U.S. tabs Creamer asst. captain for Solheim Cup

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Mackenzie Hughes … It’s probably an insult to drop him in here, but the 29-year-old from Canada hasn’t qualified for a World Golf Championship since the 2017 edition of this event when it was held at Firestone Country Club’s South Course. His most recent three starts include a T3 at the Travelers Championship, where he led the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green, and T6 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, where he paced the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. Looping in a runner-up finish at The Honda Classic in what was his last start before the hiatus, all three of his top-45 finishes this season are top sixes. He’s also missed 10 of 17 cuts, but that can’t happen this week, so the promise of 72 holes plays into his firepower. Matt Jones … This is the Aussie’s first appearance in a World Golf Championship in four years. He qualified for this week’s with a victory at the Emirates Australian Open in December. Aside from the hiatus, it’s been a largely quiet 2020, but a T5 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and a T14 at the Workday Charity Open are timely highlights. In the latter at Muirfield Village, he flashed confidence around and on the greens. Now he settles into a site where he went 4-for-5 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic from 2015-2018 with a T3, a T18 and a scoring average of 69.125. Joel Dahmen … Given his consistently strong form over time, it’s a little hard to believe that this marks his debut in a World Golf Championship. It’s not his first look at TPC Southwind, or his second. As a PGA TOUR rookie in 2017, the native of Washington State placed T18 in the FedEx St. Jude Classic. It was one of only two top 40s in 16 starts that season. His propensity to keep his ball in play off the tee keeps his options open on approach. A moxie evidenced with the ability to connect low rounds all the while maximizing course management support why he’s dangerous in a limited-field event with no cut. While Muirfield Village knocked him around in six rounds earlier this month, he’s already hung up a pair of top 20s in the restart. For the season, the 32-year-old has four top 10s among eight top 20s. Shaun Norris … The 38-year-old South African has only eight PGA TOUR starts under his belt and he didn’t crack the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time until October of 2018, but he’s figured out how to retain positioning at this level. Even after early struggles on the Japan Golf Tour in 2019, he regrouped to finish second in the Order of Merit for the second straight season. He’s won once in each of his four years on that circuit, and he led the JGTO in putts per GIR last year. Opened 2020 by going 5-for-5 worldwide with a T6 in Abu Dhabi and a T18 in Oman. In between, his T37 at the WGC-Mexico Championship registered as his career-best finish in PGA TOUR competition. Robert MacIntyre … The lefty was the last of the 15 additional qualifiers via the Official World Golf Ranking on July 20 to construct a field of 78. His T6 at The Open Championship in 2019 punctuated a seriously strong season en route to the Rookie of the Year award on the European Tour. He didn’t win but he finished second three times and totaled seven top 10s, and then opened 2020 with a T8 in Dubai. The Scot will turn 24 on the Monday following the conclusion of the WGC-St. Jude. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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The PGA TOUR season begins anew with its annual stop in Napa, California, for the Fortinet Championship. After a spectacular season, Jon Rahm gets going right away in 2021-22, leading the field at Silverado Resort and Spa. FIELD NOTES: Jon Rahm, who finished runner-up in the FedExCup, leads the way in California. Rahm, who won the U.S. Open and is currently the No. 1 player in the world, notched a TOUR-high 15 top-10 finishes in just 22 events last season… Will Zalatoris will make his debut as an official PGA TOUR member… Rahm is joined by two other major winners from last season: Phil Mickelson and Hideki Matsuyama… Cameron Champ, the 2019 champion is in the field. He won the 3M Open earlier this year, giving him a victory in each of his first three seasons on the PGA TOUR. Brendan Steele, winner at Silverado in 2016 and 2017, also is in the field… Plenty of California connections this week including Cal alum Max Homa and former Stanford star Maverick McNealy, as well as Champ, who is a Northern California native… Lots of PGA TOUR rookies will make their debuts after graduating from the Korn Ferry Tour, including Greyson Sigg, Taylor Pendrith, Davis Riley, Justin Lower, and 39-year-old David Skinns (after an emotional triumph at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Regular Season finale in August)… Sponsor exemptions include former collegiate standouts John Augenstein, Turk Pettit, Trevor Werbylo, and Kevin Yu. Yu finished fourth in the 2021 PGA TOUR U ranking, and translated that Korn Ferry Tour status into five top-25s in eight starts, including a runner-up and T5. Werbylo, who was ninth in the 2021 PGA TOUR U standings, was this year’s Forme Tour Player of the Year. For winning that circuit’s points race, he is exempt onto the Korn Ferry Tour next year. Pettit won this year’s NCAA individual title, then won in just his third start on the Forme Tour… Among the players making the commute from last week’s BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event on the European Tour, to the PGA TOUR season opener in Napa are Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Aaron Rai, who both earned their TOUR cards via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, as well as former Masters champion Danny Willett. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Silverado Resort and Spa (North), par 72, 7,123 yards. The course opened in 1955 and was redesigned by Robert Trent Jones Jr. when the resort added the South course. Multi-time TOUR winner Johnny Miller freshened up the layouts about a decade ago. This year marks the sixth playing of the Fortinet Championship at Silverado. Located in the heart of California’s wine country, the layout boasts undulating tree-pinched fairways, challenging greens, and meanders through mature trees. STORYLINES: It’s the start of another race to the FedExCup. After the previous campaign on TOUR – a Super Season that contained 50 events – the upcoming 2021-22 season won’t be as robust but will certainly not be void of drama. It all gets started in Napa… Plenty of guys will be looking to continue their momentum from the Korn Ferry Tour into the PGA TOUR. Stephan Jaeger, Greyson Sigg, Davis Riley, and Adam Svensson were all two-time winners, Joseph Bramlett won the Korn Ferry Tour Championship (and led the Korn Ferry Tour Finals Points List), while Mito Pereira won three times to earn an immediate promotion to the PGA TOUR this summer, where he had two top-6 finishes before finishing T4 in the Olympics. 72-HOLE RECORD: 262, Cameron Beckman (2008 at Grayhawk GC), Kevin Sutherland (2008 at Grayhawk GC), Troy Matteson (2009 at Grayhawk GC), Rickie Fowler (2009 at Grayhawk GC), Jamie Lovemark (2009 at Grayhawk GC). Silverado record: 267, Stewart Cink (2020) 18-HOLE RECORD: 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Mark Hensby (2nd round, 2007 at Grayhawk GC), Kevin Stadler (2nd round, 2008 at Grayhawk GC), Troy Matteson (2rd & 3rd rounds, 2009 at Grayhawk GC), Mike Weir (4th round, 2009 at Grayhawk GC), Chesson Hadley (2nd round, 2017 at Silverado). LAST TIME: Stewart Cink won for the first time since his Open Championship triumph in 2009 at last season’s Fortinet Championship in Napa. His win came at 47 years old and in the process he became the oldest winner on TOUR since Phil Mickelson’s Pebble Beach victory in February 2019 (Mickelson was 48). Cink closed with a 7-under 65 (his second-straight 65 on the weekend) and a finishing-hole birdie to top Harry Higgs by two. Higgs missed a 10-foot birdie try on 17 and parred 18 to fall just short of Cink’s winning total. Cink had his son, Reagan, as his caddie, and the father-son duo would go on to win once more in 2020-21 (RBC Heritage). Doc Redman, Chez Reavie, Kevin Streelman, and Brian Stuard finished a shot further back at 18-under, and tied for third. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Sunday: 6 p.m.-9 p.m. ET (Golf Channel) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. (Featured Groups) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 4 p.m.-9 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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