Potential Ryder Cup pairings based on which balls players play

PGATOUR.COM writer Helen Ross claimed third place for Best Feature Story in the 2018 Golf Writers Association of America’s writing awards that were announced Wednesday. Ross was honored for her story on how basketball legend Michael Jordan became a golfer.  In addition, managing editor Mike McAllister received an honorable mention in the Special Projects category for his writing in Arnie’s Army, the multimedia immersive piece that was launched prior to last year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. The GWAA award categories include news, features and columns in both daily and non-daily media, as well as the Special Project category. The winners will be honored at the GWAA’s annual dinner the night before the first round of the Masters in April.

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It’s not often that the most-owned golfer started the week outside the top 10 in my Power Rankings, but it’s also that time of Segment 4 when fantasy atrophy sets in. We have only so many starts remaining on so many notables that we’ll take what we can get. Jon Rahm is still a sensible No. 1 at the Dell Technologies Championship. He emerged as a midseason force who helped spell starts. Patrick Cantlay at 16th overall is in a similar position now. A T10 at THE NORTHERN TRUST reinforced his reliability. Before you know it, we’ll be looking to ration starts on both wunderkinds, just as we have the regulars for whom they’ve substituted. The only curious component of the breakdown at TPC Boston is that Rahm leads at just 45.8 percent. While it was projected in this space last week when Hideki Matsuyama garnered the most faith at Glen Oaks with 48.1 percent, there are fewer golfers from which to choose during every leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, so we couldn’t have ruled out an uptick. Atrophy. It’s a real thing. Stay hydrated. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO NOTE: Rob’s Rating refers to where our Fantasy Insider slotted a golfer in his Power Rankings (“PR”) and other preview material. Owned Rank  Player  Percentage  Rob’s Rating 1st  Jon Rahm  45.8%  PR12 2nd  Paul Casey  41.5%  PR3 3rd  Rory McIlroy (defending)  40.5%  PR4 4th  Justin Thomas  40.3%  PR10 5th  Dustin Johnson  33.1%  PR1 6th  Jason Day  32.9%  PR5 7th  Matt Kuchar  27.21%  PR11 8th  Jordan Spieth  25.7%  PR6 9th  Rickie Fowler  25.3%  PR2 10th  Hideki Matsuyama  23.4%  PR13 Golfers in the Power Rankings and outside the top 10 in most owned Power Ranking  Player  Owned Rank  Percentage 7  Patrick Reed  11th  23.1% 8  Louis Oosthuizen  12th  22.0% 9  Adam Scott  13th  18.7% 14  Webb Simpson  28th  4.8% 15  Kevin Chappell  25th  5.0% 16  Charley Hoffman  18th  13.9% 17  Brooks Koepka  14th  17.4% 18  Jhonattan Vegas  29th  3.4% 19  Patrick Cantlay  16th  15.7% 20  Justin Rose  17th  15.0% Wild Card  Chez Reavie  35th  2.5% Other notables Owned Rank  Player  Percentage 15th  Sergio Garcia  16.8% 19th  Jason Dufner  11.1% 20th  Keegan Bradley  10.4% 27th  Bubba Watson  4.9% 30th  Phil Mickelson  3.3% PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO No two fantasy games are alike even when game play is identical. That includes One & Dones. Because PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO uses FedExCup points to measure performance, the Playoffs can make your season in a single bound. Of course, you have to connect with the right guy at the right time, but interest in the format is sustained significantly longer than in earnings-based formats in which apathy set in for many weeks ago. It’s with that reality in mind that we shouldn’t be surprised that many of the usual suspects populate the top-10 most-owned at the Dell Technologies Championship. Louis Oosthuizen checked the boxes of form and history stronger than most, at least on balance, but 4.6 percent of you sat on your hands long enough to burn defending champion Rory McIlroy. Kudos. Yes, by McIlroy’s (and our) lofty standards, he’s misfired too often in 2017, so there was reason not to invest earlier, but you can’t go an entire season without him. This is especially relevant when the winner of every Playoffs event banks 2,000 FedExCup points. Jason Day and Paul Casey present as one of the stronger 2-3 couplets in recent memory. Of course, we don’t know how many league leaders are on board, but gamers who are chasing aren’t complaining about their prospects at TPC Boston. Owned Rank  Player  Percentage 1st  Louis Oosthuizen  10.8% 2nd  Jason Day  9.7% 3rd  Paul Casey  8.3% 4th  Kevin Chappell  5.0% 5th  Rory McIlroy (defending)  4.6% 6th  Patrick Reed  4.5% 7th  Justin Thomas  4.5% 8th  Jon Rahm  4.1% 9th  Dustin Johnson  3.6% 10th  Hideki Matsuyama  3.3% Other notables Owned Rank  Player  Percentage 11th  Rickie Fowler  2.8% 13th  Jordan Spieth  2.5% 15th  Adam Scott  2.1% 16th  Matt Kuchar  16th  2.1% 18th  Sergio Garcia  2.0% 20th  Brooks Koepka  1.7% 22nd  Justin Rose  1.5% T26  Bubba Watson  0.8% T32  Phil Mickelson  0.5%

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