No. 5: Hideki Matsuyama

ORLANDO, Fla. – Rory McIlroy is a glass-half-full kind of guy. The defending champion at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard remained upbeat on Sunday despite suffering another final-group fade out. In what has become a worrying trend for the former FedExCup champion, he has now failed to win the last nine times he has played in the final group on Sunday dating back to the start of 2018. McIlroy did win at Bay Hill a year ago but came from well back to do so. It remains the 14-time PGA TOUR winner’s most recent triumph. Starting one shot back in second place, McIlroy could only manage an even-par 72 on Sunday to fall to T6, four shots off the pace. Of the top 14 on the leaderboard, he was the only one who failed to shoot under par. “My Sundays haven’t been what I would have liked, but I’m putting myself in that position, so good golf is good golf, I keep saying that, at the end of the day,â€� McIlroy said. “It was a tough day, tough to get it close to the hole. I feel like I really didn’t play that badly. I missed a couple of shots, but I felt like I was hitting good shots to 30 feet all day and it’s hard to sort of shoot a score.â€� While winner Francesco Molinari needed just 25 putts, making 146-feet, 9 inches worth, it wasn’t as pleasant for McIlroy on the greens. He needed 30 putts and made just 61 feet, 11 inches worth. On the plus side, McIlroy has now finished inside the top six, without winning, in his last six starts on the PGA TOUR. Rather than dwell on the missed chances, the Northern Irishman has already turned his focus to THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass. “I’m playing well, I’m getting myself into contention every week, (I need to) continue to do that, going into next week, that’s the great thing about golf, you don’t have to wait too long to get back on the horse,â€� he said. “So I’m happy with everything, I just think today I could have played the par 5s better, but really apart from that it was an unbelievable round from Francesco to shoot what he did. “I would have needed to go out there to shoot 67 to better him, which would have been one of the best scores of the day, and anything under 70 out there this afternoon was a great score.â€�

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The weekly anticipation until tee times drop and featured groups are released on Tuesdays has nothing on the level of advance intrigue concerning the makeup of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Some partnerships in the two-man competition are telegraphed weeks and months in advance, but when the field publishes with confirmations of all 80 teams, the buzz is unique. An explanation of the format, analysis of TPC Louisiana and more information is detailed beneath a ranking of 10 teams and five others teams to consider. RELATED: The First Look | How it works POWER RANKINGS: ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS OTHERS CONSIDERED Joel Dahmen & Lanto Griffin Max Homa & Talor Gooch Richy Werenski & Peter Uihlein Louis Oosthuizen & Charl Schwartzel Alex Noren & Henrik Norlander The Zurich Classic of New Orleans does not contribute to PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, so Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will be abridged. Naturally, the fun isn’t limited to the fans to digest who’s teamed with whom at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. For all 160 committed to play, it’s a unique wrinkle in the middle of the season and positioned not long after an exceptionally challenging stretch of competition. When the local food and culture are accepted as perks of making the trip, it could feel like a bonus since guys play any variety of home games with a partner. Best ball will be used for scoring in the first and third rounds; alternate shot will measure performance in the second and fourth rounds. Since last season’s edition was canceled, this is the first staging of the four (since 2017) with a 36-hole cut of low 33 teams and ties. Each member of the winning team is credited with an official victory and the customary two-year membership exemption (or extension of one year up to the maximum of five, if applicable). Each winner receives exemptions into next month’s PGA Championship, the 2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions and the 2022 PLAYERS Championship, among other invitationals. While bragging rights are forever, those rewards exceed whatever exchange occurs on the last green of their private matches. Members of the top-five teams at the conclusion of the tournament will be exempt into next week’s Valspar Championship via the top-10 provision, if necessary. Another benefit exists in the absence of a negative; that is, because Official World Golf Ranking points are not assigned, the tournament does not contribute to the divisor for all of the entrants. So, a missed cut does no harm. A couple of days after Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer celebrated victory at TPC Louisiana in 2019, the course underwent a six-month renovation. Its wide-ranging attention included a modernization of the fairways and greens fitted with Celebration bermudagrass and TifEagle bermuda, respectively. Only the putting surfaces have been overseeded. They’re prepared to run up to 12-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter, weather pending. It’s likely that the greens will be as advertised as conditions for the opening round should be perfect. Things will turn come Friday and into Saturday due to a reasonable threat for inclement weather. With it, temperatures will rise into the mid-to-upper 70s. They’ll stay there for Sunday’s finale, which is forecast to be dry. Wind will be a persistent variable throughout the tournament. The latest versions of the greens on the par-5 second and par-3 14th holes have new hole locations. Upwards of nine dozen bunkers were rebuilt and reshaped to reflect a proper challenge. Improving the drainage across the property was the through line for the work. TPC Louisiana is a stock par 72 that stretches to 7,425 yards. Despite welcoming fairways framed by rough trimmed to 1.75 inches, it’s not a bomber’s paradise, but distance off the tee has increased since the advent of the team competition. However, hitting greens in regulation has gone in the other direction. Because the greens are undulating and segmented, precision on approach is at a premium. That’s multiplied in best ball with two looks into every green for as many as two rounds. Ball-strikers, short-game wizards and streaky profiles define who prevailed and contended in the first three spins of the team event, but that doesn’t rule anyone out. It merely validates the essence of the competition. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers; Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch

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