Kim takes lead after 54 holes at the Wyndham Championship

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If you’re just now easing into the 2017-18 season, you may not be aware of a new feature on the FANTASY page that I’ll plug once more. After a short scroll, you’ll see “ROB BOLTON TWITTERFEED.” That’s there for many reasons, including for all gamers who don’t use Twitter and want to remain in touch with all field changes. Loyal readers are familiar with finding notable withdrawals on this page, but I cite all WDs and additions on Twitter. I don’t tweet often enough to be annoying, but I’m active enough to remind you that I’m there. It’s a workable balance for our purposes. In other news, fantasy gamers have a new, dedicated program that airs live on the PGA TOUR’s Facebook page every Tuesday. (The time is flexible, so expect promotion on social media.) I’ll be sitting in for a segment and conversation. The co-hosts will also read and discuss your hot takes. If you take part or just watch, we hope you enjoy it. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the Sony Open in Hawaii (in alphabetical order): Brian Harman Charles Howell III Kevin Kisner Marc Leishman Jordan Spieth Justin Thomas You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Daniel Berger; Jason Dufner; Tony Finau; Xander Schauffele; Ollie Schniederjans; Cameron Smith; Peter Uihlein Driving: James Hahn; Russell Henley; Ollie Schniederjans; Kyle Stanley; Gary Woodland Approach: Jason Dufner; Kevin Na; Chez Reavie; Webb Simpson; J.J. Spaun; Kyle Stanley; Peter Uihlein Short: Jason Dufner; Russell Henley; Zach Johnson; William McGirt; Chez Reavie; Xander Schauffele; Gary Woodland Power Rankings Wild Card Si Woo Kim … He was my last cut from the Power Rankings, so his spot here essentially is an extension of that. When he is on, he’s so, so good. En route to a 10th-place finish at Kapalua last week, he ranked T2 in proximity to the hole and T3 in scrambling. In his only previous trip to Waialae, he placed fourth in 2016 and led the field in strokes gained: around-the-green and ranked T5 in both scrambling and par-5 scoring. Of course, even relatively new gamers also know what comes with the hope – hurt – but it’s been nearly five months now since he’s withdrawn during a tournament. Definitely worth a spot for aggressive DFSers. Draws Xander Schauffele … All that mattered at Kapalua last week was the experience, not the result (T22). First-timers always take a back seat to returning participants on that track. He can now retool and give Waialae all it can handle. As the 2016-17 Rookie of the Year, he ranked inside the top 40 on the PGA TOUR in total driving, greens in regulation, strokes gained: putting, birdie-or-better percentage, par-4 scoring and par-5 scoring. He’s also missed only one cut since late May, and that was at the PGA Championship. Kyle Stanley … Don’t sweat last week’s 30th-place finish at Kapalua. It had been five years since his debut on that course and he finished 30th that week as well. Waialae has been more his speed what with a pair of top 25s baked into a 5-for-5 cake. It makes sense, too, given his propensity to hit fairways and greens. Currently a respective 10th and seventh in those stats. Kevin Na … For most intents and purposes, he’s exactly where we expect him to be. His baseline is as a cut-maker and box score-filler. The spikes are bonuses. That also defines his track record at Waialae where he’s 9-for-12 with three top 10s and a T20. Ollie Schniederjans … Fared nicely as a rookie at Waialae last year en route to a T27. Opened this season with a trio of top 25s. All arrows are pointed upward for the 24-year-old ranked first in total driving and 34th in birdie-or-better percentage on the PGA TOUR. James Hahn … There are many things worse than a 5-for-5 record at Waialae and five consecutive cuts made worldwide upon arrival, even though none of those results went for a top 25. Brick by brick, gang. Jerry Kelly … The 51-year-old is second in all-time earnings at Waialae, standing that easily validated the sponsor exemption he received to make his 20th consecutive appearance. His most recent of nine top 10s here was just two years ago. Gotta give him some love in DFS where he should be cheap. Brian Gay (DFS) Emiliano Grillo (DFS) Patton Kizzire (all) Satoshi Kodaira (DFS) Scott Piercy (DFS) Brian Stuard (DFS) Fades Jimmy Walker … The two-time champion at Waialae (2014, 2015) endured a physically challenging 2017 due to Lyme disease. As he continues to improve, we need to continue to give him space to stretch back into form. He made only one start in the last four months and that resulted in a missed cut at the Shriners. Bill Haas … You know the drill. He’s considerably more valuable in the long-term than to connect in any tournament, and that profile matches his experience at Waialae. In six starts, he’s landed two top 70s – both top 15s – and missed three cuts. At best, he’s a flier in DFS. Patrick Rodgers … Not unlike Haas, Rodgers is currently best suited for full-season gamers. He misses too many cuts to validate short-term ownership. Shugo Imahira … The 25-year-old finished sixth in the Order of Merit on the Japan Golf Tour in 2017 and climbed inside the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking. As he makes his debut at Waialae, just keep an eye peeled to his game. This week is a learning exercise as he continues to introduce himself to fans in the U.S. Keegan Bradley Scott Brown Harris English Fabian Gomez Returning to Competition Webb Simpson … Withdrew before his third round of The RSM Classic to be with family as his father was living his last days. Although never short on motivation and having put together numerous sound performances late in 2017, he’s now welcomed by Waialae where he’s perfect in eight previous trips, the last four of which yielded a top 20. Always make decisions with your head, but understand that he resumes his career with a higher level of support that warrants investment in all formats. Luke Donald … Not the horse for Waialae that he once was, but he’s no doubt thrilled to have the opportunity to pad his 7-for-9 record, for he withdrew just before the opening round of The RSM Classic due to chest pains for which he was hospitalized for tests for several hours. Consider him as a complement in DFS. Ryan Palmer … Making his season debut after surgery for bone spurs in his left shoulder sidelined him in early October. The winner at Waialae in 2010 added top 20s in 2015 and 2016. He has six starts on a medical extension this season to collect just shy of 30 FedExCup points and retain status. He’d convert on that objective with a two-way T28 this week, but gamers are advised to let him shed some rust before rushing him back out there. Dominic Bozzelli … Went silent after alerting followers on Twitter that an injury would prevent him from competing in the FedExCup Playoffs. He hasn’t played anywhere of note since late July. This marks his debut at the Sony Open in Hawaii, so use it for observation only as he ignites his sophomore season on the PGA TOUR. Notables WDs Robert Garrigus … After going gangbusters to keep his job late last season, he’s cooled considerably. This is who he know him to be, however, and he won’t be missed at Waialae where he hasn’t recorded a top 25 among three cuts made in six appearances. Power Rankings Recap – Sentry Tournament of Champions Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Jordan Spieth  9th 2  Justin Thomas  T22 3  Rickie Fowler  T4 4  Dustin Johnson  Win 5  Hideki Matsuyama  T4 6  Marc Leishman  T7 7  Pat Perez  T4 8  Brendan Steele  29th 9  Brian Harman  3rd 10  Jon Rahm  2nd 11  Kevin Kisner  T17 12  Daniel Berger  T11 13  Xander Schauffele  T22 14  Patrick Cantlay  T15 15  Brooks Koepka  34th Wild Card  Cameron Smith  T17 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR January 9 … Sergio Garcia (38) January 10 … Ian Poulter (42) January 11 … none January 12 … Rob Oppenheim (38) January 13 … none January 14 … David Berganio, Jr. (49); Luke List (33) January 15 … Y.E. Yang (46)

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The FedExCup Playoffs are finally here. To prepare you for all three events, we’ve compiled 5 Things to Know about each venue. This week, THE NORTHERN TRUST visits Liberty National for the fourth time. The former landfill has become one of the world’s most scenic courses, offering vistas of the New York City skyline, as well as a history of dramatic finishes. 1. ONE MAN’S TRASH Liberty National is known for its views but the site wasn’t always so scenic. The course is built on land that was once a collection of vacant warehouses sitting on contaminated land. It had been the home of a World War I ammunition dump, storage for corroded oil tanks and even an operations base for the Gambino crime family. But Paul Fireman, the former chief executive of Reebok, fell in love with the site immediately. Besides the scenery, the land had further significance for his family. It is in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, where his grandparents arrived from Russia and Australia decades before. “I absolutely loved the site,” said Fireman, who was introduced to golf while caddying as a boy. “The historical connections with the Statue of Liberty, being so close to the city, in full sightline of the Hudson River and New York Harbor. We plunged right into it. There were risks, and many people questioned the decision to take it on, but to me it was a once- in-a-lifetime opportunity to create something iconic.” It is the closest course to New York City, sitting on the shore of the Hudson River across from Lower Manhattan. It is so close to the Statue of Liberty that Sports Betting News’ Doug Ferguson wrote, “she looks as if she’s holding one of those ‘Quiet, Please’ signs.” 2. IS ANOTHER MAN’S TREASURE Tom Kite and Bob Cupp, who’d spent more than 15 years as the senior designer for Jack Nicklaus, first met in 1988 when they were both hired to redesign Baltimore Country Club’s West Course. It was the start of a fruitful partnership that collaborated on several courses, included Liberty National. Kite first heard about the site in the same year he won the U.S. Open. At a corporate outing near Washington D.C., a businessman named Rusty Bayliss showed Kite aerial photographs of the land. “I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” Kite said. “I went out and saw it. And I couldn’t wait to get to Bob and show him the site.” Building Liberty National was no easy task, however. The site had to be decontaminated before construction could begin. Plastic was put down, then covered by millions of tons of clay and fill. “The first time we showed up here, it was a nightmare,” Cupp said. “We were pretty sure any travesty known to man was (committed) on this property.” Today, the course sits 50 feet above the previous land, allowing it to offer views of the Statue of Liberty on 15 holes. All the elevation changes are manmade. “When we first saw the property, it was dead flat. There was 2 feet of elevation change,” Kite said. “It was our job to be able to see something that could take place like this before it ever happened, and we were lucky to be able to do it.” Over 14 years, the club’s construction required moving six million cubic feet of soil, bringing in 70,000 truckloads of sand, adding 5,000 trees and cost $300 million dollars. Befitting its name, the course opened July 4, 2006. 3. SLOCUM’S CINDERELLA STORY The FedExCup Playoffs’ first trip to the shadow of the Big Apple resulted in the biggest upset in FedExCup Playoffs history. Heath Slocum holed a 20-foot par putt on the final green to finish one stroke ahead of the star-studded foursome of Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington and Steve Stricker. “I don’t think anybody was expecting him to make that putt at the last,” recalled Harrington. “We were all getting our heads around going out there in a playoff, was looking forward to it. But he did the business.” Slocum barely snuck into the Playoffs, finishing 124th in the Regular Season standings to earn the second-to-last postseason berth. Woods and Stricker arrived at Liberty National as the top two players in the FedExCup standings. They missed putts of 7 and 10 feet, respectively, on the final green. Harrington had won three majors over the previous two seasons and Els was in the midst of his Hall of Fame career, as well. Slocum’s final round also included a hole-out from 161 yards for eagle on the seventh hole. By moving from 124th to third in the FedExCup standings, he made the biggest single-week move in the 15-year history of the FedExCup. 4. NATIONAL TREASURE Fireman heard the lukewarm reception that Liberty National received after its first year. “It wasn’t that bad, but it definitely had a tone,” he said. That’s why the course was drastically renovated after it hosted its first PGA TOUR event.Fireman foot the bill, paying for the changes out of his own pocket. Players found fault with the narrow fairways and small, severely sloping greens. Phil Mickelson, a Liberty National member, recommended the rough should be shorter (shocker!) to give players a better chance at a recovery shot. That’s why 15 of the holes underwent significant changes a year after Slocum’s win. Five greens were rebuilt – the 12th was redone three times — and others had the slopes significantly reduced. Changes were made to fairway contours and landings areas were widened on nearly every hole. The 18th green was moved 20 yards closer to give better views of the Statue of Liberty. There was no upset at Liberty National when it hosted THE NORTHERN TRUST a second time. Adam Scott, who won that year’s Masters, finished a shot ahead of four players, including Woods, who finished second at Liberty National for a second time. Scott moved to No. 2 in the world ranking with the win while Woods showed signs of the back problems that would plague him for years, collapsing to the ground after hitting a fairway-wood shot in the final round. Scott started the final round in 13th place and six back of the leaders. He signed for his Sunday 66 about 90 minutes before the final group finished. “I can’t believe it, to be honest,” he said. “It was a good charge but obviously I got a lot of luck the guys struggled coming in. I’ve been in their position, too. It’s hard getting it done and I was playing from a position of nothing to lose.” 5. RED, WHITE AND BLUE Liberty National has hosted a Presidents Cup and another edition of THE NORTHERN TRUST since Scott’s victory. The United States put on a record-setting performance in the 2017 Presidents Cup while Captain America, aka Patrick Reed, won at Liberty National two years ago. The U.S. came up a half-point short of clinching the Cup before the final day in 2017, taking a 14.5-3.5 lead into the Sunday singles. The U.S. went on to win 19-11. Reed won the 2019 NORTHERN TRUST by a shot over Abraham Ancer, who recently won his first title at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Harold Varner III and Jon Rahm finished third, while Scott, trying to repeat his final-round heroics at Liberty National, finished three back after a final-round 65. Reed also won THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2016. The victory made him 5 for 7 in converting 54-hole leads.

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