J.T. Poston leads by two shots at Barbasol Championship

Tiger Woods will be accompanied by two of golf’s biggest names when he returns to the PGA Tour at this week’s Memorial.

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Chesson Hadley … If there’s a table on the PGA TOUR on which the 32-year-old is going to push all of his chips into its center, it’s in Vegas. Of course it is. Although he won the Puerto Rico Open in 2014, he’s earned more at the Shriners than at any other stop on the schedule. It’s the only tournament at which he’s recorded as many as three top 10s. That includes in each of the last two editions. He also has a streak of seven straight sub-70s on TPC Summerlin. And now he’s fresh off a T23 at Silverado where he scored par or better in every round and ranked highly in all ball-striking metrics. Nick Taylor … While not as impressive as Hadley’s résumé at TPC Summerlin, of all of the courses where the Canadian has made at least three appearances, this is the only site where he hasn’t missed a cut. And this is his sixth trip. His best finish is but a T25 in 2015, but his scoring average is a sporty 69.40. That kind of expectation defined his 2018-19 season during which he went 21-for-28 with four top 25s. He arrives having just polished off a front-loaded T10 at Silverado, his best individual performance in over 13 months. Denny McCarthy … Back already for another appearance on this page. He opened the season as a Sleeper for A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier and responded with a T31. He answered that with a T18 at the Sanderson Farms Championship before taking last week off. The 26-year-old paced the PGA TOUR last season in Strokes Gained: Putting. He’s seventh in the early going in 2019-20, but his ball-striking is measurably improved. It’s a small sample size to be certain, but no matter the data set, it’s always better than the alternative. Placed T15 at TPC Summerlin last year. Bronson Burgoon … Wait a sec. He arrived at the Safeway Open with a trio of top-six finishes and a pair of T19s in his previous six starts combined on two tours, and just now he’s appearing as a Sleeper? You betcha! He missed the cut at Silverado by two strokes, and he’s 0-for-2 at TPC Summerlin (2015, 2018), but if there’s one thing we’ve come to expect from him during his brief career, it’s that he possesses a propensity to pop with less notice than most of his peers. So, now that he’s been on a heater and fully exempt after meeting the terms of his medical extension at Greenbrier, he’s freer than ever before to get after it. Mark Hubbard … Others fresh off the Korn Ferry Tour Finals have made more noise early on, but he’s nipping on their heels. Currently 19th in the FedExCup standings with a T10 at Greenbrier and a T13 at Silverado. He’s connected for six top 25s in his last eight starts across two tours. His most important weapon has proven to be his putter, but he’s also well above average in splitting fairways. While his putting bails out poor approaches, when he hits greens in regulation, he goes for a high percentage of par breakers. Meanwhile, despite a seemingly deficient iron game, he led the KFT in par-3 scoring average in 2019. TPC Summerlin’s quartet of one-shotters is among the easiest set on the schedule, so the 30-year-old has all kinds of reasons to feels jolts of confidence in his fourth appearance in the tournament. 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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The Ryder Cup starts Friday at Le Golf National outside Paris. The U.S. is seeking its first win on foreign soil in 25 years. Will it happen, or will the European team bounce back from its loss two years ago in Hazeltine? Our staff writers weigh in with their predictions. SEAN MARTIN Senior Editor Winning team: USA (14.5 to 13.5) USA MVP: Tony Finau. The rookie may not go undefeated, but a winning record from the last man picked will be crucial in such a close match. European MVP: Sergio Garcia. Yes, he had a lackluster season, but the Ryder Cup will re-ignite his flame. Comment: The United States will win on foreign soil eventually. May as well be this year. This strong U.S. contingent has won its past three team competitions by a combined 51.5 – 36.5 margin. It won’t be easy, but they will get the job done. The U.S. is too strong from top to bottom. MIKE McALLISTER Managing Editor Winning team: USA (16 to 12) USA MVP: Tiger Woods. Fresh off his first PGA TOUR win in five years, he’ll carry the momentum into this week with a dominant performance. European MVP: Ian Poulter. His form fell off a bit in his last few TOUR starts, but he’ll deliver the usual passion and spunk that we expect from him against the U.S. Comment: Honestly, I’m not sure it’ll be all that close. U.S. has more guys in form and too many young players without scar tissue. Don’t expect them to be fazed in the least on foreign soil. CAMERON MORFIT Staff Writer Winning team: USA (14.5 to 13.5) USA MVP: Brooks Koepka. No one is on a better run of excelling on really hard courses. European MVP: Francesco Molinari. He’s had the best season of any European and is tough to beat right now. Comment: The U.S. will run out to an early lead, but outmanned Europe will keep it close with the home crowd urging them on. In the end, the score will reflect which side has the better players, and the U.S. will win a road game for the first time in a quarter century. JONATHAN WALL Equipment Insider Winning team: USA (15 to 13) USA MVP: Patrick Reed. Always finds a way to raise his game to another level during the biennial matches. He’ll do it again on foreign soil.  European MVP: Tommy Fleetwood. Has the game and confidence to make a major statement as a rookie. Comment: The U.S. team is stacked. It’s easy to see Europe keeping it close, but there are too many questions at the bottom of the roster, namely a lack of consistency from some key captain’s picks. Going with experience over a couple of hot hands winds up being the difference for Thomas Bjorn. BEN EVERILL Staff Writer Winning team: Europe (15 to 13) USA MVP: Justin Thomas. He will prove he’s the next “liferâ€� for the U.S. team. European MVP: Justin Rose. He’s killing it right now and accuracy is going to be a key factor. Comment: The home team will set up conditions to negate the U.S. firepower and the crowds will put the visitors off their usual swagger. HELEN ROSS Contributor Winning team: USA (14.5 to 13.5) USA MVP: Patrick Reed. Captain American loves this stage, and he’ll especially enjoy taking his curtain calls before the partisan European crown. European MVP: Justin Rose. Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia immediately come to mind – and I expect both to rise to the occasion — but you can’t ignore the way the new FedExCup champ has been playing. Comment: It’s time for the Americans to win the Ryder Cup in Europe. It won’t be a runaway but the U.S. has been building to this ever since the task force was formed.  ROB BOLTON Fantasy Insider WINNER: USA (15.5 to 12.5) USA MVP: Patrick Reed EUROPE MVP: Thorbjorn Olesen COMMENT: Both teams have moxie, so this will be a terrific battle. Europe has the experience on the course and we should expect captain Thomas Bjorn to have an impact in what sets up as a transitional edition for the hosts. However, the Americans are as deep as they’ve ever been and the evolution of the new team philosophy is still fresh and fun. MIKE GLASSCOTT Fantasy Contributor Winning team: Europe (15 to 13) USA MVP: Brooks Koepka continues his ascendancy with another big performance but it’s not enough to push the Stars and Stripes over the finish line.  European MVP: Ian Poulter lives up to the expectations and cements his place as one of the greatest of all time in this format. Comment: The European rookies are buoyed on by the partisan crowd and play with freedom as Bjorn’s “old guard” holds up their part of the bargain. The USA struggles to find enough fairways and continues their struggles away from home in this event.

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