Martin Trainer leads by one at Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open

After this week’s doubleheader consisting of the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and the Bermuda Championship, the PGA TOUR rests for one week before finishing the fall with the Mayakoba Golf Classic and The RSM Classic. As a result, the Fantasy Insider column will be on hiatus until Tuesday, Nov. 12, thus the additional week of birthdays at the bottom. RELATED: Power Rankings: WGC-HSBC Champions | Power Rankings: Bermuda Championship | Daily fantasy advice Only the WGC-HSBC Champions is in play for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. If it scores anything like the first two stops on the Asian Swing, then the winner of the week will land at right around 880 points. That was the total posted by “tampatom” as the medalist at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. The four-way T1 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP touched 877 points. ShotLink remains off for all fantasy action until the Sentry Tournament of Champions launches Segment 2 in January. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf My roster for the WGC-HSBC Champions (in alphabetical order): Paul Casey Tony Finau Hideki Matsuyama Rory McIlroy Justin Rose Adam Scott You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Rafa Cabrera Bello; Sungjae Im; Francesco Molinari; Andrew Putnam; Xander Schauffele; Danny Willett Driving: n/a Power Rankings Wild Card Cameron Smith … As he rapidly rounds back into form, which he’s proven to do at this time of year, something will give. Despite success in the fourth quarter, he’s finished just T64 (2015) and T54 (2018) at Sheshan International. His scoring average is 73.38. Because there’s no cut, you’re better off rolling the dice with a talent who’s had success here before. However, if you’re into contrarianism, he presents as the golden ticket given the value of course experience. So, consider fractionally in DFS. Draws Danny Willett … At ninth in the Race to Dubai and with a win at the BMW PGA Championship, he’s proven to be all the way back from injury and disappointment. The 2016 Masters champion is among the best putters on the European Tour, but that strength pays off his similarly capable approach game. Placed T3 at Sheshan International in 2015 when he walked off with a course-record-tying 62. Francesco Molinari … Once upon a time, his victory at Sheshan International (in 2010) was considered official for PGA TOUR annals, but it was later stripped for clearer record-keeping. (This tournament endured a few years of unofficial/official placement before all doubt was eliminated in 2013.) So, the Italian’s official breakthrough victory occurred at the Quicken Loans National in 2018. That history lesson aside, his tee-to-green game along should trigger a top 25, but inconsistent form here recently and in recent weeks has lowered his temperature among gamers. Kurt Kitayama … Look away if you’re the analytical type and focus only on the results, especially the most recent. The UNLV product plies his craft on the European Tour where he’s a two-time winner this season. And in his last four circuit starts, he’s gone T21-T14-3rd-4th to sit 12th in the Race to Dubai. The 26-year-old has captured the attention of DFSers for a while now, but this marks his debut in a World Golf Championship. Go ahead and find a seat on the bandwagon. Rafa Cabrera Bello Sergio Garcia Shane Lowry Louis Oosthuizen Andrew Putnam Xinjun Zhang Fades Jordan Spieth … In retrospect, I gave him too much benefit of the doubt at Narashino where his struggling tee-to-green game cost him. He couldn’t find the magic on the greens and finished T66. So, rather than chase his shadow once again at Sheshan International, I’m stuffing my hands into my pockets until the roster deadline. However, if you’re curious, in his last appearance in 2015, he finished T7 despite checking up at T71 in fairways hit and T61 in greens in regulation. That’s because he led the field with only 101 putts and ranked ninth in putts per GIR. Matthew Fitzpatrick … Why does a guy with four runner-up finishes in a single season on the European Tour deserve this treatment? It’s because he swings so far to the other end of the spectrum when he’s not dialed in. Last week’s 75th-place finish in Japan was baffling. The conservative in me must leave him to longer-term formats until he exhibits an aversion to big numbers. The same model can be applied to his experienced at Sheshan International where he has a pair of top 10s, a T16 and a T54. Hao Tong Li … Hasn’t missed an edition since it’s been an official PGA TOUR event (2013-present), and he’s gone for a pair of top 15s, but they are his only top 30s and he’s been struggling of late. No need to reach on the native of China at home. Justin Harding Jason Kokrak Phil Mickelson Chez Reavie Bubba Watson Returning to Competition None. Notable WDs Kevin Na … Numerous qualifiers at the WGC-HSBC Champions elected not to commit, but he withdrew after the deadline. You won’t miss him, though. He hasn’t finished inside the top 50 in his last three tries at Sheshan International. Bud Cauley … After a T9 at the Houston Open and two weeks off, he’s 44th in the FedExCup standings, so there’s no urgency to play again until he’s ready. Martin Trainer … Sigh. He’s opened his sophomore season with five missed cuts in as many starts and he’s gone 16 in a row without a payday. The silver lining is that the 2019 Puerto Rico Open champ is fully exempt on the PGA TOUR through 2020-21. Mark Anderson … He’s 2-for-4 on the season, 118th in the FedExCup and currently set to rise into the top 20 of the graduate reshuffle with still two more playing opportunities before the category reorders for the first time (after The RSM Classic). Power Rankings Recap – ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Justin Thomas  T17 2  Rory McIlroy  T3 3  Hideki Matsuyama  2nd 4  Gary Woodland  5th 5  Adam Scott  T33 6  Matthew Fitzpatrick  75th 7  Patrick Reed  T17 8  Paul Casey  T17 9  Xander Schauffele  T10 10  Adam Hadwin  T41 11  Tommy Fleetwood  T22 12  Tony Finau  T59 13  Jordan Spieth  T66 14  Ryan Moore  T72 15  Louis Oosthuizen  T46 Wild Card  Jason Day  T22 Sleepers Recap – ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP Golfer  Result Ryo Ishikawa  T51 Nate Lashley  WD Shaun Norris  T51 Kevin Streelman  74th Vaughn Taylor  T41 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR October 29 … none October 30 … none October 31 … Mark Wilson (45) November 1 … none November 2 … James Hahn (38); Adam Hadwin (32) November 3 … none November 4 … Kevin Streelman (41) November 5 … Jim Herman (42); Bubba Watson (41) November 6 … Scott Piercy (41) November 7 … Maverick McNealy (24); Joaquin Niemann (21) November 8 … Troy Matteson (40); Francesco Molinari (37) November 9 … David Duval (48); Ted Potter, Jr. (36); Nicholas Lindheim (35) November 10 … Jon Rahm (25) November 11 … Robert Garrigus (42); Joel Dahmen (32)

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Patrick Reed, citing an ankle injury, withdrew from THE NORTHERN TRUST at Liberty National on Thursday. Reed, the winner of THE NORTHERN TRUST the last time it came to Liberty National, in 2019, came into the week at 22nd in the FedExCup. He has qualified for the TOUR Championship (top 30) seven years running, but will now drop down the standings heading into the BMW Championship, potentially putting his streak in jeopardy. At ninth in the Ryder Cup standings, Reed also still needs to either move into the top six (and make the team on points) or capture the attention of U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Steve Stricker. Players have through the BMW Championship next week to fight their way into the top six; Stricker will select and announce the remaining six members of the U.S. team after the season-ending TOUR Championship. The Ryder Cup at Wisconsin’s Whistling Straits is set for Sept. 24-26. Reed, nicknamed Captain America for his clutch play as a mainstay on U.S. Ryder and Presidents Cup teams, hasn’t had a top-10 finish on the PGA TOUR since a solo 5th at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday in early June. He was coming off a T31 finish at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, and skipped last week’s Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club, where he won in 2013.

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