Michael Kim extends lead at John Deere Classic

Rookie Munoz eyes wire-to-wire win

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LAS VEGAS – Jason Day has continued his long-held belief of family first, pulling out of the Hero World Challenge to support wife Ellie through the early stages of a third pregnancy. Day was due to tee it up at his native Australian Open in Sydney on November 23-26 before flying back to the Bahamas the following week but will now forego the chance to be part of Tiger Woods’ comeback to spend less time away from his family. Woods is making his first competitive appearance since overcoming a fourth back surgery. Day missed the 2012 Open Championship to be at the birth of his first child Dash and the Australian summer of golf in 2015 for their second child Lucy. The couple’s third child is due in June, meaning Day’s place in the 2018 U.S. Open could be in question. Day hasn’t played in Australia since 2013. Since that time, he has become a major winner and spent time as world No. 1. As such, he felt it imperative to support his homeland when a choice had to be made. “I am thrilled we are having a third child and want to be a part of the journey as much as possible just like I was for Dash and Lucy,â€� Day confirmed. “I have always said family first and given I really wanted to support Australian golf this year and play in the Australian Open that unfortunately means I can’t join Tiger and the others at the Hero World Challenge this time around. “I wish his event much success and hope to return to it in the future.â€� Day’s withdrawal coincided with countryman Marc Leishman’s decision to also skip out on the 18-man field in Albany, with Leishman deciding to instead play in the Australian PGA on the Gold Coast. Leishman recently had his third child, a daughter Eva, and also has a rule not to be on the road too many weeks in a row. He originally planned to miss the Australian summer of golf and only play in the Bahamas, before having a change of heart. Coming off the best season of his life where he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and the BMW Championship Leishman’s home ties proved too enticing. “I’ve won on most tours around the world except Australasia. It’s a goal of mine, something that’s really missing from my resume,” Leishman told Australian reporters. “Getting that trophy at the PGA would be an awesome way to end what has been a really good year so far. “I was in to play that (Hero World Challenge). It’s a two-hour flight from my house over in America so I could zip down there, play the tournament and be home but it just wasn’t sitting right in my stomach that I wasn’t going home this year.â€� Leishman is also favored to pick up the prestigious Greg Norman medal, awarded to the best Australian player on the world stage of golf. Coming into the field in the Bahamas are former Open Champion Henrik Stenson and U.S. Presidents Cup team member Kevin Chappell.

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NOTE: For the three events determining who advances in the FedExCup Playoffs, Rob is focusing only on golfers outside the latest bubble. In this second edition, all five below enter THE NORTHERN TRUST outside the top 70 in points. Ian Poulter (+500 for a Top 10) … On the cusp to qualify for the European Ryder Cup team for the seventh time, the 45-year-old from England opens his 14th Playoffs (he missed only the 2016 edition) slotted 79th in FedExCup points. He’s recorded a pair of top 10s at Liberty National, the more recent just two years ago (T10). In his most recent start, he posted a T10 at TPC Southwind where he had hung up top 10s on two prior occasions. His 2021 also includes a T3 at Colonial at the end of May and a T4 at the Scottish Open in July. Sits a distant 198th on the PGA TOUR in greens hit, but he’s more than covered by ranking fourth in Strokes Gained: Putting, ninth in scrambling and 31st in adjusted scoring. But most of all, it’s that dangling Ryder Cup spot that warrants an elevated expectation at THE NORTHERN TRUST. Matt Wallace (+1200 for a Top 10) … No matter the fact that FedExCup points were quadrupled in 2019 and tripled last year, exactly one guy rose from outside the top 100 upon entry to inside the top 70 to advance to the BMW Championship. Seeded 102nd, Harold Varner III turned the trick with a T3 at Liberty National in 2019, and Russell Henley (101st) replicated with a T8 at TPC Boston in 2020. Wallace currently is 107th and the only Sleeper featured here outside the top 90. The 31-year-old Englishman also is making his Playoffs debut. He’s a long shot to qualify for the European Ryder Cup team, but a strong performance at THE NORTHERN TRUST is all but necessary to force the hand of captain Padraig Harrington. Wallace is rested since a T8 on his home circuit three weeks ago. He’s 21st on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and 44th in adjusted scoring. Seamus Power (+1100 for a Top 20) … With six consecutive top 20s punctuated by his breakthrough victory at the Barbasol Championship a month ago, the Irishman is recently familiar with crashing leaderboards. He’s among a seriously quiet smattering of rank-and-filers responsible for gaudy analytics this season. Before you look up the backs of the trading cards of guys like Hank Lebioda and Brice Garnett, Power will match across the board. He’s 28th in greens hit, 24th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, fifth in scrambling and T1 in par-4 scoring. He’s just 73rd in the FedExCup in part because he has been limited to 16 starts due to conditional status pre-victory. Harold Varner III (+900 for a Top 20) … He’s 72nd in the FedExCup, so he might as well just leverage that position into one more start. In fact, as noted in Matt Wallace’s capsule above, HV3 was a force at Liberty National two years ago, finishing T3 to advance from the 102-hole. Strongest tee to green, but that’s not a backhanded way of saying that he loses strokes with his putter. He doesn’t. Top 15s in two of his last four starts this summer. Henrik Norlander (+2000 for a Top 20) … The 34-year-old Swede has rested a sore back for a couple of weeks but it’s fair to respect his personal time to enjoy the afterglow of competing in his first Olympics. Two weeks before that, he placed T5 at the Barbasol Championship with an uncharacteristically strong game on the greens. Typically, he’d need to contend to lead a field in scoring opportunities so as to see how much sticks, er, drops. At 87th in the FedExCup, he’ll need another good week with the putter to compliment his ball-striking that ranks 15th on TOUR. Liberty National is the kind of stage that rewards it more often than others. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, Aug. 17. For live odds, visit betmgm.

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