Like father, like son for Kevin Tway at Safeway Open

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Dustin Johnson is using a new technique for his putting and he likes the results. Frustrated over not seeing enough putts go in over the last three months, Johnson tried the “AimPoint” method that some players use to help them read the greens. He opened with six birdies on the back nine, only once had a putt over 3 feet for par and wound up with a 6-under 66 to share the early lead at THE PLAYERS Championship. Alex Noren and Webb Simpson also were at 66 among the early starters Thursday. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, playing together for the first time in nearly four years, were out in the afternoon when the light wind was a little stronger. Johnson and the early birds couldn’t ask for better scoring conditions at TPC Sawgrass. Johnson, whose No. 1 ranking is in jeopardy this week, made the putts he had been missing in Mexico and Riviera, at Augusta National and Hilton Head. So he had one of his coaches, Allen Terrell, teach the method to Austin Johnson, his brother and caddie. And then the world’s No. 1 player picked it up quickly, and they were on their way. “I was just not making enough putts,” Johnson said. “It’s definitely helped. Because I’m a feel putter, anyway, and so the way you’re doing it really is you’re just feeling. So it definitely works. I was pretty good the first time I switched. I had done it a little bit, like messing around with it. I’m very pleased with the way I putted today.” It involves a player holding up one or two fingers, depending on the length of the putt, to help determine. “The only thing I don’t like is holding up fingers,” Johnson said. “I make AJ do that.” The scoring was so easy that 43 of the 72 players who teed off in the morning broke par. Defending champion Si Woo Kim had the lead until two late bogeys. He had to settle for a 67, still a strong start considering that no one has ever won back to back in the PGA TOUR’s premier event. Also at 67 was Keith Mitchell, who only got into the tournament Wednesday when Paul Casey had to withdraw with an injury. Mitchell played nine holes of practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, and made his debut with four straight birdies at the start. All that ruined his day was a double bogey at the par-3 third hole, his 12th of the day. “I don’t want to say it was a surprise. I’ve been playing well lately,” Mitchell said. “I was surprised to be able to play, first of all, so that was more of the surprise, just to be able to tee it up. When we did, we just tried to take advantage of our opportunity.” Among those who didn’t take advantage was the feature group of the morning — Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. They were a combined 3 over, and McIlroy had the best score of the group with a 71. “It could have been better. I could have been probably a little worse, as well. It was probably a fair reflection of how I played,” McIlroy said. “It looked like it played easy out there, but our group didn’t feel like that with what we shot.” Spieth hit into the water three times in his opening seven holes, leading to a pair of bogeys and double bogey. He also drove the 12th green to 10 feet for eagle. But he shot a 75, and he’ll have to work hard Friday to avoid missing the cut for the fourth straight year at THE PLAYERS. Johnson doesn’t have a great track record on the Stadium Course. The 66 was his best round by two shots, and only the fourth time he broke 70. The timing couldn’t have been better, especially with his No. 1 ranking on the line. He opened with simple birdies at the 11th and 12th (eagle chances at both), and made a 10-footer at No. 14 and a 20-footer on the par-5 16th. The bonus was on the 18th, when his 35-foot birdie putt had plenty of speed as it swirled into the cup. He also made a 10-foot birdie at the par-5 second, and then didn’t have many reasonable chances the rest of the way. But it was free of stress, too. His only brush with bogey was a 6-foot par putt on the island-green 17th. “I don’t think I putted very well around here as a whole,” Johnson said of his record at Sawgrass. “That’s one thing I’ve struggled around here with, and today I rolled it nicely.”  

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This isn’t your typical Tuesday. It’s Tuesday of the TOUR Championship, which means that this is the last Fantasy Insider of the 2020-21 season. And because the Power Rankings included all 30 qualifiers – Patrick Reed is going to play (see Returning to Competition below) – this Fantasy Insider is abridged. It allows us to narrow the focus on the task at hand. RELATED: Power Rankings | PGATOUR.COM Expert Picks Generally speaking, whenever something new is introduced, there’s going to be confusion about how it works. Starting Strokes to determine opening position for the 30 golfers at East Lake is in its third year, but if you’re a new gamer in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, bonus points will be based on final leaderboard finish to which Starting Strokes contributes. Also, because FedExCup points are not awarded at the TOUR Championship, for the second consecutive year, PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf manually will assign bonus points worth the customary one-tenth the value of the FedExCup points in the structure of the first two Playoffs events. For an extreme example for both factors, let’s say that Reed, who opens at even par, bests the field with 15-under 265 but finishes alone in fifth place. Only his leaderboard finish will determine his bonus points. In the first two events of the Playoffs, fifth place rewards 440 FedExCup points, so Reed would be credited with 44 bonus points. Last year, Dustin Johnson’s 72-hole aggregate of 11-under 269 tied for third-lowest score, but because he opened as the top seed with a Starting Strokes value of 10-under, he won the TOUR Championship at 21-under and was credited with 200 bonus points in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf (because each of the winners of the first two Playoffs events receives 2,000 FedExCup points). Shifting gears, between now and the Fortinet Championship in two weeks (thus 14 days of birthdays at the bottom), I will be turning over and creating quite a bit of new content for the Fantasy page, so please continue to monitor it and my Twitter if you already don’t. For starters, and as I’ve felt good about repeating in recent weeks since I first broke the news in late April, my full-membership fantasy ranking will publish in early September. The exact date is undetermined as of this moment, but it will be splashed on the Fantasy page and my Twitter when it’s ready. Qualifiers, the Korn Ferry Tour Graduate Reshuffle and Medical Extensions also will be updated soon after the conclusions of the TOUR Championship and KFT Finals. Likewise, exact dates are TBD, and they likely will publish at their own paces. After a season of attending to what were only three rookies and a bevy of non-members who haven’t exhausted rookie eligibility in a previous season in Rookie Watch, I’m as happy as you are that Rookie Ranking will be returning as originally dubbed. Through the second of the three events in the KFT Finals, the class is assured of being at least 23 deep. Because of positive feedback to the pivot to Rookie Watch in 2020-21, I’m keeping the option open to add a section devoted to non-members for 2021-22. Last but hardly least, the new version of PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf that I teased in this space during the week of the Olympics will be launching at the Fortinet. At some point, perhaps in the opening of the FI for the Fortinet, I will be reviewing the basics of game play, strategy and whatever else is relevant to your success. To that end, I’m going to be experiencing the new version in a testing environment for the TOUR Championship. I’ve been briefed on what I should expect, so I’m excited about learning the format and how scoring influences ownership philosophy. Gang, there’s so much that goes into a transformation like this and so little time to prep for it in earnest, and at one of the busiest times of the year to boot, but I’m impressed at how it’s come together. Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that I have high expectations, and often to a fault, especially as it concerns all matters related to the PGA TOUR, so it just feels good to be as curious as I am about this new offering. Until the next time you read and/or engage with me, thank you so very much for your loyalty to all things fantasy and my work throughout the season and, for many of you, over the years. I feel as fortunate to be a part of this community today as I did the first day in early January of 2010, and you’re responsible for that. Peace and love… PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf My roster for the TOUR Championship (in alphabetical order): Patrick Cantlay Bryson DeChambeau Tony Finau Dustin Johnson Jon Rahm Justin Thomas You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Sam Burns; Harris English; Rory McIlroy; Xander Schauffele; Scottie Scheffler; Cameron Smith; Jordan Spieth Driving: Corey Conners; Harris English; Sergio Garcia; Viktor Hovland; Sungjae Im; Scottie Scheffler RETURNING TO COMPETITION Patrick Reed … After battling an ankle injury and overcoming a bout with double pneumonia, he’s committed to returning to competition at East Lake. He’s the 30-seed and opens at even par, which means that he has nothing to lose, but the general curiosity concerns his stamina. Even in this tiny field with no cut, he doesn’t present emphatically as an option. NOTABLE WDs n/a POWER RANKINGS RECAP – BMW CHAMPIONSHIP Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Jon Rahm T9 2 Justin Thomas T22 3 Patrick Cantlay Win 4 Xander Schauffele T49 5 Collin Morikawa T63 6 Tony Finau T15 7 Corey Conners T22 8 Cameron Smith T34 9 Sungjae Im 3rd 10 Harris English T26 11 Bryson DeChambeau P2 12 Dustin Johnson T6 13 Sam Burns 8th 14 Brooks Koepka T22 15 Daniel Berger T26 16 Shane Lowry T26 17 Viktor Hovland T17 18 Scottie Scheffler T22 19 Webb Simpson T12 20 Keegan Bradley T60 Wild Card Rory McIlroy 4th SLEEPERS RECAP – BMW CHAMPIONSHIP Golfer (BetMGM prop) Result Cameron Champ (Top 10) T66 Cam Davis (Top 20) T29 Lucas Glover (Top 20) T38 Cameron Tringale (Top 20) T52 Aaron Wise (Top 20) T17 BIRTHDAYS AMONG ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE PGA TOUR August 31 … Padraig Harrington (50); Charl Schwartzel (37) September 1 … Matt Fitzpatrick (27) September 2 … none September 3 … none September 4 … none September 5 … none September 6 … Brice Garnett (38) September 7 … none September 8 … none September 9 … Hudson Swafford (34) September 10 … none September 11 … Satoshi Kodaira (32) September 12 … none September 13 … none Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. 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Let the fun begin. Sunday marked the PGA TOUR's final official round of the calendar year. That doesn't mean golf is over until 2021, though. In addition to this week's European Tour finale and the U.S. Women's Open, two dozen PGA TOUR players are competing in the QBE Shootout in Naples, Florida. It's an opportunity for TOUR players to partner up for some competition and camaraderie. The QBE Shootout will be played Friday-Sunday at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida. A different format is in use each day. Friday's first round will be a shamble. Modified alternate shot will be used Saturday. Sunday is four-balls. We convened a roundtable to offer a quick look at some of the top teams at the QBE. Let's get straight to it. Who's your favorite to win? CAMERON MORFIT: Having covered the QBE a couple of times, I can tell you it's nearly impossible to predict, but I like the look of Abraham Ancer and Matthew Wolff. Ancer was in the hunt at the Masters until a final-round 76 dropped him back to a T13, and he just shot 65-66 on the weekend to finish T12 at Mayakoba. He was also a tough out in the Presidents Cup. Wolff had a couple of runner-up finishes in the fall and is up to ninth in the FedExCup. Plus, he can make a zillion birdies. BEN EVERILL: Get ready to be shocked. I'm going for the all-Australian duo of Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman. The pair have form together having been runner-up two years ago at the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf - a tournament where only a tough start in freakish weather cost them the title. And this is a tournament run by an Aussie icon in the Great White Shark Greg Norman, an idol of Leishman's particularly. The pair are great mates and will be relaxed and ready for fun. Smith comes off a runner-up at the Masters and while Leishman's best hasn't been on display for a while, this is just the environment he could need for a reboot. SEAN MARTIN: I like the Florida-Georgia team of Horschel and Todd. Todd hits a ton of fairways, which will set them up well for alternate shot, and they both ranked in the top 30 of Strokes Gained: Putting last season. That's an important skill in this low-scoring tournament. They're both coming off top-10 finishes at the Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN, as well. Maybe they can bring together both sides of this long-standing college football rivalry while they're at it. ROB BOLTON: Leishman-Smith ... Picking a winner is as hard as it would be to rule out any team, so I'm going to keep it simple. It comes with no apology to Ben for potentially stealing his Down Under thunder but give me his Aussies in the tag-team battle royale in the duodecagon. JASON SOBEL: I'm not even sure the right team is favored in most sportsbooks. Tony Finau/Cameron Champ are atop many pre-tourney boards, but Abraham Ancer/Matthew Wolff feels like a deadly combo in these three formats. I can easily see them setting the pace in a scramble, then playing Heisman over the final two rounds and keeping the field at arm's length. There aren't many times a Sooner and a Cowboy can make for an uncontentious team, but I really like them here. MIKE GLASCOTT: I’ll let my pal Ben handle Leishman and Smith but I’m comfortable riding with the Sea Island twosome of Harris English and Matt Kuchar. Their record together speaks volumes as they won or finished second every year from 2014 thru 2017. BUT THEN THEY SPLIT UP??? What? Why? Back together for the first time since the 2017 victory, I’m hoping the Christmas magic hits again! OK, we covered the favorites, but which team is your FAVORITE. The one you're most excited to see. MORFIT: No one is going to have more fun than Harold Varner III and Ryan Palmer. HV3 is great company no matter what, and Palmer is a great teammate to have, especially given his winning history with Jon Rahm at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. I'm guessing this duo plays well, laughs often, and maybe even breaks out the Skittles. EVERILL: I'm excited to see what Joaquin Niemann and Sebastian Munoz can put together. This young, energetic duo are seemingly always up for having fun and they have some stellar talent and a penchant for attacking pins and chasing birdies. I'm also excited to see the Abraham Ancer and Matthew Wolff duo. I enjoy both players styles and personalities and if I was onsite they'd be a team I'd love to watch. MARTIN: A few come to mind. Champ-FInau for obvious reasons. Oosthuizen-Bubba because I have to wonder if the 2012 Masters playoff ever comes up. But I think ultimately I'll pick Ancer-Wolff. They play contrasting games and we've seen them on leaderboards at this year's majors. I could see them having a ton of fun, playing well and being Presidents Cup opponents in the future. BOLTON: Berger-Stricker ... Never mind that, at 53, Stricker is the only senior in the field. As a 50-year-old, he prevailed in 2017 (with Sean O'Hair) for his second QBE Shootout title. While he's remained competitive on the PGA TOUR Champions since play resumed in June, Stricker also has recorded top 20s in his last two non-majors on the PGA TOUR proper, including a T17 this past Sunday at Mayakoba. Meanwhile, Berger has kept the pedal floored throughout 2020, so we get to watch him perform his magic on the bermudagrass greens of south Florida once more. (My close second is the Na-O'Hair team for the sole purpose that it's a marriage of two guys who turned pro during high school.) SOBEL: If that opposing college pride is too much for you to overcome on your card, then Marc Leishman/Cameron Smith should be aligned more closely. The Aussie duo has largely spent the past half-year on opposite ends of the leaderboard, with Smith playing some of the best golf of his career and Leishman languishing, but the latter has found a little something lately. GLASSCOTT: Champ and Finau. Two similar tee-to-green bombers won’t have to worry about anything except who’s golf ball they will be putting in play. Their yardages won’t differ much from playing their own balls so the alternate shot should be smooth, as long as one of them can keep it on dry land. Playing almost 7,400 yards, that should be an advantage. And finally, let's talk sleepers. Who is a team to keep an eye on? MORFIT: Now that the Florida-Georgia football game is in the rearview mirror, Billy Horschel (Florida) and Brendon Todd (Georgia) might get along famously. Neither player is in the top 75 in the FedExCup, but Horschel is coming off a 65-64 weekend at Mayakoba, where he finished T5. Todd, who was the defending champion at El Camaleon, finished T8. It just feels like this team is playing well at the right time. EVERILL: I like the look of the Harold Varner III / Ryan Palmer team. Varner III can go on a birdie run with the best of them and Palmer has had success in team events having paired with Jon Rahm to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. MARTIN: Stricker-Berger. Winning a tournament alongside the Ryder Cup captain is a good way to help one's candidacy. Berger has been one of the best players in the world since the Return to Golf, Stricker held his own against the kids last week in Mayakoba (T17) and his putter is always an asset. BOLTON: Griffin-Hughes ... Beware of underdogs. What Griffin has done in the last 15 months is remarkable, so that he's teamed with the Canadian who himself has battled fiercely for a trio of podium finishes in the last nine months is perfect. These two arguably have doubted themselves more often, more recently and more deeply than everyone else in the field, so this clambake very well could feel much more like a competition instead of a reward. SOBEL: They say opposites attract, and while sweet-swinging Daniel Berger and prodigious-putting partner Steve Stricker fit the bill, I'll go with Lanto Griffin/Mackenzie Hughes at a slightly bigger number. Griffin is a very good ball-striker who can get exceptionally hot at times, while Hughes is rapidly becoming GLASCOTT: I'll second Stricker and Berger. The Ryder Cup captain always has his eyes open for wild card picks and this should be a great chance for Berger to impress up close and personal. These two should have no problem rollin’ in birdies all weekend. Stricker has plenty of big finishes on this track in this event as well.

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