The next phase of Phil Mickelson, and other important things happening in golf

Casey withstands triple-bogey for share of lead

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No more majors, no more invitationals and no more additional events. From now until the conclusion of the regular season, it’s nothing but fastballs right down the middle. See ‘em, hit ‘em and score. RELATED: Play Pick ‘Em Live | The First Look | Inside the Field The 3M Open is the first of three consecutive, 156-man opens that serve as the home stretch to determine the 125 qualifiers for the FedExCup Playoffs, and TPC Twin Cities is ready. Scroll past the projected contenders for what it likely will require to contend, an analysis of the host course and more. POWER RANKINGS: 3M OPEN Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day and defending champion Cameron Champ will be among those reviewed in Draws and Fades. TPC Twin Cities is in its fourth year as host of the 3M Open. It’s a par 71 with three par 5s. After surrendering scoring averages below 70 in its first two spins, last year’s field checked in at 70.44 with all four rounds within 0.13 strokes in either direction of that average. Calling that statistically even wouldn’t be inaccurate, and it’s what anyone involved in any competition would want. Drilling too deep into why scoring was higher overall isn’t encouraged given that variables including hole locations and makeups of fields vary. However, there was a odd correlation to how last year’s field hit fewer greens (but still at a clip of 70.38 percent) and converted with less frequency on those chances and inside 10 feet (again, anomalies, if barely). Yet, because the champion will conclude four rounds at double digits under par, what yields that scoring is fortified as the game plan – to pile up scoring opportunities and sink putts. At 7,431 yards, TPC Twin Cities tests the same as it has since 2020, although the longest rough is up to four inches this week. That reflects a rise of half an inch. Bentgrass greens averaging 6,500 square feet again are poised to reach 12½ feet on the Stimpmeter. The tournament will open to potentially breezy air, but it will be dry and warm. Daytime temperatures will climb into the mid- and upper-80s throughout, while the impactful threat for inclement weather is forecast to hold off until Saturday. It will extend into Sunday’s scheduled conclusion. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Draws & Fades WEDNESDAY: Pick ’Em Preview SUNDAY: Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Rookie Ranking * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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THE OVERVIEW By Ben Everill, PGATOUR.COM Strap yourselves in because despite an incredible 2017 season from Jon Rahm, you ain’t seen nothing yet. In his first full season, the young Spanish sensation made 21 of 23 cuts with the highlight being his back-nine blitz at Torrey Pines to take the Farmers Insurance Open title. TOP 30 PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2018: We’ll countdown our list with one new player each day in December. Click here for the published players. MORE: Top 30 explanation and schedule He had 11 top-10s in all with huge chances to win at the World Golf Championships–Mexico Championship (T3), the World Golf Championships–Dell Match Play (2nd), the Wells Fargo Championship (4th), the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational (T2) and all four FedExCup Playoff events where he finished T3, T4, T5 and T7. Add the fact he won two events on the European Tour and you have quite a rockstar effort. In June 2016, he was 766th in the world rankings. Now he’s comfortably in the top five. Even with all the achievements, we expect even bigger things in 2018. He has power off the tee and precision into the greens. His putting is better than most on TOUR. And he has desire and passion. The 23-year-old hates to lose and will do whatever it takes to win. Aggression is his forte. At Torrey Pines, the event looked headed for a multiple-man playoff until he shot 6-under 30 on the back nine — including two eagles to crush the field. In all his chances to win, he went down swinging. Rahm will never play for second place. This alone makes him fun to watch. The goal for the new season has to be more of the same, but with better results in the majors. While his WGC efforts were grand, his best major effort was T27 at the Masters. He was T72 on debut at THE PLAYERS. BY THE NUMBERS How Jon Rahm ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 151st Playoff appearances: 1 TOUR Championship appearances: 1 Best result: 5th INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS  PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Jon Rahm in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Cameron Morfit It’s going to be hard to top last season for the big-hitting 23-year-old from Spain, but we may be just beginning to understand how good he is. Consider how close he was to winning the entire FedExCup: Rahm finished fifth after registering top-10 finishes in all four Playoffs events. The only way to improve from here will be to turn some of those close calls (11 top-10 finishes, one win at the Farmers Insurance Open) into victories, and to show his “Aâ€� game at the majors. Click here to follow Cameron on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton With proper respect to older 20-somethings who have won majors and achieved more, the Spaniard is in a class of his own. If it’s possible for someone with lofty expectations to have already shattered them, he’s the guy. He cannot be overvalued. As a first-year PGA TOUR member in 2016-17, he put up video-game numbers en route to ranking second in the all-around. Yet for all of his angles at which he can score and contend, perhaps most impressive is his blend of drive with humility sitting right out there on his sleeve. And he turned only 23 years of age just last month. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Won the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship with a yet-to-be-released “Hi-Toe” TaylorMade Milled Grind wedge. His win with Spider Tour Red at the Farmers Insurance Open coincided with the putter’s meteoric rise in popularity on TOUR. Rest of his TaylorMade setup consists of the company’s M2 driver, M1 3-wood, P750 irons and Milled Grind wedges.  Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte As explosive as Rahm’s game is, his style is just the opposite as he has a penchant for simple looks with modern designs and high-tech fabrics. He could improve his style in 2018 by matching his belt to his pants to create a smooth transition from top to bottom. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter

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