A closer look inside Rory McIlroy's bag

HONOLULU — Different island, similar result. Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed finished the tournament with the same score. Only this was was Friday at the Sony Open in Hawaii. There was no playoff, only a plane back to the mainland. In wind that was vexing no matter how strong and soft greens so rare for this tournament, Thomas and Reed both missed the cut at Waialae and missed out on what could be a weekend where anything goes. Brendan Steele birdied five of his last six holes — the exception was a double bogey — for a 4-under 66 that gave him a share of the lead with Cameron Davis of Australia, who also had a 66. They were at 6-under 134, the highest score to lead the Sony Open through 36 holes since 2006. More unusual was the cut at 1-over 141, leaving only a seven-shot differential between first and worst. Five days ago, Thomas, the FedExCup points leader, outlasted Reed in a dynamic playoff on Maui that lasted three extra holes and went to the very edge of darkness at Kapalua in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Neither will be around for the outcome on Oahu. “I’m playing great, playing good enough to still be winning this week,” Thomas said after two double bogeys ruined his round of 71. “Probably a little exhausted from last week, which is a good thing. No, I mean, played like crap so I deserve to have the weekend off.” It was his first missed cut since the U.S. Open last year at Pebble Beach. RELATED: Leaderboard | Thomas misses cut at Sony Open Reed made a 35-foot par putt and chipped in for birdie. It was all the other putts he missed, along with a flubbed pitch that went into a bunker and led to double bogey, that cost him. He shot 74. They both finished at 143 to miss by two shots. They battled hard last week on a big course in big wind. Just a coincidence that both missed the cut? Reed wasn’t buying. “I was missing my putts short, I had two three-putts. I missed everything,” Reed said. As he was signing autographs, he turned and smiled before adding, “I did sleep three hours more than usual last night.” It was his first missed cut since the PGA Championship in May. They had company. Defending champion Matt Kuchar made only three birdies in 36 holes and missed the cut by one. They all left behind a crowded leaderboard. Collin Morikawa, the first-round leader, kept missing in the wrong spot and had to birdie his last two holes for a 70. He was among eight players who were one shot behind at 5-under 135, a group that included Keegan Bradley, Ryan Palmer, Russell Knox and Cameron Smith. Gusts approached 30 mph in the second round and the greens at Waialae are never this soft. The course is getting soaked by rain every night, with occasional pop-up showers — even when the sun is shining — during the day. Approach shots that typically bounce forward are now spinning back.  That’s usually a recipe for low scoring anywhere, but not in this kind of wind. “I have not played in wind this tough,” Palmer said “You’re pumping 6-iron from 145.. That says a lot of what the winds are doing.” It was worse on Thursday, but no less a test. Steele was poised for a big finish when he holed a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 4 and a 35-footer for birdie on No. 5, moving up the board with four holes to play in his second round. And then the wind helped carry his tee shot out-of-bounds on the next hole, leading to double bogey. Steele bounced back with a tee shot into 4 feet on the par-3 seventh, a 12-foot birdie on the eight and an up-and-down for birdie at the par-5 ninth. “It was a wild finish,” Steele said. “I made one bad swing and made a double in between there. I was really happy with how I bounced back to make those good swings and good putts on the last few holes.” Thomas had not finished out of the top 20 in the last seven months, and his confidence was high after winning last week. The last time he won at Kapalua, he came over to Waialae and shot 59 on his way to a PGA TOUR-record of 253 for 72 holes. That won’t be the case this time. Thomas couldn’t get anything to fall, and it didn’t help when he put his tee shot in the water on No. 2, his 11th hole of the round. “I think honestly, playing the course as often as I have in the past hurt me this year because it’s just so weird, the greens being as soft as they are,” Thomas said. “You have to get adjusted to that. But everybody has to — it’s not just me.”

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The PGA TOUR heads back to the Carolinas for the Palmetto Championship at Congaree Golf Club. The course will play as a par 71, measuring 7,655 yards. Congaree is located in Ridgeland, South Carolina, and will feature Bermuda greens. The move to Congaree is a one-year replacement for the RBC Canadian Open due to COVID-19 concerns in Canada. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700K Flop Shot [$200K to 1st] STRATEGY The pseudo-Carolina swing now has its third tournament in the state, following the RBC Heritage and PGA Championship earlier this season. The field is set at 156, and the top 65 and ties will make the weekend. South Carolina’s Dustin Johnson (+800, $11,400) and Brooks Koepka (+900, $11,100) headline the field this week, and both are looking to make any last-minute corrections to their games before the U.S. Open next week at Torrey Pines (South). A swath of young talent fresh off the NCAA’s will be competing like John Pak (+20000, $6,900), who’s won multiple times in his college career, and the University of Texas’ Cole Hammer (+25000, $6,800), both looking to play well early in their professional careers. Congaree was designed in 2017 by Tom Fazio with tree-lined fairways and a lot of sand instead of rough, similar to courses we see in Australia and other desert settings. One of the first things you notice is the length, especially on the par 4s; three on the front-nine measure over 500 yards and two on the back measuring between 465 to 500 yards. The par 5s are no walk in the park either, each measuring over 580 yards. The par 5, fourth hole is 645 yards with sand on both sides and a water hazard that guards the right side of the green. The length and advantage of hitting it out of the fairway should translate to both Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and long-iron proximity, especially for shorter hitters, being an important stat to consider when building rosters. The course should play hard and fast if the weather remains dry, making Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green a factor as well. The course conditions could also mean it plays shorter than the entire 7,600-plus yards. Lucas Glover (+4500, $8,600), who has a connection to Congaree, mentions that we’ll see many styles of golf if the conditions remain firm and fast, giving way to multiple styles of golf potentially playing well this week. The increase in field size back up to 156 golfers after a couple of weeks of 120 golfers means a smaller percentage of lineups getting six of six golfers through the cut. With no course history, an obvious place to start when building lineups is rostering golfers who play well on similar course styles. Tracks in Australia, Texas and some European Tour events in the Middle East like The Saudi International and tournaments in Dubai are a few that come to mind. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Tommy Fleetwood (+2500 to Win, $9,500 on DraftKings) The Euros seem to have a slight edge coming into this week with how the course sets up, and Fleetwood, who’s playing well on the European Tour, could be in for a solid week. He’s been inconsistent with three missed cuts in his previous five events on TOUR, but with most of the top golfers taking the week off pre-U.S. Open, the 32nd-ranked golfer in the world becomes an enticing option. Looking at courses that play over 7,400 yards, Fleetwood ranks 30th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, 11th in approach and second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green over the past 24 rounds. His game becomes even more impressive on fast Bermuda greens, ranking just inside the top 20 in Strokes Gained: Putting, 11th around the greens and first in Strokes Gained: Total over the same timeframe. With two top 10s and a top 20 on desert courses in the Middle East this season, Fleetwood could have that elusive wins he’s been searching for on the PGA TOUR heading into the U.S. Open. Ian Poulter (+3200 to Win, $9,200 on DraftKings) His outright number may seem like a stretch, but Poulter should like what he sees this week at Congaree GC, especially on the greens. On fast, Bermuda surfaces, Poulter ranks 16th in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and 11th in putting over the previous 24 rounds. His short game isn’t the concern, especially when he’s gaining 4.5 strokes on the Bermuda greens like he did at the PGA Championship; it’s his ball-striking. He’s been accurate Off-the-Tee but isn’t gaining much distance on the field. His approach game is in form, ranking 29th over the last dozen rounds, and he was stellar with his irons at the Charles Schwab Challenge when he gained 3.9 strokes at Colonial CC. Even if he’s not hitting it 300-plus yards on these long holes, we should feel somewhat confident in his accuracy with his long irons on courses over 7,400 yards, ranking 18th in proximity from 175 to 200 yards and 32nd in 200-plus yards away over the past 24 rounds. Poulter has a ton of experience playing overseas in the Middle East and has some of his best career finishes on longer courses finishing third at the WGC-Mexico at Golf Club de Chapultepec in 2019 and winning the 2018 Shell Houston Open at GC of Houston. Refer a friend and get $20 DK Dollars! Head to the DraftKings Playbook Promo page for more details! Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700K Flop Shot [$200K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. 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