‘I haven’t felt this good in years’

The house lights are flashing to signify that intermission is over. Yes! Intermission is over! What a first half of the FedExCup Playoffs it was. Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas captured victory at THE NORTHERN TRUST and Dell Technologies Championship, respectively, but it’s Jordan Spieth atop the standings with consecutive runner-up finishes. He’s the first non-winner of the first two FedExCup Playoffs events in history to sit No. 1 entering the BMW Championship, a feat even more unfathomable given he started the series third in points. Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Illinois, hosts the third leg for the third time. Of this week’s field of 70, 42 competed either in 2013 or in 2015. Twenty-three played in both editions. Two wins and a T6 in his last three starts. Leading the FedExCup Playoffs in scrambling and one-putt percentage. Shared 13th in his first look at Conway Farms in 2015. Leading the FedExCup Playoffs in adjusted scoring thanks to ranking fourth in GIR and third in birdie-or-better percentage. T16 (2013) and T13 (2015) at Conway Farms. The defending champion prevailed at Crooked Stick last year, but he finished T7 at Conway Farms in 2015. Pacing the FedExCup Playoffs in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Connected five top 15s, and then shook off short week at Glen Oaks where the greens befuddled him with a T23 at TPC Boston. T7 at Conway Farms in 2015. Top fives in five consecutive FedExCup Playoffs events. Top 15s in his last six starts of 2017. Seventh on TOUR in adjusted scoring. T23 in Conway Farms debut in 2015. Regularly in the mix all year. Ranks third in the FedExCup Playoffs in strokes gained: off-the-tee and T7 in proximity en route a T20 (Glen Oaks) and T13 (TPC Boston). T4 at 2015 BMW. Slots fifth in points with renewed mindset and T3-T4 opening. Leading the FedExCup Playoffs in strokes gained: putting. Also third in birdie-or-better percentage and T7 in bogey avoidance. Shifted it into a higher gear at Quail Hollow, where he shared runner-up honors. A respective T20 and T6 to begin the FedExCup Playoffs in which he ranks T5 in bogey avoidance. T10s to open the FedExCup Playoffs are first consecutive top 10s since January. Now 17th in points and poised to head to East Lake where he’s been phenomenal. T13 here in 2015. Rested the last two weeks after four straight on the road with no worse than T17 (twice). Top 20s in six of last seven starts worldwide. Tied for 10th at the 2015 BMW. Added a solo third at the Dell Technologies Championship to what has already been a sparkling 2017. Ranks third in greens in regulation during the FedExCup Playoffs. Opened with 61 and went wire-to-wire at Conway Farms in 2015. Not nearly as sharp of late, but enters having logged four straight top 25s, two of which for a top 10. Headed in the wrong direction but has everything to gain at 51st in points, so he’s dangerous. Placed T4 at Conway Farms in 2015, ranking second in par-5 scoring. Debutant is handling the series like a veteran, ranking first in greens hit and bogey avoidance. Also third in scrambling. T10 (Glen Oaks) and T13 (TPC Boston). Didn’t crack the top 20 in either previous appearance at Conway Farms, but he recorded 11 top 20s in 15 starts since the Masters five months ago. Not scoring per his reputation but the components are there. Ranks 16th in the FedExCup Playoffs in proximity and second in scrambling. Runner-up in only appearance here in 2015. Quieted in recent weeks but hardly scuffling with three top 20s in his last four starts. Finished T7 in proximity to the hole while posting a T18 at TPC Boston. The 2013 champ has lost his way again, but it’s not due to poor putting. He’s 28th in strokes gained: putting in the FedExCup Playoffs. T13 here in 2015 as well, so he’s a horse. Coming to life at a great time. Validated a T4 at Sedgefield with a T6 at TPC Boston. Ranked second in strokes gained: putting en route to a T10 at the 2015 BMW Championship. The streaky 35-year-old is fresh off a confidence-building T10 at TPC Boston. It ended a spell without a top 30 at six straight starts. T28 (2013) and T19 (2015) at Conway Farms. Power Rankings: BMW Championship RANK PLAYER COMMENT Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Kevin Kisner and Webb Simpson will be among the notables included in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. Zach Johnson came from behind to prevail in 2013 and Jason Day cruised to a wire-to-wire title in 2015 at the BMW Championship at Conway Farms, but the Tom Fazio design also is remembered as the site of Jim Furyk’s 59 (with a bogey) in the second round of 2013. Yet, the field averaged 70.811 in its first look as compared to 69.489 in its return. Comparably, the 2015 field missed more fairways (63.72 percent vs. 66.73 percent in 2013), but it stacked up better on average in an array of scoring measurements: • Green in Regulation: 66.26 percent (vs. 62.94 percent in 2013) • Proximity to the Hole: 32 feet, one inch (vs. 33 feet, four inches) • Birdie-or-Better Conversion Percentage: 33.98 percent (vs. 30.24 percent) • Scrambling: 64.02 percent (vs. 59.90 percent) Rain softened Conway Farms in 2015, but not to the extent that anyone would have foreseen such a measurable drop in scoring on the par 35-36=71. So, with little chance of rain until Sunday during this week’s tournament, this year’s scoring average should land in between the two in the books. Daytimes highs in the mid-to-upper 70s are forecast. Mother Nature’s greatest challenge figures to be a moderate wind mid-tournament. Since Conway Farms hosted in 2015, several areas of the course were upgraded, many of which to improve drainage. The only change in overall yardage occurred at the par-5 18th hole, which is now up 10 yards, boosting the aggregate to 7,208 yards. Bentgrass greens are maintained at 12-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter. The longest rough is allowed to grow three-and-a-half inches. Those who advanced to the BMW Championship are not only chasing one of 30 berths into the TOUR Championship but also a carte-blanche schedule in 2017-18. In additions to exemptions already secured for finishing inside the top 70 of the FedExCup standings, the top 30 are granted exemptions into each of the first three majors in 2018 as well as spots in the first two World Golf Championships (HSBC, Mexico). The Confidence Factor on Tuesday will focus on specific statistics to identify would-be contenders as well as list all results of golfers in the field who competed at Conway Farms in 2013 and/or 2015. ROB BOLTON’S WRITING SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Columnist Rob Bolton will be filing his usual staples leading up to this week’s event. Look for the following columns this week. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Reshuffle, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, The Confidence Factor, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Ownership Percentages in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf and One & Done presented by SERVPRO * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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My Power Rankings for The Open Championship include all 156 golfers in the field, so this Fantasy Insider column is abridged. The Wild Card, Draws and Fades will return for next week’s RBC Canadian Open. Segment 4 of PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO begins at Carnoustie. When you’re thrown a bone, you take it. Just make sure to take a bite out of it, too. There are only nine tournaments to go in the Roster game – the One & Done will include all of the remaining 11 on the schedule – but navigating the final phase is tricky. The Open is the last tournament for which ShotLink is not used to measure performance, so you can get away with stowing two probable contenders for the bonus points on your bench at least until the 36-hole cut falls, but if neither is in the mix for the Claret Jug at the midpoint, consider keeping at least one benched until the conclusion of the third round, and then decide whether it’d be worth burning a start for potentially modest bonus points instead of holstering it for the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, PGA Championship or any of the four Playoffs events. Yes, this strategy would mean swallowing a zero (or two), but to pay off losing the start, your guy might need a podium finish. Otherwise, you’re losing points later for mild returns now. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for The Open Championship (in alphabetical order): Tommy Fleetwood Rickie Fowler Dustin Johnson Rory McIlroy Alex Noren Justin Rose You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Jason Day; Zach Johnson; Brooks Koepka; Marc Leishman; Hideki Matsuyama; Phil Mickelson; Jon Rahm; Justin Thomas Driving: n/a Approach: n/a Short: n/a Returning to Competition Nate Lashley … The rookie is scheduled to compete at the Web.com Tour’s Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Heartland Chevy Dealers. He had been sidelined for a month after having knee surgery. This week’s return qualifies as a rehab start in advance of a medical extension on the PGA TOUR for 2018-19 (assuming he doesn’t play the TOUR again this season and finish inside the top 125). Currently 162nd in the FedExCup standings, he’ll be eligible for the Web.com Tour Finals on merit. Notable WDs Bernd Wiesberger, Paul Lawrie and John Daly … All withdrew from The Open Championship due to injury. Alex Cejka … Out at the Barbasol Championship. It’s his second consecutive early withdrawal and fifth on the season, but we see this coming almost every season. As evidenced by a T13 in his last start at Greenbrier, he still delivers when his 47-year-old body allows for it. Currently 89th in the FedExCup standings. Denny McCarthy … Fell to 144th in the FedExCup with a T34 at the John Deere Classic, but he’s been in that vicinity for months. If he doesn’t make the FedExCup Playoffs, he’s still a good bet to survive the Web.com Tour Finals given he’s risen to his current position after an awful first nine events of his rookie campaign. Brett Stegmaier … He was a surprising removal from the Barbasol field. He’s 190th in the FedExCup standings and has ripped off three straight cuts made. Power Rankings Recap – John Deere Classic Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Zach Johnson  T16 2  Bryson DeChambeau  WD 3  Francesco Molinari  T2 4  Steve Stricker  T43 5  Kyle Stanley  MC 6  Joaquin Niemann  T23 7  Ryan Moore  T55 8  Chesson Hadley  T72 9  Austin Cook  T34 10  Scott Stallings  MC 11  Kevin Tway  T50 12  Kelly Kraft  T63 13  Brian Gay  MC 14  Joel Dahmen  T2 15  Scott Brown  T12 Wild Card  Chris Kirk  T23 Sleepers Recap – John Deere Classic Golfer  Result Wesley Bryan  MC Peter Malnati  MC Trey Mullinax MC C.T. Pan  T34 Daniel Summerhays   MC Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR July 17 … none July 18 … Brendon de Jonge (38) July 19 … none July 20 … Conrad Shindler (30) July 21 … Robert Gamez (50); Paul Casey (41) July 22 … Brendon Todd (33); David Lingmerth (31) July 23 … Craig Barlow (46); Boo Weekley (45); Kevin Tway (30); Harris English (29); Kiradech Aphibarnrat (29); Tom Lovelady (25)

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For the second time in five editions, the Wells Fargo Championship will be contested on a course other than its primary so that Quail Hollow Club can continue preparing for another premier event. In 2017, Quail Hollow was the host of the PGA Championship. This September, it’ll be the stage for the Presidents Cup. Pinch-hitting is TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. It hasn’t hosted the Wells Fargo Championship, but it’s not a stranger to the PGA TOUR and its sanctioned circuits. For analysis of the par 70, what the field of 156 can expect and more, continue reading beneath the ranking of projected contenders. RELATED: Play Pick ‘Em Live | The First Look | Inside the Field POWER RANKINGS: WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIP Francesco Molinari, Tony Finau, Webb Simpson, Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Draws and Fades. A thorough history of the role that TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm has played for the PGA TOUR can be read in “Five Things to Know”. It’s experienced a variety of changes, and that’s an understatement. After its position as an annual par 71 for the old Kemper Open and its subsequent iterations into 2006, it underwent a full-scale renovation in 2007. That included a revision of overall par to 70. The PGA TOUR Champions made a stop in 2010, and then the Korn Ferry Tour descended twice in an eight-month period stretching in 2013. All who showed were challenged by what was a new, fresh examination. The course returned to the PGA TOUR to host the last two editions of the Quicken Loans National in 2017 and 2018. With a scoring average of 71.458 in the former, it was the hardest par 70 in a non-major that season. Scoring eased to 69.894 the following year when Francesco Molinari was the kind of zone that would make present-day Scottie Scheffler seem like he’s misfiring. (Molinari is committed this week; Scheffler is resting.) Both previous contests were in late June. In 2018, moderate winds gave way to calm, hot air by the final round. No such conditions this week with springtime weather in the mid-Atlantic. (TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm is about 10 miles northwest of Washington, D.C.) With the threat of rain on Friday and Saturday, daytime highs will drop from the mid-70s to potentially no higher than 60 degrees by the weekend. Winds also will freshen. After 2018, the par-5 second and 10th holes were extended by a respective 22 and 31 yards. Now tipping at 641 and 591 yards, respectively, TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm maxes out at 7,160. Bentgrass greens average just 4,265 square feet, and they’ll be ready to run 12½ feet on the Stimpmeter, weather pending. As of Monday afternoon, 44 of this week’s entrants were here in 2017. Of them, 26 returned in 2018 from which there is a total of 51 back this week. Just as it was for them a few years ago, the pair of par 5s will not be a reliable source of par breakers. Overall, for a course with small greens, the challenge to salvage par is multiplied by the combination of fescue and bluegrass rough, the longest of which is trimmed to 2½ inches, but there’s an intermediate cut that’s 1¼ inches high. Although greens are not entirely foreign, they’re relatively unfamiliar with the passage of time, so, just as Molinari showcased during his incredible display en route to an eight-stroke victory four years ago, the premiums to eliminate the big numbers are equal parts splitting fairways and hitting greens in regulation. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Draws and Fades WEDNESDAY: Pick ’Em Preview SUNDAY: Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Rookie Ranking * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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