Nick Taylor once carried the Olympic torch for Canada

Here are nine tidbits from the second round of the Genesis Open that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. PAIN OR GAIN These were the top-five picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO: With 15 players stranded, Round 2 will not be completed until tomorrow morning. The cut is not official yet and neither will be the places used in the descriptions below. I’ll use the current suspended leaderboard as a point of reference with the understanding it can change tomorrow. As it stands, all five above will be playing the weekend with Mickelson leading the group at T26. Yikes. Hey, at least DJ rallied and made the cut! There’s hope! You See, L.A.! Former UCLA Bruin and Southland native Patrick Cantlay looks to add win No. 2 to the season as he shares the clubhouse lead after his first two rounds. The Shriners champion pointed out today that when he was at UCLA they practiced at Bel-Air Country Club and didn’t play Riviera much. He’s looking to join John Merrick (2013) as the only Los Angelinos to win this event. He’s leading the field in strokes-gained: approach-the-green and putts per GIR. Gee, Mac! Last week after round two at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, I wrote about Graeme McDowell shooting 80 at Spyglass after 71 on Pebble Beach. He opened this week with 69 and followed it with 66 to currently share the lead in the clubhouse on 135 (-7). He opened         69-70 last year before 71-77 on the weekend (67th). He also shot 66 in 2009 en route to T41, his best finish in five tries before this year. Best of luck to both of you who played him this week in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. Not Finished Yet Sam Saunders continues to pique the interest of gamers for a second year in a row at Riviera Country Club. The first-round leader from 2017 has three more holes to tame Saturday morning that could see him possibly lead after 36 holes this year. He’s tied with Cantlay and McDowell currently even with a double on his card Friday. His 11 birdies over his first 33 holes have been impressive. … Scott Stallings backed up his even-par round Thursday with a monster Friday, as he’s currently five-under-par with two holes remaining. He’s been trending properly (T23, 7th) the last two weeks and is rewarding gamers who have jumped on board. Momentum Rafael Cabrera-Bello, making his first start at the Genesis Open, rattled off six birdies in his first seven holes on Friday. The Spaniard moved up 50 places to T11 after signing for 67 (-4). He keeps reinforcing his class regardless of prior course knowledge. … German Martin Kaymer is on his debut as well as posted a bogey-free 67 (-4) to move up 71 spots to T15. … One of my favorite fantasy players, Austin Cook, is following suit of the Ryder Cuppers above. He moved up 90 spots after a magnificent 66 (-5) that included a whopping seven birdies against two bogeys. Quick learners! Night Shift Top 10 selections in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO Daniel Berger and Marc Leishman are going home early regardless of what happens early Saturday morning. Berger, the sixth-most popular selection and Leishman, No. 10, need to be subbed out if they are currently occupying a spot in your live, line up. Berger now has MC in two starts in this event while Leishman continues his all-or-nothing run with his fourth MC in nine tries. Berger will get another long look from gamers next week at PGA National. He lost in a playoff to Padraig Harrington in his first try in 2015. Streakers K.J. Choi had never missed a cut here in 17 previous tries in his career. His 74-74 this week ends that marvelous streak. … Southern California native Cameron Tringale was perfect in seven tries with five checks cashed for T25 or better. He’ll join Choi in traffic after 74-73. … Brendan Steele snuck in the back door (72-71) for his seventh weekend in a row at Riviera. … Brian Gay’s streak of top-10 finishes ends at two weeks in a row with 74-75. Wood You? Tiger Woods checked in at No. 15 in the most-selected player department in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. He was also the 13th-most selected in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. His only stat category inside the top 50 this week was two-hole driving distance. He made bogey on 12 of his 36 holes and also recorded a double. This course doesn’t have any water but PGA National does and that’s where he’s heading next week. He’s never won that event either. Study Hall Jim Herman is shutting it down for a while, according to this tweet. Weekly and season-long gamers also read some interesting news today about Stewart Cink: Nicholas Lindheim WD during round 1 with an illness. It’s his second in-tournament WD this season. He also withdrew at Shriners after round one last November. … Jim Furyk returned to competition and MC after 73-73.

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PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO It’s impossible to know how much the weather forecast, specifically as it concerns the wind, influences fantasy decisions in this game. Because you start four and can bench only two, in any given week, you can’t avoid the concern over what projects to be a lopsided draw. You can only mitigate it. If you plan accordingly, at worst you’re in the same boat as others who take similar action. Thursday’s wind at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational was expected to favor the early wave. Hot and windy conditions are then supposed to take over and extend into the weekend. Whether that weather shall be or if it’ll actually have an impact on scoring will be determined soon enough, but our only alternative is not to play. And that’s no fun at all. The top-10 most-owned at Colonial Country Club are split evenly in the draw, although only Jon Rahm is in the early-late among the top four. Sure enough, he opened with 4-under 66 in his tournament debut to sit one stroke off the clubhouse lead. Kevin Kisner (early-late) and Colonial member Ryan Palmer (late-early) slot outside the top 10. At 14th and 11th, respectively, they’re still well-represented, but they are surprises nonetheless, even though fewer than 10 percentage points separate Matt Kuchar in sixth (26.4 percent) and Tony Finau in 15th (16.9 percent). Others who aren’t shown below include Paul Casey (13th, 19.4 percent), William McGirt (24th, 5.8 percent), Charley Hoffman (25th, 5.3 percent), Webb Simpson (28th, 4.0 percent) and PLAYERS champion Si Woo Kim (31st, 3.5 percent). In his PGA TOUR debut, long-hitting legend Jamie Sadlowski ranks 62nd with 0.6 percent. NOTE: Rob’s Rating refers to where our Fantasy Insider slotted a golfer in his Power Rankings. Golfers in the Power Rankings and outside the top 10 in most owned. PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO Sticking with the theme introduced at the top, weather will get into the heads of gamers in this format as well. While anyone who changes his or her mind due to the unpredictable in a format in which you don’t modify your lineup during a tournament could be labeled as overreacting, it’s still a narrative for newer gamers who haven’t experienced the process. Jason Dufner crushes the competition in devotion at Colonial even though he’s in the late-early draw. However, skeptics who might say that he won’t be contending when the 36-hole cut falls can’t rule out that possibility for anyone in the field. This is precisely why weather should almost never influence decisions in this format. Sure, one side of the draw might benefit, but that will be learned only in retrospect. If you’re ever even a bit concerned, the fail-safe is to invest in a golfer who you won’t miss. Dufner certainly checks that box, but he’s still a terrific fit. Suffice it to say that all of this is much ado about virtually nothing. That Pat Perez ranks just ahead of Ryan Palmer speaks more to Perez’ extended run of fantastic form than it does a cooling on the Colonial member. With due respect to both, we’re unlikely to miss either, so that they’re a respective 2-3 in ownership percentage is sensible. They help spell notables like Jon Rahm (who’s fifth, anyway), defending champion Jordan Spieth (sixth) and Sergio Garcia (10th). The tournament’s all-time earnings leader, Zach Johnson, slots 12th at 2.6 percent. Other notables outside the top 10 include AT&T Byron Nelson champ Billy Horschel (13th, 2.6 percent), Brandt Snedeker (16th, 1.8 percent), two-time DEAN & DELUCA champion Phil Mickelson (17th, 1.4 percent) and Si Woo Kim (T21, 0.8 percent). PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship has a purse of $2.8 million. That’s tied for second-most with the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship (July 13-16). The U.S. Senior Open Championship (June 29-July 2) leads the way at $3.75 million. Since earnings are used to measure performance, even though Bernhard Langer isn’t projected to disappoint us at any time, investing in the smartest opportunity is the first decision all gamers should have made before embarking on a 22-event fantasy season. It’s entirely fact over friction regarding Langer that both the Senior PGA and U.S. Senior Open feature 36-hole cuts, but it’s also convenient support for him at the no-cut SENIOR PLAYERS where his record is strongest. After all, he’s its three-time defending champion on different courses. This is why he’ll be my pick at Caves Valley Golf Club in seven weeks. This is no way begrudges the 14.0 percent of you on board at Trump National Golf Club this week. He opened with 7-under 65 to post the clubhouse lead to validate your faith. But frankly, after what he delivers in the short- and long-term, it’d have been a surprise if he didn’t burst out of the gates. You’re also on board for a run at history as he’d be the first two win all five majors on the PGA TOUR Champions with a victory this week. Notables outside the top 10 in ownership percentages include David Toms (11th, 2.3 percent), Kirk Triplett (T12, 1.9 percent), Gene Sauers (T16, 0.9 percent) and defending champion Rocco Mediate (T23, 0.5 percent).

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