It’s been a long time since Tiger Woods has been in a winning position after the third round. Question is: How will he deal with the emotions Sunday?
Click here to read the full article…
| Do you like slot games with a chinese theme? Read a review of Ox Bonanza, a slot with a Chinese theme, appropriate for the upcoming Chinese New Year. You can find it at our partner site Hypercasinos.com |
Welcome to the end of the beginning of the 2017-18 season. This will be the eighth and final OFFICIAL event of calendar 2017. The wrap-around season breaks after this week’s RSM Classic on Sea Island, Georgia, and will return for the Sentry Tournament of Champions the first week of January. This will be the eighth year running for the RSM Classic with Sea Island Golf Club acting as the host venue. In 2015, the TOUR expanded this event from 132 to 156 players. With that expansion, more daylight or another golf course needed to be added to the equation. Instead of slowing the Earth’s rotation, they took the easy way out and added the Plantation Course. Gamers will need to note that this is only the third year in-a-row with 156 players and two courses in play. TALES OF THE TAPE Kevin Kisner welcomed the addition of the Plantation Course in 2015 as he set the course record with 65. His opening round seven-under-par at Plantation set the tone for the week, but let’s not forget he closed 67-64-64 on Seaside to run away with a six-shot victory for his first win. He posted 22-under-par 260 and set the tournament scoring record. Before missing the cut last year, he only squared four bogeys plus a double in his previous eight rounds on the Golden Isles. I’ll also point out that Kisner has stated plenty of times that bermudagrass is by far his preferred playing surface. Mac Hughes (nee Mackenzie) showed up at this event for the first time last season and promptly missed the course record by a shot in his opening round. Gamers should pick up immediately that course history here is NOT a requirement. Hughes was running away with the event before he made a triple on Saturday to give the field hope. In 54 holes, his triple was the only blemish on his card as he tied the 54-hole scoring mark. His three bogeys on Sunday were his only for the week. His 19-footer for par on Monday won a five-man playoff. #Putting. The last man to win exclusively on Seaside was Robert Streb in 2014. As akin to champions before him, the big-hitting Streb posted 63 on the final day and waited out the final groups. A look back will show winners Chris Kirk closing with 66 in ’13, Tommy Gainey, 60, in ’12 and Ben Crane, 63, in ’11. Pars aren’t going to cut it this week! NOTE: Golfers inside the top 25 in each statistic on the 2016-17 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete in the RSM Classic. * – Finished inside the top 10 at the RSM Classic since 2013. Putting: Birdie-or-Better Percentage Rank Golfer 10 *Matt Every 11 *Camilo Villegas 14 Sam Saunders 23 Brandt Snedeker 25 *Tom Hoge Putting Average Rank Golfer 9 *Brian Harman 11 *Chris Kirk 12 David Lingmerth 14 *Graeme McDowell 15 *Camilo Villegas 17 Whee Kim 19 Zach Johnson 19 J.T. Poston 22 *Brian Gay 22 Carl Pettersson 25 Luke Donald 27 *Brian Harman 27 Danny Lee 27 *Tom Hoge Greens in Regulation Rank Golfer 1 Martin Flores 5 Ryan Armour 7 Cameron Percy 9 Robert Garrigus 12 J.J. Henry 15 Chad Campbell 18 Stewart Cink 23 Hudson Swafford 24 Jim Herman Par 4 Scoring Rank Golfer 6 *Webb Simpson 11 Stewart Cink 19 *Matt Kuchar 21 *Jamie Lovemark 22 Brandt Snedeker 25 Robert Garrigus Seaside is the more difficult of the two tracks as it plays to par 70 and barely over 7,000 yards. The par 72 Plantation Course doesn’t even tip out at 7,100 yards so scoring on that track is a requirement. The pros only get one chance to enjoy the generous fairways and four par 5s before returning to Seaside for the weekend. Plantation has ranked in the top 10 of easiest courses played on TOUR the last two seasons and was the third-easiest last year. Seaside constantly hovers around the middle of the pack, as it requires a bit of course management and decision-making off the tee. But, as shown above, it has given up plenty of low ones over time. Both tracks feature bermudagrass and receptive greens running at 12 feet on the Stimpmeter, so it’s not terribly surprising that above-par rounds and holes don’t translate here. Last season, there were only two rounds above par, both 71, on Sunday, for players finishing in the top 20. There were only five rounds of 70. In 2016, there were two rounds above par, 74 and 71, among the top-17 players. That’s it. The formula requires putts to fall when finding greens in regulation. Making pars never hurts but circling birdies will lead to victory this week. With this being the last week of the year, it’s not surprising that multiple new faces have won here. The “Sea Island Mafia” is busy hosting friends and family and winning golf might not be at the top of their list of priorities this week. Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar have but one top-10 between them in too many events to count. Pro gamers will also note that any time bushels of birdies and going low is required, the field dramatically opens up. This is not a recording but I know you’ve read this before. The field also opens up because the Web.com reshuffle will come after the conclusion of this event. This is the last chance to move up in the priority rankings and pressure can affect players differently. Tuesday’s forecast indicates that sunshine is in the cards, but it will be accompanied by a healthy seaside breeze each day. After the stop-start weather last week in Mexico, the cooler temperatures and minimal chance of rain should let these guys focus on making birdies. NOTE: The groups below are comprehensive to assist in data mining. Inclusion doesn’t imply automatic endorsement in every fantasy game as all decisions are specific to your situation. CONFIDENCEÂ MEN Selected golfers with multiple cuts made sorted by rank on the tournament’s money list. BUILDING CONFIDENCE Sorted by best finish, selected golfers who are either finally finding form on the course or are still relatively new to the tournament but have enjoyed some success. OTHER SIGNS OF CONFIDENCE Sorted by most recent top 10s, selected golfers for whom it’s been a few years since their last.
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.
Carlos Ortiz (+10000) … For some, the long trip from Japan will be only that – long – but it might be exactly what he needs after likely experiencing mixed emotions after plummeting from T3 to T42 in the final round of the Olympics. His closing 78 was three higher than anyone else in the field on Sunday. However, nothing can replace the fulfillment of representing his native Mexico at the Games. Returning to life as a touring professional at 35th in the FedExCup, he’s poised for his deepest run in the Playoffs. Possesses a balanced attack that has generated a trio of top 10s this season, including his breakthrough title in Houston last fall. It also doesn’t hurt that he can look at his record in stroke-play WGCs and find a pair of top 20s, one at Chapultepec in 2019, the other at Concession five months ago. Martin Laird (+20000) … He was the first to turn an extension of status in the modified graduate reshuffle category into victory when he prevailed in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open nearly 10 months ago. The Scot has managed only one more top 25 in a full-field event since (T23, PGA Championship) but he placed T28 in his most recent start at the John Deere Classic. It ended an 0-for-3 skid, too. Currently 15th on TOUR in both fairways hit and greens in regulation, it’s a potent combination at TPC Southwind that he hasn’t seen since 2013, which also happens to be the last time he’s qualified for a World Golf Championship. Jim Herman (+30000) … This is just third career appearance in a World Golf Championship and his first since the 2016 edition of the FedEx St. Jude Invitational when it was contested at Firestone, but the 43-year-old has connected four top 30s upon arrival, he’s 49th on the PGA TOUR in ball-striking and T31 in proximity. Most of all, as one of the unlikeliest qualifiers (for winning the 2020 Wyndham Championship), he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. It’s a mantra that could be applied to the timing of each of his three career victories. Aaron Rai (+15000) … In one of the quirks of rescheduled competition, there are two winners of the Scottish Open in this week’s field. Min Woo Lee of Australia prevailed in that tournament four weeks ago, while Rai of England connected for his title 10 months ago. His first European Tour title at the Hong Kong Open in 2018 yielded his TPC Southwind debut in 2019, and he didn’t squander the opportunity in finishing T12. After scattering a trio of top 25s early in 2021, he’s arriving with five consecutive paydays, two of which for a top 20, including a T19 at The Open Championship. Currently 16th on his circuit in fairways hit and 12th in greens in regulation. Ryosuke Kinoshita (+30000) … It’s been a career-defining summer for the 30-year-old from Japan. His breakthrough victory at the Japan Golf Tour Championship served as his ticket to TPC Southwind and what is his PGA TOUR debut in the United States. In his next start three weeks later, he won again on his home circuit and later finished T59 at The Open Championship in his first-ever appearance in a major. Currently second in earnings on the JGTO, third in greens hit and sixth in scoring average. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, Aug. 3 at 5 a.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm.
