Leaderboard: Quicken Loans National round 1

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Because you’re reading this, you’ve already positioned yourself ahead of your competition. See, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans is a two-man team competition and you’re selecting only one golfer, so this is either a free play for a cornerstone or a “two-and-done” version of the same game, however you’d like to think of it. For example, whatever Justin Thomas totals in FedExCup points, teammate Bud Cauley does as well. Same goes for Jordan Spieth, Kevin Kisner and Jon Rahm for teammates Ryan Palmer, Scott Brown and Wesley Bryan, respectively. Take your cue from Ben and Mark. Why burn Jason Day, who both Experts will continue to holster, when Ryan Ruffels will yield the same reward? How do I know that your competition who has not made time for this reminder will miss out. Easy. Consider that last year, partners Cauley and Thomas were started by the identical number of gamers to rank T7 in ownership percentage. Cauley is a viable talent to be sure, but Thomas won twice later in the season en route to five total victories, the FedExCup title and Player of the Year honors. After they recorded a T5 in NOLA, Cauley managed only one more top 10 the rest of the way. The non-winner was easily the better choice at TPC Louisiana. Need another? Chase Koepka’s shares at the Zurich totaled 0.2 percent while brother-teammate Brooks slotted 10th overall at 3.4 percent. They also tied for fifth. Using his top-10 exemption at the Wells Fargo Championship the following week, Chase missed the cut and has since played abroad. All Brooks did later was prevail at the U.S. Open. Just like last year, some partnerships at TPC Louisiana this week boast two headliners, both of whom will warrant selection at some point. If you’re eyeing the likes of Patrick Reed or Patrick Cantlay, Justin Rose or Henrik Stenson, and Bubba Watson or Matt Kuchar, your next step is to review Future Possibilities below for additional planning. However, the format encourages you to swerve around all. Best ball and alternate shot in stroke-play competition dances around the proverbial vagaries of matchup and momentum in match play, but the dynamics are still different when you’re not playing only for yourself. Consider that the following teams missed the cut in the inaugural edition of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last year: Stenson-Rose, Keegan Bradley-Brendan Steele, Day-Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau-Daniel Summerhays, Kevin Chappell-Gary Woodland and Daniel Berger-Thomas Pieters. Meanwhile, no matter your current rank, one potential turnoff for the finicky is that FedExCup points distributed are shared. Each member of the winning team gets “only” 400 points instead of 500 points reserved for winners of individual competitions in non-majors and -World Golf Championships. If there’s a solo runner-up duo, each guy will receive 162.5 points (instead of 300). And so on. This wrinkle is further motivation to invest in Cauley, Palmer, Brown or Bryan. Even after sifting through all of that, you’re still left with a smorgasbord of opportunity. With half the season behind us and bunches of terrific connections, ownership dispersion should be widespread. It’s a great week to bust a move. Now, about that walk-up music … 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 2017-18. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … St. Jude (1; two-time defending); Travelers (2) Kevin Chappell … St. Jude (5); WGC-Bridgestone (2); Dell Technologies (3) Jason Day … PLAYERS (13); U.S. Open (2); Canadian (11); WGC-Bridgestone (9); PGA Championship (1); THE NORTHERN TRUST (8); Dell Technologies (5) Jason Dufner … Fort Worth (2); Memorial (3; defending); U.S. Open (4); Wyndham (6); TOUR Championship (7) Tony Finau … Memorial (3); Greenbrier (2); Canadian (4) Jim Furyk … Memorial (7); U.S. Open (8); Canadian (3); WGC-Bridgestone (2); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9); TOUR Championship (4) Sergio Garcia … PLAYERS (5); Open Championship (1); TOUR Championship (4) Charley Hoffman … Fort Worth (4); Travelers (2); Canadian (3) J.B. Holmes … Wells Fargo (7); Greenbrier (5) Billy Horschel … St. Jude (1); TOUR Championship (4) Zach Johnson … Fort Worth (2); John Deere (1); Open Championship (5); WGC-Bridgestone (6); TOUR Championship (8) Chris Kirk … PLAYERS (3); Fort Worth (2) Russell Knox … PLAYERS (8); Dell Technologies (7) Brooks Koepka … St. Jude (3); U.S. Open (1; defending); Open Championship (4); WGC-Bridgestone (6); PGA Championship (2) Matt Kuchar … PLAYERS (11); Fort Worth (6); Memorial (2); Canadian (3); WGC-Bridgestone (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9) Martin Laird … Barracuda (1) Graeme McDowell … WGC-Bridgestone (3) William McGirt … Memorial (4) Ryan Moore … Travelers (2); John Deere (3); TOUR Championship (6) Kevin Na … Memorial (10); John Deere (9); Wyndham (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (11) Louis Oosthuizen … U.S. Open (5); PGA Championship (4); Dell Technologies (3) Ryan Palmer … Fort Worth (2); St. Jude (6) Scott Piercy … John Deere (6) Patrick Reed … Travelers (5); PGA Championship (8); Wyndham (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9); Dell Technologies (2) Justin Rose … Wells Fargo (4); PLAYERS (9); Memorial (6); Open Championship (8); WGC-Bridgestone (7); TOUR Championship (2) Charl Schwartzel … Memorial (4); U.S. Open (5); Open Championship (6); WGC-Bridgestone (2) Adam Scott … PLAYERS (5); U.S. Open (10); Open Championship (8); WGC-Bridgestone (3); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (6) Brandt Snedeker … Fort Worth (11); U.S. Open (5); Travelers (6); Canadian (3); Wyndham (4) Jordan Spieth … Fort Worth (2); Travelers (6; defending); John Deere (7); Open Championship (9; defending); WGC-Bridgestone (10); TOUR Championship (4) Brendan Steele … Wells Fargo (7); Travelers (3) Henrik Stenson … Open Championship (6); WGC-Bridgestone (4); PGA Championship (7); Wyndham (8; defending); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (2) Justin Thomas … Wells Fargo (9); Dell Technologies (6; defending); TOUR Championship (3) Jimmy Walker … Greenbrier (8); Dell Technologies (7) Bubba Watson … Memorial (6); Travelers (5); Greenbrier (8); WGC-Bridgestone (1); TOUR Championship (4) Gary Woodland … Wells Fargo (5); Barracuda (1); Dell Technologies (3)

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – He raised his putter in the air on No. 9 as his 24-foot birdie putt rolled in the hole. Two holes later, he swung his fist after a grinding par. Tiger Woods was only two shots off the lead as he toured PGA National’s trying back nine, much to the delight of the boisterous fans who’d enjoyed some beverages to survive the hot South Florida sun. The question – “Is Tiger back?â€� – has been asked so often amidst his countless comebacks that it has become cliché, but on this afternoon it was difficult for fans to remember that they were watching a man who had undergone four back surgeries. Woods sits at 1-over 141 through two rounds, four shots behind co-leaders Luke List and Jamie Lovemark. “I’m right there in the ballgame,â€� he said. The enthusiasm was dampened when Woods rinsed his tee shot at the par-3 15th and followed with a three-putt bogey on the next hole, but he inched back toward the leaders with some masterful play on the most difficult hole of the day, the par-3 17th. He hit a cut 5-iron within 12 feet of the hole to make one of the nine birdies there in the second round. Woods almost ended one victory drought here. In search of his first win after his personal scandal, he shot a final-round 62 to finish second to Rory McIlroy in 2012. Now Woods is seeking his first victory since his Player of the Year season in 2013, and it’s not implausible that it could come this week. The cross-country trip from Pacific Palisades to Palm Beach Gardens seemed to serve Woods well. A week ago, he looked lost as he struggled to a back-nine 39 at Riviera to miss the cut by four. Now he’s four shots from the lead. “I love Riviera. I just don’t play well there,â€� Woods said Friday. “We’re back at a golf course I know and I play well here. I felt like I hit a lot of good golf shots, especially in this wind.â€� He’s passing the toughest test of the season. The average score on PGA National’s par-70 Champion Course has been just a touch under 73. Woods is 29th in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green and 16th in Strokes Gained: Putting this week. He’s hit more than half his fairways (15 of 28) and 21 of 36 greens. He’s third in proximity to the hole (30 feet, 4 inches). “I’m getting there. I feel like I’ve made some nice tweaks,â€� Woods said. “I’m hitting the ball flush, and on top of that, I’m really controlling the (trajectory).â€� A difficult weekend awaits, but Woods’ game is moving in the right direction.

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