day. Wise pulled his approach shot to the final green. The ball was on grass, but also inside the hazard line drawn around the creek that runs down the hole’s left side. He was unable to ground his club before attempting his shot from a steep downhill lie. He slid under the ball on his first try. The next one landed on the green, but rolled to the back fringe. He holed his 40-foot chip shot to avert further disaster. NOTABLES Peter Uihlein, who’s playing his first season as a PGA TOUR member, shot 62 to jump 45 spots and into a tie for third place. He’ll start the final round three shots behind Jason Day. Uihlein’s score is the lowest at Quail Hollow since it underwent renovations for last year’s PGA Championship. Click here to read more about his round. Like Uihlein, Phil Mickelson also shot a low round early Saturday after shooting back-to-back 72s. Mickelson made five birdies and an eagle (at the par-5 10th) to shoot his lowest score since a final-round 64 at last year’s Greenbrier Classic. Those are his lowest two scores since his 63 at Royal Troon in the first round of the 2016 Open Championship. “I felt very unfocused the first two days,â€� Mickelson said Saturday. “I didn’t feel like I was really committed to the shots. I didn’t have great focus. I don’t know how else to say it.â€� Mickelson, winner of THE PLAYERS in 2007, is fourth in the FedExCup. He will start Sunday in 10th place, five shots behind Day. Rory McIlroy made a 10-stroke improvement from Friday to Saturday, shooting a 5-under 66 in the third round to move up to T16 entering the final round. The 2016 FedExCup champion still sounded like he was wary about the state of his game, though. “I’m just not that comfortable with anything right now,â€� said McIlroy, who ranks 32nd in the FedExCup. Bryson DeChambeau was 5 over par after the first 21 holes of the Wells Fargo Championship, including a triple-bogey on his third hole. He played the next 33 holes in 12 under par, making 11 birdies, one eagle and one bogey, and now sits in third place. He’s 22nd in the FedExCup after finishing in the top three in two of his past three starts (2nd, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard; T3, RBC Heritage). He will start Sunday three shots off the lead. SUPERLATIVES Longest drive: Bryson DeChambeau and Tom Lovelady both hit 369-yard drives on the par-5 15th holes. DeChambeau made par, while Lovelady made birdie as part of his 72. He’s in 66th place. Longest putt: Michael Thompson holed a 62-foot putt for birdie on the par-3 13th hole as part of his third-round 69. He is in 16th place at 3 under par, seven shots behind Day. Lowest round: Peter Uihlein shot a bogey-free 62 after making seven birdies and an eagle. Starting at No. 4, he played a six-hole stretch in 7 under par. He eagled the par-5 10th hole and made birdies at 14 and 15 before making par on the final three holes. Easiest hole: The 301-yard, par-4 14th hole played to a 3.51 scoring average. There were two eagles and 45 birdies on the hole. Only six players made bogey. Hardest hole: The 494-yard, par-4 finishing hole played to a 4.26 scoring average. There were just six birdies on the hole Saturday. CALL OF THE DAY For play-by-play coverage of Round 4 of the Wells Fargo Championship, listen from 1-6 p.m. ET on PGATOUR.com.

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