Brendon Todd shoots 9-under 62 to win Bermuda Championship

Here are nine tidbits from the opening round of the OHL Classic at Mayakoba that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Patt-on the Back: Kudos to the in-form Patton Kizzire for torching El Camaleon this morning with 9-under-par, 62. After collecting T10 and T4 the last two weeks, I’m not surprised that he posted 10 birdies today. The only blemish on his card was a bogey at his last hole, No. 18, which saw him miss tying the course record. His lead is two entering the second round with fierce winds scheduled to blow tomorrow and throughout the weekend. The afternoon wave saw veteran Vaughn Taylor post 64, the best of the bunch. Gamers remember his last victory on TOUR came at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. If the wind blows, he might not be bothered. In three events this season he’s sandwiched T10 between a pair of missed cuts so I’m still trying to find a compass reading here. There is an old saying that form is temporary but class is permanent. I’m not here to argue but I will point out that absolutisms in fantasy golf don’t always pan out. Rickie Fowler’s opening round is making the argument against my point. He carded 65 Thursday morning and sits T3 in his first tournament since the TOUR Championship. Four players selected in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO were chosen by over 40 percent of the participants this week. Gamers who started Pat Perez (67) and Rickie Fowler (66), the top two selections, are having their expectations met. Chesson Hadley and Charley Hoffman were the third and fourth most-selected players and they ended the day T73. Everyone likes to saddle up a course horse but be careful not to get bucked off. Here are the five players with the lowest score in relation to par the last five seasons and their position after round one. Another wonderful angle in the world of fantasy golf is the much debated “Nappy Factor”. I’ve heard the argument suggesting jumping on guys who are expecting their first. I’ve heard it’s also smart to pile on right after the baby is born. SO MANY RULES. Here’s what I do know: Martin Piller’s wife is expecting in May and he’s T5 (66). Mac Hughes not only welcomed a baby but also changed his name from Mackenzie yet he’s T73 (E). Does this also effect “Nappy Factor”? Stay tuned. Only a handful of gamers had the foresight to roster Keith Mitchell (66) in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. I hope both of you started him! The rest of you will learn this is his fifth TOUR start. His T11 at the Valspar Championship last year probably slipped your mind.  This is his first round in the 60’s in four tournaments in the new season. The Class of 2011 has been highly celebrated but I’m not sure how many fantasy gamers will recall that Patrick Rodgers is a part of that group. After 11 wins at Stanford (tied with Tiger Woods for most at the time) he hasn’t joined the others, yet. If grinding tee-to-green in the wind is going to be a key this weekend I’ll be interested to see how his ball-striking translates. His opening round 67 (T11) ties his lowest score of the new season. As my astute colleague Rob Bolton pointed out last week, Harris English is struggling. English set the tournament scoring record here in 2014 but that mojo didn’t appear on Thursday. His 75 saw him check in at T120 in a field of 132. Weekly and season-long investors should be concerned as he has missed four cuts in a row. Pending a very low one tomorrow that streak is going to reach five. Speaking of struggling, Ryan Blaum withdrew due to illness (virus) after posting 77 so adjust accordingly. 

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NORTH BERWICK, Scotland (AP) — Cameron Tringale has played 331 times on the PGA TOUR without winning. His career-best round of 9-under 61 on Thursday might help him change. Tringale ran off six straight birdies to start the back nine at The Renaissance Club on Thursday and had a three-shot lead in the Genesis Scottish Open, the first event co-sanctioned by the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour. Former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland saw work with putting coach Phil Kenyon pay off in his round of 64, the only one close to Tringale. “I haven’t had a professional win on my own, and obviously Scotland is where golf started, so this place is special,” Tringale said. And it was relatively benign, at least for Tringale. That wasn’t the case Thursday afternoon, when the average score was more than three shots higher. Flags were crackling in 30 mph gusts that felt even stronger along the shores of the North Sea, conditions best described by the clubs that were used. Some players barely reached the fairway on the par-5 16th, if they did. Patrick Cantlay had 231 yards for his second shot on the 483-yard closing hole. He hit 3-wood, and even that wasn’t enough. Cantlay did well to close with three straight pars, which were at a premium. He had a hard-earned 70. U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick opened with 71, while PGA champion Justin Thomas held on as long as he could. Thomas bogeyed three of his last five holes for a 73. The low score from the afternoon was Kurt Kitayama at 66, and only five other players who faced the afternoon wind managed to break par. Tringale had the lowest score of his PGA TOUR career and matched the course record set three years ago by Bernd Wiesberger when The Renaissance played to a par 71. Jordan Spieth set an early pace by running off five straight birdies, only to drop three shots over his last 10 holes for a 68. He called it a tale of two nines based on course knowledge. “The nine I had never seen before went really well, and the nine I played yesterday went poorly,” Spieth said, who is playing a week before The Open Championship for the first time since 2015, the last time the Open was at St. Andrews. It made sense this year with the PGA TOUR co-sanctioning the tournament for the first time, which led to 14 of the top 15 in the world at The Renaissance, a course that looks like one and is plenty fast without having true links soil. Tringale, who has reached the TOUR Championship only once in his 12 previous years on the PGA TOUR, is having one of his better years. He missed a playoff at Torrey Pines by one shot and was a distant runner-up to Hideki Matsuyama in THE ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP last fall. The conditions along the North Sea could not have been more ideal for him, with only a mild breeze and a full blue sky in the morning. Tringale took advantage with one key club in his bag. “Golf is more fun when the putts are going in, and they were for me today,” he said. He made a pair of birdie putts from the 40-foot range, and only four of his nine birdies were inside 6 feet. Equally important were a few midrange par putts he made at the start. It was a struggle for Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, who made double bogey from the 18th fairway by going from rough to rough, and lost more ground on the front nine for a 73. The Scottish charge was led by Ewen Ferguson (67) and Russell Knox (68), who heeded some strong advice from his wife, a former tennis pro. Knox has been struggling with his putter when he was persuaded to try a long putter. “My wife said, ‘You’ve been playing professional golf for 15 years and you’re horrible at putting. Try something different,’” Knox said. “The best putt of my life was a 3-footer for par on the first hole because if that didn’t go in, we were in for a long day.”

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The PGA TOUR heads to the Caribbean for the Bermuda Championship at Port Royal GC in Southampton, Bermuda. The course will play as a par 71, measuring 6,828 yards, and it will be played on Bermuda greens this week. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $400K Resurgence [$100K to 1st] STRATEGY Port Royal GC is a short course with eight par 4s under 415 yards, so we should again see players hit many wedges into these Bermuda greens. Defending champion Brendon Todd ($11,100) shot two rounds of 62 and 63 en route to his victory, which should be the case this week. The field will feature Korn Ferry Tour standouts, past and present, including Will Zalatoris ($10,900), Doc Redman ($10,400), John Oda ($6,300), and James Nicholas ($6,200). Like any coastal course, there will be wind and coastal weather to play through. The golfers will also have to navigate 88 bunkers across the property and water that will come into play on five holes. Last season, fairways hit in regulation was eight percent less than the PGA TOUR average, but greens hit in regulation was just about the PGA TOUR average at 66 percent. Like last season, the winning score should be similar (24-under). The course conditions should also be comparable to what we've seen at other seaside resort courses like the Corales Puntacana, the Sony Open, the RSM Classic and the Mayakoba Golf Classic. The course will offer full FedExCup points for the first time, but this may feel closer to the golf we see on the Korn Ferry Tour with low scores. Golfers who've done well on shorter, coastal courses should get consideration in our DraftKings rosters this week. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Doc Redman ($10,400) Redman should be first or second in salary based on his talent, so getting him at the fourth-highest price is value. Over his previous three tournaments, Redman's approach has been terrific, gaining just over 10 strokes total with his irons. Redman has also been elite on courses under 7,200 yards since the restart, ranking fourth in Strokes Gained: tee-to-Green and first in Strokes Gained: Total over the previous three months. Redman also ranks sixth in birdies or better gained over his prior 22 rounds, which allows him to contend and stay in the tournament throughout the weekend. Adam Schenk ($8,100) Are you looking for cut equity and upside in this salary range? Look no further than Adam Schenk, who has made nine straight cuts on the PGA TOUR since the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Schenk isn't just making cuts; he's playing well with two top 30s and most recently a 27th at the Shriners earlier this month. Over the previous three months, he ranks 35th with his irons, 26th in Strokes Gained: Putting and seventh in birdies or better gained. Schenk has also played well on courses similar to Port Royal, making the cut at Corales Puntacana last month and finishing 14th at the Puerto Rico Open earlier this year. Russell Knox ($7,600) Knox just notched a ninth-place finish at Safeway back in September, where he gained eight strokes tee-to-green and opened the tournament as the leader after shooting 63 in round one. Knox's current form has been inconsistent, but it looked like he found something earlier this month at Shriners, gaining 4.1 strokes with his irons. Knox has also gained with his approach in four of his last five tournaments, making him an excellent DraftKings GPP/tournament play. Knox is also quite the fan of short, coastal courses as well, recording a second, third and ninth place at the OHL in Mayakoba, a top 20 in the 2019 RSM Classic at Sea Island Resort, a runner up at the 2016 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town and two top 15s along with a top 10 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Knox also had an 11th here in 2019. Jason Dufner ($7,100) is someone we should also consider in this range. He's striking the ball well and can get a hot putter at a moment's notice, similar to what he did at the Safeway Open back in September, gaining 5.2 strokes on the greens. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $400K Resurgence [$100K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is reidtfowler) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.

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