Tiger warns rivals about Day’s big new weapon

The RBC Heritage bills as a quintessential position week for private leaguers. With the absence of a clear-cut favorite, or at least a bounty of several who you wouldn’t rule out to be the target, sprinkling in intriguing talent among the chalk is recommended for all, including front-runners. You can get away with it in this field. If anything, you’re encouraged to get cute so as not to be a sitting duck with nothing but chalk when those in pursuit select from all kinds of firepower on the board. As the second tournament in Segment 3 of PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, this strategy carries even more value. We have a long way to go to ration three starts each among the likes of Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Kevin Kisner, Brian Harman and Paul Casey, to name only five at everyone’s disposal at Harbour Town, so creativity and patience will be rewarded. Meanwhile, with the Masters in the books, qualification for THE PLAYERS is up next. The top 10 in the FedExCup standings at the conclusion of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of all action that weekend will gain entry. Once the PGA TOUR’s flagship event is in the rearview mirror on May 13, the fields for the U.S. Open and Open Championship will grow in earnest. For qualifying criteria for these events, the PGA Championship and the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, as well as all currently exempt into any or all five, bookmark Qualifiers. Visit regularly because I update it weekly. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the RBC Heritage (in alphabetical order): Brian Harman Kevin Kisner Russell Knox Matt Kuchar Webb Simpson Cameron Smith You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Paul Casey; Brian Gay; Chesson Hadley; Dustin Johnson; Patton Kizzire; Marc Leishman; Ollie Schniederjans Driving: Patrick Cantlay; Paul Casey; Emiliano Grillo; Tyrrell Hatton; Dustin Johnson; Ian Poulter Approach: Jason Dufner; Brian Gay; Emiliano Grillo; Chesson Hadley; Zach Johnson; Patton Kizzire; Andrew Landry; Ian Poulter Short: Bud Cauley; Luke Donald; Emiliano Grillo; Tyrrell Hatton; Beau Hossler; Dustin Johnson; Patton Kizzire; Kevin Na Power Rankings Wild Card Xander Schauffele … A shout-out to loyal readers who stick by their guys. I often hear from apologists, er, diehard fans – you know who you are – of the likes of Charley Hoffman and Brandt Snedeker among others. From my vantage point as a fantasy analyst, I have an elevated appreciation for that devotion. Furthermore, it’s never my intent to slight your guy because he’s not in the Power Rankings or endorsed in this column. You know all about my purity and independence. Still, this applies to one particular reader who once told me that Schauffele should appear in every Power Rankings, which is actually a solid argument despite the bias. The 2016-17 Rookie of the Year is certainly headed in that direction rapidly, but he gets the next best thing for the RBC Heritage where he’s making his debut and where experience has mattered (although Branden Grace and Wesley Bryan may have extinguished that narrative with victories in the second and first appearances in the last two editions, respectively). Schauffele’s putting is the X-factor this week and he’s shown little signs that his surge since the U.S. Open last year won’t continue. Draws Beau Hossler … The silver lining of his playoff loss to Ian Poulter in Houston is that the Englishman went out and forced sudden death. Sure, how Hossler failed to execute once there was unfortunate, but he was tackled from behind. The first-time PGA TOUR member was firing on all cylinders. Jason Dufner … Furnishing a mixed bag of the decent with the forgettable this season, but he hasn’t has any trouble connecting at Harbour Town where he’s 8-for-8 since 2009. And now it’s time for redemption. His personal-best finish occurred just last year when he entered the final round as the outright leader before backpedaling to T11 with a 76. Patrick Cantlay … It was going to happen at some point. His consecutive cuts made streak since returning to competition 14 months ago came to an end at the Masters. However, that funnels directly into my philosophy that negative results on the biggest stages for emergent talents can be ignored due to the fact that a major really isn’t just another golf tournament. So, expect a rebound to the mean at Harbour Town where he finished T3 as a first-timer last year. Emiliano Grillo … He’s been tearing up tracks since wrapping 2017 with a T9 at El Camaleón. He’s 8-for-8 worldwide in 2018 with a T3 in his last start two weeks ago in Houston. Certainly could’ve been slotted in the Power Rankings as a result, but he’s making his tournament debut. Still, it’s a challenge to find another in this field who stacks up as statistically strong for Harbour Town. Ryan Moore … Given his propensity to play well on courses that scream and even whiff of classic design, it’s surprising that he hasn’t made the trip to Harbour Town since 2008. Don’t let that prevent you from investing. He keeps his ball in play and goes about his business with an underrated short game. Placed T5 at Bay Hill and T28 at Augusta National in his last two starts. Ollie Schniederjans … Tiptoe into him. The 24-year-old is a dynamic talent and even though he’s in the middle of just his second season on the PGA TOUR, he’s easily one of the most intriguing who hasn’t broken through for victory. He can be inconsistent with his irons, but he solved Harbour Town in his debut last year. Or maybe he’s just that comfortable here. En route to a T3 with four rounds in the 60s, he ranked T2 in greens in regulation and led the field in both proximity to the hole and strokes gained: approach-the-green. Bud Cauley … All kinds of yes. Six top 20s scattered about his 9-for-12 record this season, including in his last two starts. Also sparked a T9 here last year with a field-low 63 in the opening round. Tyrrell Hatton … The Brit is a perfect fit in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO for gamers who are keen to perhaps steal points from opponents who haven’t been paying attention. In this regard, he lines up similarly to how Branden Grace was projected to perform when the South African prevailed two years ago. Hatton has been on cruise control for the last seven months. He’s a terrific putter who contended through 54 holes here last year before settling for a T29. Aaron Baddeley (DFS) Bryson DeChambeau (DFS) Jim Furyk (DFS) Brian Gay (SERVPRO) Si Woo Kim (DFS) Patton Kizzire (SERVPRO) Francesco Molinari (SERVPRO) Kevin Na (all) Scott Piercy (DFS) Kevin Streelman (DFS) Fades Wesley Bryan … In a nutshell, he’s still finding his way. His victory here last year was a bonus that punctuated a year’s worth of leaderboard appearances dating back to the Web.com Tour in 2016. Since, he’s picked off only two top 25s worldwide and arrives having missed four consecutive cuts. Simply allow him to experience the thrill of being a defending champion for the first time. Brandt Snedeker … Maybe this is the week when it jells post-injury, but the tease of consecutive top 25s on the West Coast Swing two months ago has been just that. He won at Harbour Town in 2011 and has gone on to add five paydays in the last six editions, but let the course history buffs in your loop take the bait. Kevin Chappell … As consistently strong as he’s been for a while now, there are still times when we need to respect his relative weakness with the putter. Yet, tracks with small greens tend to favor average to below-average putters, so his T9 here in 2016 wasn’t a surprise. In sum, he’s a boon for full-season gamers and a mild risk for the weekly crowd. Charl Schwartzel … Suddenly 61st in the Official World Golf Ranking and poised to miss his first U.S. Open in 10 years. He hasn’t been positioned outside the top 60 since the first week of 2010, long before the USGA expanded the bubble for entry into the season’s second major via the OWGR. Just one top-45 finish in stroke-play competition on the PGA TOUR this season, and that was but a T28 at the limited-field CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES nearly six months ago. Luke List … This is relative as poor course history probably no longer applies to the 33-year-old for whom it’s all coming together. Rather, this is a nod that his primary weapon off the tee is neutralized at Harbour Town and the design caters to the contingent who can’t move it like he can where it matters more. Byeong Hun An Scott Brown Ross Fisher Matthew Fitzpatrick Bill Haas Martin Kaymer Ryan Palmer Returning to Competition Sung Kang … Walked off the Golf Club of Houston during the second round. An explanation wasn’t released. He’s managed only one top-55 finish in eight starts in 2018, so there’s no need to force him. Last year’s T11 at Harbour Town occurred amid a torrid April. J.J. Spaun … Since withdrawing during the Waste Management Phoenix Open, he’s missed two cuts in as many tries, yet he hasn’t appeared since The Honda Classic seven weeks ago. No news has surfaced to explain his time off, but at 43rd in the FedExCup standings, he can afford it. If you’re a risk-taker, you’ll attach to his terrific approach game on a track where it paid dividends in the form of a T6 in his debut last year. John Senden … Shed some competitive rust while missing the cut at the Web.com Tour’s Chitimacha Louisiana Open two weeks ago. Now has plans to remain on the PGA TOUR via a Major Medical Extension that grants him 13 starts. After the RBC Heritage, the Aussie has circled next week’s Valero Texas Open, the Wells Fargo Championship (May 3-6) and AT&T Byron Nelson (May 17-20) as probables. If you weren’t aware, he sat out 11 months as his son began to battle brain cancer. For an in-depth update on that story, click here. Notable WDs Branden Grace … The 2016 champ is stepping aside for the birth of his first child. It probably would be impossible to determine if the Nappy Factor influenced his execution leading up to it because he’s one of the more reliable pieces on the board just about every time he competes, especially on par 70s and 71s. He’s 9-for-9 this season with five top 25s. Steve Stricker … Enjoying a second consecutive week off because he’s likely headed for a busy summer. Currently atop the money list on the PGA TOUR Champions and continues to moonlight on the PGA TOUR where he’s 146th in the FedExCup standings. He and fellow Cheesehead, Jerry Kelly, who is No. 2 in earnings on the 50-and-older circuit, are getting set to ambush the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in two weeks. They teamed up to finish T14 in last year’s debut of the format. Vijay Singh … His comments to Golf Channel last week referencing that he’s thought about hanging it up at the Masters due to a regression in his ability to contend align with what he said immediately after he prevailed at the Toshiba Classic on March 11. The 55-year-old Life Member of the PGA TOUR is coming to terms with the reality of how the state of his game stacks up against the younger generations. He expressed a plan to dedicate more time on the PGA TOUR Champions. Lo and behold, you’ll find him at this week’s Mitsubishi Electric Classic later this week. Power Rankings Recap – Masters Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Justin Thomas T17 2 Phil Mickelson T36 3 Justin Rose T12 4 Jordan Spieth 3rd 5 Tiger Woods T32 6 Rory McIlroy T5 7 Jason Day T20 8 Dustin Johnson T10 9 Bubba Watson T5 10 Paul Casey T15 11 Alex Noren MC 12 Sergio Garcia MC 13 Matt Kuchar T28 14 Henrik Stenson T5 15 Jon Rahm 4th 16 Rickie Fowler 2nd 17 Ian Poulter T44 18 Hideki Matsuyama 19th 19 Kevin Chappell MC 20 Zach Johnson T36 Wild Card Kiradech Aphibarnrat T44 Sleepers Recap – Masters Power Ranking Golfer Result Patrick Cantlay MC Bryson DeChambeau T38 Matthew Fitzpatrick T38 Pat Perez MC Cameron Smith T5 Kyle Stanley 52nd Brendan Steele MC Jimmy Walker T20 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR April 10 … none April 11 … none April 12 … Matt Bettencourt (43); Russell Henley (29) April 13 … Davis Love III (54) April 14 … none April 15 … Chris Smith (49) April 16 … Michael Thompson (33)

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Phil Mickelson has gone nine months since he finished among the top 20, and it looks as though that streak is about to end at the Wells Fargo Championship. RELATED: Leaderboard | Rickie Fowler solid in return The 50-year-old Mickelson kept his focus Thursday at Quail Hollow and blistered the course for a 7-under 64 to build a two-shot lead after the opening round. All but one of his eight birdies was longer than about 5 feet. Mickelson ran off five birdies in a six-hole stretch around the turn. He closed with two birdies and a superb par save on the par-4 ninth for his best score since a 63 in the second round of the Travelers Championship last June. Lefty missed the cut last week in the Valspar Championship and said he was concerned about losing concentration and dropping shots during stretches of a round. That wasn’t an issue at Quail Hollow, a course he loves for its mixture of birdie holes and tough par holes. “The biggest thing for me was I was able to say in the present and focus on each shot,” Mickelson said. “My mind has been prone to wander.” K.H. Lee had a 66 in the morning, while Innisbrook runner-up Keegan Bradley had a 66 in the afternoon. The group at 67 included former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, Tommy Fleetwood and Keith Mitchell, who reached 6 under until a sloppy double bogey on the long par-3 sixth hole and closed with a bogey. Still, Mitchell was 15 shots better than his previous round, an 82 on Sunday at Innisbrook. Mickelson attributed most of the fun to his grouping of everyman Joel Dahmen (68) and old-soul Lanto Griffin, who struggled to a 75 as he tries to secure a spot in the U.S. Open. Dahmen had tweeted that a round with Mickelson was on his bucket list and that he looked forward to see how his game would stack up against the best on the PGA TOUR Champions. Mickelson has won twice on the senior circuit since turning 50 last summer. “He’s a great guy,” Dahmen said. “He’s so full of … information, would be a good way to put it. I poked him a little bit, and he played awesome. I was trying not to get my butt kicked too bad.” Mostly, though, this was Phil looking like the old Phil. His lone bogey came on No. 11, his second hole of the afternoon round. His longest birdie putt was 15 feet on the 341-yard 14th, reachable off the tee but tough to get it close to the back right pin. Mickelson got up-and-down from a bunker on the par-5 15th hole. From there, he barely missed with his irons. It started with an approach into 5 feet on No. 16. After a par save from right of the green on the par-3 17th, Mickelson hit into 3 feet on the 18th, 5 feet on the 507-yard first hole. He finished out his round with a long two-putt birdie on the par-5 seventh, and a beautiful pitch to 5 feet with the pin on an upper shelf. Quail Hollow wasn’t easy for some of the other stars. Rory McIlroy, a two-time winners at the Wells Fargo, opened with a 72 as he tries to make it to the weekend for the first time since Bay Hill two months ago. U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau birdied two of his last three holes for a 70. DeChambeau was going along fine until a big drive found a bunker, and he sent his next shot out-of-bounds to the right, leading to double bogey. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele each shot 72. Jon Rahm had eight bogeys in his first tournament since the Masters and shot 76. Justin Thomas held his own with a 69 in the morning. Mickelson said he has been doing some mental exercises, though maybe he should have just asked the TOUR earlier to put him with Dahmen and Griffin. Dahmen said some of the discussions inside the ropes were different from other players. “We got in some dopamine talk, frontal lobe and dopamine, and then the units of it, which I was actually impressed with,” Dahmen said. “Then he hit a 6-iron to 3 feet, so he must have had his dopamine correct on that one.” Mickelson is No. 115 in the world and still not eligible for the U.S. Open. His last victory was more than two years ago at Pebble Beach. His last good opportunity to win was at the World Golf Championship in Tennessee last summer. “There’s nothing physically holding me back from playing at a high level, but you cannot make mistakes at this level,” he said. “The guys out here are just so good, and I’ve been making a lot of errors, just simply not being mentally sharp.”

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ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla.  – The World Golf Hall of Fame released the names of 10 finalists who will be considered for enshrinement in 2021. The list of finalists includes Male and Female Competitors and Contributors. Below is the list of finalists (listed alphabetically by category): Male Competitor (4) Johnny Farrell, United States Padraig Harrington, Ireland Tom Weiskopf, United States Tiger Woods, United States Female Competitor (4) Susie Maxwell Berning, United States Beverly Hanson, United States Sandra Palmer, United States Dottie Pepper, United States Contributor (2) Tim Finchem, United States Marion Hollins, United States The finalists were selected by the Nominating Committee comprised of 26 individuals, including six Hall of Fame Members: Juli Inkster, Hale Irwin, Meg Mallon, Colin Montgomerie, Mark O’Meara and Karrie Webb. Before gaining consideration, each finalist met the necessary qualifications in his or her respective category by way of on-course accomplishments or significant contributions to the game. “The Nominating Committee has selected 10 finalists who represent the highest caliber of golfers and contributors,” said Greg McLaughlin, CEO of World Golf Foundation. “The recent enhancements to the World Golf Hall of Fame Induction criteria provide a great process to ensure the most worthy of candidates are being considered. We are grateful to the Nominating Committee for their work and anticipate the Class of 2021 being one of our strongest to date.” The World Golf Foundation Board of Directors recently approved changes to the eligibility include lowering the age of a Male or Female Competitor from 50 to 45 years of age or three years retired from the game. Additional changes included retiring the Veterans category and changing the name of the former Lifetime Achievement category to the Contributor category. The Selection Committee, a 20-member panel comprised of Hall of Fame Members, media representatives and leaders of the major golf organizations, will be tasked with discussing the merits of each finalist and ultimately selecting the Class of 2021. The 2021 Induction Ceremony date, location and class will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information on the Induction process, visit www.worldgolfhalloffame.org. Class of 2021 Nominating Committee Chairman Greg McLaughlin, World Golf Foundation Hall of Fame Members Juli Inkster Hale Irwin Meg Mallon Colin Montgomerie Mark O’Meara Karrie Webb Institutional Seats World Golf Foundation Board Organizations Heather Daly-Donofrio, LPGA Steve Ethun, The Masters Angela Howe, The R&A Rand Jerris, USGA Allison Keller, PGA TOUR Guy Kinnings, European Tour Julius Mason, PGA of America At-Large Seats Media and at-large selections chosen by World Golf Foundation Board Ron Green, Jr., Global Golf Post Bob Harig, ESPN Nicki Hirayama, International Golf Federation Alastair Johnston, IMG Derek Lawrenson, Daily Mail Rich Lerner, Golf Channel Lewine Mair, Global Golf Post UK Randall Mell, Golf Channel Jimmy Roberts, NBC Dave Shedloski, Golf Digest/Discovery Reiko Takekawa, Golf Digest Kelly Tilghman

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