Style Insider: Adidas Triple Black Boost

There were moments alongside Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Peyton Manning when Tom Brady was both mesmerizing and sad. Maybe that’s what we’re about to see in Tampa Bay.

Click here to read the full article…

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.                          

Click here to read the full article…

Here are nine tidbits from the final round of the OHL Classic at Mayakoba that gamers can use tomorrow, next weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Winner, winner, chicken enchilada dinner for the first time as Patton Kizzire held off Rickie Fowler by a shot. His 19-under-par 265 featured excellent iron play (T7, GIR) and a hot putter (T4, putts per GIR). His 25 birdies were tied for the most on the week and he only squared four bogeys and a double. There’s no doubt he enjoys the beginning of the TOUR season. In his rookie year of 2016, he finished T2 at Shriners and T4 at Sanderson Farms in back-to-back starts. Last year, he claimed solo second at Safeway to kick off the year. This season he’s rattled off three consecutive top 10s, including this victory. Of his career, 11 top-10 results, he’s posted six of them before Thanksgiving each season. Rickie Fowler isn’t going to get much run in this column because he did exactly what gamers suggested he would do so I’ll turn my eyes to Si Woo Kim instead. Last season he could have been labeled Si WD Kim as he had six, IN-TOURNAMENT withdrawals. Sure, he was immaculate winning THE PLAYERS but he didn’t give gamers any peace of mind after that as he posted only one top 25 the rest of the year. After opening 2017-18 with 12 rounds of 71 or WORSE, it was understandable why he might have been ignored this week. His third-place check this week can’t be ignored. The questions of when to use him should start up again! To “Nappy Factor” or not: Martin Piller’s wife is due this spring and his T4 suggests this fantasy myth as having some credence. Mac Hughes recently missed a couple of events to be with his wife and newborn and he missed the cut. This is Piller’s best result on TOUR so regardless of his impending newborn, I’ll pay attention. It drives me crazy when people say “ATM Machine.” Er, the “M” is for “machine” so go ahead and leave that out when describing Charles Howell III this time of year or at this event. He’s now withdrawn eight checks from nine appearances at Mayakoba with three of the last five in the top 10. His T4 this week is the best of that bunch. He’s truly an Automatic Automated Teller Machine Machine here. It also drives me crazy that I didn’t roster him … Get me in a fantasy league where guys get ANGRY at golfers who don’t close the deal. I’ll gladly jump in and saddle up on J.J. Spaun (saddle not included). Sure, he didn’t close the deal last week in Las Vegas. Sure, he went the wrong way on Sunday at Mayakoba and dropped from T7 to T14. Sure, he hasn’t won on TOUR yet but he’s building some serious scar tissue to help the next time he’s involved. And when did top-15 finishes from non-premium players turn into “bad” things? Fantasy golf is an inexact science and it’s probably why we all continue to keep plugging along. Ryan Moore enhances that theory this week. The two-time CIMB Classic winner decided not to play that event this year. The Las Vegas resident, former UNLV player and 2012 Shriners champion finished T51 last week in a “can’t-miss” week. He missed. He finished T6 this week at an event he’s played one previous time. The grind is real. Pass the paspalum, please! Most gamers will look at past event champions when arranging lineups. Let’s see if that was a good idea: Pat Perez: T34 Graeme McDowell: T34 Charley Hoffman: MC Harris English: MC John Huh: T25 Johnson Wagner: T61 Mark Wilson: MC Brian Gay: T25 There has never been a repeat champion in 11 events. Whee Kim’s streak of finishing rounds inside the top six ended at eight after an opening round 69. But, he sat T14 heading into the final round with another top 10, his third in a row, possibly on the cards. His final-round 75 saw him fall to T45. Apologies to those who arrived week late after T4 and P2 results in his last two events. Ancer me this Abraham … The native of Reynosa, Mexico, cashed his first top 10 in 24 TOUR starts with T9. This is his second go-around on TOUR as he missed 13 of 19 cuts in the 2016 season. He rallied last year to cash seven top 10s on the Web.com Tour which positions him sixth on the priority ranking for the current TOUR season.

Click here to read the full article…