Oosthuizen and Stanley co-lead at The Players

The eighth of 24 contributing events for PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO is this week’s Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge. It begins on Thursday. Scroll for tournament notes and 21 notables from the field of 36 two-man teams in Ridgedale, Missouri. If decisions were as easy as plugging in Charley Hoffman at the Valero Texas Open, then fantasy wouldn’t be as much fun. But wait a minute. Is Hoffman the prohibitive favorite in our format? In one sense, very much so. As of midday Wednesday, he’s way out front in ownership percentage at 20 percent. That’s eight clicks better than Luke List in second and 14 points clear of both Sergio Garcia and Brendan Steele. Surely, there are options. Indeed. List presents as a perfect fit for chasers. The league leaders among us are more likely to stick with the chalk at TPC San Antonio because that contingent, which includes Steele, is so reliable on one of the toughest tracks on the schedule. List continues to impress regardless of the test. His profile as a long hitter shadows the fact that he’s actually the total package. Billy Horschel has a glowing track record in this tournament, but all of us might swerve if not for his T5 at the RBC Heritage. Conservative front-runners will still abstain because of his inconsistency, but the rest of us will latch onto his immediate success after returning to a putter of familiar length. There’s also his penchant for staying hot after finding a spark. If Hoffman wasn’t available and I hadn’t already burned Steele, Horschel would get the at-bat with confidence. Ryan Palmer is a curious option given his run of success in San Antonio, but there’s a little chicken-and-egg variable with him. In other words, does the course bring out his best (probably) or does he need to be feeling it off the tee first to play well (never hurts). There’s always Colonial (Fort Worth Invitational) at the end of May. As a rule, some gamers avoid defending champions, and Kevin Chappell’s current form clinches that decision. There’s also the matter of his first experience in those shoes, er, boots, so holstering is the sensible decision for multiple reasons. Pat Perez may not crash our short list again this season, so he’s a bailout if you’re stuck and you’ve somehow not employed him yet. In fact, I’m surprised that three of my fellow Experts have yet to go to him this season. Because of the timing, two-man gamers for whom Perez is available don’t need to look further. Match him up with any of the aforementioned suggestions. Chesson Hadley also works best as a complement for two-man lineups. So does Martin Laird, Aaron Baddeley and Scott Piercy. We can keep Garcia, Matt Kuchar and Ryan Moore shelved for another event. Because of the elevated interest in Garcia in PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO, I’ll take the cue to remind you that he’s among the best fits for THE PLAYERS and The Open Championship, both of which we’re annually scrambling for reliability. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2017-18. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Kevin Chappell … Valero (1; defending); St. Jude (5); WGC-Bridgestone (2); Dell Technologies (3) Jim Furyk … Memorial (7); U.S. Open (8); Canadian (3); WGC-Bridgestone (2); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9); TOUR Championship (4) Sergio Garcia … PLAYERS (5); Open Championship (1); TOUR Championship (4) Bill Haas … Wyndham (2) Charley Hoffman … Valero (1); Fort Worth (4); Travelers (2); Canadian (3) J.B. Holmes … Wells Fargo (7); Greenbrier (5) Billy Horschel … Valero (3); St. Jude (1); TOUR Championship (4) Zach Johnson … Fort Worth (2); John Deere (1); Open Championship (5); WGC-Bridgestone (6); TOUR Championship (8) Chris Kirk … Valero (4); PLAYERS (3); Fort Worth (2) Russell Knox … PLAYERS (8); Dell Technologies (7) Matt Kuchar … Valero (10); PLAYERS (11); Fort Worth (6); Memorial (2); Canadian (3); WGC-Bridgestone (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9) Martin Laird … Valero (7); Barracuda (1) Graeme McDowell … WGC-Bridgestone (3) William McGirt … Memorial (4) Ryan Moore … Travelers (2); John Deere (3); TOUR Championship (6) Kevin Na … Memorial (10); John Deere (9); Wyndham (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (11) Ryan Palmer … Valero (1); Fort Worth (2); St. Jude (6) Pat Perez … Valero (7) Scott Piercy … John Deere (6) Adam Scott … PLAYERS (5); U.S. Open (10); Open Championship (8); WGC-Bridgestone (3); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (6) Brandt Snedeker … Fort Worth (11); U.S. Open (5); Travelers (6); Canadian (3); Wyndham (4) Brendan Steele … Valero (6); Wells Fargo (7); Travelers (3) Kevin Streelman … Wells Fargo (3); Memorial (1); Travelers (2) Jimmy Walker … Valero (6); Greenbrier (8); Dell Technologies (7) CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge The second-oldest tournament on the PGA TOUR Champions just might be the most progressive and PGA TOUR Champions One & Done gamers get their first lick at it this year. (It was taken off the fantasy board in 2017 due to a technical glitch.) This is the second of two non-majors that begins on Thursday, so adjust accordingly. Thirty-six teams of two will rotate on three courses totaling 67 holes of competition: Par-71 Buffalo Ridge Golf Course will host the first 18 holes. New to the event is the 13-hole Mountain Top, a par-3 track. It will be played once by every team either Friday or Saturday. Top of the Rock, a nine-hole par-3 course, also will be played by every team either Friday or Saturday. It will then host the entire field in Sunday’s final round. All told, 36 holes will be contested on this course, meaning that every team will loop it four times. Carlos Franco and Vijay Singh are the defending champions of what was a weather-shortened edition that went just 36 holes. Total prize money of $1.8 million reflects the lowest purse since 2001, but the tournament extended its partnership with the title sponsor and site through 2021. Each member of the winning team will earn $174,375. Just like next week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, because team members are rewarded equally, the format of the Bass Pro Legends urges One & Doners to select the golfer who you won’t miss as much as his teammate. For example, you could argue that Singh is more valuable than Franco in individual competition, so if you wanted to ride the defending champs, select Franco and save Singh for another tournament. If you’ve already burned Singh, it’s a free pick to do it again. For all 36 teams, click here. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2018. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Billy Andrade … Bass Pro Shops (4) Joe Durant … Bass Pro Shops (5); Insperity (15); Principal (2); American Family (8); U.S. Senior Open (7); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); 3M (6); DICK’S (12); Boeing (10); Shaw (11); PURE (3); SAS (13) David Frost … Bass Pro Shops (3); U.S. Senior Open (4); 3M (7); Boeing (5); Shaw (8); PURE (1) Paul Goydos … Bass Pro Shops (2); Insperity (7); 3M (1; defending); DICK’S (3); SAS (5) Lee Janzen … U.S. Senior Open (2) Miguel Angel Jiménez … Insperity (13); Senior PGA (6); Principal (10); U.S. Senior Open (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (3); Senior Open Championship (4); 3M (9); Shaw (7); SAS (12) Brandt Jobe … Senior PGA (2); Principal (3; defending); U.S. Senior Open (4); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); 3M (5); Boeing (8) Jerry Kelly … Boeing (1; defending); Shaw (5); PURE (2); SAS (4) Bernhard Langer … Usable everywhere. Defending five titles. Tom Lehman … Bass Pro Shops (7); Insperity (8); Regions Tradition (5); Principal (1); U.S. Senior Open (3); SAS (9) Jeff Maggert … Insperity (1); American Family (3); Shaw (5) Scott McCarron … Regions Tradition (2); Senior PGA (11); Principal (1); SENIOR PLAYERS (3; defending); Senior Open Championship (10); DICK’S (4; defending); Shaw (5; defending); PURE (8) Colin Montgomerie … Senior PGA (1); U.S. Senior Open (6); SENIOR PLAYERS (2); Senior Open Championship (10); Shaw (4); PURE (7); SAS (3; defending) Tom Pernice, Jr. … Principal Charity (2); Shaw (3); SAS (5) Kenny Perry … Bass Pro Shops (8); Insperity (3); Regions Tradition (5); Senior PGA (6); 3M (1); DICK’S (10); SAS (2) Gene Sauers … Insperity (7); Regions Tradition (3); U.S. Senior Open (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (6); Boeing (1) Vijay Singh … Bass Pro Shops (4; defending); Senior PGA (3); U.S. Senior Open (2); Shaw (5); SAS (1) Kevin Sutherland … Usable everywhere. David Toms … Regions Tradition (3); Boeing (2); SAS (4) Kirk Triplett … Insperity (2); Regions Tradition (6); American Family (5); SENIOR PLAYERS (1); Shaw (4) Duffy Waldorf … Bass Pro Shops (2); Insperity (4); Principal (6); Shaw (5)

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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – New York fans quickly become cruel when their stars don’t perform to their standards. It was just a couple months ago that Giancarlo Stanton was booed before he completed his first home game as a Yankee. Tiger Woods heard his first jeers just as quickly at this U.S. Open on Long Island. The stunned silence after Woods tapped in for a 7 on Shinnecock Hills’ tame opening hole was broken by one man yelling, “Welcome to Shinnecock, Tiger!� His tone made it clear that he was not an overenthusiastic ambassador for the Southampton Chamber of Commerce. The fan’s sneering sarcasm would quickly be forgotten. It was much harder for Woods to overcome Shinnecock’s unkind greeting to his first U.S. Open in three years. A first-round 78 seems to have ended his chances of winning 15th major. Twice in the opening round did he play back-to-back holes in 4 over par. After starting with a triple and a bogey, Woods battled the wind and Shinnecock Hills’ firm conditions to play the next 10 holes in even par. His U.S. Open chances still produced the slightest pulse with each par save. Even at the height of his greatness, it was Woods’ ability to grind out pars in the toughest conditions that gave him the most pride. “All I had to do after that start was try to shoot even par for the next 16 holes and I’d be fine. The guys aren’t going anywhere today,� Woods said. He cited the 1986 U.S. Open here, when Raymond Floyd was able to win with a final-round 66 after shooting 75 in the first round. “This golf course is kind of setting up for that right now.� But all of Thursday’s work came crashing down with back-to-back doubles at 13 and 14. He four-putted the 13th, then hit two shots at the 14th before his ball found the fairway. When he missed a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-5 16th, Woods could only snicker like a man who knew the game had gotten the best of him on this day. He was hardly the only player whose high hopes were dashed Thursday. Rory McIlroy had been enjoying his golf trip to Long Island until he shot 80. At least Jason Day had only a short walk to his RV after shooting 79. Shinnecock Hills usually waits until Sunday to break Phil Mickelson’s heart but that likely won’t be the case this year after a 77. Jon Rahm shot 78. Like the Masters, Woods arrived at this major after showing promise in his previous starts. His 11th-place finish at THE PLAYERS included his career-low round at TPC Sawgrass, a third-round 65. He battled a balky putter at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide but got high enough on the leaderboard to spike television ratings and incite the social-media masses. Fans can ogle his TrackMan numbers and marvel at his tee shots, but the margins are too slim, especially at majors, for Woods to win while throwing away so many strokes. It’s hard to be critical of a man who months ago wondered if he would ever play again, but Woods will need to find a way to minimize such mistakes. At TPC Sawgrass, he was pressuring front-runner Webb Simpson until playing the final five holes in 3 over, including a rinsed tee shot on the island-green 17th. Woods made 17 birdies and two eagle at Muirfield Village, but he also lost nearly 8 strokes on the greens and hit a tee shot out-of-bounds. He finished six shots behind winner Bryson DeChambeau. Putting bore the biggest the blame Thursday. He missed just five fairways but the one that sailed well right at 14 cost him two shots. “I didn’t putt well,� Woods said Thursday. “I drove it pretty darn good most of the day, but I didn’t take advantage of those opportunities. “It’s frustrating because I’m hitting it well. In the last four tournaments, I have not putted well. If I can putt like I did at the beginning of the year, we’ve got something. I just haven’t done that.� Because of his afternoon tee time, Woods was able to watch on TV as his peers struggled with the high winds that buffeted Shinnecock. He made it a goal to avoid any scores of double-bogey or worse. “Instead, I had three of them,� he said. He was 7 over par on three holes Thursday. It started with Shinnecock’s benign opening hole, a downhill par-4 of 399 yards that is short enough for some players to consider driving the green. Woods went with an iron off the tee, as did the two players who rounded out his star-studded threesome, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas. All three found the first hole’s generous fairway, which was widened by the Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw restoration to this historic course. Coore and Crenshaw also added short grass around Shinnecock Hills’ greens to make the course more closely resemble the William Flynn design that opened in 1931. Those crispy, closely-mown areas may look less intimidating than the thick rough that is the U.S. Open’s trademark, but they are infinitely more frustrating. Woods showed that after his 135-yard approach flew the green. Short grass provides players options, and Woods used multiple strategies to try and get up-and-down on No. 1. Unfortunately, all were unsuccessful. First, he tried to flop it. His ball landed on the green but not far enough to carry the steep slope on the back of the putting surface. His ball slowly trickled back off the green. Woods tried to putt the next two but the first one almost rolled back to his feet and the next rolled 8 feet past the hole. Two putts from there completed a triple-bogey. “I hit it right through the wind and compounded my problem,� Woods said. “I actually hit a really good flop shot. The wind actually knocked it down. Then I hit two bad putts on 1 and 2.� After Woods missed a 4-foot par putt on the next hole, it was fair to wonder how long his yacht would be docked in nearby Montauk. Woods closed the front nine with six pars and a birdie, though. A bogey at the par-3 11th returned him to 4 over par. His disastrous doubles came two holes later. Woods played the previous two U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills with limited success. This was the site of his debut, in 1995, after winning the first of his three consecutive U.S. Amateurs. He only completed 24 holes, though, after injuring his wrist hitting out of the fescue rough. Woods finished T17 after shooting 10 over par in 2004, a year when he failed to win a stroke-play title while working through swing changes. If Woods is to contend this week, he can’t afford to make the same mistakes that he made Thursday, though. “Shoot something in the 60s tomorrow and I’ll be just fine,� Woods said. “I just think today was the toughest day we’ll have all week. But then again, I think they’re going to let these greens firm out a little bit. They’ll start to pick up a little bit of speed, and it will be a good U.S. Open again.�

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For the 43rd-consecutive season, the PGA TOUR heads to Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, for the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Jack Nicklaus plays gracious host this week as the invitational field of 120 players will battle for a purse of $8.9 million, a winner’s check of $1.602 million 500 FedExCup Points and a three-year exemption on TOUR. Nicklaus first had the vision for this tournament in the mid-60’s, and it became a reality with the first edition, won by Roger Maltbie, in 1976. MVGC has a proud history as it’s hosted the Ryder Cup, U.S. Amateur, Solheim Cup and Presidents Cup. Jason Dufner rolled to a three-shot victory last year and is back to defend his title. He’ll be looking to join the list of one as Tiger Woods, who won this event three years in a row from 1999-2001, is the only player to defend the title. Stretched to almost 7,400 yards (7,392) and playing to Par-72, MVGC will test the leaders to the end. Since 2005 there have only been two winners who won by more than two shots. Interestingly enough, Rickie Fowler was second to Jason Dufner by three shots last year and couldn’t close his 54-hole lead in 2010 as Justin Rose also won by three shots. Tiger Woods has won there five times, and Kenny Perry is second with three titles. It’s interesting to point out that four of the last eight winners broke their TOUR maiden at this event. It’s also interesting to point out that 25-of-42 tournaments have been delayed by the weather. Just as in life, sometimes we have to go backwards to move forward — and that was Dufner’s story last year. He opened with 65 to share the lead with David Lingmerth but his second round 65 saw him set the 36-hole scoring record. He sat five clear of the field entering Round 3 and looked to be in cruise control before a 77 knocked him out of the final pairing. Life comes at you pretty fast at MVGC and the train can get off the track quickly if shots start leaking off the tee and into greens. Dufner demonstrated his class and toughness as he rode the windy conditions on Sunday plus a weather delay to fire the second-best round of the day 68 to win by three shots on 13-under-par 275. Just six of 76 players posted scores in the 60’s on Sunday and only Anirban Lahiri went lower (65). Daniel Summerhays, the 54-hole leader by three shots, bested Dufner’s 77 by shooting 78 from the lead on Sunday. There was no mystery to Dufner’s success as he dominated tee-to-green but it is interesting to note his best finish prior to last year in five previous starts was just T19. He also MC at Colonial the week before. There are always exceptions to the rules, and the 2016 edition was exactly that as MVGC was run over. That week the absence of sunshine and wind turned MVGC into target practice. The pros set the cut at 142 (-2), the lowest in tournament history and MVGC had three rounds average less than 71. To put that in perspective, there were only nine tournament rounds in the history of the event to average less than 71. William McGirt took advantage and picked up his first and only TOUR win defeating Jon Curran in a two-hole playoff after both players posted 15-under 273. The top 19 players posted four over-par rounds for the week and they were all on Sunday while the top 26 were double-digits under-par. When it’s soft and windless, MVGC opens its doors to all comers. Dustin Johnson made 10 birdies in Round 1 to shoot 64 but finished third. Rory McIlroy was second in shots gained: putting as he finished T4. Curran had never played this event before. As we look back, we see more interesting angles and trends during David Lingmerth’s playoff victory over Justin Rose in 2015. It was the second year in a row with a playoff after Hideki Matsuyama defeated Kevin Na in 2014. Matsuyama won in his first time at MVGC and won for the first time on TOUR as well. Rose, similarly to Summerhays last year, couldn’t hold a three-shot lead. With perfect scoring conditions similar to 2016, Lingmerth made up those three shots to force and win the playoff. Jordan Spieth closed with 65 but missed out on the fun by two shots as Lingmerth and Rose both signed for 15-under 273. The cut fell at 143 (-1) to tie the record. Jason Dufner sat one shot off Lingmerth’s 36-hole lead of 12-under but played the weekend 74-75 for T24. Lingmerth’s win was the ninth by international players while Rose fell short of joining the multiple winners’ club. He would have been their seventh member. The only player to do the Colonial-MVGC is of course Kenny Perry. Buy yourself a beer if you knew that one! The forecast this week will be as important as the depth of the field as eight of the top 10 OWGR and 32 of the top 50 are in the field this week. NOTE: Golfers inside the top 25 in each statistic on the 2017-18 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. * – Finished inside the top 10 since 2013 or is a former winner. Greens in Regulation Rank  Golfer 1  Henrik Stenson 2  *Jordan Spieth 3  *Adam Scott 4  *Kyle Stanley 5  *Kevin Streelman 6  *Gary Woodland 8  *Bubba Watson 11 Russell Knox 16 *Dustin Johnson 18 *Justin Rose 19 Emiliano Grillo 20 *Pat Perez 21 *Rickie Fowler 22 Bryson DeChambeau 25 *Keegan Bradley 26 *Justin Thomas SG: Approach the Green Rank  Golfer 1  Henrik Stenson 3  Keegan Bradley 4  Chesson Hadley 7  *Justin Thomas 8  *Jordan Spieth 10 Stewart Cink 11 Phil Mickelson 11 J.J. Spaun 14 *Tiger Woods 15 *Adam Scott 17 Emiliano Grillo 18 Bryson DeChambeau 19 *Chris Kirk 21 *Kevin Chappell 23 *Justin Rose 24 Zach Johnson 26 Marc Leishman Scrambling Rank  Golfer 1  Henrik Stenson 4  Jason Day 5  Louis Oosthuizen 6  *Jordan Spieth 7  *Rickie Fowler 8  *Justin Thomas 9  *Kevin Na 10 *Chris Kirk 11 Alex Cejka 14 *Kevin Streelman 17 *Jim Furyk 17 *Hideki Matsuyama 19 Brian Gay 20 *William McGirt 21 *Patrick Reed 23 *Justin Rose 24 *Ryan Moore 26 *Tiger Woods Par-4 Scoring Rank  Golfer 1  Henrik Stenson 2  *Justin Rose 4  *Dustin Johnson 4  *Justin Thomas 6  Jason Day 6  *Rickie Fowler 6  *Jordan Spieth 9  *Marc Leishman 9  *Hideki Matsuyama 12 Emiliano Grillo 12 *Patrick Reed 12 *Kevin Streelman 12 Chesson Hadley 12 Phil Mickelson 19 *Bubba Watson 19 Bryson DeChambeau 19 Rory Sabbatini 19 *Pat Perez 19 *Matt Kuchar Par-5 Scoring Rank  Golfer 1  *Dustin Johnson 3  *Justin Thomas 4  Tony Finau 5  Bryson DeChambeau 6  *Jordan Spieth 9  *Justin Rose 11 Phil Mickelson 14 *Rory McIlroy 14 Kevin Tway 14 *Kevin Na 17 Jason Day 17 Luke List 20 Cameron Smith 20 Billy Horschel 23 *Ryan Moore 23 Byeong-Hun An 23 Martin Laird 23 *Kevin Kisner 23 Zach Johnson 23 *Kevin Chappell 23 Patrick Cantlay After playing an American-style links course two weeks ago, followed by a tight-American classic at Colonial last week, the TOUR arrives outside of Columbus to a classic parkland design. Jack Nicklaus wanted MVGC to be known as the “Augusta of the North” so we should have some serious clues from that phrase alone. Only the greens at Augusta National are faster than the ones in Columbus (13 feet) according to Woods and Spieth. There is plenty of room to land it off the tee but errant shots, unlike Augusta National, will be penalized by rough off the fairway and plenty of trees. The defense of the course is the greens. The speed is there but so is the undulation and back-to-front slope design. Oh, and don’t forget about the three-plus inches of rough that players will have to navigate if they don’t arrive in regulation. Keeping the ball on the proper tier and putting uphill will be the way to go. Those who miss the green altogether and keep the ball above the hole will bring bogey or worse into play. Nobody has ever taken less than 100 putts in this event The good news is that the big stick will have plenty of usage this week after a week of careful navigation at Colonial. A look at the winners over the last 10 years suggests a multitude of styles can be successful. For every Woods, Rose and Matsuyama, there’s Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker and McGirt who have also claimed the trophy. Dufner isn’t notoriously long, but he’s a wonderful iron player. The sign of a great event is a track that accommodates multiple styles and this week qualifies. My preference will be guys who can get it down the fairway and have lofted clubs in their hands to attack the greens. More loft usually means more accuracy. With slick, tiered greens and thick rough off the fairways and around the greens, there will be bogeys this week. In a “normal” weather year last year there were just six bogey-free rounds for the week. This isn’t the spot to be wild off the tee as the rough is penal and recovery shots into smallish greens are never easy. Those who don’t compound their errors and take their medicine will be just fine. Bogeys happen here, so those who are mentally tough and accept them will have an advantage. The streak of three straight first-time TOUR winners by the veteran Dufner last year suggests that winning experience isn’t needed around here. I’ll point out in 42 previous events here there have been seven first-time winners. If the forecast is the normal “crazy” weather, I’ll argue the exact opposite. Rob Bolton’s Power Rankings will give you more juice for the week so make sure you stop by. It’s also who I trust with the weather each week, so pay attention! NOTE: The groups below are comprehensive to assist in data mining. Inclusion doesn’t imply automatic endorsement in every fantasy game as all decisions are specific to your situation.    

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