Column: Nicklaus part of the major discussion again

AUSTIN, Texas — Three Americans and one Swede — or if you prefer, three ex-Southeastern Conference players and one from the Big 12. Those are the survivors who have advanced to the final day of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play The Sunday morning semifinals at Austin Country Club begin at 10 a.m. ET with Justin Thomas facing Bubba Watson, followed by Alex Noren vs. Kevin Kisner at 10:15 a.m. The winners will face off in the championship match Sunday afternoon. Noren — a Swede who graduated from Oklahoma State — will try to prevent an All-American final, while an All-Georgia Bulldog final could develop if Kisner and Watson win. Meanwhile, Alabama’s Justin Thomas, currently No. 1 in the world, could also move to world No. 1 if he beats Watson. Here’s a breakdown of each semifinal match: Justin Thomas vs. Bubba Watson Bubba Watson was supposed to go out of the country on vacation tomorrow. Due to the sheer uncertainty of match play, Watson bought plane tickets, never realizing that he would make it to the semifinals for the second time in eight Match Play appearances. “I figured I wasn’t going to make it, so I went ahead and scheduled a vacation,” said Watson, seeded 35th this week. “So I’ve got to call my wife now and tell her that I’m going to be a day late.” Instead of relaxing 40,000 feet up in the air, Watson will go head-to-head with Justin Thomas in a semifinal match that has extra significance for the second-ranked player in the world. Getting past Watson would guarantee Thomas the No. 1 ranking for the first time in his career. In an interesting twist of fate, Sunday’s match against Thomas will be the second time Watson has gone up against a player who needed a win to secure the No. 1 ranking. The last time was back in 2011 when Watson lost to Martin Kaymer in the Match Play semifinals. That win secured Kaymer the No. 1 ranking for the first time in his career. “I guess I’m good at that,” Watson said. “If you want No. 1, just beat me, and you’ll be No. 1.” Watson appears to be up for the challenge based on the way he’s played this week. After making it through the group stage, Watson held off Brian Harman in the Round of 16 before taking down good friend Kiradech Aphibarnrat in 15 holes. Watson went 1 down early in his match against Harman but never trailed against Aphibarnat. Thomas has been on a similar run this week. Before he went 1 down on the second hole against Kyle Stanley in the quarterfinals, Thomas had not trailed all week. Playing the role of front-runner has suited the 24-year-old well, who needed just 13 holes to take down Si Woo Kim before ending Kyle Stanley’s week, 2 and 1. Thomas was on the fence about playing in Austin following the removal of his wisdom teeth, which turned into a sore throat — a doctor told him it was likey strep throat — that saw him lose six pounds. “I had a pretty serious conversation with my dad on Monday if I was going to play,” Thomas said. “I never want to play in a tournament, first off if it’s going to hurt my health. If I was sick or really sick, me trying to play this week wasn’t going to do me any good. But also if I feel like I don’t have a chance to win, it’s also really — to me, I don’t understand the point of playing if I don’t feel like I can.” With the help of antibiotics, Thomas has regained his strength and has the look of someone who won the Honda Classic and finished runner-up in Mexico in his last two starts. On the verge of becoming No. 1, Thomas is relishing that possibility that it could happen tomorrow. “I don’t know what’s going to come with it,” Thomas said of the No. 1 ranking. “But I just hope it happens tomorrow.” Alex Noren vs. Kevin Kisner Alex Noren has played with Kevin Kisner only once since the two turned professional, but there’s a history between the players that dates back to their time at the University of Georgia and Oklahoma State University. Playing at two golf powerhouses around the same time meant Kisner and Noren saw a lot of each other. While Noren couldn’t recall who got the better of those battles on the course, he’ll have the chance to take on Kisner in a match that would move him one step closer to earning his first PGA TOUR victory. He’s looked the part of a player who’s on the verge of finding the winner’s circle this season, with a runner-up finish at the Farmers Insurance Open and a third-place showing at the Honda Classic. Then there’s the impressive run he’s been on this week that’s seen him go 9-1 in his last 10 matches at the event, dating back to last year. “I’ve always liked match play because I think it’s very — the outcome is quite direct,” Noren said. “Four days, sometimes it can — you can go through holes that maybe mentally you’re a little bit out of it and then you get into it when it’s 72 holes. “In match play, you’ve just got to be really focused all the time and anything can happen. And then you have to play good each round. You can’t just give up a round and then think you’ve got three more. Maybe that’s what I need to do in stroke play, as well, not give a round away. I’ve always liked it. You can be a little bit more aggressive.” Noren will face an in-form Kisner who recently found something with his game. Everything has clicked this week, as Kisner made eight birdies in a win against Matt Kuchar before rolling past Ian Poulter in the quarterfinals, 8 and 6. “A lot of range balls, a lot of time,” Kisner said. “I haven’t been very confident throughout the bag all year. Sometimes you have to get a little worse before you get better. We’re always trying to improve. And I’m not sure if I needed to. “It’s starting to click now. I started seeing some stuff on Tuesday. I played nine holes with Daniel Berger and started seeing good stuff that I hadn’t seen in a few weeks. That was starting to build the confidence there. And throughout the week I’ve gained a lot more confidence.” Confidence could be key in a match between two of the hottest putters in the field. Noren currently leads the field in strokes gained: putting this week while Kisner ranks fourth in the statistical category.

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Before I get to some exciting news, ShotLink is activated for the PGA Championship. It’s the only major that uses it. As a result, the array of fantasy scoring is in play for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. Given the default value on distance off the tee and what is shaping up to be a soggy Bellerive Country Club, consider tilting the balance toward length more than you would usually. After you’ve cemented your lineup for the season’s final major, be sure to keep an eye on the introduction of a new fantasy game at PGATOUR.COM. If you believe that you have a solid handle on PGA TOUR Fantasy presented by SERVPRO, your confidence is poised to be rewarded in the Perfect Lineup Challenge. The new, stand-alone contest will be announced this week. It will consist only of the events of the FedExCup Playoffs. Your objective will be to own the top-four fantasy scorers in all four tournaments. If you succeed, you’ll win $1 million. That’s $1,000,000.00. Seriously. The game will use the same fantasy scoring with which you’re familiar in PGA TOUR Fantasy presented by SERVPRO, but there will not be a limit on the number of starts per golfer. Stay tuned for more details and other prizing. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the PGA Championship (in alphabetical order): Patrick Cantlay Tony Finau Dustin Johnson Brooks Koepka Rory McIlroy Justin Thomas You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Jason Day; Tommy Fleetwood; Rickie Fowler; Marc Leishman; Phil Mickelson; Alex Noren; Jon Rahm; Patrick Reed; Justin Rose; Tiger Woods Driving: Keegan Bradley; Paul Casey; Jason Day; Tommy Fleetwood; Rickie Fowler; Francesco Molinari; Justin Rose; Adam Scott; Kyle Stanley Approach: Keegan Bradley; Rickie Fowler; Zach Johnson; Matt Kuchar; Louis Oosthuizen; Ian Poulter; Jordan Spieth; Henrik Stenson; Tiger Woods Short: Paul Casey; Jason Day; Tyrrell Hatton; Matt Kuchar; Phil Mickelson; Alex Noren; Justin Rose; Webb Simpson; Tiger Woods Returning to Competition Justin Rose … Back spasms thwarted an appearance in last week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, and he didn’t “need” to exacerbate the malady. Consider him green-lit in all formats at Bellerive. Adam Hadwin … Sat out last week’s finale at Firestone due to a sore hip. No better than T35 at Carnoustie in his last eight starts. Currently 67th in the FedExCup standings and has already acknowledged (on Twitter) that he won’t be lacing it up at Sedgefield next week. Troy Merritt … Hasn’t missed competition but still could be a tee-time decision after having surgery to remove a blood clot in his left arm since winning the Barbasol Championship. Notable WDs Graham DeLaet … On July 24, he announced plans to have microdiscectomy surgery on his L4-L5 disc. The 36-year-old is expecting to miss as much as one year of competition. While he hasn’t competed since October, 2018 hasn’t been a total loss as he was inducted into Boise State University’s Athletics Hall of Fame in April. Lee Westwood … Shortly after gaining entry via the Official World Golf Ranking, he withdrew with an undisclosed injury. It’s just the second time (2010) since he made his PGA Championship debut in 1997 that he’s missed the major. The Englishman turned 45 in April. Bernd Wiesberger … The 32-year-old Austrian would have cracked the field via the OWGR, but he remains sidelined with a wrist injury. He’s been out for three months. Power Rankings Recap – World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Dustin Johnson T3 2 Rory McIlroy T6 3 Justin Rose DNP 4 Francesco Molinari T39 5 Tiger Woods T31 6 Rickie Fowler T17 7 Paul Casey T31 8 Tommy Fleetwood T14 9 Jon Rahm T17 10 Zach Johnson T17 11 Jordan Spieth T60 12 Jason Day T10 13 Xander Schauffele 68th 14 Hideki Matsuyama T39 15 Brooks Koepka 5th 16 Justin Thomas Win 17 Thorbjørn Olesen T3 18 Tony Finau T10 19 Bubba Watson T31 20 Adam Scott T57 Wild Card Patrick Reed T28 Sleepers Recap – World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational Golfer Result Austin Cook T53 Russell Knox T48 Andrew Landry T57 Brendan Steele T60 Ryuko Tokimatsu T39 Power Rankings Recap – Barracuda Championship Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Martin Laird T15 2 Joel Dahmen T54 3 Kevin Streelman MC 4 Ryan Palmer T26 5 Andrew Putnam Win 6 Richy Werenski MC 7 Robert Garrigus MC 8 Kevin Tway T23 9 Shane Lowry T15 10 Sam Saunders T Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR August 7 … Andrew Landry (31) August 8 … Webb Simpson (33) August 9 … Brett Wetterich (45) August 10 … Jonathan Randolph (30) August 11 … Morgan Hoffmann (29) August 12 … none August 13 … Tommy Gainey (43)

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Thomas wins PGA Championship for first major

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