An, Im share lead at 62 after 1st round of Wyndham

He doesn’t even like using the word “slump.” But with more solid rounds, like Thursday’s 66 at the Memorial, Jordan Spieth gets closer to putting whatever it was behind him.

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The 17th of 24 contributing events for PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO is this week’s 3M Championship. It begins on Friday. Scroll for tournament notes, 12 notables and five wild cards from the field of 78 north of Minneapolis. For the stand-alone One & Done for the Barracuda Championship, click here. It’s Turn Back the Clock week at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, for Tiger Woods is in play at Firestone Country Club’s South Course for the first time in four years. If you didn’t bite on Woods at Bay Hill (T5), Augusta National (T32) or Muirfield Village (T23) – all sites of historical success – your patience has been rewarded with one final go in Akron, Ohio. Even if you settle for a top 10, this is the final logical spot to burn the Secretariat of the horses of courses. Balk at the eight-time winner here if you wish, but if you’re forced to invest elsewhere anyway, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood present strong cases for getting the call. Sort through the dwindling assortment of Future Possibilities below and jot down a shot chart of how you might like to play out the string. As you do, remember the value that all of the 73 qualifiers for the final WGC of the season committed to the tournament. In other words, just like the South Course itself, all of the chalk is right there in front of you. An angle that I’ve hit a few times this year involves the curious trend of how well McIlroy has performed in the Playoffs in Ryder Cup years. In 2012, 2014 and 2016, he finished a respective second, third and first in the FedExCup with four wins, a T2 and another three top 10s in the last three events in the Playoffs alone. Furthermore, and oddly, he played in all four Playoffs events in each of those series. Compare that to 2013 and 2017 when he didn’t qualify for the TOUR Championship, and 2015 when he skipped the first event. This is to say that McIlroy is worth the wait especially if you use FedExCup points to measure performance. Dustin Johnson is atop the Power Rankings for the third consecutive week, but he doesn’t present as the smartest option in our game at Firestone. Even though he won here just two years ago, note that the WGC-Bridgestone slots 14th in terms of my confidence in Future Possibilities. The security basked into that subjection is that he looks great almost every time he pegs it, so if he’s still available to you, sit tight. One chance after another will continue to fall onto your lap. Same goes for Justin Thomas. Scorching-hot Francesco Molinari has an uninspiring record in this tournament, but he did at The Open Championship as well. He contended in his debut at the John Deere Classic and played TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in his own fast lane. His confidence is higher than anyone’s right now. Go along for the ride already. I gave a long stare at Fleetwood if for no other reason than he’s the prototypical wild card who will contribute. His form is as fine as his flow, but I’m of the belief that I’d miss Bubba Watson more. So, I’m going with the lefty. For a free spirit, he’s been predictable this season, and since 2015 at Firestone, he’s gone 2nd-T14-T17. This tournament also slots No. 1 on his strongest choices. I considered exhausting Fleetwood now and Watson at East Lake, but I’m saving Rose for the finale at which none of the others in my little league can. Jordan Spieth would also make a ton of sense at the TOUR Championship, but he still has work to do to qualify. Even at 42nd in the FedExCup standings, it’s hard to fathom that he won’t go all the way for the sixth consecutive season, but I’d endorse him at Firestone if you don’t want to play that game. He impressed at Carnoustie, which isn’t supposed to be the kind of track where a guy can find his game. For One & Doners at the end of their rope, you might as well give Hideki Matsuyama a try. While I hope you find a better option on this page, there’s nothing better than the feels of strutting around as the defending champion and with a course-record-tying 61 to close it out to boot. What’s more, he’s been just OK in the Playoffs, so this could be your last best chance. If by chance you’re dry on all of the aforementioned or your plans preclude usage now and you still need a guy at Firestone, consider pivoting to Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau, Adam Scott, Alex Noren or Patrick Cantlay. Two-man gamers who are swinging for the fences need to consider Russell Knox, Charl Schwartzel and Tyrrell Hatton. 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. Paul Casey … WGC-Bridgestone (5); Dell Technologies (2); TOUR Championship (3) Kevin Chappell … WGC-Bridgestone (2); Dell Technologies (3) Jason Day … WGC-Bridgestone (9); PGA Championship (1); THE NORTHERN TRUST (8); Dell Technologies (5) Rickie Fowler … WGC-Bridgestone (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (10); Dell Technologies (6) Sergio Garcia … TOUR Championship (4) Branden Grace … WGC-Bridgestone (3) Dustin Johnson … WGC-Bridgestone (14); PGA Championship (9); Dell Technologies (11); TOUR Championship (6) Zach Johnson … WGC-Bridgestone (6); TOUR Championship (8) Kevin Kisner … Wyndham (6) Russell Knox … Dell Technologies (7) Brooks Koepka … WGC-Bridgestone (6); PGA Championship (2) Matt Kuchar … WGC-Bridgestone (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9) Hideki Matsuyama … WGC-Bridgestone (8; defending) Rory McIlroy … WGC-Bridgestone (7); Dell Technologies (5); TOUR Championship (3) Kevin Na … Wyndham (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (11) Louis Oosthuizen … PGA Championship (4); Dell Technologies (3) Patrick Reed … PGA Championship (8); Wyndham (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9); Dell Technologies (2) Justin Rose … WGC-Bridgestone (7); TOUR Championship (2) Charl Schwartzel … WGC-Bridgestone (2) Adam Scott … WGC-Bridgestone (3); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (6) Webb Simpson … Wyndham (1) Jordan Spieth … WGC-Bridgestone (10); TOUR Championship (4) Henrik Stenson … WGC-Bridgestone (4); PGA Championship (7); Wyndham (8; defending); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (2) Justin Thomas … Dell Technologies (6; defending); TOUR Championship (3) Bubba Watson … WGC-Bridgestone (1); TOUR Championship (4) Tiger Woods … WGC-Bridgestone (3) CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE 3M Championship This is the last edition of the tournament as it’s been known since it debuted in 1993. Chi Chi Rodriguez’ victory in the inaugural was his last of 22 career titles on the PGA TOUR Champions. Before it transitions into its new role as host of the PGA TOUR’s 3M Open on July 4-7, 2019, TPC Twin Cities will serve as the backdrop for the seniors for the 18th consecutive year. It’s a stock par 72 that tips at 7,114 yards. Paul Goydos returns to defend his title. He emerged from a playoff with Gene Sauers after the duo completed regulation in 20-under 196. All but one of the last eight champions (Bernhard Langer, 2012) are committed, including two-time winner Kenny Perry (2014, 2015). For as long as TPC Twin Cities has hosted, total prize money has been $1.75 million with $262,500 going to the winner. All of the remaining tournaments this season will feature a larger purse. 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. Joe Durant … 3M (6); DICK’S (12); Boeing (10); Shaw (11); PURE (3); SAS (13) David Frost … 3M (7); Boeing (5); Shaw (8); PURE (1) Doug Garwood … SAS (1) Paul Goydos … 3M (1; defending); DICK’S (3); SAS (5) Tom Lehman … SAS (9) Billy Mayfair … Boeing (2); PURE (1) Tom Pernice, Jr. … Shaw (3); SAS (5) Kenny Perry … 3M (1); DICK’S (11); SAS (2) Gene Sauers … Boeing (1) Kevin Sutherland … Usable everywhere. Kirk Triplett … Shaw (4) Duffy Waldorf … Shaw (5) WILD CARDS (short list of golfers not included above but on the rise or still building portfolios after recently turning 50): Bob Estes; Steve Flesch; Rocco Mediate; Scott Parel; Tim Petrovic

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We got ourselves a baller in the house. PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live is just four weeks old, but Rob already has hung up a pair of top 10s. After finishing third of about 5,700 entries at The Honda Classic, he wrangled a 10th among a little over 7,000 at THE PLAYERS Championship. Yeah, only the top five pay, but it’s a good thing – for you, wink wink – that he’s ineligible for prize money. As Rob himself declared at the outset, it’s always easier to win when a new game is launched. Not only is there a learning curve en masse, but traditionally there are fewer people against whom to compete until momentum builds. The expectation – and the plan, naturally – is for PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live to grow, but only the top five cash no matter how many are entered. In this week’s Draws and Fades, Rob walks you through his process that led to his performance at THE PLAYERS. It includes an accidental discovery of the difference in the timing of when the odds are updated on the interface (where the game is hosted) and PointsBet’s app. Capitalize on it. The Valspar Championship has us settling into what is a more familiar construct of a field. It’s more difficult to uncover the gems, but that’s why Glass and Rob collaborate for this weekly file in addition to their regular contributions across the FANTASY page. Register for PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live here and monitor their progress as Influencers; however, given Rob’s early success, you likely wouldn’t have to scroll or swipe for long to find him on the main leaderboard. For a broader explanation of the format and FAQs, click here. WEEKLONG Outright Rob … Denny McCarthy (+8000) Gosh, it feels good to have the honor again. Even better, with every passing week, I’m feeling the rhythm of the game. There’s no reason not to let a reach ride for a while. Remain patient and let the play develop. I omitted deeper analysis on McCarthy in my preview material, but not because he doesn’t make sense. There are just some guys who get overcovered for stretches for various reasons, so when the opportunity to expand the lens is presented, I take advantage. He’s among the most accurate off the tee and his putting takes the pressure off his mediocre irons. So, in a field with considerable strength at the top, but in a tournament with established competitive balance, I prefer the strong position of opening with a non-winner who has a decently balanced bag and a little mojo. Glass … Russell Knox (+6000) The Jacksonville resident battled through four rounds at par or better in his backyard at TPC Sawgrass before picking up his second top 10 (T6) of 2022. Rolling into Innisbrook on three consecutive T24-or-better finishes on the track, his three best from eight previous trips, suggests he has the digits to crack the code. The Florida grass and weather shouldn’t bother him and neither will be flying under the radar. I’m moving against a massive winner’s trend of succeeding early at this event but his play has been more than steady with five consecutive paydays, including a T7 at Sony on a demanding driving golf course at Waialae. Top 10 Glass … Alex Smalley (+1100) After seeing my dude peg Kisner at +1400 for a top 10 last week, I’m inspired to catch one of my own BIG FISH. Smalley didn’t have to fight the conditions for FIVE days last week and has been churning out results in 2022. Making the cut at Genesis, Honda and Arnold Palmer suggests he’s not intimidated by big ball-striking tracks. He’s in the top 75 of distance, fairways and greens in regulation, all of which plays this week. Let’s ride! Rob … Bubba Watson (+525) Glass is right about one thing, I am a dude who nailed Kisner last week – I also love his approach for Smalley – but I was grateful that the Top 10 bets never unlocked during THE PLAYERS, at least when I was paying attention, which was quite a bit. After a second-round 74, Kisner sat T22, so I may have been persuaded to modify the selection. We’ll never know, it doesn’t matter and I don’t care! Unlike THE PLAYERS where the depth of the field begets strong value deep in the ranks, the Valspar Championship encourages a conservative choice to benefit from a smaller sample size worthy of it. Watson is No. 8 in my Power Rankings. His firepower alone tempers his odds, but that value is strong considering he’s finished a respective T4 and T13 in the last two editions of the tournament. He also was the victim of Harold Varner III’s crazy-long birdie conversion at the buzzer of the Saudi Invite in early February. The home-state vibes and chill atmosphere at Copperhead are bonuses. Top 20 Rob … Vaughn Taylor (+700) As long as this unlocks, I’m going to swing for the fence before the tournament starts, but even if it doesn’t, the strategy of not making contact doesn’t cost as much as a more aggressive decision elsewhere. Consider that the longest odds on the board for a Top 20 are just +1700. Solid, but not necessarily game-changing when all you care about is a top-five finish. Taylor checks the boxes for converging trends, and that’s good enough for me. He finished T18 (2019) and T6 (2021) in the last two editions of the tournament, and he went for a T7 in his last start in Puerto Rico. That top 10 got him into the field this week. He’s one of my Sleepers. Glass … Mito Pereira (+400) Hitting it great here is paramount unless you scramble like Jordan Spieth or Patrick Reed, so I’ll run out fresh blood again with Pereira. His numbers off the tee and into greens stick out for me, and so does his T15 at Genesis (first time) and Honda (T30). I’ll toss in a T25 at Torrey Pines just to reinforce his strength tee to green. There’s no faking it at Riviera or Torrey Pines, so I’ll roll the dice. ROUND 1 Leader Rob … Patton Kizzire (+10000) When I joined Glass on his radio show on the Thursday afternoon of THE PLAYERS, I told him that he knew that I wasn’t going to let him bask for long after he had connected with Rory McIlroy as the R1 leader at Bay Hill the previous week. Tommy Fleetwood answered at TPC Sawgrass, and at four times the kickback. Boom. Quite simply, the strategy paid off. While Fleetwood was in the more fortunate wave, the plan all along was to toss out a guy who went out early. What’s more, and coincidentally, he had been a R1 leader at THE PLAYERS before. As I also explained and promised last week, my strategy henceforth will be to grab a guy in the early wave and remain fluid throughout the day. At Copperhead, I want my choice to navigate The Snake Pit mid-round and not at the end. Holes 16, 17 and 18 always average over par, but the par-5 first hole is one of the easiest on the entire PGA TOUR. Therefore, I want him to pounce on it not only after The Snake Pit but once he’s warm, so in addition to focusing only on the early wavers, I care only about guys starting on No. 10. Kizzire goes off 10 at 8:46 a.m. ET. He’s seventh on TOUR in first-round scoring average (68.15) and tops among the commitments. He’s opened 12 of his 13 starts this season with red numbers. His lowest score among 14 rounds at Copperhead is a 5-under 66 in the opening round of the tournament last year. Glass … Keegan Bradley (+5000) I rode the roller coaster of self-inflicted wounds last week with the big-boy ball-striker at TPC Sawgrass. My pre-tournament OUTRIGHT WINNER (at +8000) found himself one shot off the lead on the back nine, but I had already abandoned ship. I’M WEAK, I KNOW. A fantastic round turned to dust late on MONDAY but his form was never in question. Rob’s man-crush – well, ONE of them – opened here last year with 65, tied the 36-hole record and played from the final group on Sunday. There are many, many worse plays than this on the board this week! 3-Ball Glass … Joel Dahmen (ENTER ODDS HERE) over Andrew Landry and Michael Thompson First-round leader on debut here in 2019 takes on Landry (5 consecutive MC) and Thompson (4 consecutive MC before T60 last week). Dahmen’s T33 extends a run of four straight on TOUR, so I’ll ride the hottest hand of the trio. Rob … David Lipsky (+194) over Sahith Theegala and Bernd Wiesberger Remember, the reward outweighs failure when it comes to a single round, and because we’re credited with coins valued at just one-quarter the odds, go heavy on the risk. A winning bet at +100 yields 25 coins. Double the odds and you bank just 50 coins. In your pursuit of the top five for prize money, the difference is negligible if you lose. But because it’s golf, the law of averages is going to pay you more often than you think it will. I went heavy in all nine of my 3-balls at THE PLAYERS. Four came through for a value of 745 coins, and I was shut out in the finale (out of a possible 655 coins), but that haul represented just shy of only 18 percent of my overall, and I finished 509 coins outside the top five in a week when only two of the top 10 were paid by Cameron Smith’s opening outright line of +3300. (For more detail, jump to my Draws and Fades linked at the top.) So, I’m keeping it simple and leaning on a worldly veteran in Lipsky whose ball-striking is more encouraging than the feel game of his younger fellow rookie, Theegala, and the underachieving Wiesberger, who has only two top 10s in 65 PGA TOUR starts across 10 seasons. Make the Cut Glass … Russell Knox (-225) For reasons stated above, this makes sense. His game thrives tee to green and that’s what is required this week. When in doubt, I prefer riding the heat. Rob … Alex Noren (-200) Kevin Kisner (-180) is the only option with longer odds, but the street loves the Swede, so I might as well hop on the bandwagon. Noren finished T21 in his only appearance here last year. He’s also missed only two cuts in his last 12 starts in tournaments worldwide with a cut. He’s cashed in five straight upon arrival, two of which for a top 10.

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