Graeme McDowell shows flashes of old form at Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard

Kyle Stanley (+900) … This is the 10-year anniversary of his runner-up finish to Steve Stricker’s threepeat at the John Deere Classic. It’s one of five top 25s contributing to an 8-for-10 record. For a talent primarily known as a ball-striker’s ball-striker, that he’s been to convert on his chances with better-than-average performance overtime is proof for his level of comfort for TPC Deere Run. His scoring average in 36 rounds on the track is 68.75. Also strides in having connected seven straight paydays. Sits a customary 39th in fairways hit, 11th in greens in regulation and third in proximity to the hole, so an eighth consecutive cut made is the lowest of expectations this week. Richy Werenski (+1200) … The Georgia Tech product has sustained position comfortably inside the top-125 bubble since a T4 at Bay Hill four months ago, but last week’s T25 in Detroit was his best finish in individual competition in the interim. He’d like to have the final round back given he launched into it slotted T6 and just three shots off the lead, but another tournament means another opportunity to close. Perfect in three trips to TPC Deere Run with a pair of top 25s, a scoring average of 68.25 and an active streak of eight sub-70s. Maverick McNealy (+750) … Like so many decorated amateurs, he came through here in 2017 and finished T44 with four sub-70s. Back for the first time since, he’s chasing elevated positioning in the FedExCup for a deep run into the Playoffs. Currently 54th in points despite missing 10 of 21 cuts. The 25-year-old has picked his spots and enters on a T20-T30-T21 run since Colonial. Fabián Gómez (+3300) … The 42-year-old from Argentina hasn’t recorded a top 10 in a PGA TOUR event rewarding 500 FedExCup points or more to the winner since the 2016 FedExCup Playoffs, but he is coming off his best finish in said competition in 23 months. His T14 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic just missed matching a T13 at the 2019 Wyndham Championship, but it had the makings of even better. He finished T6 in greens hit, fourth in proximity and fifth in Strokes Gained: Putting. Although he’s just 1-for-6 at TPC Deere Run with a T23 in 2018, his scoring average in 12 rounds is 69.83. Alex Smalley (+2500) … Should come cheap in DFS but expect his stock to rise. Already 2-for-2 with top 25s in both editions of the Corales stop this season, the product of Duke University gained entry into the John Deere Classic via open qualifying on Monday (with a 6-under 65 at Oakwood Country Club). With the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada postponed due to the pandemic, the Forme Tour was created to give golfers from the developmental circuit places to play and sharpen their axes. In the two events thus far, he’s one of only four golfers with top 10s in both – a T5 and a T3, respectively. When including LOCALiQ Series stops in the second half of 2020, the 24-year-old has posted five top 10s and another five top 25s in his last 11 starts across three tours. In essence, since turning professional in 2019, he’s made the most of the opportunities presented during the worst time in modern history to turn pro. (NOTE: The Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada is scheduled to begin its 2021 season on July 26 in Quebec. It will be limited to golfers already situated in Canada.). Odds were sourced on Tuesday, July 6 at 5 a.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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NAPA, Calif. – Notes and observations from Sunday’s wild and windy final round of the Safeway Open at Silverado Resort & Spa.  LEADING LIGHTS TWAY GETS 1ST WIN. Kevin Tway warmed up with his hat on backward. “It was blowing about 40,� he said of the blustery conditions facing the final threesome. He hung tough, though, and made five straight birdies, including three in a sudden-death playoff against Ryan Moore and Brandt Snedeker, to pick up his first PGA TOUR win at age 30. Tway and his father, eight-time TOUR winner Bob, become the 10th father-son duo to win on TOUR. Snedeker had a four-shot lead at the turn but shot a back-nine 39 to lead to the playoff. How tough were the conditions? Brandon Harkins shot 83, and 13 players hit wind-aided drives of 400-plus yards. Tway, who spoke of his struggles to stay patient, did exactly that. NOTABLES SNEDEKER STUNNED. Brandt Snedeker said he wanted wind, and he got it, but the leader suddenly came down with a left miss and bogeyed three straight holes to start the back nine. He halted the skid with pars on 13-15, seemed to steady himself with a birdie on 16, but bogeyed from the trees on 17 and failed to birdie 18 to fall into the three-man playoff. “I’m going to look at that one in a few years and know I gave that one away,� said Snedeker, who had a three-shot lead as he made the turn but lost it all. The problem: he kept pulling his irons left. “It’s an old tendency when the pressure seems to get on,� he said.  MICKELSON ENTERTAINS. Phil Mickelson never stopped fighting, delivering three closing birdies for a memorable even-par 72 in the difficult conditions. Playing for the eighth time in 10 weeks, a mistake he said he won’t be repeating, Mickelson made five birdies to make up for a triple-bogey 8 at the 5th hole, an adventure that included two penalty shots, and hitting just 5/14 fairways. He finished T17. “Actually, I played pretty good,� he said. “I hit two balls out of bounds on that 5th hole trying to go for the green, and other than that I played pretty well.�     COUPLES STRUGGLES. It was a week in which he turned 59 and made his 500th cut on the PGA TOUR, but sponsor’s exemption Fred Couples struggled in the heavy wind with a final-round 75 to fall down the leaderboard. The bright side: After making bogeys on five of the first six holes, Couples stabilized with three birdies and just one more birdie the rest of the way. He finished T41. “For a while I didn’t think we were going to play,� Couples said of the strong winds. “And then we played and I didn’t really play.� Still, he said the week was so much fun he’s ready to come back again, perhaps as early as next year, if he’s healthy. It was a change of tune for a player who came into the week saying this would be his last non-major TOUR start. OBSERVATIONS MOORE SURPRISED. When he finished his round with a 9-foot birdie some 40 minutes in front of the final threesome, Ryan Moore thought he’d shot a nice final round for a nice top-10 finish. He was surprised to slip into a playoff, though, after third-round leader Brandt Snedeker faltered with a back-nine 39. “I was proud of how I played, hitting good shots in the moment,� said Moore, who birdied the first two playoff holes (both at the par-5 18th) before Tway ended it with a birdie at the third one, at the par-4 10th. “And honestly,� Moore continued, “even the putt on 18 the second go-round, a foot more pace and that was probably going to go in (for eagle).� STEELE FLAT IN ‘3-PEAT’ BID. Brendan Steele was trying to become the first player since Steve Stricker at the John Deere Classic (2009-’11) to win the same TOUR event three years in a row. It seemed possible, given Steele’s obvious affinity for Silverado, but while his week started well with an opening-round 67, he stalled (71-72-75) and never contended after that.  BADDELEY MAKES MOST OF START. Aaron Baddeley shot a final-round 69 to get to 13-under and finished a shot out of the playoff, in a five-way tie for fourth place. Not a bad result, considering he wasn’t even in the tournament until he Monday-qualified for it. The top-10 finish will get him an exemption into the Sanderson Farms Championship, Oct. 25-28. “My game’s been feeling good for a while,� said Baddeley, who reunited with caddie Pete Bender for the week in Napa. “I really felt like this was on the way, so I’ve been really working hard.� QUOTABLES I’d love to come back.It was a nice (way) to start or end the year, however you look at it.Got to find a way to win those. SUPERLATIVES Low round: 67 by Luke List and Ryan Moore. Longest drive: 428 yards (Patrick Rodgers/No. 13) Longest putt: 64’ 1� (Adam Svensson/No. 6) Toughest hole: The 150-yard, par-3 15th played to a 3.392 average. Easiest hole: The 564-yard, par-5 16th played to a 4.284 average. CALL OF THE DAY For play-by-play coverage of the PGA TOUR, listen at PGATOUR.COM. SHOT OF THE DAY

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AUSTIN, Texas – The PGA TOUR’s biggest hitter faces a first-timer who’s almost eligible for PGA TOUR Champions. The FedExCup leader squares off with a match-play master. Some potential Presidents Cup previews and a rematch that dates back to amateur golf also are on the docket for Day 1 at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. There are 32 matches scheduled for Wednesday, but here’s five that we’re especially keen on (seedings in parentheses). GROUP 5: Scottie Scheffler, USA, (5) vs. Ian Poulter, ENG, (59), 1:38 p.m. ET. Scottie Scheffler was still a Texas guy with promise, but no PGA TOUR wins, when he went on a run at Austin Country Club a year ago. The former Longhorn made a push all the way to the final match before losing to Billy Horschel. En route to the championship match, Scheffler scored a big win against Ian Poulter, a man with a reputation as a match play ninja, in the Round of 16. Scheffler wasn’t intimidated by facing a player who’s fearsome in this format. Poulter may have eight top-10s at this event, including a win in 2010, and is known for his work in Ryder Cup Singles but Scheffler won easily, including a clutch chip-in. Scheffler was 3 up through 10 holes, but Poulter looked set for one of his trademark comebacks when he drained a 41-foot birdie putt on the 11th green. Scheffler responded by chipping in from off the green for a birdie of his own and marched on to a 5-and-4 win. Scheffler then beat Jon Rahm that afternoon, who he’d go on to beat again later that year at the Ryder Cup. Oh, and Scheffler has earned his first two PGA TOUR titles in his last four starts and sits atop the FedExCup standings. You don’t think Poulter would love a little revenge? GROUP 9: Bryson DeChambeau, USA, (9) vs. Richard Bland, England, (54), 2:44 p.m. ET Because of a persistent wrist injury, we haven’t seen Bryson DeChambeau since he missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open back in January. He had to sit out his title defense at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS, but is set to return at Austin Country Club. The questions surrounding DeChambeau are plenty. Just how fit is he? Can he rein in his distance on the tricky, tight front nine? And can he overcome a poor record (2-3-1) at Austin Country Club in this event, where he has fallen to the likes of Antoine Rozner and Kiradech Aphibarnrat in the past. His next opponent is Bland, who made a great run at the U.S. Open last year at Torrey Pines. He finds his place in the field mainly through last year’s British Masters victory, which was his first DP World Tour win in his 478th start, but his run didn’t stop there. The Englishman has five other top-five finishes on that tour since, including a runner-up at the Dubai Desert Classic, and will fancy himself against a rusty DeChambeau despite being closer to PGA TOUR Champions eligibility than he will be to some of the American’s drives. GROUP 6: Kevin Kisner, USA, (29) vs. Marc Leishman, Australia, (37), 10:53 a.m. ET Here is a matchup you might think to overlook but, you’d be missing out if you did. Kisner, the 2018 runner-up and 2019 champion of this event is still smarting after missing out on the 2019 Presidents Cup and 2021 Ryder Cup squads despite showing his skills in this format. Now he gets to present his prowess against a player who will undoubtedly be part of Trevor Immelman’s International Team for the 2022 Presidents Cup set for Quail Hollow latter this year. Kisner did represent the U.S. in the 2017 Presidents Cup, and Leishman will remember that appearance. Leishman, with countryman Jason Day, faced off against Kisner and Phil Mickelson over the opening two days. After a halve in Thursday’s Foursomes, their Four-ball match came down to the 18th hole. Mickelson made a midrange birdie before producing a “Three Amigos” celebration dance with Kisner. What is not lost on six-time TOUR winner Leishman is that this came before he had a chance to tie the match with a putt of his own. When he failed to convert his putt, it left a sour taste that no doubt remains today. GROUP 7: Xander Schauffele, USA, (7) vs. Takumi Kanaya, Japan, (56), 12:10 p.m. ET The Olympic gold medalist from the Tokyo Games faces the next star from Japan. Kanaya represents Japan’s best hope now that Hideki Matsuyama is sitting out this week because of a balky back before his Masters defense. This match could help Kanaya in his Presidents Cup candidacy, as well. Kanaya, 23, already is a three-time winner on the Japan Tour and once was the world’s top-ranked amateur. Schauffele has had the chance to burst out of the group stage three times at Austin Country Club but fallen short at the final hurdle each time. Last year, he lost in a sudden-death playoff for the opportunity to advance to the Round of 16. He’s burning to atone. GROUP 2: Collin Morikawa, USA, (2) vs. Robert MacIntyre, Scotland, (61), 12:54 p.m. ET One of the surprises a year ago was Robert MacIntyre getting through to the Round of 16 after collecting just one win in Group 1. The plucky young Scot, now 25, found his way out of the same group as then-world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Kevin Na and Adam Long despite only beating Long. Ties against Johnson and Na ended up being enough after upset results in other matches. MacIntyre was bounced by Victor Perez in the knockout stage. Now he gets the chance to face Morikawa, the world’s second-ranked player, in a group that also has Sergio Garcia and Jason Kokrak. Morikawa failed to win a match in his tournament debut last season, settling for a halve with J.T. Poston but losing to Max Homa and Billy Horschel in group play. Morikawa has seen MacIntyre before. While they didn’t go head-to-head, both were part of the 2017 Walker Cup where Morikawa’s U.S. team won handsomely over MacIntyre’s Great Britain and Ireland squad. That 2017 U.S. team also featured Scheffler, Cameron Champ, Will Zalatoris, Maverick McNealy, Doc Redman and Doug Ghim. The U.S. rolled, 19-7, at Los Angeles Country Club, site of next year’s U.S. Open. Before a missed cut at THE PLAYERS and T68 last week at Valspar, Morikawa was showing some improved putting to roll to five straight top-10s, including two runers-up. Can Morikawa match up his stellar approach game with his short game as the Masters looms? If so, he could be dangerous here. MacIntyre could prove to be a tougher opponent than paper would indicate, however.

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