Major challenge: Can Tiger win The Players?

SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda (AP) — Harry Higgs rebounded from his first bogey of the week to take a two-stroke lead in the inaugural Bermuda Championship. After dropping a stroke on the par-4 14th at hilly Port Royal, Higgs birdied the par-3 16th and par-4 18th on Saturday for his second straight 6-under 65. He had a 17-under 196 total.. RELATED: Leaderboard | Tee times “Fourteen, I knew I needed to hit that putt way harder,” Higgs said. “I got a little irritated, but I just laughed. I figured I was going to make a bogey at some point. I didn’t want to, but I was probably going to do it at some point.” Bryson DeChambeau’s teammate at SMU, Higgs is making the sixth start of his rookie season after winning on the Korn Ferry Tour, where he finished fifth on the points list to earn a PGA TOUR card. “Not trying to force too much, not trying to hit a perfect shot, maybe taking the one that gives you a little bit more room and then you can be more aggressive because you’re just more comfortable with said club or the line or holding or riding the wind,” Higgs said. “So, I’ve done a good job of darn near everything, obviously. To be winning, you’ve done things really well for three days. And tomorrow will be a difficult day with all that goes on with leading after three rounds, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to enjoy tomorrow, for sure.” Brendon Todd, tied for the second-round lead with Higgs and Scottie Scheffler, was second after a 67. “I’m pleased. I’m not thrilled,” Todd said. “I hit it pretty nice. I had 15 feet all day and didn’t make many of them.” Todd won the 2014 AT&T Byron Nelson for his lone TOUR title. He regained his card in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. “This is a huge opportunity for me and hopefully one of many this year,” Todd said. “I’ll just go out there tomorrow and make the best of it.” Bo Hoag and Brian Gay were 14 under. Hoag had his second 64 in three days, and Gay shot his second straight 65. “Just one of those solid rounds,” Hoag said. “No bogeys, just kept the train running there.” Scheffler was another stroke back, shooting his second 69 after an opening 62.

Click here to read the full article…

The PGA TOUR hits its third stop of the fall swing this week and enters Las Vegas, Nevada for the annual Shriners Children’s Open. The tournament will be played at TPC Summerlin, a par-71 venue that plays at 7,255 yards and has been a staple on the PGA TOUR schedule for many years now. The greens this week will be pure bentgrass. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $300K Pitch + Putt [$100K to 1st] STRATEGY The fall swing presents us with lots of courses that are set up for low scoring, and this week is no different. TPC Summerlin regularly plays as one of the easiest venues on the PGA TOUR and ranked as the third-easiest venue on the PGA TOUR in 2020-21, playing at -2.141 under par for the week. Players are helped at TPC Summerlin by the elevation — the thin air helps the ball travel longer — and it’s a course that doesn’t contain a ton of thick rough or penalty areas. Water is in play on four of the holes, but as long as players aren’t too wild with their drives, they’ll be in decent enough position to take aim at the pins on most greens. The approaches are where the scoring is really done on TPC Summerlin, and it’s no coincidence winners at this event tend to spike in the approach department. Three of the last four winners of this event have gained over 4.0 strokes on approach for the week and been in the top 10 of that statistic for the overall tournament. Greens tend to be much easier to hit at Summerlin, which means proximity stats are something to consider — hitting it close will simply mean your player has to do less to convert those approaches into birdies with the putter. That said, we’ve seen golfers dominate on these greens, and Kevin Na set a single-event record by gaining 14.2 strokes putting at TPC Summerlin in 2019. Na’s performance was somewhat of an anomaly, but this easier setup does make for a more wide-open event, where any player who is hitting the ball at least average will likely post high green-in-regulation percentages and will, therefore, have the potential to challenge if their putter gets hot. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Cameron Davis ($9,200) Coming off a Presidents Cup where he played in five matches — and played well, grabbing two full wins against a tough American squad — should do wonders for the confidence of a player like Davis. We all know the talent Davis possesses, and his win at the Rocket Mortgage in 2021 cemented the fact this is a player who can take it low enough to win any of these regular season events where the setup demands a high rate of birdies. Davis may have had a bit of a slow start to his fall swing, logging a missed cut at the Fortinet, but he ranks sixth in long-term form in both birdie or better percentage and strokes gained: approach stats for this field. Over the summer, he posted four finishes of T16 or better and has played well in the desert. Overall, he’s 3-for-3 in made cuts at the Shriners and also has a third-place finish at The American Express in January of 2021, which is played in nearby Palm Springs. Rickie Fowler ($7,800) A new season may bring new belief for the five-time PGA TOUR winner, who started 2022-23 strong with a T6 finish at the first fall series event in Napa. Fowler’s top 10 at the Fortinet was his first since October of 2021, but it’s the way he went about achieving the result that should turn some heads. Fowler gained 6.0 strokes ball-striking at the event and was also positive from a strokes-gained perspective on and around the greens. The setup this week should also be a boon for the 33-year-old, who has had some of his best moments playing on TPC setups (winner TPC Scottsdale and TPC Sawgrass) and in the desert. In four career appearances at TPC Summerlin, Fowler is just 2-for-4 in made cuts, but two of those made cuts have yielded top-25 finishes. He’s worth a roster this week in daily fantasy, as his DraftKings price still remains somewhat depressed, and he’s not likely to draw a ton of rostership just yet, given how poor his 2021-22 season was. Joel Dahmen ($7,100) Dahmen had a solid week at the Sanderson Farms, finishing T13 while gaining over 6.0 strokes ball-striking (off the tee and approach) alone. Dahmen is a PGA TOUR veteran with a win under his belt already (2021 Punta Cana), so when we see an uptick in form from him, we should be interested for fantasy purposes. Dahmen had previously missed four of five cuts, but his record at the Shriners has seen him go 4-for-4 in made cuts over his career while also posting two top-25 finishes over the last four years. In short, he’s got a sneaky good track record at this event, and his approach game is trending well after last week, which is a huge part to having success at TPC Summerlin. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $300K Pitch + Putt [$100K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. Place your golf bets at DraftKings Sportsbook and bet online by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app. All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests. The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), ConnexOntario 1-866-531-2600 (ONT), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY; 19+ ONT). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/ONT/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions. DraftKings operates pursuant to an Operating Agreement with iGaming Ontario. Please play responsibly.

Click here to read the full article…

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – Marcus Byrd of Nashville shot a bogey-free 64 to take the first-round lead at APGA Tour New Orleans Monday, securing a four-shot cushion over the circuit’s top players heading into Tuesday’s final round at TPC Louisiana. Byrd’s eight-under round included birdies on three of the par fives as he navigated the 7,400-yard Pete Dye layout smartly, capping his eye-opening round with a four on the 585-yard, par-5 18th hole. The 2018 Conference USA Player of the Year for Middle Tennessee State is seeking his first APGA Tour title in just his sixth event after turning pro in October. “The putter got hot,” stated Byrd, who played in the 2020 U.S. Amateur on the strength of his World Amateur Golf Ranking earned during his college years. “I’ve worked hard to get into this position and it’s good to be here, for sure.” A product of the PGA TOUR’S First Tee of Greater Washington (D.C.), Byrd won the 2013 Georgia State Junior Championship as part of a stellar junior, high school and college career. “Today was a good day, but I’m still learning some things,” he concluded. Willie Mack, the APGA Tour star who has played two PGA TOUR events this year as a sponsor exemption, heads a group of four players in second place at four-under 68. Michael Herrera of Moreno Valley, California, winner of the season’s first two events, is also at four-under with Rafa Guerrero Lauria of Pompano Beach, Florida, and Wyatt Worthington of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Andrew Fernandes of Lakewood, Ohio, and Marcus Manley of Kissimmee, Florida, are another stroke back at three-under as the 50-player field competed in mild conditions. Ryan Alford, the Shreveport and Louisiana Tech standout who won the last two APGA Tour events, leads a group of five more players – Joseph Dent of Tampa, Tommy Schaff of Ridgeland, South Carolina, Davin White of Locust Grove, Georgia and Landon Lyons of Baton Rouge — at two-under 70. Byrd started the week in seventh place in the Lexus Cup Point Standings on the strength of top-tier finishes in all five season-long bonus pool events this year. His top previous finish was runner-up in APGA Tour Scottsdale at TPC Scottsdale April 20. Following APGA Tour New Orleans, the Lexus Cup Point Standings battle continues July 18-20 at APGA Tour Deere Run at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. Tuesday’s final round will determine the winner of the $7,500 first-place prize from a purse of $25,000. The tournament is being played under social-distancing and health/safety guidelines in conjunction with regional authorities. Same day scoring detail for tomorrow’s final round is available at www.bluegolf.com.

Click here to read the full article…