Harold Varner III: Growing the game of golf

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Scottie Scheffler assumed the No. 1 spot on the Official World Golf Ranking with a victory at the 2022 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, his triumph at Austin CC including a Sunday Semifinal win over Dustin Johnson and a 4-and-3 defeat of Kevin Kisner in the Final. The University of Texas alum has won three times in his last five TOUR starts; after breaking through for his maiden TOUR title at the WM Phoenix Open in February, he proceeded to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in early March, followed by his match play triumph in front of adoring fans on Sunday afternoon, just 10 miles from his college stomping grounds. Scheffler earned his first PGA TOUR card via the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour, in a season that included victories at the Evans Scholars Invitational and Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. He won the season-long Points List (The 25) as well as the Korn Ferry Tour Finals Points List (The Finals 25) to earn fully exempt status on the 2019-20 PGA TOUR. He hasn’t looked back. Scheffler’s spot on the Korn Ferry Tour was not a given, and he never took it for granted. After advancing through First and Second Stages of the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament, he needed an up-and-down from right of the green on the 72nd hole at Final Stage of Q-School just to finish inside the top-40 and ties, the cut line to secure guaranteed starts in 2019. He chipped to near tap-in range, unleashing an intense fist pump that signified he knew the stakes. When asked ahead of this month’s PLAYERS Championship if he could recall an up-and-down more memorable than his effort to win at Bay Hill the week prior, he thought back to Korn Ferry Tour Q-School. “I would say I probably felt more pressure over that one than I did at Bay Hill, because you’re fighting for your career,” Scheffler said. “All I have to do is par 18 … I hit it right down the middle, 125 yards to the pin, and I hit the worst wedge shot I’ve hit in my entire life, like a snap-hook, 150-yard shot that went 25 yards from the pin. I was on a downslope chipping back to the green, and I’m like, ‘How did I end up here?’ “There’s all that pressure of what I’m going to do the next year, and those thoughts start coming in, and I ended up chipping it pretty close and tapping it in. “I would say on that one, I probably felt a little more pressure.” Scheffler now becomes the fifth Korn Ferry Tour graduate to assume the No. 1 spot on the Official World Golf Ranking, joining Tom Lehman, David Duval, Jason Day and Justin Thomas. At just 25 years of age, the sky’s the limit for the New Jersey native-turned Texan, who clutched up at Q-School when he needed it most.

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The west coast swing ends in the picturesque Pacific Palisades at The Genesis Invitational. The Riviera Country Club hosts and will play as a par 71, measuring 7,322 yards with poa annua greens. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1.2M Pitch + Putt [$300K to 1st] STRATEGY The top 10 golfers in the world are in the field, which includes the likes of Dustin Johnson (+1600, $10,200), Rory McIlroy (+2200, $9,700), Cameron Smith (+2200, $9,100) and Collin Morikawa (+2000, $10,400). With its elevated Invitational status, a smaller field of 120 golfers will compete, with the top 65 and ties making it to the weekend. The smaller field gives you a better chance of getting your entire DFS roster through the cut, with 23% fewer players in the field than a regular tournament. Even with no water hazards, The Riviera CC notoriously plays difficult, ranking inside the top 10 in scoring relative to par over the past few seasons. The fairways are tough to hit, recording close to a 7% less hit rate than the TOUR average. Same goes in terms of hitting greens with about an 8 % fewer green-hit-in-regulation rate than the TOUR average due to heavy undulations that runoff to tight collection areas. When golfers miss these greens, gaining strokes Around-the-Greens (ARG) becomes more necessary than usual. We’ve seen winners here gain an average of 2.2 strokes ARG over the past five years. The par-3 sixth hole is famous for its bunker in the middle of the green, and the par-4 10th hole is arguably the best short par-4 on TOUR. The novelty eventually wears off with how difficult this course has played in years past, especially on the closing eight holes. The closing nine is a contributing factor to why we’ve only seen eight golfers since 2000 go on to win after having the 54-hole lead. Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green and those who are playing well Tee-to-Green are golfers we need to consider. Also, look at rostering players who perform well in par 4 efficiency on holes measuring 450 to 500 yards, with six in this range. For contrarian roster construction, build lineups will golfers who have distance Off-The-Tee. Even though it’s not a long course, past winners include Johnson, Bubba Watson (+4500, $8,500), who has won here three times, and J.B. Holmes. Last season, three golfers who finished inside the top 5 in driving distance here also placed inside the top eight for the tournament. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Will Zalatoris (+2800 to Win, $8,800 on DraftKings) The last time we saw Zalatoris was in a playoff loss at Torrey Pines, where he led the field (on the South Course) in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (12.4). Last season, a top-15 finish at The Riviera CC came thanks to excellent iron play and solid navigation of the poa annua greens, which is what he should recall rather than his struggles a few weeks ago in San Diego. Zalatoris was able to gain 4.9 strokes on Riviera’s greens last season, the highest he’s achieved in any tournament during his professional career. His ball-striking has been elite, gaining strokes with his irons in seven-straight measured events. The former Demon Deacon performs well on par 4s measuring between 450 to 500 yards, ranking fifth over the previous 24 rounds. Scottie Scheffler (+2200, $9,200) got his first win last week, and it’s time for Will’s this week. Marc Leishman (+6000 to Win, $7,900 on DraftKings) The Aussie is always a threat in California, with a win at Torrey Pines and two top-five finishes here dating back to 2016. Leishman has a knack for playing these traditional courses well, finishing top five twice at Augusta National along with a pair of top five finishes at Muirfield Village (Memorial). He’s gained strokes with his irons in eight straight Genesis Invitationals and has shown he can compete with the best in the world. Leishman ranks 33rd in par 4 efficiency on holes measuring 450 to 500 yards and 15th in par 5 efficiency in the previous 24 rounds. Si Woo Kim (+9000 to Win, $7,300 on DraftKings) This three-time winner should feel comfortable with how well he plays on the West Coast. A 26th-place finish last week, gaining 1.63 strokes with his irons and 1.91 Off-the-Tee on Sunday and three top 11s in his California events this season (Fortinet Championship, The American Express, Farmers Insurance) are enough to give him a nod this week. A win at the 2021 American Express and a third place in The Genesis Invitational in 2019 make him one of the favorites in this range. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1.2M Pitch + Putt [$300K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. Place your golf bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app. All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests. The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.

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