Love named captain of US Presidents Cup team

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PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO is back for another season. The third of 24 contributing events is this week’s Chubb Classic. It begins on Friday. I wrote a primer for the game, which you can read here. The Expert Picks has returned as well. You’ll find our selections, explanations and other considered on Thursday. And I’ve modified how Future Possibilities for notables for PGA TOUR Champions events is constructed. You’ll always find that section in this weekly column. Scroll for 23 from the field of 78 in Naples, Florida. One & Doners should never whine about a T2 even if it’s split four ways, but in the relative world of fantasy sports, not all T2s are the same. At last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Phil Mickelson (Mark), Jason Day (Sean) and Dustin Johnson (Rob) all came to rest three strokes off Ted Potter’s championship-setting pace. With those FedExCup points being equal, you could wage a winning argument that I suffered the most in losing DJ to what amounted to a push. My objective is a top 10 in every event, but when DJ is your bullet, a four-way T2 in a non-Playoffs event can sting. Now double that agony at this week’s Genesis Open. DJ is atop my Power Rankings in an exponentially thicker field. Toss on the reduced face value of the likes of Mickelson, Adam Scott, Bubba Watson and Jimmy Walker – all for different reason in real time – and DJ’s failure to turn his 54-hole co-lead on the Monterey Peninsula into victory suddenly bounced me from his fan club at Riviera. (Yet, I’m still very much bullish in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. It’s not hedging when the investment stands on its own merit, at least that’s what I tell myself when I don’t have a choice.) No matter your measurement, Johnson is the man for the mission. As Frank Sinatra used to belt, L.A. is his lady. Not only is DJ the defending champion, but the Genesis Open slots first in my subjective ranking of his Future Possibilities (below). Unless you’re willing to hurl caution to the wind in favor of any in the aforementioned quartet, you’re going to be plucking from plums currently dialed in. In other words, course history offers little in the way of a solution. Thomas Pieters does check both boxes, but his small sample sizes merely represent evidence that they are better than the alternatives. Still, what he has achieved at Riviera is second to none. He won the NCAA individual title here in 2012 and tied for second in his Genesis debut last year, albeit with a closing 63. Sold. Riviera isn’t a slam dunk in our world for Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar, Paul Casey and Daniel Berger. However, it’s a perfect position for two-man gamers to circle Ollie Schniederjans and K.J. Choi. 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 … Houston (3); St. Jude (1; two-time defending); Travelers (2) Keegan Bradley … Genesis (4); Houston (3); Memorial (5); WGC-Bridgestone (2) Paul Casey … Genesis (9); Honda (6); WGC-Match Play (7); Masters (1); Travelers (4); WGC-Bridgestone (5); Dell Technologies (2); TOUR Championship (3) Kevin Chappell … Valero (1; defending); St. Jude (5); WGC-Bridgestone (2); Dell Technologies (3) Luke Donald … Honda (2); Valspar (3); Heritage (1) Tony Finau … Valero (5); Memorial (3); Greenbrier (2); Canadian (4) Jim Furyk … Genesis (6); Valspar (5); Heritage (1); Memorial (7); U.S. Open (8); Canadian (3); WGC-Bridgestone (2); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9); TOUR Championship (4) Branden Grace … Heritage (1); Valero (2); U.S. Open (4); WGC-Bridgestone (3) Bill Haas … Genesis (3); Valspar (4); WGC-Match Play (5); Wyndham (2) Charley Hoffman … Genesis (6); Heritage (7); Houston (5); Valero (1); DEAN & DELUCA (4); Travelers (2); Canadian (3) J.B. Holmes … Genesis (3); Houston (2); Wells Fargo (7); Greenbrier (5) Billy Horschel … Honda (2); Arnold Palmer (5); Valero (3); St. Jude (1); TOUR Championship (4) Charles Howell III … Valspar (4); Houston (7) Dustin Johnson … Genesis (1; defending); WGC-Mexico (7; defending); WGC-Match Play (16; defending); Houston (15); Masters (4); Memorial (12); St. Jude (8); U.S. Open (13); Canadian (10); WGC-Bridgestone (14); PGA Championship (9); Dell Technologies (11); TOUR Championship (6) Matt Kuchar … Valspar (8); Masters (5); Heritage (1); Valero (10); PLAYERS (11); DEAN & DELUCA (6); Memorial (2); Canadian (3); WGC-Bridgestone (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9) Martin Laird … Genesis (3); Valero (7); Barracuda (1) Marc Leishman … Arnold Palmer (3; defending); DEAN & DELUCA (7); Memorial (5); Travelers (2); Open Championship (1) Jamie Lovemark … Arnold Palmer (3) Graeme McDowell … Honda (1); Heritage (4); WGC-Bridgestone (3) William McGirt … Genesis (3); Heritage (1); Memorial (4) Rory McIlroy … Arnold Palmer (10); WGC-Match Play (11); Masters (2); Wells Fargo (1); PLAYERS (8); Memorial (9); Open Championship (4)WGC-Bridgestone (7); Dell Technologies (5); TOUR Championship (3) Phil Mickelson … WGC-Mexico (9); Houston (3); Masters (4); Wells Fargo (2); St. Jude (1); Open Championship (5) Francesco Molinari … Arnold Palmer (1); PLAYERS (2) Ryan Moore … Genesis (9); Valspar (5); Masters (8); Travelers (2); John Deere (3); TOUR Championship (6) Kevin Na … Valspar (5); Arnold Palmer (7); Heritage (6); Memorial (10); John Deere (9); Wyndham (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (11) Pat Perez … Houston (6); Heritage (5); Valero (7) Charl Schwartzel … Valspar (1); WGC-Match Play (3); Memorial (4); U.S. Open (5); Open Championship (6); WGC-Bridgestone (2) Adam Scott … Genesis (1); Honda (2); Arnold Palmer (11); Masters (4); PLAYERS (5); U.S. Open (10); Open Championship (8); WGC-Bridgestone (3); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (6) Jordan Spieth … Valspar (8); Houston (11); Masters (1); Heritage (12); DEAN & DELUCA (2); Travelers (6; defending); John Deere (7); Open Championship (9; defending); WGC-Bridgestone (10); TOUR Championship (4) Brendan Steele … Honda (5); Valero (6); Wells Fargo (7); Travelers (3) Kevin Streelman … Wells Fargo (3); Memorial (1); Travelers (2) Justin Thomas … WGC-Mexico (7); Valspar (8); Wells Fargo (9); Dell Technologies (6; defending); TOUR Championship (3) Jimmy Walker … Genesis (5); Valero (6); Greenbrier (8); Dell Technologies (7) Bubba Watson … Genesis (2); Memorial (6); Travelers (5); Greenbrier (8); WGC-Bridgestone (1); TOUR Championship (4) CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE Chubb Classic The Talon Course at TwinEagles Golf Club in Naples, Florida, has hosted the tournament since 2012. It’s a stock par 72 clipping at 7,193 yards. Bernhard Langer (2013, 2016) is the only multiple champion. Among the five different winners, Kenny Perry (2012), and injured defending champion, Fred Couples, are not in this week’s field. Like last week’s Boca Raton Championship, the Chubb Classic will distribute a season-low-tying $1.6 million in prize money. In fact, it has since 2003. To the victor goes $240,000. 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 2018. 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. Stephen Ames … Cologuard (3); Mitsubishi Electric Classic (1; defending); Insperity (4); Principal (8); U.S. Senior Open (6); Boeing (2); Shaw (7) Billy Andrade … Cologuard (1); Toshiba (3); Mitsubishi Electric Classic (5); Bass Pro Shops (4) Joe Durant … Toshiba (4); Bass Pro Shops (5); Insperity (15); Principal (2); American Family (8); U.S. Senior Open (7); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); 3M (6); DICK’S (12); Boeing (10); Shaw (11); PURE (3); SAS (13) David Frost … Mitsubishi Electric Classic (6); Bass Pro Shops (3); U.S. Senior Open (4); 3M (7); Boeing (5); Shaw (8); PURE (1) Fred Funk … Toshiba (2); Mitsubishi Electric (4); Bass Pro Shops (1); Regions Tradition (3); Boeing (6); PURE (5) Doug Garwood … SAS (1) Paul Goydos … Mitsubishi Electric Classic (6); Bass Pro Shops (2); Insperity (7); 3M (1; defending); DICK’S (3); SAS (5) Lee Janzen … Rapiscan (1); U.S. Senior Open (2) Miguel Angel Jiménez … Chubb (8); Rapiscan (1; two-time defending); Mitsubishi Electric Classic (2); Insperity (13); Senior PGA (6); Principal (10); U.S. Senior Open (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (3); Senior Open Championship (4); 3M (9); Shaw (7); SAS (12) Brandt Jobe … Chubb (7); Mitsubishi Electric Classic (6); Senior PGA (2); Principal (3; defending); U.S. Senior Open (4); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); 3M (5); Boeing (8) Jerry Kelly … Chubb (3); Boeing (1; defending); Shaw (5); PURE (2); SAS (4) Bernhard Langer … Usable everywhere. Defending five titles. Tom Lehman … Cologuard (6; defending); Bass Pro Shops (7); Insperity (8); Regions Tradition (5); Principal (1); U.S. Senior Open (3); SAS (9) Jeff Maggert … Cologuard (2); Rapiscan (4); Insperity (1); American Family (3); Shaw (5) Billy Mayfair … Boeing (2); PURE (1) Scott McCarron … Toshiba (9); Rapiscan (7); Regions Tradition (2); Senior PGA; Principal (1); SENIOR PLAYERS (3; defending); Senior Open Championship (10); DICK’S (4; defending); Shaw (5; defending); PURE (8) Colin Montgomerie … Chubb (9); Mitsubishi Electric Classic (5); Senior PGA (1); U.S. Senior Open (6); SENIOR PLAYERS (2); Senior Open Championship (10); Shaw (4); PURE (7); SAS (3; defending) Tom Pernice, Jr. … Chubb (4); Cologuard (6); Rapiscan (1); Principal Charity (2); Shaw (3); SAS (5) Gene Sauers … Cologuard (4); Rapiscan (2); Insperity (7); Regions Tradition (3); U.S. Senior Open (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (6); Boeing (1) Kevin Sutherland … Usable everywhere. David Toms … Regions Tradition (3); Boeing (2); SAS (4) Kirk Triplett …  Insperity (2); Regions Tradition (6); American Family (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); Shaw (4) Duffy Waldorf … Cologuard (3); Toshiba (2); Bass Pro Shops (2); Insperity (4); Principal (6); Shaw (5)

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LOS ANGELES — Joaquinn Niemann survived a few nervous moments at Riviera and polished off a big week Sunday when he closed with an even-par 71 to become the first wire-to-wire winner of The Genesis Invitational in 53 years. RELATED: Final leaderboard | What’s in Niemann’s bag? Staked to a three-shot lead, Niemann’s margin was down to one when he made a 7-foot birdie on the eighth hole and PGA TOUR rookie Cameron Young sailed the green and made bogey. The 23-year-old from Chile chipped in for eagle on the par-5 11th to stretch his lead to five, and he held on for a two-shot victory over Open champion Collin Morikawa (65) and Young, whose last hopes ended with a bogey from the bunker on the 16th. Young shot 70. About the only thing Niemann missed was a chance to break the longest active tournament scoring record on the PGA TOUR. With two bogeys on the back nine, Niemann finished at 19-under 265, one short of the score Lanny Watkins had in 1985. Morikawa holed an eagle chip on the infamous and reachable 10th hole that one-hopped into the cup, and two late birdies gave him a chance. But he missed a 10-footer on the 18th in his bid to win and reach No. 1 in the world. Young, making only his 12th career TOUR start, was a runner-up for the second time this season. He also tied for second in Mississippi. Given the prestige of the tournament hosted by Tiger Woods, Young earned $1,068,000 for his tie for second. The purse was $12 million. As for Niemann, Riviera hasn’t had a 23-year-old winner since Phil Rodgers in 1962, the tournament best known for Jack Nicklaus making his pro debut. Nicklaus tied for 50th and earned $33.33 that year. Niemann picked up $2.16 million for his second PGA TOUR victory. No one else had much of a chance on a cool, breezy afternoon at Riviera. This was Niemann’s tournament from the start, when he opened with a pair of 63s and set or matched a tournament scoring record of some variety each day but the last one. Charlie Sifford in 1969 was the last player to go wire-to-wire in The Genesis Invitational, significant because the elite tournament — it attracted everyone from the top 10 in the world this week — offers an exemption in Sifford’s name to promote diversity in golf. This year is the 100th anniversary of when Sifford, the first Black golfer to win on the PGA TOUR, was born. The No. 100 was on the first hole. Niemann carved his own way around the fabled course. The most important birdie was at No. 8. He got plenty of breathing room with the eagle on No. 11. Young stayed close, even after a bogey on No. 10 when his flip wedge from short of the green failed to clear a bunker. He blasted out nicely to 4 feet but missed the par putt, slamming his bag with a putter as he left the green. He still had a chance. Young drove into a bunker on the 15th, could only get out to the fairway and then holed out for birdie from 50 yards. Niemann missed a 4-foot par putt and took his second straight bogey, and the lead was down to two with three holes to play. Young found a bunker for the second straight day on the par-3 16th. It wasn’t plugged like it was on Saturday, but he failed to get up-and-down. He birdied the par-5 17th to get back within two shots and needed some help. Niemann didn’t provide it, splitting the middle of the fairway, hitting to the back level of the green and two-putting for par from just inside 30 feet. And then the celebration was on as his closest friends — Sergio Garcia of Spain, Mito Pereira of Chile and Carlos Ortiz of Mexico — formed a big group hug on the 18th.

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