Everything you need to know about The Open at Royal Portrush

2022 Wyndham Championship, Round 1 Scoring Conditions: Overall: -0.51 strokes per round Morning wave: -0.65 Afternoon wave: -0.37 Current cutline (top 65 and ties): 78 players at -1 or better (T58) Top 3 projected cutline probabilities: 1. 3 under par: 41.0% 2. 2 under par: 32.9% 3. 4 under par: 15.5% Top 10 win probabilities: 1. Sungjae Im (2, -7, 23.3%) 2. John Huh (1, -9, 12.9%) 3. Aaron Wise (T5, -5, 5.6%) 4. Billy Horschel (T23, -3, 4.0%) 5. Russell Henley (T23, -3, 3.5%) 6. Peter Malnati (T3, -6, 3.1%) 7. Alex Smalley (T5, -5, 2.8%) 8. Brandon Wu (T3, -6, 2.8%) 9. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (T14, -4, 2.4%) 10. Brian Harman (T23, -3, 2.4%) NOTE: These reports are based off of the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live “Make Cut”, “Top 20”, “Top 5”, and “Win” probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 20K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of the Wyndham Championship, or to see how each golfer’s probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model’s home page.

Click here to read the full article…

Here are nine tidbits from the final round of the Travelers Championship that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. TPC River Highlands hosted since 1991 and measures 6,841 yards (Par-70). Wonderful Watson Bubba Watson overcame a six-shot deficit as he posted 17-under-par 263 to win the Travelers Championship for the third time in nine years. This was his second come-from-behind victory at the event when trailing by six shots. The left-hander’s final round of 63 put the pressure on the leaders and in the end his margin of victory was a comfortable three shots. He becomes the first player to win three times on TOUR this season and the first player to win this event three times since Billy Casper in 1968. The regret is palpable from gamers who passed on Watson this week based on his current form (raises hand). With nothing to lose on a course he already painted for 63 earlier in the week he let it fly heading out in 33. His inward 30 saw him match his low round of the week (63) and it dropped the hammer on the guys still on the course. The exclamation point was his wedge to less than three feet on the final hole for his eighth and final birdie of the day and the clubhouse lead on 17 under. There wasn’t any surprise to the formula he used as he didn’t hit many fairways (T70) but still found plenty of GIR (T7). He measured T22 or better in every strokes-gained category but the key was he was fifth-best in putts per GIR. After opening level par he played the final 54 holes in 17 under with only four bogeys (no others). The mystery of Watson shouldn’t exist anymore for gamers. When he’s in the mood, and boy has he been this season, there are a handful of tracks where he is no-brainer, green-light special. He’s won on two of them (Riviera and TPC River Highlands) this year and added a “new” title with World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. Gamers aren’t out of luck yet as he’s gone close at Glen Abbey (if he plays) and Firestone South so there may be time to right the ship and get one more. Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 selected golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf game presented by SERVPRO: It’s been tough sledding for gamers who leaned on Berger at the last two TPC stops where he’s had immense successes. I guess the “up” side is that he did outscore Casey in the final round but that’s hardly a consolation. Pain or Gain These were the top-10 selected golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO: It was a brutal Sunday two ways for Casey’s investors. He had the largest 54-hole lead at TPC River Highlands in history and his share of second was chopped four ways. If fantasy golf was played in a vacuum it would have been, on paper, a great week. Instead it was probably a disappointment. N-Cink Stewart Cink matched the round of the week with 62 and picked up his first podium since 2009. The course historians were rewarded again as the two-time champ felt right at home Sunday circling a magnificent 10 birdies against two bogeys. To say the disappointment of his 72 in the final round in Memphis (T4) was squashed is probably underplaying it. He’s as hot as the Georgia summer and is 22 under in his last eight rounds. Next in Line I’ve been asked multiple times who I believed to be this year’s Xander Schauffele and the retort I’ve given is Beau Hossler. Although he hasn’t won yet he’s been a consistent force. This week he picked up his 10th-consecutive paycheck and his second runner-up finish of the season. At No. 36 in the FEC standings a trip to Atlanta isn’t out of the realm of possibilities. No Memphis Blues Similarly to Cink, J.B. Holmes was looking to build on his excellent week in Memphis but a missed six-footer for par on the last saw him share second instead of claiming it himself. He won’t be upset with back-to-back podium finishes on TOUR but I bet the putting green will get a work out starting next week. His last 13 rounds on TOUR are in the red and so are 15 of the last 16. He demands a detailed look next week at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farms. Life of Brian The “other” left-hander on the weekend that was trying to make noise was 36-hole leader Brian Harman. He posted rounds of 69-68 but dropped all the way to T6 when the dust settled. After two years of deflated scoring, TPC River Highlands was back to its original giving self this year but Harman couldn’t get it over the finish line. He quietly goes about his business and his top-10 payday is his eighth of the season, tying Dustin Johnson for the most on TOUR. Sunday Silence There were only three scores on Sunday worse than Paul Casey’s 72 with only five players accumulating 73 or worse. His worst finish when making seven of his last eight cuts is T17 so I’m not going anywhere. … Russell Henley (T6) was in charge of putting the pressure on his playing partner in the final pairing but his 69 was also left in the dust by the peloton. He squared only two bogeys and nothing worse for the week so it’s obvious he likes it here. He’s 22 under in two trips with a 67.25 scoring average. … Anirban Lahiri is still trying to become the first Indian to win on TOUR and that can’t be easy with a couple of billion people weighing on his shoulders. His 69 dropped him from T6 to T9 but he cashes his first top 10 since November and is comfortably inside the top 100 in the FEC standings at No. 89. Study Hall Round 1 scored 69.776 (-0.224) while Round 2 crept just higher at 69.994 (-0.006). Saturday’s excellent scoring conditions were realized as the field averaged 69.108 (-0.892) but the field went even lower on Sunday. Even with the course tipped out past the scorecard total of 6,841 at 6,868 the final round produced the lowest aggregate of the week at 68.865 (-1.135). … Interestingly there were only two bogey-free rounds as Sam Ryder (64) and Adam Hadwin (66) will take their momentum forward. Neither cashed in the top 25. … Matthew Fitzpatrick accepted STM this week and will have unlimited exemptions for the rest of the TOUR season. He’s currently ranked No. 39 in the world. Remember, he’s only eligible for the FEC Playoffs if he wins a TOUR event before they begin. … Brooks Koepka was looking to join Ernie Els (1997) as the last player to win the U.S. Open and win the following week. Koepka, who is clearly not human, signed for 65 in the final round to move up 19 spots to T19. … Phil Mickelson is the last player to defend at TPC River Highlands as Jordan Spieth’s 63 on Thursday never kept any momentum. He cashed T42 in his defense.

Click here to read the full article…

Five of the top six in the FedExCup standings will tee it up at the Travelers Championship, led by No.1 Scottie Scheffler. Harris English returns to defend his title from 2021, which he won in an eight-hole playoff over Kramer Hickok. FIELD NOTES: English is back in action after making the cut at the U.S. Open. He was on the shelf from January until the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday as he recovered from hip surgery… Scottie Scheffler, who was contending at the U.S. Open at The Country Club, will look to extend his substantial lead in the FedExCup and Official World Golf Ranking… Sam Burns, ranked second in the FedExCup, is also set to tee it up… Others in the field include 2022 PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas, last season’s FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay, and Rory McIlroy, who is playing his fourth week in a row on TOUR… Cantlay shot a 60 at TPC River Highlands in 2011 as an amateur… Jordan Spieth, who won the Travelers in 2017, was a late entry Friday afternoon… University of Texas standout Cole Hammer will make his TOUR debut as a professional… Other young stars at the Travelers will include Ben James, Michael Thorbjornsen, and Haskins Award winner Chris Gotterup… Others in the field include four-time major winner Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele and U.S. Open gate-crasher Joel Dahmen. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: TPC River Highlands, par 70, 6,852 yards. One of the TOUR’s shortest courses yields low scores but still presents a tricky challenge to the game’s best. This marks the 70th anniversary of the Travelers Championship, with TPC River Highlands being a TOUR venue for 39 years. Bobby Weed was the last architect to work on an upgrade of the Connecticut course with TOUR players Howard Twitty and Roger Matlbie as consultants. The key stretch comes as golfers play around a four-acre lake on No’s 15 through 17. TPC River Highlands was where Jim Furyk fired the TOUR’s lowest round, a 58 in 2016. STORYLINES: This is the first year since before the COVID-19 pandemic that the Travelers will have full attendance… There is plenty of firepower in the field at TPC River Highlands, with six of the world’s top 10 teeing it up… The Travelers has become a jumping-off point for many of the game’s bright young stars. This year is set to be no different with James, Thorbjornsen, Gotterup, and Hammer in the field. Past exemptions have gone to Sahith Theegala, John Pak, and Collin Morikawa, among others… Each champion at the Travelers since 2016 has played the U.S. Open the week prior. English finished third at Torrey Pines a year ago before winning at TPC River Highlands… The Travelers has gone into extra holes 25 times, with last year’s eight-hole playoff being the longest. 72-HOLE RECORD: 258, Kenny Perry (2009) 18-HOLE RECORD: 58, Jim Furyk (4th round, 2016). LAST TIME: Harris English emerged from the second-longest playoff in TOUR history to claim the 2021 Travelers. After both English and Kramer Hickok birdied the 72nd hole in regulation the duo went back-and-forth for seven holes before English finally birdied the eighth extra hole from 5 feet. Hickok had missed a 36-footer just prior. It was English’s second win of the season. Hickok’s runner-up was his best career result on the PGA TOUR. Marc Leishman finished third, Abraham Ancer fourth, and five golfers finished T5, among them Kevin Kisner, who shot Sunday’s low round, 63. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes

Click here to read the full article…