Featured Groups: the Memorial Tournament

2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic, Round 2 Top 10 win probabilities: 1. Tony Finau (2, -14, 36.5%) 2. Taylor Pendrith (1, -15, 32.5%) 3. Cameron Young (T4, -10, 5.4%) 4. Patrick Cantlay (T7, -9, 4.6%) 5. Lee Hodges (3, -12, 4.4%) 6. Russell Henley (T4, -10, 3.8%) 7. Scott Stallings (T7, -9, 1.8%) 8. Adam Scott (T7, -9, 1.7%) 9. Stewart Cink (T4, -10, 1.7%) 10. Si Woo Kim (T7, -9, 1.5%) Top Strokes-Gained Performers from Round 2: Putting: Lee Hodges +4.3 Around the Green: William McGirt +2.7 Approach the Green: Bo Hoag +3.3 Off-the-tee: Joseph Bramlett +2.2 Total: Cameron Young +8.1 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 Rocket Mortgage Classic, 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.

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Brooks Koepka chipped in from 32 yards for eagle on the 17th hole to break a tie for the lead and then parred the last for a one-stroke victory Sunday in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. RELATED: Leaderboard | Winner’s Bag: Brooks Koepka, Waste Management Phoenix Open Five strokes behind Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele entering the round, Koepka shot a 6-under 65 to finish at 19-under 265. The four-time major champion also won in 2015 at TPC Scottsdale for the first of his eight PGA TOUR titles. On the 334-yard 17th, Koepka hit a fairway wood 305 yards to the fairway short and right of the green, then holed out to the largest roar of the day from the crowd limited to 5,000 a day — a fraction of the usual size but the most on TOUR during the COVID-19 pandemic. Back at full strength after lingering left knee and hip problems, Koepka rebounded from a bogey on the second with an eagle on the par-5 third and birdied Nos. 13-15. Schauffele birdied the par-4 18th for a 71 to tie for second with Kyoung-Hoon Lee (68). Schauffele tied for second last week at Torrey Pines. Lee birdied 17 to pull within one of Koepka, but drove right on the par-4 18th and had his 34-foot birdie try slide by on the high side. Steve Stricker, the 53-year-old U.S. Ryder Cup captain who was trying to become the oldest winner on the PGA TOUR, shot a 67 to tie for fourth with Spieth (72) and Carlos Ortiz (64) at 17 under. Spieth and Schauffele struggled from the start, with Spieth bogeying the first hole after nearly driving into a desert bush. They each had two bogeys on the front nine, with Schauffele making the only birdie between the two on the front side on No. 9. Schauffele and Spieth each drove into the water on 17 to end their chances, then both birdied 18. Spieth shot 61 on Saturday for a share of the lead. Winless since the 2017 Open Championship, the 27-year-old Texan is trying recapture the form that carried him to 11 PGA TOUR victories — three of them majors — in his first five seasons on TOUR. James Hahn, three strokes ahead in the middle of the round, bogeyed four of the last eight holes for a 69. He finished 10th at 15 under.

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NOTE: For the first three events of the FedExCup Playoffs, Rob will focus only on golfers outside the bubble to advance. In this second installment, all five below enter the Dell Technologies Championship outside the top 70 in points. Harold Varner III … Two weeks ago at this time, he was headed to the Web.com Tour Finals after what couldn’t be ruled out as a sophomore slump. He then celebrated his 27th birthday on Aug. 15 with a T10 at the Wyndham Championship five days later. That secured both his third consecutive season with a TOUR card and a spot in the Playoffs for which he opened 123rd in points. A T20 at THE NORTHERN TRUST bumped him to 91st and into the field at TPC Boston where he placed T33 in last year’s debut. Since the FedExCup points structure was revised in 2015, all top 20s at the Dell Technologies Championship have yielded survival. He’s simmered before, so there’s precedent for another climb. During a 9-for-9 stretch as a rookie from April into July of 2016, he recorded five top 25s, including three in a row at one point. Graham DeLaet … No stranger to back injuries, it knocked him out during his third round of the Barracuda Championship to start the month, and then again during his second round at Glen Oaks last week. However, in between, he mustered a T7 at the PGA Championship where he led the field in greens hit and strokes gained: approach-the-green. Now 74th in the FedExCup standings, the 35-year-old Canuck will be keen to tap into the form that fueled a career-low-tying 62 in the third round of the 2013 edition of the Dell Technologies Championship. But he won’t need as strong as a top-five to advance. In last year’s Playoffs, Chris Kirk arrived at TPC Boston slotted 75th in points. He finished T33 in the tournament and rose to 66th. With this modest goal facing DeLaet, his health might be the greater challenge. Jason Kokrak … He serves as a terrific example of how even consistently strong play during the Playoffs sometimes isn’t enough, so he’s seeking redemption. After entering last year’s series at 65th in points, he opened T7-T8, the latter at TPC Boston, to rise to 34th. A T17 at the BMW Championship left him 33rd, just outside the bubble for a berth in the TOUR Championship. Nonetheless, it’s a career-best result he’s targeting right now. On the shoulders of consecutive top 25s, he arrives at the Dell Technologies Championship at 79th in points. Finished T16 in the tournament in 2014. Chad Campbell … Still owns the badge as the last golfer to capture his first PGA TOUR title at the TOUR Championship. That was in 2003 under the old qualifying system and contested in Houston, the last time before it moved permanently to East Lake. Now 43 years of age, he’s reached the Playoffs finale only once, way back in 2008. Currently 76th in points, if he performs like he has since May, we’ll see him at the BMW Championship in two weeks. He’s survived nine of 10 cuts, five going for a top 25. Ranks 13th in greens in regulation, fourth in scrambling and 50th in adjusted scoring. Finished T21 at TPC Boston last year. Rafa Cabrera Bello … Fits the classic narrative that class is permanent, which it going to be put to the test this week. It’s the minimalist’s approach toward his expectations as the 19th-ranked golfer in the world sitting 80th in the FedExCup standings. The Spaniard is making his debut in the series at 33 years of age. It was just eight weeks ago that he prevailed at the Scottish Open. A T4 at Royal Birkdale followed, but he hasn’t readapted to parkland-style golf in three U.S.-based starts since. With everything to gain and as one of the best putters on the planet, he’s at or near the top of the list of guys in a slump who present among the most dangerous to threaten at TPC Boston.

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