Jack Nicklaus reducing day-to-day role with Nicklaus Companies

• COURSE: Erin Hills, 7,693 yards, par 72. Carved from dramatically rolling farmland 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee, Erin Hills opened in 2006 and becomes the second new addition to the Open’s host roster in three years. The design trio of Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and Golf Digest senior editor Ron Whitten took a minimalist approach, making use of the contours of Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine to create a prairie-style layout with almost no trees. A mix of dunes, fescue grasses and penal bunkers can make Erin Hills feel like an Irish links when the wind is up. And yet, it will enter Open annals as the event’s second-longest venue – just two yards behind Chambers Bay in 2015. Erin Hills was host of the 2011 U.S. Amateur, won by Kelly Kraft, also staging the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links. • FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 600 points. • CHARITY: The U.S. Golf Association has provided more than $67 million in grants over the past 20 years to organizations that serve golf at the grass-roots level. Among the recipients are The First Tee, LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, Special Olympics, PGA Junior League Golf and National Alliance for Accessible Golf. • FIELD WATCH: World No.1 Dustin Johnson, whose Oakmont breakthrough last year was the first of six wins in the past 52 weeks, is joined by 2015 winner Jordan Spieth and Masters champ Sergio Garcia atop a lineup expected to feature 58 of the top 60 in the world rankings. … Ryan Moore is one exception, sidelined for the past month with a shoulder injury. Phil Mickelson, meantime, figures to miss to attend his firstborn’s high school graduation. … Six slots remain unfilled for players who move into the world top 60 by Monday and haven’t already qualified. Chris Wood, now No.60 after placing second at last week’s European Tour stop, is likely to get one. … A total of 14 amateurs are in the field, up three from last year’s tally. • 72-HOLE RECORD: 268, Rory McIlroy (2011 at Congressional CC). • 18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Johnny Miller (4th round, 1973 at Oakmont), Tom Weiskopf (1st round, 1980 at Baltusrol), Jack Nicklaus (1st round, 1980 at Baltusrol), Vijay Singh (2nd round, 2003 at Olympia Fields). • LAST YEAR: Johnson finally lifted his first major title, capping a bizarre Sunday in which he played his final seven holes under a penalty cloud only to render it moot with a three-shot victory. Trailing Shane Lowry by four shots to start the final day, Johnson erased the deficit with a front-nine 33. But intrigue was brewing back at the fifth green, where Johnson had faced a 6-foot par putt and backed off after a few practice strokes. He told an official the ball moved, saying he did nothing to make it move, and no penalty was assessed. But a video review raised doubt, and officials met Johnson on the 12th tee to say they needed to meet after his round. Social media backlash was instant, with TOUR players strongly voicing support for Johnson. A penalty eventually was assessed, but it made no difference after Johnson shot even-par on the back nine while Lowry and others stumbled. Johnson finished at 4-under 276 with Lowry, Jim Furyk and Scott Piercy sharing second. • STORYLINES: Johnson, with three wins in 2017 before being derailed by a slip-and-fall injury the day before the Masters, is favored to become the first man to win back-to-back Opens since Curtis Strange in 1988-89. Until missing the cut at the Memorial Tournament, he hadn’t finished outside the top 15 since January. … World No.2 Rory McIlroy, the 2011 champion, tees it up for the first time since suffering a recurrence of a rib injury at THE PLAYERS Championship. He was 35th at TPC Sawgrass, after placing seventh at the Masters. … Mickelson, lacking an Open win to complete a career Grand Slam, will spend Thursday morning at daughter Amanda’s graduation – but may fly to Erin Hills if he gets a late tee time and weather delays the opening round. • SHORT CHIPS: Just six defending Open champions since 1991 have placed higher than 30th in their title defense. Tiger Woods did it three times, with a best of sixth at Bethpage in 2009, joined by Retief Goosen (11th, 2005). Graeme McDowell (14th, 2011) and Justin Rose (12th, 2014). … The Open will have neither the winner nor runner-up from the 2011 U.S. Amateur that was held at Erin Hills. Both Kelly Kraft and Patrick Cantlay came up short in sectional qualifying. • TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. ET (FOX Sports 1), 6-9 p.m. (FOX). Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. (FOX). Sunday, 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. (FOX). • PGA TOUR LIVE: None. • RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-8 p.m. ET; Saturday, noon-7 p.m.; Sunday, noon-8 p.m. (SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio and FOX Sports on SiriusXM).

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Sean O'Hair has barely played on the PGA TOUR the last two seasons but he's looking to take full advantage of his good play at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship heading into the weekend. After back-to-back rounds of 5-under-par 67, O'Hair was only the second golfer into double-digits under par after the morning wave Friday. The four-time TOUR winner is looking to return to the winner's circle for the first time since the 2011 RBC Canadian Open - more than nine years ago. O'Hair tore his left oblique nearly 18 months ago and is still recovering after surgery. He teed it up at just two PGA TOUR events last season - the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Honda Classic, finishing T50 and missing the cut, respectively. He's on a Major Medical Extension this season. He missed the cut at the Safeway Open to start the season. However, O'Hair's 10-under total has him in good position going into the weekend in the Dominican Republic. "I was pretty proud of the bogey-free today," said O'Hair. "I’ve been playing solid. Today I left a few out there, but I’ll take the bogey-free round, for sure." O'Hair said he had quite a bit of scar tissue built up near his oblique from the car accident he was involved in in 2008 which needed to be removed along with having his oblique repaired. He admitted that while he's basically been off the TOUR for a year-and-a-half, he's trying to get into a routine again. But, there's been a bit of a turning point this week. "My body’s still not quite there as far as just the workload that you do just from traveling and hitting balls and walking and practicing. It’s kind of hard to practice that at home. But, you know, as far as health-wise, I feel great and it’s nice to be out here, for sure," he said. O'Hair said he didn't want to get ahead of himself in terms of qualifying for the FedExCup Playoffs later this season, but he's got a laser-like focus on these next 16 events so then he can keep his PGA TOUR card. However, he said one thing is for sure: his love of the game hasn't waned. "I think I got a little bit lazy and took too much for granted right before I got injured. I think I was more counting the days to retirement and I think you get that taken away from you, the ability to play golf, and you figure out that you love the game still and you still want to compete," said O'Hair. "It was a really hard recovery for me and I didn’t know if I was going to make it back or not, so it took a lot of hard work to get to this point and it feels good." O'Hair wasn't the only golfer on a Major Medical Exemption to play well through two rounds at Corales. Graham DeLaet fired an 8-under-par 64 on Friday, his lowest such round in relation to par on the PGA TOUR since a 9-under-par 63 effort at the Barbasol Championship in 2016. DeLaet was on the shelf for most of the last two seasons due to a back injury and bounced back Friday after an opening-round 78. Jamie Lovemark, meanwhile, is also on a Major Medical after suffering a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the balance of the last two seasons. He sits at 6-under through two rounds at Corales. "I've been feeling good," Lovemark said Friday. "I came back last year and had no confidence I wasn't very sure of myself. I had no speed. I'm getting my speed back and getting my confidence back." Lovemark finished T56 at the Safeway Open as he looks to have a solid run in his return. He tore the labrum in his shoulder (It was "popping in, popping out," he said). He didn't have to have surgery but has been through a lot of rehab which he calls "tedious and annoying," but helpful. "I was off for six months. It was a nice break but it was too long," he said. "There's pressure to perform but you lose sight of that usually and you just play the round in front of you. At home you think about it but I've got 15 events, almost a full season, and I'm starting to play better."

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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 World Wide Techonology Championship at Mayakoba in this week’s edition of the Power Rankings. For more fantasy, check out 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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