Photo Gallery: THE PLAYERS Championship Previews

2022 Valero Texas Open, Round 2 Top 10 win probabilities: 1. Ryan Palmer (1, -10, 19.3%) 2. Dylan Frittelli (T2, -8, 8.0%) 3. Matt Kuchar (T2, -8, 7.7%) 4. Gary Woodland (T5, -7, 7.6%) 5. Kevin Chappell (T2, -8, 7.6%) 6. Charles Howell III (T5, -7, 6.5%) 7. J.J. Spaun (T5, -7, 4.8%) 8. Brendon Todd (T5, -7, 3.7%) 9. Lucas Glover (T5, -7, 3.3%) 10. Jhonattan Vegas (T13, -5, 2.8%) Top Strokes-Gained Performers from Round 2: Putting: Scott Gutschewski +3.8 Around the Green: Lucas Glover +3.0 Approach the Green: Brandt Snedeker +5.3 Off-the-tee: Maverick McNealy +2.2 Total: Kevin Chappell +7.0 NOTE: These reports are based off of the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live “Make Cut”, “Top 20”, “Top 5”, and “Win” probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 20K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of the Valspar Championship, or to see how each golfer’s probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model’s home page.

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The weekly anticipation until tee times drop and featured groups are released on Tuesdays has nothing on the level of advance intrigue concerning the makeup of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Some partnerships in the two-man competition are telegraphed weeks and months in advance, but when the field publishes with confirmations of all 80 teams, the buzz is unique. An explanation of the format, analysis of TPC Louisiana and more information is detailed beneath a ranking of 10 teams and five others teams to consider. RELATED: The First Look | How it works POWER RANKINGS: ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS OTHERS CONSIDERED Joel Dahmen & Lanto Griffin Max Homa & Talor Gooch Richy Werenski & Peter Uihlein Louis Oosthuizen & Charl Schwartzel Alex Noren & Henrik Norlander The Zurich Classic of New Orleans does not contribute to PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, so Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will be abridged. Naturally, the fun isn’t limited to the fans to digest who’s teamed with whom at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. For all 160 committed to play, it’s a unique wrinkle in the middle of the season and positioned not long after an exceptionally challenging stretch of competition. When the local food and culture are accepted as perks of making the trip, it could feel like a bonus since guys play any variety of home games with a partner. Best ball will be used for scoring in the first and third rounds; alternate shot will measure performance in the second and fourth rounds. Since last season’s edition was canceled, this is the first staging of the four (since 2017) with a 36-hole cut of low 33 teams and ties. Each member of the winning team is credited with an official victory and the customary two-year membership exemption (or extension of one year up to the maximum of five, if applicable). Each winner receives exemptions into next month’s PGA Championship, the 2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions and the 2022 PLAYERS Championship, among other invitationals. While bragging rights are forever, those rewards exceed whatever exchange occurs on the last green of their private matches. Members of the top-five teams at the conclusion of the tournament will be exempt into next week’s Valspar Championship via the top-10 provision, if necessary. Another benefit exists in the absence of a negative; that is, because Official World Golf Ranking points are not assigned, the tournament does not contribute to the divisor for all of the entrants. So, a missed cut does no harm. A couple of days after Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer celebrated victory at TPC Louisiana in 2019, the course underwent a six-month renovation. Its wide-ranging attention included a modernization of the fairways and greens fitted with Celebration bermudagrass and TifEagle bermuda, respectively. Only the putting surfaces have been overseeded. They’re prepared to run up to 12-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter, weather pending. It’s likely that the greens will be as advertised as conditions for the opening round should be perfect. Things will turn come Friday and into Saturday due to a reasonable threat for inclement weather. With it, temperatures will rise into the mid-to-upper 70s. They’ll stay there for Sunday’s finale, which is forecast to be dry. Wind will be a persistent variable throughout the tournament. The latest versions of the greens on the par-5 second and par-3 14th holes have new hole locations. Upwards of nine dozen bunkers were rebuilt and reshaped to reflect a proper challenge. Improving the drainage across the property was the through line for the work. TPC Louisiana is a stock par 72 that stretches to 7,425 yards. Despite welcoming fairways framed by rough trimmed to 1.75 inches, it’s not a bomber’s paradise, but distance off the tee has increased since the advent of the team competition. However, hitting greens in regulation has gone in the other direction. Because the greens are undulating and segmented, precision on approach is at a premium. That’s multiplied in best ball with two looks into every green for as many as two rounds. Ball-strikers, short-game wizards and streaky profiles define who prevailed and contended in the first three spins of the team event, but that doesn’t rule anyone out. It merely validates the essence of the competition. 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: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers; Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch

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The top 100 players in the FedExCup standings will qualify for the Dell Technologies Championship — the second leg of the FedExCup Playoffs. Track the latest movement here: Projected FedExCup standings. • COURSE: TPC Boston, 7,342 yards, par 71. Carved into the New England countryside about midway between Boston and Rhode Island, the original 2002 layout carried Arnold Palmer’s stamp before a thorough remodel just five years later. Gil Hanse and consultant Brad Faxon introduced “chocolate-dropâ€� mounds and grass bunkers to give the course more of a regional feel. The Dell Technologies Championship has been engrained in the Labor Day calendar since 2003, using the holiday to offer up the PGA TOUR’s only scheduled Monday finish. • FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 2,000 points. • CHARITY: The Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester and MassGeneral Hospital for Children are the tournament’s new primary beneficiaries, selected with a mission of improved health, wellness, and academic achievement. Six other charity partners include The Red Sox Foundation and Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund. • FIELD WATCH: Rory McIlroy, the reigning FedExCup king, defends in Boston against a lineup currently at 97 entrants. Among them: PGA TOUR Season points leader Hideki Matsuyama and new PGA Championship titleholder Justin Thomas. … Masters champion Sergio Garcia jumps into the fray after sitting out the Playoffs opener for the third consecutive year. He began the postseason at No. 22 on the points list, still on track to make the finale at East Lake. … Adam Scott, now a father of two after welcoming a son this week, was a late addition after initial indications he’d sit out the first two events. He entered the Playoffs at No. 66, with little wiggle room to get into the BMW Championship. … Brandt Snedeker and Scott Piercy are qualified for Boston, but have shut down their seasons with injuries. • 72-HOLE RECORD: 262, Vijay Singh (2008), Charley Hoffman (2010), Henrik Stenson (2013). • 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Vijay Singh (3rd round, 2006), Mike Weir (1st round, 2008). • LAST YEAR: McIlroy made up a six-shot deficit on the final day, firing a 6-under 65 to chase down a faltering Paul Casey for his 20th victory worldwide and first on U.S. soil in nearly 16 months. McIlroy played his first three holes of the week in 4 over, but followed his opening 71 with rounds of 67-66-65 that left him with a two-stroke triumph. He moved in front for good with a 20-foot birdie at TPC Boston’s 12th hole, then left no doubt with a 3-wood approach into the wind at No. 18 that set up a birdie from a bunker. Casey began the day with a three-shot lead, but closed with a 73 in his bid for a first PGA TOUR victory since 2009. Three weeks later, McIlroy won again at East Lake to take the FedExCup. • STORYLINES: While there’s always a shakeup atop the FedExCup standings after the first Playoffs event, Matsuyama’s missed cut at THE NORTHERN TRUST virtually assures a change at No. 1. Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Jhonattan Vegas all were tied for the lead after 36 holes at Glen Oaks Club. … Jon Rahm, down to No. 6 in points after once topping the chart, entered the Playoffs without a top-10 finish on U.S. soil since May. … The FedExCup bubble now moves to the top 70 in points for the BMW Championship. A year ago, Billy Hurley III and David Hearn were among six who extended their seasons after coming to Boston outside the cut line. • SHORT CHIPS: Two of the past four winners at TPC Boston have gone on to win the FedExCup, with McIlroy’s feat preceded by 2013 champion Henrik Stenson. … McIlroy’s triumph also made it seven consecutive winners at TPC Boston who have come from behind on the final day. Just one of the past 10 champions, in fact, have closed out a 54-hole lead. … Phil Mickelson is set to become the first man to make 40 starts in the FedExCup Playoffs. Bubba Watson will join him if he can move into the top 100 in points. … Scott, Patrick Reed, Ryan Moore and Jason Kokrak all posted top-10 finishes at each of last year’s first two Playoff events. That matched the total for the previous three postseasons. • TELEVISION: Friday, 2:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 3-6:30 p.m. (GC). Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC). Monday, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (GC), 1:30-6 p.m. (NBC). • PGA TOUR LIVE: Friday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday-Monday, 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). • RADIO: Friday-Saturday, noon-7 p.m.; Sunday-Monday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM).

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