Emergency 9: Fantasy golf advice for the Honda Classic

Bryson DeChambeau opened his 2018-19 season pretty much how he finished the last one, firing a final-round 66 to reach 21 under and secure his fifth PGA TOUR victory and fourth since June at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where DeChambeau held off a hard-charging Patrick Cantlay (65) by one to recall his form in the FedExCup Playoffs last fall. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Everything changed in a matter of minutes. Some tournaments are hard to encapsulate with any sort of turning point. Not this one. Playing behind Cantlay, DeChambeau had just lost the lead when he rolled in an eagle putt of 57 feet, 7 inches from just behind the green at the par-5 16th hole. Meanwhile, Cantlay was up ahead making bogey from the greenside bunker at the par-3 17th. Just like that, DeChambeau had gone from one behind to two ahead and in the driver’s seat. Two more pars to close it out and he was left to talk about his reaction to the eagle, capped off with a Tiger-like fist pump. “Yeah, when I hit it it’s like, all right, it’s pretty solid speed off the start,â€� DeChambeau said. “Then I saw it about halfway down there and I was like, ‘Ooh, that might be a little fast.’ For whatever reason the slope gradually declined and went to about like a 2 percent slope and the ball started just rolling perfectly to the right just like I had envisioned. “Just held straight that last little bit and was able to trickle in,â€� he added. “I haven’t given a reaction like that in a while. That was pretty cool.â€� 2. Cantlay ran out of holes. Vying to become the first to successfully defend his title in Vegas since Jim Furyk (’99), Cantlay was just 1 under for his first 27 holes, but 19 under for his final 45. “I really got off to a slow start Friday, or Thursday and Friday, and that was too much to overcome,â€� he said. “Played really well this weekend and I’m proud of that.â€� He did well to birdie the par-5 16th after yanking his tee shot left, and closed with a clutch birdie on 18. A poor bunker shot at the par-3 17th, his ball barely escaping the sand, led to a bogey. “It was just a poor shot at the wrong time,â€� Cantlay said. 3. Sam Ryder is knocking on the door. Ryder’s pants, which showed a lot of ankle, got a lot of commentary on the telecast, but it was his play that spoke loudest. His final-round 62 was another suggestion that a win is coming. “I knew it was going to have to be silly low if I was going to have a chance,â€� Ryder said. “I just wanted to have a good day and take it hole by hole, shot by shot, play well, and that’s kind of what I did. Just made maybe the best ball-striking round of my life.â€� As good as it was, it could have been even better had he not found the water in front of the green at the par-5 16th hole, where he had to scramble for a par. “Wish I could have had the one back on 16,â€� he said. “I mean, I want to go laser that after the day’s over. I said, ‘Be right,’ and I thought — I mean, I thought that was perfect. I could not have hit it better. Came up a little short. “All in all, happy with it. Few too many 5s on the scorecard, but good day.â€� 4. Rickie Fowler is in form heading to Mexico. Fowler’s 63 (T4) was his best final round in an official TOUR event, although he closed with a 61 to win the unofficial Hero World Challenge a year ago. Now he heads to the Mayakoba Golf Classic, where he was runner-up last year. “It seemed to get better and better,â€� said Fowler, who worked with his Vegas-based swing coach, Butch Harmon, last week. “I think we continued to shake some rust off every day. Putter felt a lot better today. I’m looking forward to (Mayakoba).â€� Fowler’s 63 marked the fourth time he’s shot 63 or better on TOUR, with his career low still the 62 he shot in the second round of the 2011 Waste Management Phoenix Open. 5. Jordan Spieth saw both good and bad. A T55 finish was nothing to write home about for 2015 FedExCup champion Spieth, who was making his first fall start in the U.S. But that’s not to say there weren’t some highlights. First among them was perhaps his chipping and putting as he opened with a 5-under 66, then chased that with a second-round 68. Alas, struggled on the weekend, signing for 71-72 to fall way back. What happened? He was using a new driver and 3-wood, which he said didn’t work out. “I’m going to go back to my old stuff (at Mayakoba) next week,â€� he said. He added that he had suffered some lousy breaks (plugged lies, balls in divots), and lost his swing on the weekend. All of that notwithstanding, it’s still early in the new season as Spieth tries to bounce back from a winless 2017-18, when he finished 31st in the FedExCup. And he said he would take some poignant memories away from the Shriners. “The hospitality and really the way that the kids from the hospital we really incorporated into the week was fantastic,â€� Spieth said. “I thought it was incredible to have standard-bearers from the hospital and the way that they were able to incorporate it on the range and then throughout the practice rounds, the pro-ams, really makes it a special week for sure.â€� FIVE INSIGHTS 1. DeChambeau was a monster on the back nine, going 16 under compared to just 5 under on the front. He was one of three players (Bud Cauley, Richy Werenski) to go bogey-free on the back nine the entire week. He hit 34 of 36 greens in regulation on the back nine over the weekend, when he was +4.81 in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green. 2. More dialed-in from tee to green than in any of his previous four wins, DeChambeau was sixth in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and third in SG: Approach-the-Green. He led the field in SG: Tee-to-Green (+13.550), was fourth in fairways hit (44/56), T4 in greens in regulation (60/72), and took 115 total putts. Which of those stats stood out? “I drove it incredible,â€� DeChambeau said. 3. Abraham Ancer (66, T4) notched his second top-5 finish in three starts this season (T5 CIMB Classic) and now heads to his native Mexico for the Mayakoba Golf Classic (T9 last year). 4. There were five bogey-free rounds Sunday: Ryder (62), Fowler (63), Brandon Harkins (64), Joaquin Niemann (66), and Alex Prugh (69). Ryder’s 62 marked his career low and second top-four finish in his last three starts, and his third-place finish moved into 10th in the FedExCup. 5. Newly minted 2017-18 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Aaron Wise led the field with 27 birdies, one more than Cantlay, whose nine on Sunday tied his career best for one round. WYNDHAM REWARDS The top 10 players at the end of the FedExCup Regular Season will benefit from the Wyndham Rewards program. Xander Schauffele maintains the top spot while Bryson DeChambeau jumps to fifth after winning the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Runner-up Patrick Cantlay moved from 26th to sixth, while third-place Sam Ryder jumped from 31st to 10th.

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THE OVERVIEW By Cameron Morfit, PGATOUR.COM Pat Perez is an overnight success story, 20 years in the making. That explanation makes as much sense as anything else when you delve into why Perez, 41, is just hitting his stride at an age when others start eyeing PGA TOUR Champions eligibility. “I’m such a different person than I was 17 years ago, even like five years ago,â€� Perez said after winning the CIMB Classic in Malaysia on Oct. 15, his second TOUR win in less than a year. “I’m learning how to play the game and learning how to play my own game and stay within myself and that kind of stuff. “I’m a late bloomer.â€� Perez seemed like a can’t-miss kid when he beat Tiger Woods by eight shots in winning the 1993 Junior World Championship at Torrey Pines. But something always got in the way, and today Perez would call that something immaturity. But the tipping point came when he underwent shoulder surgery in March of 2016. He lost his equipment contract, and when he got healthy and received a sponsor’s exemption into the no-cut CIMB Classic nearly eight months later, he was determined to prove the doubters wrong and make the most of his second chance. He did. Perez knocked the rust off at TPC Kuala Lumpur to start his 2017 season; finished T7 at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas; and won the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. The rest is history.     Newly eligible for all four majors, the World Golf Championships and the TOUR Championship, Perez did have one unchecked box on his to-do list last season: He failed to make the U.S. Presidents Cup team. Oh, well. There’s no sense in peaking too early. Now that he’s in full bloom, he should have plenty of other opportunities. BY THE NUMBERS How Pat Perez ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 2nd Playoff appearances: 10 TOUR Championship appearances: 1 Best result: 15th (2017) INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Pat Perez in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Ben Everill How can you not love the renaissance that is Pat Perez? Seemingly left for dead by fans and sponsors once a shoulder injury derailed him 18 months ago, Perez has pulled himself off the canvas with two wins inside a 12-month period. The OHL Classic win last fall kick-started it all but the CIMB Classic win this fall might have been even more impressive. Perez refuses to ride into the sunset quietly. He’s primed to teach the youngsters a few more lessons yet. FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton As much as he’s rewritten expectations not to dismiss a 41-year-old post-shoulder surgery, he’s reminded us that some molds are unique. How apropos. The three-time PGA TOUR winner who happily beats to his own drum aligns exceptionally well with the counterculture that exists in fantasy sports. You want him on your team and you need him on your team. Best of all, he’s shown no signs of slowing down. EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Perez added the company’s 0341X 3-wood the week he won the CIMB Classic, as he liked the penetrating ball flight it produced during testing. Only member of PXG’s staff playing the company’s game-improvement 0311XF model (3-4), in addition to 0311 mid and short irons (5-PW). Prefers the bounce and offset the XF model provides.  STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte Perez marches to his own beat. This is reflected in his unique style. His William Murray Golf threads, Jordan kicks, flat brim lids, and long, flowing hair help him to stand out from the crowd. You do you, Pat.

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HOUSTON — Tony Finau wants to end his big year in a big way, and he took a step Thursday by biding his time and delivering late birdies for a 5-under 65 that gave him a share of the lead in the Cadence Bank Houston Open. Finau used a 60-foot birdie putt on the par-3 second hole, his 11th of the round, to start a stretch of four birdies in five holes. He was tied for the lead with bogey-free Aaron Wise and Alex Noren of Sweden, who could use a big week in Houston to nail down a spot in the top 50 in the world as he tries to get a Masters invitation. Tyson Alexander also was at 5-under and drove into the left rough when the first round was suspended because of darkness. Alexander chose not to finish his round and will finish the 18th on Friday morning before starting his second round. The large group at 66 included Sanderson Farms winner Mackenzie Hughes of Canada and Keith Mitchell, who was poised to take the lead until his second shot into the par-5 16th went into the water and led to bogey. Finau won consecutive starts this summer in Minnesota and Detroit for his first season of multiple wins. He missed the cut last week in Mayakoba and wasn’t faring too well at Memorial Park, except that he knew the course was demanding from tee-to-green. “I knew the golf course — it’s a tough golf course to play,” Finau said. “You have to drive it in the fairway and your work’s not done. It’s hard to hit the greens. You know if you miss the green, it’s hard to get up-and-down, so I was just patient with myself. “I made a couple bombs, I think that kind of opened it up.” The biggest one was on No. 2, and with a breeze at his back, he had no trouble adding another birdie on the par-5 third. He hit a wedge to 4 feet on No. 5 and then holed a birdie putt from 12 feet on the next hole. Finau also finished with a bang, rolling in a 35-foot putt on the par-3 ninth. His big summer has Finau at No. 15 in the world ranking, courtesy of his big run through late July and early August. The TOUR has two tournaments left this year before resuming the season at Kapalua the first week of January. “The season that I’ve had this past season was very nice, but I want to go out in a good way and I want to finish the year strong,” Finau said. “And I think that’s what I’m looking for this week.” The top 50 in the world at the end of the year typically get Masters invitations, and Noren put himself into the mix with a runner-up finish in the Dunhill Links in Scotland. He came into the Houston Open at No. 50 and knew he had his work cut out for him. Noren tied for 42nd last week at Mayakoba on a tight course cut through the mangroves that requires more precision than power and a superb wedge game. Memorial Park has a lot more beef, and Noren wasn’t sure what to expect out of his game. “Last week was like medium to short course, a lot of wedges that you have to get close. Here is longer, you’ve got to hit fairways and you’ve got to hit greens,” Noren said. “So I was a little bit nervous coming into today. Didn’t feel great in practice, but found something and got the irons a lot better. Overall, I would have taken 65.” Wise ran off four straight birdies on the front nine and played bogey-free. His only win on the PGA TOUR so far was the AT&T Byron Nelson in the Dallas area. Is another title in Texas in the cards? “It would be good,” Wise said. “I don’t want to win them all in one state, but I’ll take two in Texas.” Memorial Park had plenty of bite. Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was 4 over through 10 holes in the morning when he salvaged a solid round with four birdies coming in for a 70. Scheffler can regain the No. 1 world ranking with a win. Sam Burns wasn’t so fortunate. He had eight bogeys and seven pars until making his first birdie on the par-5 16th and finishing with a 77.

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