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

While the primary objective to PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live is to win real money, it’s still virtuous to test your patience and establish guidelines from which to learn. Otherwise, the only activity in which you’re participating is a dart-throwing contest with your eyes closed. Scores will be whizzing all over the board at the Shriners Children’s Open. It’s not the Barracuda Championship, which uses Modified Stableford scoring that turns over a leaderboard more than any other format, but TPC Summerlin will host a 144-man shootout during which truly anything is possible, or at least as closely to that hyperbole as it gets in golf. As Rob notes in his analysis for his R1 Leader below, two of the three par 5s are located on the inward side of TPC Summerlin. Overall par is 35-36—71, so the side of the draw that closes on 18 stands a better chance of slingshotting around guys on the opposite side in real time. So, there’s that, too. Most of all, since only five gamers cash, have fun. When you do, you can’t lose and crashing the top five is a bonus. Register for PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live here and monitor Rob’s and Glass’ progress as Influencers. For a broader explanation of the format and FAQs, click here. TOURNAMENT TO WIN Glass … Adam Svensson (+10000) Jumped in on Sepp Straka at +800 last Sunday and rode him until he bucked me off. There’s always time to reevaluate this selection, so take a chance. My chance is going with the Canadian birdie machine. Only two players made more birdies last season and he sat T26 with just over four per round. Short track will help but he hits plenty of fairways and GIR to factor. And if he doesn’t, I’ll find somebody who does! Rob … Harry Hall (+20000) I know, I know, but the flexibility to change the pick at pretty much any time strips away the absurdity that it presents. So does the fact that shootouts can be indiscriminate. There’s nothing analytical about it, either. He’s a UNLV product who finished T8 in his tournament debut (as a non-member) a year ago. You also know the story of how he had just popped the question, so he was newly engaged at the time. With nothing but great vibes in Vegas, he’s the ideal swing for the fence on the first pitch. And hey, it’s not like he hasn’t connected before. He picked off a pair of wins on the Korn Ferry Tour in the last 16 months. The feels and knowhow of winning are the same no matter the circuit. TOP 10 Glass … Adam Hadwin (+500) Another Canadian! Another Adam! Please read Horses for Courses for his impressive numbers at TPC Summerlin. The window for the Top 10 doesn’t open as frequently as I would hope, and with a busy weekend on tap, I’m going to lean to the chalkier side of the tracks. Rob … Emiliano Grillo (+400) Since I continue to find myself browsing in the vicinity of this value when the window is open on weekends, I’ll open in the same aisle in case I can’t get back to it. The Argentine has been outstanding since reversing his form on the greens. It yielded a pair of T2s late last season and a T5 last week in Mississippi. Since he’s No. 6 in my Power Rankings for the Shriners, I’m putting my coins with my keyboard is. TOP 20 Rob … Rickie Fowler (+210) I laid out the classic combination of factors for why he’ll have a good week in Draws and Fades. I’ve spread my shares for him across numerous considerations this week. This bet is the optimal spot to turn him loose in PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live. Glass … Scott Piercy (+420) Hoping to set it and forget as the Las Vegas resident knows this place as well as anyone, and the results have followed. Of his 12 starts, he’s cashed T32 or better in 10 of them. I’m willing to roll the dice here especially after closing with 67 last week for T19. Keep rollin’! ROUND 1 LEADER Glass … John Huh (+8000) First 3-ball off tee No. 10, so let’s go! Posted 63 to open on debut in 2012 and went one better with 62 in 2016. Hasn’t posted a round in the 60s in six rounds this season, but I’m hoping he remembers the form he had when he posted 61 to open the Wyndham Championship in August! Rob … Robby Shelton (+6000) Not that Glass was targeting a guy opening on the back side of TPC Summerlin where two of the three par 5s are located, but I dig the angle for the sole purpose of the positive juices that can start flowing early. Shelton goes off No. 1 in the penultimate threesome of the morning wave, so it’s probably going to backfire, but I love the fit. He’s one of my Sleepers in part because in two appearances at the Shriners, he’s scored 69-68-67-68-67-67-68-69. And while only two tournaments are complete this season, he cashed in both. Considering that he was the only multiple winner on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022, I’ll consider the absence of a opening slide (to which guys like Justin Suh and Carl Yuan have not been immune) as a plus. Basically, I just hope Shelton runs into one, but that’s always the idea with this prop. NOTE: While Glass and Rob typically stick with their selections as detailed in Pick ‘Em Preview, they are allowed the right to make changes at any time. Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org.

Click here to read the full article…

TORONTO, Ont. – Growing up in Kentucky, the opportunities were likely limited for Justin Thomas to feel what it’s like to skate onto ice to the unmistakable bang of smacked hockey boards. Saturday at the RBC Canadian Open that electricity was turned up loud, and as Thomas entered The Rink (the par-3 16th) after rolling in a 1-foot, 2-inch putt for eagle on the previous hole he was serenaded by the Canadian crowd like he was one of their own. “I don’t know why it’s happening, but I’m very appreciative of the fan support here in Toronto. I said to… Rory (McIlroy) and Corey (Conners) that it felt like a major a bit out there,” said Thomas. “I knew, obviously, very passionate sports fans up in this part of the world and then having two years away from this tournament, I knew they were going to be ready to go this year.” Thomas shot a bogey-free 63 Saturday and St. George’s Golf and Country Club and is just two shots back of the 54-hole lead held by Tony Finau and Rory McIlroy. Sam Burns, ranked second in the FedExCup standings, is amongst those tied with Thomas at 9 under. Thomas, Finau, and McIlroy will be in the final group together on Sunday. Golfers will go off split tees and in threesomes with anticipated weather in the Greater Toronto Area. With this much firepower at the top of the leaderboard heading into Sunday’s finale in Toronto, the return of the RBC Canadian Open is very much delivering. “I mean, without sounding cheesy, it makes me pretty happy inside seeing this,” said Thomas of the top-heavy leaderboard heading into Sunday in Toronto. “There’s no other place I would want to be playing and it’s just, obviously with a tournament like this and the history that it has and how long it’s been played, had a lot of great past champions and venues and drama. “And it looks like it has a potential tomorrow to produce a little bit more of that and create some more history.” Thomas’ 63 – clipped by Finau’s 62 as one of the low rounds of the week – was “easy,” he said. The winner of the 2022 PGA Championship had as complete a day as you could ask for, sitting inside the top-10 in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, Tee to Green, and Putting. “I didn’t do anything great. I just didn’t do anything bad,” said Thomas. “But I took advantage of some of the opportunities when I had them there in, kind of the middle of the course, and just stayed patient and waited for my run.” Finau, who has won twice on the PGA TOUR, finished poorly on Friday – bogeying two of his final three holes – and that lit a fire in his belly to come out with a solid Saturday round. He birdied his first hole of the day, went out in 5-under 29, and added a birdie on his final hole of the day to put a bow on a 62. This was his lowest round on the PGA TOUR since a matching 62 in the second round of The American Express in January 2020. “I knew I was playing well, but at any given moment on this golf course you can make a number. So, there’s no reason to get ahead of myself, I just tried to stay in the moment as much as I could and put together a nice round all the way to the end,” said Finau. “And any time you’re at the top of the leaderboard and have a chance to win on a Sunday on the PGA TOUR it’s exciting.” McIlroy, meanwhile, is trying to go back-to-back for the first time in his TOUR career. No one on the PGA TOUR has repeated as champion at two different venues since Jim Furyk at the RBC Canadian Open in 2006 and 2007. He was quick to heap praise on the Canadian fans, who after two years of cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were thrilled with the buzz of a Saturday afternoon in the country’s biggest city. “The atmosphere out there today was, I mean I can’t remember the last time I played in an atmosphere like that,” said McIlroy. “It was really special.” There’s another carrot the likes of McIlroy, Finau, Thomas, and Burns don’t need to worry about Sunday – a spot in The Open Championship. The Canadian Open is part of the Open Championship Series and is offering two spots to golfers who are not otherwise exempt and who finish inside the top eight come Sunday. Wyndham Clark and Alex Smalley (tied for third), and Austin Cook and Jim Knous (tied for seventh) are in the mix for a spot to compete for the Claret Jug. There’s also the race for low Canadian still to be settled. Nick Taylor, who sits tied for 15th through three rounds at St. George’s, is a shot ahead of Corey Conners. Neither Taylor – who was as high as tied for second through the early part of Saturday – or Conners, the top-ranked Canadian in the FedExCup, has ever won the Rivermede Cup. “The ovation on the first tee, walking off a lot of greens on to the tees, it’s something that I don’t get every week, so it’s nice to feel that buzz,” said Taylor. “I think everyone’s really excited to have the event back.” The excitement was high, and the Canadian Open is certainly living up to the hype.

Click here to read the full article…

DUBLIN, Ohio — Jason Dufner wanted to put together more than just a few good rounds this week at the Memorial. The first two put him in the record book. Dufner holed out from 176 yards on the 18th hole for an eagle, and then added three more birdies on the front nine at Muirfield Village for another 7-under 65. That put him at 130 and gave him the 36-hole scoring record at the Memorial. Scott Hoch in 1987 and Rickie Fowler in 2010 previously shared the record at 13-under 131. Neither went on to win the tournament. Dufner had a six-shot lead over Fowler when he finished, and then had to wait to see what kind of margin he would have going into the weekend. He played Friday morning in warm, sunny and pristine scoring condition on greens that are pure as any on the PGA TOUR. Jordan Spieth, one shot behind Dufner after the opening round, was among those playing in the afternoon. The shot that got the most attention was Dufner’s 6-iron that he holed on No. 18 for his eagle. With a back left pin, the shot fit what he was trying to do, and he said the bonus was that it found the bottom of the cup. The key to his great play was his putting, something Dufner rarely says. When asked about it at Kapalua to start the year, Dufner said: “I’ve been putting bad for 17 years. It’s tough to change.” He managed with the help of a friend who sent him some research from a doctor who works with snipers in the Marines, and how they focus primarily on their breathing and their heartbeats. Dufner found his worst trait in putting was not having a consistent routine and getting too fast, almost as if he wanted to get it over with quickly. “I think the one thing that also helps is it gives me something to think about other than my stroke or holing this putt or the situation I’m in,” Dufner said. “Subconsciously, I’m just putting. But I’m more focused on my breathing and I’m at with that.” He said the goal presumably is to keep his heartbeat low, a real challenge for a guy who barely has a pulse in the first place. “I’ve never had anybody measure it,” he said. “But I know that there’s been times with my putting that the thought process and my actions have felt like they’ve been sped up and too quick. And I’m trying to slow down and focus on that breathing. It’s been working. I’ve been using it all year. This is the first time I’ve said anything about it. Some days I’m better with it than others. You think it would be pretty easy to be consistent with that, but some days it’s not.” Fowler started the tournament with a triple bogey on his second hole and he was 3 over through four holes when he turned it around Thursday for a 70. He was back out Friday morning and shot 66 and walked off the course the closest player to Dufner, even if it wasn’t very close. Fowler and Dufner lived under the same roof during the winter months when Dufner came down to Alabama to play some golf. They are good friends with personalities as different as hard rock and easy listening. “We got to spend a decent amount of time together and that was fun,” Fowler said. “He’s one of a kind. He’s one of the best guys I know out here. … Because he’s fairly quiet on the course, you don’t get to really see who he is as a person. He’s one of the funniest guys out here, too. But fan-wise you wouldn’t really see that. The way he carries himself is pretty chill and mellow.” He very quietly took only 130 shots over two days. Dufner, who grew up in northern Ohio, missed the cut the first two times he played Muirfield Village. He skipped the next three chances at the Memorial, but didn’t have a choice in 2013 when he won the PGA Championship and earned a spot in the Presidents Cup that was held on the course Jack Nicklaus built. Dufner spent that week asking his teammates how they played the course. Dufner posted a 3-1 record that week, and when he returned to the Memorial in 2014, he was at par or better over his next six rounds. He still doesn’t have a top 10, but he has figured something out. He would need a 67 to break the 54-hole record set by Hoch in 1987. Posting one low score after another is never easy, and Dufner isn’t sure what to expect Saturday.

Click here to read the full article…