Confidence Factor: Fantasy golf tips for the RBC Canadian Open

No matter who wins the Barracuda Championship, he’s almost certain to deliver a headline that writes itself. The competition held at Montrêux Golf and Country Club in Reno, Nevada, anchors a record five additional events this season. The first two served as coronations for PGA TOUR rookies Cameron Champ (Sanderson Farms) and Martin Trainer (Puerto Rico). The most recent pair rewarded former winners with a shred of status in Graeme McDowell (Corales), who was conditionally exempt, and Jim Herman (Barbasol), who fell deep into the Past Champions category after coming nowhere near meeting the terms of his medical extension. Setting the Barracuda apart is the fact that the 132-man field will be pursuing the highest score. For the eighth consecutive year, Modified Stableford scoring will measure performance. Scroll past the projected contenders and others to consider for more on the layout and targets for the eventual champion. OTHERS TO CONSIDER • Brendan Steele … With four top 20s and a T25 in five trips, it’s a knock that he’s not included above, but he’s enduring a rough season. Currently 169th in the FedExCup but already fully exempt for 2019-20. • Emiliano Grillo … While he’s missed only two cuts in the last 12 months, he’s finished inside the top 15 in only one TOUR stop in 2019 (T9, Memorial). Struggling since and he’s a first-timer at Montrêux. • Robert Garrigus … From 2006-2017, he went 8-for-8 with three top 10s and another two top 25s at Montrêux, so it’s as smart a place as any to expect him to reconnect with form. Montrêux G&CC is the only site ever used for the Barracuda Championship. It dates back to 1999. Since the fourth edition, the course has tipped at 7,472 yards. It’s a stock par 72 with a closing par 5 that stretches 616 yards, and it’s only second-longest on the property. The par-5 eighth can reach 636 yards. Length isn’t as much of a challenge as it is a necessity in Reno. Situated at about 5,500 feet above sea level, it doesn’t discriminate against short hitters. In fact, with primary bluegrass rough framing fairways stretching as high as two-and-three-quarter inches and another half-inch of length around greens, it’s a myth that this is a bomber’s paradise. If you want proof, the 2018 winner, Andrew Putnam, who qualified for the concurrently contested World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and will not defend the Barracuda, ranked T137 in distance of all drives on the PGA TOUR last season. Chris Stroud was T142 in the stat in 2016-17 when he prevailed in a playoff here that season. And Greg Chalmers always has been known best for his lights-out putting, not for slotting the equivalent of T114 in distance of all drives in limited action in 2015-16. Other than a tendency to hit longer irons into greens, which average only 5,000 square feet at Montrêux, Putnam, Stroud and Chalmers share in common the fact that each was a first-time winner. Like all but Stroud before him when Modified Stableford scoring was introduced in 2012, Putnam owned the outright lead entering the final round. He padded it by one point to post 47, which tied the second-highest clip in tournament history. Geoff Ogilvy’s 49 in 2014 is the gold standard. Putnam completed 72 holes with one eagle, 24 birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey. (A worse score on any hole cannot be carded.) The obvious objective is to capitalize on scoring opportunities, particularly with birdies counting for twice as many points contributing to one’s score that bogeys deduct. With the unique format, focus is refreshed, if not stimulated, and at a time of the season when it can pay off. Next week’s Wyndham Championship serves as the line of demarcation determining who qualifies for the FedExCup Playoffs, who’s headed to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and who’s headed back to qualifying school. Customarily warm and breezy conditions are in store as a dry pattern sets in. Daytime highs easily will climb into the mid-90s, while winds will be sustained at 15 mph with gusts. Because it’s so dry in the area, diurnal ranges will be 30-35 degrees throughout the week, so don’t rule out seeing the earliest starters tee off with a light jacket or long sleeves. 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 (WGC) TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Barracuda), Sleepers (WGC), Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done (WGC), One & Done (Barracuda), Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

Click here to read the full article…

You could almost call it over after 18. Through 36, it was all but over. After 54, we were just treading water and waiting. But then the wild winds picked up at Bethpage Black and Brooks Koepka added some late heart palpitations before taking out the 101st PGA Championship. Welcome to the Monday Finish where Koepka ultimately outmuscled the famed Bethpage Black course and claimed an incredible fourth major title in his last eight major starts. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. You just have to tip your lid to Brooks Koepka Sure he made some back nine bogeys to see his seven shot lead get as low as just one shot, but the fact remains… he won. Again. Koepka is proving a dominant force in major championship golf. Four wins before 30. Four majors in his last eight major starts. That’s Tiger Woods like. But of course he cannot really yet be compared to Tiger. Woods has 81 PGA TOUR wins. Koepka has six. Woods always dominated. Koepka has just figured out how to peak at the right times. His performance over the opening two rounds at Bethpage Black this week were sensational. As good as golf gets and his 128 record for 36 holes in a major deserves to stand for decades. And say what you want about Sunday, but the fact remains he stepped up a number of times to arrest slides. His birdie on the 10th as Johnson first came at him was sublime. And then, as it all unraveled with four straight bogeys, he was able to compose himself, reset, and battle his way to the house without his best. True champions find a way to win even when momentum goes against them. Read more on Koepka’s efforts here. 2. After basking in the glory of what Koepka has been able to do the question becomes… How long can he keep this up? The game has shown us in recent times that players can get hot for a year or two. Rory McIlroy was going to be the guy as he put up his four majors in relatively quick time, but since his last in 2014 the dominance has not returned. Jordan Spieth had his three major run, with a FedExCup and more, before feeling a slump. Jason Day won seven times in 17 starts including a major and PLAYERS. Will this guy be different? He certainly appears like he could be. He claimed in the lead up to the event he has a target on at least 10 majors. Only three players have ever achieved that… but right now I’m not prepared to bet against him. Read more about what his rivals think will happen from here on out here. 3. Dustin Johnson could have been the spoiler Incredibly, the seven shot lead had been whittled down to just one as Johnson faced an approach into the 16th green from the fairway. Get in the house with three pars from there and who knows what might happen. But the 20-time PGA TOUR winner nuked his shot over the green and failed to get up and down. “I hit a 5-iron, but almost went back and got a 4-iron because I didn’t think the 5 was going to even come close, based on the shots that I’ve hit, earlier in the round, into the wind,â€� he would say afterwards. As Koepka was leaking oil, Johnson couldn’t find a way to apply more pressure. He then bogeyed the 17th and put his drive into the junk on 18 ensuring there would be no final hole birdie. For all his great play prior, when crunch time came, he faltered. Read more about his travails here. 4. I will admit it… I didn’t really believe Jordan Spieth when he said his slump was over Not before the tournament began. And not even through 36 holes when he was tied for second. But the 25-year-old former FedExCup champion certainly had his putter going like it was in his early years. His T3 finish was his first top-10 since the 2018 Open Championship. He led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and he held his own on a course clearly favoring the bigger hitters. One swallow doesn’t make a summer, but he heads to the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial this week with some extra confidence and swagger. He has won there before… so who knows. Read more about his comeback here. 5. Every PGA TOUR event provides great learning experiences But of course major championship golf can be a breeding ground for painful lessons. Amongst those getting a painful reminder of just how hard Bethpage Black can be, particularly on Sunday at a major with high winds, were Harold Varner III (81), Luke List (74) and Jazz Janewattananond (77). They all started in second place on Sunday, but fell away with plenty to play for outside of a victory. But they weren’t alone. The scoring average on Sunday was 73.439 and featured some big names struggling. Tony Finau shot 79, with a 43 on the back. Louis Oosthuizen also shot 79, Tommy Fleetwood 78, Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama both shot 77. Of course Koepka shot 74. The Black still has some bite. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Koepka led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green gaining an incredible 17.354 strokes over the tournament. He was nearly a stoke per round better than second ranked Gary Woodland. Koepka was second in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. He was third in driving distance (304.9) and hit 32 of 56 fairways. 2. Koepka also led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach at +9.533. He averaged 30-feet, one-inch in proximity (2nd) and hit 53 of 72 greens in regulation (1st). 3. Koepka is the first player to defend both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open in a career. 4. Koepka is one of three players in the last 30 years to win three majors before the age of 30. The others are Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. He is just the fifth American to do it all-time with Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. 5. Koepka set a bundle of records, including the 36-hole major championship scoring record. To get an appreciation of all his numbers check this out. WYNDHAM REWARDS The Wyndham Rewards Top 10 is in its first season and adds another layer of excitement to the FedExCup Regular Season. The top 10 players at the end of the FedExCup Regular Season will earn bonus payouts from the Wyndham Rewards Top 10. Brooks Koepka has leader Matt Kuchar in his sights now after his PGA Championship defense. Koepka jumps from fifth to second. Dustin Johnson also jumped up a spot to fifth with his runner up effort.

Click here to read the full article…

Xander Schauffele is quickly becoming big everywhere. He’s big in San Diego where he was born and raised and where he honed his golf at high school and college. He’s big in Las Vegas where he recently moved with his wife and was last week awarded the keys to the city. He’s big in Germany where his father Stefan grew up and dreamed of being an Olympic level decathlete before a car accident stunted that. He’s big in Wisconsin after celebrating in epic fashion, perhaps a little too well, with fans in the aftermath of recent Ryder Cup glory. And he’s really big in Japan where his grandparents reside and where he returns this week for THE ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP around two and a half months after winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games. But Schauffele has desires of being bigger. The four-time PGA TOUR winner might be small in stature but he’s massive in heart. And he’s a straight shooter. Despite having a career resume some players spend a lifetime failing to achieve, this 28-year-old evaluates his 2021 as barely acceptable. For the second consecutive season he went winless on the TOUR but did pick up the gold medal and was impressive in the Ryder Cup going 3-0 in the team section before losing to Rory McIlroy in Singles. “I feel not that I failed on the PGA TOUR season, but I didn’t really accomplish what I wanted to. And I did get worse in certain categories throughout the year,” Schauffele says. “But I was able to step up to the plate in tournaments that don’t count for the PGA TOUR… it’s an interesting feeling. “I feel like I’ve had success, but then again I missed out on a lot of things that I wanted to accomplish. So, a weird space that I’m in mentally, but overall, I think celebrating the Ryder Cup win with my teammates sort of got me over the edge of feeling like I failed this season.” The categories Schauffele speaks of were his driving stats and his approach game from 80-140 yards. He was eighth on TOUR in 2020 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee at +0.648 but dropped to 41st and +0.266 in 2021. His driving accuracy fell from 60.31% to 58.83%. As for his approach game – well his approaches from 75-100 yards went from average 16’3” proximity to 18’10” and from 125-150 yards he went from 20’8” to 22’10”. “I usually don’t look at my numbers that soon, but we were at the Ryder Cup and they had all the numbers and I’m guilty of wanting to know what they are, so I just asked them and that’s what they told me,” Schauffele said. “So I told them thank you for the kick in the rear end to be better.” His drive and desire are in his suitcase this week in Japan and he’s hoping the good memories flood back and help him to more success. He will also have the gold medal on hand – or more likely Stefan will have it nearby as it’s been tough to pry it from his super proud father. His next step is winning on TOUR again and where better than Japan. The Olympics helped him smash one bugaboo – that of not being able to close from in front. He held on to the gold medal after having the 54-hole lead. He hasn’t been able to do that in the four occasions he’s led with a round to play on TOUR. “Whether it was a par-3 contest out here on TOUR, me winning with a lead, I just had to get over that hump and I was able to do it,” he said. “And the magnitude of the event in Tokyo, obviously with my family and my dad and everyone there and me wanting it more and more and more as I would fail in final groups, there was a lot of pressure sitting up there. So for me to be able to pull it off, especially in that fashion, was a good feeling.” This week his dad, grandparents and mom will again make the trip to watch him play. And the local support has been generous because of his family ties. Outside the Japanese stars in the field, he may be their next favorite. “Everyone’s kind of done the quarantine and travel rules to support me, which is nice. It is extra special to return to Japan,” he says of his family. “And the fans will be the ones that also sort of make it special or make me relive my good moments. I remember the first time we played the ZOZO, I was paired with JT and Rory and it was like five to eight deep on the first hole and people are going nuts. “The people in Japan love golf and it’s always nice to play in front of them, even if it is a limited number. I’m looking forward to it for sure. It’s always really cool to get announced on the first tee as the gold medalist and that will be like that for quite some time which is just nice and I’ll take full advantage of that.” Given it’s been a hectic year for Schauffele he could almost be forgiven for treating the tournament as a celebration week before taking a break. He says he hasn’t really had a chance to let it all sink in. But his competitive nature doesn’t allow for wasted weeks. “I haven’t really had an off season. My brain’s still been in go mode. So I haven’t really had time to sort of sit back and relax and take it all in,” he says. “But I’m not going to make up the numbers. I’m going to try to win. I’m very competitive, I hate losing. Hopefully we can celebrate after another great week there.” Schauffele’s goals don’t stop there. “A FedExCup, major championships, PLAYERS championship, multiple of those… that’s just what I expect of myself and sort of why I get up and go through all the whole process every day,” he adds. Now that really would be bigger. And golden.

Click here to read the full article…