Power Rankings: PGA Championship

All right. Holiday break time is over. It’s time to get back to work. “Work.” Ha. Yeah, right. The Sentry Tournament of Champions is the reward for scaling the mountain, not the arduous climb to its summit. The ironically steep Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort on Maui is the site of the mass celebration for the most challenging tournament for which to qualify on the PGA TOUR. Only winners register upon arrival, 34 will compete and there is no cut. Continue reading beneath the ranking for information on the tournament, the host course and more. I will rank the other 19 golfers 16-34 in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider, so Sleepers will return for next week’s Sony Open in Hawaii. The Sentry Tournament of Champions is billed as a winners-only competition, but since the 2012 edition, a spot in the field has been reserved for the previous season’s FedExCup champion if he went winless en route to that title. It’s a provision that never needed to be triggered because all winners of the FedExCup had at least one win during the season in which he raised the trophy. It’s also a provision that’s no longer necessary with the new structure of the FedExCup. The winner of the 2019 TOUR Championship is the FedExCup champion, so he will qualify automatically for the 2020 Sentry TOC. In 2018, Justin Rose became the first FedExCup champ without a victory in the same Playoffs, but he already had qualified for this week’s Sentry TOC as the winner of the Fort Worth Invitational. Rose, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are the only qualifiers this week who elected not to commit. For all of the attention that the Plantation Course receives for its elevation and ridiculously long drives – 35 of the longest 50 drives of the 2017-18 season were recorded here – the focus worth the traction is on attacking pins and sinking putts. Sure, defending champion Dustin Johnson paced last year’s field in distance of all drives with an average of 324.7 yards, but he also averaged 14 greens in regulation per round (ranking T8) and led the way with fewest putts per GIR. Furthermore, he finished second in conversation percentage inside 10 feet and sixth in strokes gained: putting en route to a field-high 26 par breakers (including three eagles). The greens at Kapalua are massive for two reasons: It’s a resort course and the wind. It was routed to cater to the trade winds from the northeast, but with nothing in the way to slow them down, it wouldn’t be as much fun approaching average-sized targets. On cue, trade winds are forecast to gust 30-35 mph during each of the first three rounds this week. If that sounds nasty, they didn’t relent throughout the 2018 edition. Although the field’s scoring average of 71.221 marked a five-year high, DJ hung up 24-under 268 en route to an eight-stroke romp. Maxing at just 10 feet on the Stimpmeter to defend against the wind, the Bermudagrass putting surface invite aggressive strikes, but it’s still just as important as anywhere else to hit it in tight. Consider that Johnson connected just three times in 38 chances from 10 feet and outside that range last year. His longest conversion measured just 15 feet, five inches at the fifth hole in the opening round. With the full allotment of four par 5s but just three par 3s, the Plantation Course plays to the only par of 73 on the PGA TOUR schedule. For the first time since 2013, the course has been lengthened, this time by 66 yards. A new tee at No. 4 has extended the hole by 42 yards; the par 4 now tips at 424 yards. The par-4 sixth is up 24 yards to 422 yards. Overall, Kapalua measures 7,518 yards. Since DJ captured victory, other work was done throughout the property in response to some wear and tear on the greens and in the bunkers, but a considerable portion of that effort was in preparation merely for the Sentry TOC. Once it concludes, a thorough renovation that includes new grass will occur. 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*: Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

Click here to read the full article…

Kevin Dougherty of Murrieta, California, who followed the large footsteps of his good friend Rickie Fowler all the way to Oklahoma State, shot 67 and was among the four Monday qualifiers for this week’s Safeway Open at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa. Kurt Kitayama (65), Dino Giacomazzi (67) and former PGA TOUR pro Steve Allan (68) of Australia were the others who made it through the qualifying, in which 65 players competed (four withdrew) at the 7,104-yard, par-72 Bayonet and Black Horse – Bayonet course. Renowned for his putting prowess, Dougherty has always been a late-bloomer, his junior golf career finally taking flight as he grew and got stronger. He bogeyed the eighth and ninth holes and turned in 1-over 37 in his round at Bayonet on Monday, but shot a 6-under 30 on the back. He played for OSU Coach Mike McGraw and has said Fowler is “like a brother to me.�   Web.com Tour player Kitayama, of Chico, California, made an eagle at the par-5 opening hole and chased it with six birdies and a bogey. The 24-year-old played for UNLV, where was an all-Mountain West and PING All-West Region selection. He still lives in Las Vegas, but now heads back to Northern California, where he tied for 20th at the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae over the summer. Giacomazzi knows golf on the Monterey Peninsula perhaps better than most. He lives in Salinas, and won the 2010 Monterey City Amateur at Del Monte G.C. At Bayonet, one of the tougher tracks in the golf-rich region, he went bogey-free with a 4-under 32 on the front nine. Allan, 43, is perhaps the best known of the four. An Australian whose parents emigrated from Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1970, Allan scored his biggest professional victory at the Holden Australian Open. He played briefly on the PGA TOUR and was headed for what seemed like a certain victory at the 2004 Reno-Tahoe Open, but double-bogeyed the 72nd hole to fall into a sudden-death playoff. Vaughn Taylor won. The T2 finish tied his career best on TOUR (2003 Greater Milwaukee Open). Allan also shot an 8-under 62 in the second round of the 2004 Sony Open in Hawaii, but faded on the weekend and tied for 27th.

Click here to read the full article…

A familiar face toting an unfamiliar golf bag has emerged at Liberty National as Tiger Woods’ caddie Joe LaCava has jumped in to work for four-time PGA TOUR winner Patrick Cantlay. With Woods sidelined indefinitely due to leg injuries suffered in a car accident earlier this year and Cantlay’s regular looper Matt Minister out with COVID-19, the match was made on a temporary basis. LaCava – who also has had a guest appearance with his former boss Fred Couples on PGA TOUR Champions in June while Woods is in recovery – was able to drive down from Connecticut to help out at short notice. Cantlay is a member at Medalist Golf Club in South Florida, where he and Woods have formed a kinship. Woods was also Cantlay’s playing captain in the 2019 Presidents Cup. “He’s going to have to put up with a scrub caddie this week,” LaCava joked to Golf Digest. How long the pair work together is yet to be seen with Minister needing to get through COVID-19 protocols to return to the TOUR. Cantlay is certain of a place in the TOUR Championship thanks to an excellent Regular Season. He enters THE NORTHERN TRUST in third place in the FedExCup standings thanks to wins at THE ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP and the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. Cantlay added a runner-up at The American Express and a T3 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am. Cantlay has made it to East Lake on three previous occasions but is looking to best his career best FedExCup finish of 20th from 2018.

Click here to read the full article…