Sleeper Picks: BMW Championship

NAPLES, Florida – Tournament host Greg Norman announced 22 players currently committed to compete in the 2018 QBE Shootout. The tournament will be held December 5-9 and will celebrate its 30-year anniversary as the PGA TOUR returns to Tiburón Golf Club at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort for the 18th year. Twelve of the top 50 players in the world will comprise this year’s field which includes a third consecutive appearance by Lexi Thompson, the highest ranked American player on the LPGA, as well as defending champions Sean O’Hair and Steve Stricker, a three-time winner in just seven starts on the PGA TOUR Champions this season. The field includes eight players who combined to win 13 times during the last PGA TOUR season. That group is led by Bubba Watson and Bryson DeChambeau who both won three times this year and Patton Kizzire who won twice. Other current champions in the field are Billy Horschel, Andrew Landry, Pat Perez, Brandt Snedeker and Gary Woodland. In addition to O’Hair and Stricker, past QBE Shootout champions returning this year are Davis Love III and Snedeker. Six players will compete for the first time in the $3.4 million event—Emiliano Grillo, Kevin Na, Luke List, Kizzire, Landry and Harold Varner III. Kevin Chappell, Tony Finau, Kevin Kisner, Kyle Stanley, Charley Hoffman and Graeme McDowell, who have a combined 11 career TOUR victories, are among the 19 players returning to the QBE Shootout. Two players in the field are past FedExCup champions. Snedeker won the season-long competition in 2012 and Horschel in 2014. Representatives from this year’s U.S. Ryder Cup team include DeChambeau, Finau and Watson as players along with Love III and Stricker as vice-captains. McDowell served as a vice-captain for the European team. Friday’s first round will be broadcast live by Golf Channel from 1:30-4:30 p.m. On the weekend, the final two rounds will be live on Golf Channel from 1:00-2:00 p.m. and on NBC from 2:00-4:00 p.m. “As we prepare to celebrate our 30th anniversary, I can’t help but get excited about the field we have assembled,â€� tournament host Greg Norman said.  “When I started the QBE Shootout 30 years ago, I did it to create something different for my fellow professionals. Today, it is incredibly rewarding to see so many of the game’s best join me in Naples each December. This collection of world class players will offer QBE, our corporate partners, Southwest Florida fans and an international television audience the ultimate hospitality and viewing experience.â€� “As the title sponsor for the QBE Shootout, we are thrilled that, once again, some of the most prominent names in golf have committed to this year’s tournament,” said Russ Johnston, Chief Executive Officer of QBE North America. “The QBE Shootout is much more for us than a week of memorable golf and great sportsmanship. We strive to raise as much money as we can through the tournament for charity and are proud to be able to give back to our community in that way. I am excited about the 2018 event, which will be even bigger and better than ever!â€� The two players to complete the 24-player field and the 12 two-person teams will be finalized in early November. The criteria for players qualifying for the 24-person field was adjusted in 2017 to accurately reflect today’s PGA TOUR standards. The Shootout’s field is comprised of its defending champions playing as a team, the top 12 committed professionals from the final 2018 FedExCup standings and 10 special exemptions; a minimum of four which come from the top 40 on the PGA TOUR career money list. The QBE Shootout will once again feature a scramble format during the first round, a modified alternate shot format on Saturday and a final-round four-ball on Sunday.

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The kid from Japan with the tall hairdo and pause at the top announced himself as one to watch at the 2011 Masters, earning low amateur honors with his T27 finish. Hideki Matsuyama has been challenging the world’s best since then while becoming a golf icon to fans back in Japan. For those in the U.S. who stayed up late, and others around the world, Sunday was a special day as Matsuyama claimed his seventh PGA TOUR title at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. The Land of the Rising Sun could celebrate with its risen star. Matsuyama comes alive for home fans For most of the four days at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, it felt like destiny was on Matsuyama’s side. He opened the tournament with a 64 to trail countryman Hiroshi Iwata by one but seized a one-shot lead with back-to-back 68s in tough conditions Friday and Saturday. This season has had its highs and lows for Matsuyama, who won his first major at The Masters Tournament in April but missed the podium, losing the bronze-medal playoff, at the Tokyo Olympics in August. He came to the ZOZO playing poorly, he said, but found something. An eagle at the par-5 6th hole extended Matsuyama’s lead to two over Cameron Tringale, but then it got tight. Matsuyama bogeyed No. 8, Tringale birdied No. 9, and they were tied. Then Tringale birdied No. 10 to take the lead. That’s when everything changed, Matsuyama throwing down the hammer. With the home fans giving him a little extra push, he birdied Nos. 11, 13 and 15 to take a two-shot lead. He and Tringale bogeyed 17, but then Matsuyama left no doubt, sending his fans into a frenzy. From 241 yards out on the par-5 18th, Matsuyama hit a fairway wood to 12 feet. While Tringale bogeyed, Matsuyama slammed in his eagle putt for a statement-making five-shot win. The victory is Matsuyama’s seventh on the PGA TOUR, but first in Asia. He pulls within one of K.J. Choi’s record eight PGA TOUR titles by an Asian-born player. “I was the only Japanese player contending and was up on the leaderboard,” he said. “To be honest, there were some pressures to deal with, but I’m glad I was able to convert that to positives.” The last time the ZOZO was held in Japan, in 2019, Matsuyama finished second to Tiger Woods. But this was Matsuyama’s moment. Surprising, given that he said before the tournament, “If my game scored 10 out of 10 at the Masters, now, I would say it scores less than 1.” Afterward, he boosted his grade, but not by much. “I would rate my performance as 2 or 3,” he said. “From the results perspective, it went about to 8, but I think it’s because of all the energy that I was getting from the fans, and I was very surprised how much energy I was feeding off of them.” For sports-crazed Japan, which has been mostly without on-site fans during the pandemic, most notably for its own Olympic Games, it felt like a special moment in the country’s athletic history. Tringale: another close call Last May, Cameron Tringale put his name in the record books, for better or worse. He became the highest-earning PGA TOUR player without a win. After another runner-up finish, his fourth on TOUR, the 34-year-old Tringale retains his title, as much as he wants to get rid of it. For about an hour on Sunday, it looked like Tringale might foil Matsuyama’s victory march. Tringale’s birdie at the 10th gave him sole possession of the lead. He waved to the crowd and was met with pleasant claps, although it was no secret who the gallery was cheering for. Alas, he flatlined from there: pars on Holes 11-16, then a bogey-bogey finish to lose by five (T2). “I needed to kind of take a couple risks and unfortunately it didn’t pan out,” Tringale said, “but I played 16 really good holes and yeah, that was the day.” Of his eight top-3 finishes, four have come since the TOUR’s post-COVID restart in June of 2020. It feels like a victory is inevitable, but then it’s felt like that for a while. “At least I was in it to some degree on the back nine,” he said. “I felt comfortable. I feel like I keep getting more comfortable and I’m more excited about continuing to be in that position.” Still no first-time winners Five weeks into the 2021-22 PGA Tour season, all five winners have added to their trophy case, while none have started their collection. Max Homa won his third title, Sam Burns his second, Sungjae Im his second, Rory McIlroy his 20th and Hideki Matsuyama his seventh. All five champions are between ages 23-32 and all were in the top 50 in the world at the time of their wins. All five are expected to be consistent factors throughout this season, if not years to come. The 2019 fall season produced four new winners, while the 2020 falls season gave us two. Tringale, who tied for second with three-time TOUR winner Brendan Steele, joined Maverick McNealy and Cameron Young as 2021-22 runner-ups who were seeking their first wins. Japan shows depth While it was Japan’s most famous player hoisting the trophy, a handful of others also excelled. Takumi Kanaya, the 2018 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship winner, who subsequently made the cut at the 2019 Masters, went 68-66 on the weekend to climb to T7 at 5 under. The 23-year-old Kanaya, who spent 55 weeks as the top-ranked amateur in the world before turning pro in 2020, has won three times on the Japan Golf Tour over the last three years. Kanaya, who in 2020 won the Mark. H. McCormack Medal as the world’s No. 1 amateur – other winners have included Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann – is a legit future star. Hiroshi Iwata, 40, who played on TOUR from 2016-2017, took the first-round lead with a 9-under 63. Although he cooled off (T18), he proved he can still go toe-to-toe with the best in the world. Shugo Imahira, who has reached world No. 30 and made the cut at the 2020 Masters and U.S. Open, also finished T18. The 29-year-old has five Japan Golf Tour wins and if he can get his world ranking back up – he’s No. 136 – could find his way back to a few majors in the next decade. Keita Nakajima, who followed Kanaya as the McCormack Medal winner in 2021 and remains the No. 1 amateur in the world, put together at an impressive T28. In all, six Japanese players landed in the top 30, while just one – Matsuyama – did so in 2019. Morikawa quietly in form Just over two months ago, Collin Morikawa started the FedExCup Playoffs at No. 1 in the standings. Alas, he missed the cut at THE NORTHERN TRUST, finished T63 at the no-cut BMW Championship and had the 28th-best gross score at the TOUR Championship (of the 29 players who finished). As it turned out, he had hurt his back in the Olympics, but by the time he got to the Ryder Cup a month ago, he said he was fully healthy. His results have backed that up. After going 3-0-1 at Whistling Straits, Morikawa finished second at THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT. He finished T7 at the ZOZO, and climbed to No. 2 in the world, his highest-ever ranking. In doing so, he passed Dustin Johnson, his partner in all three of his Ryder Cup wins. The ascendant Morikawa, 24, only has one man ahead of him now: Jon Rahm. Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

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Russell Knox ... Despite all that differentiates us, the narrative of 2020 forever will be that significant challenges have affected everyone. The Scot's added personal layer is that he endured a spell of 10 consecutive missed cuts that bridged the three-month shutdown. He found a whiff of form late last season but still missed the Playoffs. Armed with an additional season of fully exempt status thanks to the eligibility adjustments, he's made it count early with a T9 at the Safeway Open and top 20s in his last two starts. Currently fifth on TOUR in greens hit and 27th in proximity, the latest form is vintage. He's also 4-for-5 at Sea Island with a personal-best T20 last year. Ryan Armour ... There's nothing wrong with stereotyping him as a horse for courses. There are worse things for one of the shortest hitters with a TOUR card, especially at 44 years of age. He proved it again at Port Royal where he matched a T8 in last year's inaugural Bermuda Championship with another three weeks ago. Now he descends on Sea Island for the sixth time. He's yet to miss a cut and he recorded top 25s in the last two years. Scott Brown ... The native of Augusta, Georgia, has been as comfortable at Sea Island as anywhere else throughout his career. Overall, he's 5-for-7 with four top 20s, including a T14 last year. He's profiled as a guy who retains his card thanks for the occasional blast of form that he also rides for a short period of time. It's not so much streaky-good as it's reliably substantive when it's in motion. Given that he's fresh off a T24 at the Vivint Houston Open, and that it's his second-best finish since his trip to the Golden Isles last year, his trends are converging. Hank Lebioda ... Cue the Nappy Factor! The 26-year-old is due to become a first-time father and of a boy, so it's not surprising in the least that he's off and running this season. The lefty already has two top 25s on the board thanks to a crisper short game. Whether he can sustain it over time is the question, but his priorities are changing by the day and he's embarking on his third straight season with a TOUR card, so the learning curve is beginning to flatten. He also has a solid chance of extending the bump at Sea Island where he's 2-for-2. Davis Thompson ... It's a special time for the 21-year-old senior at the University of Georgia. He just scaled to the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking in its latest update thanks in part to a pair of top fives in collegiate action since qualifying for the U.S. Open by virtue of a special category carved out for the best amateurs (in the USGA's effort to build a familiar field during a pandemic). His first career PGA TOUR start occurred in The RSM Classic last year. All he did was lead the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (for the three lasered rounds at Seaside) and rank third in scrambling and T5 in par-5 scoring. Oh, and it's a home game as he lives on Saint Simons Island. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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