Sleeper Picks: 3M Open

CROMWELL, Conn. – Brendon Todd and Dustin Johnson each shot career-low 61s at the Travelers Championship on Saturday, leaving Todd with a two-stroke lead. The 34-year-old Georgian, playing a couple holes behind Johnson, had a chance at the tournament’s second 60 of the week but missed a 10-foot putt to the left on the 18th hole. He finished with a 54-hole score of 192 after shooting 66-65 the first two rounds. Johnson, who is looking for his 21st win on the PGA TOUR, also has improved each day, opening with a 69-64. Both golfers shot bogey-free rounds, with Todd making five birdies on the front nine and Johnson five on the back. Todd said the round became a game of whatever you can do, I can do just as well. RELATED: Leaderboard | Tee times | Morikawa’s made cut streak comes to an end | Gordon making the most of opportunity at Travelers “It’s hard to miss the leader boards obviously, so (Johnson’s) name was up there from a pretty early point,” Todd said. “Again, I just use it as motivation to go out there and make some more birdies.” Todd is looking for his third win of the season but his first since the fall, when he went back-to-back at the Bermuda Championship and the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico. “Whenever I get a two- or three-week stretch in a row, I tend to be playing better by the end of it,” he said. “That’s just something I’m using to my advantage now after missing two cuts. I’m peaking in the third week and hopefully I can get it done tomorrow.” Despite going 9 under for the day, Johnson lamented missing several birdie chances and and eagle attempt on the par-4 ninth, when his ball stopped six inches from the pin. Just two of his birdie puts, an 18-footer at the 10th hole and a 21-footer on the 12th, were longer than 9 feet. “I really felt like I controlled the distance with my irons really well and hit tons of good shots,” he said. “I had a lot of really good looks at birdie.” Kevin Streelman fired a 63 after two straight rounds of 66 and was just three shots back. Mackenzie Hughes, who led after a 60 on Thursday, shot his second straight 68 for sole possession of fourth place. “Today if I had putted like I did the first day, I could have shot low 60s for sure,” Hughes said. “Play the same as I did today tee to green and roll in a few putts and it’ll be awesome.” Bryson DeChambeau and Kevin Na each shot 65 and were tied for fifth at 197. Phil Mickelson, who celebrated his 50th birthday last week, began the day with a one-stroke lead but struggled, finishing tied for seventh in a group six shots back. He made just his second bogey of the week on the third hole and also dropped strokes on the seventh and 13th before finishing with a 71. Mickelson, looking for his 45th win and third on this course, has mostly struggled. He missed the cut in his previous three tournaments. “I haven’t played great this year,” he said. “I’ve missed a lot of cuts, and the next thing I know my game is starting to come back and I can sense it. I played two great rounds, and this is really a lot of fun.” Top-ranked Rory McIlroy, who opened the tournament with a 63, said he feels he is too far back to contend for the title after rounds of 68 and 69. He bogeyed two of his final four holes — his tee shot landed in the water on the course’s signature 15th hole and he also made bogey at 18 — to finish in a group eight shots back. “I guess, if I had have been able to sneak a couple more over the last few holes, get to 14 and then all of a sudden you feel like you’re right in it. But I went the other way those last few holes, and that’s what took me out of it,” he said. Jason Day requested to be tested for COVID-19 on Saturday morning just before his round. Officials decided to have him play as a single on Saturday as a precautionary measure. He shot a 69 and is 1 under par headed into Sunday. The round began early in the day because of threatening weather, with golfers going off both the first and 10th tees. It finished just before the skies opened. A forecast for more rain on Sunday will mean another early start.

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Here are nine tidbits from the first round of the Genesis Open that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. A breezy morning caused a bit of havoc, as you’ll read below. Defending champ Dustin Johnson struggled out of the box and never could get anything going. Darkness stranded a handful of players still on the course, so Round 1 will finish early Friday morning. Automatic for the People The best news for gamers at The Riviera Country Club is there is another round before the cut and the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO allows substitutions. For the second week in a row, Dustin Johnson was the overwhelming favorite in this format. I’m not saying it’s time to panic… yet. Johnson’s 74 today had essentially one really bad hole (triple bogey) on a track he usually dominates. To put it in perspective, it’s his first round over par since 2015, a streak of 10 loops. There’s no chance I’m taking him out of the lineup. Afternoon Edition Justin Thomas lamented on the telecast that there was wind this morning playing havoc through the canyon. Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau (5-under 66) were in the later flight and share the lead in the clubhouse in Round 1. Both players with West Coast roots were on-point as Cantlay hit the most GIR (16 of 18) and Finau led in strokes-gained: off-the-tee. Both players circled six birdies against only one bogey because the putter also cooperated. Cantlay led the field in putts per GIR while Finau was second. They both set their career-low score here as well. Morning Show The early wave was paced by a trio of 67’s (-4) from Tom Hoge, Dominic Bozzelli and Sam Saunders. Pro gamers will point out that Saunders opened with 64 here last year to lead by two before ending up T49. Hoge’s name is familiar in this column, as he opened with 65 at Waialae and was sniffing around at Torrey Pines after Friday. Bozzelli finished last season No. 119 in the FedExCup standings. He didn’t play after the RCB Canadian Open as he tried to get healthy for the new season. This is only his fifth event of 2017-18, and that matches exactly how many people have rostered him this week in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. Bubba Conundrum Bubba Watson is off to a flying start as the two-time champion (2014, 2016) opened with 68 (-3) and sits T6. He’s playing in the NBA All-Star Game Celebrity Game Friday night, so he’ll be hustling to get off the course and to the Staples Center after his Friday round. According to his social media, he met with Ellen DeGeneres and Chuck Lorre earlier in the week, so maybe being in Hollywood is good for his game! Part of me wouldn’t be surprised if he posted a clunky one on Friday because of his pending night on the court in the big game. Caution. Reavie Relief Gamers who were late to the party but are jumping on board this week after P2 at TPC Scottsdale two weeks ago and T2 at Pebble Beach last week, you may now exhale. You’re not the jinx! Reavie hasn’t posted a round above par in 2018, and his 68 to open has him sitting T6 entering Friday. He was six-for-six scrambling in Round 1 to lead the field and didn’t make a bogey! Gamers are catching on as you can see in the chart above. Power Trio The featured PGA TOUR LIVE group of Tiger Woods (T63), Rory McIlroy (T36) and Justin Thomas (T17) saw the youngest member take home the medal honors with 69 (-2). Woods did hit more fairways and circled more birdies (5 to 1) than McIlroy, but the Ulsterman needed one less shot to complete the day. Gamers who have Woods in the lineup this week surely know that this is NOT one of his historical money grabs. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t get over the finish line tomorrow. McIlroy couldn’t putt last week at Pebble Beach, and that has followed him down the coast. He made one birdie and one eagle but needed almost two putts per green today. Wizard of Westwood That’s John Wooden, the famous UCLA basketball coach, not Ted Potter Jr., who won last week at Pebble Beach. Potter checked in at No. 130 of 144 who teed it up after his opening round 76 (+5). He’ll need something special to make the weekend, but his two-year exemption from winning last week is a very nice insurance policy. Study Hall Bill Haas is lucky to be alive after a Ferrari he was riding in was involved in an accident earlier in the week. The driver, Haas’s host in Los Angeles for the tournament, was killed and multiple vehicles were involved. I have no idea how this will affect Haas moving forward. It wouldn’t surprise me if he takes some time off. We’ll all follow this together. … Jim Herman WD with a foot injury, according to PGA TOUR Media. … Players returning to action this week that caught my eye include Jim Furyk (73) and Charley Hoffman (75). This is Furyk’s first start since the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow last summer. Hoffman WD last week at Pebble Beach with a back injury. … Woods and Marc Leishman both lost a ball in a eucalyptus tree today.

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