Emergency 9: Fantasy advice for Waste Management Phoenix Open

SILVIS, Ill. – Notes and observations from Saturday’s third round of the John Deere Classic where Patrick Rodgers continues to control the tournament in search of his first win. After a patient 3-under 68, he sits at 16-under and two shots clear. Leading the chasing back are two-time PGA TOUR winner Daniel Berger and three-time TOUR winner Scott Stallings at 14-under. For more from TPC Deere Run check out the Daily Wrap. RODGERS READY TO WIN Patrick Rodgers says his record equaling 11 wins at Stanford (tied with Tiger Woods no less) seem like “yesterday and a lifetime all at the same time.â€� The feelings of how to win when in contention are still fresh for the now 25-year-old college prodigy. The fact he hasn’t yet leveraged his comfort level in the lead with a PGA TOUR win makes it feel like a distant memory. “I had a lot of experience winning in collegiate and amateur golf, and I expected to maybe come out here and win right away. Probably the biggest frustrations as a pro have been not getting it done yet,â€� Rodgers admits as he takes a two-shot lead into Sunday at the John Deere Classic. “When you’re used to having so much success and contending on a regular basis, you kind of thrive on that. Part of the frustrating part of professional golf for me so far has been not having as many chances as I would like.â€� It is just the second time in his three seasons on the PGA TOUR he has held the 54-hole lead. He did so earlier this season at the Farmers Insurance Open before finishing T4. “You have to do some serious soul searching, because the line is incredibly fine between great, great golf and going home on a Friday or just not playing the way that you want. “But this is exactly where I want to be. It’s why I show up every week, to win. I think Tiger started this mentality, or Mr. Jack Nicklaus before him. You play to win. I grew up playing all sports, and you don’t play to finish second. “It’s very rewarding to be up here right now. I know I have a long way to go, but I’m excited for the opportunity.â€� BERGER READY FOR THE CHASE Daniel Berger is arguably one of the hottest players in world golf right now and his confidence level matches the theory as he primes himself to chase a third PGA TOUR win. Berger recently defended his FedEx St. Jude Classic win and then sat and watched Jordan Spieth steal the Travelers Championship from his grasp with a holed out bunker shot in a sudden death playoff. At 9th in the FedExCup this season, he knows a win will shoot him into the top 5. While he starts two-shots back of leader Patrick Rodgers, he believes the outcome at TPC Deere Run comes down to one man. Himself. “I feel like if I play well, then I’m going to win the golf tournament. If I don’t, I probably won’t. That’s really kind of cut and dry there,â€� Berger said after his third round 8-under 63 left him at 14-under. “I’m going to have to play really good. Patrick is obviously playing at a really high level.â€� Berger was three back when he won in Memphis last month. He says he’s been further back and won junior and amateur events before. He thrives on the chase. “I love this position. I feel like if I can get off to a good start tomorrow I can put some pressure on Patrick,â€� he said. “Same kind of thing I did in Memphis and Travelers. I just got off to a decent start and made some birdies, and then kind of kept it going from there. “I think as long as I’m standing, then I’m going to have a shot.â€� CALL OF THE DAY STALLINGS SUPER PUTTER ADJUSTMENT Scott Stallings opened the John Deere Classic with an even-par 71 and sat eight shots back after cursing an ice-cold putter. Now, with a round to go, he finds himself tied for second place after back-to-back 7-under 64s leave him at 14-under and just two shots off the lead. Safe to say the putter got hot. After ranking 130th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting in round one with 34 total putts Stallings needed just 25 putts Friday and 27 Saturday. He now sits eighth in the field through three rounds in Strokes Gained: Putting. “The last six holes on Thursday I made a little bit of a tweak in regards to my speed and kind of how I was seeing the putts,â€� Stallings revealed. “I missed a lot of short putts early in the round on Thursday and really struggled speed-wise as far as matching the line up and everything. “The last six holes my caddie and I just kind of talked about a few different things as far as getting comfortable. And I was able to transition in the last few days.â€� LAMB FEASTS ON DEERE RUN Rick Lamb had the galleries on 59 watch after getting to 9-under on his round through 13 holes, but unfortunately for the PGA TOUR rookie, he was unable to find the three birdies necessary over the last five holes for a sub-60 round. Instead, a bogey on his final hole left him with an impressive 8-under 63, pushing him towards a very important result in terms of his FedExCup status. Lamb admitted to thinking about becoming just the ninth player in PGA TOUR history to shoot a 59 as he came to the closing stretch. “After I made the birdie on the 4th hole, which is my 13th, at that point it kind of crept in my mind,â€� Lamb said. “Wasn’t something I was nervous or worried about. Just if I keep it going, it’s got a chance.â€� Starting the event in 206th spot in the FedExCup Lamb is battling just to get a spot in the Web.com Tour finals. A decent Sunday could take care of that. He starts the final round in a tie for 8th, five shots off the lead. “It’s big, but just another day on the golf course,â€� Lamb said. “It’s not like you’re grinding on the leaderboard saying, Oh, I need to make to putt to get to this position. I just need to focus on winning the golf tournament.â€� SHOT OF THE DAY ODDS AND ENDS • Bryson DeChambeau will search for his first win from four shots back after a 1-under 70. The former U.S. Amateur champion played the last six holes 2-over to stall his challenge. • Nicholas Lindheim has struggled in his rookie season on TOUR, sitting 183rd in the FedExCup. But he has a chance to change all that on Sunday as he sits in 4th place just three off the lead. • Zach Johnson had a roller coaster round with an eagle, three birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey adding up to a 1-under 70. It was just the third round in his last 35 at TPC Deere Run that was not in the 60s. The former champion sits 11-under, five off the pace. • Jamie Lovemark continues to knock on the door of a first PGA TOUR win. Now with nine top 10s in the last two seasons without a victory the former amateur prodigy once again sees himself in contention. His 66 on Sunday left him tied 5th at 12-under, four shots back. • Stuart Appleby shot 7-under 64, his best round since October 2014. The nine-time PGA TOUR winner sits tied 18th at 10-under chasing his first top-10 on TOUR since finishing runner up in the opening FedExCup Playoff event of 2014. His last win came in 2010 at the Greenbrier Classic where he came from seven behind, shooting 59, to win. • After making the cut on the number 2014, champion Brian Harman equaled Daniel Berger and Rick Lamb for round of the day with an 8-under 63. It lifted him 52 places into a tie for 18th, six shots back of the lead. • Another past champion making the cut on the number, Steve Stricker posted a 6-under 65, his best round at TPC Deere Run since opening with the same score in 2015. BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Click here to read the full article…

MEXICO CITY – Dustin Johnson still hasn’t made a bogey at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec. He made a double-bogey after getting caught up in the trees at the 10th hole, but, not one to panic, he responded with two consecutive birdies to erase it. “I knew I was playing well so I didn’t really let it bother me,â€� said Johnson, who shot 66 and is projected to move from 57th to 8th in the FedExCup with a win. Sure enough, his unflappability paid off as he birdied four of the last eight holes, never letting Rory McIlroy (68) get closer than three shots. Johnson, the 2017 winner here, has won seven times in 15 chances with at least a share of the 54-hole lead on the PGA TOUR. But unless McIlroy does it, who can reel him in? Johnson is a whopping seven shots ahead of his next closest pursuers. Patrick Reed (64), Patrick Cantlay (65), Sergio Garcia (69) and Cameron Smith (68) are tied for third. Reed made two eagles and had the day’s low round, but Cantlay hit the most memorable shot, driving the green at the 394-yard, par-4 12th hole, his ball nearly colliding with that of Kevin Kisner in the group ahead before stopping three feet away. Cantlay made the eagle putt. “I didn’t know I could reach the green,â€� he said. Johnson is known for similar heroics—his 369-yard tee shot at the second hole set up a four-foot eagle putt Saturday—but has also looked unbeatable around the greens. With nine par saves in 10 chances, he is No. 1 in Scrambling this week. He’s also No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Putting (+5.478). And the scary thing is he thinks he should be doing even better. Asked if he could recall the last time his short game felt this on-point, he gave a surprising answer. “Honestly, it doesn’t,â€� he said. “I know I hit a couple good chips today, but for the most part this week my short game’s been quite rubbish. I’ve hit the ball really well and I’ve played really good, but I missed a bunch of I felt like easy up-and-downs.â€� Why the discrepancy between his stats and how Johnson feels? The course’s multiple short par-4s. On those holes, where Johnson and others routinely either hit the green or come close off the tee, failures to get up and down from around the putting surface don’t register on the Scrambling stat. And Johnson has failed to birdie the easily reachable par-4 first hole the last two days. Otherwise, and other than the hiccup at the 10th hole, he’s done almost everything right. Should he hold on he would be the 38th player to reach 20 wins in the history of the TOUR. It would also give him 12 consecutive seasons with at least one win since he turned pro in 2008. He is the only player to win all World Golf Championships events, and is seeking his sixth WGC title. Johnson has won three times in five chances when leading by three or more strokes. He would join Tiger Woods (70, 6-under) as the only players to win a WGC tournament three times. For McIlroy, meanwhile, there is no doubt his short game needs to improve. He is 1st in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green but 30th in Strokes Gained: Putting. He’s made a few, but as he tries to reel in Johnson, not enough. After hitting an incredible second shot from the rough at the par-5 15th, a choked-up 3-wood that skirted the trees and rolled out to 12 feet for eagle, he missed the putt. He looked at the hole in disbelief, another chance gone by to put pressure on Johnson. McIlroy has won seven of his 13 TOUR titles when playing from behind, but how far behind is too far? He and Patrick Reed will join the leader for a 1:10 ET tee time Sunday. Reed talked about needing to shoot “something spectacularâ€� as he is almost certainly too far back. Even McIlroy may need to pull out all the stops to catch the frontrunner, whose gaffe at the 10th hole looks like a one-off.    “I’ve got a game plan out here,â€� Johnson said. “I’m not going to change it.â€�

Click here to read the full article…

With a stated goal to return to No. 1 in the world, Jason Day reached the second position in the FedExCup with a two-stroke victory at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club on Sunday. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where Day became the fourth multiple winner on TOUR this season after Patton Kizzire, Justin Thomas and Bubba Watson. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Day: ‘I’ve obviously got a lot of work to do’ When was the last time the winner said that? Day, 30, knew better than anyone that he was saved by his otherworldly short game, taking a tidy 22 putts in the final round.   He was off the mark from tee to green. His driving accuracy (42.86 percent) was well off his driving accuracy for the week (48.21), and so was his greens-in-regulation percentage (44.44 compared to 56.94 percent). Such imprecise play may be hard to overcome at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, as THE PLAYERS Championship winner two years ago well knows. “Obviously, THE PLAYERS is such a huge event,â€� he said. “It feels like a major to me, and I’m sure it feels like a major to most guys. It’s really nice to be able to play pretty solid for the most part of the week [at Quail Hollow]. The short game is really nice; it’s rounding out nicely for next week. I’ve obviously got a lot of work to do over the next few days.â€� Trailing only Justin Thomas in the FedExCup, Day made big strides toward his stated goal of returning to No. 1 in the world. He moved from 14th to 7th in the Official World Golf Ranking. 2. Day touch draws raves from Mickelson Not all compliments are created equal. Considering the source, one can’t help but raise an eyebrow at short game wizard Phil Mickelson (69, T5) raving about Day’s short game. “He’s got a lot of parts of his game that’s impressive; obviously power off the tee, he’s a phenomenal driver,â€� Mickelson said. “And he’s a great putter; he’s got a very deft, soft touch. He’s one of the best putters in the game.â€� (Day’s strokes gained: putting in the final round, +3.498, was even better than his strokes gained: putting for the week, +2.061.) “So you put those two things together, and he’s not lacking in wedge play, either,â€� Mickelson added. “He’s a really good wedge player. So he’s got strengths in all the areas that he needs.â€� 3. Mickelson (69, T5) up one to third in FedExCup Lefty missed short par putts on the first two holes, but a quick tutorial from his brother, Tim, got him back on track. Now Mickelson returns to TPC Sawgrass and the site of one of the most significant victories of his career: THE PLAYERS Championship in 2007. How is he feeling about it? “It’s certainly hard to say because that golf course is very difficult, too,â€� Mickelson said. “The concern I have is that after grinding out so hard this week, that the energy level isn’t up for next week. But conversely, I’ve got a little bit of momentum from playing well after having not played for three weeks, and I’m excited to get in such a big event.â€� The World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship winner in early March, Mickelson, 47, has racked up six top-10 and nine top-25 finishes in 12 TOUR starts this season. His seven birdies in the final round at Quail tied T.J. Vogel for best in the field and gave him his eighth top-five at the Wells Fargo. No one else has more, although the Wells remains one of eight TOUR events in which he has made 10 or more starts without a victory. 4. Watney makes quantum leap Nick Watney was part of the TOUR’s elite when he made the 2011 U.S. Presidents Cup team. While the 37-year-old, former Fresno State walk-on saw his career stall due to injuries and poor play, his T2 at Quail Hollow represented a quantum leap both figuratively. Playing in the last group with Day, he looked more like the guy who won five times from 2007 to 2012, and made a giant leap up the FedExCup standings, climbing 68 spots to No. 66. “To be in the heat, last group, you know, it was really fun just kind of remembering feelings that I had in the past, and I absolutely love it,â€� Watney said. “I’m excited to try to get back again.â€� He won’t have to wait long; Watney is in the field for THE PLAYERS Championship this week. He shot an opening-round 64 and finished T4 at TPC Sawgrass in 2011. 5. Wise thrilled with T2 finish Rookie Aaron Wise has leaned on his former college golf coach, Oregon’s Casey Martin, for tips on playing the TOUR. (Tip one: Work on your short game.) The winner of the 2016 NCAA individual title, Wise also knew he had to work harder on his mental game. With his T2 at Quail, his first top-10 in 16 starts this season, he’s finally seeing the work start to pay off. “It means the world,â€� Wise said. “I’m going to gain so much confidence not only from being in contention, but being there at a place like this where you knew you were going to get a great champion. … I kept my head about me and pulled off some incredible shots.â€� Wise, 21, made four birdies and one bogey to move up 54 spots to 51st in the FedExCup. He was playing for not just his first victory at Quail, but also a berth in THE PLAYERS Championship. While he didn’t quite punch his ticket to TPC Sawgrass, he was reminded of his tremendous upside. He also said he drew inspiration from a surprising source: NBA star LeBron James. “Me and my caddie actually talked about it,â€� Wise said. “We made the turn going to 10; it’s that crunch time, it’s like second half with LeBron. It’s an attitude you have to carry with yourself that you can get it done, and I was able to do that today.â€� FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Day has now converted seven of 14 third-round leads/co-leads into victories, including THE PLAYERS Championship two years ago, and is six for his last seven at closing the deal. He led the field in strokes gained: around the green, thanks in part to his 15 sand saves in 16 chances. He also was second in the field in strokes gained: putting, needed 101 strokes on the greens for the week, and just 22 on Sunday. 2. No need to look far for the most pivotal moment of this Wells Fargo. The 231-yard, par-3 17th was the hardest hole of the final round (3.573), but Day, with just a 7-iron, clanked his tee shot off the stick. His deuce was one of just three birdies there Sunday. 3. Masters champion Patrick Reed (67-69 weekend, solo eighth) has now racked up six straight top-10 finishes on TOUR. 4. Bizarre stat of the week: Quail Hollow Club member Johnson Wagner eagled Nos. 14 and 15 in the first round to become just the second player to record back-to-back eagles this season. A few hours later, John Peterson (Nos. 7 and 8) became the third. 5. Justin Thomas (70-70 weekend, T21) participated in the marriage proposal of the year, but couldn’t wrest the No. 1 world ranking away from Dustin Johnson. Still, Thomas retains a 389-point lead over Day for pole position in the FedExCup.

Click here to read the full article…