Sleeper Picks: The American Express

South Korea’s Seung-yul Noh, a past winner on the PGA TOUR, announced this week that he will soon begin serving his mandatory two-year military commitment for his country. The CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, the TOUR’s first regular-season event in Korea, is expected to be Noh’s last TOUR start. The 26-year-old Noh plans to begin his military service in November. The conscription applies to all Korean males between the ages of 18 and 35. Sangmoon Bae, a two-time TOUR winner, recently returned to the PGA TOUR after serving his commitment following the 2015 Presidents Cup. K.J. Choi, winner of THE PLAYERS Championship in 2011 and Korea’s most successful golfer, served at age 22. There are exceptions that eliminate or reduce the commitment time. By winning a gold medal in the men’s team golf competition at the 2006 Asian Games, Sung Kang became exempt from service. Last year, Noh – who won the 2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans — was hoping to qualify for the Rio Olympics, where he said winning an Olympic medal would reduce his commitment time to just a few weeks. But he did not make the two-man Korean team. Since Noh finished inside the top 125 in FedExCup points during the 2016-17 season (110th), he has membership status secured for this new season. For the 2018-19 season, he will be eligible for a Major Mandatory Obligation extension. Of course, he’ll still be in the military at that point, so that extension will carry over into the 2019-20 season when he returns to competition following the completion of his two-year stint. The Major Mandatory Obligation category, which plays out of the Major Medical category in terms of priority order, will give Noh the opportunity to make an as-yet-undetermined number of PGA TOUR starts in hopes of acquiring enough FedExCup points greater than or equal to No. 125 for this season. The Mandatory Obligation Extension was added to the Major Medical/Family Crisis Extension in July of 2015 to PGA TOUR Regulations by the PGA TOUR Policy Board, when it became official Bae would have to serve his mandatory military obligation following the Presidents Cup. Noh was eliminated from the 2017 FedExCup Playoffs when he missed the cut at THE NORTHERN TRUST, the first Playoffs event. Since then, his only start before this week was the Genesis Championship on the Korean Tour in September. He had reduced his playing schedule while preparing for his commitment and originally was not scheduled to play the CJ CUP. But when Ernie Els withdrew due to the flu, a spot opened up and the tournament extended an invitation to Noh, who was born in Gangwon-do, Korea. He said the lack of practice contributed to his opening 7-over 79, but he bounced back in the second round to shoot a 7-under 65. “I have not played much golf for the past three weeks after the Genesis Championship,â€� Noh said. “I arrived here on Monday and worked very hard to prepare for this Cup on Tuesday and Wednesday. But that three weeks of absence seemed to be quite significant and I just did not know how to swing yesterday. I practiced for about an hour after my round yesterday, and I think I was able to regain my sense of swing, which made the difference.â€� No matter how he finishes, the four rounds at Nine Bridges will be special for him, especially since his dad is also his caddie this week. “When I first became a pro, my dad used to caddie for me for a couple of years and we traveled a lot together,â€� Noh said. “After that, I was traveling alone or my sister was by my side. As you know, since I will be joining the army, I currently do not have a caddie. My dad caddied for me in the last tournament and thought he was still good enough, and that’s why he joined me for THE CJ CUP.â€�

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Some tournaments have more experience in adapting to the challenges of the time. The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is one of them, if not the most seasoned. Celebrating its 75th anniversary at Pebble Beach this week, the annual contest been a cornerstone on the PGA TOUR since 1947. The evolution has included the usage of six courses with exactly three hosting traditionally, a cancellation in 1996 and a conclusion delayed six months in 1998 due to weather, itself almost always a disruptor. Because of the pandemic, this year's edition will utilize only two tracks for the first time and amateurs will not be participating. Continue reading below the projected contenders for more on the revised format, how the host course has adapted and more. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field POWER RANKINGS: AT&T PEBBLE BEACH PRO-AM Defending champion Nick Taylor, two-time champ Brandt Snedeker, Si Woo Kim and Rickie Fowler will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday's Fantasy Insider. Taking a page out of the playbook of The American Express, which also thinned to two courses three weeks ago, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has shelved the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula County Club until next year. Only Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill will be in play for the 156-man field. Half will play Pebble Beach in the first round as the other half tackles Spyglass Hill. They'll alternate courses for the second round. With the shift to two stages, the cut will fall familiarly after 36 holes are complete. The low 65 and ties will advance and play only Pebble Beach on the weekend. Without amateurs, the setup crew can allow Pebble Beach to flash its teeth. While the iconic par 72 holds its own when hosting U.S. Opens, it won't play as difficult as a major this week, but it will be capable of stretching 235 yards longer than usual for the non-major hosted by the PGA TOUR. Of the 11 holes that are at least seven yards longer, four could be paced off at least an additional 30 yards. The greatest increases are the par-4 10th and 13th holes with respective extensions of 49 and 46 yards. Overall, Pebble Beach tips at 7,051 yards. By comparison, it was set up at 7,075 yards and as a par 71 for the 2019 U.S. Open. Also a stock par 72, at 7,041 yards, Spyglass Hill officially is just six yards longer. That difference exists only on the par-3 fifth hole. For the three rounds it was played last year, it averaged 72.877 while Pebble Beach checked in under par in each of the first three rounds before swinging back with a final-round scoring average of 74.426, although amid the strongest breezes of the tournament. Therein lies the invisible villain. When the wind blows, Pebble Beach almost always is more challenging than Spyglass Hill. This week's forecast is vintage, depending your preference for the year, that is. Daytime temperatures won't escape the 50s, rain cannot be ruled out on any day and the wind gradually will freshen for the final round. It's all but a prerequisite to split fairways off the tee at Pebble Beach. The 3,500-square foot Poa annua surfaces are prepped to run upwards of 12 feet on the Stimpmeter - although Mother Nature will see about that - so course management with control on approach will ease the pressure and soften the juxtaposition of the grind against the picturesque backdrop. Length off the tee is irrelevant in favor of placement. Pebble Beach has ranked shortest in distance of all drives in each of the last four seasons. Last year's clip was just 272.9 yards on average. It's also been the stingiest inside 10 feet two years running. The par 3s, par 4s and par 5s all slotted inside the top-10 hardest of 41 courses used last season, but even in the most recent seasons that weren't interrupted by COVID-19, the par 5s have been among the toughest. ShotLink isn't used at Spyglass Hill, but at a beefy 4.93, its par 5s were the most difficult on any course last season. It can't be ruled out as a new normal since new tees on the par-5 seventh and 11th holes were introduced last year, but with a scoring average of 5.149, the par-5 first checked in as the second-hardest par 5 (of 132) all season. The most challenging par 5 was the finisher at Pebble Beach; it averaged 5.152. The always-demanding par-5 14th hole at Pebble was fifth-toughest at 5.018. ROB BOLTON'S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM's Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM's Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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More than two dozen PGA TOUR pros reside in the Golden Isles area of Georgia, the site of this week’s The RSM Classic. Included in that group is tournament host Davis Love III, who was instrumental in helping bring a PGA TOUR event to his community. The tournament, which will be played on two courses – Seaside and Plantation — at Sea Island Golf Club, is the last event of the fall portion of the 2017-18 TOUR schedule. After a six-week break, the next official TOUR event will be the Sentry Tournament of Champions in the first week of January. Here’s a look at the featured groups in the first two rounds (current FedExCup ranking in parentheses). All times ET. Patton Kizzire (1), Kevin Kisner (N/A), Mac Hughes (N/A) – Kizzire, one of the players who lives in the area, comes off his first TOUR win at last week’s OHL Classic at Mayakoba. He’s playing with two guys who know how to win at Sea Island – 2015 winner Kisner and defending champ Hughes, who last year became the 13th Canadian to win a PGA TOUR event.  Tee times: Round 1 – 11 a.m. off No. 1 tee (Seaside); Round 2 – 9:50 a.m. off No. 10 tee (Plantation). Matt Kuchar (T-139), Luke Donald (147), Brandt Snedeker (N/A) – Snedeker has been sidelined since June with a rib injury, so he may be a bit rusty. Kuchar – a Sea Island resident – and Donald have each made one start this season, with Kuchar finishing T-31 at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, and Donald finishing T-32 at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.  Tee times: Round 1 – 11:10 a.m. off No. 1 tee (Seaside); Round 2 – 10 a.m. off No. 10 tee (Plantation). Brian Harman (30), Hudson Swafford (110), Bubba Watson (T-169) – If you’re a fan of the University of Georgia, you’ll like this group. All three players are former Bulldogs stars. Harman – another Sea Island resident — has two top-10 finishes this season and seems to be building on his breakthrough 2016-17 campaign. Swafford also won last season. Watson is making his first start in this event.  Tee times: Round 1 – 10 a.m. off No. 10 tee (Plantation); Round 2 – 11 a.m. off No. 1 tee (Seaside). Zach Johnson (60), Webb Simpson (77), Davis Love III (T-136) – Plenty of star power in this group. Combine their four major wins, and it’s a Grand Slam group (Johnson with the Masters and Open Championship, Simpson with the U.S. Open, and Love with the PGA).  But in 19 cumulative starts in this event, none of the three have won at Sea Island. Simpson came closest as the runner-up in 2011. Love tied for fourth in 2012 but has missed the cut three times in seven starts. Johnson’s best finish in his seven starts was a T-12 in 2010.  Tee times: Round 1 – 10:10 a.m. off No. 10 tee (Plantation); Round 2 – 11:10 a.m. off No. 1 tee (Seaside).

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