Sleeper Picks: THE CJ CUP in South Carolina

OPELIKA, Ala.  — Grayson Murray unhappily found himself with a couple of extra days to prepare for the Barbasol Championship — and ended up with a breakthrough victory. After missing the weekend cut last week in the John Deere Classic, the rookie won his first PGA TOUR title Sunday. He holed a 5-foot par putt on the final hole for a one-stroke victory. Murray closed with a 3-under 68 to edge Chad Collins on Grand National’s Lake Course. The 23-year-old former Wake Forest and Arizona State player set up the winning par with a long putt from below the hole. He finished at 21-under 263, a tournament record. “I was in control,” said Murray, who earned $630,000. “I didn’t get out of my game plan once. I was going to let them make the mistakes instead of myself. I was going to make them have to birdie the last hole, or the last two holes. I was playing for par on 17 and 18. Those are two hard holes and I knew if I parred both of those they would have to do something special to beat me.” Murray arrived in Alabama a week earlier after suddenly finding himself with an open weekend. It paid off, the win securing him a spot in the PGA Championship in his home state of North Carolina, though not the Masters. Murray came in ranked 124th in the FedEx Cup standings, with the top 125 qualifying for the playoffs. He jumped to 58th. “My goal is to get in the playoffs this year,” he said. “That was my goal. I didn’t set my goals too high for my first year.” A big key to his victory: “That was the best I’ve ever driven it in my life.” Collins closed with a 68 two days after posting one of the tournament’s two rounds of 60. A tap-in for par on No. 18 left him waiting to see if Murray would stumble. Collins had a run of four birdies in five holes leading into the 18th. He missed a 6-footer with a shot at another one and a potential tie with Murray. “I gave myself an opportunity,” he said. “It was a nervy bad putt. It wasn’t obviously what I wanted, but to put yourself in that position, that’s ultimately what you’re trying to do. And the more times I’m able to do that and put myself in that situation, maybe one day it will be my day. Just today it wasn’t.” Collins tied for fourth at The Honda Classic and his best previous finish was third last year in the Texas Open. “It’s my best finish ever out here on TOUR, had the best round I’ve ever had on TOUR,” he said. “You gain tons of confidence from this going forward. You can only draw positives from it. ” Brian Gay had a 65 to tie for third at 19 under with third-round leader Scott Stallings (71) and Tag Ridings (69). Coming off a third-round 60, Stallings took the solo lead with a birdie on No. 10 that put him under par for the first time of the day. He fell back with a double bogey on the par-5 16th, three-putting after taking a drop following an errant drop. Amateur Sam Burns of LSU tied for sixth at 18 under after a 66, matching Ryan Blaum (64) and Cameron Tringale (68). Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk, who didn’t qualify for the British Open, finished at 11 under after a third straight 68. The final round started early on two tees because of a bad weather forecast, but the conditions held steady in sweltering heat.

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Our experts provide their top fantasy values for the TOUR Championship as the FedExCup Playoffs draw to a close.

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There are 21 rookies on the PGA TOUR in 2018-19. This page provides a subjective ranking updated weekly. The Rookie of the Year is voted by PGA TOUR members who make at least 15 starts. There he is again: Cameron Champ doing work. Of the 20 rookies in the field at The RSM Classic, only eight survived the cut and Champ set the pace once again, this time with a sixth-place finish, his third top 10 of the young season. He’s reminding us of Tony Finau, but only because they share the bonus of being able to send the ball out of sight. Instead, and in fact, Champ is excelling everywhere, just as his veteran comparison has illustrated with an exponentially greater sample size of sites and over time. After Champ broke through at the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson, a course where attacking on approach is Priority A, the 23-year-old placed T10 at Mayakoba where ball-striking and men of a certain age have thrived. Last week at Sea Island, he finished just T31 in distance of all drives (measured during three rounds on Seaside only) and T22 in greens hit, but he led the field in putts per GIR and finished fourth in converting GIR into par breakers. Finau, who went 22-for-31 with five top 10s (but zero top fives) as a rookie in 2014-15, presents similarly as a home-run hitter, but he’s the complete package. His game travels arguably better than any other one-time winner on the PGA TOUR, but you already can put Champ on that short list. The only rookie who sat out the 156-man contest in the Golden Isles was Cameron Davis. Opting to defend his title at the Emirates Australian Open in his homeland, he finished T40. Since the first edition of the wraparound season in 2013-14, seven rookies have won a tournament in the fall, six of whom entered the holidays inside the top 10 of the FedExCup standings. After winning last year’s RSM Classic, Austin Cook ranked third, best of the bunch. Champ sits sixth right now. Mackenzie Hughes (fourth in 2015-16) and Smylie Kaufman (fifth in 2014-15) also have slotted higher at this point. While Champ didn’t set a new mark compared to rookies early in previous seasons, to further accentuate his success against the current class, Sungjae Im is the only other rookie with at least one low-rookie performance, and he has three. Yet, the 20-year-old has only two top-35 finishes. NOTE: Since the Sentry Tournament of Champions is up next on the schedule, this page likely won’t be updated again until its field is released on Friday, Dec. 28. LOW ROOKIE: Cameron Champ, 6th. Third time. (Previous: Win=Sanderson Farms; T10=Mayakoba.)     CAREER-BEST FINISHES (AND TIES): Chase Wright (T7), Kyle Jones (T23), Hank Lebioda (T32).              * – Qualified for the Sentry Tournament of Champions (Jan. 3-6). Through The RSM Classic NOTE: A player’s rookie season (“Rookie Year”) is defined as the season in which he becomes a PGA TOUR member (including Special Temporary Members) and plays in 10 or more events as a member or finishes in the Top 125 on the Official FedExCup Points List or qualifies as a Top 125 – Nonmember, whichever occurs first. Further, for purposes of this definition, a new member (including Special Temporary Members) shall not be eligible to be a rookie if he has previously played in more than seven (7) Official PGA TOUR Money events as a professional in any prior season.                          

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