A Lim Kim earns 2nd LPGA Tour title in Hawaii

Rob Bolton lists five against-the-grain fantasy selections for this week’s event at Muirfield Village GC. Jamie Lovemark … The old man on this page at 29 years of age, he recently hit the century mark in career PGA TOUR starts as a professional. Injuries led to years of mediocrity before he connected with consistently strong form last season. It carried over into 2016-17, but he went without a top 20 for four months until a T18 at the AT&T Byron Nelson two weeks ago. While he projects to remain a regular at this level, if he’s going to break through for victory, it would be logical for it to occur at a big-hitter’s ballpark like Muirfield Village. Now, as Jack Nicklaus likes it, the test grows more challenging closer to every hole, so Lovemark must tighten the screws on approach to pay off his power. The last three times he’s ranked inside the top 25 in a field in greens in regulation, he’s recorded a top 20 in the tournament. Harold Varner III … Back for redemption, or is it revenge? In his debut here last year, he sat T16 and just four strokes back of the tri-leaders entering the final round. Then closed with a field-high 79 to finish T57. Fast forward and you can’t rule out that 2016-17 has been a sophomore slump. The 26-year-old slots just 131st in the FedExCup standings with only one top 20 among 11 cuts made. As a rookie, he recorded four top 10s, three of which by the time he arrived at Muirfield Village. It’s a track on which he should feel comfortable given his proclivity to wield driver as often as he can. In addition to some pop, he’s inside the top third on TOUR in greens in regulation. Patrick Cantlay … Since easing his way back into competition in February, he’s picked his spots and he’s picked them well. This is why he demands attention everywhere, including in his first visit to Muirfield Village. The 25-year-old holdover rookie hasn’t missed a cut in his six starts and sits comfortably at 50th in the FedExCup standings with a runner-up finish at Copperhead and a T3 at Harbour Town. He last competed at TPC Sawgrass where he placed T22 despite a 77 in the finale. If he had enough rounds to officially qualify, he’d rank 37th in greens hit, seventh in strokes gained: putting, 23rd in birdie-or-better percentage and 11th in adjusted scoring. Patrick Rodgers … The Indiana native’s second spin with a PGA TOUR card hasn’t been as impressive as he’d have wanted, but he’s done well with a few opportunities he’s manufactured. Just 5-for-17 on the season, but all of his paydays are top 30s. Top 10s at Seaside and Torrey Pines are why he’s 110th in the FedExCup standings. But this has been his M.O. as he’s averaged one top 10 for every five-and-a-half cuts made in 69 starts as a pro. He made noise in his debut at Muirfield Village in 2015, sitting T5 at the midpoint before backing up for a T40. Easing the absence of consistency (read: confidence?) on and around greens this season, he’s a lofty 43rd in greens in regulation. Equipped with advantageous power off the tee this week, the 24-year-old is likely licking his chops for another opportunity to prove that he’s the total package. Ollie Schniederjans … If you covered his name and face and flashed his rookie season in front of a knowledgeable golf fan for a guess, it’s unlikely that he or she would consider the PGA TOUR rookie. He’s 13-for-18 with four top 10s and ranks 44th in the FedExCup standings. Just 23 years of age, well, at least for another two weeks – his birthday is June 15 – the Georgia Tech product has feasted in the analytics that portend success at Muirfield Village where he’s making his debut. He’s currently T20 in proximity to the hole, 25th in strokes gained: approach-the-green, 31st in strokes gained: tee-to-green and T14 in par-5 scoring. Put everything together and he’s 32nd in adjusted scoring.

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DALLAS — Aaron Wise shot a 3-under 68 in much windier conditions Saturday on the new Trinity Forest course, pulling even with Marc Leishman for the third-round lead at the AT&T Byron Nelson. The 21-year-old PGA TOUR rookie had consecutive birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 before a bogey on the final hole to fall into a tie at 17-under 196. He won the 2016 NCAA individual title as a sophomore at Oregon. Leishman shot 69 after setting a 36-hole tournament record previously shared by Tiger Woods. Hometown star Jordan Spieth couldn’t make a move from eight shots back, shooting par 71 and falling 10 strokes behind. Wind gusted above 25 mph at times after two rounds of calmer conditions and lower scores on the treeless, links-style layout a few miles south of downtown Dallas. The Nelson spent the previous 35 years on a more conventional venue in suburban Irving. Kevin Na (69) and Matt Jones (68) both bogeyed the par-4 18th to finish at 13 under. Jimmy Walker shot 70 with a double bogey on the final hole that dropped him to 12 under, with Brian Gay, who bogeyed 18 for a 72.

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2021 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD, Round 2 Top 10 win probabilities: 1. Justin Thomas (1, -14, 27.3%) 2. Patrick Cantlay (T4, -12, 7.2%) 3. Scottie Scheffler (T4, -12, 7.2%) 4. Tyrrell Hatton (T6, -11, 5.4%) 5. Lanto Griffin (T2, -13, 5.1%) 6. Dylan Frittelli (T2, -13, 4.9%) 7. Patrick Reed (T6, -11, 4.7%) 8. Harris English (T6, -11, 3.9%) 9. Webb Simpson (T14, -10, 3.8%) 10. Jon Rahm (T22, -9, 3.8%) Top Strokes-Gained Performers from Round 2: Putting: Richy Werenski +3.5 Around the Green: Collin Morikawa +3.2 Approach the Green: Brad Kennedy +3.3 Off-the-tee: Bubba Watson +1.9 Total: Richy Werenski +6.9 NOTE: These reports are based off the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live "Make Cut", "Top 20", "Top 5", and "Win" probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 20K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD, or to see how each golfer's probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model's home page.

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