DJ in control as storms halt Canadian Open

For just the second but final time in Segment 1 of PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, ShotLink data will be collected at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. The game’s scoring system promotes usage of long hitters who make cuts, but you can’t entirely dismiss the chalk. The rub of this tournament is that there isn’t much chalk from which to choose, so private leaguers should experience more churn than usual even if everyone gets four to the finale. In other news, only rookie gamers will be surprised that I’ve yet to field even one question about how to adjust to the news that Tiger Woods is planning to return to competition at his Hero World Challenge in early December. Time and again, I’ve written that no golfer presents a larger chasm between mainstream and fantasy value than the 14-time major champion. And frankly, that makes the decision for the veterans among us to abstain. Don’t buy into the gloss until there’s substance behind it. Of course, we’ve been through the hope before, so the crickets since the news is predictable. Only the deepest of full-season salary gamers should make room but only if your format allows for drop-adds. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (in alphabetical order): Patrick Cantlay Tony Finau Smylie Kaufman Luke List Webb Simpson Kevin Streelman You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Kevin Chappell; Charley Hoffman; Anirban Lahiri; Jamie Lovemark; Kevin Na; Scott Piercy Driving: Kevin Chappell; Martin Laird; Jamie Lovemark; Ryan Moore; Bubba Watson; Gary Woodland Approach: Chad Campbell; Ryan Moore; Kevin Na; Scott Piercy; Tyrone Van Aswegen Short: Scott Brown; Martin Laird; Kevin Tway Power Rankings Wild Card Charley Hoffman … He’d seem to be an easy Draw what with his strong ties locally and promise to donate all of his earnings to victims of the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas. Certainly, gamers can align with the personal layers involved, and there’s no doubt reason to latch onto his motivation, but TPC Summerlin hasn’t been the kindest of hosts to the 40-year-old. He’s just 2-for-7 here since 2010 with a T40 in 2011 and a solo fourth in 2013. He hasn’t broken par on the pushover since 2014. And before a successful debut at the Presidents Cup, he ran out of gas in the Playoffs. At best, stow him on your bench in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. Draws Kevin Na … But barely. This is his time of year, just not this year. He’s opened 3-for-3 but hasn’t wrangled a top 35 since the Dell Technologies Championship on Labor Day. Lives locally, but the home cooking hasn’t mattered as much as his extreme record suggests. The 2011 Shriners remains his only TOUR title and he added a T2 in 2015, but the latter is his only payday in his last four appearances. Because of his track record and the fact that he survives most cuts, he’s a tweener for contrarians. This relegates him to the role of playing defense in a field devoid of clear-cut favorites. There are worse things. Kevin Chappell … Best used in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO where his game off the tee will resonate. Also serves as high-ceiling insurance as he’s likely to make the cut. He wasn’t given room in the Power Rankings because he’s not a short-lister in shootouts. Gary Woodland … He’s missed only one cut in his last 15 starts, so that concern is mitigated in his tournament debut. He’s also in the deep end of talent in this field, so gamers are quick to respect and covet that. Proper complement for any format other than a One & Done. Bubba Watson … A rare appearance in this section in 2017, but it’s warranted. Whether his general regression has anything to do with his switch to a different ball this year – he has just two top 10s in stroke-play individual competition – he could be a brute force at TPC Summerlin where he hasn’t competed in 10 years. He’ll be able to air it out and land shorter approaches on large greens. Jimmy Walker … Off for the last two months, the break is probably literally what the doctor ordered as he continues his battle with Lyme disease. His fantasy value took a hit, naturally, but with the wind blowing and a solid record at TPC Summerlin, DFSers should consider partial ownership. Byeong Hun An (all) Chad Campbell (SERVPRO) Brandon Hagy (DFS) Whee Kim (DFS) Jason Kokrak (all) Robert Streb (DFS) Kevin Tway (all) Harold Varner III (DFS) Fades Rod Pampling … The 48-year-old Aussie is an inspirational story and an easy guy for whom to root, but last year’s title at TPC Summerlin was as unexpected as his pedestrian form since has been predictable. He’s gone the entire year without a top 25 in a full-field event and hasn’t cracked a top 50 since THE PLAYERS where he placed but T48. Ryan Armour … Obviously playing some of if not the best golf of his life right now. Prior to the breakthrough title, he finished T4 at the Wyndham Championship and solo second at the first event of the Web.com Tour Finals. Doesn’t mind taking it low and it doesn’t matter that he hasn’t broken par at TPC Summerlin in 10 years (playing only twice since), but gamers need to assume a letdown after the career achievement. Harris English … Although perfect in four trips with a personal-best T4 last year and a scoring average of 68.56 in 16 rounds, he’s gone sideways all year. Hasn’t cracked a top 20 since June and arrives having missed three consecutive cuts. Even contrarians should pause. Nick Watney … Once an automatic investment in this event, he missed last year’s cut at 69-79=148. He also concluded 2016-17 with three consecutive MCs and has drifted back to 377th in the Official World Golf Ranking. J.B. Holmes Billy Horschel Beau Hossler David Lingmerth Patrick Rodgers Returning to Competition Luke Donald … Making his tournament debut a week after pulling out of the Sanderson Farms Championship early with a “rib issue” (per his Twitter). Only one top-45 finish anywhere in the last six months. Bronson Burgoon … Withdrew during the second round of the Sanderson Farms Championship with a sore back. He was in the Power Rankings (see below) in part due to strong recent form, so it stands to reason that he’s worthy of a flier in DFS at TPC Summerlin. Michael Thompson … Sixth appearance at TPC Summerlin and fourth consecutive, but he’s hasn’t competed since withdrawing during the first round of The National in late June with a shoulder injury. While gamers needs to tiptoe into weekly consideration upon his return, full-season investors can exhale given he’s not waiting until 2018 to give it a go. He has six starts on a Minor Medical Extension to earn 86.935 FedExCup points and a promotion to the Major Medical category. He’s already secured conditional status, so he doesn’t have to ration those starts. Notables WDs None. Power Rankings Recap – World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Hideki Matsuyama  T50 2  Dustin Johnson  T2 3  Marc Leishman  T38 4  Justin Rose  Win 5  Henrik Stenson  T2 6  Ross Fisher  T58 7  Tyrrell Hatton  T11 8  Brooks Koepka  T2 9  Jon Rahm  T36 10  Rafa Cabrera Bello  T5 11  Pat Perez  T24 12  Paul Casey  T11 13  Adam Scott  T50 14  Francesco Molinari  T46 15  Patrick Reed  T50 16  Tony Finau  T11 17  Jason Day  T11 18  Phil Mickelson  T15 19  Daniel Berger  T24 20  Matthew Fitzpatrick  T9 Wild Card  Alex Noren  T31 Sleepers Recap – World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions Golfer  Result Patrick Cantlay  T15 Paul Dunne  T38 Chan Kim  T58 Thorbjørn Olesen  T31 Kyle Stanley  T5 Power Rankings Recap – Sanderson Farms Championship Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Chesson Hadley  2nd 2  William McGirt  T25 3  Andrew Landry  T59 4  Kevin Streelman  T10 5  Jason Kokrak  T7 6  Bronson Burgoon  WD 7  Ben Martin  T59 8  Chris Kirk  T34 9  Troy Merritt  MC 10  Ted Potter, Jr.  MC Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR October 31 … Mark Wilson (43) November 1 … none November 2 … James Hahn (36); Adam Hadwin (30) November 3 … Kris Blanks (45) November 4 … Kevin Streelman (39) November 5 … Jim Herman (40); Bubba Watson (39) November 6 … Scott Piercy (39)

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The PGA TOUR heads to the Caribbean for the Bermuda Championship at Port Royal GC in Southampton, Bermuda. The course will play as a par 71, measuring 6,828 yards, and it will be played on Bermuda greens this week. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $400K Resurgence [$100K to 1st] STRATEGY Port Royal GC is a short course with eight par 4s under 415 yards, so we should again see players hit many wedges into these Bermuda greens. Defending champion Brendon Todd ($11,100) shot two rounds of 62 and 63 en route to his victory, which should be the case this week. The field will feature Korn Ferry Tour standouts, past and present, including Will Zalatoris ($10,900), Doc Redman ($10,400), John Oda ($6,300), and James Nicholas ($6,200). Like any coastal course, there will be wind and coastal weather to play through. The golfers will also have to navigate 88 bunkers across the property and water that will come into play on five holes. Last season, fairways hit in regulation was eight percent less than the PGA TOUR average, but greens hit in regulation was just about the PGA TOUR average at 66 percent. Like last season, the winning score should be similar (24-under). The course conditions should also be comparable to what we've seen at other seaside resort courses like the Corales Puntacana, the Sony Open, the RSM Classic and the Mayakoba Golf Classic. The course will offer full FedExCup points for the first time, but this may feel closer to the golf we see on the Korn Ferry Tour with low scores. Golfers who've done well on shorter, coastal courses should get consideration in our DraftKings rosters this week. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Doc Redman ($10,400) Redman should be first or second in salary based on his talent, so getting him at the fourth-highest price is value. Over his previous three tournaments, Redman's approach has been terrific, gaining just over 10 strokes total with his irons. Redman has also been elite on courses under 7,200 yards since the restart, ranking fourth in Strokes Gained: tee-to-Green and first in Strokes Gained: Total over the previous three months. Redman also ranks sixth in birdies or better gained over his prior 22 rounds, which allows him to contend and stay in the tournament throughout the weekend. Adam Schenk ($8,100) Are you looking for cut equity and upside in this salary range? Look no further than Adam Schenk, who has made nine straight cuts on the PGA TOUR since the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Schenk isn't just making cuts; he's playing well with two top 30s and most recently a 27th at the Shriners earlier this month. Over the previous three months, he ranks 35th with his irons, 26th in Strokes Gained: Putting and seventh in birdies or better gained. Schenk has also played well on courses similar to Port Royal, making the cut at Corales Puntacana last month and finishing 14th at the Puerto Rico Open earlier this year. Russell Knox ($7,600) Knox just notched a ninth-place finish at Safeway back in September, where he gained eight strokes tee-to-green and opened the tournament as the leader after shooting 63 in round one. Knox's current form has been inconsistent, but it looked like he found something earlier this month at Shriners, gaining 4.1 strokes with his irons. Knox has also gained with his approach in four of his last five tournaments, making him an excellent DraftKings GPP/tournament play. Knox is also quite the fan of short, coastal courses as well, recording a second, third and ninth place at the OHL in Mayakoba, a top 20 in the 2019 RSM Classic at Sea Island Resort, a runner up at the 2016 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town and two top 15s along with a top 10 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Knox also had an 11th here in 2019. Jason Dufner ($7,100) is someone we should also consider in this range. He's striking the ball well and can get a hot putter at a moment's notice, similar to what he did at the Safeway Open back in September, gaining 5.2 strokes on the greens. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $400K Resurgence [$100K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is reidtfowler) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.

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Tiger Woods zig-zagged all over the leaderboard in the opening round of the U.S. Open at Winged Foot before a rough finish left him fighting an uphill battle to claim an 83rd PGA TOUR win. Woods signed for a 3-over 73 in the opening round despite sitting in red numbers with six holes to play, leaving him eight shots adrift of early leader and playing partner Justin Thomas. A bogey, double-bogey finish spoiled what had otherwise been an impressive grind from Woods to continue the fight despite some bad breaks. "I did not finish off the round like I needed to. I made a bunch of putts in the middle part of the round. It seemed like most of my drives on the front nine landed in the fairway and ended up in bad spots, and I tried to stay as patient as possible, and unfortunately just did not finish off my round the way I needed to," Woods said. Coming off a bogey on the 17th following a wild drive into deep rough, Woods missed the final fairway to the left. He muscled his second shot to just short of the green but then chunked a chip shot that failed to make the surface. His fourth shot rolled out above the pin, leaving a treacherous downhill putt from 9 feet that snapped hard right to left. The 44-year-old was unable to coax it home, leaving a sour taste in his mouth given conditions were much more scorable than expected. "The golf course was set up fantastic. What they did with the hole locations were very fair today. It gave us an opportunity to make some birdies, and you look at most of the scores, and the guys took advantage of it," Woods said of the venue that yielded a winning score of 5 over the last time it hosted the U.S. Open, but had seven players under par from the morning wave. "The golf course is there to be had. Obviously they could have made it a lot more difficult if they wanted to, but I thought it was very fair. We have a long way to go. This is a long marathon of a tournament. There’s a lot of different things that can go on. I just wish I would have finished off my round better" In a day resembling a roller coaster ride, Woods was perhaps a little stiff in the cool morning air as he started slowly. The 15-time major winner had a great look at birdie on the opening hole from inside 20 feet, but it slid by the left side. Despite saving par with up-and-downs from greenside bunkers over his next two holes, he was quickly 2 over with bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes. A birdie on the sixth was wiped out with bogey on the eighth hole, but then Woods appeared to find his mojo as he birdied the ninth, 10th and 11th holes thanks to some brilliant putting. He connected from 31, 23 and 19 feet, respectively, and had fought his way back from 2 over to 1 under. But just as his putter had gotten hot, it found a way to cool off. Facing a great look at birdie on the par-5 12th from 9 feet looked to be heading dead center until the last possible second, it jumped right just a hair and brutally lipped out much to Woods' disbelief. Compounding his frustration, he followed it with back-to-back bogeys, and while he earned a shot back with a birdie bomb on the par-4 16th, he then dropped three in the last two holes.

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