Leaderboard: Three rounds down at Sony Open

MELBOURNE, Australia – Zach Johnson called it, “Code Red.â€� It’s an apt description. When Tiger Woods is playing a match at this week’s Presidents Cup, he certainly can’t focus on his duties as the U.S. Team captain. So that leaves it up to his assistants – Fred Couples, Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson – to steer the ship in his absence. According to Couples, Stricker will gets first dibs on being in charge, although there likely will be a rotation basis at the top. PRESIDENTS CUP: Power Rankings | Expert Picks | Data-driven Els | What will Tiger be like as captain? | Inside Internationals’ win in 1998 | Quiz: Who should you root for? In fact, Couples was looking directly at Stricker while providing an explanation on the process. “Basically when Tiger is playing, you’ll probably start out as the captain, and then it might move to me or it might move to Zach,â€� Couples said. “It’s pretty easy. … Just to get the radio, you have to dial in it and say, ‘Steve Stricker is the captain’ … “We’re all captains, and it depends on where we are on the course.â€� Couples and Stricker both have experience as Presidents Cup captains. Couples led the U.S. to wins in 2009, 2011 and 2013, while Stricker was the captain when the U.S. routed the Internationals two years ago at Liberty National. Johnson is making his first appearance as a Presidents Cup assistant after four appearances as a player. One thing that is for sure – when Woods is competing, he won’t be consulted or updated on any developments around the course. “He’s got to play golf,â€� said Couples, who said he thinks Woods will play three matches this week. Cold War Australian Presidents Cup rookie Cameron Smith made some strong comments regarding Patrick Reed following last week’s rules development at the Hero World Challenge. They don’t appear close to burying the hatchet. “I’m sure he didn’t like it,â€� Smith said. “I think there is a little bit of tension there. I’ve looked at Patrick a couple times but he hasn’t looked back. I’m looking forward to the weekend. … I think our friendship, I guess, is not quite there anymore.â€� As for Reed, he said Tuesday he would not treat a potential match with Smith any different than the rest. “It’s an opponent. It’s one of their 12 guys,â€� Reed said. “Go out and play against them. My job is to go out any time my name is called, go out and try to win a point. Doesn’t matter who it is I’m playing on that team. I know to try the best I can to win a point for my team and my guys.â€� DJ’s fit and ready Dustin Johnson, making his first competitive appearance since the TOUR Championship, declared himself healthy after undergoing arthroscopic surgery in September to repair cartilage damage in his left knee.  Johnson withdrew from last week’s Hero World Challenge, citing an extra week of rest and therapy would be beneficial for this week’s Presidents Cup. On Wednesday, he put to rest any health concerns. “Unless I didn’t feel like I could here and help the tea, then I wouldn’t have come,â€� Johnson said. “But I feel like I definitely can help the team and the game is in good-enough form to where I feel just fine.â€� Assistant Zach Johnson watched Dustin practice on Tuesday. “The last 12 holes, even the guys he was playing with are like, ‘Oh, someone’s back.’ Yeah, it looked good,â€� said Zach. Ernie vs. Tiger Only one captain is playing this week, but certainly Tiger Woods and Ernie Els have had their share of battles through the years. Most of the time, Woods has come out on top – including two majors when he routed the field while Els finished runner-up. Els has spoken this week about coming up short against Woods, so an International win this week would be sweet. “It would be nice,â€� said International assistant captain Geoff Ogilvy. “He ran into a buzzsaw a lot in the big tournaments,â€� International assistant captain Geoff Ogilvy said of Els vs. Woods. “He was so far and away the second-best golfer in the world for the best patch of Tiger’s career, but there was still daylight from No. 1.â€�

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Keep that passport handy! The Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Club will provide the backdrop as the third different country in the last three weeks to host a PGA TOUR event. Next week at Mayakoba on the Mexican Riviera will be four different countries in four consecutive weeks. Sadly, Statistically Speaking doesn’t track SG: Frequent Flyer Miles! Yet! The fall portion of the 2022-23 season has provided opportunities to see the world and for the old and new to gather vital FedExCup points. As written in Horses for Courses there are a few familiar faces this week teeing it up in paradise but plenty more looking to force their way into the conversation. The three previous winners of this event have shown the door is open to any and all comers this week at Port Royal. Sitting at only 6,828 yards it checks in as the shortest track on TOUR. The Par-71 is squeezed into a fantastic coastal setting and provides only 19 acres of fairway off the tee. The good news is only two inches of Bermuda/Zoysia frames the short grass and recovery shots are more than possible. Champion Bermudagrass isn’t cut as tightly in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, due to the ocean breezes, but the surfaces will roll plenty true. Winds and weather will affect every aspect of decision-making and club selection this week. Bombers can try and cut the doglegs while plotters can keep it between the yellow lines and both can be successful. Holing putts is required to push up the leaderboard on the weekend. Defending champion Lucas Herbert (not entered this week) won in just his 20th start on TOUR. He’s the only winner of three to break his TOUR maiden here. Port Royal has ranked in the more difficult half of courses played on TOUR for the last two seasons. The inaugural event, where the wind didn’t blow, was the only edition of three played under par. Taylor Pendrith (not entered this week) posted the course tournament record of 61 last season. Brendon Todd (not entered this week) set the tournament scoring record in the absence of wind in season 2020 at 24-under par. The last two winners, 25-year-old Lucas Herbert and 48-year-old Brian Gay each posted 15-under and won by one or a playoff. Key Statistics – Only players listed are competing this week; click stat headline for additional players; Stats from 2021-22 completed season; Butterfield Bermuda Championship does not use ShotLink lasers. – SG: Off the Tee Taking advantage of the lack of length and tight fairways will be interesting to watch. Blind tee shots up and over hills and around doglegs will set the foundation. Finding easier attack angles and short grass should lead to more chances for circles on the card and less stressful pars. Those of you who are curious about KFT graduates’ stats please click here and navigate. SG: Around the Green Finding sandy areas and less than perfect lies will lead to GIR misses. Time to save par and move on. Without penal rough (barely any on the course, period) the artisans around the hole can gain on the field. Putting: Birdie or Better Percentage Found GIR? Time to cash in. Only one of three champions has finished inside the top 10 GIR and that was inaugural winner Brendon Todd (10th) in benign conditions. Hot putting will help keep cool. Scrambling The forecast suggests scattered thunderstorms and unsteady weather so taking aim off the tee and into the greens might be muted. Grinding out pars and moving to the next hole won’t hurt. Of the three winners two have ranked fourth and the other T16 getting the ball up and down. The Bottom Line With a field consisting of only a handful of top players Seamus Power (+2200) sticks out like a sore thumb in the categories above. No wonder why he’s one of the top choices this week at BetMGM! Tyler Duncan (+6600) pops his head up in two of the three categories and could make for a delicious outsider for fantasy lineups and tickets. Odds sourced from BetMGM Sportsbook on October 25, 1 p.m. Eastern. For latest odds check BetMGM. Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org

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The PGA TOUR travels to Las Vegas for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin. The course will play as a par 71, measuring 7,255 yards, and move to bentgrass greens this week. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $400K Resurgence [$100K to 1st] STRATEGY Kevin Na ($8,600) gained an enormous amount of strokes on the greens last season, and while rolling it well on these fast, bentgrass greens is great, TPC Summerlin is still a second-shot course. Golfers like Patton Kizzire ($6,300), Jordan Spieth and defending champion Kevin Na have stated how vital the approach shot is at TPC Summerlin, and the data proves it. The top five finishers have gained over two times the strokes with approach against off-the-tee and around-the-greens. Spieth went further and said, "it's more of a second-shot golf course where it requires a lot of precision from the short irons. Maybe pitching wedge to short irons." TPC Summerlin should give way to an excess of birdies, as long as the wind doesn't pick up. Last season, scores averaged -3.25 RTP on Saturday and -1.763 RTP on Sunday. The cut lines over the last two years averaged three-under-par, so birdies or better should be high on our key statistic models. Roster construction doesn't need to fit a particular type of ‘build' this week. In 2019, there were only two golfers under $7,000 who finished inside the top 12 in DraftKings scoring. Last season, that number more than doubled with five golfers under $7,000 finishing inside the top 12. We should be leaning towards rostering the expensive golfers with cheap players this week, with a smaller amount of value in the mid-range than previous weeks. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Hideki Matsuyama – $9,900 ‘Deki's two appearances at the Shriners read 10th in 2014 and 16th in 2019, gaining an average of 7.05 strokes tee-to-green. The putting woes hurt him at Winged Foot recently, but Matsuyama still finished at a very respectable 17th place, again gaining a ton of strokes tee-to-green (+12.6). Hideki's made six straight cuts, and with other golfers like Bryson DeChambeau ($11,800), Webb Simpson ($11,000) and Matthew Wolff ($9,600) in the field, Hideki might go more under the radar than he should. Collin Morikawa – $9,800 Second-shot golf courses mean we should consider one of the best iron-players on the PGA TOUR. Morikawa should fare well on some of the more challenging holes, ranking 37th in par-4 efficiency on holes 450 to 500 yards over the last few months. He should contend when this becomes a birdie fest, ranking fifth in birdies or better gained, third in eagles and top three in approach since the restart. The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open could become a putting match, and Morikawa has gained strokes on bentgrass while struggling on poa annua and bermuda this season. Byeong Hun An – $7,100 Missing the cut three times in his last five starts is not an example of consistency, and while we shouldn't be overlooking his recent struggles, we shouldn't be reading into it too much at this price tag. An showed us his upside with a top 12 at the BMW Championship and a 22nd at the PGA Championship not too long ago. He's gained with his irons in five of his last six starts and getting him on bentgrass should hopefully help his putting woes, where he's lost 10.5 strokes on the greens total over his last two starts. Sergio Garcia ($9,100) showed us that losing strokes in nine straight doesn't mean you can't gain (and win) in your next tournament. Our collective eyes should be open to rostering An, even if it means we'll have to look away when we click the ‘roster player' button. Other golfers to consider in this range are Joel Dahmen ($7,100) and Keith Mitchell ($6,100) if you need someone cheap. Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is reidtfowler) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.

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