Inside the Field: ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

Abraham Ancer … Let’s try this again. After securing an exemption into last year’s edition as Mexico’s highest-ranked golfer, he’s risen about 200 spots in the Official World Golf Ranking. Although he still needed the same exemption for the opportunity to improve on last year’s T52, the U.S.-born dual citizen has gone off for seven top 10s since his debut at Club de Golf Chapultepec, including a victory at the Emirates Australian Open three months ago. Currently inside the top 10 on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off-the-tee, total driving, proximity to the hole and scrambling. If he breaks through, it’d be cause for a national celebration, but it’d also be a dandy birthday present. He turns 28 on the Wednesday following the tournament. Russell Knox … He’s back to doing Russell Knox things with three top 20s in his last four starts. That surge includes a T14 in his last appearance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he ranked T16 in greens in regulation and led the field in scrambling. For the season, he’s sixth on the PGA TOUR in proximity to the hole. Debuted at the Club de Golf Chapultepec in 2017 and settled for 70th place during what already was setting up as a slump. Byeong Hun An … Although based on the PGA TOUR on which he took advantage of starts in all three events on the Asian Swing in the fall, he’s added several starts on multiple tours before and since. Yet, the 27-year-old hasn’t let up, striking with five top 20s in eight starts over the last five months, including in his last two. Builds confidence with his power and precision, but he also stands over putts with a scorer’s mentality, so it’s just a matter of time before he’s celebrating his first TOUR victory. Returns to Mexico City since finished T48 in 2017 when he ranked T10 in total driving and fourth in proximity to the hole for the week. Richard Sterne … The veteran of 59 PGA TOUR starts and one membership card (2014-15) hasn’t connected for a top 25 on the circuit in 29 starts spanning five years. However, he’s opened 2019 strong with a runner-up finish in Abu Dhabi and a T13 in Saudi Arabia. Currently fifth on the European Tour in par-3 scoring and 17th in par-5 scoring. The 37-year-old from South Africa also isn’t inexperienced at Club de Golf Chapultepec where he appeared in 2017 (T72). Adrian Otaegui … The only first-timer at Club de Golf Chapultepec on this page is fresh off a runner-up finish at the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth, so the impact of fatigue and jet lag cannot be ruled out for the spry Spaniard even at 26 years of age. That result in Australia vaulted him to 64th in the Official World Golf Ranking and into this week’s tournament as the last man in the field, ironically leaving Super 6 champion Ryan Fox as the first man on the outside looking in. Otaegui finished 23rd in the 2018 Race to Dubai with the help of a victory last May. More recently, he’s recorded five top 25s in his last nine starts worldwide. 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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Grit. Determination. And just a flat-out will to win. That is what Abraham Ancer has displayed for a few seasons on the PGA TOUR, but it was not until Sunday afternoon in Memphis that the diminutive, yet feisty, Ancer was able to find his way to a trophy. And what a trophy. Ancer became the first Latin American to win a World Golf Championships event and just the fourth Mexican player to win on the PGA TOUR when he outlasted Hideki Matsuyama and Sam Burns in a playoff. It was a wild and wacky afternoon at TPC Southwind where all three didn’t appeared to be destined for victory until some fade-outs elsewhere catapulted them into the mix. Meanwhile back in California, South African Erik van Rooyen was also claiming his first PGA TOUR win and a breakthrough weekend. Here are five stories you may have missed from the World Golf Championships–FedEx St. Jude Invitational and the Barracuda Championship. 1. Patience was the key for Ancer’s breakthrough When you’re known as one of the best, if not the best player on the PGA TOUR without a win, it can get frustrating as each near miss piles up. But rather than look at the four runner-ups and countless top-10s as any sort of negative, the now 30-year-old kept his head down and persevered with the positive self-talk. Ancer knew he was good enough to win – he’d proven it with a brilliant final round at the 2018 Australian Open. And then his performance at the 2019 Presidents Cup was downright impressive as his only loss came to a vintage display from Tiger Woods. So he kept his head down and forged ahead. On Sunday when he sat five shots back as he started the back nine, Ancer figured it might be another near miss, but he stayed focused and when he picked off a birdie on the 13th, he was suddenly just two back. Shortly after he was tied for the lead. “I didn’t want to think of like, oh, my God, I’m so due,” Ancer said. “I didn’t want to put extra pressure. I’ve done enough in other events to win, and it just didn’t go my way, so I just stayed patient, I didn’t change anything.” He calmly plotted his way into the clubhouse to join the lead of those finished and then when his opportunity came on the second playoff hole he took dead aim and stuck his approach close. Before he could think about finally winning, Sam Burns hit one even closer. But under the pressure, Ancer made his putt while Burns saw his ball cruelly lip out. It was finally Ancer’s time. Get a great rundown on the win here. 2. English collapse sees third win slip away Harris English appeared set to be the first three-time winner this season when he surged to 20-under at the turn on Sunday in Memphis. With eight holes to play, he was three shots clear of his nearest rival in playing partner Bryson DeChambeau and seemingly in control. But the group had been on the clock since early in the round and the quickened tempo started to find a few cracks in his game, particularly as the gusts picked up around TPC Southwind. DeChambeau’s game was also unravelling, making it tough for the group to get any sort of momentum down the home stretch. English doubled Nos. 11 and 14, the two par 3s on the back nine, to fall back into a logjam of contenders before a soft bogey on the par-5 16th had him behind. The Sea Island resident showed great poise to hit a close approach into the 18th to give himself a chance for a spot in the playoff but couldn’t get the putt to drop. Read more here. He wasn’t the only player to falter though. DeChambeau was 6 over on the back nine and Cameron Smith was 3 over in his last four holes including a double bogey on the last when par would’ve ensured a place in the playoff. The Australian’s drive found the trees and he decided to take the risky choice of going for the win rather than punching out to safety. His bold thinking backfired this time around when his second shot hit a branch and rebounded out of bounds. 3. Van Rooyen catapults himself into FedExCup Playoffs Erik van Rooyen was 139th in the FedExCup standings when he headed to Tahoe knowing it would take something special to prolong his PGA TOUR season. The South African delivered with victory in the Barracuda Championship, scoring an impressive 16 points in the final round of the modified stableford format. His five-point victory was finished with an exclamation point birdie on the last and sees him move to 78th in the season long standings with just a week of the regular season left before the top 125 do battle in the FedExCup Playoffs. “It’s massive. It’s massive,” van Rooyen said. “It’s been a difficult sort of 18 months for me golf-wise. I haven’t been playing well. There’s been glimpses of it the last six months. But I haven’t been able to put four good rounds together. So I was well aware of the position I was in going into the Playoffs, knowing that I’ve only got eight rounds left to make that cut. “And to win here this week, I mean, under the conditions, you know, the pressure that I was under, I’m going to take so much confidence from this.” 4. The 2021-22 PGA TOUR season schedule dropped – with a few surprises As we head into the closing stretch of this season, the upcoming 2021-22 season was released with a focus on the Strategic Alliance with the European Tour. The Genesis Scottish Open, Barbasol Championship and Barracuda Championship will now be included in both the FedExCup and Race to Dubai, while the Irish Open will see a significant increase in prize money. The PGA TOUR’s schedule of 48 events also includes the move of the first FedExCup Playoffs event to TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, sponsored by FedEx. “Since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007, we have made a number of changes to enhance the quality of the FedExCup Playoffs for our players, fans and partners,” said PGA TOUR commissioner Jay Monahan. “Thanks to the continued support from FedEx as the TOUR’s umbrella partner, we’re proud to bring the start of the FedExCup to Memphis and a course loved by our players. Not only will it be a great test worthy of Playoff golf, but we also anticipate tremendous enthusiasm from a community that has steadfastly supported the PGA TOUR for more than 60 years. And, of course, the important work of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will continue to be front and center. “In totality, the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Schedule, combined with the momentum we have with our now-entrenched partnership with the European Tour, puts the PGA TOUR in a position of strength within professional golf like never before. We’re confident this schedule will give the world’s best players the opportunity to do what they do best – inspire and entertain our fans around the globe while helping our tournaments make a significant impact in their respective communities.” Read more and see the full schedule here. 5. Wolff on track to win Aon Risk Reward Challenge Matthew Wolff is almost a lock to win Aon Risk Reward Challenge, a season-long competition on the PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour that tests players on the most challenging holes. First place pays $1 million. “It’d be hard for me to lose, but not impossible,” he at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, where he shot a final-round 67 to finish 7 under in a tie for 17th. With two birdies at the par-5 16th at TPC Southwind – the competition takes a player’s best two scores of the week on a designated hole – Wolff protected his big lead over Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann. Now he heads to this week’s Wyndham Championship, which he added to his schedule partly to meet the competition’s minimum number of starts. He also just likes the event and has since Wyndham tournament director Mark Brazil extended him a sponsor exemption in 2019. (Wolff didn’t end up needing it after winning the 3M Open.) “I feel like Mark Brazil and everyone has been really nice, and I haven’t played too many this year, so I felt like I wanted to play it and see everyone again,” Wolff said. Not only that, but by playing the Wyndham, which will use the par-5 15th as the Aon Risk Reward hole, he will ensure he is eligible for the seven-figure bonus. “The Aon is a nice little bonus reason to go because I need that minimum,” he said. “It’s really cool what Aon is doing; it’s a game inside of a game, which is pretty cool to me.” For Oosthuizen to unseat Wolff he will need two birdies on the designated hole at Wyndham and Wolff would have to bogey the same hole on two occasions. – PGATOUR.COM’s Cameron Morfit contributed COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup regular season. The competition concludes this week at the Wyndham Championship and the top 10 FedExCup points leaders will be recognized and awarded as the most elite in golf. Week after week, shot after shot, each event matters more than ever before. Who will finish in the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10?

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So much for a favorite paying short odds at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The first-place entry was on champion Will Zalatoris at +20000! Hey, it pays to monitor the boards in real time and lock in your selection. At that point, patience and the willpower not to act are your footholds of leverage. Of course, Willy Z’s breakthrough title chased Tom Kim’s own coronation at the Wyndham Championship, and at +12500 no less. Remember, Kim opened his week with a snowman before running away to win by five. When Pick ‘Em Live launched at The Genesis Invitational, we thought that experiences like these would be uncommon, but this is golf. There is no such thing. It all plays. If you ever needed a swing thought or a caddie in your ear, it’s to continue to exploit the possibilities. As the fields shrink in the FedExCup Playoffs, it should be more challenging to hit on longer odds, but we’re going to find out if it even matters. Keep swinging your swing! 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 Rob … Collin Morikawa (+2000) Since I’m unsure how much attention I’m going to be able to give this game during the tournament, I’m opening with the No. 1 in my Power Rankings. This is pretty simple. He’s coming off a very strong performance in Memphis (T5), he’s still in pursuit of his first win of the season (and first in the FedExCup Playoffs) and he devours long, unfamiliar courses. Glass … Sungjae Im (+2500) The timer on the oven went off two weeks ago and whatever is left is burning inside. T2 in the Twin Cities was followed by T2 at Wyndham and he added T12 last week. Making nothing, he painted fairways (T6) and GIR (T8), so all I need is a putter adjustment on a course where nobody has any prior knowledge! TOP 10 Glass … Lucas Herbert (+1100) The formula is simple for the long shots this week. Find the deepest bomber who makes the most putts. Every season there is a player or two who sneaks his way into the top 10, and this course and that skill set makes sense to me. On Wednesday, if necessary, shift accordingly is you can get up that early! Rob … Max Homa (+400) While we don’t have to sweat a cut this week, it was a bit frustrating not visiting an open window on the weekend last week, so I swallowed Russell Henley’s MC. I scored decently overall, so it probably cost me a top-100 finish. And I didn’t think that I was gambling! Homa is in my Power Rankings, but he’s never recorded a top 35 in the Playoffs. No doubt that’s a 0-fer that won’t last forever, so because his fit for Wilmington CC is fantastic, I’ll grab the longer odds while they’re available. I also don’t plan on worrying about the bet unlocking. Win-win; well, win-Top 10! TOP 20 Glass … Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+410) The cut-making machine is fantastic on the greens, so the bigger the greens, the better! Not much value in this category with the reduced field this week, so I’ll take a shot on one of the best putters on TOUR. Rob … J.T. Poston (+220) Like a three-point shooter who can’t miss on the hardwood, he’s been unconscious in recent weeks. Omitting the surprise start at The Open, he’s gone T2-Win-T11-T21-T20. And there were foreshocks of a T3 (Harbour Town) and T9 (TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm). Whenever I happen to catch an open window on the weekends with this bet, I tend to shop in the vicinity of this kickback but given the construct of the tournament and its smaller field, this should be of stronger value, so the plan is to set and forget. ROUND 1 LEADER Glass … Adam Scott (+4500) For the third event in a row, the Aussie has gotten off to a start in the 60s, including 66 last week. We all know he’s making the Presidents Cup regardless, but chasing a carrot to improve on last week’s T5 is the interesting angle. Hit the top 10 last week with two doubles but neither round ended up over par, so something is brewing here. He’s in the sixth of the 34 twosomes on Thursday – everyone goes off No. 1 – so I can adjust throughout the afternoon as long as the window is open, but only – and say it with me now – if necessary! Rob … Corey Conners (+4500) The Canuck goes out four pairings after Glass’ dart, so we’ll have ourselves a real-time race; well, at least HE hopes so! My influence for the FRL always begins with the fact that I’m three hours behind on the clock for TOUR stops on the East Coast. So, the by time I’m coherent on Thursday, Conners should be nearing the turn. That gives me the proper moment to review things and pivot. IF NECESSARY! 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.

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