Jordan Spieth ‘moves the needle in the right direction'

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Coming back from a 15-week hiatus due to left wrist surgery, Brooks Koepka wasn’t sure how much rust he’d need to knock off when he made his return to the course at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Based on how he’s performed over the last month, even Kopeka admitted he’s surprised how quickly he’s managed to get back into contention. “I didn’t expect that,” Koepka said. “You feel like coming back after an injury you’ve got to take some time, two or three weeks to kind of get back into it. Basically came out to TOUR right away. I feel like it healed nicely.” Despite missing the cut with teammate Marc Turnesa in New Orleans, Koepka has improved his finish in the last three starts, including a runner-up finish at the Forth Worth Invitational, where he closed with 63 for the second straight start. Returning to a place where he owns a T2 and T3 in his last three starts, Koepka hasn’t skipped a beat in Memphis, opening with 66 on Thursday to begin one shot off the lead at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Koepka strung together four straight birdies in the middle of the round but suffered an untimely three-putt bogey with three holes to play that left him with mixed emotions regarding the round. “I didn’t really play that great, but scored a lot better that I played,” he said. “It was kind of a weird round. Played good for a little bit of a stretch and then kind of sloppy. But 4 under, I’ll take it.” Koepka credited the 66 to a strong round with the putter that saw him make over 100 feet worth of putts and gain nearly two shots on the field (plus 1.990) in the strokes gained: putting category. With just three rounds left before his U.S. Open title defense, it would be understandable if Koepka was already looking ahead to Shinnecock. But that isn’t the case. His sights are firmly set on TPC Southwind and finding a way to secure his third TOUR title. “I’m not looking forward towards next week,” said Koepka. “There’s nothing better than winning a golf tournament going into a major. I feel like I’m playing well enough to do that, so just keep doing what I’m doing.” NOTABLES Seamus Power was born in Waterford, Ireland, but has a connection to the state of Tennessee. It was at East Tennesee State University that Power played his collegiate golf. Even though ETSU is roughly a nine-hour drive from TPC Southwind, Power noted the bermuda grass made him feel at home. He follwed last season’s T27 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic by grabbing the solo lead with a 65. “It’s a great start. I played here last year and it kind of suits my eye, so I kind of feel good going out,” Power said.  Save for a bogey on the par-4 5th, Phil Mickelson closed out his round without any major issues, despite missing the last four fairways. In typical Mickelson fashion, he managed to get up-and-down on three of the four holes while adding a birdie on the 8th to shoot 66. “I was able to finish the round off even though I didn’t quite have it there at the end,” he said.  Seamus Power holds a one-shot lead after Round 1, but he has crowded pack right behind him. A whopping eleven players shot 66 on Thursday, good enough for a share of T2 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. The list of pursuers includes Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Wesley Bryan and Steve Stricker. The last wire-to-wire winner in Memphis was Ben Crane in 2015.  Steve Stricker and Mackenzie Hughes punched their tickets to the U.S. Open on Monday, getting through 36 holes of sectional qualifying at Ridgeway Country Club and Colonial Country Club. On Thursday, the pair opened with 66 and currently sit one behind Seamus Power. For Stricker, it’s the seventh time in eight starts this season he’s opened with a sub-70 round.  With one foot in the water, Dustin Johnson chipped in from 40 feet off the green on the par-3 12th for birdie. It was the lone highlight of a relatively quiet round for Johnson, who shot 67 with a double bogey on the 9th hole. “I felt like I played well, just didn’t really make any putts, but gave myself a lot of chances and I’m really confident in my game right now,” Johnson said.  QUOTABLES We don’t believe in humidity in Idaho, so this is a little bit different for me.That’s obviously nice but there’s no prizes given out after Round 1.I still feel like I should play out here and I belong out here and that’s my mentality and I’m trying to stick with that. SUPERLATIVES Low round: Seamus Power’s 5-under 65. Longest drive: Zecheng Dou with a 360-yard drive on the 3rd hole. Longest putt: Johan Kok with a putt of 86 feet, 6 inches for birdie on the 17th hole. Hardest hole: The 485-yard par-4 5th, which played to a stroke average of 4.244, with just 15 birdies on Thursday. Easiest hole: The 530-yard par-5 16th, which played to a stroke average of 4.609, with 4 eagles and 68 birdies on Thursday. Greens in regulation: Andrew Putnam hit 17 greens and shot 67. CALL OF THE DAY For play-by-play coverage of Round 2 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, listen at PGATOUR.COM. SHOT OF THE DAY

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NOTE: If you play PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO, the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship begins on Friday. For my recommendations among notables in the field, scroll to the bottom of the page. With only the BMW Championship and TOUR Championship remaining in 2016-17, it would probably be easier to conduct a Q&A session to review your possibilities. Of course, you know I’m happy to do just that in the thread below, on Twitter (public or private) and via email (to [email protected]), but that’s the irony of the season. You need less advice and direction as your league championship hangs in the balance for you’ve likely whittled your choices accordingly. Still, simple reminders never hurt. For starters, make sure you have at least one guy available to burn at the TOUR Championship. The current points structure took hold in 2015 when points distributed in the Playoffs were reduced by 20 percent, but all of the top 21 in the FedExCup standings entering the BMW Championship advanced in all of the first 10 editions of the Playoffs. It’s not a guarantee for the top 21, mind you, but you need to draw the line somewhere to establish a plan. Reviewing the golfers in Future Possibilities below beside whom the TOUR Championship appears, only Jordan Spieth (1), Dustin Johnson (3), Paul Casey (8) and Justin Rose (17) are currently inside the top 21 in points. Conveniently, each has a terrific record at East Lake. Of course, if any are still available to you because you’ve mapped it out that way, then you already knew this, but anxiety still must be replaced by execution to pay it off. Others worthy of a look next week include Daniel Berger (11) and Kevin Kisner (14) for the sole reason that both will be putting on Bermudagrass. Once you’ve worked backward and selected your charge for the finale, the BMW presents like any other tournament. Both previous champions at Conway Farms don’t line up as favorably as we would have hoped. Zach Johnson (2013) and Jason Day (2015) are worthy finds in mid-September, but it’s likely that your opposition in pursuit will be on board more than front-runners. Both are in that rare positions as contrarians given all of the current variables. I shifted Day from this event to THE NORTHERN TRUST because I didn’t want him on the bubble at the BMW. It may prove to be the turning point of my season as he yielded a T6 at Glen Oaks but now sits 28th in points, while it also opened the door to slide Justin Thomas into place at Conway Farms. Thomas is fresh off victory at the Dell Technologies Championship. He won the PGA Championship and placed T6 at THE NORTHERN TRUST before that. While One & Doners often prefer not to choose the winner of the previous tournament, if you’re going to buck tradition, you want to do it during the Playoffs when there’s precedent for momentum. There have been five occurrences of a golfer winning consecutive tournaments in Playoffs history. Billy Horschel was the last in 2014. If you’re also chasing, it could be worth ignoring my advice of holstering Spieth, DJ and Casey in favor of a burning any of the three right now. (Rose would be your guy at East Lake.) Not unlike the ninth frame in bowling, your game can be determined in your penultimate performance. Positioning won’t mean anything unless you convert and put a mark on the board now. Two-man gamers who can still build a threatening lineup deserve the annual golf clap. Depending on your flexibility, you’re likely forced into reserving at least one of your spots for a long shot to advance. Snagging one from the likes of Patrick Cantlay (41), Charl Schwartzel (43), Chez Reavie (46), Keegan Bradley (48), Jamie Lovemark (58), Rafa Cabrera Bello (60) and Bud Cauley (68) would be timely. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2016-17. All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … BMW Paul Casey … TOUR Championship Jason Day … BMW; TOUR Championship Jason Dufner … TOUR Championship Rickie Fowler … BMW Sergio Garcia … TOUR Championship Billy Horschel … TOUR Championship Dustin Johnson … BMW (defending on a different course); TOUR Championship Zach Johnson … BMW; TOUR Championship Hideki Matsuyama … BMW Rory McIlroy … BMW; TOUR Championship (defending) Ryan Moore … TOUR Championship Justin Rose … TOUR Championship Charl Schwartzel … BMW Jordan Spieth … TOUR Championship Henrik Stenson … TOUR Championship Gary Woodland … TOUR Championship CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE NOTABLES Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship After its debut in 2016, Bear Mountain Resort’s Mountain Course in Victoria, British Columbia, is hosting again. It’s a par 71 with four par 5s (three on the inward side) and five par 3s, and it tips at 6,881 yards. The total prize money is $2.5 million, highest of the three remaining events in PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO. Golfers listed alphabetically. Rob’s serious considerations in bold. Stephen Ames … Lives in Vancouver, but he finished T54 last year. T19 at the Shaw in Calgary two weeks ago was one of four straight top 20s. Tenth in earnings with seven top 10s. Marco Dawson … Sneaky but inconsistent. Two top 10s in his last four starts but they’re also his only top 20s in his last eight. Tied for seventh here last year. Scott Dunlap … Disappointed us last week with a T44 at Narita, but worth the plunge again. He connected six top 20s prior to the trip to Japan and landed a T3 at Bear Mountain last year. Joe Durant … Stumbled to a T34 in Japan, but figures to rebound despite a T28 here last year when he settled for an even-par 71 in the final round. Bob Estes … Took last week off after a T10 at the Shaw. Timely wild card no matter your position. Steve Flesch … A T15 at the JAPAN AIRLINES Championship extended his top-20 streak to eight in a row. Has nine in 11 starts since turning 50 in May. Doug Garwood … A rare inclusion here but worth your attention after a T3 at Bear Mountain last year. Nine top 25s this season, including a T22 in Japan. Sits 37th in earnings. Todd Hamilton … Was poised to deliver on the Japan connection but drifted to T9 in the finale. However, he’s connected top 10s for the first time in his PGA TOUR Champions career. Lee Janzen … Loves himself par 3s but he’s just off the radar to warrant even a flier at Bear Mountain where he finished a steady T28 last year. Jerry Kelly … Answered his breakthrough at the Boeing with a T6 at the Shaw. Top 25s in 12 of his 14 starts. A brilliant option this late if you have the means. Bernhard Langer … Given the purse, if you’ve yet to burn him, it’s time. Shared seventh place last year, albeit needing a closing 63. Four-time winner this season. No. 1 in earnings. Tom Lehman … Bear Mountain debut, but he’s been in a funk in recent starts. After nine straight top 20s, he’s gone four straight without one. Scott McCarron … Opened last year’s P2 with a 62. Thrice a winner in his last seven starts entering this week. T2 at the JAPAN AIRLINES Championship. Colin Montgomerie … No-brainer. Prevailed in a playoff over Scott McCarron at Bear Mountain last year and beat McCarron and Billy Mayfair by one for victory in Japan last week. Scott Parel … Coming on a bit in the last month with four straight top 20s. T9 in Japan last week. Closed out a T12 here last year with a 7-under, 35-29=64. Corey Pavin … Sets up well for his debut at Bear Mountain and placed T9 last week in Japan. So hit and miss, though. Best suited for front-runners. Jeff Sluman … Continues to produce. T15 in Japan marked his 12th top 25 of 2017. T3 at Bear Mountain last year. Turned 60 years of age on Monday. David Toms … His T6 at the Boeing Classic is his only top 20 since May. Scott Verplank … Poor showings in his last two starts and a T57 last year. We need more promise at this point. Duffy Waldorf … T12 here last year, but rapidly falling out of favor for a spot with only one finish better than a T20 in his last 10 starts.

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