Sleeper Picks: Fantasy golf advice for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

SAN DIEGO — Once the fog finally lifted over Torrey Pines, a familiar figure in the U.S. Open was plain to see. RELATED: Leaderboard | Matthew Wolff rides rollercoaster on return to golf at U.S. Open A long Thursday ended in darkness with Russell Henley in the lead and Louis Oosthuizen poised to join him when the fog-delayed opening round wrapped up Friday morning. There were a few surprises, typical of the start at most majors. And there was Brooks Koepka. In the U.S. Open, there is always Brooks Koepka. “Not the best,” he said. “But I’ll definitely take it.” With a simple plan and solid execution for most any U.S. Open course, Koepka shot 2-under 69 to extend his incredible record. It was his sixth consecutive round in the 60s at the major with a reputation for being golf’s toughest test. Dating to final round at Oakmont, 11 of his last 14 rounds have been in the 60s in the U.S. Open. “I’ve just got a good game plan, focused, I know what I’m doing, and I don’t try to do anything I can’t,” Koepka said. “It’s just all about discipline in a U.S. Open. That’s I guess the gist of it.” Oosthuizen was among 36 players who failed to finish because of the 90-minute fog delay at the start. They were to resume Friday morning and then head right into their second rounds. Henley’s first visit in seven years to the rough-and-tumble South course at Torrey Pines went a lot better than the last time, especially under the circumstances. Anything around par never hurts in a U.S. Open, and his 4-under 67 was 12 shots better than his one-and-done appearance in the PGA TOUR stop. Oosthuizen, a runner-up at the PGA Championship last month at Kiawah Island, was at 4 under and had two holes remaining. The course was as tough as advertised. The wind was a little more than expected, and it doesn’t take much to add to the challenge. “If it’s blowing like this the whole week, it’s just going to be a hard week. That’s kind of what you want in a U.S. Open, though, right?” Henley said. Henley got up-and-down by holing a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole for a one-shot lead over Francesco Molinari and Rafa Cabrera Bello among those who finished. Koepka, with two wins and a silver medal in his last three U.S. Opens, was joined at 69 by the likes of Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, Jon Rahm, San Diego native Xander Schauffele and Hayden Buckley, who plays the Korn Ferry Tour and made his major championship debut. “Any time in a U.S. Open you’re under par it’s a great start and today was just that,” Rahm said. Sebastian Munoz also was 2 under and had four holes remaining. The difference between Torrey Pines for a PGA TOUR stop in January and Torrey for the toughest test in golf? Henley couldn’t say. He has only played the Farmers Insurance Open one time, in 2014, and it was memorable for the wrong reasons. He holed a 40-foot shot on the 18th hole for birdie to break 80. That’s about all he remembers except for “leaving the course feeling like I just got beat up.” There was plenty of bruising going on Thursday in the U.S. Open. Former U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson had to birdie the last hole to break 80. Jordan Spieth opened with a 77 — he now is 25-over par in his last four U.S. Open rounds. Max Homa four-putted from 20 feet for triple bogey on No. 12 and three-putted for double bogey on No. 14 on his way to a 76. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau pounded driver and did plenty of gouging from the rough, though Torrey Pines doesn’t seem quite as suitable for the style he so beautifully executed at Winged Foot last September in a six-shot victory. DeChambeau had to play the final five holes in 2 under to salvage a 73. PGA champion Phil Mickelson, who turned 51 on Wednesday, shot a 75 on Thursday. That’s not the start he hoped for in his bid to finally get a U.S. Open title for the career Grand Slam. What bothered him were two soft bogeys toward the end of his round. “Look, it’s part of this tournament, and I was able to go without any doubles. I just didn’t make enough birdies to offset it,” Mickelson said. Rory McIlroy birdied his final hole in near darkness for a 70, a good sign for a player who has fallen behind too far in too many first rounds at majors. Dustin Johnson had a 71 with one birdie and one bogey, nothing dynamic but suitable for a U.S. Open. Koepka has beaten 464 or the 465 players he has faced in the last three U.S. Opens he played. He sat out Winged Foot last year with injuries to his left knee and hip. For so much of the day, Koepka made it look easy by keeping it in the short grass, off the tee and on the green. He was bogey-free and 4 under through 11 holes when he missed the green on the par-3 third and made bogey, and he dropped another shot from on the sixth, which has been converted to a par 4 for the U.S. Open. Even so, it was a solid start for Koepka, a four-time major champion coming off a runner-up finish to Mickelson at the PGA Championship. It wasn’t easy. He made it sound that way. “It’s pretty simple. It’s a lot simpler than what guys make it,” Koepka said. “I think a lot of guys make it more difficult than it needs to be. Just got to understand where the flag is, what you’re doing and where to miss it.” The surprise might have been Molinari, the former Open Championship winner who has not been the same since losing a two-shot lead on the back nine at the Masters two years ago that paved the way for Tiger Woods slipping on another green jacket. The Italian had to pull out of the PGA Championship with a sore back. He mentioned other nagging injuries. He’s had three top 10s this year. He also has missed the cut in three of the last four tournaments he played. But he was solid at Torrey, and two birdies over his last three allowed him to match his best start in a U.S. Open. “There’s no tricks. You need to grind and fight for 18 holes and then relax until tomorrow and start over again,” he said. “I haven’t played recently, so it’s nice to get off to a good start, but there’s a long way to go. Start over tomorrow like nothing happened today.”

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Offseasons of every sport have similarities, but each is consumed differently. Since the offseason is prime time for fantasy gamers to understand what we’ve learned, reset and prepare for the next season, it’s no less busy, it’s just a different kind of busy because it’s not part of the weekly routine. The offseason of the PGA TOUR deserves air quotes because it’s so short. I’ve joked, even mocked, that if fantasy had a seat at the table to help construct a schedule, we’d want it to be longer. Alas, the last traditional offseason occurred during the holidays way back in 2012. The compressed 2013 season was the last time that all gamers were aligned with their starting points. So, while I appreciated many kind offers to enjoy my “downtime” (with actual quotes) this offseason, it’s no time to rest in our world. My “How I Spent My Offseason” project published last Thursday. It’s the annual full-membership fantasy ranking. In addition to a full-season ranking of 243 golfers (through the Non-exempt Medical Extensions in the Priority Ranking), you’ll find changes the TOUR made for 2019-20. Arguably the most significant is that the 36-hole cut for all tournaments with a cut will be low 65 and ties. In conjunction with that, the secondary a/k/a 54-hole a/k/a MDF cut has been eliminated. Tournaments with special cuts like the Desert Classic, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am and Zurich Classic of New Orleans also adjusted. Each will be revisited during the weeks when they’re contested. On Monday of this week, all four of my weekly updated staples turned over for the new season. You’ll find them on the FANTASY page and via the Fantasy slider on the MENU at the top, and I encourage you to bookmark each for future reference. • Qualifiers • Korn Ferry Tour Graduate Reshuffle • Medical Extensions • Rookie Ranking Forging ahead to the action at hand, as first referenced in this space during the week of the BMW Championship, bonus points are back in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. After a one-year hiatus, this strategic component will award all of your starters in the final round of every tournament one-tenth of the FedExCup points they earn in the tournament proper. So, if the winner of the tournament is among your starters and he banks 500 FedExCup points, you’re credited with 50. If you’re new to the game, you might be surprised at the difference these points make, especially if your opposition has three or fewer golfers rostered in the final round. They can save an otherwise forgettable performance. The perk will force your hand to consider burning a valuable start on a golfer who’s threatening to win but who hasn’t started for you in any of the previous rounds. So, weigh the cost of the start – we get only three per golfer per Segment – against the value of the bonus points he may earn. There will come a time when saving that start is more valuable because you may want his 400-500 points for one start in the future versus rolling the dice in pursuit of 50 bonus points for the same start in real time. Lastly, PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done and my One & Done preview are on hiatus for the remainder of 2019. When an update becomes available, you will be advised. Enjoy the ride, gang! I’ll be in the driver’s seat, so ring the bell if you need anything. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf My roster for A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier (in alphabetical order): Brandon Hagy Viktor Hovland Sungjae Im Jason Kokrak Tom Lewis Scottie Scheffler You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Byeong Hun An; Bud Cauley; Bryson DeChambeau; Denny McCarthy; Sebastián Muñoz Driving: Keegan Bradley; Kramer Hickok; Joaquin Niemann; Scott Piercy; Kevin Streelman Power Rankings Wild Card Scott Piercy … While he contends only occasionally, he never lets us down. Missed only three cuts in all of 2018-19 while recording career bests in top 10s (six) and cuts made (21). In his age-40 season, he ranked ninth in greens hit, 17th in scrambling, T3 in par-3 scoring and T8 in par-4 scoring. Also 4-for-6 with a pair of top 20s at Greenbrier. Draws Keegan Bradley … With a perfect record and two top 15s in six trips, he’s an automatic, but he didn’t box out for space in the Power Rankings due to a sluggish conclusion to the 2018-19 season. He’s a prototypical example of how omissions from the conversation starter on Mondays don’t mean that I’m not endorsing with as much fanfare. Byeong Hun An … Although he’s seeing The Old White TPC for the first time, expect him to employ his hit-it-and-find-it approach. It’ll play with his power, precision and putting on a track vulnerable for red numbers. After a relatively quiet foray as a member, he’s put together a pair of respectful seasons, so he’s very high on the short list of non-winners poised to break through. Doc Redman … It’s easy to forget about this guy. He wasn’t eligible for the Playoffs, so he hasn’t played in over a month, but he’s fully exempt as a non-member who would have finished inside the top 125 among members with his equivalent of FedExCup points. In limited action on the PGA TOUR last season (20 rounds), he would have ranked second in greens in regulation. That bodes well at The Old White TPC, where he’s a first-timer, but his combination of rest, eagerness to get back inside the ropes and propensity to score comprises the set of supportive angles not to hesitate in every format. David Hearn … Now that he’s fully exempt again (as a KFT grad), he’s going to rise into focus for DFSers during weeks like this. His glistening record at Greenbrier includes a playoff loss in 2015 among four top 20s in seven trips. His scoring average in 26 rounds is 68.62. The Canuck also is fresh off a T4 at the KFT Championship. Mackenzie Hughes Grayson Murray Henrik Norlander Sepp Straka Kevin Streelman Fades Jimmy Walker … With a T2, a pair of T4s and a T18 in seven trips to Greenbrier, few are more comfortable in the climes, but he presents as a trap to course-history buffs who want to extend the benefit of the doubt. Last season easily was his worst in a while. As he continues to recover from Lyme disease, he’s now assisting his wife in her own battle with it. So, use this week as a barometer. If he shows positive signs, log it for potential motivation to invest in the short-range. The time of the year when he excels is on the horizon. Cameron Smith … Since his Playoffs were extinguished with a T59 at THE NORTHERN TRUST, the Aussie celebrated his 26th birthday by qualifying for the Presidents Cup team. However, now making his debut at Greenbrier, gamers expect more from this captivating talent. His game off the tee last season left a lot to be desired and he recorded only two top 25s in the last six months. Zach Johnson … As he enters the final season of his multi-year exemption in which he’s still exempt into all of the majors, the 43-year-old has to figure out a way to tighten up his approaches. His once reliable tee-to-green skill set suffered an ignominy of ranking 180th in greens in regulation last season. Greenbrier will require an elevated level of execution with the irons, so it’s a terrific litmus test for the state of his game right now. Russell Knox … Always a tweener, but for a guy who spikes more often than he slumps, that he failed to crack the top 40 in his last four starts worldwide is enough reason to lay off for one more. His aerial attack should get him to the weekend, but his inconsistent putting needs to cooperate. Kevin Chappell … Returned to competition during the KFT Finals, but this marks his first PGA TOUR stop in 10 months. He had a microdiscectomy in late November and has 23 starts on a Major Medical Extension, so he shouldn’t need much time to close the gap and retain status, but give him at least this one opportunity for him to show us what he has. If course success is any indication in its vacuum, it should be decent. Since 2012, he’s 5-for-5 with a pair of top 20s here. Brian Harman J.B. Holmes Patton Kizzire Robby Shelton Kristoffer Ventura Xinjun Zhang Returning to Competition Sam Burns … Hasn’t competed since missing the cut at the John Deere Classic because he broke his ankle retrieving a basketball not long after. He finished 94th in the FedExCup, so the second-year PGA TOUR member is fully exempt. While obviously rested, expect some rust at The Old White TPC, an ideal spot to get the juices flowing again. Bud Cauley … Abruptly ended his Playoffs when he withdrew before the final round of THE NORTHERN TRUST due to an illness. He sat T79 after a third-round 78 at Liberty National, so he was unlikely to advance, anyway, and ultimately landed at 95th in the FedExCup. In his last trip to The Greenbrier Resort, he finished T4 in 2014. Give him a spin. D.A. Points … You’ll find him as one of the Medical Extensions linked in the intro above. He has 12 starts to collect 360.253 FedExCup points and retain status. On May 2, he underwent surgery to remove a disc in his neck. The 42-year-old is not an advisable own in any format. Notable WDs None. Power Rankings Recap – TOUR Championship Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Justin Thomas  T3 2  Jon Rahm  T12 3  Rory McIlroy  Win 4  Brooks Koepka  T3 5  Patrick Cantlay  T21 6  Adam Scott  6th 7  Brandt Snedeker  T24 8  Hideki Matsuyama  T9 9  Xander Schauffele  2nd 10  Webb Simpson  T16 11  Justin Rose  T26 12  Paul Casey  5th 13  Tony Finau  7th 14  Kevin Kisner  T9 15  Rickie Fowler  T19 16  Patrick Reed  T9 17  Tommy Fleetwood  T16 18  Lucas Glover  T29 19  Louis Oosthuizen  T21 20  Gary Woodland  15th 21  Dustin Johnson  T29 22  Jason Kokrak  14th 23  Abraham Ancer  T21 24  Marc Leishman  T24 25  Matt Kuchar  T16 26  Sungjae Im  T19 27  Bryson DeChambeau  T12 28  Corey Conners  T26 29  Charles Howell III  28th 30  Chez Reavie  8th Power Rankings Recap – FedExCup Playoffs Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Brooks Koepka  T3 2  Rory McIlroy  1st 3  Jon Rahm  T12 4  Justin Rose  T26 5  Justin Thomas  T3 6  Dustin Johnson  T29 7  Webb Simpson  T16 8  Tommy Fleetwood  T16 9  Xander Schauffele  2nd 10  Patrick Cantlay  T21 11  Rickie Fowler  T19 12  Francesco Molinari  40th 13  Adam Scott  6th 14  Tony Finau  7th 15  Billy Horschel  43rd 16  Marc Leishman  T24 17  Gary Woodland  15th 18  Matt Kuchar  T16 19  Hideki Matsuyama  T9 20  Jason Day  54th 21  Ryan Palmer  35th 22  Bryson DeChambeau  T12 23  Charles Howell III  28th 24  Paul Casey  5th 25  Lucas Glover  T29 26  Scott Piercy  39th 27  Sungjae Im  T19 28  Shane Lowry  33rd 29  Chez Reavie  8th 30  Kevin Kisner  T9 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR September 10 … none September 11 … Satoshi Kodaira (30) September 12 … Ã�ngel Cabrera (50) September 13 … none September 14 … Tony Finau (30); Emiliano Grillo (27) September 15 … Kevin Na (36) September 16 … Bryson DeChambeau (26)

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Oh Canada! It is time for the national championship of those living under the Maple Leaf, where the locals are hoping to end a significant title drought, but several of those from other parts of the world have other ideas as the race for the FedExCup Playoffs gets super serious. The RBC Canadian Open has been played since 1904, but Pat Fletcher was the last Canadian winner of the tournament in 1954, but he was born in England. Karl Keffer is the only Canadian-born champion, winning in 1909 and 1914. English-born Canadian brothers Charlie Murray (1906) and Albert Murray (1908 and 1913) also captured the title. This week’s PGA TOUR LIVE coverage gives us a look at some Canadian hopefuls but also FedExCup No. 2 and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, plus the in-form Matt Kuchar, who wants to quickly get over his Open Championship loss. PGA TOUR LIVE will broadcast between 7 a.m. Eastern and 6:00 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday. The coverage will switch to Featured Holes at 3:00 p.m. Featured Hole Coverage consists of the 15th (Par-3) and 17th (Par-4) on Thursday and Friday. PGA TOUR LIVE also will be available on Twitter for approximately 90 minutes, beginning at 7 a.m. Here’s a look at this week’s Featured Groups. Click here to subscribe to PGA TOUR LIVE. (Note: FedExCup rankings in parentheses) THURSDAY Mackenzie Hughes (26), Scott Piercy (76), Ernie Els (210): Hughes will be flying the Canadian hopes as a TOUR winner this season. He’s proven he can win, now can he do it at home? Scott Piercy showed how to win the Canadian Open in 2012 and now he’s chasing a fourth TOUR win while Els is looking to capture the old magic as one of the Team RBC ambassadors. Tee time: 8:00 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. Bubba Watson (117), Graeme McDowell (119), Matt Kuchar (17): Some big-name star power here with Kuchar coming off his runner up finish to Jordan Spieth at the Open Championship. He’s likely to want to put the memory aside with a dominant display. Watson and McDowell, both major winners sitting just inside the top 125 in the race for the FedExCup. They need some results to make sure of their place in the post season. Tee time: 8:10 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. FRIDAY Grayson Murray (60), Adam Hadwin (13), Nick Taylor (78): Murray kept the trend of young winners running with his breakthrough at the Barbasol Championship last week and now gets the chance to back it up in a full-field event. He will be playing in front of some vocal locals as Hadwin and Taylor fly the Canadian flag. Hadwin, a winner earlier this season, is looking to consolidate a place in the International Presidents Cup team and Taylor wants a breakthrough result of his own. Tee time: 8:00 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. Dustin Johnson (2), Jhonattan Vegas (87), Jim Furyk (147): Johnson lost the top spot on the FedExCup list with Spieth’s win in England but he can get it back if he wins in Canada. He’s burning after a slide on Sunday and will now look for win no.4 on the season with a chip on his shoulder. Vegas claimed the win at Glen Abbey last season and with hopes of making a run towards the International team in the Presidents Cup this week comes at an opportune time for the Venezuelan. Furyk, an RBC man, needs something big to make the FedExCup Playoffs. This could be the week he makes his move. Tee time: 8:10 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee.

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