Golf: Players miss adrenaline rush at fan-free Colonial

Both of this week’s tournaments are treated with stand-alone columns for PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. Look for the edition for the Barracuda Championship on the FANTASY page. Also, if you play PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO, the 3M Championship begins Friday. Review the notables at the bottom of the page to assist you in determining your pick. With the conclusion of the season on the horizon, it’s that time of the year when gamers express gratitude for how my insight and analysis have assisted in success to date. You’re always welcome, but hang on for just a minute. Before we hug it out, there’s a not-so-insignificant task of actually breaking the tape. Many in pursuit of you are exactly where they expected to be entering the PGA Championship. Playing from behind can be a better mental motivator in reality because all fantasy gamers should prefer front-running, but in a One & Done, all that matters is the aggregate result. Too many of you who have reached out citing a contending position in earnings-based formats are essentially out of chalk. You’re hoping to hang on, but you know you’re gasping for air despite whatever margin you’re maintaining. Meanwhile, many of us plugged into PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO have end-weighted our master plan with powerhouses in the FedExCup Playoffs, myself included. The only problem with it is that Jason Day, who I have penciled in for the BMW Championship, isn’t guaranteed to get to Conway Farms. At least not yet. He’s 52nd in the FedExCup standings entering the PGA Championship; the top 70 after the Dell Technologies Championship advance. And even if he does, the Aussie hasn’t been performing well enough consistently to warrant selection for contending gamers. J-Wall has already burned Rory McIlroy, who I have slotted for TPC Boston. It’s tempting to exhaust the surging 28-year-old from Northern Ireland, but since FedExCup points are basically quadrupled in the Playoffs, I’m within striking distance right now and I can wait him out unchallenged, patience is the play at the PGA. The winner at Quail Hollow will earn 600 points. Compare that to a three-way T3 in the Playoffs worth 580 and the decision is easy. However, if you use earnings, consider yourself hurtled into McIlroy. Hideki Matsuyama, who J-Wall selected, is No. 1 in my Power Rankings, but McIlroy is really a 1a instead of No. 2. Both are premium picks this late. As I consider potential relief for Day, the 2015 BMW champion at Conway Farms, which also hosted in 2013, Zach Johnson (2013 champ) and Daniel Berger (2015 runner-up) are in my crosshairs. Both are still on my board and both are worthy of consideration at Quail Hollow. In fact, ZJ is No. 4 in my Power Rankings, but because Conway Farms is some 400 yards shorter, and Quail Hollow boasts Bermudagrass greens, I’m going to attempt to strike while Berger’s irons are hot. Since every gamer’s situation is unique, my perfect world would involve tackling yours one-on-one as I often do on Twitter, email and in discussion threads, but we settle for broad-stroke endorsements at worst. This is to say that if any of these additional options are still available to you in either method of measuring performance, give him a long look for the PGA: Paul Casey, Kevin Chappell, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Charley Hoffman, Brooks Koepka, Charl Schwartzel, Adam Scott, Webb Simpson, Henrik Stenson. Non-members aren’t eligible for the Playoffs, so this is probably your last opportunity to use Thomas Pieters, who is No. 6 in the Power Rankings. If you’re currently contending, here are the guys I’d advise holstering for usage in the Playoffs: Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Jordan Spieth. I’ve omitted advice for two-man gamers the last two weeks because of the depth of the fields at Firestone at Quail Hollow, but that subsection will return for next week’s Wyndham Championship. 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 2016-17. All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … BMW Keegan Bradley … Dell Technologies Paul Casey … TOUR Championship Kevin Chappell … Dell Technologies Jason Day … PGA Championship; Dell Technologies; BMW; TOUR Championship Luke Donald … Wyndham; BMW; TOUR Championship Jason Dufner … TOUR Championship Rickie Fowler … BMW Jim Furyk … BMW; TOUR Championship Sergio Garcia … TOUR Championship Branden Grace … PGA Championship Bill Haas … Wyndham J.B. Holmes … BMW Billy Horschel … TOUR Championship Dustin Johnson … BMW; TOUR Championship Zach Johnson … BMW; TOUR Championship Kevin Kisner … Wyndham Russell Knox … Dell Technologies Brooks Koepka … PGA Championship Hideki Matsuyama … PGA Championship; BMW Graeme McDowell … Wyndham William McGirt … Wyndham Rory McIlroy … PGA Championship; Dell Technologies (defending); BMW; TOUR Championship (defending) Phil Mickelson … PGA Championship Ryan Moore … TOUR Championship Kevin Na … Wyndham Louis Oosthuizen … Dell Technologies Patrick Reed … Wyndham; Dell Technologies Justin Rose … PGA Championship; TOUR Championship Charl Schwartzel … BMW Adam Scott … Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship Webb Simpson … Wyndham Jordan Spieth … PGA Championship; TOUR Championship Henrik Stenson … PGA Championship; Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship Jimmy Walker … PGA Championship (defending); Dell Technologies Bubba Watson … TOUR Championship Gary Woodland … PGA Championship; Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship

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FORT WORTH, Texas — It was just a bogey putt from inside 5 feet. Yet Jordan Spieth walked it in – and the whole complexion of his second round, perhaps even his entire weekend, perhaps even his entire two weeks in his home state of Texas, changed. Starting Friday’s round off the 10th tee, the defending champ had already suffered two bogeys in his first four holes and was guaranteed of another lost stroke at the par-4 14th, having failed to get up-and-down from the greenside rough. The last thing he wanted to do was three-putt the green and walk away with a potentially crippling double bogey. So he called in caddie Michael Greller to help him read the putt. Spieth and Greller had recently tried to stay away from the constant back-and-forth analysis of shots and let Spieth free-flow a little more. “We’ve been working to kind of stay out of each other’s business,â€� Spieth explained. “ … Trying to go back to kind of an ‘I play my game’ and stop over-dissecting kind of each situation. Talk less and just hit the shots.â€� But this putt was too important. A second set of eyes could help. Greller provided his thoughts and helped Spieth commit to the line. Then he told Spieth to hit the putt with confidence and walk it in – which he did. “It was kind of shocking because it was a bogey putt to go to 3 over, and no one really walks those in,â€� Spieth said. “It was exactly what I needed to get the confidence that I’ve been working towards back in that putter. From there, I hit great putts the rest of the round.â€� Indeed. Spieth rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt at the next hole, made a 10-footer to save par at the 18th, then made four birdies in the next five holes after the turn. Two of those birdies were from distance – 27 feet at the fourth hole, and 13-1/2 feet at the fifth. Spieth finished with a 2-under 68, one of the better rounds in the morning wave, which leaves him at 2 under for the tournament. Worried just a few hours earlier whether he miss the cut for the third straight start (including last week at his hometown event, the AT&T Byron Nelson), Spieth now enters the weekend with a realistic shot at becoming the first defending champ to win since Ben Hogan in 1953. “I played 5-under on my last 13 holes,â€� Spieth said. “That’s the round of the day. That’s what we needed to see. …“That would’ve been really, really tough for me to swallow if I missed this cut. It was in my head. I normally never talk about the cut line, and it was in my head, given I don’t miss two cuts in a row. So back is against the wall. To be able to come back – definitely a lot of confidence.â€� One thing Spieth definitely wants to avoid this weekend, though, is getting off to a slow start. On Thursday, he bogeyed two of his first four holes in a rollercoaster afternoon that ended with an even-par 70. The stress after Friday’s first five holes was even more pronounced. He survived only because he did something he had never done before in his Colonial history – play holes 1 through 5 (that include the Horrible Horseshoe of Nos. 3, 4 and 5) in 4 under. “I don’t think I’ve ever done that,â€� Spieth said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been 2-under on those holes.â€� He’ll gladly take that on Saturday.

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The PGA TOUR and IMG ARENA have expanded their multi-year agreement to allow for the distribution of TOUR’s official scoring data to betting operators within North America. In November 2018, IMG ARENA was appointed as the PGA TOUR’s official data distributor for media and betting purposes across all events on the flagship PGA TOUR schedule. The expanded relationship includes betting sector exclusivity for the delivery of live, shot-by-shot match and event data to global operators. The PGA TOUR’s official data is collected through its proprietary ShotLink® system, powered by CDW. With an elaborate network of walking scorers, lasers and greenside cameras, ShotLink collects and distributes a rich set of data points from each shot in PGA TOUR competition in real time. Combining PGA TOUR’s ShotLink data with IMG ARENA’s sector expertise will bring to market an innovative golf solution that provides PGA TOUR fans with new and exciting ways to enjoy the sport. The product is expected to be available worldwide in legal betting markets by early next year. “As the sports betting market in the United States evolves, extending our relationship with the PGA TOUR is an important next step for IMG ARENA,� said Freddie Longe, senior vice-president and managing director at IMG ARENA. “For the first time, sports fans will have access to shot-by-shot action, from tournaments all-year-round using official PGA TOUR ShotLink data. We continue to feel that golf has the audience, interest and following to become one of the leading in-play betting sports globally. “The PGA TOUR remains focused on safeguarding the sport, growing the game and deepening fan engagement with next-generation solutions,� said Ron Price, Chief Operating Officer of the PGA TOUR. “IMG ARENA has proven credentials delivering fast data and live streaming in partnership with official rights holders, and we’re pleased to further extend our existing relationship.�

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