Tinkering DeChambeau looking for more distance

Li Haotong recorded an eagle on the same hole for the third consecutive day to open 3-shot lead at the BMW International Open.

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Talor Gooch (+500 for a top 10) … A consequence of him withdrawing early from last week’s Sanderson Farms Championship is that he’ll soar under more radars in Vegas this week. But he shouldn’t. The 29-year-old splashed into this season with a T4 at Silverado, his best finish of calendar-year 2021. It’s redundant to cite that he does it all inside the ropes and throughout his bag, but it doesn’t mean that that should go unnoticed every time, either. Recorded his first-ever top 25 at TPC Summerlin in 2017 when he chased a dreadful 77 in the third round with a 64 in the finale to climb 39 spots for a T16. Scott Piercy (+1000 for a Top 10) … It’s been a challenging couple of years for the 42-year-old, but despite him salvaging his card at the buzzer last season and his position at 197th in the Official World Golf Ranking, he really isn’t a Sleeper at the Shriners. For one, he’s a homegrown talent from Las Vegas who made three starts in the tournament before his rookie season of 2009. Since he’s connected for four top 10s among eight top 25s, including a T19 last year. He also opened this season with a T11 at Silverado, so he didn’t exhaust all his energy locking up fully exempt status. Nate Lashley (+1200 for a Top 10) … If you squint in places, TPC Summerlin could resemble TPC Scottsdale where he’s finished T3 (2020) and T17 (2021) a mere car ride from his own pillow, so it’s proof that he can excel in the desert. He sat T19 entering the final round here last year before blowing up for a closing 75 to finish T52. For what is now his fourth appearance, the 38-year-old brings the mojo of consecutive top 20s to open the new season. He didn’t qualify for the 2021 FedExCup Playoffs but he’s fully exempt by virtue of his win at the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic and extended eligibility due to the pandemic. Alex Smalley (+1200 for a Top 10) … If you tuned into the Sanderson Farms Championship, you likely learned that PGA TOUR rookie Sahith Theegala eked into the Korn Ferry Tour Finals via his equivalent of non-member FedExCup points. To wit, his 97.917 points would have slotted him 199th among members. After a timely surge in the Finals to secure his card, Theegala held at least the co-lead after every round before fading for a T8 in Mississippi. Smalley doesn’t have as strong a pedigree, but he, too, barely cracked the field at the Finals as his equivalent of 108.961 points would have positioned him 195th among members, and he needed a T29 at the regular season-ending Wyndham Championship to clear the hurdle. After rising in the Finals to join Theegala in the class of 27 rookies, the Duke University product missed the cut at Silverado and opened with 76 at Country Club of Jackson. However, he responded with a bogey-free, 9-under 63 in the second round to survive the cut on the number (en route to a T31), and then open-qualified for the Shriners with a bogey-free, 9-under 63 at Boulder Creek Golf Club. He’s a fighter personified. Harry Hall (+2500 for a Top 10) … The recently betrothed 24-year-old from England is making his third career PGA TOUR start. He was a Sleeper in each, so it’s apropos that the third time presents as the charm in the shadows of his collegiate stomping grounds at UNLV. After missing the cut at the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open, he finished T47 at The American Express to kick off his 2021. Middling results followed on the Korn Ferry Tour until he broke through for victory in Wichita in June. He’s a terrific putter but this endorsement leans strongly on the intangibles of his confidence and familiarity of the local connection on the coattails of a joyous life experience. Odds were sourced on Oct. 5, 2021. For live odds, visit betmgm.

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Catching Up Is Hard to Do The second round of the John Deere Classic resumed at 6:38 a.m. CT on Saturday. Eighty-two golfers survived the 36-hole cut, thus triggering the 54-hole cut of low 70 and ties. With 2.3 inches of rain overnight, the local rule for preferred lies on closely mown areas was in play for the third round and threesomes were sent off split tees. Inclement weather then suspended the third round at 10:38 a.m. After another 0.8 inches of rain fell, play resumed at 1:11 p.m. Continuous play lasted until 5:53 p.m. when inclement weather halted action for the third time in just over 24 hours. Forty-five golfers were stranded until 7:12 p.m., but all finished the third round before dark. Following the Leader After building a three-shot lead at the midpoint, Michael Kim expanded his cushion to five strokes with a third-round 64. He concluded it with four consecutive birdies, all after the second weather delay, to post 22-under 191. With a 66 or lower in the final round, he’ll beat Steve Stricker’s tournament record of 258 in 2010. It’s no wonder why Kim is poised to enter the record books at a tournament that began in 1972. He’s putting up historical numbers. Through 54 holes, he co-leads the field in fairways hit (35 of 42) and leads in both greens in regulation (47) and proximity to the hole (24 feet, six inches). If the aerial assault wasn’t enough punishment on the par 71, he also ranks second in both strokes gained: putting and one-putt percentage. It’s video-game golf on beginner mode. Something will give on Sunday, however. Of 203 qualified for official statistics, Kim ranks 195th in final-round scoring average of 73.14. Hurl into the equation that he’s 161st in the FedExCup standings with only five more weeks before the Playoffs and that he’s not yet exempt for next season, and that five-stroke margin is more valuable than it appears. What a -Goon Maybe that whole thing about the third time being the charm is the real deal. After a T6 at the Quicken Loans National and T30 at Greenbrier (where he entered the final round inside the top 10), Bronson Burgoon stands alone in second place at TPC Deere Run tonight. He walked off his third round with three straight birdies and leads the field in par-5 scoring at bogey-free 9-under with three eagles and three birdies. Moving Day Tyler Duncan is capturing our attention once again. After making the cut by two strokes (for his 10th consecutive payday), the PGA TOUR rookie carded an 8-under 63, best in the field in the third round and a personal-best aggregate of 82 scores. With it, he vaulted 34 spots on the leaderboard and into a share of 12th place entering Sunday’s finale. With 5-under 66s, Patton Kizzire and C.T. Pan rose 31 spots. Both are tied for 34th place. It was a long time coming for the two-time TOUR winner this season as Kizzire hadn’t signed for lower than a 68 since the fourth round of the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship (66). This proves why TPC Deere Run is a track where a touring professional can find his form. Moving Day: Wrong Way Ryan Blaum and non-member Dylan Meyer started the third round inside the top 25, but both shot 1-over 72 to plummet 31 places on the leaderboard before landed at T55. Meyer presented promise entering the tournament with top-20 finishes at the U.S. Open and Quicken Loans National. With his equivalent of 92 FedExCup points, he’d rank 184th among members, so he’s all but a lock to qualify for the Web.com Tour Finals if he doesn’t earn a 2018-19 PGA TOUR card sooner. First-round leader Steve Wheatcroft settled for an even-par 71 in the third round to post 12-under 201. It’s a smack in the face after starting it tied for second and only three swings adrift of Kim. The 54-hole cut snipped 11 who failed to finish inside the low 70 and ties the second time through this week. Notables among this grouping include Chesson Hadley, Bill Haas, Ryan Palmer and Andrew Putnam. First Impression Of the 11 golfers inside the top 10 on the leaderboard, only Matt Jones (3rd), Andres Romero (T5), Robert Garrigus (T7) and Johnson Wagner (T7) are PGA TOUR winners. Kim still has complete 18 holes to break through for his first victory, but with his comfortable overnight lead and the bevy of non-winners in pursuit, the odds are good that the tournament will crown its fourth first time winner since Jordan Spieth emerged from a three-man playoff in 2013. Brian Harman (2014) and Bryson DeChambeau (2017) also converted. Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 most owned in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. Congratulations, but … Because the Official World Golf Ranking’s strength-of-field [SOF] rating of the John Deere Classic is only 99, the winner will not receive an exemption into the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Winners of tournaments with a SOF rating of 115 and greater are awarded a spot in the field at Firestone, including this week’s Scottish Open (312), so the champion in the Quad Cities will have to punch his ticket another way. Seven golfers already exempt into the WGC competed at the JDC. Through 54 holes, tournament debutant Francesco Molinari is positioned at T12, fellow first-timer Austin Cook is T30, Patton Kizzire sits T34 and Andrew Landry is T39. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau withdrew during his opening round, while both Si Woo Kim and Aaron Wise missed the 36-hole cut. Study Hall The third-round scoring average of 68.99 is the lowest at TPC Deere Run since last year’s 68.19, also in the third round. … There were eight bogey-free scores in the third round to bring the tournament total to 26. … Harold Varner III, who has one of those bogey-free scores (second-round 65), continued his red-hot form with a 66 in the third round. He’s alone in fourth place at 15-under 198 after a career-best-tying T5 last week. … Local favorite Zach Johnson jumped 26 spots to T39 with a 67. … Three-time JDC champ and all-time tournament earnings leader Steve Stricker dropped 25 spots to T49 with a 71. The 51-year-old was the only qualifier at the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship inside the top 50 of the Charles Schwab Cup standings who didn’t commit to the fourth major of the season on the PGA TOUR Champions.

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