Despite the name, the US Open has a small group of potential champions

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — The pressure and drama so typical of the Ryder Cup finally arrived on Saturday, with one big difference. The suspense was whether Europe could try to make a game of it. The Americans held their own over the final hour as Dustin Johnson completed a perfect week of team play and Scottie Scheffler delivered the biggest putt of his young career. That staked them to an 11-5 lead, their largest ever against Europe and their biggest in the Ryder Cup since 1975. No one has ever come back from more than a four-point deficit in Ryder Cup history. That’s the order facing Europe, which has yet to win a session at Whistling Straits. The Europeans tried, getting another big win from Jon Rahm and a clutch moment from Shane Lowry, who holed a 10-foot par putt on the 18th green and was pumping his arms so furiously in celebration that he finally dropped his putter on the ground. So much was as stake. So little was gained. “We’re not in a good position and it’s going to take a beyond monumental effort,” said Ian Poulter, who has failed to deliver a point in two matches. “So we need a couple of miracles.” “We’re out there fighting as hard as we can,” Lowry said. The Americans routed Europe again in foursomes Saturday morning — a third straight 3-1 margin — to build a 9-3 lead. And while Europe was ahead in three of the afternoon fourballs, Scheffler’s 15-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole and his nifty up-and-down for birdie on the next hole carried him and Bryson DeChambeau to victory in the final match on the course. Next up is the final session of 12 singles matches, historically an American strength. They need to reach 14 1/2 points to win back that gold trophy. “I think we have a lot of guys on this team that really hate losing, and so individual matches tomorrow, I think guys are going to be fired up and ready to play,” Scheffler said. “Hopefully, finish this thing off.” The U.S. team led 12 1/2-3 1/2 going into Sunday in 1975 when it played against only Britain and Ireland. Dating to the modern era of 1979, when continental Europe joined the party, its largest lead was 10 1/2 -5 1/2 in 1981 at Walton Heath. The six-point lead ties the modern record Europe set in 2004 at Oakland Hills in a record rout. Rahm was unbeaten in team play. The world’s No. 1 player, looking every bit the part, teamed with Ryder Cup record-setter Sergio Garcia to win foursomes in the morning and then held out to beat Brooks Koepka and cold-putting Jordan Spieth in fourballs. Right when it looked as though the Americans might square the match, Rahm made a 30-foot birdie on the 16th hole and Spieth missed from 12 feet — the sixth time in fourballs he missed from that range or closer, including one that mysteriously circled the entire cup and came out. Even so, the climb is steeper than some of the wild dunes dotting the landscape of this rugged terrain along the Lake Michigan shores. The top five players in the world have gone 15-0-2 in team play at this Ryder Cup. The problem for Europe is four of those players are Americans. Johnson became the first American since Larry Nelson in 1979 to go 4-0 in team play. He went out twice with Collin Morikawa, the two-time major champion who drove the sixth green and delivered plenty of big putts of his own in the afternoon fourballs. Johnson was the only American to play all four matches. A 9-3 lead through three sessions made it easy for U.S. captain Steve Stricker to rest Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, who won another foursomes match, and Justin Thomas, who delivered another clutch shot into the par-5 16th to set up a foursome win with Spieth. The goal for the Americans after their best opening day in 46 years was to wipe the slate clean and play as though the Ryder Cup was just starting. For a time, it started to feel as if this Ryder Cup was over. Johnson and Morikawa never trailed in either of their two matches. Schauffele and Cantlay flipped their match during a six-hole stretch in the middle of their round. Spieth and Thomas rallied from an early 3-down deficit. Already the leading points-scorer in Ryder Cup history, Garcia won both his matches with Rahm, the latest European version of a Spanish Armada. He now has won 25 matches, breaking the record held by Nick Faldo. “What we did is not enough, not (with) the situation we are in,” Garcia said after his morning foursomes match. It felt better in the afternoon, a board finally filled with mostly European blue. But when it ended, Europe had not made up any ground from the morning.

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• COURSE: TPC Southwind, 7,244 yards, par 70. The former dairy farm southeast of Memphis has been the St. Jude Classic’s home since 1989, as Ron Prichard teamed with former U.S. Open champions Hubert Green and Fuzzy Zoeller on a layout that winds through natural lakes, streams and ponds. Loren Roberts oversaw a 2004 upgrade that removed dozens of trees and replaced Southwind’s bentgrass greens with more heat-tolerant bermuda. Southwind’s par-3 11th hole draws comparisons with the famed 17th at TPC Sawgrass, requiring a short iron over water to a small island green. • FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. • CHARITY: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, established by the late entertainer Danny Thomas to find cures for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Since joining forces in 1970, the tournament has raised more than $33 million for hospital research. • FIELD WATCH: Adam Scott, returning to Memphis for the first time in a decade, is joined by Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson to headline the final tuneup before the U.S. Open. … Overall, the field features eight of the top 30 in the latest world rankings. … Braden Thornberry, the newly crowned NCAA individual champion for Ole Miss, will tee it up on a sponsor exemption. It’s the first chance Thornberry gets to test himself against TOUR competition. … Former Florida standout Sam Horsfield also is set to make his professional debut, and David Duval will come out of the broadcast booth for his second start of 2017. • 72-HOLE RECORD: 258, John Cook (1996). • 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Al Geiberger (2nd round, 1977 at Colonial CC). TPC Southwind record: 61, Jay Delsing (4th round, 1993), Bob Estes (1st round, 2001). • LAST YEAR: Daniel Berger captured his first PGA TOUR title, withstanding Phil Mickelson’s needle during a lengthy rain delay and later his challenge on the back nine for a three-shot win. Berger, playing in his first final pairing, struck only three shots before storms hit TPC Southwind and sent everyone back to the clubhouse. It was there that Mickelson ribbed Berger about taking Rookie of the Year honors without a victory, which might have a lit a spark. Berger still had to stave off Brooks Koepka, who briefly drew even on the front nine, and Mickelson’s foray that drew him within one with seven holes to play. Three birdies in a four-hole span finally gave Berger some breathing room, shooting a 67 for a total of 13-under-par 267. Mickelson (67), Koepka (66) and Steve Stricker (67) shared second. • STORYLINES: Mickelson, a Sunday factor each of the past four years without victory, tries again as he sharpens his game ahead of the only major he hasn’t won. The Hall of Famer hasn’t missed a cut since last year’s playoffs, but his last top-10 was a quarterfinal berth at the WGC Dell Match Play. … Scott, who switched up his schedule this year with an eye on better showings in majors, seeks his first victory since winning back-to-back weeks on last year’s Florida Swing. The Aussie was sixth at THE PLAYERS last month. … A U.S. Open berth remains available for anyone who moves into the top 60 of the world rankings after the St. Jude’s conclusion. Among those hoping to move up: Tony Finau and James Hahn, third at the AT&T Byron Nelson. • SHORT CHIPS: No winner of the PGA TOUR stop preceding the U.S. Open has gone on to capture the Open. Overall, just 11 men have claimed a major the week after winning on TOUR, last accomplished by Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship). … Berger was the fourth St. Jude winner in the past six to make it his first TOUR victory, joining Harrison Fraser (2011), Harris English (2013) and Fabian Gomez (2015). … David Toms, a two-time St. Jude champion and its all-time earnings leader, will not add to his run of 25 consecutive starts. • TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). • PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. (featured groups), 4-7 p.m. (featured holes). • RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). For more on all the courses in the TPC network, visit TPC.com. 

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If we can agree that sports presents the best kind of reality television, then we also can agree that the last two weeks of PGA TOUR action in particular never would have been scripted, anyway. From Nate Lashley’s emotionally charged, wire-to-wire breakthrough title at the Rocket Mortgage Classic to Matthew Wolff’s electric eagle to seal his own coronation on the last hole of the 3M Open, your devotion as a fan has been paid off in the feels. Not too shabby of a start for both inaugural events, either. In last year’s John Deere Classic, Michael Kim authored his own experience that you wouldn’t have believed if you didn’t see it. He’s back to defend his lone TOUR title this week. Scroll past the projected contenders for how he played TPC Deere Run like a video game on its easiest mode and other nuggets. Among other notables, Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will include defending champion Michael Kim, 2016 winner Ryan Moore and last year’s co-runners-up Joel Dahmen, Bronson Burgoon and Sam Ryder. TPC Deere Run is a par 71 capable of stretching to 7,268 yards. Since debuting a host of the John Deere Classic in 2000, it hadn’t played as low as its scoring average of 69.375 a year ago. It also was the easiest of all par 71s during the 2017-18 season. Kim not only capitalized en route to his maiden title, he established tournament records for scoring (27-under 257) and margin of victory (eight strokes). With generous fairways and large, bentgrass greens no faster than 12 feet on the Stimpmeter, TPC Deere Run always hosts a shootout. Hitting greens and sinking putts is the ticket. Once again last year, it was among the most gettable in all categories that identify contenders. Last year’s field averaged 9.91 (of 14) fairways hit, 12.84 greens in regulation and 4.07 par breakers after hitting GIR. Kim ranked T2 in driving accuracy (46 of 56), third in GIR (15 per round), first in proximity to the hole, first in strokes gained: putting, first in putting: birdies-or-better (30 of 60) and first in par-4 scoring. Almost unfairly, he also co-led the field in scrambling (10-for-12). Mother Nature is doing her part to ensure another low-scoring affair just outside the Quad Cities. After a pleasant start with moderate winds complementing a high temperature in the low 80s, increasingly warmer air will take over en route to daytime highs around 90 degrees on the weekend. Winds will calm for the remainder. Rain is not expected. The last exemption into The Open Championship is reserved for the highest finisher, not otherwise exempt, inside the top five at the JDC. Along with 12 others in the field (as of midday Monday), he’ll be able to hop on Sunday night’s charter flight to Northern Ireland. NOTE: Three-time JDC champion and the tournament’s all-time earnings leader, Steve Stricker, is not playing the event for the first time since 2008. The 52-year-old has opted to make his debut at the Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship this week. 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 TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done, 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 Tuesdays.

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