Ortiz held off a hard-charging Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama to earn his first PGA Tour victory one week before the Masters.
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The first round of the Evian Championship, the LPGA’s fifth major, began Thursday morning outside of Paris, France. The first group out made it through eight holes before play was suspended because of inclement weather. After a near four-and-a-half-hour delay, officials decided to call play for the day. They also decided to reset scores – since no one had finished nine holes – and reduce the event to 54 holes. Charlie Rymer and Robert Damron, on “Morning Drive,� both adamently believed this was a “very bad call� and that the erasing of scores and reduction of holes was a terrible move for an event labeled a major. Check out more of their thoughts on the video above.
You’d have to be a cynic to believe that there was room for improvement at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Throughout the year, Maui is the destination cited by winners before the applause has ended post-victory. The smiles that thought generates reminds us that only winners qualify. For that reason, it’s the most exclusive tournament on the PGA TOUR schedule. So, let’s agree to agree that what already was great is simply greater after every square inch of the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort on the northwestern edge of the Hawaiian island was reshaped, updated and/or modified in some fashion for the first tournament of calendar-year 2020. It’s still a perfect vision. For details on the work, how it expects to impact this year’s field of 34 and more, scroll past the ranking of the projected contenders. The other 19 in the field will be ranked 16-34 in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. Since the conclusion of the last edition of the Sentry TOC, original designers Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw returned to overhaul the Plantation Course that opened in 1991. Attention was comprehensive. In addition to numerous changes to tees, fairways and rough, all were fitted with Celebration bermudagrass. Primary rough is trimmed to two inches. Bunkers were removed, repositioned, added or upgraded to align with today’s talent. All 93 have new support, drainage and sand imported from Vietnam. In many cases, surfaces of greens were flattened to create new or reintroduce original hole locations that elevate the quality of approach shots. On average, targets are still expansive, but many either were enlarged or shrunk to balance challenge with playability. All greens feature TifEagle bermuda. They figure to be a bit springy in their debut, but strong trade winds (from the northeast) should restrict Stimpmeter readings to a customary 10 feet, although a slicker reading is hopeful in the future. After a relatively tame opening round on Thursday, gusts from 30-40 mph (and maybe higher) will settle in as the norm for the remainder. Rain is almost never ruled out here, but it won’t be an issue. Daytime highs will camp out at a seasonable 80 degrees notwithstanding the impact of passing clouds. With just three par 3s and the full complement of four par 5s, the Plantation Course is the only par 73 on the PGA TOUR. Its fresh look includes 78 more yards that results in a competitive walk capable of stretching 7,596 yards. Numerous new tees will be in play, but not all result in longer holes. For example, while the par-4 third (+44 yards), par-5 ninth (+29) and par-4 10th (+30) have new back tees, shorter tees at the par-4 13th (-24) and par-5 15th (-14) help neutralize distance overall. Despite its length, significant elevation changes present the opportunity for all games to thrive. A proper test rewards every style of good golf, and this one does. However, once upon a time and not unlike the value of lessons learned at places like Colonial and Augusta National, experience on the Plantation Course was a primary factor in victory. Yet, four of the last five champions prevailed in just their second appearance. That fact in conjunction with the restart of the learning curve for veterans raises hope for the 15 first-timers in the field. Eight qualifiers elected not to compete: Brooks Koepka, Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, C.T. Pan, Justin Rose, Tiger Woods. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.
The west coast swing ends in the picturesque Pacific Palisades at The Genesis Invitational. The Riviera Country Club hosts and will play as a par 71, measuring 7,322 yards with poa annua greens. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1.2M Pitch + Putt [$300K to 1st] STRATEGY The top 10 golfers in the world are in the field, which includes the likes of Dustin Johnson (+1600, $10,200), Rory McIlroy (+2200, $9,700), Cameron Smith (+2200, $9,100) and Collin Morikawa (+2000, $10,400). With its elevated Invitational status, a smaller field of 120 golfers will compete, with the top 65 and ties making it to the weekend. The smaller field gives you a better chance of getting your entire DFS roster through the cut, with 23% fewer players in the field than a regular tournament. Even with no water hazards, The Riviera CC notoriously plays difficult, ranking inside the top 10 in scoring relative to par over the past few seasons. The fairways are tough to hit, recording close to a 7% less hit rate than the TOUR average. Same goes in terms of hitting greens with about an 8 % fewer green-hit-in-regulation rate than the TOUR average due to heavy undulations that runoff to tight collection areas. When golfers miss these greens, gaining strokes Around-the-Greens (ARG) becomes more necessary than usual. We’ve seen winners here gain an average of 2.2 strokes ARG over the past five years. The par-3 sixth hole is famous for its bunker in the middle of the green, and the par-4 10th hole is arguably the best short par-4 on TOUR. The novelty eventually wears off with how difficult this course has played in years past, especially on the closing eight holes. The closing nine is a contributing factor to why we’ve only seen eight golfers since 2000 go on to win after having the 54-hole lead. Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green and those who are playing well Tee-to-Green are golfers we need to consider. Also, look at rostering players who perform well in par 4 efficiency on holes measuring 450 to 500 yards, with six in this range. For contrarian roster construction, build lineups will golfers who have distance Off-The-Tee. Even though it’s not a long course, past winners include Johnson, Bubba Watson (+4500, $8,500), who has won here three times, and J.B. Holmes. Last season, three golfers who finished inside the top 5 in driving distance here also placed inside the top eight for the tournament. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Will Zalatoris (+2800 to Win, $8,800 on DraftKings) The last time we saw Zalatoris was in a playoff loss at Torrey Pines, where he led the field (on the South Course) in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (12.4). Last season, a top-15 finish at The Riviera CC came thanks to excellent iron play and solid navigation of the poa annua greens, which is what he should recall rather than his struggles a few weeks ago in San Diego. Zalatoris was able to gain 4.9 strokes on Riviera’s greens last season, the highest he’s achieved in any tournament during his professional career. His ball-striking has been elite, gaining strokes with his irons in seven-straight measured events. The former Demon Deacon performs well on par 4s measuring between 450 to 500 yards, ranking fifth over the previous 24 rounds. Scottie Scheffler (+2200, $9,200) got his first win last week, and it’s time for Will’s this week. Marc Leishman (+6000 to Win, $7,900 on DraftKings) The Aussie is always a threat in California, with a win at Torrey Pines and two top-five finishes here dating back to 2016. Leishman has a knack for playing these traditional courses well, finishing top five twice at Augusta National along with a pair of top five finishes at Muirfield Village (Memorial). He’s gained strokes with his irons in eight straight Genesis Invitationals and has shown he can compete with the best in the world. Leishman ranks 33rd in par 4 efficiency on holes measuring 450 to 500 yards and 15th in par 5 efficiency in the previous 24 rounds. Si Woo Kim (+9000 to Win, $7,300 on DraftKings) This three-time winner should feel comfortable with how well he plays on the West Coast. A 26th-place finish last week, gaining 1.63 strokes with his irons and 1.91 Off-the-Tee on Sunday and three top 11s in his California events this season (Fortinet Championship, The American Express, Farmers Insurance) are enough to give him a nod this week. A win at the 2021 American Express and a third place in The Genesis Invitational in 2019 make him one of the favorites in this range. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1.2M Pitch + Putt [$300K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. Place your golf bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app. All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests. The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.
