Leaderboard: DJ chasing WGC-Mexico win

First impressions are often memorable, even if they don’t leave you with an accurate picture. The first time he caddied for Johnny Miller, for instance, Andy Martinez stood with the bag and watched his man hit a 5-iron to a flagstick on the back right of the green. “Just a beautiful fade to 5 feet right of the flag,â€� Martinez recalls. “But he was irked. I mean, he was really irked. I’m thinking, ‘What is this guy, nuts?’ It was a practice round!â€� Martinez soon discovered that Miller was far from nuts. “Fact is, he was one of the smartest players ever,â€� said Martinez, and the reason for the dismay at being 5 feet right of the pin that day was simple. “Johnny knew he came close to short-siding himself, that he wanted to be 5 feet left of the hole.â€� It was, Martinez came to discover, a reasonable goal for Miller. “He was that phenomenal an iron player.â€� And never was that more evident than it was a long time ago in a desert far, far away. It is one of the reasons he chose this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open as the place where he would end his lengthy broadcast career. There were so many good memories in the desert, it seems fitting to add another. Desert win No. 1 Jan. 10-13, 1974: Phoenix Open 69-69-66-67—271 (13 under) Wins by one shot over Lanny Wadkins Miller arrived in Phoenix on a bit of a tear, having won the World Cup in Spain to end the 1973 season and the rain-shortened, 54-hole Bing Crosby National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach one week earlier. His hot streak seemed in jeopardy, however, because Wadkins – just as he had done the previous day to end Saturday’s third round — eagled the par-5 18th just as Miller was three-putting for bogey at the 16th down the stretch on Sunday. Now trailing by one, Miller produced some theatrics. He birdied the par-4 17th to tie, then the 18th to win. Forever famous for the 63 at Oakmont to win the ’73 U.S. Open and unforgettable for a 1976 Open Championship win in which the lads who tied for second a whopping six back were named Jack Nicklaus and Seve Ballesteros, Miller did what very few golfers have ever done: He made the game look so easy. That the ease with which he crushed the competition came in the desert, where the perception about soft courses and easy-to-putt-greens isn’t always reality, matters not an inch. Miller was phenomenal in these tournaments and his body of work in the desert – four wins in Tucson, two in Phoenix, two in Palm Springs – still resonates, the numbers hardly in need of the superfluous stats that blur so much of today’s vantage points and dull our sense of perception. Andy North could care less about such minutia because he had two great eyes, a keen golf mind, and a front-row seat that offered a clear picture. “Johnny did all that stuff back then by putting just average,â€� North says. “But he didn’t have to because he hit everything inside of 10 feet. “He was absolutely the best guy on the golf course and in the world. Jack (Nicklaus) was pretty good, but what Johnny was doing was a joke.â€� Desert win No. 2 Jan. 17-20, 1974: Dean Martin Tucson Open 62-71-71-68—272 (16 under) Wins by three shots over Ben Crenshaw It had the makings of a brilliant shoot-out between two of the game’s brightest stars, only the 22-year-old Crenshaw couldn’t quite keep pace. “Every time I’d make a birdie, he’d make a birdie,â€� said Crenshaw, who started the final round two behind, shot 69 and lost a stroke to the 26-year-old Miller. “I never had to fight back,â€� said Miller, who made birdie putts of 40 feet on No. 10, 20 feet on No. 12 and 20 feet on No. 13 to thwart Crenshaw. The joke was on the competition and the punch line was this: In winning those eight tournaments in the desert, Miller was under par in 31 of his 34 rounds, in the 60s 27 times, over par just once, and a cumulative 144 under par. Most impressively, his average margin of victory was a whopping 4.75 strokes, with six of the eight wins by three or more. His scoring average was a tidy 67.3 But these were not days of just merely dipping his toes into the 60s; no, Miller had to play with Lloyd Bridges’ snorkel gear he went so deep – twice in that torrid stretch of wins, he shot 61, once 62, once 63, three times 64, once 65, and four times he signed for 66. Oh, and there was this: From the third round in Phoenix in 1974 to the second round in Palm Springs in 1975, Miller was at least a co-leader for 16 consecutive rounds across five tournaments. And this, too: He did it in crunch time, the worst closing-round score in those eight wins being a 68. There was a 61 to finish in Tucson in 1975, a 63 to seal the deal in Palm Springs in 1976, a 64 to nail down a Phoenix win in 1975, and a 65 to win in Tucson in ’81. His scoring average on Sunday for those eight desert wins: 65.5. Desert win No. 3 Jan. 9-12, 1975: Phoenix Open 67-61-68-64—260 (24 under) Wins by 14 shots over Jerry Heard If there were fears of complacency following his eight-win ’74 campaign, they were dashed when Miller touched desert sand to kick off his ’75 season and met a large contingent of golf writers. “I just always felt really good at the beginning of the year. The beginning of the year were big tournaments and a lot of attention was on them. The folks back East were snowed in, so a lot of people were watching,â€� he told the media. What they saw on this week was more head-shaking dominance, Miller’s second-round 61 especially so. It moved Frank Gianelli of the Arizona Republic to write: “Johnny Miller did everything but pick up the clubhouse deed staking claim to Phoenix Country Club.â€� Leading by six, Miller bumped the lead to seven with a third-round 68, then buried the field with a closing 64, an overpowering wire-to-wire performance. Why the ability to go deep on Sunday, to make birdie, then turn to Martinez and ask: “Now, what do I do?â€� Martinez suggests “it was almost like he didn’t think any lead was big enough.â€� Miller agrees. “I didn’t like it to be close because my putting was unreliable. So, I would keep knocking the flag out of the hole. I got a kick out of playing the last five or six holes knowing it was over.â€� In other words, swagger, style and substance dominated the PGA TOUR scene with a cool and confident aura 40 years before someone reinvented the wheel and said, “Hey, whaddayasay we call something that is cool ‘Tour Sauce?’ And we make a big deal out of trajectory – we’ll even call it ‘traj’ – and point out that some guys do club twirls.â€� Desert win No. 4 Jan. 16-19, 1975: Dean Martin Tucson Open 66-69-67-61—263 (25 under) Wins by nine shots over John Mahaffey Two weeks before he would host his annual TOUR event in Palm Springs, Bob Hope stopped into Tucson to play in the pro-am and got the levity going when he told reporters, “I’m thrilled to be here for the Johnny Miller Benefit.â€� Unlikely that competitors laughed. “I didn’t come here to finish second,â€� said John Mahaffey, who hit all 36 greens in regulation for the first two days – and still trailed Miller by one. “He’s only human. I have to believe he can be beaten.â€� Not at this moment in history. Miller scorched Tucson National for 67-61 on the weekend to leave Mahaffey second, a robust nine back. Back-to-back wins, a cumulative 49 under to win by a total of 23 strokes. If it appeared easy for Miller, consider how brutally hard it was for those playing next to him. “I remember playing Phoenix Country Club (where Miller won in ’74 and ’75), such a terrific golf course, but it was tight, like a bowling alley,â€� Mahaffey says. “You’d hit long irons, trying to keep it in play, maybe set up a wedge. But Johnny would just take out driver. He was so confident and such a marvelous driver. It was uncanny. “I can only imagine it was what it must have been like playing with Byron Nelson. I mean, Johnny just didn’t miss fairways or greens. He was a machine.â€� One frozen rope after another. One birdie piled atop another. No laser guns. No yardage books. No pin sheets. No green-reading books. “Just an incredible set of eyes and tremendous feel and trust in himself,â€� Martinez says. And a strut. Good gracious how the strut, the confident stride, his neck craned and long blonde hair waving in the wind seconds after contact, screamed out, “Well, there’s another solid shot. I’ve done it again.â€� “Oh, he did have a swagger. He did,â€� laughs Mahaffey — and Martinez echoes that. “He had the classic ‘Reverse C,’ the fancy pants, the long hair, a good slash at the ball … he had it all going,â€� his caddie recalls, still impressed. Desert win No. 5 Feb. 5-9, 1975: Bob Hope Desert Classic 64-69-72-66-68—339 (21 under) Wins by three shots over Bob Murphy A sense of shock enveloped the PGA TOUR when in Round 3 at La Quinta, Miller shot 72. For 16 consecutive rounds of desert golf, dating back to Phoenix of ’74, he had at least shared the lead; now, he was tied for second, a whole shot behind Don Bies. Sixty-six strokes later, Miller was back in the lead to stay, three ahead of Jerry Heard, who might epitomize what it was like for the competition in these days. In the seven desert tournaments won by Miller in 1974-76, Heard finished top 10 four times. This week, he challenged late into Round 4 and knocked his approach to 7 feet at the 13th. Only Miller silenced his charge by making his 30-footer for birdie. “The rest of us look inferior compared to Miller,â€� Heard, who would finish third, told reporters. “I’m getting a little tired of it.â€� Three straight wins on this desert swing, a 66.3 scoring average for 13 rounds in which he was a cumulative 70 under par. A whole generation, maybe two, associates Miller with his television work with NBC. Fitting, a desert stop, eh? But understand this: Miller’s refreshing “tell it like it isâ€� style isn’t a TV thing; it was as much a part of his playing days as sansabelt and hatless. “I was never one to hit it that good on the range,â€� says Miller, looking back. “But in 1975, one day I was on the range and every shot was great. I said, ‘What’s going on here?’ I was feeling my oats and back then I’d average about 17 greens a day. I mean, it was easy. I’d go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning with absolutely zero nervousness. I was stress-free and this was part of my three years of good putting.â€� His confidence came through with his comments. Like when he won in Phoenix by 14 and said, “I’m winning so easy now that it’s ridiculous.â€� Or when he arrived at the Hope in 1976 and told reporters, “I’m not saying I will win, but I am saying I’ll be surprised if I don’t.â€� (He closed with 63 and won by three.) Mahaffey says he was never bothered. “Johnny had a whole lot of confidence, but he was never arrogant. He was oblivious and so focused.â€� Likewise, North says he wasn’t offended by things Miller said, nor should competitors have been. Why? “Because he was 100 percent correct,â€� he adds. “When he was in that mode, it was sayonara. It didn’t matter what you shot; he shot lower.â€� Desert win No. 6 Jan. 8-11, 1976: NBC Tucson Open 70-69-67-68—274 (14 under) Wins by three shots over Howard Twitty Before jumping into action for a possible third straight win at Tucson National, Miller was asked about the fourth-round 61 that earned him the ’75 win. “I’ll probably never play like that again,â€� Miller said with a hint of melancholy. “That’s disheartening. That was Dreamsville.â€� If it sounded as if he had lost his competitive fire, think again. Tied for 16th after Round 1 and tied for seventh after Round 2, Miller on Saturday slammed home a 30-footer for birdie at the 18th hole to get within one of leader Tom Weiskopf. Yes, he had a brighter bounce in his step. With a closing 68, he ran straight to another win, much to the chagrin of a heckler who could be heard yelling, “Go home, Mormonâ€� as Miller played the 17th. Rather than confront the guy, Miller tossed him a golf ball. “A perfect throw,â€� he said. “There was nothing the guy could say. I just killed him with kindness.â€� So many of the storylines painted a solitary picture of Miller, a guy who practiced hard, played elite golf, then disappeared into his quiet, respectful family-centered way of life. “He’s an incurable homebody,â€� Bob Hurt wrote in the Arizona Republic in 1981. Yet for as accurate a view as that is, Miller enjoyed being in great company. Study his career and you realize he won tournaments hosted by Hope, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, Glen Campbell, Jackie Gleason and Joe Garagiola. It was not a coincidence. “There was something about that relaxed atmosphere that I liked,â€� says Miller, who considered Hope a good friend, played some of his best golf alongside Martin, and won a one-day pro-am with Jack Lemmon the week of his ’75 triumph at the Bob Hope Desert Classic. On his way home from that win in Palm Springs, he stopped to be with Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show.â€� Aloof? Perhaps. But he was a man in demand and while he was very comfortable with the biggest of personalities, Miller never sought out the spotlight for the benevolent side that might define him more than his golf championships. “Miller has compassion. He cares for people,â€� wrote Hurt. “He will arrive early for the Phoenix Open later this month to conduct a junior clinic. He keeps gong back to his alma mater, Brigham Young, to help with recruiting or fund drives.â€� Desert win No. 7 Feb. 4-8, 1976: Bob Hope Desert Classic 71-69-73-68-63—344 (16 under) Wins by three shots over Rik Massengale It wasn’t just the pairing with Jack Nicklaus in Round 2, with Evel Knievel and Lawrence Welk as pro-am partners. It was the leaderboards that made this a star-filled week. Arnold Palmer was two off the 36-hole lead, and when Round 3 ended, Nicklaus and Billy Casper were just one behind the leader, Bud Allin, and Miller was at 213, tied for seventh, but just three back. A pall fell over the tournament when Palmer withdraw following Round 3 when he heard his father, Deacon, had died while playing golf at Bay Hill in Orlando, Florida. Shock arrived, too, when Miller needed 19 putts for his first nine holes Saturday to fall down the leaderboard. Then he played his final 27 holes in 13-under to close the deal and while the window-dressing stuff was impressive – it was Miller’s 17th PGA TOUR win; his seventh triumph in his last nine starts in the Tucson-Phoenix-Palm Springs swing; he became the youngest player to earn $1 million in career money – the 28-year-old put up the stop sign to a reporter’s suggestion of supreme greatness. “I don’t want to be compared to Jack (Nicklaus),â€� he said. What happened? Miller faced the question a thousand times in those years when the game wasn’t so easy, when the wins stopped piling up. He went winless in 1977, ’78, ’79, and by 1981 Miller had played 10 times in Tucson, Phoenix and Palm Springs without a finish inside the top 25. Miller heard all the theories – that he was complacent and couldn’t practice because of tendinitis in the wrist, that he had put on weight and had to swing differently, that it was simply a lack of passion – but Hurt, in his Arizona Republic column before Tucson in 1981, suggested this: “Many golfers have self-destructed by forgetting family and chasing after women, but in Miller, we have a guy who slumped quite probably because he cared so much for his family.â€� That probably had the most to do with it, but Miller, in his inimitable manner, offered reporters his take: “To tell the truth, I got bored. I scaled Mt. Everest. So, what do I do? Scale it again?â€� Desert win No. 8 Jan. 8-11, 1981: Joe Garagiola Tucson Open 66-64-70-65—265 (15 under) Wins by two shots over Lon Hinkle Some second-round magic rekindled fond memories of his desert domination, but Miller lost the lead Saturday and fell two behind Don Halldorson. But the back-and-forth Sunday battle was with Lon Hinkle, one group ahead on a cool, wet day at Randolph Park. Tied with Miller, Hinkle stood over a 20-foot birdie try at the 18th and thought he had a putt to win. He jammed it 5 feet by, then missed the comebacker and thought he had lost the tournament right there. Unbeknownst to him, Miller back on the 17th had indeed scaled great heights once again. His fifth and final birdie in a bogey-free round provided yet another win. It was his sixth in Arizona – the most of any TOUR golfer until Phil Mickelson tied him six years ago at TPC Scottsdale. Martinez remembers that birdie at Randolph Park much as he does that 5-iron shot Miller had played into a par-3 during their first practice round years earlier. That is, with unfiltered fondness, for both shots spoke to the genius of Miller and the relationship caddie and player enjoyed. “It was a three-tier green and the pin was on the last tier,â€� recalls Martinez. “We had 140, but it was cool, and I liked a little 7-iron with those balata balls. With 8-iron, he would have had to have really gone at it.â€� Miller listened to Martinez and deferred to his good friend. “He asserted himself and as soon as I changed clubs, I knew he was right,â€� says Miller, who stuffed a low draw to 3 feet. “Johnny always wanted to feel like he had enough club in his hands,â€� explains Martinez. “He didn’t want to come up short.â€� Martinez laughed, because he knows Miller hardly ever was anywhere but right on the flagstick – never short, rarely long – especially during those days of desert dominance. Just an utterly brilliant stretch of golf. “I don’t think I’ll ever see anything like that again,â€� says Martinez. The beginning of the year were big tournaments and a lot of attention was on them. The folks back East were snowed in, so a lot of people were watching. 

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Round 2 of the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational gets underway Friday from TPC Southwind. The stacked field includes Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Phil Mickelson. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-5 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday 12 p.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE*: Thursday-Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. (Featured Groups), 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). FEATURED GROUPS Dustin Johnson/Bryson DeChambeau/Cameron Smith (Tee times) Brooks Koepka/Jordan Spieth/Rory McIlroy (Tee times) Collin Morikawa/Harris English/Hideki Matsuyama (Tee times) Xander Schauffele/Justin Thomas/Justin Rose (Tee times) MUST READS English leads by two after Round 1 Leishman cards 65 after emotional reunion with parents How Harris English’s old swing led to a new victory CALL OF THE DAY

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Welcome to PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live! This is the PGA TOUR’s first offering of an interactive game using live odds, which are powered by PointsBet. It’s a weekly contest developed by Low6 and it’s free to play on desktop and mobile devices. RELATED: FAQs for PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live! Fittingly, its launch aligns with The Genesis Invitational. The annual stop at The Riviera Country Club hosts a smashing field of 120. What you’re reading now is the first edition of Pick ‘Em Preview, the weekly space dedicated to tournaments that PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live will be presenting. Our resident fantasy writers, Rob Bolton and Mike Glasscott, have been collaborating on various projects for many years, so we hope that you enjoy their analysis, insight, opinion, and banter as much as they do. Before you go on though be sure to sign up at https://pickemlive.pgatour.com/ and join the free fun! Not sure who to pick where? Never fear, our gurus are here! After having reviewed the board at PointsBet, Rob and Glass are sharing their opening selections for the weeklong component and for the first round. With this debut, they’ve dug into some of the strategic components of the gameplay. As we navigate PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live for ourselves, we will present more perspective, tips and other helpful hints from the experience. A cash prize bounty of $5,000 is on offer ever tournament for the top five scorers. $2,500 for first place, $1,000 for second, $750 for third, $500 for fourth and $250 for fifth. You cannot lose points at any time, so there’s no reason to abstain from any pick. And with three weeklong wagers hovering over 12 props for which progressive multipliers of 25, 50, 75 and 100 drive the action, you’re never out of the hunt. Odds for weeklong outrights will change in real time, and quite often in your favor. So, if you’re locked in at, say, +1200, and he moves to +2000, and you still want him as your choice, cancel and reselect at more favorable pricing. Just like that. Enjoy! WEEKLONG Outright Rob … Francesco Molinari (+15000) Unless you’re the punter who’d rather set and forget, à la Glass turning to shorter odds below, reaching for a longshot before R1 is the way to go in PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live. The experience and phenomenon of monitoring odds changing in real time is fascinating for me as someone who has never played in this space. With the power to modify the investment at any time, and with the insurance that I still can select the winner just before he is determined, consider making it a weekly routine to start outside the box. Thing is, despite what the board says, Molinari really isn’t a longshot on a course where he is a member. His value is long in part because of his form, but also because of the depth of the kind of field over which he hasn’t prevailed in recent memory – his and ours. Glass … Xander Schauffele (+2200) Uh, Rob, how many times has Webb Simpson won at Quail Hollow? How about Ryan Palmer at Colonial? I’ll hang up and listen to your answer. Meanwhile, it’s hard to turn down a number on Schauffele after he led the field last week in Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green for a T3. SoCal player has never missed the cut here in four tries and won’t have to figure out Poa. Max Homa won on his fifth try last year. Top 10 Rob … Francesco Molinari (+1000) There are a few ways you can go with this and your top-20 prop. First and foremost, unlike the outright, the lines for top 10 and top 20 will freeze during live action. You will be unable to modify either selection until play concludes every day. That could be challenging depending on where you are and your lifestyle because there isn’t a set period of time after any round when the window will reopen. As for the strategy, when an outright is as long as Molinari is at Riviera, and there aren’t any others valued more favorably (in your opinion) for a top 10, then you might as well double dip. Although my outright and top 10 match in the tournament for which PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em launches, it’s unlikely to happen again for a while. Regardless, with the promise to have the power to change picks in between rounds, ignoring the chalk for a longshot makes sense early. Once again, however, Glass has other ideas, but I’m used to that. It’s what makes his world go round. Glass … Matthew Fitzpatrick (+360) Value smacks me right in the forehead, so I’ll take it! The Englishman has stacked back-to-back top 10s at Pebble and Scottsdale in his first two TOUR events of 2022. Posted par or better in seven of eight career rounds here with T5 the highlight last year. Top 20 Glass … James Hahn (+650) Let’s gamble. I write Horses for Courses, so let’s get #OnBrand. I get that he’s ICE COLD right now but the 2015 champ hasn’t finished worse than T15 here the last three years. Remember, you can change all of your weeklong picks throughout the week, so riding a longshot isn’t the worst strategy in the business! Rob … C.T. Pan (+850) Gee, partner. Thanks for the advice! I’ll have to remember that. Molinari checks in at +425 here but Pan at twice the payoff is totally worth the early nod. He finished T20 here last year (in his fourth start) and he’s peppered leaderboards at times with top 20s. That’s all well and good, but the 30-year-old always has presented as a go-to on tough tracks. No, it’s not a sure thing, nothing is, but he does some of his best work when par is a good score. Pan isn’t quite at the class-is-permanent level, but he can see it from where he operates. The sequence of variables at Riviera are aligned to prove it. ROUND 1 Leader Glass … Patrick Cantlay (+2500) Saddle up, folks! Ready? Last four first rounds here: 67-68-68-66. Also, a bit hot in ALL FACETS of his game, no? Rob … Luke List (+6000) In full disclosure, either I’m missing something or I don’t have a mechanism for blind confidence. Connecting for the first-round leader, or the leader of any round, is akin to playing the lottery. Sure, you can kind of rule out a percentage of possibilities, but this is just an educated dart. For me, I’ve always espoused steering toward the draw with the better weather and/or wind. When it’s balanced and neutral as it will be throughout Thursday in Pacific Palisades, California, I default to the morning wave, and I’m hardly alone. Softer conditions from overnight moisture that settles and pure greens allow for better scoring. It’s that simple. Cantlay is perched atop my Power Rankings, but he goes out at 12:21 p.m. PT in the opening round. Pass. List tees off at 7:46 a.m., and he starts on the par-5 first hole with that elevated box beside the clubhouse. It’s been the easiest hole on Riviera for forever and it’s among the easiest par 5s on the PGA TOUR annually. He just captured his first TOUR title at Torrey Pines and he’s been among the best performers all season. So, give me the bomber to circle a birdie or even an eagle to ignite his day and keep that rally rolling. Make the Cut Rob … Francesco Molinari (-188) How do you say, “Duh,” in Italian? Not only is he already my outright, but his odds are the longest of the offerings. It’s almost an insult at this point. It’s important to note that, unlike the weeklong props, you will not be able to change this pick after the R1 deadline, but you won’t see an outcome on your home page until the 36-hole cut falls. Glass … Cameron Tringale (-277) Again, sniffing around for some value. I’ll ride his nine paydays from 10 starts at The Riv. Of them, seven are T30 or better, so you might shoehorn him in somewhere else if you need! Oh, and he’s on the “every” this week of his “every other week” streak of big finishes. Matchup Glass … Joaquin Niemann over Robert Streb and Adam Long. Opened his season T6 on Poa at Torrey before jetting off to Saudi Arabia for another top 10 (T8). Dialed in and easily the class of this 3 ball as Long is 0-3 and Streb is 0-7 here. Rob … Talor Gooch over Erik van Rooyen and Chez Reavie It’d be logical to double down on my FRL, Luke List, but the angle here isn’t the same. It’s relative to the group and the potential influence of its dynamics, but I do like the opportunity to take advantage of the vacuum of the morning conditions. I also like putting points on the board early for psychological reasons. With a multiplier of only 25 in R1, it’s not worth reaching. Can’t win the thing on Thursday! Moreover, of the first six wagers we make, this is the easiest to convert, so go ahead and drive to the hoop for the layup. Gooch, who goes off the par-4 10th at 7:13 a.m. PT, is having himself a season. In addition to his breakthrough victory at Sea Island, he’s second on TOUR in both red numbers (34) and sub-70s (30). In three appearances at Riviera, he’s finished a respective T20, T10 and T12 with a scoring average of 69.75. EVR is 0-for-1 with an average of 72.50 in his two rounds. Stallings exploded for a T4 in 2018, but it’s his only top 40 among three paydays in six trips. His scoring average in 30 rounds is 72.37. LATER ROUNDS Don’t forget, if you want to get the maximum chance at points, you’ll need to return prior to rounds 2, 3 and 4 to pick from three categories each round! There will be some variance between tournaments but the choices will come from the markets PointsBet provides. It’s likely most second rounds will see you picking two separate 3-ball results and which player will lead at the halfway mark. Start thinking about which players grind to make cuts, or who is prone to producing rebound rounds. It might be prudent to also think about those who may be mentally moving on to the following week a little early. Round 3 is slated to provide you with six match ups (2 or 3-Balls depending on tournament), from which you’ll have to make three selections. Who are the moving day masters? The final round, which carries the 100-point multiplier, will have you select three matchups from the final six groups of the tournament. As you watch those key players down the stretch remember you can change your weeklong outright winner if your choice has faded! How long will you keep the faith before jumping ship? Will a late change be enough to finish in the cash? If not, well you live to fight another week as we all go back to zero to kick off the next tournament! We hope you enjoy the ride as much as we intend to. Good luck!

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