One & Done: Wyndham Championship

How it works: Each week, our experts from PGATOUR.COM will make their selections in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. Each lineup consists of four starters and two bench players that can be rotated after each round. Adding to the challenge is that every golfer can be used only three time per each of four Segments. The first fantasy golf game to utilize live ShotLink data, PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO allows you to see scores update live during competition. To learn more or sign up click here. MORE FANTASY: Power Rankings | The Confidence Factor CDW, an official partner of the PGA TOUR, offers its weekly fantasy selection. Here’s this week’s “Data-Driven Decision.” The computer selected Par 4 scoring, birdie or better conversion and bogey avoidance as the three most important statistics this week. After calculating this season’s ranks in those categories of every player in the field, the computer made the following prediction for this week’s winner. THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN OUR EXPERTS? The PGA TOUR Experts league is once again open to the public. You can play our free fantasy game and see how you measure up against our experts below. Joining the league is simple. Just click here to sign up or log in. Once you create your team, click the “Leagues” tab and search for “PGA TOUR Experts.” After that? Pick your players and start talking smack.

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OVERVIEW Love him or not, Bryson DeChambeau is here to stay in a big way. Sure, the eccentricities of this now five-time PGA TOUR winner might get under the skin of a few but it also invigorates and inspires others. You don’t have to agree with single-length shafts, or brain training, or taking every variable like barometric pressure into each yardage calculation … but you do have to agree it works for DeChambeau. It was an incredible 2018 for the former U.S. Amateur champion. First he won at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide under the glare of Jack Nicklaus. Then he stepped up big time in the FedExCup Playoffs, winning the opening two starts at THE NORTHERN TRUST and the Dell Technologies Championship. He would parlay it into a third-place finish in the FedExCup. Keen to show it was no flash in the pan, DeChambeau stepped out in his only fall appearance at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and promptly won that, ensuring he starts 2019 nice and high on the FedExCup list once more. If there is a part of his game he could improve to take things to an even higher level, it is his putting. Perhaps the new rules in golf – where you can leave the flagstick in – might be the catalyst. DeChambeau has already signaled his intentions to leave the flag in on occasion as his research indicates it will help him. He was 32nd in Strokes Gained: Putting last season so any improvement on that metric will make him very tough to beat. His performance out of the sand is another weakness he has zeroed in on. At 109th in sand saves last season and 135th the season before, some extra time on the beach is in his practice future. We expect plenty more headlines around this guy in 2019. — By Ben Everill Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: 8th Playoff appearances: 2 TOUR Championship appearances: 2 Best result: 3rd in the 2017-18 season SHOTLINK FUN FACT Bryson DeChambeau shot four rounds of 66 or better to win the 2018 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open — the first time he has shot 66 or better in every round at a PGA TOUR event. INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Bryson DeChambeau in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: A little outspoken? Sure. A lot unconventional? Absolutely. Frankly, DeChambeau is a breath of fresh air for golf where sometimes we get lost in the pursuit of monotony. Innovators are often deemed crazy in the beginning before being truly appreciated at a later date. Sports are sold on characters; with Bryson, it’s just time to enjoy the ride. — By Ben Everill FANTASY INSIDER: Easily the most polarizing relative newcomer to the PGA TOUR, he reminds gamers who resist accepting his out-of-the-box thinking that this is a results-based business. He’s merely a variation of the “swing your swing” mantra. He’s handed us four wins in his last 13 starts alone, so that’s more than sufficient for all. Meanwhile, for those of us who can’t get enough of his methods and madness, he’s taken us on a ride of a lifetime because of the repeat successes. The experiments are working. And entirely fact over friction, he’ll probably throttle back into a season totaling 23-25 starts. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: Did you hear Bryson plays with irons that are all the same length, loft and lie angle? Yes, you did. He plays with Cobra King One-length irons (Utility 4-5 irons, and standard 6-PW), a King V Grind wedge (50 degrees) and King WideLow grind wedges (55 and 60 degrees) that all have True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 shafts in them that measure 37.5 inches. In other Bryson news, however, he won the Shriners using the new King F9 Speedback driver (7 degrees) for the first time in competition. As a partner with LA Golf Shafts, he’s also helped design his own putter shaft, which he uses in a SIK tour proto head. It will be interesting to see whether he collaborates with LA Golf Shafts on shafts aside from just the putter. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: At a time when so many players dress alike, DeChambeau has succeeded in carving out a unique look for himself. He blends old school and new school pieces by combining the vintage Hogan cap with modern high-tech threads. Bryson began working in custom shoes in 2018. Expect him to find more opportunities to show off one-of-a-kind kicks in 2019. — By Greg Monteforte

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CROMWELL, Conn. — Brian Harman shot a 4-under 66 on Friday to move to 10-under par and watched that hold up for the second-round lead in the Travelers Championship, thanks in part to a 10-second rule. Harman finished a stroke ahead of Matt Jones and first round co-leader Zach Johnson, who lost a stroke during his round of 68 when his birdie putt hung on the lip of the cup at the third hole for longer than the maximum allowed 10 seconds before falling in, giving him a par. “After 10 seconds, the ball was moving and at that point even if the ball is moving, It’s deemed to be at rest, because it’s on the lip,” Johnson said. “Don’t ask me why, but that’s just the way it is.” Harman had his short game working for the second consecutive day, taking 26 putts after needing only 23 during the first round. “The putter has been really good so far, but I’ve been in position a lot,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of good looks at it. I’m just able to put a little pressure on the course right now, which is nice.” Jones hit 16 of 18 greens for the second consecutive day, following up his first-round 65 with a 66. Bryson DeChambeau (66), Paul Casey (67) and Russell Henley (65) were two strokes back going into the weekend. But Johnson, who started on the 10th tee, had the day’s most interesting round, which included just two birdies, but one amazing par save. He hit the ball into the TPC River Highland’s signature lake on No. 17, dropped across the water near the 16th tee box and then put his third shot within 8 feet of the hole from 234 yards away. “You can’t hit that shot and then not make that putt,” he said. “It felt good to get away with that four. That’s as good an up and down as I’ve ever witnessed or performed.” Lanto Griffin and two-time Travelers champion Bubba Watson were at even par coming into Friday. But both shot a 63 to move into contention heading into the weekend, three shots behind the leader. Watson jump started his round with an eagle on his third hole, the par-5 13th. “I had some mental mistakes yesterday, and then I didn’t make some putts,” said Watson. “Today I started out hotter. I made a good shot on 11, our second hole, made the putt, making a solid par putt on 12, and then that freed me up a little bit. Gave me some confidence going into the next hole where I made the eagle.” Rory McIlroy also is at 7 under after a 69. McIlroy, Watson and Justin Thomas (5 under) were grouped together Thursday and Friday, drawing large galleries. “It definitely helps, Thomas said. “It’s fun playing with good friends. You definitely get more momentum when guys are playing well. I obviously couldn’t get a whole lot of momentum out there. I was kind of hovering around 1- or 2-under. It was pretty much just Bubba today. Rory didn’t play great either and both of us definitely could have had a lot lower rounds” Defending champion Jordan Spieth, tied with Johnson after an opening 63, had a 73 to drop into a tie for 25th at 4 under. His round, which started on the back nine, included a triple bogey on the par-5 13th hole and an eagle on the par-5 sixth, when he put his second shot within 2 feet of the hole from 276 yards away. “I don’t go to the range after 63s very often, and I was there for an hour yesterday trying to figure out the golf swing,” he said. “So it’s not like things are on. Sometimes it can get disguised by rounds, but it’s not far off. It really is close.” Masters champion Patrick Reed, coming off a fourth-place finish in the U.S. Open, shot a 67 to miss the cut by a shot at minus-1.

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