Sleepers: the Memorial Tournament

Tiger Woods thought he “was done” with golf at the ’17 Masters champions dinner — prior to spinal fusion surgery. Said Woods: “I had no golf in my future at that time.”

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The new structure of the PGA TOUR season couldn’t have paid off better right out of the gate than how THE PLAYERS Championship transpired. Needless to say that fans and gamers are in for a treat for several months. Tucked in between the tentpole tournaments are gems and wrinkles that have taken me to the place of wondering if this isn’t the best-constructed lineup we’ve ever seen, what is? After the Valspar Championship, the ride continues with the third of five doubleheaders next week. However, unlike the other four, both tournaments will be serving action on top of PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done. The Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship will anchor the Roster game, albeit without ShotLink technology. Meanwhile, the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play gets the stand-alone Bracket Challenge. Like all fantasy offerings, it’s free to play and if you’re already registered for any, your login transfers without additional effort. For the early peek, navigate to the Bracket Challenge. Browse the tabs at the top for familiar options. Prizes can be found on the Rules page. With the Wednesday start of the Match Play next week, some of my content will publish earlier than usual, so refer to my schedule beneath the Power Rankings as usual. It’s a tight window between the time the bracket is set on Monday night and when the tournament begins, but given the format, anything can happen. Remember to enjoy the process first. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf My roster for the Valspar Championship (in alphabetical order): Jim Furyk Sergio Garcia Adam Hadwin J.T. Poston Patrick Reed Webb Simpson You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Power Rankings Wild Card Brandt Snedeker … Every once in a while, he reminds us – and maybe himself – of the possibilities when he’s flushing his irons. Never confused for a ball-striker, he co-led the field at THE PLAYERS in greens in regulation at 81.94 percent (or 14.75 per round). It’s the first time he’s done that since averaging 16 per round on the massive targets at Kapalua in 2016. Yet, he still gained strokes on the field in putting – that’s no surprise – en route to a personal-best T5 in 10 appearances. He’s 8-for-9 at Copperhead with a pair of top 25s, both of which also are top 10s, but it’s been eight years since the latter, thus his spot here. Draws Jason Kokrak … Continues to put smiles on gamers of all formats. Arrives having connected 16 cuts made. That includes five top 20s in 2019 alone. He’s also recorded three top 15s at Copperhead, including a T8 last year. Currently seventh on TOUR in total driving, 22nd in GIR and ninth in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Branden Grace … It’s a good time to extend the reminder that he does his best work on par 70s and 71s. While Copperhead has four par 5s, it’s a par 71, so it threads the needle of our lowest expectations for him in advance. He placed T8 here last year while ranking second in strokes gained: putting and a surprising T9 in par-5 scoring. Worth fractional ownership. Steve Stricker … Copperhead won’t overwhelm the shorter hitters no matter the age, so he’s a plum for DFSers. Even better, the 52-year-old has a sparkling record on the track with five top 15s, including a T12 a year ago. He’s slowed on the PGA TOUR Champions in 2019, but he’s warm nonetheless. Kevin Kisner … He’s traded sporadic runs at titles with a stream of top 30s – five, in fact, upon arrival. It’s that under-the-surface consistency that conjures the feels of a foreshock. With that, his cachet and his proven fearlessness, he’s ideally suited in DFS at Copperhead. Joel Dahmen … After profiling as a speed-track threat in 2017-18, he’s fulfilling the opposite makeup this season what with a T9 at Torrey Pines and a T12 in his debut at TPC Sawgrass. Continues to flash a sturdy tee-to-green game with a knack to capitalize on par 5s, so he presents as a reliable piece to every DFS roster despite the fact that he’s a first-timer at Copperhead. Keegan Bradley Tyrrell Hatton Russell Knox Fades Gary Woodland … It’s relative. He hasn’t missed a cut in 10 months and he’s fifth in the FedExCup standings without a victory, but Copperhead has had his number in the last four years. He’s also cooled on the Florida Swing. Chalk it up as a sensible time to keep him on the shelf. Bubba Watson … Just his second appearance in the last eight editions (MC, 2017). Overall form has been solid but unspectacular. He has a title defense on deck in Austin and the Masters in three weeks, so focus your investments there and then. Brian Harman … Where did that come from? In case you missed it, the lefty tied for eighth at THE PLAYERS. While it equaled his personal best in the tournament, it was his first top 30 anywhere in nearly nine months. Yes, momentum is on his side, but let’s see him do it again before hopping aboard. It doesn’t help that he’s 0-for-3 at Copperhead since 2015. Zach Johnson … Has one more shot at redemption on the Florida Swing, but gamers shouldn’t hold their breath. He’s back at odds with his on-again, off-again putting. He always comes around for the payoff, and it could very well happen at Copperhead where his short game was on display for a T16 last year, but let him continue to solve the puzzle alone, at least for now. Ollie Schniederjans … Crashed the party at TPC Sawgrass with a third-round 65, but it was his only sub-70 of the event. Furthermore, the T16 it supported was his first top 30 in seven months. Also failed to break par in all eight rounds covering three starts at Copperhead. Chez Reavie … He profiles well to make the cut, and he’s 6-for-9 with three top 25s in tournament history, but he’s finished no better than T38 at Pebble Beach in his most recent four starts. With next week’s Match Play up next, an event for which he’s qualified only once before (2018), we can’t rule him out for looking ahead even though he’s known that he’d be in Austin for a while. Kevin Na … Hasn’t been the same since returning to action following a fractured pinky finger on his right hand. He’s cashed four of five times, but none went for a top 30. Remain patient. Brendan Steele … Continues to slump despite a T17 at Bay Hill two starts ago. Sits T4 in total driving and T8 in greens hit but 197th in strokes gained: putting and 185th in adjusted scoring. This is his first look at Copperhead in six years. Harold Varner III … After an impressive start to the seasons, he’s hits the skids with only one top 50 in his last six starts. Luke Donald … If you’re tuned into general chatter, then you already know that he’s getting massive support from the fan base for this latest return to competition. After sitting out almost six months following a back injury in 2018, he played a bit in the fall, and then launched his 2018-19 PGA TOUR season by missing the cut at Waialae. Then crickets until now. Armed with 14 starts on a Major Medical Extension, he’d get into events on sponsor exemptions, anyway, so it boils down to his physical fitness. He prevailed here in 2012 and his short game can shine at Copperhead, but we have to expect rust. Joaquin Niemann … The midseason outlook for the 20-year-old reveals a vastly different perspective than at this time last year when he was poised to turn professional. He’s buried at 135th in the FedExCup standings with only one top-35 finish all season. The good news is that he’s missed only two cuts, which is even more impressive given he’s 209th in strokes gained: putting. Austin Connelly Graeme McDowell Dylan Meyer Patrick Rodgers Returning to Competition Padraig Harrington … After originally targeting Pebble Beach to return to competition following a broken bone in his left wrist suffered during a fall in December, the 47-year-old finally is getting back inside the ropes at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia. Given that he’s sat out for four months since missing the cut at The RSM Classic, he’d be eligible for a Major Medical Extension on the PGA TOUR if he needs it for 2019-20. The three-time major champion is burning a career earnings exemption this season. Notable WDs Abraham Ancer, Tommy Fleetwood, Alex Noren, Cameron Smith … Each qualified for next week’s World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play via the latest Official World Golf Ranking. J.J. Spaun … He withdrew after opening THE PLAYERS with 4-over 76 due to pain in his left knee. He went into detail more on Twitter on Tuesday. Daniel Berger … He’s competed in each of the last four weeks, so this is a well-timed break. Currently 102nd in the FedExCup standings but still short of the projection to pay off for full-season salary gamers. Hang in there. Martin Laird … With missed cuts both in his last three starts and in his last three appearances at Copperhead, the Scot wasn’t going to be on our radars, anyway. Sean O’Hair … Since withdrawing during his opening round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he’s withdrawn early from three stops on the Florida Swing. No explanation has surfaced for his time away. Bronson Burgoon … No stranger to the early WD – this is his fourth since the start of last season – so the greater concern is his form. Since a co-runner-up at the CIMB Classic, he’s just 1-for-9 (T59, Honda). Power Rankings Recap – THE PLAYERS Championship Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Justin Thomas  T35 2  Francesco Molinari  T56 3  Henrik Stenson  MC 4  Sergio Garcia  T22 5  Rickie Fowler  T47 6  Rory McIlroy  Win 7  Xander Schauffele  MC 8  Ian Poulter  T56 9  Tommy Fleetwood  T5 10  Lucas Glover  MC 11  Justin Rose  T8 12  Brooks Koepka  T56 13  Rafa Cabrera Bello  MC 14  Patrick Cantlay  MC 15  Hideki Matsuyama  T8 16  Webb Simpson  T16 17  Dustin Johnson  T5 18  Adam Scott  T12 19  Bryson DeChambeau  T20 20  Jason Day  T8 Wild Card  Tiger Woods  T30 Sleepers Recap – THE PLAYERS Championship Golfer  Result Aaron Baddeley  MC Daniel Berger  T67 Scott Brown  MC Branden Grace  T72 Emiliano Grillo  T26 Chesson Hadley  MC Sung Kang  T47 Jason Kokrak  T47 Russell Knox  T35 Trey Mullinax  MC Kevin Na  78th/MDF Brian Stuard  MC Michael Thompson  70th Harold Varner III  MC Jhonattan Vegas  T3 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR March 19 … Marc Turnesa (41) March 20 … Arjun Atwal (46); John Merrick (37) March 21 … Brandon Hagy (28) March 22 … none March 23 … Johnson Wagner (39) March 24 … Jason Dufner (42) March 25 … Scott Stallings (34)

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DUBLIN, Ohio — Patrick Cantlay finished his long day with some of his best golf, running off three straight birdies to close out a 5-under 67 and the lead Friday in a rain-delayed the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. RELATED: Leaderboard | How Collin Morikawa found the putter that helped him lead the Memorial He arrived at Muirfield Village before dawn. He finished when it was time for dinner. And except for a few inevitable mistakes, he was solid in the 33 holes he faced. “We’re out there for such a long time today that you could fall asleep at the wheel a little bit,” said Cantlay, who won the Memorial two years ago. “So being cognizant of that and checking in with yourself — are you as focused as you can be? — I think is the key.” Cantlay was at 8-under 136 on the refurbished Muirfield Village, where the rough is thicker and denser than usual and the rain that washed out nearly half of the opening round didn’t help. Scottie Scheffler recovered from three bogeys in his opening four holes to scratch out a 71 and was at 6-under 130 among those who completed the second round. They all had long days, having to finish most of the first round in the morning and 18 holes in the afternoon, with only about 30 minutes in between. Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm, both winners at Muirfield Village last year in different tournaments held in consecutive weeks, were among those who had to return Saturday morning. Rahm was tied for the lead at 8 under through 13 holes, making a 2-foot birdie putt before darkness halted play. Morikawa was right there with him until a triple bogey on the 12th hole. The tournament should be back on track in time for the final round Sunday. Jordan Spieth had reason to wonder if his long day would lead to a short week. He had a hard time keeping his tee shots in play, meaning hacking out and trying to save par with his wedges. He was 5 over for his opening round when he fired an 8-iron into 8 feet for birdie and a 76. He followed that with a 67 to reach 1-under 143. That was more than enough to make the cut and to at least still be in the mix. “I needed something to stop the bleeding this morning,” Spieth said. Spieth played with Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau, and it didn’t lack for excitement. Cantlay was playing great. DeChambeau also was at 143 with three double bogeys on his card. One of them came in his second round on No. 1, when it took him four shots to get down from 80 feet off the front of the green. He also hit his second shot to 4 feet for eagle on the par-5 fifth hole. “All in all, it’s not my best,” DeChambeau said. “But certainly worked hard to get it in and here for the weekend.” Despite the disjointed nature of the tournament, one constant as been the course. Several of the holes were redone — some obvious, such as the par-5 fifth and 15th hole, some more subtle with greens being shifted — and the rough has been brutal as ever. The biggest change has been the par 5s. Some of it is because of the soft conditions, but players are not going for them in two as much as they once did. Rory McIlroy went for the green on No. 5, landed just over the back into a bunker and did well to blast out to 20 feet. “You would rather be 90 yards away hitting a nice wedge shot in there. You can get it way closer,” McIlroy said after a pair of 72s. “So I think people are just realizing you’re probably more likely to make birdie just by laying up, which is a shame, because it’s sort of exciting to get to go for par 5s. And it’s sort of taken that a little bit out of play.” If Cantlay’s lead were to hold, it would be the highest score to lead after 36 holes at the Memorial since 2012, unusual only because rain leads to softer greens, and the best in the world thrive in those conditions. Cantlay wonders if the difficulty of the par 5s hasn’t changed the dynamics of scoring. “But that’s just the way it is now and I’m sure if the fairways firm out a little bit you will be able to hit the ball a little further and maybe get to some of the par 5s,” he said. For now, he’s happy with his score. Cantlay hasn’t had a top 10 since a tie for third at Pebble Beach, a stretch of seven tournaments. That’s his longest streak without a top 10 since he returned from a severe back injury in 2017. “Just fundamentals and getting my swing back to a place that I can start the ball where I’m looking all the time,” Cantlay said. “I wasn’t too far off, just a little off. So golf’s like that sometimes.”

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