Most-Picked Players: the Memorial Tournament

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Tiger Woods hasn't won or contended in over a year, his brittle back is a day-to-day proposition, and he'll turn 45 next month. He has looked old or human, take your pick. But in a PGA TOUR season that has already featured three 40-something winners (Stewart Cink, Sergio Garcia, Brian Gay), Thursday reminded us nothing rolls back the odometer like the Masters and Augusta National. After rain pushed back tee times three hours, five-time champion Woods, in a title defense that has been 19 months in the making, shot a no-drama, 4-under 68. RELATED: Leaderboard | Remembering the final round of the 2019 Masters "Yeah, I did everything well," Woods said after his first-ever bogey-free opening round here. "I drove it well, hit my irons well, putted well. The only real bad shot I hit today was I think 8. I had a perfect number with a 60-degree sand wedge and I hit it on the wrong shelf." He made par on the hole. It was Woods' first bogey-free effort in his last 106 rounds in the majors, and first at Augusta National since 2008. He hit 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens. "The only thing I could say is I wish I could have made a couple more putts," Woods said after taking 30 strokes on the greens. "I missed everything on the high side. Putts just aren’t moving." The added Bermuda grass in November, plus the rain, accounted for that. England's Paul Casey, 43, shot a 7-under 65 to lead the tournament. He was about to start his round when play was called on account of rain, and after a nearly three-hour delay, he played all 18 holes in postcard-perfect conditions. "That was a very good break," Casey said. Fellow Brit Lee Westwood, 47, who hadn't played here since 2017 and got in via his T4 at The Open Championship last year, made an adventurous par on 18 to sign for a 4-under 68. He's of an age, he has said, when nobody expects much from him. It's freeing. Oh, and Augusta's own Larry Mize, 62, was briefly on the leaderboard. He made six birdies and shot 70. "Experience counts a lot around here," Westwood, who has six top-10s in 18 starts here, said earlier this week. "There is definitely a knack for playing this golf course, and it’s a knack that you learn only really by playing the tournament here." The high-water mark for oldies at Augusta may forever be Jack Nicklaus winning at age 46 in 1986, but he also contended deep into the back nine in 1998, at 58. It was like an old film reel suddenly colorized and in real time. Woods mentioned that day earlier this week; if he uses Nicklaus as any kind of guide it would give him another 15 years or so to potentially win a sixth or even seventh Masters. "My body is feeling better than I did last year," he said. He proved it in the first round, when he started on the back nine and showed total command early. He'd never started the tournament on the 10th hole, nor had he ever heard a drone flying overhead, as he did absent the buzz from the patrons Thursday. "I got off to a fast start today, which is good, but I think everyone is," said Woods, who with one more victory would set the all-time wins record on TOUR with 83. "Everyone is going low out there today. With these conditions, you have to. You have to be aggressive. "There’s no reason why you can’t fire at a lot of the flags." And no reason why those who have contended in the past can't keep right on going. It's always age before beauty at Augusta National.

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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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