Fantasy Insider: Safeway Open

CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Xander Schauffele shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over good friend and playing partner Patrick Cantlay into the final round of the Travelers Championship. Schauffele had a 17-under 193 total at TPC River Highlands. Cantlay shot 63. Rookie Sahith Theegala was third at 14 under after a round of 64, and Kevin Kisner had a 66 to get to 13 under. Schauffele began the day at 14 under with a five-stroke lead. The Olympic champion birdied the second hole for the third time this week and had another at No. 6, part of a career-best run of 48 holes without a bogey. But he put his tee shot at 13 in the water and briefly fell into a tie for the lead after a bogey. He broke his minor birdie drought at 16, then hit the pin on his approach at 17 and sank another. “I would love to have that tee ball back on 13,” he said. “For the most part I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to protect a lead, especially when it’s five shots and it’s easy to get comfortable.” Cantlay’s bogey-free round was the best of the day. Schauffele and Cantlay have been close friends since being paired together at the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia and they combined to win the Zurich Classic this season. “If only it was a combined score again this week we would be doing well,” Cantlay joked. “It’s always nice to be out with him, if he’s on my team or if he’s not. I’m going to go out there tomorrow and try as hard as I can and let the chips fall where they may.” Schauffele is looking for his sixth individual title and first since the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions. He also is shooting for his sixth straight top-20 finish. He and Cantlay finished tied for 14th last week in the U.S. Open. “I’ve been looking forward to playing with Pat in a final round,” Schauffele said. “We don’t get paired together very often in regular tournaments, only in those team ones. So there’s a certain level of comfort we have playing with each other and hopefully that pays off and hopefully we can make a lot of birdies.” Theegala had an eagle on 13 to go with four birdies. The 24-year-old Californian hit his second shot on the par-4 17th over the course’s signature lake to about a foot from the pin, briefly tying Schauffele for the lead. But he bogeyed the final hole. He is looking to become the 18th player to get their first TOUR win in Connecticut. Ken Duke was the last to do it in 2013. “I’m definitely going to be nervous, definitely going to be excited,” he said. “Every single week I’m out here I feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable.” Former U.S. Junior champion Michael Thorbjornsen shot a 66 to put himself in contention. He started the weekend at 7 under, just the third amateur to make a PGA TOUR cut in 2022. The Stanford star is in a group of four tied for seventh place, but said he wasn’t feeling much pressure. “One thing that might help is winning or coming in second or third I’m not getting paid either way, so it’s another tournament for me,” he said. “It’s just another round for me and I’ll just try to go out there and do the same thing I did today.” Harris English, who is trying to become just the second player to successfully defend his title here after Phil Mickelson won in 2002, shot a 69 and was in a group at 10-under. Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler was also in that group after shooting a 65. He began the weekend nine strokes behind Schauffele. “Maybe I’ll go out tomorrow and do something crazy and we’ll see what happens,” Scheffler said. First-round co-leader Rory McIlroy (72) got in trouble early Saturday, hitting his tee shot on No. 2 off a nearby tree and into the tall grass 108 yards across the fairway to the right. After a 39 on the back nine Friday, he shot 36 on the front nine Saturday and finished 2 over for the day, and 6 under for the tournament, 11 strokes off the pace. There was also a buzz at the tournament Saturday around a player who was no longer even in Cromwell. Jason Kokrak was disqualified Friday after launching his final shot on the ninth hole over the green and the fence behind it. Kokrak, who would have missed the cut anyhow, left the course without replaying the shot. William McGirt who was playing in the same group said Kokrak simply didn’t see any point in finishing the hole. “He was like, `I’m not going to hold anybody up,'” McGirt said. “He didn’t storm off the golf course.”

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Bryson DeChambeau implored the golfing world to not judge a book by its cover after he solidified himself as a player of the future with a thrilling playoff win at Muirfield Village. Welcome to the Monday Finish where DeChambeau claimed a second PGA TOUR win in front of an idol – taking out the Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide with Jack Nicklaus looking on. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. The saying goes – love him or hate him. And it has been attached to Bryson DeChambeau at times. But there is really no reason to hate the guy some call the mad scientist of golf. Yes, he has ideas and thoughts that are non-conventional. Yes, he advocates things you might think are silly. But he is ultimately likable and downright excellent at golf. His single length irons and one plane swing might not work for you, but they work for him. And the passion he shows for the game and its history is great to watch. This is one guy that actually gets it. “Whenever you look at somebody, don’t judge them by the cover, right? You got to judge them by the results and the work ethic and the dedication and the perseverance that the person has,â€� he said. Indeed. 2. DeChambeau showed some steel in the final round that will certainly help him going forward. As a confidence player he had possibly created some seeds of doubt after missing a few chances to close the deal in regulation and the opening playoff hole. But a stoic approach shot on the second playoff hole was followed by a great putt for the win. The putt came after Byeong An had hit a tremendous flop shot to possibly keep the tournament alive. Bottom line, it was clutch. It is something that Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods would have loved to see. As the upcoming Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup captains they know this guy will play with passion under the American flag. 3. Byeong An can’t be far away from becoming a more consistent performer and clinching a maiden win on the PGA TOUR. His playoff loss was his third top-10 this season and moved him to 46th in the FedExCup. When he is on he is certainly good enough to end up on top. Nerves may have played a factor on Sunday but those suggesting his putt on the 72nd hole was easy (he missed) are way off the mark. Multiple players miss-read that putt, expecting it to come back to the right a little more. Sure DeChambeau made it on a similar line to win a few holes later but An gave his chance a good run. And while some of his playoff shots he’d like back, the flop he hit to have a chance to stay in it was first class. Watch this space. 4. Tiger Woods still knows how to get the crowds rocking. But sadly at Muirfield Village he also took the wind out of our sails at times. And it was because of the putter – a club he used to be deadly with. The roars around the place on Friday when he holed out for an eagle on the par-5 11th and then hit the flag on the par-3 12th were vintage stuff. Hair on the back of your neck standing up stuff. Sadly a rain delay stopped his momentum. And then his putter stayed ice-cold. Woods ranked first in several ball-striking categories at Muirfield Village including Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (+14.157); Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (+11.164) and Proximity (23 feet, eight inches). But he was second last in Strokes Gained: Putting (-7.695). He missed seven putts inside five feet during the tournament, and 15 putts inside 10 feet. If he marries his game together then we might finally see that win we all crave. 5. Joaquin Niemann is another name you need to add to the youth brigade in golf if you haven’t already done so. The Chilean teenager, who is not long removed from being the world’s best amateur, has secured special temporary membership on the PGA TOUR in just his fifth start as a professional. Sunday was a chance to win but while he faded a little to be tied sixth it represented his third top-10. He will now be able to accept unlimited sponsor invites for the rest of the season as he looks to earn enough non-member points to earn a TOUR card for next season. The 95 FedExCup points earned at Muirfield Village takes him to 275 non-member points – the equivalent to around 115th in the standings. If he beats the mark of the man who finishes 125th at season’s end he will automatically get a TOUR card for next season. He has locked up a spot in the Web.com Finals as another potential avenue to the TOUR. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. DeChambeau moved from 22nd to fourth in the FedExCup and at 24 years, 8 months and 18 days, he is the fourth youngest winner in the Memorial Tournament history behind Hideki Matsuyama’s 2014 win (22 years, 3 months and 7 days) and Tiger Woods’ 1999 and 2000 victories. 2. DeChambeau became the 10th winner this season to rank inside the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Putting. He ranked sixth – outperforming the field by +1.366 strokes per round on the greens. A total of 44 percent of his total strokes gained for the week were a result of his performance on the greens at Muirfield Village. It was the third best Strokes Gained: Putting performance of his career. His best was when he won the John Deere Classic last season. 3. DeChambeau led the field in Scrambling, managing to salvage par 80 percent of the time (16 of 20) when missing the green in regulation. His scrambling performance marked the fourth-best by a winner at the Memorial Tournament since 1992. 4. DeChambeau attacked the front nine holes at Muirfield Village to get his victory. Through 72 holes he was 11-under par on the front nine and 4-under on the back nine. 5. Of note leading into the U.S. Open was Rory McIlroy’s weekend performance. After making the cut on the number at even-par, he recorded weekend rounds of 64-69 to move into a tie for eighth. It was his fourth top-10 (T8: 2018, T4: 2016, 5: 2011, T10: 2010) in his seventh career start at the Memorial Tournament. He led the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (+5.630) and his third-round 64 was the lowest round of the tournament.

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