Davis, 16, posts win in Augusta Women’s Amateur

After the stress, decompress. It’s valuable advice for anyone pursuing balance but it’s also the objective for the 56 golfers who made the cross-country trip from the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines to this week’s Travelers Championship. What they’ll find at TPC River Highlands is the easiest par 70 of the 2019-20 season. So, the breeze you feel isn’t courtesy of Mother Nature, it’s the collective exhale as the PGA TOUR descends in central Connecticut. However, come the weekend, tension again will rise, as will the intensity of the wind. Scroll past the projected contenders for more. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field POWER RANKINGS: TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP Brooks Koepka, Marc Leishman, Cameron Smith, Tony Finau and Joaquin Niemann will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. The Travelers Championship is in the parade of checkpoints that have served as default anniversaries throughout the 2020-21 season. And it’s not insignificant for it was the 2020 edition that marked the first tournament that wasn’t canceled or rescheduled after the three-month shutdown due to the pandemic. So, if you were searching for an example of what life was like when is began to return to what we considered as normal, this is it. Those in the field of 156 at TPC River Highlands also will reconnect with what they consider to be familiar. There haven’t been any changes to the stock par 70 that tips at just 6,841 yards. The four-inch primary rough is the same and the 5,000-square foot greens blanketed with Poa annua will be prepped to run to a TOUR-popular distance of 12 feet on the Stimpmeter. Last year’s scoring average of 68.626 represented a nine-year low and was aided by the deepest field in tournament history, but it already was headed in that direction. After not breaking the strength-of-field rating threshold (as determined by the Official World Golf Ranking) of 350 through 2017, it climbed to 446 and 436 in 2018 and 2019, respectively, but last year’s value was 623. Of course, with all touring professionals sidelined for an extended period of time, playing opportunities were coveted throughout the summer. However, the consistent, fair test of TPC River Highlands continues to attract top talent. Favorable weather conditions are in store throughout the tournament. Rain early in the week could impact the Hartford Yard Goats’ series opener on Tuesday night when the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies is planning to celebrate the Travelers Championship. By Thursday, clear and dry opening rounds of the tournament will be followed by the next threat of inclement weather on the weekend, but it’s forecast to be spotty as the winds kick up considerably. Daytime highs will be seasonable in the low 80s. 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: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers; Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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The Wells Fargo Championship returns to the PGA TOUR schedule after being cancelled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Max Homa returns to defend his title against a field full of TOUR stars, including current FedExCup leader Bryson DeChambeau. FIELD NOTES: Two-time FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy returns to action for the first time since the Masters. McIlroy also is the Wells Fargo Championship’s only two-time winner. He set a course record in each win, shooting a final-round 62 in 2010 and a third-round 61 in 2015… The top two players in the FedExCup – DeChambeau and Justin Thomas – are teeing it up in North Carolina. Thomas won the 2017 PGA Championship contested at Quail Hollow… Phil Mickelson will tee it up at the Wells Fargo for the 17th time in 18 editions. He missed the cut in 2017 but owns 12 top-12 finishes at the event… Sponsors exemptions include 19-year-old Akshay Bhatia, a North Carolina native, and Wake Forest alum Will Zalatoris. Zalatoris hasn’t missed a cut in the 2021 calendar year but enjoyed two weeks off after finishing runner-up at the Masters and T42 at the RBC Heritage – buying his own place in Dallas and getting engaged. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. STORYLINES: No golfer has ever defended his title at the Wells Fargo. Homa, who won at The Genesis Invitational earlier this year, looks to buck that trend. He arrives in good form, sitting in third place halfway through the Valspar Championship… Overall, 13 of the top 20 golfers in the FedExCup (through the Zurich Classic of New Orleans) are teeing it up at Quail Hollow… Rory McIlroy loves the Wells Fargo Championship. He’s finished outside the top-10 just twice in nine starts and in 2019 he finished T8… Rickie Fowler is looking for a spark after recording just two top-10 finishes in 29 events across 2020-21. Fowler, who is now ranked outside the top 100 in the world, won his first TOUR title at the Wells Fargo in 2012 and finished T4 in 2019…This year’s Wells Fargo will give players one last look at Quail Hollow before the 2022 Presidents Cup. Next year’s Wells Fargo will be played at TPC Potomac as Quail Hollow prepares to host the intercontinental tussle between the U.S. and International teams. It will be the first Presidents Cup since 2019 in Royal Melbourne, when the International Team took the lead into Singles but was overcome by the United States in the final session. COURSE: Quail Hollow Club, par 71, 7,521 yards. The long-time PGA TOUR stop was originally laid out by George Cobb in the early 1960s. An upgrade was overseen by Tom Fazio as the course prepared for the PGA Championship in 2017. Annually rated as one of the toughest courses on TOUR, its ‘Green Mile’ closing stretch of holes flummoxes TOUR players year after year. Quail Hollow is set to host The Presidents Cup in 2022 and the PGA Championship again in 2025. 72-HOLE RECORD: 267, Rory McIlroy (2015). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Rory McIlroy (3rd round, 2015). LAST TIME: Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship saw Max Homa capture his maiden PGA TOUR title. Homa, the former NCAA champ who endured a difficult slump early in his pro career, shot a 4-under 67 in Sunday’s final round to top Joel Dahmen by three shots. Homa, who started the final round as one of three co-leaders, trailed Dahmen through six holes. But after going 3 under in a five-hole stretch, he held a four-shot lead before a weather delay with just five holes to play. After the hour-long delay was completed, Homa nailed a 5-foot par saver and cruised to victory after that. Justin Rose finished third while Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey and Jason Dufner rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete.

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