McIlroy tops Koepka for Player of the Year award

If the U.S. Open plays out at even a fraction of how the PGA Championship unfolded, then you cannot give up no matter when you think you don’t have a chance. Remember, that was the week when the champion in PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live grabbed Justin Thomas at +30000 to win mid-round of the finale. Tournaments at which the top of the leaderboard is more likely to come back to the field are prime for that kind of pickin’. Also, just like for the last major, PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live has expanded prize money places four times the norm. All of the top-20 best performers at The Country Club will cash. First place will pocket $2,000. Refer to the top of your desktop interface and/or mobile app for the breakdown. As it pertains to the desktop, if yours defaults to the Valspar Championship, click on the Profile page until it loads. (You’ll cycle through a series of new pop-ups until it does.) Then click on LOG OUT. That should reset your interface to reflect the opening board for the U.S. Open, and although strange, you actually won’t log out. Of course, just as we previously experienced, if your page doesn’t reset, log out for real and log back in. With deep fields are long odds for many of your favorites, so go get yours! Register for PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live here and monitor Rob’s and Glass’ progress as Influencers. For a broader explanation of the format and FAQs, click here. TOURNAMENT TO WIN Glass … Xander Schauffele (+2200) No time for funny business this week! We’ve learned the majors continue to ship BIG BOY WINNERS so I’ll leave my daydreaming at +10000 and higher for the other events. Schauffele’s record at this event is fantastic as he’s T7 or better in all five of his career starts over the last five years. I get there are guys with better form, win shares or whatever else. He’s performed at classic tracks, coastal tracks and a “new” track. Bases covered. I’m putting him up based on five years of growth and scar tissue. He’s not going to be surprised, shocked or shaken come Sunday afternoon as his demeanor matches the depth of his bag. He’s ready. Rob … Brooks Koepka (+4000) As much as I’d like to and as easy as it has been over the years, I can’t argue with Glass, but Koepka trains in having gone Win-Win-2nd-T4 in U.S. Opens since 2017. But we don’t need to pin his receipts on the bulletin board. This is a major and he is an apex warrior. The house is throwing us a bone at this kickback. TOP 10 Glass … Max Homa (+380) My luck at the Weekend Window has been mixed so I’m going to focus on players who might not need adjusting (hopefully) as the weekend rolls on. I absolutely HATE his record in majors overall (11 events, 4 cuts made). I’m playing the come here as he’s cashed in his last three and T13 at Southern Hills was the best of the bunch. His reputation on difficult tracks RECENTLY is more than fantastic. Rob … Patrick Reed (+775) Results may vary, because while I’m able to access this window regularly and Brendon Todd delivered on it at +1100 at Colonial, I probably need to throttle back on my expectation entering the final round. For now, I still can open with a reach. This is one of those happy accidents that we hope to encounter along the way. His form has been uninspiring for most of 2022, but he still rose for a T7 in challenging conditions at Colonial just three weeks ago. That’s what patience and one of the best short games out there can manufacture. I’m also fixated on his record in all majors. He’s proven time and again that he wants the lights on. The harder the test, the better he performs, the more we benefit. In the U.S. Open alone, he has a solo fourth-place finish among five top 20s. TOP 20 Rob … Victor Perez (+700) It seems that the interface is opening this window regularly and earlier for R2, so I’m opening with an aggressive move at the Frenchman. He’s one of my Sleepers. The play is for a guy who has enough experience in the biggest events so as not to be overwhelmed by the experience. He’s also comin’ in hot and even if there might be fewer fans of Tom Brady in the neighborhoods surrounding The Country Club, Perez remains among TB12’s faithful. However, he’ll need to get off to a hot start to retain my loyalty. The inconsistency of having the option to modify this bet during tournaments is more influential than hoping that he’s going to recover from, say, sitting T70 after one round. Glass … Brian Harman (+425) Cashed in his last four U.S. Opens, including monsters Erin Hills (T2), Shinnecock Hills, Winged Foot and Torrey Pines. Should be relieved that he’s getting “only” 7,264 yards this week. Balanced through the bag, his excellent short game can let him hang around. ROUND 1 LEADER Glass … Jon Rahm (+2500) I’ll hook my wagon to one of the early 3-balls off the front knowing I can rearrange throughout MOST of the day. Clearly stated he’s playing the PGATOUR for the competition and legacy, he’ll look to join Brooks Koepka and Curtis Strange in the recent record books if he wins again this week. An excellent start won’t hurt his chances and it would put the field on notice. Rob … Rory McIlroy (+1400) This is where Glass can get me every time. McIlroy goes off No. 10 at 7:40 a.m. ET and he’s rightfully tagged with the shortest odds. However, by the time I’m up on Thursday morning, he’ll be done with his round, so I need to leave my potential pivoting entirely to the afternoon wave. Among the longer shots, I looked at Denny McCarthy (+12500), Sebastián Muñoz (+8000) and Russell Henley (+6600). McCarthy has been doing his best work of late in opening rounds, Muñoz opened The RSM Classic and the AT&T Byron Nelson with 60s, and Henley was the FRL at the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2021. All go off before 8:00 a.m. NOTE: While Glass and Rob typically stick with their selections as detailed in Pick ‘Em Preview, they are allowed the right to make changes at any time.

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Justin Thomas birdied four of his last five holes for a 6-under 66 and was three strokes behind first-round leader Bronson Burgoon at the CIMB Classic on Thursday. Burgoon’s 63 on the par-72 TPC Kuala Lumpur West Course gave him a one-stroke lead over Austin Cook. Scott Piercy and Billy Horschel, and Taiwan’s C.T. Pan were another stroke back after 65s. Thomas was in an eight-way tie for sixth, including 2012 champion Nick Watney, Kevin Chappell and Paul Casey. “You have to play well here every day or at least get a round like today … it’s what could end up winning me this golf tournament,” Thomas said. “Not having my best stuff and getting around here in 6-under is huge. I just didn’t take advantage of a couple opportunities and let a couple go, but kind of found something there those last five holes and was able to at least make a good round.” Burgoon, ranked 162nd, had eight birdies and an eagle. His only bogey came on the par-4 13th. “I drove it well and I putted pretty good, so it was kind of boring golf, but that’s always a good thing,” Burgoon said. “I chipped in for eagle out of the bunker on my ninth hole, which kind of boosted me, then I kept going.” Burgoon’s best result last season was tied for second at the John Deere Classic. He finished tied for 53rd at the Safeway Open last week. Defending champion Pat Perez shot 70. “You know, not bad, 2 under,” Perez said. “I could have made some more — I didn’t putt as well as I did last year obviously.” Kevin Tway, who won last week’s Safeway Open in a playoff, also had a 70. Danny Lee had the first ace of the 2018-19 season by holing out on the par-3 fourth hole. He used a 9-iron from 145 yards for his third career hole-in-one.

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