The Latest: Patrick Reed finds fuel in Masters cheering

Before I get to some exciting news, ShotLink is activated for the PGA Championship. It’s the only major that uses it. As a result, the array of fantasy scoring is in play for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. Given the default value on distance off the tee and what is shaping up to be a soggy Bellerive Country Club, consider tilting the balance toward length more than you would usually. After you’ve cemented your lineup for the season’s final major, be sure to keep an eye on the introduction of a new fantasy game at PGATOUR.COM. If you believe that you have a solid handle on PGA TOUR Fantasy presented by SERVPRO, your confidence is poised to be rewarded in the Perfect Lineup Challenge. The new, stand-alone contest will be announced this week. It will consist only of the events of the FedExCup Playoffs. Your objective will be to own the top-four fantasy scorers in all four tournaments. If you succeed, you’ll win $1 million. That’s $1,000,000.00. Seriously. The game will use the same fantasy scoring with which you’re familiar in PGA TOUR Fantasy presented by SERVPRO, but there will not be a limit on the number of starts per golfer. Stay tuned for more details and other prizing. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the PGA Championship (in alphabetical order): Patrick Cantlay Tony Finau Dustin Johnson Brooks Koepka Rory McIlroy Justin Thomas You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Jason Day; Tommy Fleetwood; Rickie Fowler; Marc Leishman; Phil Mickelson; Alex Noren; Jon Rahm; Patrick Reed; Justin Rose; Tiger Woods Driving: Keegan Bradley; Paul Casey; Jason Day; Tommy Fleetwood; Rickie Fowler; Francesco Molinari; Justin Rose; Adam Scott; Kyle Stanley Approach: Keegan Bradley; Rickie Fowler; Zach Johnson; Matt Kuchar; Louis Oosthuizen; Ian Poulter; Jordan Spieth; Henrik Stenson; Tiger Woods Short: Paul Casey; Jason Day; Tyrrell Hatton; Matt Kuchar; Phil Mickelson; Alex Noren; Justin Rose; Webb Simpson; Tiger Woods Returning to Competition Justin Rose … Back spasms thwarted an appearance in last week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, and he didn’t “need” to exacerbate the malady. Consider him green-lit in all formats at Bellerive. Adam Hadwin … Sat out last week’s finale at Firestone due to a sore hip. No better than T35 at Carnoustie in his last eight starts. Currently 67th in the FedExCup standings and has already acknowledged (on Twitter) that he won’t be lacing it up at Sedgefield next week. Troy Merritt … Hasn’t missed competition but still could be a tee-time decision after having surgery to remove a blood clot in his left arm since winning the Barbasol Championship. Notable WDs Graham DeLaet … On July 24, he announced plans to have microdiscectomy surgery on his L4-L5 disc. The 36-year-old is expecting to miss as much as one year of competition. While he hasn’t competed since October, 2018 hasn’t been a total loss as he was inducted into Boise State University’s Athletics Hall of Fame in April. Lee Westwood … Shortly after gaining entry via the Official World Golf Ranking, he withdrew with an undisclosed injury. It’s just the second time (2010) since he made his PGA Championship debut in 1997 that he’s missed the major. The Englishman turned 45 in April. Bernd Wiesberger … The 32-year-old Austrian would have cracked the field via the OWGR, but he remains sidelined with a wrist injury. He’s been out for three months. Power Rankings Recap – World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Dustin Johnson T3 2 Rory McIlroy T6 3 Justin Rose DNP 4 Francesco Molinari T39 5 Tiger Woods T31 6 Rickie Fowler T17 7 Paul Casey T31 8 Tommy Fleetwood T14 9 Jon Rahm T17 10 Zach Johnson T17 11 Jordan Spieth T60 12 Jason Day T10 13 Xander Schauffele 68th 14 Hideki Matsuyama T39 15 Brooks Koepka 5th 16 Justin Thomas Win 17 Thorbjørn Olesen T3 18 Tony Finau T10 19 Bubba Watson T31 20 Adam Scott T57 Wild Card Patrick Reed T28 Sleepers Recap – World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational Golfer Result Austin Cook T53 Russell Knox T48 Andrew Landry T57 Brendan Steele T60 Ryuko Tokimatsu T39 Power Rankings Recap – Barracuda Championship Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Martin Laird T15 2 Joel Dahmen T54 3 Kevin Streelman MC 4 Ryan Palmer T26 5 Andrew Putnam Win 6 Richy Werenski MC 7 Robert Garrigus MC 8 Kevin Tway T23 9 Shane Lowry T15 10 Sam Saunders T Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR August 7 … Andrew Landry (31) August 8 … Webb Simpson (33) August 9 … Brett Wetterich (45) August 10 … Jonathan Randolph (30) August 11 … Morgan Hoffmann (29) August 12 … none August 13 … Tommy Gainey (43)

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – An impressive streak may have come to an end, but Lanto Griffin’s 65 on Friday at the RSM Classic was still important. Griffin, winner of this season’s Houston Open, had made 15 consecutive cuts. It was the second-longest streak on TOUR, trailing only Tommy Fleetwood (31). RELATED: Leaderboard | A refreshed Harman contending at Sea Island | Plantation Course’s new look for The RSM Classic Griffin didn’t qualify for the final two rounds of The RSM Classic, though. He dug too deep a hole after a first-round 74 on Sea Island’s Seaside Course. He shot 65 on the Plantation Course on Friday to miss the cut by just one shot. The six birdies and an eagle he made Friday padded his lead in the RSM Birdies Fore Love competition, which ends this week. The player who makes the most birdies and eagles in the fall portion of the PGA TOUR schedule earns $300,000 for the charity of his choice. “Today was big,â€� said Griffin, who will be home this weekend while his closest pursuers play two rounds at Sea Island’s Seaside Course. He made 138 birdies and eagles this fall, 10 more than second-place Denny McCarthy. Maverick McNealy and Scottie Scheffler each have 127. Griffin admitted being tired from an eventful fall that saw him win his first PGA TOUR title at the Houston Open and finish in the top-20 five other times. He added the Bermuda Championship to his schedule because of the RSM Birdies Fore Love competition and it was his inspiration to finish the fall on a strong note. “I knew the birdies were big, so I got some work in on the range last night and straightened it out a little bit,â€� Griffin said. “The Birdies Fore Love was on my mind pretty hard and I knew … if those guys got two more rounds on me, I wanted to get my lead up. “I was disappointed, but I’m tired and I battled as hard as I could, so I’ve got nothing to hang my head about. … There’s a lot of money for second and third in this race, too, so either way I’m going to have a good chunk of change to start my foundation with and hopefully do a lot of good in southwest Virginia.â€� The runner-up in Birdies Fore Love earns $150,000, while third place earns $50,000.

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