Horschel, Piercy win Zurich Classic team event

How it works: Each week, our experts from PGATOUR.COM will make their selections in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. Each lineup consists of four starters and two bench players that can be rotated after each round. Adding to the challenge is that every golfer can be used only three times per each of four Segments. Aside from the experts below, Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton breaks down the field at this year’s BMW Championship in this week’s edition of the Power Rankings. For more fantasy, check out Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers and Reshuffle. RELATED: Play Pick ‘Em Live THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN OUR EXPERTS? The PGA TOUR Experts league is once again open to the public. You can play our free fantasy game and see how you measure up against our experts below. Joining the league is simple. Just click here to sign up or log in. Once you create a team, click the “LEAGUES” tab. Then click on “FEATURED,” and then on the PGA TOUR Experts league that populates. SEASON SEGMENT

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LA QUINTA, Calif. – This year began with a new rule on the PGA TOUR that limited the length of drivers, forcing some players to cut down the longest club in their bag. Will Zalatoris still had room to lengthen his, however, and the change has paid immediate dividends. Last week’s The American Express was his first start of the calendar year, and he brought with him a new driver that he’d been experimenting with at home, a Titleist TSi3 with a shaft of 45.625 inches. The local rule implemented this year on TOUR limits drivers to 46 inches. “What I saw at home was another 12 yards of carry without doing anything, not trying to smash it. Just being normal,” Zalatoris said after his sixth-place finish at PGA West. “That’s something that is going to be huge out here. There’s multiple courses where that extra 12 yards of carry will allow me to hit it over bunkers I was hitting into last year.” He pointed to PGA West’s 16th hole, which he eagled Sunday, as an example of the driver’s immediate benefits. He had just a 7-iron into the par-5 after hitting a 341-yard drive. He would’ve been hitting 4- or 5-iron into the green if he’d been using his previous driver, he said. Zalatoris wasn’t lacking for length before the change, finishing 23rd in driving distance last season (307.4 yards). He averaged 317.4 yards off the tee at The American Express to rank second in that stat for the week. Zalatoris also gained 15 pounds in the offseason, and said that strength helps him better control the longer club. The American Express was a big week for Titleist’s TSi3 driver, which was the most-used model at The American Express. When asked what prompted the change, Zalatoris replied “boredom.” He was thinking about the benefits of extra distance during the PGA TOUR’s pause for the holidays and started tinkering at home. He received the driver he used at AmEx a week before the tournament, after texts and phone calls with J.J. Van Wezenbeeck, Titleist’s Director of Players Promotions. “Will was intrigued by going longer and wanted to do some more testing during the offseason,” Van Wezenbeeck said. “With TSi3, he felt since it was such a forgiving head that it might open up the opportunity for him to do that. We talked about ways to maximize it over the phone and the last screenshot he sent me was 182 ball speed with 324 carry. And it was straight.” The driver that Van Wezenbeeck sent to Zalatoris’ Dallas home allowed the 25-year-old to hit the “burning cut” that he likes to play with the driver. “I have a go-to shot with it and it’s 12 yards farther,” he said. “It’s a no-brainer.” Zalatoris’ previous driver was 44.5 inches. He said he will still use the shorter driver on some courses, but The American Express and this week’s Farmers Insurance Open were perfect venues for the new, longer club. “Torrey Pines is the perfect spot for it, where the fairways are tight and it’s a long golf course where you’re trying to hit it as far as you can out there,” Zalatoris said. “Distance is where it’s at now.”

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AUGUSTA, Ga. - The arrival of the Masters brings hope, a commodity whose value has risen exponentially in the past year. Players know they're on the precipice of a potentially life-altering week, one that could give their calendar a permanent April engagement. Patrons on the grounds and fans around the world look forward to seeing more history made at a course they know so well. In a fast-moving world, Augusta National's familiarity may be its biggest appeal. Few have played the course but so many know Augusta National's holes by sight. RELATED: What’s on DJ’s Champions Dinner menu? | Nine things to know about Augusta | Preview Masters storylines Tradition forms the bedrock for the Masters. A lifetime of invitations makes a Masters victory invaluable. There aren't many places in the world more difficult to get into than the Champions Locker Room. The weight of the accomplishment was enough to make Dustin Johnson cry. The Champions Dinner on Tuesday and Par-3 Contest on the tournament's eve give a familiar cadence to the week. There will be no Par-3 Contest for a second consecutive year but this Masters marks a return to the tournament's April date and of the patrons whose roars create the soundtrack of the second nine. Fall's muted colors provided a unique backdrop for Johnson's record-setting win but it's better when the canvas is brightened by the blooms of azaleas. Spring is synonymous with renewal and the Masters is an important part of that season. A golf tournament can't reverse a pandemic but it can lift spirits. That's what the arrival of the Masters promises to do. The sun shone brightly on Augusta National on Sunday as competitors took part in the Drive, Chip and Putt while professionals prepared for the Masters. Bubba Watson, a two-time winner here, was behind the 18th green passing out fist bumps and encouragement. Justin Thomas took a break from hitting balls to take a peek at the children competing on the nearby chipping green, clapping after each shot. "So incredible to watch these boys and girls get this opportunity. Can't wait to get out there later this morning and see for myself!" Thomas tweeted earlier in the day, obviously inspired by the enthusiasm that was on display from Sunday's youthful competitors. Sandy Lyle waited to start his practice round until after a cadre of young players crossed in front of the first tee, fresh from hitting their putts on the same 18th green where a champion will be crowned in seven days. Lyle has amassed more than three decades of local knowledge here but he was off early for his solo Sunday practice round The past is revered here while progress is made. There are no cell phones allowed on the grounds but you can see every shot struck this week thanks to the tournament's technology. The events that now precede the Masters - the Augusta National Women's Amateur and Drive, Chip and Putt - show the tournament's forward-looking spirit. Not to mention that Lee Elder will be one of the honorary starters on Thursday - alongside Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player - to recognize his groundbreaking appearance here in 1975. The ANWA's second edition ended Saturday, with 17-year-old Tsubasa Kajitani winning in a playoff. That event has shown that new ground can be broken, old barriers brought down. The girls who competed Sunday in the Drive, Chip and Putt mentioned that it was an aspiration as they continue their competitive journey. Eighty children took part Sunday in four divisions for each gender. All had qualified in 2019 but had to wait an extra year to arrive at Augusta National. Imagine that wait. Their motions - from their swing planes to their pre-shot routines — mirror the pros they're trying to emulate. And their enthusiasm was infectious. "It's just beautiful. Everything is perfect. It's hard to imagine a golf course can be so perfect," said Analiese Raath, who finished eighth in the girls 14-15 division. Elyse Meerdink won the girls 10-11 division by holing a 15-footer to the Masters' traditional Sunday hole location, tucked behind the front bunker on the green's left side. She called Sunday "probably the best day of my life." Samantha Straight, who finished third in the girls 14-15 division, said Drive, Chip and Putt helped her realize "that golf is just a game of fun," a reminder we could all use at times. Pierceson Huyck, like most visitors to these grounds, was blown away by the conditions. "I was really excited to see how nice this course is because everybody says it's unexplainable. And I got that today," said Huyck, who finished fourth in the boys 7-9 division. "And I'm excited to walk all of the 18 holes tomorrow and see how pretty they are." He's not the only one. Another Masters week is here. It's something we can all be excited about.

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