Rejoice in ‘out-of-nowhere’ winners like Nate Lashley, but appreciate they’ve prepped for such moments their entire lives

Abraham Ancer … At 84th in the FedExCup standings, this is a tune-up for his Playoffs debut, but it’s not as if he’s backing in. Sat out two weeks since a solo fifth at the RBC Canadian Open to close out the month of July that opened with a T4 at the Quicken Loans National. The 27-year-old has four top 10s among seven top 20s on the season. The strength of his game is that the sum of his parts has vastly improved since he flamed out as a rookie in 2015-16. He now knows that he belongs on this stage. Danny Lee … Situated 107th in FedExCup points, he’s headed to the Playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. Didn’t turn things around until a T7 at THE PLAYERS that sparked a strange 5-for-9 run during which all of his cuts made resulted in top 25s, including a T6 in his last start at the RBC Canadian Open. Despite the surge, he’s experienced the opposite at Sedgefield where he’s 0-for-4 since 2012. Thtat explains why he lands in this space this week. Johnson Wagner … The 38-year-old resident of nearby Charlotte is 136th in the FedExCup standings. It’s familiar positioning as he’s finished in the 126-150 bubble three times. This is to say that while he’d prefer a higher rung on the ladder, he’s not uncomfortable in the circumstances. He descends for his ninth appearance at Sedgefield having connected paydays in his last six starts this summer. He can also tap into the confidence of a T5 here in 2016 and a similarly close call last year when he sat solo fifth after 54 holes before fading for a T24. Currently 16th on TOUR in strokes gained: putting, fourth in scrambling, T4 in par-3 scoring and T21 in par-4 scoring. Ricky Barnes … With cuts made in his last four starts, including a T17 at Glen Abbey, he struts in with a similar slate as he did before last year’s personal-best T16 at the Wyndham Championship, his third top 25 in six appearances. His scoring average in his last 14 rounds at Sedgefield is 68.29. The experience alone helps mitigate his tee-to-green struggles. It also can permit his talented small-ball game take over. Ranks third on the PGA TOUR in par-3 scoring, 42nd in strokes gained: putting and 11th in birdies-or-better percentage with the putter. John Oda … Fellow non-member T.J. Vogel has been generating headlines all season what with, count ’em, eight successful attempts at open qualifying, including for this week’s Wyndham Championship, but Oda has made the most of his four bids. The 22-year-old from Honolulu has totaled the equivalent of 193.133 FedExCup points as compared to Vogel’s 50.750. Oda would slot 165th among members; Vogel 205th. Oda has two top 10s on the season, including a T3 in his last start at the Barracuda Championship (where he four-spotted). That yielded his exemption into the field of 156 at Sedgefield. He’ll need no worse than a solo third to threaten the top 125 in FedExCup points. Should he fall short, he’ll still enter the Web.com Tour Finals with momentum. Meanwhile, Vogel needs no worse than a two-way T42 just to put himself in position to qualify for the Finals.

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The Waste Management Phoenix Open continues today from TPC Scottsdale (Stadium). Here’s everything you need to know for Round 2. Round 2 tee times Round 2 leaderboard HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:15 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). Streaming live on NBC Sports Gold and Prime Video Channels in the U.S., and on GOLFTV powered by PGA TOUR in all other countries. Learn more here. PGA TOUR LIVE on Twitter: Thursday-Friday, 9:15 a.m. – approx. 10:30 a.m. Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m. – approx. 12:15 p.m.  GOLFTV: Fans outside the U.S. in select markets can also stream the full world feed, concurrent with Golf Channel and NBC/CBS telecasts via subscription to GOLF.TV. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). NOTABLE PAIRINGS (ALL TIMES ET) 2:05 p.m. ET off No. 1: Cameron Champ, Justin Thomas, Webb Simpson 2:15 p.m. ET off No. 1: Matt Kuchar, Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau 9:50 a.m. ET off No. 10: Xander Schauffele, Bubba Watson, Jon Rahm  10 a.m. ET off No. 10: Phil Mickelson, Gary Woodland, Hideki Matsuyama MUST READS King of the Desert: A look back at Johnny Miller’s dominance in the desert Multi-sport influence sparks Gary Woodland’s revival Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas share lead, house at TPC Scottsdale Phil Mickelson off to sluggish start in 30th tournament start Oklahoma State amateur Matthew Wolff impresses with unorthodox swing CALL OF THE DAY

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Kyle Stanley won on the PGA TOUR for the first time in more than five years with a par on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff at Quicken Loans National. The former Nike Golf staffer signed a metalwoods deal with TaylorMade at the beginning of the year but left the rest of his bag setup alone. Stanley led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-green (plus 13.579) and was third in driving accuracy (71.43 percent), but it was his play with a set of Nike Vapor Pro Combo irons — he also carries a TaylorMade 4-iron — that made the biggest difference at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. Stanley, who ranks second on TOUR this season in greens in regulation percentage (71.55 percent), was nearly perfect with his approach shots. He hit 17 and 15 greens in regulation over the final 36 holes, resulting in rounds of 67-66. Stanley is no longer obligated to play Nike equipment, however, the irons and a Covert VRS 2.0 fairway wood have continued to make the equipment cut. Here’s a look at Stanley’s entire bag setup. Driver: TaylorMade M1 2017 (Fujikura Speeder 757 Evolution X shaft), 10.5 degrees 3-wood: TaylorMade M2 2017 (Fujikura Speeder 757 Evolution X shaft), 15 degrees 5-wood: Nike Covert VRS 2.0 (Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana W-Series 80X shaft), 19 degrees Irons: TaylorMade PSi (4-iron; KBS Tour 90S shaft), Nike Vapor Pro Combo (5-PW; KBS Tour C-Taper 125 S+ shafts) Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM6 (52 and 54 degrees; KBS 610 Wedge 125 shafts), TaylorMade Tour Preferred EF (58-10 degrees; KBS 610 Wedge 125 shaft) Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Prototype Ball: Titleist Pro V1

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