PGA TOUR stars tee it up for charity at THE NORTHERN TRUST Charity Challenge

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Built as a hybrid between a roster and one-and-done formats, PGA TOUR Captain’s Pick is a stand-alone fantasy game for the Presidents Cup, the four-day competition at Liberty National on Sept. 28-Oct. 1. It’s open for registration now – just click here. If you were already signed up to play any of the incumbent games, simply toggle over to the page dedicated to the newest offering. The rules (found in the upper right) spell out everything you need to know, but this primer will assist you in making decisions for the Captain’s Pick, which is unique. It requires an approach at game play not experienced in the other platforms. FORMAT & SETUP The beauty of the game is in its simplicity, but just as staying on top of your team is critical, timing and luck are also inherent to success. This means that even if you have just basic knowledge of how the Presidents Cup is organized, you’ll have just as much of a puncher’s chance to prevail as hardcore gamers. You’ll start by selecting the team you expect to win. “Scoring and Prizes” below addresses this value, but it’s important to understand that you’ll be selecting golfers only from the team you select. After deciding on the squad, it’s time to build the daily order in which you want your charges to count. Start by selecting three players for Day 1, and then save that lineup. Repeat the process for Days 2, 3 and 4 until all 12 are selected. Finally, you’ll set your tiebreaker. Select a value from zero to 30 for how many of the matches you think will go exactly 18 holes. Once your tiebreaker is saved, you can begin rearranging your team. Daily deadlines fall with the first tee time of the session (or the first session on Day 3). Once it does, the three golfers you’ve selected for that day will be locked in and unavailable to you for the remainder of the competition, even if they don’t play on the day you’ve chosen for them. SCORING & PRIZES Gamers who pick the winning team are awarded five points. Golfers collect points per match, including those who play in both on Day 3. Those who win their match yield one point plus the equivalent of the holes up at the conclusion of the match. This applies to both golfers on the winning side of Four-ball and Foursomes. Halves are worth one-half of one point for all golfers in a match. In 11 editions of the Presidents Cup, there’s never been a conceded match due to injury or illness, but Captain’s Pick is prepared for the contingency. In addition to one point for winning a qualifying conceded match, the winner will receive one point for every hole not played, with a maximum bonus of five points for the holes up when the match is conceded. At the conclusion of the tournament, the gamer with the most points wins. First prize is a set of Titleist 716 AP1 irons. The runner-up will receive a Titleist 917 driver. Third place nets a Scotty Cameron putter. TIEBREAKER If there is more than one fantasy team that totals the most points, a tiebreaker will determine final position. You can modify your tiebreaker until the deadline on Day 1 falls. Going back four editions, 11 of 34 matches in both 2009 and 2011 went exactly 18 holes. In 2013, 15 of 34 matches went the distance. The U.S. won each competition overall by five, four and three points, respectively. The Presidents Cup’s format was reduced to 30 matches in 2015 and half of them went exactly 18 holes. The U.S. squeaked out the victory, 15-1/2 to 14-1/2. STRATEGY There are three components to building a competitive team, and it helps to think of the format of the Presidents Cup in reverse order of the sessions. Since all 12 golfers on both teams will compete in singles on Sunday, all gamers are guaranteed a full lineup. And because it’s the last session, your team will be comprised of your last three available, naturally. Consider this as insurance at the beginning of the competition, but just as you took a fluid approach in PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO during the FedExCup Playoffs, remain flexible throughout the Presidents Cup.   Day 3 will pose the greatest challenge because there are two sessions of four matches each. Because the deadline for the day will fall with the first tee time of the first session and the matches for the second session aren’t announced until the first session is underway, it’s possible that one of your selections will not play at all on Day 3. See, after you’ve burned three golfers each in Days 1 and 2, it’s possible that all of your first six will be scheduled to play in the first session on Day 3, which means that you’re guaranteed just two of the eight actively participating.   In 2015, all 12 members on the U.S. squad competed at least once on Day 3, but just nine of the Internationals were in play. Captain Nick Price has returned this year, so it’s feasible he’ll take the same course of action even though he’ll be reacting to the competition in real time. However, if you’re going to choose the International squad, your objective should be to save three of the strongest members for Day 3. The following seven Internationals laced it up in both sessions on Day 3 two years ago: Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace and Sangmoon Bae. Only Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, J.B. Holmes and Bubba Watson represented the U.S. in both sessions on the same day. Your decision to select the Internationals to win should hinge on what you’re going to do on Day 3. Even if the U.S. wins the Presidents Cup and shuts you out of five points, bonus points for holes up at the conclusion of matches will cover for it and then some in some cases. Having two cracks at it in one day increases potential player impact from 25 percent (one of four days) to 40 percent (two of five sessions). Just like any golf tournament, you can’t win early, but you can lose it with misguided and anxious thinking. While a 6-and-5 victory in Four-ball on Days 1 or 2 would be more valuable than, say, a pair of 1-up wins on Day 3, you’d need that unlikely scenario to play out to validate the decision not to hope for golfers who will get two starts on Day 3. In preparation for this, consider rostering one or two of your weakest options at some point on Days 1 and/or 2. This will keep you in the game for a potentially game-changing Day 3. And who knows, you just might catch lightning in a bottle in the meantime.   PHILOSOPHIES Qualifying for team competitions requires long stretches of terrific form and usually a PGA TOUR victory along the way. This is to say that discerning between the best and next-best options in your lineup is as relative as it gets in fantasy golf. It’s akin to debating which golfer you want to take in a first round of a draft. Yet, the embarrassment of riches is most definitely affected by the captain’s thirst for team victory. Thus Price’s beefed-up lineups on Day 3 in 2015. Another element that can go overshadowed by the host country’s domination throughout the history of the competition is that it’s still match play. Toss in the variable that 60 percent of the matches involve two-man teams and you can slide into overthinking quicker than you can say, “Pick it up.” These unpredictable realities are constants, but it doesn’t mean that we are entirely at their mercy when constructing lineups. Do it smartly to put yourself in position to get lucky. RECAPS & PREVIEWS This primer is just the beginning. I will be writing daily reports based on the results, golfers’ form, matches for the following day and everything else that matters in your quest to win The Captain’s Pick. So, if you haven’t already bookmarked PGATOUR.COM/Fantasy, please do so.  

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Andrew Putnam (+170 for a Top 20) … If you’ve been paying attention, then you have solid ground on which to stand and argue his absence in the Power Rankings, but he’s just 2-for-4 at Mayakoba with zero top 60s. Furthermore, anytime a guy who’s been simmering takes a blow, he can be forgotten quickly. It’s the phenomenon of the sport. Case in point, since a T11 at the 3M Open in late July, he’s connected nine paydays, two of which going for a top five and another three for a top 25. At 33 years of age, he’s in his prime and befitting of the model proven to succeed at El Camaleón, but he’s also the ball-striker that the course rewards. Obviously, the projection is for a personal best this week. Nick Taylor (+350 for a Top 20) … The 34-year-old from Canada is on a heater to start the new season. He’s covered one missed cut with a T6 (Fortinet) and a pair of top 25s, including a T23 in Bermuda on Sunday. He’s a two-time PGA TOUR winner who’s retained his fully exempt status since splashing in 2014-15, but this burst is unlike him. Consider that in each of the last four completed seasons, he totaled no more than four top 25s. He’s cycled through Mayakoba six times previously, four of which yielding a payday, the only top 25 of which a T15 in 2016, but piggyback his confidence and reach for this finish. Ryan Armour … He led the PGA TOUR in both fairways hit and proximity to the hole last season, but he was limited to 19 starts due to conditional status. No biggie. He regained fully exempt status via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and already has a T13 on the board this season at the Sanderson Farms Championship. As a bunter of a certain age (46), he’s among the throng licking its chops this week. He’s also a regular attendee when eligible. Since 2017, he’s 3-for-4 with a set-best T21 in 2018. Tyler Duncan … With his profile and despite the results more often than not, he looks good a lot, but he looks even better this week, and it doesn’t hurt that this is a short course. Give a 33-year-old ball-striker a stage like El Camaleón and watch him dance. He’s 5-for-5 in the tournament with a personal-best T23 in 2020, so if you can find a top-30 market, go shopping. He’s also coming off a full season during which he ranked eighth in fairways hit, T11 in proximity to the hole and 34th in scrambling. Adri Arnaus … With the DP World Tour dark this week, the Spaniard had an opening to take on Mayakoba, albeit not for the first time. He made the first of seven career PGA TOUR starts here in 2018. He missed the cut, but that was before he was a rookie on what is now his home circuit. Since 2019, he’s finished a respective 41st, 39th and 33rd in DPWT ranking, and he’s currently 27th with this season’s finish line on the horizon. He also broke through for victory for the first time on that tour six months ago. A month later, he crashed into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time. He just turned 28 and he speaks the native language of the Riviera Maya, so the transatlantic trip will have had a soft and welcome landing. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. For live odds, visit BetMGM. Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org.

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