Mickelson misses cut, worried about lack of focus

Tony Finau has been named to the Ryder Cup team, the final pick by U.S. captain Jim Furyk.

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Matt Wallace (+6600) … If you thought that Emiliano Grillo was an easy call as the most valuable Sleeper for the Valspar Championship – raises hand – then try the Englishman on for size. He’s 52nd in the Official World Golf Ranking and he enters with a solo third (Valero Texas Open) and a T18 (RBC Heritage) in his last two individual non-majors, but he’s connected five consecutive paydays for good measure. The 31-year-old also is an intriguing fit for Quail Hollow at 10th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and T19 in par-5 scoring. Matthew NeSmith (+12500) … The fact that this is his fourth appearance as a Sleeper this season is a good test on whether you see the glass half-full or half-empty, but there’s no room for pessimism here. The 27-year-old is in his second season and 74th in the FedExCup with seven top 25s, including a T21 at Valspar on Sunday. He ranks 14th on the PGA TOUR in total driving and leads in greens in regulation. His putting comes and goes, but he was in good form at Copperhead, finishing sixth in conversion percentage inside 10 feet. Seamus Power (+30000) … He and his partner, David Hearn, were positioned No. 10 in the Power Rankings for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but that promise was extinguished when the 34-year-old Irishman tested positive for COVID-19. The duo was tracking from multiple angles, including Power’s modest form upon arrival. He had just finished T9 in the Korn Ferry Tour event in Las Vegas. He’s cashed only thrice in eight starts on the PGA TOUR this season, but that includes in each of his last two events. The odds are with him to extend it at Quail Hollow where he’s 2-for-2 with a T13 in 2019, also during a sudden surge of form. Because he’s plowing forward on conditional status, he had been scheduled to compete in this week’s Simmons Bank Open on the KFT, but a bogey-free, 8-under 62 at Monday’s open qualifying for the Wells Fargo Championship at Gaston Country Club punched his ticket into the tournament proper. Vincent Whaley (+25000) … If the old adage is true that it’s easier to stay on the PGA TOUR than it is to get there, then what do you tell a guy who finished 183rd in the FedExCup in his abbreviated rookie season of 2019-20? This was the reality of the Georgia Tech product who managed only 15 starts before eligibility was extended for 2020-21 due to the pandemic. Like many others, he’s making it count as he preps for his debut at Quail Hollow. Currently 137th in the FedExCup with seven consecutive cuts made in tow, the highlight a T15 in Puerto Rico. What he lacks in firepower tee to green, he betters the average in cleaning up around and on greens. Justin Suh (+25000) … Confirmed as the late recipient of a sponsor exemption when Camilo Villegas opted out after gaining entry with one, Suh has lot riding on his first appearance at Quail Hollow. This will be his last start on a sponsor exemption in 2020-21 unless he achieves Special Temporary Membership [STM]. To do that, he needs no worse than a two-way share of eighth place. A top 10 but short of the two-way T8 would yield a start at next week’s AT&T Byron Nelson where he could continue to chase STM. Short of that and his only realistic method of entry into an event would be via open qualifying. There are nine more of those chances beginning with the AT&T Byron Nelson. Worst case, he’s a virtual lock to qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals since his non-member equivalent of FedExCup points would slot him 142nd among members. As it concerns his fit at the Wells Fargo Championship, the 23-year-old is 13th on TOUR in greens hit and T3 in par-5 scoring. Only seven of his 22 rounds in individual competition have been lasered by ShotLink, so there’s not enough of a sample size to buy heavily into it, but it’s still impressive that he’s put himself in this position just nine months after sitting outside the top-1,000 of the Official World Golf Ranking. He’s currently 403rd. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, May 4 at 5 a.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Charles Howell III’s career is a Rorschach test of golf success. His incredible consistency is impressive to some. Others can’t look past the lack of wins. He’s earned more than $35 million in almost two decades as a pro. He’s never lost his card and has qualified for every edition of the FedExCup Playoffs. Howell has finished in the top 3 in 27 PGA TOUR events. Only two of those are wins, though. He won for the first time in his second full season, in an event that no longer exists. His second win was more than a decade ago. It’s a surprisingly small amount of victories for someone who turned pro after a dominant performance in the NCAA Championship and who finished third in his third PGA TOUR start as a pro. “I’ve talked about it forever,â€� he said. “I thought I would have won more by now.â€�  He has a chance to end his drought Sunday. Howell will start the final round of The RSM Classic with a one-stroke lead over rookie Cameron Champ and 44-year-old Jason Gore, who earned his insurance license last week. Howell started Saturday with a three-shot lead after back-to-back 64s. He led by as many as five before walking off the 18th green with just a one-shot advantage. Saturday’s 68 gave him a career-best 54-hole score of 196. He was pleased with how he handled the nerves Saturday. On Sunday, he must fend off a bevvy of challengers on a Seaside Course that allows low scores. Nine players trail him by five or fewer shots. “There’s nothing to protect,â€� Howell said. “This golf course really isn’t going to lend itself to that mentality.â€� The Seaside Course played to a 67.5 scoring average on Saturday. Patrick Rodgers shot 61. Seven players shot lower than 65. Four of this tournament’s eight champions shot 64 or lower in the final round, including a 60 (Tommy Gainey, 2012) and two 63s. Champ has been the breakout star of the fall season. He won the Sanderson Farms Championship and has ranked in the top 10 after 12 of his past 15 rounds. Fourteen of his past 16 rounds have been in the 60s. His unprecedented length allows him to navigate the Seaside Course by hitting long-iron off almost all of the tees. He leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, as well. Gore’s lone PGA TOUR win was 13 years ago but he is playing with the freedom of someone who shouldn’t even be here. He didn’t receive a sponsor exemption until Sunday evening. On the way to the airport, he expressed doubts about flying across the country for his first start of the season. The logo on his hat and bag are of the insurance company he started three years ago with his wife and a friend. “I love being a dad, I love being home, I like doing what we’re doing,â€� Gore said. “We have a great new house and I have a great wife and two great kids, and it’s nice to wake up every morning and take them to school and not here, ‘Hey Dad, thanks for stopping by.’ “I’ve been out here 20-something years. No matter what happens, I’m good with it.â€� Where does Howell fit in with the wunderkind and the retiree who will join him in Sunday’s final group? “I’ll be a disgruntled 39-year-old right in the middle,â€� he joked. There are few players who can match Howell’s enthusiasm for the game, though. He is enthralled with the unceasing quest for improvement that his profession requires. For Howell, Sunday isn’t just an opportunity to win. It’s a chance to assess how his game withstands the pressure. “I’m most excited to see how I handle tomorrow because I have no idea what’s going to happen,â€� Howell said. “Nobody does.â€� This is the sixth time he’s held a 54-hole lead. He has never turned one into a victory. He has the chance to change that. “It’s the same reason Bernhard Langer’s playing. The carrot is always dangled out there in this game,â€� he said. “In golf, it’s always out there. You know you’re just one day away.â€�

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