Tiger Woods was less than impressive in the PGA Championship and U.S. Open, which makes his Masters victory in April all the more remarkable.
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This week, the PGA TOUR makes its way to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the 104th PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club. The course will play as a par 70, measuring 7,556 yards and the greens will be Pure Distinction bentgrass. The top 70 and ties will make the cut, five more spots than the usual top 65 and ties that make it in a regular TOUR event. The 2007 PGA Championship also took place at this course, with Tiger Woods ($8,200) winning the 13th major of his career. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $3M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Semifinal Entry] Unlike the Masters, the PGA Championship is transient. One year we could be on a modern links course, another on a coastal Carolina or Northern California track. This year, the venue is no stranger to hosting major golf tournaments. Southern Hills CC has hosted seven major championships, which include three U.S. Opens (1958, 1977, 2001) and four PGA Championships (1970, 1982, 1994, 2007). The second major of the season can provide us with exciting finishes where anything can happen. Since 2019, the PGA Championship has taken place in May, instead of its former spot as the fourth and final major played in August. One unique characteristic of the PGA Championship is the inclusion of 20 club professionals getting a chance to play in a major on the PGA TOUR. STRATEGY In 2019, the famous architect Gil Hanse redesigned this course by looking at old drawings, pictures and anything he could get his hands on to restore it to the original design. He removed trees, renovated the bunkers and shaved runoff areas around the green. Hanse also moved fairway bunkers to landing areas that fit today’s game and players’ distance off the tee. The fairways are more forgiving than in 2007, but it’ll be challenging to get a flat lie. The natural contours of the land can make lies in the fairways uneven, which will prove to be a difficult test trying to hit into these smaller greens. Three water hazards come into play on 15 of the 18 holes, with some coming into play on the drive and approach shots. These green complexes may be the most challenging feat to conquer this week. Smaller than the TOUR average (~5,000 sq. ft), these raised putting surfaces feature shaved-off edges that will cause shots to roll off into collection areas and bunkers that’ll be difficult to get up and down from this week. The scorecard features both par 5s over 600 yards, and seven par 4s are between 450 and 500 yards. There’s also a par 3 measuring 250 yards, so golfers will need to have distance in spades this week. Other than Oak Hill (2013), every winner since 2010 has averaged 295-plus yards off the tee, with nine of the previous 10 averaging over 300 yards. While this should be manageable by most TOUR professionals, golfers like Kevin Kisner ($6,800) may have an uphill battle. Last season, none of the top six in DraftKings scoring were above $10,000 and only one golfer was double-digits in roster percentage at Kiawah Island, Louis Oosthuizen ($8,000) at 10.4%. Last month, the top six in DraftKings scoring at the Masters were all priced above $8,800, and five of the top six at The Open Championship were priced above $9,200 last season. Picking the right set of golfers in a major can prove difficult, so don’t be married to one type of roster construction. Roster percentage should play a factor this week, with a major attracting more casual players; be sure to check on their “sentiment curve” throughout the week. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Cameron Smith ($9,700) His accuracy issues off-the-tee shouldn’t be as much of a liability this week, and his magic around the greens will definitely help here, ranking 29th in scrambling over the previous 12 rounds. A win at THE PLAYERS and a third-place finish in the Masters this season is evidence enough the 28-year-old is set up for success at Southern Hills CC. Smith’s only lost strokes with his irons once all season and averages just south of 297 yards off the tee. His long-iron proximity will make up for what he potentially loses in distance, ranking top 10 in both proximities from 150 to 175 yards and 175-200 yards. He’s already conquered weather-dominated tournaments this season, and he should be composed if or when the weather gets hot and windy. With two wins already this season, Smith knows what it’ll take to win, especially when the course gets difficult. Patrick Cantlay ($9,100) also has to be considered in this range. Even though his only win was in the team event with Xander Schauffele ($9,300), he has two runner-up finishes after losing in playoffs at the WM Phoenix Open and RBC Heritage. A third-place finish (2019) when the PGA Championship was at Bethpage Black, another par 70 over 7,400 yards, is a good sign he can tackle the setup at Southern Hills. No one was better at Harbour Town with their irons than Cantlay, gaining 8.7 just a few weeks ago. Cameron Young ($7,600) Winning a major as your first win on the PGA TOUR may be a stretch, but there’s an outside chance he can get it done with how well he’s hitting it, ranking first in tee-to-green over his last dozen rounds. Young is top 25 in greens in regulation gained over the previous 12 rounds, and no one is better than him in gaining strokes around the greens, ranking first over the same timeframe. His runner-up finish at Wells Fargo came from elite ball-striking, ranking in the top five in approach and first in tee to green. He should fare well if he can make half of the putts inside six feet that he missed at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. Other golfers who could be in contention from this range are Shane Lowry ($8,700) and Matthew Fitzpatrick ($7,900). Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $3M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Semifinal Entry] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. Place your golf bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or 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. 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A quick look at Sunday’s final round of THE PLAYERS Championship. THE DRAMA At one point in Sunday’s final round the list of potential champions was longer than a Rory McIlroy drive … the 2019 PLAYERS Championship was certainly one of the most dramatic in the events history. While McIlroy eventually had the relatively “easyâ€� task of two-putting from 12 feet to win, it came after an afternoon where multiple challengers put their hands up as serious contenders. From overnight leader Jon Rahm and his fellow final group member Tommy Fleetwood. To upstarts Ollie Schniederjans and Abraham Ancer and familiar names like Hideki Matsuyama, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Brandt Snedeker. To 48-year-old Jim Furyk – who wound back the clock with an incredible performance – and to a pair of headline seekers in Eddie Pepperell and Jhonattan Vegas who will forever be inked in PLAYERS history after heroics at 17. All of them, and more, contributed to a blockbuster finish. One that won’t soon be forgotten. In fact it was the cacophony reverberating around TPC Sawgrass that was the hardest for McIlroy to deal with. Particularly given he’d had five top-6 finishes in 2019 without winning leading into this week. “The toughest part is seeing yourself up there, whatever score you’re on, and seeing 10 or 11 guys with a chance,â€� the now 15-time PGA TOUR winner said. “But there’s been a few times where I’ve been in positions like that, and I’ve taken the tournament by the scruff of the neck.â€� What McIlroy saw throughout the day was enough to make anyone’s head spin. First it was the likes of Mexico’s Ancer and young American Schniederjans making moves. Three birdies for Ollie and two for Abraham in the opening six holes had them thrust into the spotlight. The American seemingly dropped out of it with a double bogey on the 10th. Ancer was gone with bogeys on 12 and 13. Attention turned to Matsuyama next. Previously out of sight an eagle on the par-5 16th introduced the Japanese star to the mix. When he failed to birdie either of the final two holes he had the clubhouse lead at 12 under, but you figured it wouldn’t be enough. And you knew it wouldn’t be when England’s Pepperell got red hot. A closing 5-under 31, including an incredible double breaking 49-foot birdie on 17, took the mark to 14 under. Just as the echoes of Pepperell’s out of this world putt had subsided around TPC Sawgrass, Vegas stepped up and made one from 70-feet on the Island Green. It was the longest ever made in the ShotLink era (since 2003). Now the Venezuelan was the man. Especially after his approach to the 18th green stopped at six feet. But he failed to roll it in, settling for a tie with Pepperell. Johnson and Snedeker were making small moves at this point, but their challenge took a back seat to 48-year-old Furyk – his exploits ahead of them would force their hands and they would come up short. The local favorite Furyk had been hanging around all day, including hitting the lead when he was four under on his round through 11 holes. But he was almost dismissed when he bogeyed the 15th hole … frayed nerves they said. Birdie on 16 returned the old guy to center stage. Nerves? What nerves. He took dead aim at 17 and hit it to 14-feet. The birdie putt looked in the whole way but somehow stayed out. Never mind that though. Furyk took a deadly aggressive line off the 18th tee and then stiffed his approach to near tap in range. 15-under. Take that. Overnight leader Rahm had dropped three shots in four holes to give up the lead early on, but he bounced back with two birdies before the turn to stay in the mix. Despite a mental error on the 11th the Spaniard’s birdie on the 13th hole kept him alive. But he played the final four holes 3 over par, including a water ball on the par-3 17th. Fleetwood three-putted the opening hole and then got stuck on the treadmill going nowhere through the turn. A water ball on the par-5 11th and a bogey on the 15th seemingly took out the Englishman. That was until a stunning second shot on the par-5 16th set up an eagle. But as quick as he was back, he was gone, as his tee ball on the 17th bounced odd the railroad ties and into the drink. And so it left McIlroy. “I thought back to Crooked Stick in 2012, BMW Championship there,â€� he said of the chaos all around. “There was a lot of guys up around the lead, and I made a really good run on the back nine, was able to pull that off. I don’t know why it popped into my head, but I guess all these experiences are so helpful to draw on. “The hardest thing was just getting yourself to the point mentally where you say, well, why not me; this is my tournament, I’m going to finish it off.â€� Finish it off he did. Birdie on 15. Birdie on 16 (almost eagle). And a couple clutch pars on the closing holes, including a ripping drive down the last. Just as Pete Dye drew it up in his head all those years ago … a drama filled Sunday for us all. ODDS AND ENDS Stunning Stuff on 17: Fans around the amphitheater that is the par-3 17th were certainly given a treat. Eddie Pepperell’s 49-foot, seven-inch birdie on the Island Green was downright filthy good. “What can I say, it was pretty awesome, to be fair,â€� he smiled when recounting the double breaker up and over the rise from the front of the green to the back corner. But almost before the fans could even sit down after a standing ovation as Pepperell left the green Jhonattan Vegas decided to one up him. Vegas found a way to make the longest recorded putt ever on the green – a whopper from 69-feet, seven-inches. It beat out Bernhard Langer’s 59-foot, seven-inch effort from 2008’s second round. “Absolutely mind blowing, simple as that,â€� Vegas said. “It never crossed my mind that I was going to make such a long putt on such a phenomenal hole. But it’s one of those things, that’s kind of what you play golf for, to be in those kind of situations. Playing the 17th hole at THE PLAYERS with that crowd, it just doesn’t get any better. Obviously, the type of memories that last a lifetime and something that I’ll remember for forever.â€� Furyk falls just short: Jim Furyk claimed his second runner up finish at THE PLAYERS, lighting up his local fans with a great late charge. It is his 31st career second place, tying him with Tiger Woods for second all-time. Phil Mickelson has 36. You can read more on his efforts here. Johnson gets mini PLAYERS milestone: Coming into the week world No. 1 Dustin Johnson was without a top-10 finish in 10 starts at THE PLAYERS. But the move to March agreed with the 20-time PGA TOUR winner as he finished T5. Johnson (69-68-69-69) became the first player since Steve Elkington in 1997 to record all four rounds in the 60s at THE PLAYERS. Rahm’s regret: Overnight leader Jon Rahm would end the day with a tough 76, the pivotal moment being pinned to his approach to the par-5 11th green. Rahm drove the ball into the left fairway bunker and a path to the green was seemingly blocked out by trees – not to mention the water he would have to clear. When playing partner Tommy Fleetwood found water from the fairway Rahm’s caddie Adam Hayes worked at convincing his player to lay up to safety and try to make birdie with his wedge game. Instead the Spaniard was convinced he could hook the ball up and around the trouble. “Based on the way it was lying, with the lines of the bunker going towards the hole, I was trying to hit a big draw,â€� Rahm said. “It was easier to take it than try to hit a wedge shot toward the fairway. It was a sand wedge. It might’ve been 80 yards tops but the ball from the angle was settled down, so I didn’t like it. Adam was trying to convince me to go right.â€� Rahm’s attempt was a poor one that got wet and had no chance of making land. It would eventually result in a bogey. “When I first got to the ball, I was really sure I could do it. If you give me 10 balls, besides that one, I’d hit the other nine on land,â€� he said. NOTABLES TIGER WOODS (69/6 under) – Best round of the week for the two-time PLAYERS Champion. Will play the World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play as his next start. ADAM SCOTT (70/11 under) – Former champ bogeyed both back nine par-5s to take some gloss off. JUSTIN ROSE (68/12 under) – The FedExCup champion secured a third top-10 of the season to move to 12th in the standings. JASON DAY (72/12 under) – The 2016 PLAYERS Champion just couldn’t get his putter hot, settling for his fourth top-10 this season. RICKIE FOWLER (76/3 under) – Illness he battled all week finally caught up with the 2015 PLAYERS Champion. PATRICK REED (78/3 under) – Front nine 41 took away any faint hope the Masters champion started with … BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU (71/9 under) – Three front nine birdies had some thinking he might charge into the mix. But two bogeys off the turn killed him off. WEBB SIMPSON (68/8 under) – The defending champ posted his best round of the week despite a one-shot penalty when his putter got caught in his clothing and accidentally hit his ball on the fringe at 14. FRANCESCO MOLINARI (72/2 under) – Last week’s winner at Bay Hill finished well back. BROOKS KOEPKA (70/2 under) – Was 4 under on his round through 16 holes with two birdies and an eagle before finding the water at 17. SERGIO GARCIA (67/8 under) – Great finish for the former champion. WORTH WATCHING 49-foot birdie putt by Eddie Pepperell on No. 17 Laser approach by Jim Furyk on No. 18 Stunning drive at No. 18 by Rory McIlroy Bunker hole-out on 3 by Tiger Woods THEY SAID IT It still stings. I mean, I’m a competitor, and I want to win, and it pisses me off I didn’t. I was hitting the golf ball well and I’m frustrated at lipping more putts out than I think I have in a very long time. I play golf because I love the game and I know that I have a talent for it and I want to make the most of it. So I’m just satisfied that I’ve added another great tournament to my CV, and it puts me in a great spot going forward. It was just a matter of time; it was going to happen. BY THE NUMBERS 3 – Number of players who have won a FedExCup, THE PLAYERS, a major and a World Golf Championship. Rory McIlroy joined Tiger Woods and Henrik Stenson 6 – Number of consecutive top-10s for McIlroy. The best streak of his career. 23 – Birdies by Abraham Ancer and Brandt Snedeker this week. Most in the field. 24 – Number of rounds in the 60s at THE PLAYERS for Sergio Garcia. The most ever. Adam Scott has 23. 7 – The highest score at the Island Green par-3 17th this week. Shared by Tiger Woods, Sam Ryder and Paul Casey. SUPERLATIVES STROKES GAINED LEADERS: Off-the-tee (Adam Scott, 2.003); Tee-to-Green (Dustin Johnson, 4.277); Approach-the-Green (Nick Taylor, 4.055); Around-the-Green (Eddie Pepperell, 3.709); Putting (Thorbjorn Olesen, 3.882); Total (Eddie Pepperell, Emiliano Grillo, Jhonattan Vegas, 5.260). LONGEST DRIVE: 356 yards – Luke List on 14. LONGEST PUTT: 69-feet, 7 inches. Jhonattan Vegas drilled a miracle birdie on the par-3 17th. LONGEST HOLE-OUT: 47 yards – Thorbjorn Olesen. MOST BIRDIES: 7 – Francesco Molinari (72), Thorbjorn Olesen (69), Eddie Pepperell (66), Nick Taylor (67), Jimmy Walker (71). BOGEY-FREE ROUNDS: Jhonattan Vegas (66), J.T.Poston (70) HARDEST HOLE: Par-4 18th. Played 4.288. Just nine birdies.
Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth were among the leaders after the second round and look to make a move, while others will try to survive the 54-hole cut.
