Cut prediction: The Genesis Invitational

LAS VEGAS – When you’re on a heater in Las Vegas, you ride it as long as you can. Kevin Na, a Las Vegas resident and the winner of the 2011 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, is certainly riding a hot putter. After his scintillating 62 on Friday, Na went one better with a sublime 10-under 61 at TPC Summerlin on Saturday to surge to 22 under and gain a two-shot lead. His 191 total is the 54-hole scoring record in the event. Related: Leaderboard | Na’s optimism helping new generation of stars | Finau shoots 62, tries to earn Presidents Cup pick Na has made 445 feet, seven inches worth of putts through three rounds and has picked up an incredible +11.905 in Strokes Gained: Putting for the week. “I just kept riding that momentum with the hot putter and it was a great day,â€� Na said. “I’m just hitting a lot of confident strokes with good putts and the percentage is just high. When you hit good putts at a good speed you’re using the whole hole. “Look, you need some luck to have some putts lip in here and there, and I’ve been getting a little bit of that.â€� Luck aside, Na is seemingly in cruise control. But he knows a fourth PGA TOUR win won’t be handed to him. Especially because his nearest challenger is Patrick Cantlay, who was first and second in his previous starts at TPC Summerlin. But Na is also embracing the emotion of playing in his hometown and in front of his family. “It would mean a lot, especially with having a newborn, my son Leo,â€� Na explained. “I won in front of (daughter) Sophia, so it would be nice if I could get another W in front of both of them.â€� Cantlay started the day with a share of the lead, shot 63, and still finds himself two back. But the 27-year-old remains extremely confident he can claim PGA TOUR win number three to go with his 2018 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and his 2019 Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide triumphs. “It’s a four-round tournament. It’s what I expect out here. Everybody can shoot the lights off this place, especially with the weather is like it was today,â€� Cantlay said. “That’s the attitude for tomorrow. I know it’s going to take a lot of birdies. Fortunately, that’s an attitude I’m comfortable with, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.â€� While Cantlay’s putter has not been anywhere near as hot as Na’s ,his driver has been near flawless. The former world No.1 amateur leads the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. He also leads in driving distance as he hits more drivers than anyone else in the field, a move that could put a little pressure on Na in the final group on Sunday. While the two former winners at TPC Summerlin are by far the most likely to enter the winner’s circle on Sunday, a handful of other contenders are looking to play spoiler. Pat Perez (62) sits four off the lead and a few major winners in Lucas Glover (five back), Webb Simpson (six back) and Adam Scott (seven back) have signaled intentions of playing aggressive golf amongst the chasing pack. “I’m going to have to shoot ridiculously low, but it’s possible in these conditions,â€� Scott said. “Just got to get off to a hot start. That’s the tricky thing around here. The first six holes are not that easy. So you’ve got to play some really good golf in those first six, and then the last twelve holes there is a real opportunity for you to capitalize.â€�

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Headed into what was scheduled to be this week’s Valero Texas Open, Charley Hoffman would have been armed with the best tool for success – a strong history in San Antonio. Last year’s bogey-free, 5-under 67 Sunday at TPC San Antonio was good for solo-second, his sixth top-10 finish in 14 starts in the event. Hoffman won the Valero Texas Open in 2016. But, rather than being poised for another solid finish on one of the TOUR’s most challenging layouts, like everyone else in the world, Hoffman is home and wondering what’s next. While he and wife, Stacy, don’t have all the answers for their two young daughters, they do have the resources to give back to a community in need. And, through the Charley Hoffman Foundation, they also do have Texas-sized hearts. Via video message, Charley, Stacy and their daughters recently announced a donation of $25,000 from the Charley Hoffman Foundation to the Valero Texas Open. The funds will be distributed by the tournament to a variety of area charities at their discretion. “It was important to give to the Valero Texas Open because we understand that without PGA TOUR events, the tournaments just don’t have the ability for the same community outreach from a financial standpoint,� Charley said. “Stacy and I looked back at what is one of our favorite tournaments of the year, the Valero Texas Open, and thought about how we could help the community of San Antonio.� “We thought it was right to give to the Valero Texas Open not only because Charley has had so much success there, but also because the tournament has been a big supporter of the Charley Hoffman Foundation,� said Stacy. “That means a lot for them to take note of what we’re doing with our foundation.� In its 11 years of existence, the Charley Hoffman Foundation has generated more than $1.8 million. In their hometown of San Diego, the foundation supports cystic fibrosis, San Diego Junior Golf & Pro Kids Golf as main charities. “To have the funds available to give back is something Stacy and I are so grateful for,� Charley said. “And, when something unusual like this pandemic comes along, it means a lot to us to be able to draw from funds we have in the foundation.� “We really are so pleased that the Charley Hoffman Foundation is able to help other organizations and charities through this really hard time,� Stacy said. “We understand that it’s hard for charities that try to support those who need extra help throughout the year.� So, in a time of uncertainty, Stacy knew it would be even harder for those who need more during this challenging time. And, the charities themselves may actually begin with less to give back. “It’s said that everything’s bigger in Texas, and the Valero Texas Open has always given a really big amount back to their San Antonio community,� Stacy said. “It was really important for Charley and I to give back, because we knew they could be missing out on a lot of charity dollars this year. We thought we could at least help a little bit with some of those charities that really rely on those funds.� “In my opinion, the Valero Texas Open is a major standout among TOUR events when it comes to giving back to the community year after year,� Charley said. “It seems like the Valero Texas Open gives more to charity than almost every event on TOUR. I think that’s amazing.� Thanks to a healthy Charley Hoffman Foundation, a reserve had built up enough to where the couple could make the donation. Charley and Stacy are hoping to give an even larger amount back to their San Diego charities next year, typically announced during the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines each January. “We’re proud to be able to help people when the help is needed,� Charley said. “All along, that’s the vision Stacy and I had of this foundation – to be able to help people. “I always say that I dreamed of playing on the PGA TOUR and winning tournaments like the Valero Texas Open. But, I could have never dreamed that we would be able to give back to the communities in which we live and play golf tournaments. I get chills just thinking about it all the time.�

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The 121st U.S. Open is on deck this week at Torrey Pines, South Course, in San Diego, California. The course will play as a par 71, measuring 7,643 yards and the greens will be poa annua this week. There are 156 golfers and the top 65 and ties will make the weekend for the season’s third major. The last and only time Torrey Pines hosted the U.S. Open was in 2008, where Tiger Woods beat Rocco Mediate in a playoff. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $2.5M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Entry] STRATEGY Torrey Pines is a regular stop on the PGA TOUR for the Farmers Insurance Open, where Patrick Reed (+2500, $9,000) won by five strokes. Bryson DeChambeau (+1900, $10,400) is the defending U.S. Open champion, winning at Winged Foot last season. Similar to last week, Torrey Pines (South) will be another long, par 71 and that’s where the similarities stop. The course hugs the San Diego coastline, featuring undulating fairways, thick rough and small greens. Torrey Pines also has deep bunkering guarding the greens — 14 of 18 holes have bunkers that sit on the left and right side of the putting surface, making sure the golfers don’t have an easy bailout away from danger. There’s no secret what you need to do well at a U.S. Open and here at Torrey Pines. Of course, ball-striking is king, but golfers who are efficient in distance and accuracy Off-the-Tee will have an easier path to success. The last four winners of the U.S. Open are all elite drivers. Bryson finished first in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee at the end of the season last year, while Gary Woodland (+8000, $7,500), Brooks Koepka (+1600, $10,100) and Dustin Johnson (+1600, $10,700) finished inside the top 20 in driving at the end of the season they won the U.S. Open. The top five in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee over the previous 24 rounds coming into this week is Bryson, Jon Rahm (+850, $11,200), Matt Fitzpatrick (+5500, $7,800), Abraham Ancer (+5000, $7,900) and Cameron Champ (+18000, $7,000). Hitting it well Off-the-Tee won’t amount to anything this week if the golfers don’t have a hot putting week. Most of the greens pitch back to front and have a lot of slope and undulation. The past winners at the Farmers Insurance Open, dating back to Jason Day, gained an average of 4.125 strokes on the greens. Putting is too variant to predict but leaning toward golfers who’ve shown success putting on poa annua should also be considered. With the elevated greens and bunkers in specific landing areas, golfers who rate out nicely in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and sand saves as well should warrant roster considerations this week. Like all major weeks, pricing is soft, which means there’s value to be mined in each price range. Historically, winning this tournament usually goes to one of the top-ranked golfers heading into the week. The past six winners had an average world ranking of 12.5 leading into their U.S Open victories, with the lowest being Woodland at No. 24 in 2019 and the highest being Jordan Spieth (+1700, $10,900) at No. 2 in 2015. Over the previous three years at the U.S. Open, a balanced lineup approach has been successful. In 2018, the average salary of the top six in DraftKings scoring was $8,650, with the cheapest being Tony Finau at $7,500 and the most expensive being Johnson at $11,700. In 2019, the average salary was $9,183, with the cheapest being Louis Oosthuizen at $7,900 and the most expensive being Koepka at $11,600. Last season, the average was $8,783, with Will Zalatoris being the cheapest at $6,700 and Justin Thomas being the most expensive at $10,700. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Brooks Koepka (+1600 to Win, $10,100 on DraftKings) The fact that he’s won two out of the last four U.S. Opens and just finished runner-up at the PGA Championship last month should be reason enough to consider Brooks this week. Koepka missed the cut last weekend at Congaree, but it was all due to his short game, losing 1.66 strokes around-the-greens and 2.85 putting. His ball-striking was superb in South Carolina, and he’s now gained over six strokes through approach in three of his previous five measured events. Poa annua isn’t his best surface; he usually skips the California Swing during the regular season. Still, this is Koepka at a major, which should suffice if you’re looking to roster a golfer in this range. Collin Morikawa (+2200 to Win, $9,500 on DraftKings) The fourth-ranked golfer in the world is elite with his irons, ranking first in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green over the previous 50 rounds. Over his past five tournaments, he’s gained an average of just under seven strokes with his irons. Morikawa’s finishes hinge on how well he’s putting that week, and he’s lost strokes with his putter in three of his past four measured tournaments. Still, his worst finish in those four events was a 14th at the Charles Schwab; he finished T7 at the RBC Heritage and T8 at the PGA Championship. The last two times he’s gained strokes putting this season, he finished second at The Memorial presented by Nationwide and won the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession. He’s got a top 25 at the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open and should be used to the poa annua growing up in California. Shane Lowry (+4500 to Win, $7,600 on DraftKings) Three top 10s and a top 5 in his last four starts, including the Memorial Tournament and the PGA Championship, should give the reigning “Championship Golfer of the World” a boost of confidence heading into this week. Lowry has three made cuts at Torrey Pines during the Farmers Insurance Open, finishing seventh in 2015 and 13th the following year. Few players are hitting it as well as Lowry Tee-to-Green (T2G). Lowry gained an average of 5.9 strokes T2G over his previous five tournaments and comes in with a good swath of U.S. Open experience and success. In 2016 at Oakmont, Lowry was the 54-hole leader with a four-shot lead heading into the final round. His Sunday wasn’t ideal, shooting a 76, but his first three days were near perfection. Adam Scott (+8000, $7,400) should also be considered this week with how well his game sets up for a U.S. Open and how well he’s played at Torrey Pines during the Farmers Insurance Open. Scott finished top 10 at Torrey Pines earlier this season and was runner-up back in 2019. He also has three top 10s at the U.S. Open since 2014. Poa annua greens are his preferred surface, ranking 16th in Strokes Gained: Putting over the previous 50 rounds. Justin Suh (+30000 to Win, $6,600 on DraftKings) If you’re looking for a punt play, one to consider is the former University of Southern California standout. The California native qualified for the U.S. Open at a Monday qualifier last week and gets to tee it up at Torrey Pines, a course he’s very familiar with. Suh has two professional starts at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he finished 37th earlier this season. He’s also mentioned that he’s played Torrey Pines about 20 times in his life during junior and collegiate golf. The former World No. 1 ranked amateur turned pro with Morikawa, Viktor Hovland (+2200, $9,200) and Matthew Wolff (+15000, $7,200) back in 2019 and should have a ton of confidence this week at a course he knows and loves. Refer a friend and get $20 DK Dollars! Head to the DraftKings Playbook Promo page for more details! Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $2.5M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Entry] Put your knowledge to the test. 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