THE PLAYERS Championship, Round 3: Leaderboard, tee times, TV times

Here are nine tidbits from the opening round of The RSM Classic that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Change in Course: Yesterday, 22 of the top 27 players posted their rounds on the par-72 Plantation course. With similar weather conditions on the cards Friday, I thought those playing Plantation would have the advantage again. Wrongo. Of the eight lowest rounds of the day, seven were carded on the par-70 Seaside course. The winning scores the last two years have been 22-under-par and 17-under-par, so there are still birdies to be made on the weekend. What’s Cookin’?: Veteran gamers will remember the summer of 2015 when Austin Cook burst on the scene. He racked up five T22 or better finishes in his first six events, which included a T11 and a pair of top 10’s. Flash forward two years and he’s posted two top 25’s in three starts in the new season playing from the Web.com priority list. His bogey-free 62 on Seaside was the best of the day. Add that to his bogey-free 66 on Plantation yesterday, and he’s our leader by one. Hey, Bud. What’s your problem? No problem at all! After an even-par round at Plantation yesterday, Bud Cauley jumped right back into the tournament by signing for 63 on Seaside, moving him up a whopping 83 places (T12). The first two years Cauley played here he finished T15 (2011) and T20 (2012) but the last two years he’s MC. He’s already posted a top 10 (T7, Safeway Open) in three events this year. Hubba Hubba, Bubba: Bubba Watson, coming off his worst season since his rookie year of 2006, made his season debut this week. I guess gamers love a famous name as almost THIRTY percent of you made Watson the sixth-most selected player in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO game. After shooting a 71 at Plantation yesterday, he repaid your faith with 64 on Friday that included 23 putts and a double bogey. He moved up 61 places and sits T12 entering the weekend. Welcome back, Brandt: The last time we saw Brandt Snedeker in tournament action he was firing a final round 64 at TPC River Highlands (T14). His sternum injury caused him to miss time and eventually change his swing. The change is working as he hit all 14 fairways on Thursday and nine of 14 on Friday. A pair of 67’s positions him inside the top 10 at T6. OAD Crash and Burn: Charles Howell III was the most popular selection in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. His percentage was almost DOUBLE of second choice Kevin Kisner. With three holes remaining, he sat three-under on the day and one shot above the cut line (-4). After a double on No. 16 and a bogey on No. 17, he was two shots underwater. Brutal result for gamers as Howell had never MC in seven previous trips. OAD Crash and Burn II: PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO gamers saw the fourth-most selected player, Ollie Schniederjans, fall short as well. There are two schools of thoughts in OAD that will always push and pull gamers. With only 48 tournaments, there’s no need to select players off the radar. Just play the chalk! Others suggest fortune favors the bold and stealing top 10’s throughout the year with outliers is the key to victory. Chose wisely, my friends. Blame me for Jamie? Nope, but you’re welcome for Howell! Turn your furor to Rob Bolton as Lovemark was his choice in the experts One & Done. After a win with Patrick Cantlay at Shriners, I have thrown out Kevin Chappell (MC) at Mayakoba and Howell (MC) this week. I’m not expecting the phone to ring from that group anytime soon! Fantasy Golf is hard, Part 1,293,399: Si Woo Kim (MC) was third last week at Mayakoba and didn’t break par in two chances this week…Patrick Rodgers (MC) gave it a sniff last week and returned to a course where he was T10 last year…Mac Hughes had a baby, changed his name and was defending for the first time. That’s a full plate, and his MC is not surprising…After my terrible suggestion of lining up Brandon Harkins for Friday, move cautiously with my next suggestion. Kevin Streelman is bogey free through 36 holes and finished T6 in 2011. He’s played 10 rounds on Seaside and four of them are 66 or 67. Good luck!

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – A post-round practice session is common for Brooks Koepka. He even had one after the second round of the PGA Championship, where he shot the lowest score in major history and held a seven-shot lead. “We’re going straight to the range. I’m not hitting it that good,â€� Koepka told swing instructor Claude Harmon as he walked to the scoring trailer. Koepka was about to sign for a second-round 65 that followed his first-round 63, but he still found fault in his game. Related: Leaderboard | Poor finish stalls Tiger’s run Koepka said he was going to skip the range Friday, though. He was three shots behind Justin Rose after shooting consecutive 69s, but Koepka hasn’t found Pebble Beach’s practice facility to his liking. The wind blows from the wrong direction and the turf is too firm. That led to bad habits that caused him to hit the ball thin. “I struck it so poorly Monday and Wednesday,â€� said Koepka, who ranks third in this season’s FedExCup. “I wasn’t playing good. It’s been nice to kind of find some confidence, especially on the golf course. “It’s been easier to find my game on the golf course. I feel like I can really hit down on the ball, come in a little bit steeper than on the range.â€� Koepka’s success in majors in uncanny. No matter the circumstances, he finds a way to contend. He’s won on a variety of courses and in different ways. Four victories in his last eight majors mean his name appears on any leaderboard in bold font. “He’s a threat,â€� Rose said. Especially when he’s hitting the ball well. Koepka hit 12 fairways and 15 greens Friday. He’s hit 75% of the greens this week. Now he’s just waiting for his putter to heat up. He had 32 putts Friday. “I feel great. I’m excited. I’ve got a chance,â€� he said. “That’s all you can ask for. I just need to make a few putts. Sometimes the hole just needs to open up.â€� If it does, Koepka could go home with his third straight U.S. Open.  

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Each week during the fall, PGATOUR.COM will highlight one of the rookies playing on the PGA TOUR during the 2019-20 season. This week: Matthew NeSmith, who’s in this week’s field at this week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Age: 25 Birthplace: North Augusta, South Carolina Resides: Columbia, South Carolina College: University of South Carolina TOUR card gained by: Finishing 1st in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. TOUR starts/Best finish: 8/missed all eight cuts, but missed by only one shot at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. MEET THE ROOKIES: Bo Hoag | Michael Gellerman | Nelson Ledesma Pro highlights: Started Sunday three back but shot 64 to beat Viktor Hovland by one at the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco, for his first Korn Ferry Tour title. … Top-10s at Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae (led through 36 and 54 holes but finished T8), Nashville Golf Open Benefitting the Snedeker Foundation (T6), and The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay (T9). …  Finished runner-up at 2016 Mackenzie Tour PGA TOUR Canada Q School … Shot a bogey-free 6-under 66 in the opening round of the Safeway Open, leaving him just one shot off the 18-hole lead, but shot 77 in Round 2 to miss the cut. Amateur highlights: As a senior at South Carolina, he became first Gamecock to win twice in less than one week (five days), and first to earn PING First Team All-America honors. … Is the school’s all-time leader in top-10 finishes (25) and scoring average (71.65). … As a junior golfer in 2012, won AJGA’s Rolex Tournament of Champions and FootJoy Invitational, the latter event, at Sedgefield Country Club, earning him a start at 2012 Wyndham Championship (MC). Interesting tidbits: Does not look at leaderboards and did not know the 15-footer at the last was for the win in Boise. (He made it.) … Proposed to his wife, Abigail, on the 18th green at Harbour Town Golf Links. … Has volunteered to build bikes for needy families at Christmas. … Has been involved with Curing Kids Cancer, where wife has worked. … Brother is a celebrity photojournalist in New York City.   NeSmith says (after winning Albertsons Boise Open): “It was time to do something. I had kind of been hanging around mini tours for a couple of years and Canada, and I finally got out here. I’ve played solid all year-round. I just never really could figure it out, and then I started playing well at the end of the year and got in the Finals … and then anything can happen.� For more on Matthew NeSmith, click here.

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