Golfer born without hands drains a hole-in-one

Click here to read the full article…

Here are nine tidbits from the final round of the CareerBuilder Challenge that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Rah Rah Rahm The most picked player in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO and PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO did exactly what he was supposed to do. Jon Rahm, the highest ranked player in the field at No. 3 in the OWGR, needed four playoff holes to win for the second time on TOUR. What a difference a year makes as this time last year he was No. 137 and had zero wins. He’s added the Farmers Insurance Open, the Irish Open and the DT World Tour Championship in those 12 months. He’s played two events on TOUR this season and has finished first and second. There’s nothing better in fantasy golf when the player meets the gamer’s expectations. Gracias! #NappyFactor Andrew Landry’s wife is due in March. This is his third top 10 in seven events in the new season and best finish on TOUR. He showed his meddle down the stretch as his birdie putt on the final hole forced a playoff. He only made one bogey on the week, his 60th hole, but it didn’t deter him. He’ll rue his chance on the second playoff hole as his putt for birdie and the win didn’t scare the hole. He’ll add this to his Oakmont experience from last summer and should be in the mix as 2018 rolls on. I’d stick him in any keeper league and watch him grow. No Questions for John John Huh hasn’t cashed a top 10 check since last March at Innisbrook before T3 Sunday. He hasn’t landed on the podium since the 2014 Barracuda Championship! Gamers might want to put a circle around him for next year as this was his third top 30 in four tries in the Coachella Valley. His weekend (65-66) included eight birdies on Saturday and six birdies and an eagle on Sunday. Had Another Chance Adam Hadwin didn’t show any signs of life in four events during the fall and only put two rounds of 16 in the 60’s. Course historians will point out that he was T6 in 2016 and second last year after his 59 Saturday at La Quinta. While his normally trusty putter wasn’t firing like he expected, his iron game saw him peg T7 GIR. His 68 Sunday was his worst round of the week and he still finished T4. It’s obvious that this course rotation fits his eye and game. California Dreamin’ Fresno native Kevin Chappell (T6) is going to petition the tournament committee to have ALL four rounds at the Stadium Course. He fired a bogey-free 64 Friday on his first trip. He added six more birdies for 67 on Sunday. The Stadium Course was the only track of the three to use ShotLink and it validated Chappell’s love. He led those who played the Stadium Course twice in SG: Approach to the Green, Tee to Green and Total. He was also T2 in GIR for the week across all three tracks. Chappell has never MC in six tries at this event. All in the Family His grandfather Arnold Palmer won this event five times. Grandson Sam Saunders collected a check for the first time in four tries. His 64 on Sunday was the low round of the day by two shots and vaulted him up the leaderboard 34 spots to T8. His 28 birdies were T1 for the week. He flashed signs at the Web.com Finals last fall as he fired 59 at Atlantic Beach. He hovered around the top 10 at Sony last week before fading on Sunday to T25. He’s never had more than two top 10’s in a season or finished in FedExCup top 125. Caution. Grandstand Finishers Canadian Nick Taylor’s 66 saw him quietly collect his fifth top 32 paycheck in seven starts this season. … Bud Cauley, one of my favorites, kept his streak of hitting T14 or better in the new rotation with his closing 66. He’s now cashed T14, T3 and T14 the last three years and is 51-under-par. … Harris English popped onto the radar for a hot second last week. His second round 65 caught my eye but his weekend (70-72) kept me away. He flashed 66 Sunday to move up 22 spots to T11. Noted. Familiar Faces PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO most popular player won the tournament but only two of the top 10 selected players missed the cut, Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed. Mickelson broke a streak of 12 events in a row once again proving that there are no guarantees in fantasy golf. Reed is a former champion but his win is his only top 10 in six tries. Of those eight selected playing on Sunday none finished inside the top 20. Fantasy golf is hard. Study Hall Sergio Garcia won the Singapore Open by five shots to start his 20th year as a professional. Pat Perez collected T21 money but will not play in his hometown event this week at the Farmers Insurance Open. … Tommy Fleetwood shot 65 and came from five shots off the pace to defend his title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Rory McIlroy (70) cashed T3 while Dustin Johnson was T9. Justin Rose, who is playing Torrey Pines, was bogey-free in the final round to claim T22. … C.T. Pan tweeted Sunday he had the flu this week and that was a factor to him missing the cut. He was T2 at the Farmers Insurance last year. … The top four finishers at the Singapore Open (not previously qualified) Jazz Janewattananond, Lucas Herbert, Danthai Boonma and Sean Crocker booked their spots at The Open Championship at Carnoustie. 

Click here to read the full article…

With THE PLAYERS in the rearview mirror, full-season gamers will now be bird-dogging the qualifiers for the U.S. Open and Open Championship. Each will be added to its field pretty much every week until they begin. The top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the conclusion of this weekend will get into the field at Erin Hills. The top 50 from the following week’s OWGR will qualify for the field at Royal Birkdale. And so on. If you haven’t already, bookmark the page where I maintain all qualifiers weekly. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the AT&T Byron Nelson (in alphabetical order): Tony Finau Sergio Garcia Dustin Johnson Brooks Koepka Louis Oosthuizen Jordan Spieth You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Bud Cauley; Jason Day; Jason Dufner; Russell Henley; Charley Hoffman; J.B. Holmes; Sung Kang; Danny Lee; Marc Leishman; Patrick Reed; Charl Schwartzel; Brandt Snedeker Driving: Jason Dufner; Russell Henley; Sung Kang; Gary Woodland Approach: Chad Campbell; Jason Dufner; Robert Garrigus; Russell Henley Short: Jason Dufner; Russell Henley; J.B. Holmes; Sung Kang; Marc Leishman; Seung-Yul Noh; Patrick Reed; Brandt Snedeker Power Ranking Wild Card Jason Day … Spots in the Power Rankings must be earned and he hasn’t cracked a top 20 in over three months. You know the backstory, so his omission shouldn’t surprise you despite him owning one of the strongest records at TPC Four Seasons. Broke through for his first victory here in 2010, and then answered with a solo fifth in 2011, a T9 in 2012 and a T27 in 2013. His scoring average in those 16 rounds is 68.88. From our perspective, if you’re going to invest in when he’ll turn it around, now is the time. So, sneak him into your lineup in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. Assuming he converts on something special, he’ll be poised for a mammoth summer. Draws J.B. Holmes … The 54-hole co-leader of THE PLAYERS closed with 84 and finished T41 on Sunday, but savvy gamers can overlook even one horrible round at the worst of times by a proven talent. This is his first trip to TPC Four Seasons since 2010, but his confidence off the tee should separate him. The silver lining in last week’s experience if that he led the field in conversion percentage while standing over par-breaker opportunities. While he’s probably too expensive in DFS to lead with him, find value in the fact that he’s missed only one cut in 12 starts this season. Gary Woodland … The last couple of months have been everything but ordinary for him. Since the tragic news of an unborn twin, which occurred during the Match Play, he’s 1-for-3 with missed cuts at a major (Masters) and a team event (New Orleans). Last week’s T75/MDF occurred during the annual crapshoot at TPC Sawgrass. So, it stands to reason that the AT&T Byron Nelson might be his first genuine “normal” week in a while. As a result, gamers should pounce. He’s been a fixture here since 2009 and has survived the last seven cuts. His record includes a T7 in 2014 and a T12 last year. Russell Henley … There isn’t a track on the schedule at which he wouldn’t check most boxes statistically, so now that he’s free from the vagaries of the team competition in New Orleans, where he missed the cut, and THE PLAYERS, where he placed T35, it’s time to get him back in every lineup. Seven of his 12 cuts made this season are top 20s, including the win in Houston. He’s 1-for-2 at TPC Four Seasons with a T22 in his debut in 2015 and a scoring average of 68.17. Charl Schwartzel … As long as I’ve been in this chair, I’ve espoused ignoring failure in the majors because of the variables. Everything is heightened, so success is the bonus. The same can be said of the Match Play and THE PLAYERS. The South African missed the cut last week, but anything he would have contributed would have been acceptable. Don’t let it shadow a solo third in his previous start at Augusta National. This is his fifth consecutive start at TPC Four Seasons. He hasn’t missed a cut, placed third in his debut in 2013 and owns a scoring average of 68.53 on the par 70. Chad Campbell … The burly Texan is in his 16th consecutive appearance. He’s missed the cut only four times while registering four top 25s. Last year’s T12 featured four red numbers for the first time in his history here. Still among the more reliable ball-strikers and scramblers on TOUR. Just good, sound value across the board this week. Sung Kang … Here’s hoping that you were on board for his April heater, but go into any investment this week with breath held. The 29-year-old has yet to exhibit long-term consistency, but he’s a statistical fit for TPC Four Seasons. Sits 35th in strokes gained: tee-to-green and 27th in adjusted scoring. Also T19 in par-5 scoring. Tied for 34th in his third appearance last year. Robby Shelton … Continues to bide his time until the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada commences in June. He’s done all right in a couple of starts in the big leagues since medaling at Canada’s qualifying school in April. Chased it with a T16 at TPC San Antonio and a T52 at Eagle Point. Continue to invest with confidence before the expectations rise and the sale ends. Fades Ian Poulter … Post-PLAYERS drama aside, his two-way T2 opened up several doors, so in that context, it was mission accomplished. The optimist will aver that he makes this week’s start on house money and riding the euphoria of last week’s success, but we need to guard against the letdown. What’s more, he’s missed the cut in his last two trips to TPC Four Seasons, which were seven years apart to boot. Keegan Bradley … This is relative to the expectation, not necessarily an outright dismissal. The 2011 champ also placed second in 2013 and has missed only one cut in six trips. That’s the good. The not-so-good is his recent regression after opening eyes in the fall before getting married during the holiday break. He’s 8-for-13 since with only three top 30s. Given what he’s had to do to adjust to the anchoring ban and what we can see now has been a blast of form, we don’t need to force it despite his success here before the ban went into effect. Ryan Moore … With a solid run of form upon arrival, he’d projected to cash for just the second time in five starts here (P2, 2008), but he hasn’t appeared often. This is his first since 2014 and just his second in the last eight editions. Jhonattan Vegas … Perfect in four trips but his only top-65 finish was but a T49 last year. Obviously, there’s a level of comfort, but he’s cooled after a year’s worth of noise. At best, use him to complete maybe one roster in DFS. Billy Horschel … Weighted down by his first 0-for-4 bender since his rookie season of 2011, he’s also aiming to turn around his fate at TPC Four Seasons where he’s 0-for-2 and hasn’t appeared in five years. Scott Piercy … Thanks to a blistering fall, he entered the holiday break slotted eighth in the FedExCup standings. Today, he’s 66th having collected just 55 points in 2017. He’s also gone eight consecutive rounds without breaking par and has just one red number in his last 14. Returning to Competition Brandt Snedeker … Sat out THE PLAYERS to nurse a sore left hand injured during the Masters. Gamers needn’t worry about it, though, as there’s no rush to return to competition. As long as he’s committed, consider him 100-percent available. You’re also encouraged to make room in places given consistently strong form. Also placed T6 here in 2015. Rory Sabbatini … Walked off Eagle Point during his second round with a sore elbow. Hasn’t cashed in four of his last five starts, but presents as a decent DFS throw-in at TPC Four Seasons where he prevailed in 2009. His string of 17 straight appearances ended last year due to recovery from neck surgery, but he made the cut in his last three. Notable WDs Si Woo Kim … THE PLAYERS champion is resting his back. It’s his second early WD (Sony) of 2017 to go with four mid-tournament withdrawals this season. Jimmy Walker … While it’s rare for him to withdraw after any commitment deadline, gamers need to anticipate the possibility as he battles Lyme Disease. Given that fact, it’s impressive that he’s riding a consecutive cuts made streak of nine with five top 25s. The downside is that he’s 82nd in the FedExCup standings with just one top 10. Derek Fathauer … Still comfortably inside the top bubble at 95th in FedExCup points thanks to bursting out of the gates in the fall, but he’s connected for only one top 30 in his last 15 starts. That stretch has included three separate 0-for-3 skids. Power Rankings Recap – THE PLAYERS Sleepers Recap – THE PLAYERS Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR May 16 … Bo Van Pelt (42); Andres Gonzales (34); Derek Ernst (27) May 17 … Jason Gore (43); Søren Kjeldsen (42); Hunter Mahan (35) May 18 … none May 19 … K.J. Choi (47) May 20 … Branden Grace (29) May 21 … Stewart Cink (44); Gary Woodland (33); John Huh (27) May 22 … Scott Brown (34); Jason Kokrak (32); Dominic Bozzelli (26)

Click here to read the full article…