Patrick Cantlay, Lee Hodges share lead at The American Express

Bee-yoo! Bee-yoo! Arnold Palmer alert! Arnold Palmer alert! That line from “The Other Guys” is ironic because The King needs no introduction. His legend will last forever. It’s a fact cemented further with Monday’s announcement that the Rookie of the Year will now receive the Arnold Palmer Award. Of course, as much it all started in golf, his cool was kept fresh throughout his life thanks in part to his dedication to keeping golf courses current. This is perhaps no more evident than at Bay Hill Golf Club and Lodge. It hosts the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard for the 41st time this week. For the latest modifications to the track, expectations for those in the field and more, scroll past the ranking. Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will include Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Bubba Watson, Louis Oosthuizen and The Honda Classic champion Keith Mitchell among other notables. Bay Hill is a stock par 72, but it wasn’t always. It debuted as a par 71 in 1979, transitioned to a par 72 in 1990 (when Robert Gamez holed out for eagle on the par-4 finisher to win; he’d go on to claim what is now the Arnold Palmer Award) and tightened to a par 70 from 2007-2009 before it reclaimed its par of today (following a significant renovation). Palmer’s penchant for tinkering served as the common thread for the fabric of his tournament’s history. It’s a theme carried on this year with new tee boxes on the par-5 fourth hole and par-4 ninth that have lengthened the course by an aggregate 35 yards to a tournament-record 7,454 yards. In addition to other upgrades such as a new area to work on the short game and numerous spots of improved landscaping, modern irrigation has been introduced to water only the primary rough whenever preferred. Speaking of which, the longest rough, which is overseeded, has been allow to grow as high as three-and-a-half inches. TifEagle bermudagrass greens, which are not overseeded, are average in size but prepped to run as fast as 13-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter. Of all publicized measurements, that’s as slick as it gets on the PGA TOUR. Rory McIlroy put on a clinic with his putter en route to a three-stroke victory here last year, but that’s what he needed to do to prevail. He ranked just T45 in greens in regulation (at the field average). However, when he manufactured those scoring opportunities, he led the field in proximity to the hole and paid them off also by pacing it in strokes gained: putting, fewest putts and scrambling. Of 61 attempts inside 10 feet, he whiffed just twice. While the primary rough separates the excessively wayward, hitting fairways isn’t a prerequisite to contend. At T48, McIlroy felt short of the field average. Instead, distance off the tee is more valuable, especially when it concerns gettable par 5s, while the greens are as fair as the field would want. Mother Nature should cooperate. After some rain, wind and cooling early in the week, a dry, calm and warming trend will take over. Sunshine is expected through Saturday while daytime highs will climb 10 degrees or so and into the low 80s by the weekend. The return of the threat of rain re-enters the picture on Sunday when the high could climb into the mid-80s. The impact of wind will be felt only with the energy. As of midday Monday, the field stood at 123. That’s three more than what’s scheduled because Gamez, Ernie Els and Tim Herron are exempt as winners prior to 2000. They’re considered add-ons and would not be replaced if any withdrew. For the fifth consecutive year, the champion will receive three-year exemptions for PGA TOUR membership and into THE PLAYERS. 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: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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Summertime rolls along and it’s back to birdies this week as the PGA TOUR returns to TPC Twin Cities for the second edition of the 3M Open. Nothing like another dose of temperatures in the 90s this week but at least the sweat equity will result in low scores in the suburb of Blaine, Minnesota. Matthew Wolff is back and will defend his maiden TOUR victory as he leads a field of 156 looking to grab their share of the $6.4 million purse ($1.152 winner) and add 500 FedExCup points to the ledger. The 20-year old broke onto the scene last year and pummeled the Par-71, 7,431 yards to the tune of 21-under in just his third start as a professional. The cherry on-top was his off-the-green putt for eagle on the final hole to secure the trophy. In the inaugural event the top 12 players were 16-under and the top 52 were all 10-under or better. There was a round of 62 (-9) posted in all four rounds and 44 bogey-free rounds. The course scoring average of 69.46 for the week suggests all comers are welcome. The 6,500 square foot Bentgrass greens will provide the largest targets yet since the restart. Prepped to run upwards of 13 feet on the Stimpmeter, those who hit it closest will have an easier time navigating. Although 72 bunkers and 27 water hazards sounds daunting, we’ve seen if the weather cooperates (read: no wind) these guys just fly right by and over. Only three inches or so of Bluegrass/fescue rough is on the menu this week so I’d expect another shootout again this time around. Tom Lehman and Steve Wenzloff have tuned up the prairie links at TPC Twin Cities after last year’s mid-summer feast. Check Rob Bolton’s Power Rankings linked below for the specific changes. RELATED: Power Rankings | Sleepers | Expert Picks 2019 3M Open: Top 25 (entered this week) 1 Matthew Wolff 5 Wyndham Clark 5 Carlos Ortiz 7 Sam Burns 7 Lucas Glover 7 Brian Harman 7 Troy Merritt 13 Fabian Gomez 15 Scott Brown 15 Scott Piercy 15 Roger Sloan 15 Shawn Stefani 23 Brice Garnett 23 Denny McCarthy 23 Tom Hoge 23 Arjun Atwal 23 Tony Finau 23 Charles Howell III 23 Johnson Wagner Recent Winner 2019: Matthew Wolff (-21) Eagle on the final hole to win as a sponsor’s exemption. … Fired 62 on Sunday to tie the 54-hole lead. … Led the field Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, second Strokes-Gained: Approach, third in Putting: Birdie or Better Percentage and co-led the field in Par-4 scoring. … Seven bogeys (T25) were cancelled out by 26 birdies and the final stroke for eagle. … Led the field in Par Breakers. … Only T62 scrambling. … Won NCAA individual title weeks before. Notables: Club “62” playing this week: Piercy (Round 1) and Glover (Round 4). … Brown and Burns led the field in Par-5 scoring (-10). … Wolff (-12) and Glover (-10) were the best two in Par-4 scoring. … Brooks Koepka 65th. … 85 players made the cut on 3-under. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. Greens in Regulation 4 Aaron Wise 5 Emiliano Grillo 7 Russell Henley 8 Will Gordon 10 Kyle Stanley 11 Harris English 15 Paul Casey 17 Josh Teater 18 Doc Redman 19 George McNeill 21 Matthew NeSmith 23 Cameron Percy 26 Brice Garnett Proximity 2 Johnson Wagner 5 Doc Redman 7 Jonathan Byrd 9 Vaughn Taylor 9 Tim Wilkinson 11 Russell Henley 13 Seamus Power 14 Emiliano Grillo 18 Chesson Hadley 18 Michael Gellerman 20 Robert Castro 20 Brian Harman 20 Ben Taylor 23 Jason Dufner 24 Ben Martin 24 Josh Teater Putting: Birdie or Better Percentage 3 Dominic Bozzelli 8 Seamus Power 13 Kristoffer Ventura 15 Tony Finau 16 Dustin Johnson 17 Bronson Burgoon 20 Charley Hoffman 24 Wyndham Clark 25 Chesson Hadley Rounds in the 60s 3 Harry Higgs 3 Lanto Griffin 3 Doc Redman 6 Carlos Ortiz 6 Patrick Rodgers 6 Henrik Norlander 15 Brian Harman 20 Adam Long 22 Kyoung-Hoon Lee 22 Talor Gooch 30 Adam Schenk 30 Tony Finau 30 Bubba Watson 30 Matthew NeSmith 30 Scott Stallings 30 Sebastian Munoz 37 Lucas Glover 37 Cameron Tringale 37 Harris English

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