Mickelson commits to PGA Tour’s new 3M Open

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The Florida Swing is in full effect and Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club and Lodge is the next challenge, the second of four consecutive weeks in the Sunshine State. An invitational field of 123 will try to tame The King’s Par-72, 7,466 yard playground as Bay Hill hosts for the 43rd time. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks | The First Look Dick Wilson laid out the original in 1961 but Palmer started the major renovations in 2009 and regrassed all of the greens with TifEagle Bermuda in 2015. Those massive greens average 7,500 square feet, 1,500 square feet larger than last week at The Concession. Prepped to run 12 feet, the flat stick will definitely have a say in who takes home the biggest prize. Big targets off the tee and into the green reward those who find the short grass. Missing those large targets will come with large penalties, including 84 bunkers and water in play on half of the course. Keeping it off the beach and out of the drink isn’t as easy as it sounds with three inches of over-seeded Bermuda rough. The invitational field, similarly to Genesis, will enjoy an elevated prize pool of $9.3 million with the winner taking home $1.674 million and 550 FedExCup points plus a three year exemption. Even though the field is reduced, the top 65 and ties will need to qualify to play the weekend. The weather forecast this week is a mixed bag, especially on the weekend. Keep an eye on it moving forward because if the wind is up, this place will show all of its teeth! Recent Event Winners Stats 2020: Tyrrell Hatton (-4, 284) Picked up his first TOUR win in his 60th start as he won by one. … Didn’t break 73 on the weekend but won by a shot. … Led by two after Saturday, his first 54-hole lead on TOUR. … Shared the 36-hole lead for the first time on TOUR. … Entered the week leading the TOUR in Strokes-Gained: Approach the Green. … Becomes the fifth consecutive international champion. … Of the last 15 victors, nine are internationals. … Fifth consecutive winner T4 or better Par-3 scoring. … First Englishman to win. … First on TOUR since Geoff Ogilvy (2006 U.S. Open) to play BOTH rounds on the weekend over-par and win. … Won in his fourth attempt. … T6 in his previous start on TOUR (WGC-Mexico Championship). … Picked up T4 in his debut here in 2017. Notables: 2107 champ Marc Leishman (2nd) beat Hatton by a shot on Sunday. … Sungjae Im (3rd) winner the previous week at Honda bettered his 2019 debut (T3). … Bryson DeChambeau (4th) was the only other player under-par for the week. … Joel Dahmen (T5) MC in perfect weather in 2019. … Danny Lee (T5) cashed his best finish in his eighth start. … 2018 winner Rory McIlroy (T5) began the final round just two back but signed for 76. … Keith Mitchell (T5) cashed his second consecutive T6 paycheck. … 2019 runner-up Matthew Fitzpatrick (T9) was the only player on THE WEEKEND to post a number in the 60s (69). … Sung Kang (T9) shared the 36 hole lead before 78-74 on the weekend. … Harris English (T9) cashed his best payday in his ninth start. … Only 10 rounds under par on Sunday. … 2016 winner Jason Day (WD) is one of two players (Fred Couples) to go wire-to-wire. … The last champion to defend, Matt Every 2014-15, opened with 65 to lead after Round 1 but shot 83 (MC) in Round 2. … Hardest course on TOUR in 2020, including majors, as it played 2.106 shots over par. … Saturday played 3.913 shots over par. … Wind gusts played havoc all week, just four bogey-free rounds. 2019: Francesco Molinari (-12, 276) Closed with bogey-free 64 to win by two. … Sat five back after 54 holes. … Posted the low round of the week in Round 4. … Won in his seventh attempt. … Never MC in seven tries. … Led the field Strokes-Gained: Off the Tee. … 51-under lifetime at Bay Hill. … Made an ace in Round 1. … Only made two bogeys on the weekend. … Picked up his third win in last 12 TOUR starts. Notables: Matthew Fitzpatrick (2nd) led by one after 54 holes and was the first round leader in 2017. … Tommy Fleetwood (T3) was the 36-hole co-leader by four. … Sungjae Im (T3) posted all four rounds under-par on debut. … Sung Kang (T6) picked up his first of two consecutive top 10 finishes. … Rory McIlroy (T6) began Round 4 just one back. … Keith Mitchell (T6) won The Honda Classic the previous week and led the field in birdies with 21. … Englishman Matt Wallace (T6) posted all four rounds in the red on debut. … Byeong Hun-An (T10) improved on T14 from 2018. … Luke List (T10) backed up his T7 from 2018. … Adam Long (T10) played the weekend 69-67 on debut. … Cut was 1-over 145. … Wind didn’t factor. … Only nine bogey free rounds. 2018: Rory McIlroy (-18, 270) Started the two year trend of posting bogey-free 64 on Sunday. … Won by three for his 14th TOUR victory. … Began the final round two back. … Posted his career best Strokes-Gained: Putting. … Only needed 100 putts. … 54 from 54 inside seven feet. … Won in his fourth attempt. … Best US result entering the week was T20. … MC week prior at Valspar. … On a Bay Hill run of T6 or better in his last four visits. Notables: Bryson DeChambeau (2nd) shared the 36-hole lead and played in the final group. … Justin Rose (3rd) led the field with 24 birdies. … Orlando resident Henrik Stenson (4th) led or co-led after 18, 36 and 54 holes. … 2017 winner Marc Leishman (T7) closed with 67 in his defense. … Patrick Reed (T7) posted 22 birdies, T2 behind Rose. … Patrick Rodgers (T7) closed 68-69. … Played the easiest of the three years at 72.023. … 14 bogey free rounds. … Talor Gooch (T26) and Aaron Wise (T41) both opened with 65 on their debuts. … Last first-timer to win here was Matt Every in 2014. … Cut was 1-over 145. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. * – Top 10 finish here since 2016 Horses for Courses

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If you play PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf and you’re on the fence to burn the final start for any of your possibilities at the PGA Championship, your best default is to open with any of those candidates on your bench and leave them there until the 36-hole cut falls. (REMINDER: The cut at the PGA Championship is low 70 and ties.) RELATED: Horses for Courses | Sleeper picks With only two tournaments remaining in Segment 3, and projecting that round-by-round fantasy scoring will be low at Southern Hills Country Club, there is no reason to rush into any golfer unless he’s unlikely to play at Colonial and/or Muirfield Village where fantasy scoring will be higher. Consider your experience at the Wells Fargo Championship just two weeks ago when actual scores were among the highest of the season. Until bonus points were applied to your starters in the final round, hanging up a zero in any round was addition by subtraction. For example, I played Matt Kuchar in all four rounds. He finished T49 at 7-over 287 and netted one fantasy point, that via his FedExCup bonus. In other words, if there ever was a week to sit the studs, that was it. The beautiful thing about the PGA Championship – other than the breathtaking course – is that the field is deeper than every other this side of THE PLAYERS Championship. Mix in one or two hard-charging internationals among the sometimers to reserve a start for one or two who project to contribute more in the two weeks that follow. POWER RANKINGS WILD CARD Shane Lowry (+125 for a Top 20) … This is a major, so it’s only rightful that he’s an extension of the Power Rankings proper. In fact, based on reaction to the PR, he’s a snub, and I can’t disagree even though I write the thing. Phenomenal form upon arrival with all of the data supports a continuation, he hasn’t done anything to warrant concern. But if he finishes solo 21st, I’m a genius. DRAWS Dustin Johnson (+110 for a Top 20) … In his first start as a married man, he finished T59 at the AT&T Byron Nelson, but there’s nothing to read into there, gang. Expectations for success always are way up there for the 24-time PGA TOUR winner, so every forgettable result to which you’re attached emotionally feels personal, but Southern Hills will reward his tee-to-green strengths, so go ahead and push for something stronger than this bet. Tyrrell Hatton (+225 for a Top 20) … In the numbers game of the Power Rankings, he just missed. In his last four stroke-play starts in individual competition, he’s finished no better than T21, and none of those were in a field as thick as this week’s. So, he slots nicely as a cornerstone to make the cut and take his talents into the weekend. Talor Gooch (+333 for a Top 20) … It’s easy to spin positively about anyone in the field with ties to the Sooner State, but it’s the right call for the native and resident of Midwest City, an eastern suburb of Oklahoma City about 90 miles southwest of Southern Hills. While he’s cooled a bit since his breakthrough title at The RSM Classic six months ago, he’s still been connecting for top 20s with regularity. One of the best around the greens and currently leading the PGA TOUR in par-3 scoring, a handy weapon in the winds. Keegan Bradley (+250 for a Top 20) … Fun fact: Back in the day when I was hosting and producing live text chats at Rotoworld, at the very end of the hang for the 2011 PGA Championship, a reader asked for only the name of a longshot. My answer: Keegan Bradley. Sho’nuff, the then-PGA TOUR rookie went out and prevailed in Atlanta in what was his major debut. He already had won the Nelson that season, so my short list was limited to recent winners, but Bradley also checked all of the boxes statistically. With four years of weekly, hands-on experience analyzing the sport and over 15 years playing fantasy, I was confident. Keegs has been dynamite on challenging courses in the last couple of months, so he no longer is a longshot. Brian Harman (+450 for a Top 20) … Keeps on keepin’ on. Went through the process of committing late to the AT&T Byron Nelson only to withdraw early, but even though the strength-of-field rating at TPC Craig Ranch was a sturdy 371, he may have determined that contributing to his divisor in the Official World Golf Ranking via only the PGA Championship was the better move to position better to qualify for The Open Championship via the next top 50. Whatever the case, he finished T9 the week prior in the test outside D.C., and he compensates for relative distance lost off the tee with accuracy and precision on approach. Confident short game and putting continues to pay off the efforts. Seamus Power (+333 for a Top 20) … The 35-year-old hadn’t qualified for a major until the Masters last month. Like more and more first-timers at Augusta National in the last couple of editions, he busted the trend that experience is required and finished T27. He’s 23rd in the FedExCup with four top 10s and another six top 25s, but he presents as a sleeper this week because of the star power around him. His analytics are eye-popping and he’s entirely worth full value of this bet. Tommy Fleetwood Sergio Garcia Russell Henley Billy Horschel Jason Kokrak Matt Kuchar Anirban Lahiri Sebastián Muñoz Ryan Palmer Adam Scott Harold Varner III Jhonattan Vegas Aaron Wise Odds sourced on Wednesday, May 18th at 9 a.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm FADES K.H. Lee … Checks to see if the PGA Championship is contested at TPC Craig Ranch. No? OK, then. He’s equipped better to handle the comedown after defending his title in Texas than last year’s surprise breakthrough, but it’s still a fact that he’s 0-for-5 in the majors. Zero reason to expect lightning to strike in that bottle again this soon. Webb Simpson … At the certainty of repeating the lament, he still hasn’t put four rounds together since returning from missing two months due to a herniated disc in his neck. Marc Leishman … On Twitter Spaces for GolfBet in advance of the AT&T Byron Nelson, I stated that I’ve drifted accidentally into the position of an apologist in support of the Aussie. The absence of a top 10 in seven months doesn’t seem possible given how great of a fit he’s been for all the reasons. Even last week, he had an eagle-1, -2 and a pair of -3s, yet managed to finish T51. The cynic in me believes that, on the spectrum of golfers who have gone through the gauntlet of Riviera, Bay Hill, TPC Sawgrass, the Match Play, Augusta National, the team format in NOLA and the challenge at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, someone will be situated near an endpoint of disappointing returns. The silence can’t last, and it should have ended last week, but there’s no reason to think that he makes noise at Southern Hills after so many solid looks without meeting even one expectation. Abraham Ancer … No top 30s in stroke-play competition in seven consecutive starts and no top 25s in the same format on the PGA TOUR since Mayakoba in November. Southern Hills isn’t a track where he’s going to find an elixir, either. Bubba Watson … He should love how the topography of the course fits visually with his style of play, but the form just isn’t there. The turning point was Riviera where he’s had so much success and still missed the cut despite months of inspiring performances. Tony Finau … He’s showing signs that his putting is turning a corner but not enough to warrant hope for something special beyond making the cut. Matthew Wolff … Well, I was on board at TPC Craig Ranch last week, but that didn’t pan out. If he wasn’t an Oklahoma State University product, I may have omitted him, but he continues to struggle in putting two rounds together, much less four. Cameron Tringale … Loyal readers already know what’s coming. In 21 starts in the majors and THE PLAYERS, he’s cashed just 10 times and only once for a top 25 (T16, 2016 PLAYERS). Bottom line, his game has not played up on the biggest stages. Jason Day Rickie Fowler Garrick Higgo Nicolai Højgaard Chris Kirk Kevin Kisner Luke List Patrick Reed Henrik Stenson Lee Westwood Bernd Wiesberger RETURNING TO COMPETITION Bryson DeChambeau … Easily the biggest question mark as we encroach on the opening round. He had surgery to repair the hamate bone in his left hand on April 14. In the context of elevated expectations, at best this is a potential boon for full-season owners who have been crushed by his decision to sit out the entire fall and failure to stay healthy in 2022. Daniel Berger … Careful here. He was slated to play the Mexico Open at Vidanta but withdrew early due to a sore back. Fine. That’s an international trip. However, his back also thwarted his title defense at Pebble Beach in February. Of course, in between those episodes, he went 5-for-5 with a solo fourth at PGA National headlining a trio of top 25s. Louis Oosthuizen … This is his first live action since he pulled out of the Masters before his second round with a sore back. The irony was that one of his playing partners was Tiger Woods, he of his own comeback at the time and curiosity of the physical capability to complete two rounds, much less make the cut and complete all 72 holes as he did. For the record, while Oosthuizen has withdrawn twice during competition in the last six months (RSM), he hasn’t missed a cut since the 2020 edition of the RSM. NOTABLES WDs Phil Mickelson … The defending champion announced late last week that he will remain sidelined indefinitely. He hasn’t played anywhere since early February. Sungjae Im … Complications regarding travel from his native South Korea after testing positive for COVID-19 made it impossible for him to arrive at Southern Hills in time. He was among the handful of internationals who opted not to compete in the 2021 Open Championship as a result of challenges related to the pandemic. Paul Casey … Extended discomfort in his back has prevented him from playing, or at least trying to play since his mid-tournament withdrawal just two holes into the first round of the Match Play in late March. This is his third early WD since. Harris English … Had hoped to give it a go for the first time since having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip on Feb. 14. Jimmy Walker … Out since missing the cut at home in San Antonio. This is the first PGA Championship he’s missed since taking the title in 2016. Davis Love III … Recently withdrew after two rounds of the Mitsubishi Electric Classic on the PGA TOUR Champions. An explanation wasn’t released; he was T53 at the time. This is the fourth edition of the last seven PGA Championships that the 1997 winner has skipped. He’s missed the cut in his last seven appearances dating back to 2012. RECAP – AT&T BYRON NELSON POWER RANKINGS Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Scottie Scheffler T15 2 Justin Thomas T5 3 Will Zalatoris MC 4 Jordan Spieth 2nd 5 Sam Burns MC 6 Talor Gooch MC 7 Xander Schauffele T5 8 Joaquin Niemann T25 9 Brian Harman DNP 10 Hideki Matsuyama T3 11 Marc Leishman T51 12 Dustin Johnson T59 13 Jhonattan Vegas T59 14 Cameron Champ T38 15 Aaron Wise T51 Wild Card Tommy Fleetwood T59 SLEEPERS Golfer (Bet) Result Joohyung (Tom) Kim (+550 for a Top 20) T17 Maverick McNealy (+200 for a Top 20) T32 Shaun Norris (+650 for a Top 20) MC Cameron Percy (+1100 for a Top 20) MC Callum Tarren (+1100 for a Top 20) T46 GOLFBET Bet: Adam Hadwin – Top 30 (+190) Result: MC BIRTHDAYS AMONG ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE PGA TOUR May 17 … Hunter Mahan (40) May 18 … Christiaan Bezuidenhout (28) May 19 … Austin Smotherman (28) May 20 … Branden Grace (34) May 21 … Stewart Cink (49); Gary Woodland (38); John Huh (32) May 22 … Scott Brown (39); Jason Kokrak (37) May 23 … none

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