Love turns back the clock (again) at Wyndham

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AUSTIN, Texas — Needing to win the final hole to advance, Robert MacIntrye drilled a driver to 3 feet of the cup on he 371-yard 18th hole. Moments later, Sergio Garcia ended one of the record eight sudden-death playoffs with a hole-in-one. RELATED: Bracket, Scoring | Things you may have missed, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Day 3 Already the most fickle event in golf, the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play on Friday was an endless frenzy. Kevin Na discussed with Dustin Johnson about waiting for a putt to be conceded — 6 inches — and then birdied the last two holes to oust the No. 1 player in the world. Patrick Cantlay, practically flawless with 14 birdies and an eagle over two days, managed only two birdies and lost a playoff with a three-putt. When it finally ended, Jon Rahm at No. 3 was the only player from the top 20 seeds who made it to the knockout stage of the weekend at Austin Country Club. “You just never know what can happen out there,” Billy Horschel said after beating Max Homa on the third playoff hole. Just about everything did. Garcia beat Lee Westwood in the longest of the eight playoffs with a 9-iron from 161 yards to a front pin on the par-3 fourth hole that landed just beyond the pin and trickled back into the cup. Equally stunning was the drive of MacIntyre, the 24-year-old from Scotland with plenty of spunk and loads of fight. He was 1 down against Adam Long, who was poised to advance with Johnson in the group ahead about to lose to Na. Johnson backed away from his 6-foot par putt — Na only had 4 feet for birdie — and his caddie, brother Austin, stepped in a few feet from the cup to help read the putt. Out of nowhere, a ball shot up the left side of the bank around the green and rolled in front of the caddie’s feet. Dustin had to mark MacIntyre’s ball so he could putt. MacIntyre was oblivious to what happened except he knew he hit the shot of his life. “Probably one of the best and one of the luckiest golf shots I’ve hit in my life,” MacIntyre said. “You’ve just got to keep fighting until the end, and it just shows anything can happen in this game.” His only chance was a low bullet, and it caught the downward slope for extra run toward the left side of the green, which MacIntyre couldn’t see. He heard it was on the green. “I didn’t have a clue how close,” MacIntyre said. I’m thinking it’s going to be just on the green below the slope. Going to have hopefully two putts maybe to win the hole. But when I seen where they put the ball back down I was like, `No way!’ “And that’s what you play the game for, these moments.” Given how three days of group play has gone, there is no telling what to expect on the win-or-go-home weekend. It will include a trio of Texas Longhorns, including Jordan Spieth for the first time since 2016. He won three straight holes around the turn and, unlike Thursday when he let Matthew Wolff off the hook, Spieth managed to close out Corey Conners. Scottie Scheffler halved his match when Xander Schauffele made an 8-foot birdie putt on the last hole, and then Scheffler returned the favor with a 12-foot birdie on the second extra hole. The other Longhorn is Dylan Frittelli of South Africa, who became the first No. 64 seed in Match Play history to make it to the weekend. Frittelli had company. Two other players seeded at No. 60 or lower made it to the knockout stage. Ian Poulter won his third straight match as the No. 60 seed, while Erik van Rooyen (62) advanced by beating Daniel Berger with a par on the second playoff hole. Poulter and Matt Kuchar are the only players to have won all three matches. Kuchar knocked out defending champion Kevin Kisner with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole. The 64-man field based on the world ranking was divided into groups of 16 based, with the final 16 assigned to the “D” group. Eight of those players are still in the game. Rahm was the only player from the “A” group of top 16 seeds. Brian Harman felt a small measure of redemption. He shot the equivalent of a 64 in the opening round and still lost to Cantlay, who had seven birdies and an eagle. But when Cantlay fell flat and lost to Hideki Matsuyama, that sent Cantlay and Harman back out for a sudden-death playoff that Harman won when Cantlay’s 4-foot par putt lipped out. Garcia was amazed by his ace, but he was quick to point out that he had to make a 10-footer and an 8-footer for par on the previous two holes just to stay in the match during the playoff. The eight playoffs to decide group winners broke the previous mark of five in 2017 since group play began six yeas ago. “The two putts I made … massive to keep myself going,” Garcia said. “And then obviously the shot on 4, it’s a great shot, but then you get lucky that first of all it doesn’t hit the flag because it must have been very close to hitting the flag, and then it rolls back in. Obviously, very happy about that.”

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The PGA TOUR heads to the Caribbean for the Bermuda Championship at Port Royal GC in Southampton, Bermuda. The course will play as a par 71, measuring 6,828 yards, and it will be played on Bermuda greens this week. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $400K Resurgence [$100K to 1st] STRATEGY Port Royal GC is a short course with eight par 4s under 415 yards, so we should again see players hit many wedges into these Bermuda greens. Defending champion Brendon Todd ($11,100) shot two rounds of 62 and 63 en route to his victory, which should be the case this week. The field will feature Korn Ferry Tour standouts, past and present, including Will Zalatoris ($10,900), Doc Redman ($10,400), John Oda ($6,300), and James Nicholas ($6,200). Like any coastal course, there will be wind and coastal weather to play through. The golfers will also have to navigate 88 bunkers across the property and water that will come into play on five holes. Last season, fairways hit in regulation was eight percent less than the PGA TOUR average, but greens hit in regulation was just about the PGA TOUR average at 66 percent. Like last season, the winning score should be similar (24-under). The course conditions should also be comparable to what we've seen at other seaside resort courses like the Corales Puntacana, the Sony Open, the RSM Classic and the Mayakoba Golf Classic. The course will offer full FedExCup points for the first time, but this may feel closer to the golf we see on the Korn Ferry Tour with low scores. Golfers who've done well on shorter, coastal courses should get consideration in our DraftKings rosters this week. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Doc Redman ($10,400) Redman should be first or second in salary based on his talent, so getting him at the fourth-highest price is value. Over his previous three tournaments, Redman's approach has been terrific, gaining just over 10 strokes total with his irons. Redman has also been elite on courses under 7,200 yards since the restart, ranking fourth in Strokes Gained: tee-to-Green and first in Strokes Gained: Total over the previous three months. Redman also ranks sixth in birdies or better gained over his prior 22 rounds, which allows him to contend and stay in the tournament throughout the weekend. Adam Schenk ($8,100) Are you looking for cut equity and upside in this salary range? Look no further than Adam Schenk, who has made nine straight cuts on the PGA TOUR since the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Schenk isn't just making cuts; he's playing well with two top 30s and most recently a 27th at the Shriners earlier this month. Over the previous three months, he ranks 35th with his irons, 26th in Strokes Gained: Putting and seventh in birdies or better gained. Schenk has also played well on courses similar to Port Royal, making the cut at Corales Puntacana last month and finishing 14th at the Puerto Rico Open earlier this year. Russell Knox ($7,600) Knox just notched a ninth-place finish at Safeway back in September, where he gained eight strokes tee-to-green and opened the tournament as the leader after shooting 63 in round one. Knox's current form has been inconsistent, but it looked like he found something earlier this month at Shriners, gaining 4.1 strokes with his irons. Knox has also gained with his approach in four of his last five tournaments, making him an excellent DraftKings GPP/tournament play. Knox is also quite the fan of short, coastal courses as well, recording a second, third and ninth place at the OHL in Mayakoba, a top 20 in the 2019 RSM Classic at Sea Island Resort, a runner up at the 2016 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town and two top 15s along with a top 10 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Knox also had an 11th here in 2019. Jason Dufner ($7,100) is someone we should also consider in this range. He's striking the ball well and can get a hot putter at a moment's notice, similar to what he did at the Safeway Open back in September, gaining 5.2 strokes on the greens. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $400K Resurgence [$100K to 1st] 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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