Sleeper Picks: Fantasy golf advice for Farmers Insurance Open

The PGA TOUR uses a standardized system for determining event fields, based off the current season’s Priority Ranking while also including additional exemption and qualifying categories. Field sizes can vary by event, as can the number of event-specific exemptions. Fully exempt PGA TOUR members are guaranteed entry into all full-field events, with various conditional categories subject to periodic reshuffles based upon FedExCup Points accrued throughout the season. Categories with ‘reshuffle’ notation indicate that a reshuffle period has occurred. Scroll below for the Cadence Bank Houston Open field list as of Friday, Nov. 4th at 5 p.m. ET: Check here for updates. Winner of THE PLAYERS Championship (five-year exemption) Si Woo Kim Winner of Masters Tournament (five-year exemption) Hideki Matsuyama Scottie Scheffler Winner of U.S. Open Championship (five-year exemption) Gary Woodland Winner of Open Championship (five-year exemption) Francesco Molinari FedExCup Champion (five-year exemption) Justin Rose Career money exemption Jason Dufner Zach Johnson Jimmy Walker * Sponsor exemption (Korn Ferry Tour Finals) Nico Echavarria Kyle Westmoreland Sponsor exemption (members not otherwise exempt) Charley Hoffman Chris Stroud Sponsor exemption (unrestricted) Cole Hammer Walker Lee Johannes Veerman Travis Vick PGA TOUR tournament winner (two-year exemption) Ryan Brehm Sam Burns Cameron Champ Stewart Cink Joel Dahmen Jason Day Tyler Duncan Harris English Tony Finau Jim Herman Garrick Higgo Mackenzie Hughes Martin Laird Luke List Trey Mullinax Sebastián Muñoz Chad Ramey Sepp Straka Robert Streb Nick Taylor Brendon Todd Erik van Rooyen Richy Werenski PGA section Champion\Player of the Year Ben Kern Past Champion member Russell Henley Top 30 on the FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List Aaron Wise Sahith Theegala Top 125 on prior season’s FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List Davis Riley Denny McCarthy Maverick McNealy Keith Mitchell Andrew Putnam Taylor Pendrith Emiliano Grillo Brendan Steele Adam Hadwin Taylor Moore Alex Noren Alex Smalley Wyndham Clark Lee Hodges John Huh Beau Hossler Brandon Wu Matthew NeSmith Adam Long Dylan Frittelli Ryan Palmer David Lipsky Adam Schenk Aaron Rai Stephan Jaeger Patrick Rodgers Russell Knox Adam Svensson Mark Hubbard Peter Malnati Danny Lee C.T. Pan Sam Ryder Vince Whaley Nate Lashley James Hahn Greyson Sigg Scott Piercy Callum Tarren Max McGreevy Chesson Hadley Nick Watney Kevin Tway Matthias Schwab Kramer Hickok Matt Wallace Austin Smotherman Justin Lower Doc Redman Danny Willett Kelly Kraft # Major medical extension Zac Blair Korn Ferry Tour Points winner (The 25 and The Finals 25) Justin Suh Korn Ferry Tour graduates via The 25 and The Finals 25 (reshuffled) Carl Yuan Will Gordon Paul Haley II David Lingmerth Zecheng Dou Austin Eckroat Robby Shelton Philip Knowles MJ Daffue Michael Gligic Taylor Montgomery Dean Burmester Ben Taylor Eric Cole S.H. Kim Joseph Bramlett Harry Hall Austin Cook Brandon Matthews Augusto Núñez Henrik Norlander Byeong Hun An Ben Martin Erik Barnes Ryan Armour Ben Griffin Davis Thompson Brent Grant Michael Kim Carson Young Tyson Alexander The PGA TOUR uses a standardized system for determining event fields, based off the current season’s Priority Ranking while also including additional exemption and qualifying categories. Field sizes can vary by event, as can the number of event-specific exemptions. Fully exempt PGA TOUR members are guaranteed entry into all full-field events, with various conditional categories subject to periodic reshuffles based upon FedExCup Points accrued throughout the season. Categories with ‘reshuffle’ notation indicate that a reshuffle period has occurred. * = If all prior year Korn Ferry Tour graduates are eligible for event, exemptions become unrestricted # = Latest medical extension information can be found here. $ = Category breakdown can be found here.

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The PGA TOUR enters the second week of its holiday hiatus, but you won’t find any in the stacked field at this week’s Hero World Challenge easing off the throttle. After the pandemic canceled the 2020 edition of the annual stop at Albany in The Bahamas, an intimate gathering reconvenes with the same no-cut, stroke-play competition over 72 holes, purse of $3.5 million and full-field distribution of Official World Golf Ranking points. And, oh yeah, Tiger Woods remains the host. The only change pertains to the permanent increase in the size of the field. For details on that, how Albany played in 2019 and other nuggets, scroll past the projection for all 20 participants. For the first time in its 21-year history, a record 20 golfers will be chasing victory and its $1-million prize. Accommodations were ratified to add the winners of the most recent edition of THE PLAYERS Championship and a third sponsor exemption inside the top 50 of the OWGR on Sept. 6. They join winners of all majors since the previous edition of the Hero World Challenge, the other two sponsor exemptions and the defending champion. To fill the field, the OWGR on Sept. 6 was used in order of position. Albany is in its sixth consecutive edition as the host. It’s a par 72 with five par 3s and five par 5s. In its first five spins, it surrendered a scoring average south of 70 just once. That occurred in 2017 when the field of 18 landed at 70.333 and despite Rickie Fowler’s course-record 61 to seal a four-stroke victory. In 2019, the scoring average was 69.792. Henrik Stenson prevailed by at 18-under 270. He was the only golfer that week to sign for four rounds in the 60s. With sand, water and wind helping to defend scoring, course management and a plan of attack on the par 5s is the way to go on Albany, which stretches to 7,309 yards. Stenson played the par 5s in 4.60 with one eagle, eight birdies and nine pars against two bogeys. Considering only par breakers across the rest of the course’s 52 holes over four rounds, he circled another eagle (at the par-4 14th hole in the opening round) and 11 birdies. Therefore, he converted 42.86% of his 21 par breakers on 27.78 percent of the holes played. Moderate winds at worst are forecast, so the talented field will have its way with Albany once again. There’s a threat of passing showers on Saturday, but the bermudagrass greens should touch 12 feet on the Stimpmeter for which they’re prepped. What rough there is stands just an inch and a half. NOTE: PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf will resume with the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Jan. 6-9.

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