Expert Picks: PGA Championship

It was nice of Brendan Steele to successfully defend his title at the Safeway Open so that we could seamlessly segue into the next two-time defending champ. That’s the badge of honor worn by Justin Thomas at the CIMB Classic. He was the first of four winners last season who defended his title. Oddly enough, his pair of victories at TPC Kuala Lumpur followed Ryan Moore’s consecutive wins to introduce the stock par 72 in Malaysia’s capital in 2014 and 2015. The CIMB Classic launches a three-week swing through Asia. From Malaysia to South Korea to China, each tournament is reserved for 78 golfers. None will feature a 36-hole cut. All he does is win the CIMB Classic at TPC Kuala Lumpur. The 2016-17 Player of the Year finished second in his last start at East Lake. Two wins in last two months, too. Will need to putt a little better to win this week, but he finished T3 here in 2015 and sat T9 through 54 holes last year. Simply thriving at the peak of his career. Presents as an obvious force but it didn’t pan out that way in any of his first three appearances. Still in pursuit of his first top 20 here, but has five top fives since late June. With rigors of the past several weeks now history, he can enjoy the embrace of a gettable track. Solo fifth and runner-up in last two editions; scoring average of 66.75. One of the many who struggled on Sunday at Silverado, but early form aligned with prior success there. Similarly strong at TPC Kuala Lumpur where his scoring average is 68.08 Four months ago, he was outside the OWGR’s top 350. With two wins, including in last start at East Lake, and the Rookie of the Year award in the interim, he’s now 32nd. Shed the rust in a hurry at Silverado, placing T17 and ranking fifth in strokes gained: putting. T7 (2015) and T10 (2016) with a scoring average of 68.00 at TPC Kuala Lumpur. Debuted as a PGA TOUR member at last year’s CIMB and finished T10. One of the world’s best putters in the midst of his career prime at 33 years of age. Straddled seasons with a T12 at Conway Farms and a T13 at Silverado. Seven top 25s in last four months. He can hang on shorter tracks like TPC Kuala Lumpur. In the stable of horses for the course with a solo sixth in 2015 and a solo ninth last year. Scoring average in his last 10 rounds here (going back to 2014) is 68.00. Placed T17 in debut here last year. Ranked 15th in putts per GIR during a steady week. T11 at the British Masters in his last start. Six top 25s in last eight starts worldwide. The two-time runner-up (to Ryan Moore both times) hasn’t missed an edition at TPC Kuala Lumpur. Strengths are hitting GIR (11th in 2016-17) and par-5 scoring (T24). Turned in a T19 as a first-timer here last year with a pair of 68s on the weekend. Steady, reliable attack is always a threat, particularly with the guarantee of 72 holes. Seems counterintuitive to endorse him in a putting contest, but he was comfortable last year. Finished sixth after sharing the 18-hole lead with a 64. Making his tournament debut and his first start as a PGA TOUR member. Seriously scuffled since a solo fourth at Firestone, his last start in an event with no cut. RANK PLAYER COMMENT POWER RANKINGS: CIMB CLASSIC Jason Dufner, Branden Grace, Adam Hadwin and Bud Cauley will be among the notables included in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. There’s no secret to the objective at TPC Kuala Lumpur: sink putts. ShotLink isn’t utilized overseas, but fancy formulas aren’t required to respect Thomas’ route to success. En route to hoisting the hardware both times, he led his fields in conversion percentage after hitting greens in regulation. He also ranked a respective first and fourth in fewest putts per GIR. Moore authored similar performances, but TPC Kuala Lumpur wasn’t yet the racetrack that Thomas looped in 26-under 262 in 2015 and 23-under 265 last year. (Moore scored 14-under 274 in 2013 and 17-under 271 in 2014.) With four par 5s and tipping at just 7,005 yards, it’s one of the most vulnerable courses on the docket. Last year’s field averaged 70.298, and that was over one-half stroke higher than the previous year. Phenomenally manicured paspalum putting surfaces cater to the highest level of confidence when chasing deeply red numbers. With them running at about 11 feet on the Stimpmeter, everyone can open the throttle. The Confidence Factor on Tuesday will expand on the analytics as well as spotlight which golfers in the field have fared well in previous visits. Customarily warm and humid conditions await. The strongest risks of inclement weather bookend the tournaments. The absence of impactful wind will further contribute to low scoring. ROB BOLTON’S WRITING SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Columnist Rob Bolton will be filing his usual staples leading up to this week’s event. Look for the following columns this week. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, The Confidence Factor, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Ownership Percentages in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf and One & Done presented by SERVPRO * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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Neither a windy afternoon nor having his forearm hit a tree while making a shot on the 16th hole could keep Tiger Woods from shooting a 1-under-par 70 Thursday in the first round of the Valspar Championship.

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