Tiger passes golf supremacy to Koepka at historic PGA

Click here to read the full article…

This is hilarious. There’s no other way to describe what arguably is the most obvious choice of any golfer in any tournament. No matter your philosophy, which tournaments you include or your current ranking, the only reason you don’t burn Hideki Matsuyama at the Waste Management Phoenix Open is because you already did in one of his four previous starts this season. OK, there are two reasons. The other is that you’ll forget to submit your pick. But that wouldn’t be funny at all. As of late Tuesday night, Matsuyama was chosen by 29 percent of all gamers in PGA TOUR One & Done. He’s projected to be selected almost twice as many times as the second-most chosen, three-time tournament champion, all-time earnings leader at TPC Scottsdale and World Golf Hall of Famer, Phil Mickelson. How do you say, “No big deal,” in Japanese? Truth be told, I went into this column with the intent to go against the grain. Short of the preposterousness of all pivots, it was going to be an exercise. Alas, after reviewing all of the options and angles, only four words are necessary. Hideki Matsuyama. The End. It’s a bedtime story that Sean Martin will read to his kids for years. If it puts smiles on their faces like Matsuyama initiates adoration from their devout daddy, sweet dreams and restless nights are guaranteed. Matsuyama at TPC Scottsdale is like Tiger Woods and Torrey Pines, Bay Hill or Firestone during his prime but minus the three-way coin flip. Look up “don’t overthink it” in any fantasy guide and you’ll see Sean pointing at the Japanese star inside The Coliseum. Now, because it’s my duty to connect with the 71 percent who can’t or won’t execute the obvious, there are eight legitimate short-listers who deserve a thought (or less). • For One & Doners who have already burned Matsuyama, Mickelson is the ideal alternative. The only reason you wouldn’t is because he loves Quail Hollow Club, host of the Wells Fargo Championship on the first weekend of May. The caution to consider is that he’s committed this week and there’s no guarantee that he’ll appear in Charlotte. • If Matsuyama and Mickelson are off-limits, Jon Rahm. The Spaniard checks all of the boxes. • Gary Woodland didn’t crack the top 30 in the tournament in the prior four editions before emerging from a playoff with Chez Reavie last year. The defending champion’s Future Possibilities are thin to none, but he’s been so consistently strong that the absence of more on the horizon transitions his value into that of a wild card. Think Lucas Glover, Tyrrell Hatton and Kyle Stanley in various forms. • Rickie Fowler is No. 9 in my Power Rankings out of respect for his capability and course history, but let’s see him connect for something special with the new golf ball first. • Matt Kuchar is humming along. I could have forced an argument on you, but Matsuyama is available to me and I wanted to respect myself in the morning. • Even I’m a little surprised that the WMPO slots second in Webb Simpson’s Future Possibilities, and most of his success at TPC Scottsdale occurred either when he could still anchor or before he became one with his putter. • Bubba Watson deserves a mention for his allegiance to and success at the tournament, but c’mon, the Travelers Championship is his quality jam. • Martin Laird presents best as a tail of the tandem in two-man games, but you’re going to miss him in Reno. Other two-man options include Reavie, Byeong Hun An, Sam Ryder and Vaughn Taylor. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2018-19. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Byeong Hun An … Waste Management (2); Honda (3); Memorial (1) Daniel Berger … Waste Management (2); WGC-Mexico (3); Travelers (1) Keegan Bradley … Memorial (5); Travelers (4) Tony Finau … Valero (5); Memorial (2) Rickie Fowler … Waste Management (1); Honda (3); Arnold Palmer (8); Masters (2); Wells Fargo (6); PGA Championship (9); Memorial (5); U.S. Open (10) Branden Grace … Heritage (1); Valero (3); Byron Nelson (5); U.S. Open (4) Emiliano Grillo … Arnold Palmer (2); Charles Schwab (3) Bill Haas … Genesis (3); WGC-Match Play (8); Heritage (4); Charles Schwab (2); Wyndham (6) Adam Hadwin … Waste Management (4); Genesis (3); Valspar (2); John Deere (5) Brian Harman … Arnold Palmer (7); Charles Schwab (1); Travelers (5); John Deere (4) Russell Henley … Honda (4); Masters (3) Charley Hoffman … Genesis (5); Arnold Palmer (2); Masters (4); Heritage (7); Valero (3); Charles Schwab (6); Travelers (1) J.B. Holmes … Waste Management (3); Pebble Beach (2); Genesis (4); Wells Fargo (5) Billy Horschel … Honda (4); Arnold Palmer (7); Valero (2); New Orleans (3; defending); Wyndham (6); TOUR Championship (1) Zach Johnson … Waste Management (6); Arnold Palmer (7); Valero (4); Charles Schwab (5); John Deere (1); Open Championship (2); TOUR Championship (8) Si Woo Kim … PLAYERS (3); Heritage (1) Chris Kirk … Valero (3); PLAYERS (5); Charles Schwab (2) Kevin Kisner … Heritage (3); New Orleans (5); Charles Schwab (2); Memorial (6) Russell Knox … Heritage (2) Matt Kuchar … Waste Management (4); PLAYERS (5); Valspar (9); Masters (6); Heritage (2); Charles Schwab (7); Memorial (1); Open Championship (8) Martin Laird … Waste Management (1); Genesis (3); Valero (5); Reno-Tahoe (2) Hideki Matsuyama … Waste Management (1); Genesis (10); Arnold Palmer (11); PLAYERS (9); Masters (4); PGA Championship (13); Memorial (8); U.S. Open (14); Wyndham (7); TOUR Championship (5) Phil Mickelson … Waste Management (4); Pebble Beach (5); Genesis (6); WGC-Mexico (1; defending); Masters (9); Wells Fargo (2); Open Championship (8); WGC-St. Jude (3) Ryan Moore … Waste Management (12); Genesis (5); Valspar (3); Valero (7); Masters (13); Memorial (11); Travelers (6); John Deere (8); Wyndham (2); TOUR Championship (9) Kevin Na … Genesis (2); Valspar (6); Charles Schwab (3); Wyndham (5) Ryan Palmer … Valero (2); Charles Schwab (4) Scott Piercy … New Orleans (1; co-defending); Canadian (7; last winner at Hamilton in 2012) Jon Rahm … Waste Management (4); Masters (5); Charles Schwab (1); TOUR Championship (7) Xander Schauffele … Genesis (6); PLAYERS (5); U.S. Open (3); Open Championship (4); TOUR Championship (1) Webb Simpson … Waste Management (2); Honda (10); PLAYERS (5; defending); Heritage (6); Wells Fargo (7); Charles Schwab (8); Travelers (9); Wyndham (1) Cameron Smith … Wyndham (3) Brandt Snedeker … Waste Management (8); Pebble Beach (2); Masters (10); Heritage (6); Charles Schwab (7); U.S. Open (5); Travelers (9); Wyndham (1; defending) Brendan Steele … Waste Management (2); Honda (7); Valero (8); Wells Fargo (9); Travelers (4); Reno-Tahoe (3) Kevin Streelman … Pebble Beach (1); Valero (9); Heritage (5); Memorial (4); Travelers (7) Justin Thomas … WGC-Mexico (2); Honda (7; defending); PLAYERS (11); PGA Championship (9); Memorial (8); TOUR Championship (3) Jimmy Walker … Pebble Beach (1); Valero (2); Byron Nelson (6) Bubba Watson … Waste Management (4); Genesis (1; defending); WGC-Match Play (6; defending); Masters (5); Memorial (7); Travelers (2; defending); TOUR Championship (8) Gary Woodland … Waste Management (3; defending); Memorial (4)

Click here to read the full article…

Rory McIlroy calls Seminole Golf Club the greatest course that famed designer Donald Ross ever created – and Ross designed a lot, nearly 430 courses. Dustin Johnson says he feels like he can tear it up every time he plays — only to be constantly put in his place. RELATED: Fans at home will be able to contribute to TaylorMade Driving Relief’s COVID-19 relief efforts thanks to PGA TOUR Charities’ online and Text-To-Give donation platforms powered by GoFundMe Charity. Click here to donate. MORE: How it works | Power Rankings | Expert Picks | Similarities run deep for Fowler, Wolff | Rory, DJ at the forefront of golf’s paradigm shift History and intrigue drips from the place. This is where Ben Hogan would unwind and also tune up for the Masters every year in his prime. “Seminoleâ€� is one of those words in the wider golf community that pricks up every ear. Those who have been and played have great stories and those who haven’t want to go. While other courses such as Augusta National and Cypress Point have a similar aura, people have at least been able to see those on television in the past. Meanwhile, Florida’s Seminole Golf Club has been hidden away from view and the legend grows with each tidbit of a story you hear. So while there is no doubt that anticipation for any live sport is about as high as possible thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fact that Seminole is going on display in Sunday’s TaylorMade Driving Relief charity skins match has taken it to even greater heights. McIlroy and Johnson are preparing to take on Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff in support of COVID-19 relief efforts with all four combatants knowing the course itself brings as much intrigue as the competition. Fowler likens Seminole to another Ross gem – Pinehurst No. 2 – and knows that while the other pairing might have a power advantage, this course is more about precision on approach and a sharp short game. Each hole finds a way to work into a different wind, which given the close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, can be a daunting prospect “I love Seminole. It’s just a fun golf course to play,â€� Fowler beams. “You’re going to see us having some fun off the tee and then from there is where things will get separated on approach shots and putting. “It’s very much a second-shot or approach-shot golf course. I’d say it’s fairly forgiving off the tee but how the greens are kind of designed, they’re pretty good-sized. But as far as where you can land the ball and keep the ball on the green … it’s kind of similar to a Pinehurst No. 2 in a way. “A lot of balls will roll and feed off, whether it’s back down through the fairway into bunkers, and that’s where it can get tough, especially if the wind is up.â€� Fowler’s partner, PGA TOUR young gun Wolff, has played the course just a handful times. But he saw enough to know he better bring his best short game. “The greens are extremely difficult. They’re very sloped, a lot of subtle breaks, and I’ve even heard that people putt the ball often off the green and into bunkers,â€� Wolff says. “I don’t think you’re going to see that from us, but it’s definitely something that I think putting is a huge advantage there.â€� In fact, McIlroy admits to putting off the green in a recent practice round. “I putted off the fifth green from about 30 feet,â€� the FedExCup champion says, proving even the best can be tamed by Seminole. “If the wind gets up and the greens are as fast as they were last Friday … birdies might be hard to come by, but there are going to be some chances. “Seminole is going to be a treat for everyone to see on TV. I think it’s Donald Ross’s greatest course he ever designed. He had a wonderful piece of land beside the Atlantic Ocean, and it has some of the best green complexes in the world in terms of the thought that needs to go into playing your second shots and then just how thoughtful you need to be on the greens and around the greens.â€� PGA TOUR senior tournament referee Stephen Cox says the setup on Sunday will be true to Seminole’s best features. While social distancing and other protocols will be in full effect to ensure the safest possible scenarios, Cox is confident the viewers will see Seminole in a great light. “We’re very, very lucky to have the likes of [head pro] Bob Ford on-site. He and I are going to work very closely to set up the golf course in a way befitting an event of this style and showcase some of the fun hole locations that Seminole has to offer,â€� Cox says. “There’s a genuine excitement about seeing Seminole. It’s not been broadcast to the worldwide audience before, so this is a new unique opportunity for people around the world to get a glimpse and to see such an American treasure.â€� Johnson is hoping he can finally get one over the course he says keeps enticing him back before finding ways to shut him down. “Seminole is a special place, and fortunately for us we live right down the street from it. I’ve gotten to play it quite a few times, and it’s a course you always enjoy playing. It’s got tons of history,â€� the 20-time PGA TOUR winner says. “When you first get there and you look at it, you think, OK, I should tear this place up, but then when you get done playing, you add your score up and it’s never very good, especially because the greens are always so fast, it’s a little windy … I always struggle there. “Obviously with no live sports really on right now, I think the world needs something to watch, so hopefully we can go out and put on a good show. We’re raising a lot of money for people who really need it, so it’s great to be a part of that, and I think we’re all really looking forward to it.”

Click here to read the full article…