Fantasy Insider: FedEx St. Jude Classic

While the primary objective to PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live is to win real money, it’s still virtuous to test your patience and establish guidelines from which to learn. Otherwise, the only activity in which you’re participating is a dart-throwing contest with your eyes closed. Scores will be whizzing all over the board at the Shriners Children’s Open. It’s not the Barracuda Championship, which uses Modified Stableford scoring that turns over a leaderboard more than any other format, but TPC Summerlin will host a 144-man shootout during which truly anything is possible, or at least as closely to that hyperbole as it gets in golf. As Rob notes in his analysis for his R1 Leader below, two of the three par 5s are located on the inward side of TPC Summerlin. Overall par is 35-36—71, so the side of the draw that closes on 18 stands a better chance of slingshotting around guys on the opposite side in real time. So, there’s that, too. Most of all, since only five gamers cash, have fun. When you do, you can’t lose and crashing the top five is a bonus. Register for PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live here and monitor Rob’s and Glass’ progress as Influencers. For a broader explanation of the format and FAQs, click here. TOURNAMENT TO WIN Glass … Adam Svensson (+10000) Jumped in on Sepp Straka at +800 last Sunday and rode him until he bucked me off. There’s always time to reevaluate this selection, so take a chance. My chance is going with the Canadian birdie machine. Only two players made more birdies last season and he sat T26 with just over four per round. Short track will help but he hits plenty of fairways and GIR to factor. And if he doesn’t, I’ll find somebody who does! Rob … Harry Hall (+20000) I know, I know, but the flexibility to change the pick at pretty much any time strips away the absurdity that it presents. So does the fact that shootouts can be indiscriminate. There’s nothing analytical about it, either. He’s a UNLV product who finished T8 in his tournament debut (as a non-member) a year ago. You also know the story of how he had just popped the question, so he was newly engaged at the time. With nothing but great vibes in Vegas, he’s the ideal swing for the fence on the first pitch. And hey, it’s not like he hasn’t connected before. He picked off a pair of wins on the Korn Ferry Tour in the last 16 months. The feels and knowhow of winning are the same no matter the circuit. TOP 10 Glass … Adam Hadwin (+500) Another Canadian! Another Adam! Please read Horses for Courses for his impressive numbers at TPC Summerlin. The window for the Top 10 doesn’t open as frequently as I would hope, and with a busy weekend on tap, I’m going to lean to the chalkier side of the tracks. Rob … Emiliano Grillo (+400) Since I continue to find myself browsing in the vicinity of this value when the window is open on weekends, I’ll open in the same aisle in case I can’t get back to it. The Argentine has been outstanding since reversing his form on the greens. It yielded a pair of T2s late last season and a T5 last week in Mississippi. Since he’s No. 6 in my Power Rankings for the Shriners, I’m putting my coins with my keyboard is. TOP 20 Rob … Rickie Fowler (+210) I laid out the classic combination of factors for why he’ll have a good week in Draws and Fades. I’ve spread my shares for him across numerous considerations this week. This bet is the optimal spot to turn him loose in PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live. Glass … Scott Piercy (+420) Hoping to set it and forget as the Las Vegas resident knows this place as well as anyone, and the results have followed. Of his 12 starts, he’s cashed T32 or better in 10 of them. I’m willing to roll the dice here especially after closing with 67 last week for T19. Keep rollin’! ROUND 1 LEADER Glass … John Huh (+8000) First 3-ball off tee No. 10, so let’s go! Posted 63 to open on debut in 2012 and went one better with 62 in 2016. Hasn’t posted a round in the 60s in six rounds this season, but I’m hoping he remembers the form he had when he posted 61 to open the Wyndham Championship in August! Rob … Robby Shelton (+6000) Not that Glass was targeting a guy opening on the back side of TPC Summerlin where two of the three par 5s are located, but I dig the angle for the sole purpose of the positive juices that can start flowing early. Shelton goes off No. 1 in the penultimate threesome of the morning wave, so it’s probably going to backfire, but I love the fit. He’s one of my Sleepers in part because in two appearances at the Shriners, he’s scored 69-68-67-68-67-67-68-69. And while only two tournaments are complete this season, he cashed in both. Considering that he was the only multiple winner on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022, I’ll consider the absence of a opening slide (to which guys like Justin Suh and Carl Yuan have not been immune) as a plus. Basically, I just hope Shelton runs into one, but that’s always the idea with this prop. NOTE: While Glass and Rob typically stick with their selections as detailed in Pick ‘Em Preview, they are allowed the right to make changes at any time. Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org.

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PGA TOUR LIVE is back. This week's The American Express marks the return of the streaming service, which showcases exclusive early coverage from the PGA TOUR. The broadcast from PGA West will include Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Rickie Fowler, Matthew Wolff and tournament host Phil Mickelson. They'll be competing on two courses at PGA West, including Pete Dye's famed Stadium Course and its island-green 17th nicknamed Alcatraz. Related: Tee times | The First Look, How to Watch A star-studded charity match also will be available Wednesday on PGA TOUR LIVE. Country music artist Jake Owen and soccer star Landon Donovan will team with Tony Finau and Paul Casey in the nine-hole match from PGA West's Stadium Course. Mickelson will host the match and participate through "Phil's Challenges." Each player, including Mickelson, will take a shot at a $1 million hole-in-one for charity on Alcatraz, as well. The match will tee off at 2 p.m. Pacific. The Featured Groups, which will tee off at 1:40 and 1:50 p.m. Eastern each day on PGA West’s Stadium Course, are listed below. To prepare you for PGA TOUR LIVE’s coverage, our roundtable of writers convened to answer a burning question around each group. Enjoy. THURSDAY Patrick Reed, Andrew Landry, Gary Woodland (1:40 p.m. ET, No. 1 tee, Stadium) – Andrew Landry has a win and playoff loss in his last three American Express starts. Will he finish as low man in this group? SEAN MARTIN: Landry has nine career top-10s on TOUR. Two have come at this event. But I think Reed is the man to beat in this group. Reed has a win at this event, in 2014, and earned his PGA TOUR card at a Q-School on the two courses in use this week. He has exhibited some incredible consistency lately, finishing in the top 25 in two-thirds of his starts since the start of last season, including all four in 2020-21. BEN EVERILL: Not this time. Patrick Reed is a desert warrior who has surprised us by playing in this desert instead of being in a Middle East one. He should threaten to win the whole thing. CAMERON MORFIT: I'll subscribe to the horses-for-courses theory and go with defending champ Landry here. I know he didn't show much at the Sentry TOC and missed the cut at the Sony Open, but he won here last year after missing five consecutive cuts. It wasn't that long ago that he finished T4 at The RSM Classic. I'll say he picks up right where he left off in the desert and notches another top-10 finish. Kevin Na, Matthew Wolff, Tony Finau (1:50 p.m. ET, No. 1 tee, Stadium) – Na had one win in his first 369 TOUR starts. He has four in his last 55, including last week's Sony Open. Finau has one win in his first 170 starts. How many will he finish his career with? MARTIN: Finau is just 31. He has plenty of time left. I think 10 is within reach but seven seems more realistic. I still think Finau could have some multiple-win seasons ahead of him. EVERILL: Should be 10 (or more), I want to say six but I'm going to take the under and say four. MORFIT: With his talent I would have guessed double digits, but it's just so hard to win on TOUR, and he's let a few victories pass him by already. I'll say he ends up with six wins, and I wouldn't be at all shocked if one of those was a major. FRIDAY Cameron Champ, Brooks Koepka, Paul Casey (1:40 p.m. ET, No. 1 tee, Stadium) – What do you expect out of Koepka this year? MARTIN: He had two top-10s in the fall but also ended the year with a missed cut. I think he will return to East Lake but I'm not sure about a win. He had opportunities to win late last season but wasn't able to capitalize on them. He said Tuesday he feels good, so this week will be an opportunity to show us what to expect. EVERILL: If he's fully fit, a return to some dominant wins. When he's at his peak, he's a beast. I'd love to see him and DJ down the stretch in a tournament at some point. MORFIT: That's just it, Ben - the big IF remains. Is he healthy again? If so, I'd expect him to make a strong run at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines South, which is precisely the type of big, brawny course that sets him apart from the rest. Patrick Cantlay, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler (1:50 p.m. ET, No. 1 tee, Stadium) – More likely to join Cantlay as a winner on the PGA TOUR this season, Mickelson or Fowler? It's been two years since each won. MARTIN: Mickelson finished runner-up not long ago at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, and he has some winning mojo after his back-to-back triumphs on PGA TOUR Champions. His recent results haven't been very good, in part because of his obsession with hitting bombs, but if he could back off the gas a bit, and the putter gets hot, he can pick off another win after age 50. EVERILL: I'm not sure either will but of course both could! I'll stick with youth and say Fowler. His good stuff is more likely to turn up over four days while Mickelson's mistakes continue to get punished exponentially on this TOUR. MORFIT: I'm guessing we haven't seen the last of Fowler in the winner's circle, even though his swing changes have taken longer to solidify than he probably thought they would. It's the old story of working so hard on the swing you neglect your putting, but his above-average ability on the greens will return, and I'm guessing his swing change is pretty close to being complete.

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Moore withdraws from U.S. Open for shoulder

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