Scheffler’s PGA Championship win leaves the rest of the golf world playing catch-up

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – News and notes from the third round of THE NORTHERN TRUST, with Jordan Spieth leading Dustin Johnson by three shots after a 6-under 64. Click here for more from Glen Oaks. SPIETH FLIPS THE SWITCH If Jordan Spieth wins Sunday, part of the credit will be a missed 12-foot birdie putt he had in the middle of his second round Friday. Spieth said the missed putt on the ninth green flipped the switch on understanding the speed of Glen Oaks’ greens. He turned to caddie Michael Greller and said, “I just haven’t hit them hard enough on this front nine. I just need to dial in the speed.� Since then, Spieth has played 27 holes. He’s made 14 birdies. He’s gone from 1 under and on the fringes of contention to now being the leader at 12 under and primed for his 12th PGA TOUR win. Making the proper speed adjustment, Spieth made five straight birdies in that second round, starting with an 11-footer on the 10th hole. “From there,� he said, “I started to fill it up.� He continued his hot putting Saturday, with four birdies on the front and four more on the back. So far, he’s made nearly 327 feet of putts in the first three rounds (only Kevin Tway and D.A. Points have made more). After the first round, Spieth ranked 99th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. Now he ranks seventh. We should be used to this flip-the-switch ability on the greens from Spieth. It happened at The Open Championship in the final round. It’s not necessarily the way Spieth wants to approach things. He’d much rather have a hot putter for 72 holes. He told Greller as much before Saturday’s round. “I wish I was a lot more neutral with my putting,� Spieth said. “But the fact that I’m able to flip that switch mentally … is advantageous. It’s certainly an advantage I feel I have, that I can do. “But you know, I need to hold steady. I’ve still missed some putts inside of five (feet) this week, quite a few of them, and on afternoon poa annua, it’s likely to happen again.� For now, though, the switch is in the “on� position. If it stays that way Sunday, everybody else is playing for second. REMEMBER EAST LAKE Last year, Kevin Chappell led the TOUR Championship by two shots with two holes to play. But he suffered a bogey at the 17th hole, dropped into a three-man playoff and eventually saw Rory McIlroy win the tournament – and the FedExCup title. Chappell clearly hasn’t forgotten. He calls it unfinished business. “I want to put myself in the exact same situation I was in 350 days ago on the 71st tee on Sunday and we’ll see what happens,� Chappell said. He entered this week 30th in FedExCup points, which makes him the bubble boy for East Lake. Thanks to a 6-under 64 – matching Jordan Spieth for low round of the day – Chappell is tied for eighth at 5 under and leaving no doubt that he wants a shot at redemption. If he keeps playing well, he also may get his first opportunity to represent the U.S. since turning pro. Chappell is projected to move to 10th in Presidents Cup points. If he stays there after next week’s Dell Technologies Championship, he would earn one of the automatic berths for Team USA at Liberty National. For now, his focus is on the FedExCup Playoffs. “Team events are always a result of achieving your individual goals,� Chappell said. “… It’s sort of icing on the cake. If you look at it that way, I’ve never had the icing on the cake, so I look forward to that.� CALL OF THE DAY JUST MOVE CLOSER Paul Casey was with his swing coach Peter Kostis on the range Saturday morning. “You’re standing too far away from the golf ball,� Kostis said. Responded Casey: “After I hit it or before I hit it?� That might have prompted a chuckle, but the simple fix was an effective one. Casey moved an inch closer to the ball, steepened his shoulder plane, and struck it solid for 18 holes. He missed just three fairways and four greens, returning with a 4-under 66 that leaves him tied for third at 7 under. “Wonderful stuff,� Casey said. “… I’ve clearly got two guys ahead of me who are tough. But I’m in a great position. So I’d like to go out there tomorrow and tear it up and maybe do something better than I did today and we’ll see what happens.� QUOTE OF THE DAY Let’s be honest here. I’d rather have a three-shot lead. But it’s not that bad coming from three shots back, either, because that can change in one hole. ODDS AND ENDS Keegan Bradley said he played Glen Oaks a handful of times during his college days at St. John’s. “But I played it before they took all the trees down,� he said. “I don’t really remember many of the holes.� Still, he looks quite comfortable here, shooting a bogey-free 4-under 66 that left him in solo seventh at 6 under … Don’t expect a lot of fireworks from the leaders on the front nine Sunday. Most of the scoring holes are on the back. Tony Finau is 3 over on the front and 4 under on the back. “To me, the three hardest holes on the course are 1, 4 and 8. They all have length. The first hole is ridiculous. That’s just a par 5. If you make a 4 there, you feel like it’s a birdie.� Spieth is 2 under on the front and 10 under on the back. “It’s a difficult nine for somebody to go 4- or 5-under on, no matter how hot they get,� Spieth said of the front. “Then you get to a bunch of wedge holes and you can start really controlling your score from there.� … Tough day for Rickie Fowler, who was one of the 36-hole co-leaders but started with five bogeys in his first six holes. He eventually shot 74 to fall to 2 under and into a tie for 22nd. … Just 20 attempts have been made to drive the green at the short par-4 11th, which played to 297 yards Sunday. Finau has made three of those attempts and is surprised more of the longer hitters haven’t gone for it. But he understands why. “It has nothing to do with distance,� he said. “A lot of guys can get there. If anything, if you roll through the green and into that back bunker, that’s not a good spot.� Said Chappell: “It’s probably not the most enticing drivable hole we’ve seen on TOUR.�  

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COPY HERE The 12th of 24 contributing events for PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO is this week’s Principal Charity Classic. It begins on Friday. Scroll for tournament notes, 18 notables and three wild cards from the field of 78 in Des Moines, Iowa. There’s an argument to be made that there are five 3-0 fastballs and one 3-2 changeup in the mix at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Daniel Berger hasn’t been beaten in two consecutive appearances. He’s a go-to for front-runners but he’s humming along at only 84 mph or so with little movement. If your objective is to play defense, then look no further, but if you’re leading your league and still want to swing for the fences, pivot to … Dustin Johnson, the 2012 champ, who brings the heat just about everywhere and is buzzing beneath the radar of late, but that’s not a compliment. Besides, you’ll want him for a majors or in the FedExCup Playoffs, which brings into play … Billy Horschel, he of four straight top 10s at TPC Southwind since 2013 and recent winner (with Scott Piercy) in New Orleans, but he’s a better fit for chasers because of his higher risk not to contend. For the opposite experience, consider … Phil Mickelson, who shores up the left side of the rubber and remains in pursuit of his first title in Memphis, loves this tournament and the golf course. We hear that a lot from the soon-to-be 48-year-old (on June 16), but he’s backed it up in each of the last five editions of the St. Jude. Regardless of your position, he’s your man. But if you’ve already burned him, it’s time for … Brooks Koepka, the No. 1 in my Power Rankings and for whom I wrote in this space during the week of the Masters, “And who knows, there’s plenty of time for Brooks Koepka to crash the conversation.” That was in response to his extend his time away due to injury for what was another month. And indeed, it’s time to cash in on your patience regardless of your position. That’s quite a staff from which to choose your starter for the FedEx St. Jude Classic, but what if, like me, you’re looking to guess off-speed pitch on the full count? I never mind playing the push, which is to say that I subscribe to J-Wall’s philosophy on Koepka below, but I need to force the action even more. This is why Henrik Stenson gets the spot start. I’ve invested in almost nothing but chalk. I’ve drifted from my once-defiant narrative of playing aggressively. What’s more, I’ve started to hear from readers that I’ve gone soft and become predictable. Who better than the Swedish machine to silence the critics? Two-man gamers should consider Joaquin Niemann, Chez Reavie, Matt Jones, Austin Cook and Ben Crane. 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. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … St. Jude (1; two-time defending); Travelers (2) Kevin Chappell … St. Jude (5); WGC-Bridgestone (2); Dell Technologies (3) Tony Finau … Greenbrier (2); Canadian (4) J.B. Holmes … Greenbrier (5) Billy Horschel … St. Jude (1); TOUR Championship (4) Dustin Johnson … St. Jude (8); U.S. Open (13); Canadian (10); WGC-Bridgestone (14); PGA Championship (9); Dell Technologies (11); TOUR Championship (6) Brooks Koepka … St. Jude (3); U.S. Open (1; defending); Open Championship (4); WGC-Bridgestone (6); PGA Championship (2) Phil Mickelson … St. Jude (1); Open Championship (5) Ryan Palmer … St. Jude (6) Scott Piercy … John Deere (6) Charl Schwartzel … U.S. Open (5); Open Championship (6); WGC-Bridgestone (2) Brandt Snedeker … U.S. Open (5); Travelers (6); Canadian (3); Wyndham (4) Henrik Stenson … Open Championship (6); WGC-Bridgestone (4); PGA Championship (7); Wyndham (8; defending); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (2) CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE Principal Charity Classic Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa, has served as the host since 2013. It’s a stock par 72 stretching 6,831 yards. Brandt Jobe returns to defend what remains his only title on the PGA TOUR Champions. At 14-under 202, he clipped co-runners-up Scott McCarron and Kevin Sutherland by one stroke. All previous champions at Wakonda are committed to play, including McCarron (2016), Mark Calcavecchia (2015), Tom Pernice, Jr. (2014) and Russ Cochran (2013). The total prize money of $1.75 million ties for lowest of all remaining tournaments this season. The winner will bank $262,500. 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 2018. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Stephen Ames … Principal (8); U.S. Senior Open (6); Boeing (2); Shaw (7) David Frost … U.S. Senior Open (4); 3M (7); Boeing (5); Shaw (8); PURE (1) Fred Funk … Boeing (6); PURE (5) Doug Garwood … SAS (1) Paul Goydos … 3M (1; defending); DICK’S (3); SAS (5) Lee Janzen … U.S. Senior Open (2) Brandt Jobe … Principal (3; defending); U.S. Senior Open (4); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); 3M (5); Boeing (8) Jerry Kelly … Boeing (1; defending); Shaw (5); PURE (2); SAS (4) Bernhard Langer … Usable everywhere. Defending five titles. Tom Lehman … Principal (1); U.S. Senior Open (3); SAS (9) Billy Mayfair … Boeing (2); PURE (1) Scott McCarron … Principal (1); SENIOR PLAYERS (3; defending); Senior Open Championship (10); DICK’S (4; defending); Shaw (5; defending); PURE (8) Tom Pernice, Jr. … Principal (2); Shaw (3); SAS (5) Kenny Perry … 3M (1); DICK’S (10); SAS (2) Gene Sauers … U.S. Senior Open (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (6); Boeing (1) Kevin Sutherland … Usable everywhere. David Toms … Boeing (2); SAS (4) Duffy Waldorf … Principal (6); Shaw (5) WILD CARDS (short list of golfers not included above but on the rise or still building portfolios after recently turning 50): Steve Flesch; Rocco Mediate; Scott Parel

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