Koepka finds stride as he seeks FedExCup triumph

Both of this week’s tournaments are treated with stand-alone columns for PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. Look for the edition for the Barracuda Championship on the FANTASY page. Also, if you play PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO, the 3M Championship begins Friday. Review the notables at the bottom of the page to assist you in determining your pick. With the conclusion of the season on the horizon, it’s that time of the year when gamers express gratitude for how my insight and analysis have assisted in success to date. You’re always welcome, but hang on for just a minute. Before we hug it out, there’s a not-so-insignificant task of actually breaking the tape. Many in pursuit of you are exactly where they expected to be entering the PGA Championship. Playing from behind can be a better mental motivator in reality because all fantasy gamers should prefer front-running, but in a One & Done, all that matters is the aggregate result. Too many of you who have reached out citing a contending position in earnings-based formats are essentially out of chalk. You’re hoping to hang on, but you know you’re gasping for air despite whatever margin you’re maintaining. Meanwhile, many of us plugged into PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO have end-weighted our master plan with powerhouses in the FedExCup Playoffs, myself included. The only problem with it is that Jason Day, who I have penciled in for the BMW Championship, isn’t guaranteed to get to Conway Farms. At least not yet. He’s 52nd in the FedExCup standings entering the PGA Championship; the top 70 after the Dell Technologies Championship advance. And even if he does, the Aussie hasn’t been performing well enough consistently to warrant selection for contending gamers. J-Wall has already burned Rory McIlroy, who I have slotted for TPC Boston. It’s tempting to exhaust the surging 28-year-old from Northern Ireland, but since FedExCup points are basically quadrupled in the Playoffs, I’m within striking distance right now and I can wait him out unchallenged, patience is the play at the PGA. The winner at Quail Hollow will earn 600 points. Compare that to a three-way T3 in the Playoffs worth 580 and the decision is easy. However, if you use earnings, consider yourself hurtled into McIlroy. Hideki Matsuyama, who J-Wall selected, is No. 1 in my Power Rankings, but McIlroy is really a 1a instead of No. 2. Both are premium picks this late. As I consider potential relief for Day, the 2015 BMW champion at Conway Farms, which also hosted in 2013, Zach Johnson (2013 champ) and Daniel Berger (2015 runner-up) are in my crosshairs. Both are still on my board and both are worthy of consideration at Quail Hollow. In fact, ZJ is No. 4 in my Power Rankings, but because Conway Farms is some 400 yards shorter, and Quail Hollow boasts Bermudagrass greens, I’m going to attempt to strike while Berger’s irons are hot. Since every gamer’s situation is unique, my perfect world would involve tackling yours one-on-one as I often do on Twitter, email and in discussion threads, but we settle for broad-stroke endorsements at worst. This is to say that if any of these additional options are still available to you in either method of measuring performance, give him a long look for the PGA: Paul Casey, Kevin Chappell, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Charley Hoffman, Brooks Koepka, Charl Schwartzel, Adam Scott, Webb Simpson, Henrik Stenson. Non-members aren’t eligible for the Playoffs, so this is probably your last opportunity to use Thomas Pieters, who is No. 6 in the Power Rankings. If you’re currently contending, here are the guys I’d advise holstering for usage in the Playoffs: Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Jordan Spieth. I’ve omitted advice for two-man gamers the last two weeks because of the depth of the fields at Firestone at Quail Hollow, but that subsection will return for next week’s Wyndham Championship. 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 Keegan Bradley … Dell Technologies Paul Casey … TOUR Championship Kevin Chappell … Dell Technologies Jason Day … PGA Championship; Dell Technologies; BMW; TOUR Championship Luke Donald … Wyndham; BMW; TOUR Championship Jason Dufner … TOUR Championship Rickie Fowler … BMW Jim Furyk … BMW; TOUR Championship Sergio Garcia … TOUR Championship Branden Grace … PGA Championship Bill Haas … Wyndham J.B. Holmes … BMW Billy Horschel … TOUR Championship Dustin Johnson … BMW; TOUR Championship Zach Johnson … BMW; TOUR Championship Kevin Kisner … Wyndham Russell Knox … Dell Technologies Brooks Koepka … PGA Championship Hideki Matsuyama … PGA Championship; BMW Graeme McDowell … Wyndham William McGirt … Wyndham Rory McIlroy … PGA Championship; Dell Technologies (defending); BMW; TOUR Championship (defending) Phil Mickelson … PGA Championship Ryan Moore … TOUR Championship Kevin Na … Wyndham Louis Oosthuizen … Dell Technologies Patrick Reed … Wyndham; Dell Technologies Justin Rose … PGA Championship; TOUR Championship Charl Schwartzel … BMW Adam Scott … Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship Webb Simpson … Wyndham Jordan Spieth … PGA Championship; TOUR Championship Henrik Stenson … PGA Championship; Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship Jimmy Walker … PGA Championship (defending); Dell Technologies Bubba Watson … TOUR Championship Gary Woodland … PGA Championship; Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Will Gordon was frustrated with the way he finished last week in Bermuda. He had no complaints about his start Thursday at Mayakoba. Gordon ran off four straight birdies to start the back nine on the El Camaleon course and finished with a 9-under 62 to take a one-shot lead over Russell Henley in the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. Harris English took another step back in his recovery from hip surgery and was at 64, part of a group that included former Open champion Francesco Molinari. Also seeing positive signs was Masters champion Scottie Scheffler. Without the No. 1 ranking next to his name for the first time since March, Scheffler hit plenty of iron shots close and converted them into a 65. Also at 65 was two-time defending champion Viktor Hovland, who played alongside Scheffler on a balmy and occasionally breezy day in this Mexican resort. Gordon had to go back to the Korn Ferry Tour last year to regain his PGA TOUR card. He thought he was off to a reasonable start in the new season by making every cut, and then he was five shots behind going into the final round in Bermuda last week. He played the final four holes in 4-over par and tied for 35th. “I just had an up-and-down week in Bermuda,” Gordon said. “Played some really good golf for probably 68 holes and had a rough finish. So I didn’t have many expectations coming into this week. It’s just really about managing my expectations and my emotions, so I feel like I did a good job of that today.” The objective for everyone is to keep it in the mangrove-lined fairways, manage the wind and occasional bursts of showers, and take advantage of the relatively flat greens. This might be just want English needed, especially with the good vibes of having won at Mayakoba in 2013 when he was just getting started. English capped off a two-win year in 2021 by making a solid Ryder Cup debut. But then he had surgery on his hip, which had been nagging him for years. After five months away, he returned at the Memorial Tournament and it’s been slow going. “It’s definitely getting better,” English said. “I went through a lot of rehab. But your expectations for coming back are so much higher than they should be. I’m so competitive and I want to be the mix so badly. You’ve got to give yourself time to heal and time to get your game back. “But I love it here. I love the atmosphere,” he said. “I’m excited about the next few days.” Scheffler soared to No. 1 in the world when he won four times in six starts, capped off by the Masters. He lost in a playoff at the Colonial. He had a good shot at winning the FedExCup until he didn’t convert on the final hole. But his game feels a long way from April, and Scheffler is playing three out of four weeks in the fall to try to build some momentum. The biggest takeaway from Thursday was signing a card without bogeys. “Clean card is nice,” Scheffler said. “Kept the ball in play for the most part today.” The exception was No. 3, his 12th hole, when he put his tee shot into the hazard. He took a penalty drop and hit the next one to tap-in range to escape with par. There were a lot of moments like that. Scheffler had six birdies and only a few anxious moments. “Solid golf is fun. Stress free,” Scheffler said. Work remains for Morikawa, who won six times, including two majors, in his three years on TOUR. He is running out of time to get a win in 2022, and this wouldn’t appear to be the week to end that drought after four bogeys negated his four birdies. Tony Finau was headed in that direction. He took triple bogey on his second hole by twice hitting into the hazard. He bogeyed the par-5 fifth. But he turned it around with six birdies the rest of the way and salvaged a 68.

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Blimp pilot suffers burns in crash at U.S. Open

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