Green Mile looms for Sunday’s PGA survivor

Bryson DeChambeau hinted at it during the Ryder Cup, and now it is going to happen: a golf match between DeChambeau and year-long adversary Brooks Koepka.

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One can only wonder what their walk-up music might have been after PGA TOUR superstars Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson revealed they were planning a potential partnership at the 2020 Zurich Classic of New Orleans before the tournament was officially canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. RELATED: McIlroy, Johnson, Fowler, Wolff headline TaylorMade Driving Relief to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts | Live golf is finally on the horizon | Seminole Golf Club is ready for its close-up Thankfully we will see two-time FedExCup champion and current world No. 1 McIlroy and 20-time PGA TOUR winner Johnson team up on May 17 for TaylorMade Driving Relief – a $3 million charity skins match against Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff – to raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts. But it turns out we may have had the opportunity to see the incredible power duo earlier had the pandemic not claimed the one team event on the PGA TOUR regular season calendar. Speaking to Mike Tirico on NBC Sports, the pair admitted the partnership was one they had discussed before their upcoming match at Seminole Golf Club sees the return of live golf. “I’m happy Rory is my teammate for sure,â€� Johnson said. “We’ve played a lot of golf together and we even talked about playing at the New Orleans tournament. I think we will be a good team.â€� McIlroy, who had finished inside the top 5 in 10 of his last 11 worldwide starts with two wins before the pandemic, confirmed it was a serious consideration. “It was funny, DJ rang me up the week after THE PLAYERS Championship when he was out on his boat and he said, ‘Hey, if the New Orleans tournament happens, would you want to be partners?’â€� McIlroy said. “And I was like, ‘Yeah sure. I’m not sure if it is going to happen but if it does, yeah, that would be fun.’ We didn’t get a chance to do it there, but we’re getting the chance to do it at Seminole in a couple weeks’ time and that’s going to be fun.â€� No word yet as to if they might revisit the pairing for the 2021 Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana but should they play well at Seminole, it is one partnership that shouldn’t be discounted. In the three previous iterations of the tournament in its team format, some glamour pairings have included Justin Rose-Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed-Patrick Cantlay, Jason Day-Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia-Tommy Fleetwood. But a McIlroy-Johnson combo could be the most formidable yet. First up though, they must get past Fowler and Wolff at Seminole, an enticing team in its own right. As such, practice schedules will be amped up. “I’m excited to play again. I’ve hit balls twice since THE PLAYERS for about an hour as they closed down the courses here in Palm Beach,â€� Johnson admitted. “But they did reopen last week … and I was actually very surprised at how well I hit it. “For me it’s the little things around the greens like chipping and putting … that’s what takes a little bit longer to get your touch back. But full swing wise … sometimes a break actually helps me because I forget all the bad thoughts I had before I stopped playing.â€� McIlroy joked he’d have his partners back after a couple of good practice rounds last weekend. “I’m pretty encouraged. Sometimes you pick it up and it takes you a couple of days to find the middle of the clubface but thankfully this wasn’t one of those times,â€� McIlroy said. “So hopefully DJ can take some comfort in that and know that his partner is in pretty good form.â€� As for that walk-up song … might we suggest “All I Do Is Winâ€� by DJ Khaled.

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* * * BREAKING NEWS * * * We interrupt Segment 4 of PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf for the Olympics. Officially dubbed the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition, it is not an official event on the PGA TOUR, so it does not contribute to the fantasy game at PGATOUR.com. Segment 4 will resume with next week’s World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. But you already knew that, so that’s not all. RELATED: Power Rankings | PGATOUR.COM Expert Picks The real breaking news is that PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf is undergoing a renovation for the 2021-22 PGA TOUR season. The bones of the game as you know it today will remain the same. They include roster construction of up to four starters and two bench players per round, as well as limited starts per golfer per X-number of Segments. The refinements are many but they are being introduced to simplify and improve gamer experience. So, if you’re inclined to be overwhelmed by change, you’ll be fine. It begins with a fresh interface. There will be a familiarity to it but design upgrades will make it more intuitive. Once you learn the basics, it’ll be easier to navigate. The most notable modification is that ShotLink no longer will be used to measure performance. So, no shot-level data will be gathered. Only actual scores and bonus points will be tabulated. Scoring per hole will resemble what you’d find in DFS, which was, in part, derived from Modified Stableford scoring. The FedExCup points bonus at the conclusion of the tournament will remain 10 percent. By eliminating ShotLink, real-time fantasy scoring and its completion after a round and a tournament will be faster, plain and simple. Save Monday finishes, obviously, the days of waiting until Monday afternoon every week for confirmation that everything is buttoned up are over. If you participate in a league, your experience also will be enhanced. Roster comparisons, sending invites and other concepts will be seamless and, again, more intuitive. In addition to finer detail to much of the aforementioned, other tweaks and performance upgrades also will be baked into the platform. I’ve seen the mocks and they’re impressive. This evolution was made possible largely because your opinions and feedback have been heard. Too often gamers or users of anything digitally consumed can’t feel or quantify how their voices make a difference. I experience the same in my own pursuits away from the gig, so I get it. Well, I’m here to tell you that your voice has mattered, and it’s not unprecedented in my tenure. The tech team, as I’ve often referred to it, went to work and on your behalf. I’m still digesting what I’ve learned in the short period of time I’ve known about what’s coming, so it’d be presumptuous to predict how ownership philosophies and game play will be affected. In due time, gang. Until then, it’s back to regularly scheduled preview material next week! PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf RETURNING TO COMPETITION Si Woo Kim … Sidelined since withdrawing during his first round of the John Deere Classic with a sore back. It’s been the through line of the career for the 26-year-old. Can’t help but wonder if it could complicate matters if he fulfills his military conscription in his native South Korea. Unless he medals at this week’s Olympics, he’ll be required to register by age 28. Sungjae Im also is pursuing the same dispensation, but he’s only 23, so he could have another chance in Paris for the 2024 Games if he doesn’t medal in Tokyo. NOTABLE WDs Jon Rahm … Tested positive for COVID-19. Just prior to the news, he announced that he wouldn’t be competing in next week’s World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, but the commitment deadline for the season’s final WGC isn’t until this Friday at 5:00 p.m. ET. So, it’s reasonable that he’d change his mind and compete. Bryson DeChambeau … Also tested positive for COVID-19. POWER RANKINGS RECAP – 3M Open Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Louis Oosthuizen T2 2 Dustin Johnson MC 3 Emiliano Grillo MC 4 Tony Finau T28 5 Bubba Watson T51 6 Luke List T58 7 Hank Lebioda WD 8 Charl Schwartzel T2 9 Ryan Moore MC 10 Matthew Wolff T39 11 Robert MacIntyre MC 12 Stewart Cink MC 13 Mito Pereira T6 14 Steve Stricker MC 15 Dylan Frittelli MC Wild Card Patrick Reed T34 SLEEPERS RECAP – 3M Open Golfer Result Brandon Hagy MC Wes Roach MC Roger Sloan T16 Cameron Tringale T16 Erik van Rooyen T58 BIRTHDAYS AMONG ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE PGA TOUR July 27 … Jordan Spieth (28) July 28 … Will Gordon (25) July 29 … Harrison Frazar (50) July 30 … Graeme McDowell (42); Justin Rose (41) July 31 … none August 1 … none August 2 … Jonathan Kaye (51); Brian Davis (47) Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. CO, IA, IN,MI, NJ, NV,PA, TN, VA or WV only. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling Problem? 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