Fowler closes with 4 straight birdies to lead

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Jordan Spieth is no longer worried about criticism. To be fair, finding ways to get down on an 11-time PGA TOUR winner who is already three legs through a career Grand Slam and owns a FedExCup title at the age of 24 is pretty tough as it is. But the Texan used to get uptight about those who questioned him. He admits he used to let it get to him. He believes it affected his game. When Spieth couldn’t back up a five-win 2015 with the same in 2016 some knives came out and he bristled. When he coughed up a green jacket with a back nine implosion in 2016 it was as if his past deeds counted for very little to some and he was livid. “That inhibited some success and inhibited confidence in my own game and my ability. Which it shouldn’t have,â€� Spieth admits. And he said it lasted around a year before he had an epiphany of sorts. To many it appeared he might blow it again at The Open Championship 2017 and the pen quills were metaphorically sharpening amongst the many scribes in the sports world. The social media trolls were ready to pounce. But unbeknownst to most, Spieth had mentally turned the corner. He was believing in a new mantra. By then, he said, it didn’t matter as much what others thought. So when things went pear-shaped at Royal Birkdale on Sunday and his mind raced to the Masters failure… well instead of letting it consume him, he embraced himself as the man in the arena. He was ready to win. Or perhaps more importantly, he was ready to fail again. He was just ready. And out of nowhere he turned the corner and blitzed by Matt Kuchar late. Spieth is by no means a history buff but the momentous words of former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt from 1910 were the key. “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.â€� – Theodore Roosevelt In other words – he will go down swinging because he’s not afraid to fail – and he doesn’t care what you think about that. “It’s like my favorite quote from all time,â€� Spieth explained as he gets set to play his first official event of the 2017-18 PGATOUR season at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. “I’m the one that’s out there, that’s putting it on the line every single week. I’m going to fail and learn and I’m going to succeed, but I’m the one in the arena. “Starting 2018 I’m kind of ready for anything. I’m ready for failure, for success, and everything in between.â€� The odds are on success. In his last eight events of last season Spieth jagged two wins, two runner-ups and two sevenths in an impressive stretch. He enters this week at the Plantation Course at Kapalua having finished second, first and third in his three previous starts on the island of Maui. Oh and he’s recently had the pleasure of a successful proposal to long-time girlfriend Annie Verret. “I’m just in a fantastic place compared to where I was (this time) last year,â€� he smiled. And he’s not the only one in a good place as the new calendar year kicks off in a very exciting place on the PGA TOUR. Justin Thomas is coming off a breakout year where he was FedExCup champion, crating a healthy rivalry with Spieth. Multiple young winners have come of age giving us our youngest Tournament of Champions ever. Other players in their 30s, like Justin Rose and Marc Leishman are hitting new primes. Dustin Johnson still leads the world. Rory McIlroy and Jason Day have points to prove. Oh, and a guy named Tiger Woods is primed to make a comeback. “These unknowns are extremely exciting starting out and within the next six months it’s a pretty special time to be a part of professional golf,â€� Spieth says. “I feel that way.â€� We all do Jordan. We all do.

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The latter third of the PGA TOUR schedule always presents a flurry of curveballs, but this season’s conclusion has served up more benders than usual. Beginning with the RBC Canadian Open two weeks ago and extending all the way through to the TOUR Championship, only six of the last 14 events will be contested on the same course as last year. And that includes the Barbasol Championship, which will be held for just the second time at Keene Trace Golf Club. Yes, there are two new stops coming up – the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club and the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities – but they’re offset by the RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf & Country Club and the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind, two events that typically don’t migrate. RELATED: Expert Picks | Power Rankings | Fantasy Insider | Sleepers | Horses for Courses All of this is to say that Future Possibilities is thin both due to the reduction of tournaments remaining and by the unfamiliar courses used for their customary contests. This week’s Travelers Championship marks the middle of a five-week stretch as the only event held at a recurring site – TPC River Highlands. Bubba Watson has done it all in the Travelers, so he’s the no-brainer for all pacers. Even though his form upon arrival isn’t terribly inspiring, the stymie is in play. There aren’t going to be but maybe two or three of these left. Zach Johnson at the John Deere Classic and Webb Simpson at the Wyndham Championship rush to mind, but we may have reached the end of ZJ’s domination – certainly his season has left a lot to be desired – and Brandt Snedeker’s record at Sedgefield Country Club actually is a little better than that of Simpson, who loves the place so much that he named one of his children after the title sponsor. For those in pursuit and for front-runners who already have burned Watson or want to zag, Paul Casey is sitting on the tee. The 41-year-old Brit wasn’t bashful about acknowledging his spot atop my Power Rankings when scrumming with the media on Tuesday. You can watch and listen to his comments within the first 15 seconds of this video: Of course, when he prevails, we should anticipate that he’ll cite the positive reinforcement harnessed from the imagery of seeing his name slotted No. 1 in the Power Rankings. It’s too bad that he’s already off my board or I’d go along for this ride, but it’s not bad at all that he hung up a T4 at the Wells Fargo Championship when he was my selection. Patrick Cantlay is No. 2 in the Power Rankings. He’s best associated with TPC River Highlands as having spun a 60 on the course as an amateur in 2011, but that’s fact over friction today. Instead, lean on his terrific recent form that includes a win at Muirfield Village where he galloped through the tape and punctuated a run of three consecutive podium finishes. The value in last week’s T21 at the U.S. Open was that it was a stress-free weekend after he survived the cut on the number. While it seems like he’s been busy, it’s only because of the attention he’s earned. In fact, he’s competed in only three of the last eight weeks. This is as good a time as any to throw Jordan Spieth out there. If he didn’t recently connect with some success, the four-inch primary rough at TPC River Highlands would be cause for pause. If you’re chasing and you’re considering holstering him for the FedExCup Playoffs, particularly the TOUR Championship, keep in mind that he still has to qualify. If he doesn’t, then that plan is foiled. If he does, then it’s likely due to a strong performance at TPC River Highlands. Now is the time. Charley Hoffman could be the real game-changer no matter your position. So much of the formula that projects his showing screams top 10. If I hadn’t holstered Watson for this week, I wouldn’t hesitate another second on Hoffman. Along that same vibe but better suited for two-man gamers is Kevin Streelman. We could go an entire season and leave him shelved by default, but veterans like the 40-year-old can be dynamic when they’re playing well. Timing is everything. Two-man gamers also should consider Chez Reavie, Aaron Baddeley, Danny Lee and Emiliano Grillo. Usual suspects Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Francesco Molinari, Jason Day and even Louis Oosthuizen and Bryson DeChambeau need to be reserved either for The Open Championship or the Playoffs. The best tend to perform their best on the biggest stages. Marc Leishman is a tweener. If I was trailing, I may have been tempted to overrule my long-range plan, but my lead allows me to bump him into position for Royal Portrush, especially if the wind is a-howlin’ in the North Atlantic Ocean. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2018-19. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … Travelers (1) Keegan Bradley … Travelers (4) Paul Casey … Travelers (1); TOUR Championship (3) Jason Day … Open Championship (9) Bryson DeChambeau … Travelers (4); John Deere (7) Adam Hadwin … John Deere (5) Brian Harman … Travelers (5); John Deere (4) Charley Hoffman … Travelers (1) Brooks Koepka … Open Championship (8) Martin Laird … Barracuda (2) Marc Leishman … Travelers (3); Open Championship (8) Phil Mickelson … Open Championship (9); WGC-St. Jude (3) Francesco Molinari … Open Championship (1; defending) Ryan Moore … Travelers (6); John Deere (8); Wyndham (2); TOUR Championship (9) Patrick Reed … Travelers (7) Cameron Smith … Wyndham (3) Brandt Snedeker … Travelers (9); Wyndham (1; defending) Jordan Spieth … Travelers (9); Open Championship (6); TOUR Championship (8) Brendan Steele … Travelers (4); Barracuda (3) Kevin Streelman … Travelers (7) Justin Thomas … TOUR Championship (3) Bubba Watson … Travelers (2; defending); TOUR Championship (8)

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Former PGA TOUR player Jarrod Lyle is potentially facing his third fight against leukemia after being readmitted to hospital in Australia. Lyle, 35, is resting at Royal Melbourne Hospital as doctors undertake a series of tests to determine the exact nature of his illness. “A routine blood test conducted earlier this week returned abnormal results and Jarrod was immediately admitted to hospital and placed under the care of his previous medical specialist. He will remain there at least until a full diagnosis has been made,� a family statement said. “He has undergone several tests, and will have several more in the coming days. At this point, we have not yet received complete test results, so there is no definitive diagnosis and we do not have an agreed treatment plan. “We cannot speculate about anything until we get more information. We are grateful to be surrounded by incredibly supportive people and we truly appreciate your consideration and respect for our privacy at this time.�  Lyle was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia as a 17-year-old and was declared in remission two years later in 2000 from where he embarked on a successful professional golf career. A two-time winner on the Web.Com Tour Lyle also spent several seasons on the PGA TOUR and was in the form of his career when he suffered a relapse in 2012 and fought for his life at the same time his first daughter, Lusi, was born. Having beaten cancer a second time, the Victorian returned to the TOUR in 2015 to use his medical exemption to win back a TOUR card but fell short. He had since returned to his native Australia to be permanently with his wife Briony, Lusi and second daughter Jemma, born last year. Lyle remains determined to win the fight for a third time should it come to it. “Just another bump in my road. I will fight like no other,� he told PGATOUR.com. Lyle had been planning to play events on the PGA Tour of Australasia and pro-ams around his home country, but will now take an indefinite break from his playing career.

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