Steele takes lead with 61 to get another chance in Sony Open

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Langer pulls into 3-way tie for Champions lead

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While our goal is to soar into the holiday break with a seriously crooked number on the board at The RSM Classic, the promise of the restart in early January and another 38 tournaments reminds us not to get bent out of shape no matter what happens at Sea Island. Time is on our side, and that’s a good thing in the absence of an automatic selection in the Golden Isles. The smattering of exciting possibilities and the fact that the last four winners of the tournament were first-timers just about begs you to throw a dart on purpose. J.J. Spaun doesn’t care that he’s the focal point of this week’s converging trends, but we do. He won’t be missed, so he’s about as much of a don’t-overthink-it as it gets in the field of 156 on the Seaside and Plantation Courses. While his strength is tee-to-green, he stroked the lights out on the bermuda greens a year ago. Just as impressive as his putting was the fact that he co-led the field in par-5 scoring. Confident? Oh, yes. C.T. Pan is a close second. He profiles similarly as a ball-striker and non-winner. You won’t miss him, either. It makes this weapon of choice proper if you’re in pursuit. Bud Cauley, also winless, sets up not so much as a swing for the fence as a sacrifice fly. However, even if you play every tournament like my little league, you’re not going to be compelled to bypass Spaun or Pan. Stick with two-man considerations here. Then there’s the stable of proud veterans smiling in your direction with chests puffed. Webb Simpson, Charles Howell III, Jim Furyk, Brian Gay, Lucas Glover and 2015 champ Kevin Kisner all look tantalizing in varied degrees, but winds of time dull our anticipation for something special. Sure, if this tournament was contested, say, in June or July, chalk matters for front-runners, but who wants fruitcake when you can have a handful of sugar plums with winter’s chill settling in? Of the bunch, Kisner is the most sensible if you must. Save Simpson for the Wyndham Championship, obviously. Hold your breath that CH3 locks in during the West Coast Swing. Furyk, Gay and Glover are safe tandems with Spaun or Pan in two-man situations. Whatever your persuasion, enjoy the tournament, and then have an even better holiday season, gang! FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2018-19. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Jason Dufner … Desert Classic (9); Honda (3); PLAYERS (7); Valspar (4); New Orleans (1); Charles Schwab (6); Memorial (5); U.S. Open (2); Wyndham (8); TOUR Championship (10) Bill Haas … RSM (7); Desert Classic (1); Genesis (3); WGC-Match Play (8); Heritage (4); Charles Schwab (2); Wyndham (6) Brian Harman … RSM (6); Sony (2); Desert Classic (3); Arnold Palmer (7); Charles Schwab (1); Travelers (5); John Deere (4) Russell Henley … RSM (1); Sony (2); Honda (4); Masters (3) Charles Howell III … RSM (6); Sony (3); Desert Classic (4); Farmers (1) Zach Johnson … Sony (3); Waste Management (6); Arnold Palmer (7); Valero (4); Charles Schwab (5); John Deere (1); Open Championship (2); TOUR Championship (8) Chris Kirk … RSM (1); Sony (4); Valero (3); PLAYERS (5); Charles Schwab (2) Kevin Kisner … RSM (1); Sony (4); Heritage (3); New Orleans (5); Charles Schwab (2); Memorial (6) Webb Simpson … Sony (3); Desert Classic (11); Waste Management (2); Honda (10); PLAYERS (5; defending); Heritage (6); Wells Fargo (7); Charles Schwab (8); Travelers (9); Wyndham (1) Kevin Streelman … Desert Classic (8); Pebble Beach (1); Valero (9); Heritage (5); Memorial (4); Travelers (7)

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