All the reasons why Sunday at the PGA Championship still matters

Here are nine tidbits from the opening round of The RSM Classic that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. The followers are leading: Of the two courses in play this week, the par-70 Seaside course annually plays more difficult than the par-72 Plantation course. Those who went low on Seaside will have the advantage entering tomorrow, as they won’t have to force the action on Plantation to catch up. Just five of the top 27 on the leaderboard played Seaside today. All of those players posted 66 or 65 and now will get a chance to attack the third-easiest course on TOUR from last year on Friday. Hot golf is hot golf. Lurking at T18 after 66 (-4) on Seaside, last week’s winner and Sea Island resident Patton Kizzire continues his sizzling form. He’s in uncharted territory for gamers, as he hasn’t rattled off a month of play like this before on TOUR. Those who piled on this week will be thrilled with this start. Wat is going on here? Las Vegas resident Nick Watney fired 73-82 to miss the cut at his home event to open his 2017-18 season. I don’t think his T55 at Mayakoba last week would inspire gamers to take the leap this week. His 65 (-5) was bogey-free and tied for the best of the day on Seaside with Brice Garnett. This was his best round of the year, and the event, by four shots. Kim is making waves but this week, so far, it’s Michael and not last week’s third-place finisher Si Woo. Pro gamers will point out that Michael was in the conversation last year as he opened with 64 on Plantation. His opening round 66 on Seaside should have him excited for his return to Plantation tomorrow. Former Sea Island resident Chris Kirk eagled his final hole to post nine-under-par 63 on Plantation. The 2013 champion only needed 23 putts on greens he played for six years before moving back to Athens, Georgia, to be closer to family. He’s traded in his PXG sticks for a mixed bag to start the year and had only posted three of 14 rounds this season in the 60’s before today. If he keeps using just 23 putts each round, it won’t matter what arrows he’s using. Cancer sucks and Joel Dahmen beat it in 2011 and returned to golf later that same year. He was the clubhouse leader, before Kirk’s eagle, as he posted bogey-free 64 (-8) earlier in the day. Considering his best round of the new season was 68 in four events, this is a surprise. Considering he ranks No. 49 on the Web.com priority list out of 50 players, this was also a surprise. The three of you who have him on the roster in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO game deserve kudos. I hope you all started him! Chalk it up: PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO lists Webb Simpson on 56 percent of rosters entering the week. He was the most selected with Kevin Kisner in second with just over 40 percent. Simpson, who was listed No. 1 in Rob Bolton’s Power Rankings, racked up four birdies and an eagle against one bogey to post 67 on Plantation (T8). Kisner, the tournament record holder (22-under in 2015), carded 67 on Seaside to put him in an excellent spot for Friday’s round at Plantation. Plan B is an option in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO and that’s good news for Ollie Schniederjans investors. He was the fifth-most selected player and his 72 on Seaside saw him see T135 at the close of play. It might be time to flex your bench muscle and cut your losses as scoring is the only metric in use this week…Gamers love a good, solid reputation more than current results, as evidenced by Luke Donald being the 10th-most selected player. His pre-tournament WD warrants a mandatory substitution for many of you… Abraham Ancer withdrew during the round, so investors on the back of his top 10 last week need to adjust as well. Glass half full? With three top 25’s in four events this fall, those of you with Brandon Harkins sitting on the bench might want to pop him in the lineup tomorrow at Plantation. He’s birdied half of the par five holes he’s played this season (T28) and will have four more chances tomorrow. His 66 on Seaside suggests he’s dialed in.  

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Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka will compete live during the Thanksgiving holiday week in the latest installment of Capital One’s: The Match. The 12-hole event will take place in Las Vegas at the Wynn Golf Course. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the event. HOW TO WATCH When: Friday, Nov. 26 at 4 p.m. ET Broadcast coverage: Live on TNT, TBS, truTV and HLN.

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Cameron Smith returns to defend last season's Sony Open in Hawaii victory, while past THE PLAYERS champion Webb Simpson and 10 of the top-25 golfers in the world tee it up at Waialae Country Club. In its longtime spot on the schedule, the Sony Open marks the first full-field event of the calendar year. FIELD NOTES: Collin Morikawa looks to build off his two victories in 2020, including his first major championship, with his second Hawaii start in a row. Morikawa finished T21 at least year's Sony Open after holding the first-round lead... Thirty-two of the 42 golfers who teed it up at the Sentry Tournament of Champions will make the jump over to the Sony Open and complete in both events of the Hawaii swing... Sponsor exemptions include major winners Y.E. Yang and Mike Weir, along with Ryo Ishikawa and Takumi Kanaya, who turned pro last year after reaching No. 1 in the world amateur rankings. Kanaya recently won on the Japan Tour and is already ranked 120th in the world... Five of the top 10 golfers in the FedExCup standings (as of the weekend at the Sentry Tournament of Champions) will be teeing it up at the Sony Open, the highest-ranked being Viktor Hovland at No. 3... Simpson was just one shot out of a playoff between Smith and Brendan Steele a year ago. Steele, who started Sunday with a three-shot lead, returns to try to earn the title that eluded him, while Simpson is on the hunt for his eighth PGA TOUR title. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points COURSE: Waialae Country Club, par-70, 7,044 yards (yardage subject to change). The Seth Raynor design, founded 94 years ago, has hosted the Sony Open ever year since 1965. The narrower, flatter layout is a contrast to last week's venue, Kapalua. STORYLINES: University of San Diego golfer and former Hawaii state champion Evan Kawai will make his PGA TOUR debut this week after winning a qualifier in November. His college coach is TOUR winner Chris Riley... Can Charles Howell III continue his impressive effort at Waialae? He has 13 top-25s, including 10 top-10s, in 19 starts at Waialae. That includes two runners-up and two third-place finishes... Smith's 11-under score was the highest winning total at the Sony Open since 2012. He was 4 over par on his first two holes of the tournament... Smith is looking to become the first golfer to defend his title at the Sony Open since Jimmy Walker in 2014-15. There have been just four golfers to go back-to-back at Waialae... Morikawa has a lot of family that lives on Maui and Oahu and visited the island many times growing up. Although there will be no spectators allowed on site, he'll have plenty of good vibes on the island. 72-HOLE RECORD: 253, Justin Thomas (2017) 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Justin Thomas (1st round, 2017) LAST TIME: Smith defeated Steele in a playoff to capture his first PGA TOUR title as an individual (he and Jonas Blixt won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans the first year it was a team event) with a birdie on the 72nd hole and a matching birdie on the first playoff hole. Steele was 2 over for his final six holes and opened the door for Smith, who had offered to donate $500 for every birdie and $1,000 for every eagle on the week to his home country's effort against the raging Australian bushfire crisis. On the 72nd hole, Steele misjudged his approach shot and had to take a drop, but he still nearly dropped a snaking 30-foot birdie try for the win. He missed, and couldn't get it done in the playoff, either. Simpson finished third (missing a 14-foot birdie try on the final hole to get into the playoff) while Graeme McDowell, Ryan Palmer, and Kevin Kisner rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Saturday, 7 p.m.-10:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Sunday, 6 p.m.-10 p.m. (Golf Channel) Radio: Thursday-Saturday, 5 p.m.-10:30 p.m. ET. Sunday, 5 p.m.- 10 p.m. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio)

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