Five matches to watch Wednesday at WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Brooks Koepka can barely bend down to get his ball from the hole. Phil Mickelson is battling father time before our eyes. While the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah was a celebration of youthful virtuosity (Rory McIlroy), the 2021 PGA has become a drama of the human condition. It’s about scar tissue both literal and figurative, and man’s animating quest to catch up to his younger self. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Final round: How to follow, tee times | Details on Mickelson’s new custom driver “I felt I had a very clear picture on every shot,” said two-time PGA TOUR Champions winner Mickelson (70), who despite some shaky moments on the back nine will take a one-shot lead over Koepka (70) going into the final round Sunday. “And I’ve been swinging the club well, and so I was executing. I just need to keep that picture a few more times. “So even though it slipped a little bit today,” he added, “and I didn’t stay as focused and as sharp on a few swings, it’s significantly better than it’s been for a long time.” Louis Oosthuizen (72) is two off the lead, and nine players, including major winners Bryson DeChambeau (71) and Gary Woodland (72), are within five. “I left a lot out there,” said Koepka (31 putts). “I’ve got a chance to win, so that’s all I wanted to do today is not give back any shots and be there tomorrow with a chance, and I’ve got that.” Unlike Mickelson, Koepka, who won the PGA in 2018 and ’19, has non-age-related issues. He won the Waste Management Phoenix Open for the second time in February, but shortly after that had surgery to repair a dislocated kneecap and ligament damage to his right knee. “Even though I’m not 100 percent,” he said earlier this week, “I can still hit the shots.” He was in obvious discomfort and unable to bend down to read putts or retrieve his ball from the hole at the Masters. He missed the cut. He also missed the cut at the AT&T Byron Nelson last week, but was pleased, he said, to be able to hit a variety of shots. Kiawah is a very long walk – at 7,876 yards, it’s the longest major venue ever – but at least it’s not hilly. And he’s proven himself correct; he really has hit all the shots. Mickelson would become the oldest men’s major winner, besting Julius Boros, who was 48 at the 1968 PGA. It would be his second PGA title (2005); sixth major (and first since the 2013 Open); and 45th PGA TOUR victory (first since the 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am). The Ocean Course is a slippery stage, though, and even in his prime, Mickelson – now 115th in the world, 168th in the FedExCup – was one of the most accident-prone superstars. He led by five shots early on the back nine Saturday but showed cracks over the next two hours. The most glaring of these was his wild hook at the par-4 13th hole. The ball never crossed dry land, and although Mickelson made a valiant effort – hitting three from the tee and sticking his next shot to just over 11 feet – he failed to make the putt and carded a double-bogey. His five-shot lead was down to just one over Koepka and Oosthuizen, and although he striped his tee shot to just under 7 1/2 feet at the par-3 14th hole, his birdie try missed badly. The entire sequence – his failure to birdie the par-5 11th to his failure to birdie 14 – took only an hour. Older players have flirted with winning majors. Jack Nicklaus was 58 when he contended deep into Sunday at the 1998 Masters. Tom Watson was 59 when he nearly won the 2009 Open Championship. Fred Couples was 52 when he led after round two of the 2012 Masters. None of them won. With just two victories in the last seven years, Mickelson admits his mental game isn’t what it was. He has tried dietary changes, meditation, and marathon sessions of 36 to 45 holes a day. It’s a work in progress. What remains clear is that he’s having fun. He and Steve Stricker took on Zach Johnson and Will Zalatoris in a practice round earlier this week, and Mickelson birdied the first three holes. “Phil and I were 3-up after three,” Stricker said, “and he said it loud enough so everybody could hear, ‘You know, Strick, I thought we’d be more up at this point.’ And we were 3-up after three. “Typical Phil,” he continued. “It’s good to see him out here. He has such a good time in those practice rounds and seeing everybody it seems like. He still has a tremendous amount of desire to compete at this level, and that’s why he’s doing it and that’s why he’s playing well.” He’s still got one more day of fun, if that’s what this is. He’s still got people watching.

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Retief Goosen and 16-year-old son Leo shot a 14-under 58 on Saturday to take a two-shot lead in the Father Son Challenge.

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After this week’s doubleheader consisting of the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and the Bermuda Championship, the PGA TOUR rests for one week before finishing the fall with the Mayakoba Golf Classic and The RSM Classic. As a result, the Fantasy Insider column will be on hiatus until Tuesday, Nov. 12, thus the additional week of birthdays at the bottom. RELATED: Power Rankings: WGC-HSBC Champions | Power Rankings: Bermuda Championship | Daily fantasy advice Only the WGC-HSBC Champions is in play for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. If it scores anything like the first two stops on the Asian Swing, then the winner of the week will land at right around 880 points. That was the total posted by “tampatom” as the medalist at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. The four-way T1 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP touched 877 points. ShotLink remains off for all fantasy action until the Sentry Tournament of Champions launches Segment 2 in January. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf My roster for the WGC-HSBC Champions (in alphabetical order): Paul Casey Tony Finau Hideki Matsuyama Rory McIlroy Justin Rose Adam Scott You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Rafa Cabrera Bello; Sungjae Im; Francesco Molinari; Andrew Putnam; Xander Schauffele; Danny Willett Driving: n/a Power Rankings Wild Card Cameron Smith … As he rapidly rounds back into form, which he’s proven to do at this time of year, something will give. Despite success in the fourth quarter, he’s finished just T64 (2015) and T54 (2018) at Sheshan International. His scoring average is 73.38. Because there’s no cut, you’re better off rolling the dice with a talent who’s had success here before. However, if you’re into contrarianism, he presents as the golden ticket given the value of course experience. So, consider fractionally in DFS. Draws Danny Willett … At ninth in the Race to Dubai and with a win at the BMW PGA Championship, he’s proven to be all the way back from injury and disappointment. The 2016 Masters champion is among the best putters on the European Tour, but that strength pays off his similarly capable approach game. Placed T3 at Sheshan International in 2015 when he walked off with a course-record-tying 62. Francesco Molinari … Once upon a time, his victory at Sheshan International (in 2010) was considered official for PGA TOUR annals, but it was later stripped for clearer record-keeping. (This tournament endured a few years of unofficial/official placement before all doubt was eliminated in 2013.) So, the Italian’s official breakthrough victory occurred at the Quicken Loans National in 2018. That history lesson aside, his tee-to-green game along should trigger a top 25, but inconsistent form here recently and in recent weeks has lowered his temperature among gamers. Kurt Kitayama … Look away if you’re the analytical type and focus only on the results, especially the most recent. The UNLV product plies his craft on the European Tour where he’s a two-time winner this season. And in his last four circuit starts, he’s gone T21-T14-3rd-4th to sit 12th in the Race to Dubai. The 26-year-old has captured the attention of DFSers for a while now, but this marks his debut in a World Golf Championship. Go ahead and find a seat on the bandwagon. Rafa Cabrera Bello Sergio Garcia Shane Lowry Louis Oosthuizen Andrew Putnam Xinjun Zhang Fades Jordan Spieth … In retrospect, I gave him too much benefit of the doubt at Narashino where his struggling tee-to-green game cost him. He couldn’t find the magic on the greens and finished T66. So, rather than chase his shadow once again at Sheshan International, I’m stuffing my hands into my pockets until the roster deadline. However, if you’re curious, in his last appearance in 2015, he finished T7 despite checking up at T71 in fairways hit and T61 in greens in regulation. That’s because he led the field with only 101 putts and ranked ninth in putts per GIR. Matthew Fitzpatrick … Why does a guy with four runner-up finishes in a single season on the European Tour deserve this treatment? It’s because he swings so far to the other end of the spectrum when he’s not dialed in. Last week’s 75th-place finish in Japan was baffling. The conservative in me must leave him to longer-term formats until he exhibits an aversion to big numbers. The same model can be applied to his experienced at Sheshan International where he has a pair of top 10s, a T16 and a T54. Hao Tong Li … Hasn’t missed an edition since it’s been an official PGA TOUR event (2013-present), and he’s gone for a pair of top 15s, but they are his only top 30s and he’s been struggling of late. No need to reach on the native of China at home. Justin Harding Jason Kokrak Phil Mickelson Chez Reavie Bubba Watson Returning to Competition None. Notable WDs Kevin Na … Numerous qualifiers at the WGC-HSBC Champions elected not to commit, but he withdrew after the deadline. You won’t miss him, though. He hasn’t finished inside the top 50 in his last three tries at Sheshan International. Bud Cauley … After a T9 at the Houston Open and two weeks off, he’s 44th in the FedExCup standings, so there’s no urgency to play again until he’s ready. Martin Trainer … Sigh. He’s opened his sophomore season with five missed cuts in as many starts and he’s gone 16 in a row without a payday. The silver lining is that the 2019 Puerto Rico Open champ is fully exempt on the PGA TOUR through 2020-21. Mark Anderson … He’s 2-for-4 on the season, 118th in the FedExCup and currently set to rise into the top 20 of the graduate reshuffle with still two more playing opportunities before the category reorders for the first time (after The RSM Classic). Power Rankings Recap – ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Justin Thomas  T17 2  Rory McIlroy  T3 3  Hideki Matsuyama  2nd 4  Gary Woodland  5th 5  Adam Scott  T33 6  Matthew Fitzpatrick  75th 7  Patrick Reed  T17 8  Paul Casey  T17 9  Xander Schauffele  T10 10  Adam Hadwin  T41 11  Tommy Fleetwood  T22 12  Tony Finau  T59 13  Jordan Spieth  T66 14  Ryan Moore  T72 15  Louis Oosthuizen  T46 Wild Card  Jason Day  T22 Sleepers Recap – ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP Golfer  Result Ryo Ishikawa  T51 Nate Lashley  WD Shaun Norris  T51 Kevin Streelman  74th Vaughn Taylor  T41 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR October 29 … none October 30 … none October 31 … Mark Wilson (45) November 1 … none November 2 … James Hahn (38); Adam Hadwin (32) November 3 … none November 4 … Kevin Streelman (41) November 5 … Jim Herman (42); Bubba Watson (41) November 6 … Scott Piercy (41) November 7 … Maverick McNealy (24); Joaquin Niemann (21) November 8 … Troy Matteson (40); Francesco Molinari (37) November 9 … David Duval (48); Ted Potter, Jr. (36); Nicholas Lindheim (35) November 10 … Jon Rahm (25) November 11 … Robert Garrigus (42); Joel Dahmen (32)

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