Tiger, Phil planning $10M winner-take-all match

KAPALUA, Hawaii – U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka remains baffled by a left wrist injury that is leaving him in serious pain and affecting his game. Speaking after finishing up a disappointing tilt at the Sentry Tournament of Champions where rounds of 78-74-78-75 left him 13-over and a distant last in the 34-man field Koepka admitted the injury is frustrating to say the least. He first noticed the problem during the Hero World Challenge in December and has not been able to get a definitive diagnosis. Koepka revealed he has done some tests to try to put a finger on the issue but as yet is still clueless. “It feels like someone is jabbing a knife in my hand,� Koepka said. “We are still in the process of trying to figure out what it is nobody can come up with an answer right now. I just know it hurts. It is still attached, so that’s a good thing.� The two-time PGA TOUR champion says the pain is felt throughout his entire swing, not just at impact. “It’s not fun but I’m not going to quit. I have no idea how I hurt it, I wish I knew what it was, but the problem is we don’t have any answers,� he continued. “If we at least get an answer we can at least address the issue and go from there.� Koepka will rest the injury for a few weeks before he is currently scheduled to play at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

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It’s hard not to chuckle while contemplating the absence of an offseason, but we’ll rest over the holidays. Just like the 144 golfers at Silverado, it’s time for us to get back to work. The Safeway Open is the first of eight tournaments in the fall portion of the 2017-18 season. All but the Sanderson Farms Championship will contribute to your progress in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, but only the Safeway and the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open feature full fantasy scoring. The other five will measure only actual scoring for each round before rewarding one-half FedExCup points earned. Because there are only seven tournaments in Segment 1 and gamers are still allowed up to three starts per golfer per Segment, it’s unlikely that the strategies in non-ShotLink events will come into play much. Meanwhile, the game will now award bonuses based on FedExCup points at the conclusion of Playoffs, if applicable. This will parallel how points are collected in the One & Done game, which also renews for the Safeway Open. The Roster game awarded prizes for the winners and runners-up of each of the four Segments as well as the entire season. The top three in the season-long chase in the One & Done will collect. See both platforms at FantasyGolf.PGATOUR.com for details. Beginning with this week’s FI, I’m evolving Draws and Fades to cover more golfers in specified formats sans extended commentary and analysis. These cheaters should assist in case you’re looking for quick yeas and nays from me. If you’ve somehow missed it, Qualifiers, Medical Extensions, Reshuffle and Rookie Ranking are live on the site. So is my annual full-membership fantasy ranking. If you haven’t already, bookmark PGATOUR.com/Fantasy or navigate the MENU at the top of most pages. It’s awesome to be back with you for another season on the PGA TOUR. Never hesitate to reach out to me via discussion threads, Twitter (public or private) or email. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the Safeway Open (in alphabetical order): Bud Cauley Tony Finau Jamie Lovemark Kevin Na Sam Saunders Brendan Steele You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Brandon Hagy; Smylie Kaufman; Luke List; Phil Mickelson; Grayson Murray; Ollie Schniederjans Driving: Lucas Glover; Martin Laird; Ryan Moore; Chez Reavie; Harold Varner III; Richy Werenski Approach: Chad Campbell; Lucas Glover; Zach Johnson; Ryan Moore; Chez Reavie; Ollie Schniederjans; Webb Simpson; Vaughn Taylor; Richy Werenski Short: Scott Brown; Mackenzie Hughes; Zach Johnson; Phil Mickelson; Chez Reavie Power Rankings Wild Card Peter Uihlein … Here we go. He enters his rookie season on the PGA TOUR at the age of 28. It was a long time coming what with his promise and pedigree. While expectations will likely exceed his results unless he wins, if he hangs up four top 10s and finishes inside the top 70 of the FedExCup standings, consider it a successful foray. Just give him a start or two before diving in on a weekly basis. His win in the first leg of the Web.com Tour Finals is his only top 25 anywhere in his last six starts. Draws Matt Atkins (DFS) Scott Brown (DFS) Chad Campbell (SERVPRO) Lucas Glover (all) Brandon Hagy (all) Smylie Kaufman (DFS) Luke List (DFS) Grayson Murray (DFS) Vaughn Taylor (DFS) Harold Varner III (all) Richy Werenski (DFS) Fades Sangmoon Bae Jonas Blixt Graham DeLaet Cody Gribble Emiliano Grillo David Hearn Beau Hossler Sung Kang Chris Kirk Patton Kizzire Colt Knost … After nearly eight months off, finished 70th in his only start of the Web.com Tour Finals. Equipped with a Major Medical Extension, so give him time to shed the rust. Maverick McNealy … Making his pro debut. Set with a series of sponsor exemptions. Respect the learning curve. Patrick Rodgers Kevin Streelman Chris Stroud Aaron Wise Returning to Competition Scott Piercy … Sat out the Playoffs with a sore shoulder and hasn’t played since the Travelers in late June. Should be feeling good at Silverado, though. He opened last year’s T3 with a course-record 62. Plant him as a sporty option in DFS. Fabián Gómez … Hasn’t competed since the Quicken Loans National during which he withdrew after one round. An explanation was never released. It’s just as well, though, as he enters 2017-18 as a salary bargain at $332K. He’s fully exempt by virtue of his win at the 2016 Sony Open in Hawaii. Fits nicely at Silverado, too, with a T17 in 2015 and a T26 last year. Expect a little rust, but he’s a sensible contrarian in DFS. Kelly Kraft … A mid-round withdrawal due to a foot injury in the opener of the Dell Technologies Championship ended his Playoffs. He concluded the season without a top-55 finish in five starts after a T5 at Greenbrier. That’s been his M.O., however. It can be fruitful in reality, but it’s a dangerous angle for fantasy gamers. With an 0-for-2 slate at Silverado on top of the concern, he’s an easy no-play. Ernie Els … Scheduled to compete in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. It’ll be his first action since withdrawing during the Wyndham Championship with a sore rib. The Big Easy is burning a top-25 career earnings exemption on the PGA TOUR this season. He’ll celebrate his 48th birthday on Oct. 17. Power Rankings Recap – TOUR Championship Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Jordan Spieth  T7 2  Justin Rose  T10 3  Dustin Johnson  T17 4  Rickie Fowler  T26 5  Marc Leishman  T24 6  Justin Thomas  2nd 7  Paul Casey  5th 8  Jason Day  T17 9  Jon Rahm  T7 10  Kevin Chappell  T28 11  Webb Simpson  T13 12  Brooks Koepka  6th 13  Matt Kuchar  T10 14  Sergio Garcia  T10 15  Patrick Cantlay  T20 16  Gary Woodland  19th 17  Pat Perez  16th 18  Hideki Matsuyama  T26 19  Jason Dufner  T20 20  Daniel Berger  15th 21  Xander Schauffele  Win 22  Adam Hadwin  23rd 23  Tony Finau  T7 24  Brian Harman  T24 25  Charley Hoffman  T28 26  Patrick Reed  T13 27  Russell Henley  T3 28  Kevin Kisner  T3 29  Kyle Stanley  T20 30  Jhonattan Vegas  30th Power Rankings Recap – FedExCup Playoffs Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Jordan Spieth  2nd 2  Hideki Matsuyama  8th 3  Rickie Fowler  7th 4  Dustin Johnson  4th 5  Brooks Koepka  10th 6  Henrik Stenson  32nd 7  Rory McIlroy  58th 8  Daniel Berger  16th 9  Justin Thomas  1st 10  Paul Casey  11th 11  Matt Kuchar  14th 12  Patrick Reed  22nd 13  Francesco Molinari  37th 14  Kevin Chappell  27th 15  Charley Hoffman  20th 16  Marc Leishman  6th 17  Jason Dufner  30th 18  Brian Harman  25th 19  Jason Day  18th 20  Jon Rahm  5th 21  Tony Finau  19th 22  Kevin Kisner  12th 23  Zach Johnson  48th 24  Russell Henley  13th 25  Brendan Steele  33rd 26  Kyle Stanley  24th 27  Adam Hadwin  26th 28  Pat Perez  15th 29  Louis Oosthuizen  31st 30  Patrick Cantlay  29th Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR October 3 … none October 4 … none October 5 … Kelly Kraft (29) October 6 … none October 7 … none October 8 … none October 9 … none

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The 44th edition of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide gives us everything we can handle, and even a little more. As of midday Monday, 11 of the top 15 in the FedExCup standings are scheduled to compete alongside numerous other notables including five-time winner Tiger Woods (22nd) and defending champion Bryson DeChambeau (26th). Related: PGA TOUR LIVE | How Jack created a masterpiece | Featured Groups | The First Look | Tiger Woods, Chasing 82 Among several perks, whoever emerges victorious from this week’s field of 120 will earn a three-year PGA TOUR membership exemption and a spot in THE PLAYERS Championship through 2022. Scroll past the ranking to learn more about Muirfield Village Golf Club, how DeChambeau prevailed and more. Xander Schauffele, Kevin Kisner, Henrik Stenson, Kyle Stanley and 2018 champion Bryson DeChambeau will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. Unlike last week’s annual stop at Colonial, which also hosts a limited-field invitational, experience and talent of a certain age aren’t prerequisites for success at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. Simply put, Jack Nicklaus’ design rewards sound course management and execution. Course knowledge and a few years in the rear-view mirror are merely side notes on the résumé. Those who can send it off the tee are welcomed by spacious landing areas on the stock par 72 that tips at 7,392 yards. Smallish greens prepped to run upwards of 13 feet on the Stimpmeter protect par, but last year’s field scoring average of 71.396 is a reasonable target again this week. In just his second appearance last year, DeChambeau ranked inside the top 15 in distance of all drives, greens in regulation, proximity to the hole and strokes gained: tee-to-green. He led the field in scrambling and finished sixth in strokes gained: putting. As a whole, the field hit 11.86 GIR per round, which is about the TOUR’s average, and connected for a par breaker 33.12 percent of the time, good for the sixth-highest clip of the season. To emphasize the value of setting up scoring opportunities, even if it’s to lag a long look to secure par, Muirfield Village surrendered a stingy 54.36 percent in scrambling, 11th-lowest among all courses. When the weather cooperates, those are expected measurements across the board. The unsettled pattern that’s been sustained for months won’t relent for the tournament. Rain is all but a guarantee on Thursday, and the threat for storms will keep local meteorologists busy. A milder chance remains in the forecast on Friday and returns on Sunday. Daytime temperatures won’t reach 80 degrees and winds will be light once action on the first day is complete. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done, Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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