Cut prediction: Valspar Championship

The new structure of the PGA TOUR season couldn’t have paid off better right out of the gate than how THE PLAYERS Championship transpired. Needless to say that fans and gamers are in for a treat for several months. Tucked in between the tentpole tournaments are gems and wrinkles that have taken me to the place of wondering if this isn’t the best-constructed lineup we’ve ever seen, what is? After the Valspar Championship, the ride continues with the third of five doubleheaders next week. However, unlike the other four, both tournaments will be serving action on top of PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done. The Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship will anchor the Roster game, albeit without ShotLink technology. Meanwhile, the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play gets the stand-alone Bracket Challenge. Like all fantasy offerings, it’s free to play and if you’re already registered for any, your login transfers without additional effort. For the early peek, navigate to the Bracket Challenge. Browse the tabs at the top for familiar options. Prizes can be found on the Rules page. With the Wednesday start of the Match Play next week, some of my content will publish earlier than usual, so refer to my schedule beneath the Power Rankings as usual. It’s a tight window between the time the bracket is set on Monday night and when the tournament begins, but given the format, anything can happen. Remember to enjoy the process first. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf My roster for the Valspar Championship (in alphabetical order): Jim Furyk Sergio Garcia Adam Hadwin J.T. Poston Patrick Reed Webb Simpson You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Power Rankings Wild Card Brandt Snedeker … Every once in a while, he reminds us – and maybe himself – of the possibilities when he’s flushing his irons. Never confused for a ball-striker, he co-led the field at THE PLAYERS in greens in regulation at 81.94 percent (or 14.75 per round). It’s the first time he’s done that since averaging 16 per round on the massive targets at Kapalua in 2016. Yet, he still gained strokes on the field in putting – that’s no surprise – en route to a personal-best T5 in 10 appearances. He’s 8-for-9 at Copperhead with a pair of top 25s, both of which also are top 10s, but it’s been eight years since the latter, thus his spot here. Draws Jason Kokrak … Continues to put smiles on gamers of all formats. Arrives having connected 16 cuts made. That includes five top 20s in 2019 alone. He’s also recorded three top 15s at Copperhead, including a T8 last year. Currently seventh on TOUR in total driving, 22nd in GIR and ninth in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Branden Grace … It’s a good time to extend the reminder that he does his best work on par 70s and 71s. While Copperhead has four par 5s, it’s a par 71, so it threads the needle of our lowest expectations for him in advance. He placed T8 here last year while ranking second in strokes gained: putting and a surprising T9 in par-5 scoring. Worth fractional ownership. Steve Stricker … Copperhead won’t overwhelm the shorter hitters no matter the age, so he’s a plum for DFSers. Even better, the 52-year-old has a sparkling record on the track with five top 15s, including a T12 a year ago. He’s slowed on the PGA TOUR Champions in 2019, but he’s warm nonetheless. Kevin Kisner … He’s traded sporadic runs at titles with a stream of top 30s – five, in fact, upon arrival. It’s that under-the-surface consistency that conjures the feels of a foreshock. With that, his cachet and his proven fearlessness, he’s ideally suited in DFS at Copperhead. Joel Dahmen … After profiling as a speed-track threat in 2017-18, he’s fulfilling the opposite makeup this season what with a T9 at Torrey Pines and a T12 in his debut at TPC Sawgrass. Continues to flash a sturdy tee-to-green game with a knack to capitalize on par 5s, so he presents as a reliable piece to every DFS roster despite the fact that he’s a first-timer at Copperhead. Keegan Bradley Tyrrell Hatton Russell Knox Fades Gary Woodland … It’s relative. He hasn’t missed a cut in 10 months and he’s fifth in the FedExCup standings without a victory, but Copperhead has had his number in the last four years. He’s also cooled on the Florida Swing. Chalk it up as a sensible time to keep him on the shelf. Bubba Watson … Just his second appearance in the last eight editions (MC, 2017). Overall form has been solid but unspectacular. He has a title defense on deck in Austin and the Masters in three weeks, so focus your investments there and then. Brian Harman … Where did that come from? In case you missed it, the lefty tied for eighth at THE PLAYERS. While it equaled his personal best in the tournament, it was his first top 30 anywhere in nearly nine months. Yes, momentum is on his side, but let’s see him do it again before hopping aboard. It doesn’t help that he’s 0-for-3 at Copperhead since 2015. Zach Johnson … Has one more shot at redemption on the Florida Swing, but gamers shouldn’t hold their breath. He’s back at odds with his on-again, off-again putting. He always comes around for the payoff, and it could very well happen at Copperhead where his short game was on display for a T16 last year, but let him continue to solve the puzzle alone, at least for now. Ollie Schniederjans … Crashed the party at TPC Sawgrass with a third-round 65, but it was his only sub-70 of the event. Furthermore, the T16 it supported was his first top 30 in seven months. Also failed to break par in all eight rounds covering three starts at Copperhead. Chez Reavie … He profiles well to make the cut, and he’s 6-for-9 with three top 25s in tournament history, but he’s finished no better than T38 at Pebble Beach in his most recent four starts. With next week’s Match Play up next, an event for which he’s qualified only once before (2018), we can’t rule him out for looking ahead even though he’s known that he’d be in Austin for a while. Kevin Na … Hasn’t been the same since returning to action following a fractured pinky finger on his right hand. He’s cashed four of five times, but none went for a top 30. Remain patient. Brendan Steele … Continues to slump despite a T17 at Bay Hill two starts ago. Sits T4 in total driving and T8 in greens hit but 197th in strokes gained: putting and 185th in adjusted scoring. This is his first look at Copperhead in six years. Harold Varner III … After an impressive start to the seasons, he’s hits the skids with only one top 50 in his last six starts. Luke Donald … If you’re tuned into general chatter, then you already know that he’s getting massive support from the fan base for this latest return to competition. After sitting out almost six months following a back injury in 2018, he played a bit in the fall, and then launched his 2018-19 PGA TOUR season by missing the cut at Waialae. Then crickets until now. Armed with 14 starts on a Major Medical Extension, he’d get into events on sponsor exemptions, anyway, so it boils down to his physical fitness. He prevailed here in 2012 and his short game can shine at Copperhead, but we have to expect rust. Joaquin Niemann … The midseason outlook for the 20-year-old reveals a vastly different perspective than at this time last year when he was poised to turn professional. He’s buried at 135th in the FedExCup standings with only one top-35 finish all season. The good news is that he’s missed only two cuts, which is even more impressive given he’s 209th in strokes gained: putting. Austin Connelly Graeme McDowell Dylan Meyer Patrick Rodgers Returning to Competition Padraig Harrington … After originally targeting Pebble Beach to return to competition following a broken bone in his left wrist suffered during a fall in December, the 47-year-old finally is getting back inside the ropes at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia. Given that he’s sat out for four months since missing the cut at The RSM Classic, he’d be eligible for a Major Medical Extension on the PGA TOUR if he needs it for 2019-20. The three-time major champion is burning a career earnings exemption this season. Notable WDs Abraham Ancer, Tommy Fleetwood, Alex Noren, Cameron Smith … Each qualified for next week’s World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play via the latest Official World Golf Ranking. J.J. Spaun … He withdrew after opening THE PLAYERS with 4-over 76 due to pain in his left knee. He went into detail more on Twitter on Tuesday. Daniel Berger … He’s competed in each of the last four weeks, so this is a well-timed break. Currently 102nd in the FedExCup standings but still short of the projection to pay off for full-season salary gamers. Hang in there. Martin Laird … With missed cuts both in his last three starts and in his last three appearances at Copperhead, the Scot wasn’t going to be on our radars, anyway. Sean O’Hair … Since withdrawing during his opening round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he’s withdrawn early from three stops on the Florida Swing. No explanation has surfaced for his time away. Bronson Burgoon … No stranger to the early WD – this is his fourth since the start of last season – so the greater concern is his form. Since a co-runner-up at the CIMB Classic, he’s just 1-for-9 (T59, Honda). Power Rankings Recap – THE PLAYERS Championship Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Justin Thomas  T35 2  Francesco Molinari  T56 3  Henrik Stenson  MC 4  Sergio Garcia  T22 5  Rickie Fowler  T47 6  Rory McIlroy  Win 7  Xander Schauffele  MC 8  Ian Poulter  T56 9  Tommy Fleetwood  T5 10  Lucas Glover  MC 11  Justin Rose  T8 12  Brooks Koepka  T56 13  Rafa Cabrera Bello  MC 14  Patrick Cantlay  MC 15  Hideki Matsuyama  T8 16  Webb Simpson  T16 17  Dustin Johnson  T5 18  Adam Scott  T12 19  Bryson DeChambeau  T20 20  Jason Day  T8 Wild Card  Tiger Woods  T30 Sleepers Recap – THE PLAYERS Championship Golfer  Result Aaron Baddeley  MC Daniel Berger  T67 Scott Brown  MC Branden Grace  T72 Emiliano Grillo  T26 Chesson Hadley  MC Sung Kang  T47 Jason Kokrak  T47 Russell Knox  T35 Trey Mullinax  MC Kevin Na  78th/MDF Brian Stuard  MC Michael Thompson  70th Harold Varner III  MC Jhonattan Vegas  T3 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR March 19 … Marc Turnesa (41) March 20 … Arjun Atwal (46); John Merrick (37) March 21 … Brandon Hagy (28) March 22 … none March 23 … Johnson Wagner (39) March 24 … Jason Dufner (42) March 25 … Scott Stallings (34)

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR and TrackMan announced today they are expanding golf’s most advanced club and ball tracking and tracing solution. By combining TrackMan’s cutting-edge Doppler Radar and club and ball tracking technology, TOUR events will have tracing capabilities for every golf shot hit during the season. This will significantly enhance how fans experience the world’s best golfers by providing more detail for television, OTT and digital platforms. This agreement will double previous ball-in-motion tracing capabilities on the golf course, allowing nearly every shot to be traced and automatically shared with television and OTT partners and across TOUR digital platforms such as PGATOUR.COM and the PGA TOUR app. The arrangement with TrackMan begins in 2022 for PGA TOUR LIVE and TOUR digital platforms, while the domestic television partner agreement begins in 2023. This expansion will immediately offer fan enhancements such as the visualization of ball flight paths for shots inbound to the green in TOURCast. “We’re excited to increase the volume and depth of tracking and tracing for every shot on the PGA TOUR,” said Ken Lovell, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President Golf Technologies. “TrackMan’s sensors will substantially increase content available for analysis and initiate the development of new insights, while creating the opportunity for us to develop innovative visualizations for fans to view all the incredible shots on TOUR.” Fans will see more information beginning in 2022 on how and why the ball moves and arrives at a certain position. This is achieved by using TrackMan technology to capture club speed, ball speed, curve, landing spin, launch angle, spin rate, spin axis, apex, carry and more. The advanced aerodynamic models can also determine the effects of wind, weather, and altitude on a shot so that fans can understand how a shot was impacted by environmental factors. In addition to doubling the collection of radar and tracing information, the new system will substantially increase the range and sensitivity of the content that will now be layered with video for use on any TOUR media platform. Klaus Eldrup-Jorgensen, co-founder and CEO of TrackMan, commented “We have been working closely with the PGA TOUR for more than 15 years, to accurately measure and report data on club delivery, ball launch, ball flight, and tracers for the best players in the world. We are proud to be chosen to implement our new solutions with the PGA TOUR, which will ultimately include all shots for all players. The future of golf will be told in new and innovative ways, the fan experience will elevate to a new level, and the stories about how good these guys play is just beginning.” The club and ball tracking and tracing solution has become a valuable element to “ShotLink powered by CDW,” the TOUR’s real-time data collection and scoring system. As the TOUR and CDW continue to innovate the acclaimed scoring system that has benefited tournaments, broadcast partners, players and fans in countless ways over the years, the TrackMan system contributes to the automated data collection efforts by allowing ShotLink to auto-trigger on shots without input from a person. The new technology being deployed expands tracking capabilities from tee boxes only to shots hit from the fairway and around the green, where the system determines the exact 3D position of the ball at any point in its flight. The TrackMan technology has the ability to lock onto a ball that starts behind the trees and only becomes visible to the radar halfway through its flight. It’s able to accurately track balls up to 400 yards in any conditions; rain, fog, sunrise, and sunset. For a typical TOUR event, around 40 units are placed around the course to track shots with advanced radar and camera units on tee boxes and greens to capture final resting position. TrackMan also recently developed a mobile system that will be used for the capture of radar and tracing information from the fairway and will automatically integrate into TOUR media platforms, which is aided by AWS, the TOUR’s Official Cloud Provider. There are no cables or connections with the mobile system, which adds very little weight for the operator. The TOUR is testing the mobile system for expanded future use on PGA TOUR Champions, the Korn Ferry Tour and in other executions. The club and ball tracking and tracing system will utilize AWS Fargate, Media Services, and numerous other AWS products to process and deliver radar and tracing on every shot in nearly real-time. The full suite of AWS products will allow TrackMan to reduce their onsite footprint and allow fast and easy access to the devices and information from anywhere around the world.

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Because THE PLAYERS Championship is operated by the PGA TOUR, its qualifying criteria for the 2023 edition has been set since the beginning of the 2022-23 PGA TOUR season, but none of the majors have released theirs. The ongoing assumption is that all traditional criteria will be honored, but this page will not reflect qualifiers until they are official. The R&A announced that it will release the criteria for The Open Championship in February. That could change, of course – which is another reason why the disclaimer atop REMAINING QUALIFYING CRITERIA at the bottom of this page always has included the phrase, “subject to change” – but The Open Qualifying Series got underway in South Africa last week, so three official qualifiers have been added to the alphabetical list below. The top three finishers at the Joburg Open gained entry. They were led by champion Dan Bradbury of England, who went wire-to-wire in just his third career DP World Tour start. (He gained entry via a sponsor exemption.) Bradbury concluded 72 holes in 21-under 263 at Houghton Golf Club, three clear of Sami Välimäki of Finland. Each will be making his debut in The Open. Bradbury did it all as a collegian at Lincoln Memorial University before transferring and teeing it up as a super senior at Florida State. The Brit never has competed in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event. Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Daniel van Tonder tied for third another stroke back, but the battle among of the fellow South Africans for the final exemption went to Bezuidenhout because he has a better Official World Golf Ranking (74th) than van Tonder (230th). It will be Bezuidenhout’s fourth career appearance in The Open. He finished T68 at St. Andrews this year. Should any of the three qualifiers gain entry into The Open another way, van Tonder will serve as the replacement via a special list of alternates. This process will be repeated for every stop in the OQS. The next is this week’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open. NOTE: Golfers are omitted if they recently haven’t competed in majors for which they are eligible (e.g., The Open Championship=Justin Leonard). TPC = THE PLAYERS Championship MAS = Masters PGA = PGA Championship US = U.S. Open OPEN = The Open Championship Recent Additions TPC — none MAS — none PGA — none US — none OPEN — Christiaan Bezuidenhout; Dan Bradbury; Sami Välimäki REMAINING QUALIFYING CRITERIA Criteria are listed in chronological order where possible. Best estimates are given but all are subject to change. THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP (TPC) @ TPC Sawgrass (Stadium) – March 9-12 • Winners of PGA TOUR events thru the final week before THE PLAYERS. • Top 10 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of The Honda Classic (Feb. 26). • Top 50 of Official World Golf Ranking (Feb. 27). • If necessary to complete the field of 144, golfers outside the Top 10 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the Honda Classic on Feb. 26 will gain entry in order of position. MASTERS (MAS) @ Augusta National Golf Club – April 6-9 • TBD PGA CHAMPIONSHIP (PGA) @ Oak Hill Country Club – May 18-21 • TBD U.S. OPEN (US) @ The Los Angeles Country Club (North) – June 15-18 • TBD THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP (OPEN) @ Royal Liverpool – July 20-23 • TBD

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