Patrick Cantlay takes two-shot lead into final round at TOUR Championship

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SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — The Americans haven’t opened with a lead this large in the Ryder Cup since Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino were playing, and before Tiger Woods was even born. RELATED: Full recap from Day 1 | Pairings, preview for Saturday morning That didn’t seem to be big enough to satisfy U.S. captain Steve Stricker. Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele each won two matches, Bryson DeChambeau smashed a drive that had everyone talking and the Americans were relentless Friday at Whistling Straits in losing only one match to build a 6-2 lead. “It’s a great start. We are happy with the start,” Stricker said. “But my message to the guys is tomorrow is a new day. Pretend today never happened, and let’s keep our foot down and continue to play the golf that we know we can play.” Oh, how Europe would like to forget this day ever happened. Rory McIlroy never made it to the 16th hole in losing both his matches on the opening day for the first time. The lone bright spot was Jon Rahm, living up his No. 1 ranking by winning in foursomes with Sergio Garcia and keeping Europe in a tight fourballs match long enough for Tyrrell Hatton to birdie the last hole to at least salvage a half-point. Europe has never trailed by four points after the first day since the Ryder Cup was expanded to include the continent in 1979, the modern era of these matches that Europe now dominates. Go back to 1975 to find the last time the U.S. had a four-point lead in the Ryder Cup. “No doubt, it was a tough day,” European skipper Padraig Harrington said, attributing the difference to a putt here, there and pretty much everywhere. “There’s obviously still 20 points to play for.” Suddenly, though, there seems to be a sense of urgency. The Americans were delivering big moments and the big smiles, waving up hands to get the one-sided gallery to cheer even louder, cupping hands to their ears to urge them along. They are looking for a fresh start after a quarter-century of losing, and its youngest team in history took a big step to creating their own memories. “They fought hard every single shot out there, from what I saw,” DeChambeau said after he and Scottie Scheffler earned a halve in fourballs. “This is a great start, but the job’s not over. We have two more days. A lot more golf. And we cannot lose our mindset to win.” The first point of the 43rd Ryder Cup, postponed one year by the pandemic, went to Europe and its new “Spanish Armada” of Rahm and Garcia. The final match ended in a halve when Justin Thomas delivered a late eagle putt that allowed him and Patrick Cantlay to come all the way back from a 3-down deficit. Through the morning chill, the midday warmth, a ferocious wind in the afternoon and even a little rain, the one constant was American red scores filling the boards across Whistling Straits. “We can come back from 6-2,” said McIlroy, trying to summon calm and confidence after losing both matches. Europe will have to do it without him. McIlroy is not part of the foursomes lineup Saturday morning, the first time he has sat in a Ryder Cup. Both captains stuck to their plans, and it only worked out for one of them. Even with a 3-1 start in foursomes, Stricker broke up all his American teams as planned and still won the afternoon fourballs session with two wins and two draws. Johnson and Schauffele never trailed together, while the high-spirited Tony Finau made six birdies as he and Harris English trounced McIlroy and Shane Lowry. DeChambeau still hasn’t won a Ryder Cup match, but he delivered quite a show. He pounded a drive to where no one had dared to go on the par-5 fifth hole. It cleared a massive bunker complex and stopped rolling at 417 yards, setting up a 72-yard flip wedge for an easy eagle. “There are two towers behind the green — I can’t even describe to you — they are like 250 or 200 yards right of where I’m trying to hit my drive,” Scheffler said. “And it’s crazy for him to be able to commit to that shot. “It was great. That was a good spark for us and good momentum for the rest of the day.” DeChambeau and Scheffler were poised for a 1-up victory until Hatton hit 5-iron into a hard left-to-right wind that landed near the hole and settled 7 feet away. He made the birdie putt to scratch out a halve and could only hope it was worth more. “Things like this can turn the tide,” Rahm said. After one day, it already feels like a strong tide, and that makes Saturday and another round of foursomes and fourballs more important than ever. Harrington also broke up all his pairings. This was the first time since the Ryder Cup was expanded to include all of Europe in 1979 that no one from the morning played together in the afternoon from either team. Cantlay and Schauffele were tough as ever in foursomes, which set the tone for the Americans. They were 5 up through five holes against McIlroy and Ian Poulter, and closed out their impressive 5-and-3 win with four straight birdies, the last one conceded. “I don’t know if anyone could have beat Xander and Patrick today,” McIlroy said. Only one shot went into the lake — a pull-hook from Tommy Fleetwood on the par-5 16th. And there almost was one player who went into Lake Michigan. That would be Jordan Spieth, facing an impossible shot beneath the 17th green with the ball on a severe slope in the morning round. He swung so hard with a 52-degree wedge that momentum sent him backward, scrambling to keep his footing and then running down toward the edge of the bank until he could get his balance. The shot? Remarkable as ever, plopping down 6 feet away. Thomas missed the par putt and the match was over. That was one of the few moments that didn’t go the American’s way.

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Short of winning any tournament, it’s arguable that emerging as one of the 30 at East Lake in Atlanta is the hardest objective on the PGA TOUR. Of the 35 unique winners this season, 15 didn’t advance to the finale of the FedExCup Playoffs. Identifying the most confident golfers at the TOUR Championship isn’t too hard. Just read the field. Reaching the summit is one reason why each qualifier is treated to exemptions into the first three majors of 2018 as well as spots in the first two World Golf Championships. It’s nothing short of a life-changing achievement for the eight first-timers in the field. The other lane of confidence isn’t as smooth and fluid, but it matters more when making decisions for your fantasy lineups. This is where you determine who deserves the attention and your faith as a fit at East Lake. Billy Horschel caught such a blazing heater in 2014 that a kneejerk reaction would be to ignore how he prevailed by three strokes in the TOUR Championship. However, upon closer inspection, his formula for success was no more out of the ordinary than the two champions since. Horschel, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy showcased the complete game en route to their titles. All four identifiers below align with what worked for them and what projects to work for this week’s champion. East Lake’s putting surfaces average 6,200 square feet and could touch 12-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter, but they are not dastardly, devilish or diabolical. From just about every metric, they’re easier on average to solve and they are fair. With that accepted component factored in, we can widen our focus to use bogey avoidance as the catchall for short game and putting. In a nutshell, that explains why East Lake is a ball-striker’s paradise. Something to keep in mind as your watch, listen to and/or read about the tournament, since Tiger Woods won the FedExCup without winning the TOUR Championship in 2009, which was the inaugural year of the first iteration of the current points structure, every champion at East Lake also captured the FedExCup. NOTE: Golfers inside the top 20 in each statistic in the FedExCup Playoffs are listed only if they are scheduled to compete in the TOUR Championship. * – Finished inside the top 10 at the TOUR Championship in 2014, 2015 and/or 2016. Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee 1  *Dustin Johnson 2  Jon Rahm 3  *Rickie Fowler 4  *Jordan Spieth 5  Brooks Koepka 6  Xander Schauffele T7  *Kevin Chappell T7  Charley Hoffman 9  Tony Finau 11  Jhonattan Vegas 12  *Paul Casey 15  *Justin Rose 16  *Justin Thomas 18  Patrick Cantlay Greens in Regulation T2  Patrick Cantlay T2  *Jordan Spieth 4  *Gary Woodland 5  Marc Leishman 7  *Justin Rose 8  Jon Rahm T9  *Sergio Garcia T9  *Dustin Johnson 13  *Rickie Fowler T16  *Matt Kuchar 19  *Paul Casey T20  Pat Perez T20  Kyle Stanley Proximity to the Hole 1  *Dustin Johnson 4  *Justin Rose T6  *Jason Day 10  *Jordan Spieth T11  Russell Henley T13  Daniel Berger 16  Jon Rahm 19  Brian Harman Bogey Avoidance 1  Patrick Cantlay 2  *Jordan Spieth 3  *Justin Rose T4  Pat Perez T4  Jon Rahm 6  *Dustin Johnson T8  *Justin Thomas 10  Marc Leishman T11 *Rickie Fowler T13  *Sergio Garcia T15  Daniel Berger T15  *Paul Casey T15  Webb Simpson T19  *Jason Day With only 30 in the field, the usual groupings below are sparsely populated, but half of the field is still represented. Jordan Spieth (2015) is the only prior winner of the TOUR Championship back this week. 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. CONFIDENCE MEN Selected golfers with multiple cuts made sorted by rank on the tournament’s money list. BUILDING CONFIDENCE Sorted by best finish, selected golfers who are either finally finding form on the course or are still relatively new to the tournament but have enjoyed some success. OTHER SIGNS OF CONFIDENCE Sorted by most recent top 10s, selected golfers for whom it’s been a few years since their last.

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