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INZAI CITY, Japan — Brendan Steele finished with four consecutive birdies and shot a 6-under 64 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the PGA TOUR’s ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. “Everybody says if you birdie 18, dinner tastes better,” Steele said. “But four in a row is definitely, really nice and feels good.” It was a happy return to the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, where Steele was the runner-up a year ago in the same tournament behind winner Hideki Matsuyama. “I love it here,” Steele said. “Loved the course last year — really happy to be back.” The ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP is the only PGA TOUR event in Japan and has a purse of $11 million. There are no COVID-19 crowd-limit restrictions in place this year. “Nice for us to be able to get out of the hotel a little bit this year and enjoy the culture a little bit,” Steele said. “So I’ve enjoyed it a ton.” It was a big day for other Americans as well. Adam Schenk was a shot back after a 65 on a rainy day on the course on the outskirts of Tokyo. Sam Ryder, Matthew NeSmith, and Keegan Bradley were two back. Three more Americans were three behind: Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, and Maverick McNealy. Defending champion Matsuyama, who won by five strokes a year ago, got off to a slow start before a home crowd with a 71.

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If you play PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, only the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open will utilize ShotLink between now and the holiday break that doubles as the endpoint of Segment 1. Furthermore, since all three of the TOUR stops in Asia this month guarantee four rounds for everyone who commits, our objective is as simple as it gets all season: Go all-in on golfers you think will finish highest on the final leaderboard. If you’re new to the format, in tournaments that do not use ShotLink, bonus points awarded are equal to one-half FedExCup points earned by your starters in the final round. The winner of this week’s CIMB Classic will yielded 250 bonus points. Meanwhile, he may total as many as 100 fantasy points, give or take, for actual scoring in all four rounds. So, if you’re keen to review my “others to consider” in the Scoring category below, consume them with a grain of salt as those are specific to actual scoring and not leaderboard finish like the Power Rankings. One other reminder about the CIMB, because it’s contested in Malaysia, it’s scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday. That’s 5:00 p.m. on the West Coast and 2:00 p.m. in Hawaii. Set an alert and thank me later. The first season of PGA TOUR Champions One & Done concludes with this week’s SAS Championship. I’ve had a blast competing with the other experts in that stand-alone game and I’m already gearing up for a renewal in 2018. As always, I’ll include notes on several notables in Wednesday’s One & Done column. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the CIMB Classic (in alphabetical order): Rafa Cabrera Bello Paul Casey Hideki Matsuyama Kevin Na Brendan Steele Justin Thomas You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Anirban Lahiri; Scott Piercy; Xander Schauffele; Charl Schwartzel; Cameron Smith Driving: n/a Approach: n/a Short: n/a Power Rankings Wild Card Bud Cauley … Silverado catered to his tee-to-green strength and he capitalized with a T7, but it was expected. This week’s angle could expose his weakness on the greens and in his debut in the CIMB Classic. He’s a streaky putter at best. With no cut and a plethora of alternatives on the board, consider taking a pass on the 27-year-old. Draws Graham DeLaet … This is a checkpoint to determine where he is long range. Still a non-winner and not getting younger at age 35, he’s nonetheless springing off his best season with a putter. In fact, because he put it all together in 2016-17, newer fans of the sport wouldn’t associate his reputation as a surgeon tee to green. However, if he wasn’t coming off a T5 at Silverado where you’d expect him to shine, he wouldn’t have received this endorsement. A T7 in his debut at TPC Kuala Lumpur in 2013 proved that he’s comfortable on the putting surfaces, but it’s his body of work recently that deserves our confidence. Adam Hadwin … A limited-field, no-cut event on a course that rewards putting? Heck, yeah! Ignore his sputtering form and invest in what you know. The bonus is that he’s already familiar with TPC Kuala Lumpur after placing T21 last year. Emiliano Grillo (all) Scott Hend (DFS) Anirban Lahiri (DFS) Fades Jason Dufner … Given he’s survived eight consecutive cuts, the last two guarantees for advancing to the TOUR Championship, he doesn’t need a tune-up. Yet, that’s what this week presents the 40-year-old. He’ll break his goose egg in FedExCup points, but gamers’ expectations should be tempered since he’s not a short-lister in putting contests (even though he prevailed at the 2016 CareerBuilder Challenge). Also still chasing his first top 25 in what is now his third appearance at TPC Kuala Lumpur. Branden Grace … From the Presidents Cup to the Dunhill Links and now to the CIMB Classic, his stamina will be tested. As we know, touring professionals from South Africa endure the worst of the travel challenges, and there are examples to prove that we shouldn’t be concerned, but the 29-year-old is best reserved for limited-use contrarian plays in DFS. Kyle Stanley … TPC Kuala Lumpur sets up like a photo negative to Silverado where his ball-striking would have mattered more. (He didn’t play, though.) Instead, his skill set is neutralized in Malaysia by the premium to putt the lights out. Not surprisingly, even before he reconnected with his career arc in 2016-17, he performed inconsistently here with three rounds of 73 or worse sprinkled amid five red numbers. Wesley Bryan Russell Knox Jamie Lovemark Pat Perez Jhonattan Vegas Returning to Competition Danny Lee … When he walked off Conway Farms during his opening round of the BMW Championship with discomfort in his lower back, it effectively ended his Playoffs, but it also extended his drought to 0-for-5 since the PGA Championship. Andrew Johnston … Just some housekeeping here because he’s no longer a PGA TOUR member after finishing 189th in the FedExCup standings. He’s scheduled to compete in the Italian Open. It’s his first commitment since withdrawing during the PGA Championship two months ago with a sore shoulder. Power Rankings Recap – Safeway Open Power Ranking, Golfer, Result 1 Tony Finau 2nd 2 Brendan Steele Win 3 Kevin Na T37 4 Sam Saunders MC 5 Phil Mickelson T3 6 Jamie Lovemark T43 7 Chez Reavie T13 8 Bill Haas T17 9 Ryan Moore T17 10 Zach Johnson T13 11 Martin Laird T17 12 Webb Simpson T17 13 Bud Cauley T7 14 Mackenzie Hughes MC 15 Ollie Schniederjans T17 Wild Card Peter Uihlein MC Sleepers Recap – Safeway Open Golfer, Result Bronson Burgoon T17 Chesson Hadley T3 Denny McCarthy MC Keith Mitchell MC Rob Oppenheim MC Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR October 10 … Charlie Beljan (33) October 11 … Greg Chalmers (44) October 12 … none October 13 … none October 14 … Tyrrell Hatton (26) October 15 … Len Mattiace (50); Richard S. Johnson (41) October 16 … Ryan Blaum (34)

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Round 1 of the Hero World Challenge takes place Thursday from Albany in the Bahamas. The 20-player field is stacked with stars such as Jordan Spieth, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland. Tiger Woods is the tournament host but will not compete. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Leaderboard Tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30 p.m.-5 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (Golf Channel), 1 p.m.-4 p.m. (NBC) MUST READS The First Look Power Rankings Morikawa could move to No. 1 with a win Woods says he hopes to play PGA TOUR again

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