Justin Thomas grabs share of lead at CJ Cup

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If you’re new to PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live and wondered if you need to be invested in the winner of the tournament to cash as a top-five finisher, nope! At last week’s Travelers Championship, the only gamer in the prize money who connected with champion Xander Schauffele was the previously inaccurately named Didiwinyet. However, only 18 of that entry’s 6,294 coins were as a result of the victory because it didn’t snare Schauffele until he was at (-555). The highest finisher with Schauffele at plus-odds was Ggrich1951 in ninth place. It had Schauffele at +2200, but was worth just under 60 percent of its total of 3,702. The lesson is that, when a favorite wins, prizewinners likely will have hauled in their coins in the bets for Top 10s, Top 20s and round leaders. Ties in 2-balls also are valuable. As Rob has illustrated over time, there’s virtually no reason in not picking ties when available. You’d have to finish inside the top five for a winner of a 2- or 3-ball to make a difference, but first you need to be inside the top five. One hurdle before the other. Placing fifth just once is infinitely more lucrative than finishing sixth every week (unless, of course, when payouts are extended, as they were in the last two majors). Last week’s fifth-place finisher, Girazi, rode the rail with Michael Thorbjornsen in all three weeklong bets. Sure enough, the amateur finished fourth and yielded 4,000 coins for the Top 10 and 1,200 coins for the Top 20. The aggregate 5,200 comprised all of Girazi’s coins for $250. It that’s your kind of action, this week’s John Deere Classic is for you. As Glass and Rob demonstrate below, ownership dispersion will be vast, and rightly so. It’s wide-open. Exploit it. 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 Glass … Scott Brown (+12500) The value on the board this week is interesting and perhaps even non-existent. It happens. The beauty of this game is the ability to shift, zag or zig on the fly, so let’s use this to our advantage. Brown’s worst payday here is T27 from seven weekends (nine starts), so the course angle is covered. T10 last week on the Korn Ferry Tour suggests he’s showing enough form. If not, we’ll move on. A shootout leaves more doors open to start big and work back as needed! Rob … Martin Laird (+6000) Hear me out here. Because I’m not in love with any of the longshots, I believe that the winner will open shorter than +10000. Of that subset, if Laird opens strong, his odds won’t be as favorable as they are pre-tournament, obviously, so the idea is to buy high on a former PGA TOUR winner with experience at TPC Deere Run. Shootouts demands accuracy on approach. It’s a strength he’s wielded throughout his career. His weakness is the putter, but – BUT! – as noted in my Power Rankings, it’s one of the easiest to avoid three-putting, and – AND! – he’s one of the best scramblers, so what bothers him most is given a week off. TOP 10 Glass … Chesson Hadley (+1000) If we’re gonna play with fire, let’s get that fuse lit! Hadley opened with 63 here last year and rolls in with a solo fifth last week. HEY, IT’S SOMETHING. The fireworks on the weekend stateside should wake you up early enough to adjust either Saturday or Sunday morning. Rob … Scott Brown (+1300) Don’t know why Glass didn’t double down on Brown given that his odds are longer than Hadley’s, but it’s not the first, second or 39th time that Glass has made a decision that’s baffled me. So what? I’m reaching here because the odds are shorter than the board for the outrights, of course. Let’s play Home Run Derby. TOP 20 Glass … Austin Cook (+800) OK, let’s gamble! Panning for gold to find a number here, but I’m trying to connect a couple of dots and catch a big fish. Cook posted 64 in Round 2 in Canada and 65 at TPC River Highlands last week so there’s something brewing until there isn’t. His last top 10 was P2 at TPC Summerlin. Those who have done the business there have shown fleeting success in the Quad Cities. Please keep all arms and legs inside the ride at all times! Rob … John Huh (+210) I’ve let Glass lead off in each bet because he’s mopped the floor with me for about a month. He’s earned the honor. However, unless he pivots at the midpoint, if necessary, he could be stuck with Cook. This bet hasn’t been open for me as late as 2:15 a.m. West Coast Time in recent weeks. I have no problem limping to the window with Huh at this value. Top 20s are hard but he’s hung up two in his last three starts. The other resulted in a T25. That’s good enough for me from a guy in form who shreds it tee to green. ROUND 1 LEADER Rob … Martin Laird (+8000) Since the finishing holes of both nines at TPC Deere Run are long, challenging par 4s, I like a guy who starts on the par-5 10th and cycles through all three par 5s in his first 11 holes. It eases him into the round and presents the opportunity to generate momentum. The flip trip is a heavier lift in the context of the flow. It’s a coincidence that Laird is my outright. Even if he wasn’t, he’d be this pick. He opened with 63 at TPC River Highlands last week and he averaged 68.375 with all red numbers across all four rounds of the last two editions of the JDC. He goes off No. 10 at 7:40 a.m. Coincidentally, one of his playing partners is my old FRL nemesis, Patton Kizzire. This is to say that I’m expecting to revise my selection sometime midday on Thursday. Glass … Scott Stallings (+5000) Played his final 54 holes at the Travelers Championship 64-68-63 in red-hot form, so I’m going to pay money and take my chances that it continues. He’s off on No. 10 at 7:07 a.m. (local), so if he isn’t a morning person, I’ll find a replacement as the day moves along. If you prefer a guy who opened with 62 and closed with 64 last week, J.T. Poston is off at 7:27 a.m. (local). 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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In a season devoid of a traditional rookie class, it's predictable that there will be lulls in attention for golfers who could crash the conversation for the potential to trigger voting for an Arnold Palmer Award winner. In fact, that Will Zalatoris already has achieved Special Temporary Membership is a bonus. Alas, there's no news out of The RSM Classic. The only non-member who made the cut was Bernd Wiesberger, and he finished T4, but the 35-year-old Austrian exhausted his rookie eligibility with 11 starts during the 2014-15 season. Only four others in the field of 156 at Sea Island still have rookie eligibility, but Michael Hebert now is a career 0-for-4 on the PGA TOUR, Brandon Crick is 0-for-2, PGA Georgia Section representative Anthony Cordes was making his TOUR debut, and Davis Thompson is an amateur. Of that smattering, the only golfer who presents as a strong possibility to contend for ROY at some point is Thompson, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Georgia. He was No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking at the start of the week of the RSM. In the latest update of the WAGR (in which Thompson slots second), Andy Ogletree rose to a career-best fourth. It's also where he finished his amateur days since he turned professional after finishing T34 at the Masters. Only professionals collect the equivalent of FedExCup points, so hejoins the play-for-pay ranks with zero. Elsewhere, Takumi Kanaya outlasted Tomohiro Ishizaka in a playoff to determine the winner of the Dunlop Phoenix in southern Japan. After trading a par and two birdies on the par-5 18th hole, Kanaya's birdie on the fourth time through secured the title. It was Kanaya's third start since turning professional, but it's already his second victory on the Japan Golf Tour. He's now 126th in the Official World Golf Ranking. Remarkably, both Kanaya and Ishizaka still are college students. Rafael Campos (only 2020-21 PGA TOUR rookie) Starts = 3 Cuts Made = 0 FedExCup Points = 0.000 FedExCup Rank = n/a Last Week = DNP Next = TBD ^ – The value beside Will Zalatoris reflects where he would rank among members with his total of equivalent FedExCup points. If he’s inside the top 125 at the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship, he’ll earn PGA TOUR membership in 2021-22. He can become a member this season with a victory on the PGA TOUR or with two more wins on the Korn Ferry Tour. Non-members: Through the 2020 RSM Classic * – Because the 2019-20 season was contracted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this season’s target for Special Temporary Membership is 288.035 FedExCup points. It’s what Martin Kaymer totaled en route to ranking 150th in the FedExCup during the 2018-19 season. Non-members who achieve STM receive numerous benefits, three of which are primary as it concerns opportunities to compete on the PGA TOUR: 1) Unlimited sponsor exemptions; 2) Unlimited starts; 3) Position in the Beyond 150 Reshuffle. However, a non-member who achieves STM remains ineligible for the FedExCup Playoffs unless he wins a tournament. NOTE: The Player Advisory Council and the Player Directors nominate annually a list of first-season PGA TOUR members for the PGA TOUR members for the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year. A player's rookie season ("Rookie Year") is defined as the season in which he becomes a PGA TOUR member (including Special Temporary Members) and plays in 10 or more events as a member or finishes in the Top 125 on the official FedExCup points list or qualifies as a Top 125 non-member, whichever occurs first. Further, for purposes of this definition, a new member (including Special Temporary Members) shall not be eligible to be a rookie if he has previously played in more than seven official PGA TOUR money events as a professional in any prior season. PGA TOUR members who have played in at least 15 official money tournaments vote on this award. The Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup and Olympic Games each count as one the 15. In their discretion, the Player Advisory Council and Player Directors may determine that circumstances (the potential lack of nominees due to the absence of 2020 graduating class from the Korn Ferry Tour) may not warrant the selection of an award recipient in the 2020-21 season

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