Power rankings: Wells Fargo Championship

JACKSON, Miss. – Move over youngsters, there’s still room at the top for the old guys. On the same weekend 37-year-old Justin Rose won the WGC-HSBC Champions, 41-year-old Ryan Armour polished off a sensational week of golf on Sunday at the Country Club of Jackson, shooting 4-under 68 to run away with the Sanderson Farms Championship. For more of what unfolded in Jackson, click here for the Daily Wrap-up. Armour’s fourth-straight round in the 60s was good for a five-shot victory over Chesson Hadley, and his first PGA TOUR title, in his 105th TOUR event. He won $774,000, and 300 FedExCup points. He is the fifth first-time champion in the last seven years for this event, but unlike the last three winners here, Armour is far from a fresh-faced 20-something. Instead, he’s a journeyman who joined the TOUR 10 years ago and has split his time between the PGA TOUR and Web.com Tour, going four years (2011-14) without making one PGA TOUR start. At some point, he said, he realized he needed to quit trying to stay with the young, big hitters, and stick to what he does best, a somewhat boring but awfully effective game of fairways and greens, fairways and greens. He did it remarkably well on Sunday, hitting 15 of 18 greens and 10 of 14 fairways. After a windy, bone-chilling third round on Saturday, the weather was a bit warmer on Sunday – and Armour stayed hot. For the week, he ranked third in driving accuracy, first in proximity to the hole on approach shots, second in strokes gained putting – and next-to-last in driving distance. He also led the field with 28 birdies for the week, including six on Sunday. And even when he did experience a hiccup with a three-putt bogey on No. 16, he followed that with a 45-foot birdie bomb on No. 17. It was a remarkable display of cool, calm and collected for a guy who showed very little emotion all week. Armour started with a five-shot lead and was never really challenged, even when local favorite Jonathan Randolph shot 29 on the front and shot up the leaderboard, at one point getting within three strokes of Armour. “What he did today was phenomenal,â€� said Scott Strohmeyer, who was in the final group with Armour. “Coming out of the gates, knowing he was probably nervous, every shot was just where he wanted it, and then he made some putts. His putter was hot this week.â€� Armour said it probably wasn’t his best putting week, but  “the combination, the fairways, the greens, the putts – that was the best it’s ever been.â€� The win, said Armour, is “a big monkey off my back, I’m not going to lie. There’s a lot of emotions running through my head right now. … It’s great. It’s job security, which I’ve never really had out here. It’s vindication, I guess. That wouldn’t be a good word. Validation is a better word, that you don’t have to hit it 330 in the air to win golf tournament. I hit a lot of fairways. I hit a lot of greens. I made a lot of putts.â€� Strohmeyer, who shot 71 and finished T4 in his first PGA TOUR event, led the tournament in average driving distance at 314 yards, some 50 yards farther than Armour. There were times Sunday when the two didn’t seem to be in the same zip code while hitting their second shots. Asked how he ignores the longer hitters and sticks with his game plan, Armour said: “First, you giggle. It’s pretty funny how far Scott hit it today. He’s the longest guy I’ve ever seen, without a doubt. But somehow you have to believe in something out here, which is I don’t hit it 330. “The fact is, I hit fairways and greens, and somehow that works.â€� Going back to the Wyndham Championship in August, when he finished T4, Armour has made 63 birdies and been 41 under par in his last 10 rounds. He said his coach gave him a new five-year plan in April. “Maybe I’m getting there a little quicker,â€� he said, smiling. “I made some tweaks this summer, and right before Greensboro I made some equipment changes that have paid off.â€� OBSERVATIONS ON FIRE: Randolph, who grew up in the Jackson area, played at Ole Miss and calls Country Club of Jackson his home course, poured in seven birdie putts on the front nine to go from T9 to alone in second place at 14 under when he made the turn. The fun stopped on No. 10, with a bogey, and he played the back in 2-over 38, good for the second-best round of the day, 67. He finished T3, far better than his previous best TOUR finish of T8. “I never got nervous,â€� Randolph said. “I wasn’t shocked about that, but it was really relieving to feel like I belong out here. … To not execute on the back nine stings a bit, but there will be more years.â€� VIVA LAS VEGAS: Strohmeyer’s 71 included five birdies and two costly double-bogeys. Still, his T4 was a fantastic finish when you consider this: It was his first PGA TOUR event, and he earned his spot in the tournament by holing out a bunker shot on the third playoff hole in the Monday qualifier – after having to go through the Thursday pre-qualifier. He has no playing status on the PGA TOUR or Web.com Tour, but the top-10 finish earned him a spot in next week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. “I’m just excited to have another tournament to play in,â€� said Strohmeyer. “After missing at the First Stage [of Q-School], I didn’t know if I was going to play again this year.â€� Asked what the last 10 days have been like, he said: “If I got in, it was like, ‘I know I can do this,’ but then to actually do it, to play in the final group, and (finish) in the top 10, it’s truly a dream come true.â€� BIG MARGIN: Armour’s five-shot win marked the largest margin of victory for this tournament since Frank Connor beat Brian Mogg by that amount in 1988. MOVING UP: Hadley’s second-place finish following a T3 at the Safeway Open moved him from No. 24 to No. 6 in the FedExCup. QUOTABLE “We used to call those Randolph runs, and I got on one today. My college coach used to tell me, you better keep making birdies when you can, because eventually it’s going to stop.â€� – Jonathan Randolph, on his front-nine seven-birdie binge “I think the love of competition, which is what drives most of us. I have loved to compete since I was a kid. Plus, I don’t know what else I would do.â€� – Ryan Armour, on what has kept him motivated during some of his lean years as a pro. SUPERLATIVES Low Round: Ricky Barnes fired a bogey-free 6-under 66 to move from T43 to T10. Longest Drive: Scott Strohmeyer hit it 374 yards on the par-5 14th. Longest Putt: 46 feet, 8 inches, by Steve Wheatcroft. Toughest Hole: The par-4 16th hole played to an average of 4.507, yielding just four birdies. There were 25 bogeys, seven doubles, and one triple made there on Sunday. Easiest Hole: The par-5 11th played to an average of 4.64. There were two eagles made there, plus 31 birdies and 34 pars. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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Putting a bow on the West Coast Swing, the TOUR makes its way to Scottsdale, Arizona, for this week’s WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course. The course will play to par-71, measuring 7,261 yards and contested on Bermuda greens. Currently, the field is 15% less than what we’ve seen in recent weeks. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $800K Pitch + Putt [$200K to 1st] STRATEGY Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green is still the priority, but Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee measures almost the same as approach in average strokes gained per round by former winners. On paper, the course doesn’t lean toward golfers who hit it far, especially not as much as Torrey Pines a couple of weeks ago, but this could be a contrarian strategy for lineup construction this week. Distance hitters like Tony Finau (+3500, $8,900), Gary Woodland (+10000, $7,300), and Bubba Watson (+4000, $9,000) routinely play well here, with the latter two winning this tournament. Bubba’s admitted to hitting drivers a lot here in the past, with the rough not being penal. Like Bubba, longer hitters have the advantage of hitting shorter irons into these fast greens. The course sits over 1,500 feet above sea level, which could be another reason we see the average driving distance 12 yards higher (293 yards) than the TOUR average. Also, consider golfers trending well in Par 4 efficiency between 450 and 500 yards and Par 5 efficiency this week. All the par 5s are reachable in two and need to be taken advantage of this week, with three of the last four winners ranking inside the top 11 in Par 5 efficiency in the years they won. Conversely, and maybe just as important, is driving accuracy with 70 bunkers and three water hazards. Golfers like Abraham Ancer (+5500, $7,900), who ranks top 10 in fairways gained over the previous 24 rounds, could fare well with accuracy this week like 2020 champion Webb Simpson (+3500, $8,600), who ranked third in fairways gained en route to his victory. The WM Phoenix Open has proven challenging to win as a 54-hole leader — only two out of the past 12 golfers have held on to win when leading after Round 3 — and six of the previous nine winners have come from two or more strokes back to earn the victory. Brooks Koepka (+3000, $9,400) was five shots behind Jordan Spieth (+1600, $9,900) and Xander Schauffele (+2000, $9,700) heading into the final round last year. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Justin Thomas (+1000 to Win, $11,000 on DraftKings) Those looking to chase the elite should consider Thomas, who’s finished 13-3-3 in his previous three starts in Phoenix. His ball-striking is elite, ranking 21st in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and third in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green over the past 24 rounds. It’s all about putting with Thomas, and two of his top-20 putting performances on TOUR have been at TPC Scottsdale. It’s been 16 weeks since Thomas’ last win on TOUR, his longest drought since 2018. That streak could come to an end this week. Scottie Scheffler (+2200 to Win, $9,100 on DraftKings) Successful finishes preceding the WM Phoenix Open haven’t been a prerequisite, but it never hurts. Looking deeper into his stats, Scheffler ranks top five in Par-5 efficiency and Greens in Regulation Gained over the previous 24 rounds and was top three in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green at Torrey Pines. A top-25 finish at The American Express and a top-20 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open is a good start for Scheffler, but he’s looking for his first win and it could easily be this week. Aaron Wise (+6500 to Win, $7,100 on DraftKings) Just missing the cut during his season debut at the Farmers Insurance, Wise comes into Phoenix well suited for a solid finish. Recently, few have been better than him on desert locales, finishing eighth at the 2021 Shriner’s Childrens Open (TPC Summerlin) and fifth at the CJ Cup (Summit Club). His putting looks good, gaining strokes on the greens in five-straight measured events heading into this week. Wise also looks solid on the par 5s, ranking 11th in Par-5 efficiency and fifth in eagles gained over his past 24 rounds. He also had one of the best Fall swings of anyone not named Talor Gooch (+5000, $7,800), finishing no worse than 26th in five starts across October and November last year. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $800K Pitch + Putt [$200K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. Place your golf bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app. All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests. The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. 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The third round of the Travelers Championship takes place on Saturday from TPC River Highlands. Here’s how to follow all the action. Round 3 leaderboard Round 3 tee times HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 11:030 to 22:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 13:00 to 22:00.  RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM). FEATURED GROUPS Brooks Koepka/Chip McDaniel: 9:25 a.m. ET Justin Thomas/Kevin Tway: 10:25 a.m. ET Marc Leishman/Peter Malnati: 10:45 a.m. ET MUST READS Sucher’s incredible journey has him leading the Travelers Championship Bradley relishing hometown opportunity Young players gaining valuable PGA TOUR experience McDaniel’s trek from the U.S. Open to the Travelers Championship Casey continues to shine in Connecticut Burgoon cards opening-round 64 Cantlay stays positive, continues strong play Rising stars take on TPC River Highlands CALL OF THE DAY

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