Lanto Griffin’s special connection with The Greenbrier

As predicted in this space a week ago, fantasy scoring exploded at the AT&T Byron Nelson because Driving is weighted in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. This was due to the absence of intermediate and primary rough at Trinity Forest. The entry, Undercover, won the tournament with a whopping 1,922 points, easily a season-high total by any gamer. Entering the week, Grodo’s 1,668 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open was atop the charts. Only four other weekly leaders eclipsed 1,600 points. Trinity Forest yielded a fairways-hit percentage of 79.50. That’s the highest since SilverRock’s 81.37 percent as a co-host of the CareerBuilder Challenge in 2011. Of the 1,386 courses measured since the statistic was first maintained in 1992, Trinity Forest’s clip ranks 21st-highest. (SilverRock’s 85.32 percent in 2010 is the record.) Don’t count on a similar output at the Fort Worth Invitational. Last year, the weekly winner amassed “only” 1,317 points. Meanwhile, we’re encroaching on that time of year that gamers covet as decorated amateurs joins the ranks of the play-for-pay contingent. For example, Joaquin Niemann cannonballed into the pool with a solo sixth at the Valero Texas Open. Next week, 2017 U.S. Amateur champion Doc Redman will turn professional for the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. As a result, he forfeits exemptions into the U.S. Open and The Open Championship. Currently 22nd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, the sophomore at Clemson will lead the Tigers into the NCAA Championship in Stillwater, Oklahoma, later this week. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the Fort Worth Invitational (in alphabetical order): Jason Dufner Zach Johnson Kevin Kisner Adam Scott Webb Simpson Jordan Spieth You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Patrick Cantlay; Bryson DeChambeau; Rickie Fowler; Chesson Hadley; Pat Perez; Jon Rahm; Justin Rose; Jimmy Walker Driving: Patrick Cantlay; Bryson DeChambeau; Rickie Fowler; Emiliano Grillo; Pat Perez; Jon Rahm; Justin Rose Approach: Bryson DeChambeau; Rickie Fowler; Emiliano Grillo; Chesson Hadley; David Hearn; Matt Kuchar; Pat Perez; Nick Watney Short: Emiliano Grillo; Chesson Hadley; Brian Harman; Matt Kuchar; Kevin Na; Justin Rose; Jimmy Walker; Nick Watney Power Rankings Wild Card Brooks Koepka … Lands here almost by default because of who he is, not because he’s a shrewd investment. He’s making his tournament debut, which automatically eliminates him as a favorite at Colonial. However, there’s reason to be hopeful after a T11 at THE PLAYERS where he ranked 10th in strokes gained: tee-to-green, eighth in proximity and second in scrambling. The Fort Worth Invitational is just his fourth start since returning from injury, so he’s also more refreshed and recharged than just about everyone else in the field. That bodes well with his title defense at the U.S. Open looming on the horizon. Draws Kevin Na … He’s as much of a moving target as any talent on the board, but with a sturdy record at Colonial (9-for-11 with three top 10s and another three top 25s) and a T6 at Trinity Forest fueling the feels, this sets up as a good time to pounce. Xander Schauffele … On a lesser scale, he’s executing with the kind of mold-breaking form with which Jon Rahm crashed onto the PGA TOUR. Schauffele’s latest example occurred at TPC Sawgrass where he pieced together four good rounds for a share of second place. That’s the kind of thing that’s not supposed to happen for debutants on that course. The rise has been remarkable, too. At this time last year, the then-PGA TOUR rookie was outside the top 335 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Today, he’s 23rd. Adam Hadwin … The 30-year-old Canuck was the last man cut from the Power Rankings. He’s in his fourth consecutive start at Colonial with a T5 (2015) and T22 (2016) already on the books. He’s properly skilled to navigate the relatively short track; in fact, his tee-to-green work is vastly improved over previous seasons. And he’s connected 17 straight paydays to share the lead on TOUR in that quantifiable measurement of confidence. Steve Stricker … Think he made a wise choice to stick with his commitment to the PGA TOUR Champions’ first major of the year? To wit, he shared runner-up honors at the Regions Tradition after opting for that event over the AT&T Byron Nelson. Now the PGA TOUR wins his appearance over the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship this week. Expect another smart decision to play out. The 2009 champ at Colonial padded a sparkling record here with a T7 last year. Emiliano Grillo (all) Charley Hoffman (all) Si Woo Kim (DFS) Pat Perez (SERVPRO) Scott Piercy (DFS) Rory Sabbatini (DFS) Kevin Streelman (DFS) Fades Aaron Wise … This is by rule times two. For one, he’s a first-timer at Colonial. The learning curve must be respected. He’s also fresh off his breakthrough victory. The predictable letdown deserves time and space. Ryan Palmer … If you polled the locals asking who they wanted to see win the Fort Worth Invitational, he’d probably garner an overwhelming majority of votes. You already know that he’s a member at Colonial, but this is his 15th consecutive appearance since his rookie season of 2004. He’s contended and even came within a whiff of victory two years ago, but he’s yet to pose for pictures wearing the plaid jacket. Alas, if it happens this year, it would be a surprise given lackluster form upon arrival. In the vacuum of last week, he set up wonderfully yet missed the cut by three shots. Louis Oosthuizen … For a major champion as consistently strong as he’s been (when healthy), he has not connected with success at Colonial. Since a personal-best T19 in 2012, he’s gone T38-WD-MC. He also missed the cut in his last two starts entering this week. Cameron Smith … In due time, he’ll be a weapon almost everywhere, but the Aussie’s profile doesn’t match up well to Colonial. Not yet, at least. The brush stroke is that he prefers to hit it long and salvage what he can around and on greens. Colonial requires finesse and course management. Trap. Brandt Snedeker … Puts to test the value of success at Colonial. He’s perfect in seven trips with a T2 (2015) and another pair of top 20s, but he arrives having missed three straight cuts. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the Snedeker Foundation is the benefactor of this week’s Nashville Golf Open on the Web.com Tour for the second straight year. So, even if he doesn’t win in Texas, his charity wins in Tennessee. Sam Burns … With potentially only two more PGA TOUR starts this season, the pressure is on to perform at Colonial where he’s making his debut. His better fit will be at next week’s Memorial where his game off the tee and putting should pay dividends. Austin Cook Bill Haas Russell Henley Martin Laird Andrew Landry William McGirt Trey Mullinax Joaquin Niemann Returning to Competition Sean O’Hair … Presents as an intriguing option given his T2 at Colonial last year but coming off a withdrawal during THE PLAYERS. He called it quits after one round. An explanation wasn’t released. The 35-year-old is worth the plunge, however. His form for most of 2018 has been solid and he knows Colonial well. Sneak him into a lineup in DFS. Grayson Murray … Walked off Trinity Forest during his second round with a sore back. The good news is that he’s ready to return this quickly. The bad news, at least relatively for our purposes, is that he’s a first-timer at Colonial. Paul Casey … Poised to compete in this week’s BMW PGA Championship. The Englishman last made headlines as a pre-tournament withdrawal from THE PLAYERS due to discomfort in his back. The following day (Wednesday, May 9), he wrote the following description of his condition on Instagram: “I’ve got sacroiliitis (inflammation of the SI joint) with a sprain of the ligament. Also muscle spasms and leg pain, possible due to the sciatic nerve getting trapped.” Given his value in every format, gamers are forced to remain patient. Notable WDs Charl Schwartzel … Broke the tape on his mad dash to qualify for the U.S. Open with a T2 at THE PLAYERS, so he can enjoy a respite. His long-term investors also have been given the freedom to exhale. Currently 61st in FedExCup points. Peter Uihlein … With a T5 at Wells Fargo, the rookie positioned himself to qualify for the U.S. Open, which he did with a T21 at Trinity Forest after which he fell only two spots to 59th in the Official World Golf Ranking. He’s already exempt into The Open Championship and will eventually gain entry into the PGA Championship. Despite his worldly experience, it’s still an impressive membership debut for the 28-year-old. For many, his season has done nothing more than fulfill the baseline of expectations, but like all PGA TOUR rookies, he’s still had to execute on several courses he’s never seen or still learning all the while juggling all of the other challenges that go with navigating this circuit. Keith Mitchell … Figuring it out quickly. Since his runner-up performance at Corales, he’s 6-for-7 with a trio of top-fix finishes. The rookie’s T3 at Trinity Forest vaulted him to 57th in the FedExCup standings. Power Rankings Recap – AT&T Byron Nelson Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Jordan Spieth  T21 2  Jimmy Walker  T6 3  Marc Leishman  2nd 4  Billy Horschel  T21 5  Matt Kuchar  MC 6  Beau Hossler  T32 7  Adam Scott  T9 8  Martin Laird  MC 9  Charles Howell III  T9 10  Ryan Palmer  MC 11  Branden Grace  T3 12  Daniel Summerhays  MC 13  Peter Uihlein  T21 14  Andrew Putnam  T42 15  Stephan Jaeger  MC Wild Card  Sergio Garcia  MC Sleepers Recap – AT&T Byron Nelson Golfer  Result Joel Dahmen  T16 Russell Knox  T16 Keith Mitchell  T3 Johnson Wagner  T32 Richy Werenski  MC Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR May 22 … Scott Brown (35); Jason Kokrak (33); Dominic Bozzelli (27) May 23 … none May 24 … Bill Haas (36) May 25 … Rafa Cabrera Bello (34); Tom Hoge (29) May 26 … none May 27 … none May 28 … Jeff Overton (35)

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – By his own admission, Rickie Fowler hasn’t played much golf. Maybe that’s a good thing. With no expectations but confident after a season that saw him win The Honda Classic among 10 top-10 finishes, Fowler cruised at El Camaleon. He made six birdies and got up and down five times in five chances to keep a clean card in his first round of the new season. “Touch and feel is a big thing coming off of—I think we’ve had roughly a month off, five weeks or so,â€� Fowler said. “So when the feel is somewhat there, it frees you up to know that you can get away with some missed shots and it allows you to swing a bit freer.â€� The highest ranked player in this week’s field (10th), Fowler hit eight of 14 fairways and 13 greens in regulation. He took 26 putts. The 28-year-old has traditionally started his season in Asia, but he skipped the TOUR’s three-week swing in Malaysia, South Korea and China. That left him looking for a place to play, and he had heard glowing reviews of Mayakoba. He hasn’t been disappointed, soaking up the sun with girlfriend Allison Stokke since Saturday. That Fowler’s game seems so well-suited for the 7,000-yard, par-71 Camaleon course has been a bonus. “I had a really fun pro-am group,â€� he said. “I think they ended up going on to win. My crew started off with a win this week, I might as well finish it for the group on Sunday. “But off to a good start. Definitely want to play well down here being my first showing at Mayakoba. Yeah, I couldn’t really ask for much more today.â€� OBSERVATIONS KIZZIRE CITES DUFNER INFLUENCE. The 6-foot-5, Auburn product Patton Kizzire drove into the bunker and bogeyed 18, but his 62 was still his career low by one. It also continued a torrid early-season run in which Kizzire tied for fourth at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and finished T10 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. One of his best results last season? A T5 with partner Jason Dufner at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. “He’s been a good mentor, a good friend,â€� Kizzire said. “He’s taken me under his wing and shown me a few things. We’ll play practice rounds together occasionally and just hang out. We’ll go to football games together and he’s a good one to pick his brain and to play with because he’s awfully confident.â€� MITCHELL SURPASSES FATHER. Keith Mitchell aced the 200-yard 10th hole with a 6-iron on his first swing of the day. It was only 8:30 a.m., and there were so few people around the green that Mitchell and playing partners Tom Hoge and Rob Oppenheim weren’t sure what had happened. “We heard a small clap,â€� said Mitchell, who went on to shoot 5-under 66. “It was pretty subdued.â€� It was his fourth hole-in-one and first since college, and he wasn’t sure where he stood relative to his dad, Jerry, who had made either three or four in his career. Mitchell, a Web.com Tour grad who missed the cut in his first three starts this season, texted his father in North Carolina and went to lunch. He later texted the PGA TOUR the verdict: “1 up.â€�  GOOSEN TURNS BACK CLOCK. Good results have been few and far between for the two-time U.S. Open winner, who was in a large group at 66 despite making bogey at the par-5 fifth hole. Goosen, 48, opened last season by missing seven straight cuts before finishing T2 at the Puerto Rico Open. He wound up 162nd in the FedExCup, and was 176th in strokes gained: putting (-.425). Thursday saw him hit eight of 14 fairways and 12 greens in regulation. He took 26 putts and looked more like the guy who has won seven times on TOUR. HAPPY NEWS FOR CHINA. Xinjun Zhang eagled the par-5 13th hole to join Goosen in the large group at 5-under 66. Zhang and Marty Dou played their way off the Web.com Tour last season to become the first players from China to earn their cards on the PGA TOUR. Now it’s just a matter of staying there. In three previous starts this season, Zhang had finished T37 at the Safeway Open, T44 at the no-cut World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai and missed the cut at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. NOTABLES GARY WOODLAND – A year after finishing second to Pat Perez at El Camaleon, Woodland was at it again, lurking after a 3-under 68 that included an eagle at the par-5 13th hole. KEVIN CHAPPELL – After a season that saw him win for the first time and make a successful Presidents Cup debut, he shot a 4-under 67. It’s been a good time for UCLA golf grads; Patrick Cantlay picked up his first win at last week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. FABIAN GOMEZ – He’s the leading Latin American player after firing a 5-under 66. KEN DUKE – Monday qualifier got off to a solid start with a 68. QUOTABLES “We got here on Saturday, but didn’t touch a club until Tuesday.â€� – Rickie Fowler (65) on how he’s been making the most of the extracurricular activities at Mayakoba. “I knew my game was in good shape.â€� – Keith Mitchell (66), who made a quintuple-bogey 9 in round one of last week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open but missed the cut by just one. SUPERLATIVES Streaks: Kizzire birdied holes 8-13, bogeyed 18, and signed for a 62. Easiest hole: The 532-yard, par-5 13th. Among the leaders, only Martin Piller (66) failed to make at least a birdie there. Xinjun Zhang (66) was one of a handful of players who eagled the hole. Shot of the day: Mitchell’s hole-in-one on his first shot of the day was the eighth in tournament history, and the second time a player has started the OHL Classic at Mayakoba with an ace. Thomas Aiken did the same thing in 2015, also on the 10th hole and also with a 6-iron. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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