Sleepers: WGC-Mexico Championship

Spieth overcomes late stumble to win Claret Jug

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BRESCIA, Italy — Martin Kaymer compiled a bogey-free 63 on Friday to lead the Italian Open by one shot at the halfway stage, as several of Europe’s top golfers came to the fore. The Ryder Cup player from Germany birdied five of his last six holes, and had eight in total, as he produced the lowest round of the week to move to 11-under after 36 holes on another day of low scoring at the Gardagolf Country Club. “It’s been a while since I played that solid,” said Kaymer, who missed the cut in three of his last four events. “I was getting very close recently but that positivity was missing on the golf course because I haven’t had a lot of good results. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve won majors and had the situations I had at the Ryder Cup, it’s really exciting to be in a position that you can win a golf tournament again.” Kaymer, whose last win yielded a second major title at the 2014 US Open, was one ahead of Italy’s Francesco Molinari, 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett, Graeme McDowell, Rafa Cabrera Bello and Thomas Pieters. Willett reached a career-high ninth in the world after claiming his first major title at Augusta National, but has plummeted to 462nd after struggling for form. The 30-year-old Englishman returned a 65 on Thursday, his lowest round of the season, and followed it up with a 67. “I haven’t made a cut for a while so to actually be this side of the leaderboard is pretty nice,” said Willett. “I’ve been working really hard. I’ve not been getting any results and you just have to keep your head down and hope that you get a couple of days like this under your belt.” The entire field will be separated by just seven shots over the weekend after the cut fell at 4 under par.

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What a difference a year makes. Or doesn’t. After historic flooding canceled the 2016 edition of A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, The Old White TPC was the same as it ever was last year. Scroll beneath the ranking for more on how Keith Foster’s renovation tested the annual field of 156 a year ago and how Xander Schauffele performed en route to his breakthrough title on the PGA TOUR. POWER RANKINGS: A MILITARY TRIBUTE AT THE GREENBRIER RANK PLAYER COMMENT Rested since a career-best finish in a major (fifth, U.S. Open). Adapts to every track. T13-T7 in two appearances. He’s 32nd in GIR, 37th in birdies-or-better percentage and 15th in adjusted scoring. With three top 10s and a T14 (2017) in his last six appearances here, it’s no wonder why he’s a regular. Currently T8 in strokes gained: putting. T10 at the U.S. Open three weeks ago. The Greenbrier Sporting Club member is 4-for-4 with a scoring average of 68.81 in the tournament, but he’s still seeking his first top 10. Only three-time winner on TOUR this season. The horse for the course is fresh off a season-best T6 at the Travelers. Fifth-place finishes with a scoring average of 67.125 in the last two editions at Greenbrier. T22 in ball-striking. Cooled since a torrid April and May, but figures to make noise at The Old White TPC. He placed T18 here last year while battling Lyme disease. Three top-four finishes prior to that. Fifth appearance for the Greenbrier ambassador, but just 1-for-4 with a T20 last year. Timing allows him to stay sharp in advance of The Open. Seven top-15 finishes in his last 12 starts. Failed to extend terrific form upon arrival at TPC Potomac, missing the cut. The Old White TPC has been very good to him. He’s 5-for-6 with four top 25s and a scoring average of 68.32. Since a T9 in the first edition, he hasn’t again put four rounds together at Greenbrier, but his consistency through this season lifts expectations. He’s 20-for-22 with 13 top 25s. First visit in four years. Phenomenal fit at T19 in fairways hit, 27th in greens in regulation, T44 in proximity, seventh in strokes gained: putting and 22nd in birdies-or-better percentage. Experiencing duties of a defending champion for the first time, so his day-to-day must be respected as a potential distraction. Sputtering lately at 1-for-4 with a T6 at the US. Open. Opened the Quicken Loans with 64 but closed with 72 to finish T27. It’s still evidence of form to warrant attention. Nine straight cuts made with five top 20s. Ranks 15th in GIR. Making his tournament debut after a rare missed cut at the Travelers. Five top 20s in 2013, the last a T13 a month ago at Muirfield Village. Sits 16th on TOUR in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Proving to be the quick study that was projected when he turned pro in late April. Three top 10s and a T17 (Quicken Loans) in seven starts. Only weakness is course inexperience. He can attribute sudden uptick in form (T9, Travelers; T13, Quicken Loans) to stronger putting. Led last week’s field in strokes gained: putting. Up 64 spots to T65 in last three starts. Something will give. The accurate driver and terrific putt owns a terrible record at The Old White TPC but arrived for his seventh appearance in tiptop shape with four top 20s in last five starts. Kevin Kisner, Keegan Bradley, Kevin Chappell and Brandt Snedeker will be among the notables who will appear in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider along with former winners Ted Potter, Jr. (2012) and Danny Lee (2015). Acknowledging a deep, interactive and centuries-long connection to the Armed Forces, the tournament in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, was given a new name in advance of its eighth edition. The timing couldn’t be better as it will be conducted immediately after Independence Day. However, and impressively, the host course is everything that returning participants hoped to experience and did when it returned to action last year. Among the longest par 70s on the schedule at 7,286 yards, The Old White TPC has defended par nicely after Stuart Appleby walked off the inaugural edition in 2010 with 59 to post 22-under 258. Since, no champion has finished fewer than six strokes higher than that tournament record. Schauffele prevailed by one at 14-under 266 last year when the jury was still out on how the course would rebound from the 2016 cancellation. Lo and behold, the field’s scoring average of 69.861 hit the bull’s-eye of expectations. The objective remained the same and will once again: pile up scoring opportunities and connect often with the putter. Schauffele led the field in greens hit (59 of 72; second-most of all winners last season) and ranked 18th in conversion percentage on those chances. That latter stat is impressive given that The Old White TPC yielded a stingy 26.27 percent, eighth-lowest of all course last season. Of the 13 golfers who finished inside the top 10 on the leaderboard, eight concluded the week inside the top 15 in GIR, while seven landed inside the top 15 in strokes gained: putting. A balanced attack off the tee is preferred to contend so as not to get caught up in forcing the issue on approach and scrambling for pars. Three-inch rough helps defend targets averaging 6,500 square feet. Bentgrass greens will tip at 12 feet on the Stimpmeter. A decent threat for rain and storms exists over parts of the first three rounds of the tournament. The forecast for Sunday’s conclusion is favorable. Daytime highs will decrease gradually from the mid-to-upper 80s to about 80 degrees for the finale. Wind will not be a factor. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton reviews and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Facebook Live, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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