Rory McIlroy leads European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship

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Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, announced today the 2020 Masters Tournament, scheduled for Nov. 9-15, will provide an expansive slate of content across multiple platforms, including ESPN's College GameDay airing live from Augusta National on Saturday, Nov. 14. "Given the circumstances brought about by the pandemic, the delivery of quality content is as important as ever to the storytelling of the Masters Tournament," said Ridley. "While we will dearly miss our patrons at Augusta National this fall, we are excited to showcase what promises to be a truly memorable Masters in a variety of ways for viewers around the world." One such way is the addition of College GameDay, which is scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. - Noon before the live CBS broadcast of the third round. The studio will be staged overlooking Ike's Pond and the 9th green of the Par 3 course. "When exploring ways to showcase a fall Masters, we were drawn to the concept of hosting College GameDay at Augusta National to introduce the Tournament to a new audience and provide even more anticipation and excitement to the event," Ridley continued. "We appreciate the collaboration with ESPN, our longtime broadcast partner, for this first-of-its-kind opportunity." In addition, the global television audience of the Masters will experience new and enhanced views of the unique November Tournament, as Augusta National has worked with CBS Sports to showcase distinctive angles and shots from around the course. Throughout the week, live coverage of the Masters will be broadcast to more than 200 countries and territories. The American Forces Network will also broadcast the event to U.S. military installations throughout the world. In the United States, live coverage of Tournament play will begin Thursday, Nov. 12, from 1-5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and continue at the same times Friday, Nov. 13. CBS will again provide weekend coverage on Saturday, Nov. 14, from 1-5 p.m. ET, before airing the final round from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15. The Par 3 Contest, which is traditionally played on the Wednesday prior to the Masters Tournament and broadcast by ESPN, has been canceled. "The fun and excitement of watching Masters competitors with their friends and family is what makes the Par 3 Contest such a special part of Masters week," stated Ridley. "We know that experience could not have been replicated without guests and patrons at Augusta National, and we eagerly anticipate the opportunity to bring back this signature tradition." For the fourth consecutive year, the Masters will air a live 4K broadcast of the Tournament in the United States, featuring action from Amen Corner - the 11th, 12th and 13th holes of Augusta National - as well as the 15th and 16th holes. During Tournament week, Masters Digital will feature exclusive live video, scoring, interactive player tracking, groupings, video highlights, in-depth Tournament news coverage and more. The site will also feature a new live feed in November, highlighting the action from the 4th, 5th and 6th holes. Featured hole coverage will also be available on ESPN+. Building upon the Emmy Award-winning "Every Shot, Every Hole" technology from 2019, Masters Digital will unveil the "My Group" feature for the 2020 Tournament. Similar to a personally tailored Featured Group, "My Group" allows fans from around the world to build a personalized feed of every shot from their favorite players, ensuring they won't miss any of the action during the Tournament. In an effort to share the latest news from the Tournament, the Masters has launched a free daily email newsletter for fans. Delivered directly to their inbox from Augusta National, this newsletter will provide fans with exclusive content and highlights of the day's action, while also helping them plan their viewing schedule for the day ahead. Returning in 2020 is the official Masters podcast “Fore Please! Now Driving…” which invites patrons and fans to follow along as host Marty Smith explores Tournament storylines and visits with notable guests across sport, entertainment and pop culture. Episodes will be published daily from this year's Masters Tournament. For iPhone®, iPad® and Android phones, the Masters Tournament will release free apps designed to complement the television broadcast or to be used independently to follow Tournament action. Golf fans can also stay informed of Tournament news by following @TheMasters on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. On Snapchat, the Masters will feature a new augmented reality experience on the platform, allowing users to scan the iconic Masters logo and bring it to life inside the Snapchat app, using Snapchat’s Marker Technology, where Masters fans can use their Snapchat camera to unlock unique virtual experiences. The 84th Masters is set to begin on Thursday, November 12 with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player acting as Honorary Starters. Tee times will be announced at a later date, but players will be scheduled to start off the first and 10th tees in two waves the first two rounds.

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In Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf for the Mexico Open at Vidanta, I wrote that the goal is not to use Jon Rahm. He qualified for my roster as a obvious defensive measure, but the plan is sit him unless he’s contending for the title on Sunday. If he cranks out 25 points in R1, R2 and/or R3, so be it. The risk doesn’t warrant those rewards, no matter how likely you expect them against the field. RELATED: Horses for Courses | Sleeper picks The Mexico Open at Vidanta is the Spaniard’s second start of Segment 3 (T27, Masters). If he follows his schedule from the super season of 2020-21, he’d be making four more starts in this phase. However, even if he appears only at, say, the PGA Championship and the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, if you burned him at the Masters and will again this week, you’d be stuck with just one remaining. Ask yourself now how you’d rank the timing of his impact. Just like when Tiger Woods was a fixture in fantasy, the most challenging decisions in the extinct Yahoo! Format was how to ration 10 starts. Rahm isn’t at that level but he’s on the short list for whom we’re compelled to consider the possibilities to maximize – and leverage – his playing time. Here’s the gist… 1) You can play Rahm in all four rounds at Vidanta Vallarta – assuming he makes the cut, of course – and absorb the push with your opposition because a high percentage of it will do the same. In highly competitive situations, it’s a fair and reasonable exercise. OR 2) Because round-by-round scoring in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf is muted – unless, again, Rahm tosses up bogey-free, field-low 64s every day – stow him on your bench for the first two rounds. If he’s among at least five who make the cut, keep him benched until his position at the conclusion of three rounds. If in contention, burn the start as a defensive measure for the FedExCup bonus points. No matter what you do, including abstaining entirely so as not to put yourself in a position to be tempted in favor of long-range goals, it’s the middle of the season. Heck, I slow-played the big guy in Segment 4 last season and it proved to be the difference-maker in the FedExCup Playoffs because my nearest opponent, Ben Everill, had exhausted Rahm’s allotted starts one tournament too soon. POWER RANKINGS WILD CARD Patrick Reed (+125 for a Top 20) … When you read in the Power Rankings that he was teased for Draws and Fades, you likely also figured that his odds to be the Wild Card were somewhere in the vicinity of (-10000). Thus, boom. Certainly, on cachet alone, he demands analysis, but he’s the reverse split for what projects to matter at Vidanta Vallarta, and he hasn’t connected for a top 25 in a full field since a co-runner-up at Bermuda on Halloween. I’d draw a direct line from his heavyweight status in that field to this one but it’s been six months and it’s not that simple. Even contrarian investors are scratching their heads at his inflated value this week. Pass. DRAWS Kevin Streelman (+175 for a Top 20) … If you ever wondered why I’ve lamented for an obnoxious period of time why he’s Kryptonite, use his last start at Harbour Town as proof. There he was on a track where he missed only one cut in nine tries prior. His record includes three top 10s and another top 20. He also was comin’ in hot since the start of the Florida Swing. Lo and behold, despite an endorsement in this space, he failed to cash. But I’m back on board in Mexico because I’m doubling down on the strong(-enough) form and discounting the occasional missed cuts. If there’s a tightrope separating short- and long-term confidence, he walks it, and we should know better, but I just can’t quit Streels. Davis Riley (+225 for a Top 20) … I’d prefer a top-40 or make-the-cut prop but the rookie already has demonstrated a level of comfort near the lead. In fact, he runs towards it on Moving Day as he’s T8 on the PGA TOUR in R3 scoring, but the learning curve has put him in his place more often in finales. It’s to be expected but with a P2 (Valspar) and a T4 (with Will Zalatoris at Zurich) as recent objects in the sideview mirror, hop on the bandwagon and attach emotion. It’s how we apply our own learning experience. Pat Perez (+300 for a Top 20) … What’s that you say? Paspalum?? Thank you. That’ll be all. (OK, so that’s getting off easy because he did miss the cut at Mayakoba in November, but he may still have been feeling the effect of a foot injury just prior to it. More recently, he’s 7-for-9 since the Farmers.) Callum Tarren (+500 for a Top 20) … Ease into a make-the-cut line here, but don’t be that surprised if he pops for more. The rookie from England landed a T5 on the paspalum in Puerto Rico, and he finished T7 at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Veritex Championship two weeks ago before making the cut (with fellow Brit, David Skinns) in New Orleans. He’s already one of the more proficient tee to green, and now his confidence is elevated. Wyndham Clark David Lipsky C.T. Pan Brian Stuard Odds sourced on Tuesday, April 26 at 6 p.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. FADES Chez Reavie … He’s still splitting fairways with the best of ‘em, but his approach game has cost him time and again and it’s not like his putter is bailing him out. The 40-year-old bunter already is borderline unownable in full-season formats. Lanto Griffin … He’s gone five consecutive starts without a top 50 and his pedestrian tee-to-green game is uninspiring. He’s more valuable in the long-term, anyway. Adam Long … After a couple of months of failing to turn cuts made into top 25s, he finished T12 at the RBC Heritage thanks to a wicked-hot week with the putter. He missed only once inside 10 feet and was perfect on 65 looks from eight feet and in. The small greens at Harbour Town cater to that kind of performance, and he is a terrific putter, but it’s in the minority of expectations because ball-strikers and shot-makers tend to box out for most positions at and near the top of that leaderboard. The same narrative applies this week but not because the greens at Vidanta Vallarta are similarly sized. They’re unfamiliar, so good putters project to lag, pardon the pun. A payday is a fair expectation, and through 2021, he was consistent in delivering strong weekends when he made it, but the advice now is to invest fractionally at most. Rafa Cabrera Bello Brice Garnett J.T. Poston Scott Stallings Matt Wallace RETURNING TO COMPETITION Sebastián Muñoz … By the time he pierces the paspalum on Thursday, it’ll have been a month since his last competitive action (T26, Match Play). The Colombian was committed to the RBC Heritage until an injured back took precedent. The good news is that he’s connected six paydays in advance of his trip to Vidanta Vallarta. He’s also a good fit on paper for the test. At the same time, you likely wouldn’t have a need to put faith in his fitness in any situation other than an aggressive DFS ploy. NOTABLES WDs Daniel Berger … If not for a sore back, he’d have been a favorite this week. It’s the same malady that thwarted his title defense at Pebble Beach in early February, but he’s fared predictively well since. Just 65th in the FedExCup, however. Christiaan Bezuidenhout … Tag-teamed a T32 with fellow South African Charl Schwartzel in NOLA and now sits 94th in the FedExCup. Looking ahead, while not yet officially exempt, Bezuidenhout has been able to plan on a trip to the PGA Championship via his Official World Golf Ranking, but at 66th, he’s just outside the upcoming bubble for entry into the U.S. Open. Kevin Chappell … Since his status demotion (for failing to meet the terms of his medical extension), he’s 3-for-4 with a pair of top 20s. Remember, he wasn’t certain that he was going to continue to pursue playing time if he didn’t fulfill the medical, so his is an emerging compelling story. Of course, it also makes sense to table a long-term decision until the conclusion of the regular season, but we’re not often treated to peeks behind that curtain, so we can’t forget about it now. Meanwhile, it’s a bummer that he’s out at Vidanta Vallarta. His tee-to-green profile would have positioned him automatically for a make-the-cut prop. Nick Hardy … Placed a career-best T21 with Curtis Thompson at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and now ranks 190th in the FedExCup. Neither rookie has found his stride, so it was a timely injection of something positive. Charley Hoffman … This is his fourth early WD of the season. The first three were as a result of an injured back, and given his extended slump, it’s fair to attach it to either a continuation of the discomfort or a bad habit picked up while trying to play through it. Whatever the case, the 45-year-old is 180th in the FedExCup and not yet exempt for next season. (Worst case, and if he wanted, he’d be eligible for a career earnings exemption since he’s currently 36th all-time.) RECAP – ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS POWER RANKINGS Power Ranking Team Result 1 Scottie Scheffler & Ryan Palmer T18 2 Cameron Smith & Marc Leishman T21 3 Billy Horschel & Sam Burns 2nd 4 Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay Win 5 Max Homa & Talor Gooch T21 6 Danny Willett & Tyrrell Hatton T21 7 Collin Morikawa & Viktor Hovland T29 8 Sergio Garcia & Tommy Fleetwood MC 9 Keegan Bradley & Brendan Steele T4 10 Sungjae Im & Byeong Hun An T14 Wild Card Bubba Watson & Harold Varner III T4 OTHERS CONSIDERED Team Result Joaquin Niemann & Mito Pereira WD Will Zalatoris & Davis Riley T4 Adam Hadwin & Adam Svensson MC Matthew NeSmith & Taylor Moore T4 Sahith Theegala & Beau Hossler MC SLEEPERS Golfer (Bet) Result Graeme McDowell & Seamus Power (+4000 to win) MC Brian Stuard & Russell Knox (+6600 to win) T21 Aaron Rai & David Lipsky (+8000 to win) T4 GOLFBET Bet: Sungjae Im & Byeong Hun An (+300 for a Top 10) Result: T14 BIRTHDAYS AMONG ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE PGA TOUR April 26 … J.B. Holmes (41) April 27 … none April 28 … none April 29 … Justin Thomas (29) April 30 … none May 1 … Chris Couch (49); Sepp Straka (29) May 2 … none

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