The rise of Aaron Wise

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The second of three legs of the Asian Swing kicks into gear in Korea as the TOUR returns to Jeju Island for the second edition of the CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. Last year, Justin Thomas needed a two-hole playoff to defeat Marc Leishman in the first event. Both players are back this week and both arrive in excellent form. Leishman won the CIMB Classic in Malaysia in a cakewalk last week while Thomas closed with seven birdies and an eagle against only one bogey for a 64 and a share of fifth. A massive prize pool of $9.5 million will include a winner’s share of $1.71 million and 500 FedExCup points as 78 competitors will play 72 holes in this no-cut event. Thomas set down the marker in Round 1 in the inaugural edition last year as he opened with 63 (-9), setting the course record. His score of 9 under ended up being his 72-hole total as the winds whipped through Jeju Island during the final three rounds. The first official PGA TOUR event in Korea saw only four players post both weekend rounds in red figures as the gusty winds provided the primary defense. Those winds stymied the players and the Par-72 that only measured 7,184 yards ended up being the most difficult Par-72 in relation to par last year on TOUR. Only Shinnecock Hills (U.S. Open), PGA National (The Honda Classic) and Carnoustie (The Open Championship) played harder last season. TALES OF THE TAPE Since we only have one edition to use for reference, I’ve decided to explore the podium finishers from last year. As the numbers above illustrate, accuracy from tee-to-green was hardly a factor as wind blew golf balls all over the island. Bogeys were flying everywhere and par ended up being a decent score thanks to the difficult conditions. Smith demonstrated solid play tee-to-green that didn’t hurt his chances. But it was the putting numbers for the two leaders that jumped off the page. They didn’t find tons of fairways or greens but when they did, they obviously took advantage. There were only FOUR players who made less than 10 bogeys for the week as Rafa Cabrera-Bello led the way with seven while Pat Perez, Whee Kim and Anirban Lahiri each squared nine for the week. Perez posted the only bogey-free round of the weekend with 68 on Sunday to share fifth while Kim (solo fourth) and Lahiri (T5) also crashed the top five. Only four players broke par in both of their weekend rounds as Jamie Lovemark (68-71), Leishman (71-70), Adam Scott (70-71) and Jason Day (71-71) were the culprits. Only Scott finished outside of the top 11 as he cashed for 25th. The low round on Saturday was 67 by Byeong-Hun An while Perez’s 68 was tops in the final round. There were 24 total rounds on the weekend in red figures. An found a way to circle 24 birdies to lead the event while Leishman (21) and Thomas (19) were the next two in line and we know how they both fared. NOTE: Golfers inside the top 30-ish in each category last season. * – Finished inside the top 25 last year in the first edition. Strokes-Gained: Putting Rank  Golfer  1  *Jason Day  4  Beau Hossler  5  Alex Noren 11 Kevin Na 12 Emiliano Grillo 16 Graeme McDowell 18 Brandt Snedeker 19 Brian Gay 21 *Whee Kim 23 Billy Horschel 24 Jimmy Walker 27 *Brian Harman Birdie-or-Better Percentage Rank  Golfer  3  *Justin Thomas  6  Jason Day 11 Brooks Koepka 14 *Marc Leishman 18 *Kevin Na 19 Ryan Palmer 20 Hideki Matsuyama 22 Brian Gay 29 *Cameron Smith 30 Chesson Hadley 31 Xander Schauffele Greens in Regulation Rank  Golfer  2  Sam Ryder  3  Billy Horschel  4  Kyle Stanley  6  C.T. Pan  6  *Adam Scott  9  *Rafa Cabrera-Bello 10 Gary Woodland 15 Scott Piercy 18 Andrew Putnam 20 Jason Kokrak 27 *Charles Howell III 30 Hideki Matsuyama 33 *Justin Thomas Par-5 Scoring Rank  Golfer  3  *Justin Thomas  3  Brooks Koepka  9  *Gary Woodland  9  Billy Horschel 17 Kevin Tway 17 Bronson Burgoon 17 *Jason Day 17 Keith Mitchell 24 Paul Casey 24 Ryan Palmer 33 *Cameron Smith 33 Jason Kokrak 33 Peter Uihlein As the pros, and gamers, saw last year the wind was the biggest defender of the The Club @ Nine Bridges. If the wind isn’t a factor, I’d expect similar scoring to what we witnessed last week at TPC Kuala Lumpur as these guys will eat up 7,184 yards and four Par-5 holes. For a point of reference, Leishman played Par-5 holes last year in 12-under and was 9-under for the week. Last week during his victory on 26-under-par, Leishman played the Par-5 holes in 14-under. For my money, taking advantage of the Par-5 holes will be important again this week. K.J. Choi and Marc Leishman both noted last year that the fairways are more than generous, yet penal if you miss, and that this is a second-shot course. The tiered greens will require accurate iron play for the easier chances at birdie. The “others” will have to grind out putts on the Bentgrass greens that have plenty of undulation and will try and get up-and-down if they miss the green all together. The scrambling numbers above are hardly encouraging. There are only two Par-4 holes over 450 yards but the Par-3 holes are 175 yards or better with three checking in greater than 190 yards so that’s another level of ball-striking to be considered. Of the six toughest holes from last year, four will be on the inward nine so it’s imperative to get off to a good start. I would be remiss to leave out that Sungjae Im, the Web.com Tour’s Regular Season leading money winner from last year, grew up on Jeju Island and learned the game on this course. His first start with a TOUR card saw him pocket T4 cash at the Safeway Open two weeks ago. You can read more about Im here. Rob Bolton’s Power Rankings will give you more juice for the week so make sure you stop by. It’s also who I trust with the weather each week so pay attention!  NOTE: The groups below are comprehensive to assist in data mining. Inclusion doesn’t imply automatic endorsement in every fantasy game as all decisions are specific to your situation. I have not included ANY DATA PREVIOUS TO 2015 as not to confuse course history with event history.

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RIDGELAND, S.C. – Don’t despair if you didn’t have Chesson Hadley in your fantasy lineup for the Palmetto Championship at Congaree this week. Even Hadley isn’t sure he wouldn’t have picked himself. “No, I definitely didn’t see this coming,” he said after signing for a second-round 66 that got him to 11 under and atop the leaderboard. “… I missed all those cuts in a row, and thank goodness I had three weeks off just to kind of hit the reset switch, get out on the boat, and just kind of forget about some things and spend some time with some family.” Although he has won on the PGA TOUR (2014 Puerto Rico Open), Hadley has struggled mightily this season, twice going five straight starts without seeing the weekend. He came into this week 192th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, 151st in the FedExCup, 320th in the world. Only his putting, in which he ranked 14th on TOUR, seemed to be keeping him afloat. Two things have happened at Congaree. That alacrity with the flatstick has gone into overdrive – he made nearly 137 feet of putts Friday – and he’s rediscovered his tee-to-green game. With the afternoon wave still on the course he was gaining 8-plus strokes on the field from tee to green. “It’s nice to be relevant again,” he said after racking up 14 birdies through the first two rounds. Fortunes can change quickly in this game, and Hadley mentioned a long-ago lunch with James Hahn, who had missed eight straight cuts before winning the 2016 Wells Fargo Championship. For Hadley to author his own rags-to-riches story, he’ll have to keep it going on the weekend. “You know, last night I’m getting texts from everybody,” he said, “like, ‘Great playing.’ I appreciate that, and it does make me feel good that I have that type of support, but let’s – I got a lot of golf to be played. “I’m very thankful to be in the spot I’m at and not have to sweat out a cut line,” he added.

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