Which player is ready for his breakthrough moment on the PGA Tour?

Welcome to the Asian Swing. The PGA TOUR will spend the next three weeks in Asia, starting with this week’s THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in Korea (followed by tournaments in Japan and China). In case you were wondering: South Korea is 13 hours ahead for those on the East Coast, so you’ll have plenty of late-night golf to follow. RELATED: Tee times | How to watch THE FLYOVER The 568-yard par-5 18th is one of the most unique holes on the PGA TOUR, with twin distinct ways to reach the green – a risk and reward approach on the left and a safer but three-shot approach to the right. Click here for more on the 18th. If you’re behind by a couple of shots … well, the choice of attack seems fairly easy to make. WEATHER CHECK The weather at Jeju Island should be pleasant all week, although a 50% chance of rain exists for Friday’s second round. Humidity will also be highest on that day. Winds will be manageable, reaching 12 mph in the first two rounds. For the latest weather news from JeJu Island, South Korea, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK CJ just puts on an unbelievable event. The food is incredible, the golf course is awesome, you get a great amount of fans that come out and watch and support. … I feel like this has been a great addition to the PGA TOUR schedule. By the numbers 16 – Players from South Korea who are in the field this week. 29 – Brooks Koepka’s back-nine score (7 under) in his final-round 64 last year en route to winning. 8 – PGA TOUR wins by K.J. Choi, making him the winningest South Korean player on TOUR. Scattershots Big hitters course: With Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka as the two winners in this event, it’s evident the Nine Bridges course favors big hitters. “I think length is a huge advantage here; obviously you’ve seen that with Justin Thomas winning, Brooks Koepka winning,â€� said another one of the TOUR’s big hitters, Gary Woodland, who was runner-up to Koepka last year. “If you hit the golf ball a long way, it’s a huge advantage, but you have to drive the golf ball in the fairway to attack some of these — there’s some big greens out there where they can get some tight pins. So playing from the fairway is a premium, and then the biggest challenge out here is the weather. If the wind’s blowing, this golf course becomes extremely tough.â€� Seeking a pick: Several players in consideration for a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup in December are playing this week, including American hopeful Jordan Spieth, who is making his tournament debuts this week. Spieth would like to regain the form that has allowed him to become a mainstay in recent team competitions. “My goals are pretty personal right now,â€� Spieth said. “So I certainly want to get back in the winner’s circle, it’s been a little while, and I would like to be more consistent this year, being able to tee it up on Sundays with chances to win more consistently and that comes from better ball-striking.â€� JT in Asia: Of his 10 career victories, Justin Thomas has won three times during the Asian Swing, including his first two career wins in the CIMB Classic. “Asia definitely got the start of my career going and I have a lot of great memories and I’ve learned a lot,â€� Thomas said. “There’s a lot of times when I’m coming down the stretch in tournaments, I’m able to look back on these events knowing that I’ve done well.  So it’s a very special place. I’ve always enjoyed coming here. Everybody treats me and everybody else so well, so that’s very enjoyable. Hopefully we’ll be able to create some more memories.â€�

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When my man (and colleague), Mike Glasscott, writes The Confidence Factor in advance of tournaments and the daily Emergency 9 during competition, succumbs to the temptation to preemptively surrender, I don’t know where else to turn for a warm embrace. Glass launched the erstwhile #TTA (for “The Thursday Army”) on Twitter years ago. It’s a tag for all of gamers who lament about an early double bogey or birdie-free opening round in a competitive format in which there is a multitude of opportunities to reverse course and contribute to our cause. With the world connected electronically as it is, why remain patient in sharing dissatisfaction? Like so many others, Glass circled Dustin Johnson as his One & Done for the Genesis Open. After opening the tournament with a 3-over 74 and sitting birdie-free 1-over through eight holes of the second round, DJ seemed to be on a sauntering beeline to slam his trunk. So, at 9:42 a.m. PT on Friday, Glass tweeted, “First, [Hideki] Matsuyama at WMPO. Now, DJ at Genesis. Fantasy golf, bloody [expletive].” Lo and behold, Johnson came home in bogey-free 3-under to survive the cut by two strokes. A bogey-free 64 on Saturday thrust the defending champion to within striking distance of 54-hole leader Bubba Watson. Alas, DJ squandered the four-shot deficit, closed with 73 and landed in a four-way share of 16th place, eight swings adrift of Watson’s championship pace. The last golfer to prevail after opening any tournament with as high as a 74 was Justin Rose at the 2014 Quicken Loans National contested at Congressional, which is a par 71 like Riviera. The last 75 by a champion was carded by Mark Calcavecchia on par-71 Copperhead at the 2007 Valspar Championship. Since 1970, there have been five winners who opened with 76. So, hang in there, Glass, er, gamers, especially when Johnson is in control. If your pick for The Honda Classic signs for an over-par score after his first loop of PGA National’s Champion Course, you’ll have reason to whine. The average score in the opening round among the 11 winners on the par 70 is 67.64. The last six champs averaged 66.67 in laying the foundation. Defending champion Rickie Fowler carded a pair of 66s before opening a four-stroke cushion with a third-round 65. If you’re not angling at him in a major this season (as I am), you think no further while plugging him in. Of the eight golfers among the 29 featured in Future Possibilities below for whom Honda is bolded, Graeme McDowell is the only other with a “1” beside this stop. Given where G-Mac is on his career arc, he presents better as the tail of the tandem in two-man games. Of the foursome with a “2” beside their names, only Sergio Garcia serves as a smart option right now, but he’s always the go-to at THE PLAYERS or The Open Championship because he’s the most reliable at both tournaments devoid of constants. Save Luke Donald for the RBC Heritage, Billy Horschel for the FedEx St. Jude Classic and Adam Scott until he regains form. Rory McIlroy is tempting every time he laces up the spikes, but the Honda doesn’t even appear on his relative long short list. Same goes for Justin Thomas and Jason Dufner. Abstain. Tyrrell Hatton is a timely option and he’d be my choice if Gary Woodland wasn’t available. The Englishman serves as a bridge in a field full of them. Fellow international PGA TOUR members Alex Noren, Tommy Fleetwood and Rafa Cabrera Bello line up similarly. If you’re in a two-man format and McDowell isn’t your pint of Guinness, consider Patton Kizzire, Russell Knox or Dylan Frittelli. Now all you need to do is hold your breath for a red number on Thursday. 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 2017-18. 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. Daniel Berger … Houston (3); St. Jude (1; two-time defending); Travelers (2) Keegan Bradley … Houston (3); Memorial (5); WGC-Bridgestone (2) Luke Donald … Honda (2); Valspar (3); Heritage (1) Jason Dufner … Valspar (1); DEAN & DELUCA (2); Memorial (3; defending); U.S. Open (4); Wyndham (6); TOUR Championship (7) Rickie Fowler … Honda (1; defending); Houston (4); Masters (8); Wells Fargo (7); PLAYERS (9); WGC-Bridgestone (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (10); Dell Technologies (6) Jim Furyk … Valspar (5); Heritage (1); Memorial (7); U.S. Open (8); Canadian (3); WGC-Bridgestone (2); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9); TOUR Championship (4) Sergio Garcia … Honda (2); Masters (3; defending); PLAYERS (5); Open Championship (1); TOUR Championship (4) Brian Harman … Arnold Palmer (5); DEAN & DELUCA (4); John Deere (3) Russell Henley … Houston (1; defending); Greenbrier (3) J.B. Holmes … Houston (2); Wells Fargo (7); Greenbrier (5) Billy Horschel … Honda (2); Arnold Palmer (5); Valero (3); St. Jude (1); TOUR Championship (4) Charles Howell III … Valspar (4); Houston (7) Chris Kirk … Valero (4); PLAYERS (3); DEAN & DELUCA (2) Kevin Kisner … Heritage (4); DEAN & DELUCA (1; defending); Memorial (5); Wyndham (6) Russell Knox … Honda (6); Heritage (2); PLAYERS (8); Dell Technologies (7) Jamie Lovemark … Arnold Palmer (3) Graeme McDowell … Honda (1); Heritage (4); WGC-Bridgestone (3) William McGirt … Heritage (1); Memorial (4) Rory McIlroy … Arnold Palmer (10); WGC-Match Play (11); Masters (2); Wells Fargo (1); PLAYERS (8); Memorial (9); Open Championship (4); WGC-Bridgestone (7); Dell Technologies (5); TOUR Championship (3) Ryan Moore … Valspar (5); Masters (8); Travelers (2); John Deere (3); TOUR Championship (6) Ryan Palmer … Valero (1); DEAN & DELUCA (2); St. Jude (6) Scott Piercy … Houston (5); John Deere (6) Patrick Reed … Valspar (6); Travelers (5); PGA Championship (8); Wyndham (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9); Dell Technologies (2) Adam Scott … Honda (2); Arnold Palmer (11); Masters (4); PLAYERS (5); U.S. Open (10); Open Championship (8); WGC-Bridgestone (3); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (6) Webb Simpson … Wells Fargo (7); DEAN & DELUCA (4); Travelers (8); Greenbrier (5); Wyndham (1) Brandt Snedeker … WGC-Mexico (13); Arnold Palmer (12); Masters (7); Heritage (10); DEAN & DELUCA (11); U.S. Open (5); Travelers (6); Canadian (3); Wyndham (4) Justin Thomas … WGC-Mexico (7); Valspar (8); Wells Fargo (9); Dell Technologies (6; defending); TOUR Championship (3) Jimmy Walker … Valero (6); Greenbrier (8); Dell Technologies (7) Gary Woodland … Honda (6); Wells Fargo (5); Barracuda (1); Dell Technologies (3)

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