Win probabilities: Sanderson Farms Championship

In the final round of the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, Patton Kizzire holds off nerves and a hard-charging Rickie Fowler with a bogey-free 67 at El Camaleon Golf Club. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where Kizzire, who won twice on the Web.com Tour in 2015, enters the winner’s circle for the first time on the PGA TOUR to earn 500 FedExCup points and entry into the 2018 Sentry Tournament of Champions, THE PLAYERS Championship, the Masters, the PGA Championship and other select invitational events on TOUR. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Kizzire is a fast starter. Of his three top-10s last season, when he was 99th in the FedExCup, his best was a runner-up at the season-opening Safeway Open. He entered the last round at Silverado with a one-shot lead over Scott Piercy but shot a 2-under 70 to drop one behind winner Brendan Steele. Two years ago, also in his season debut, Kizzire tied for second at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. And now, after missing the cut at the Safeway (a rare hiccup) and a solid Sanderson Farms Championship (T10) and Shriners (T4), he wins in his fourth start of the new season. Don’t count him out at this week’s RSM Classic at Sea Island, either. He lives there. 2. El Camaleon’s first hole was a brute. The 438-yard par-4 played to a 4.321 average, hardest of the final round, and gave players fits in the third round, too. Charles Howell III (T4) and Patrick Rodgers (T14) each double-bogeyed it. Martin Piller (T4) triple-bogeyed it. That was particularly hard on Rodgers and Piller, who were embarking on a 36-hole Sunday. “I just tried to stay patient and say, Okay, you’ve got 35 more holes to make it up,� Piller said. “I didn’t hit the tee shot that bad, but it got up in the wind and went right. It was only like a foot out of bounds. The provisional went down the middle, and then I hit it on and promptly three-putted.� 3. Rickie Fowler is a top-10 machine. Fowler, who was making his season debut and his first start at Mayakoba, shot 65-67-67-67 and might have won but for the fact that he bogeyed the par-5 fifth hole and couldn’t buy a putt in the middle of his round, from holes 7-12. Last season Fowler had 10 top-10 finishes, including a win at The Honda Classic, in 21 starts. Now he’s one-for-one in top-10s for the new season, and his earnings of $766,800 for solo second put him over the $30 million mark in career earnings at age 28. Not a bad consolation prize. 4. Hard work pays off. Martin Piller (65, T4) played just three practice holes on Tuesday, and none Wednesday. He putted. “I hadn’t been putting the way I normally do,� said Piller, who will turn 32 on Tuesday. “So I just camped out on the putting green. I’m an okay ball-striker, but if my putting is good I’ll be in good shape.� His putting at Mayakoba was beyond good. Piller took just 22 putts in the final round Sunday and totaled 97 for the tournament, eight fewer than the next best, Fowler and Russell Knox. “I made a bunch from the fringes this week,� Piller said. 5. Si Woo Kim is going to win this tournament. Kim (65, solo third), who became the youngest winner of THE PLAYERS Championship last season, was 6-under through 13 holes in the final round but blocked his tee shot into the hazard and double-bogeyed the 14th hole. He bounced back with birdies at Nos. 15 and 17 to notch his best result since coming out on top at TPC Sawgrass last May. In 2015, Kim was tied for third at the halfway mark at El Camaleon but fell back with weekend rounds of 72-70 that saw him finish T17.  FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Kizzire was four for four in scrambling in the final round, and 13 of 18 (13th best) for the week. He took just 107 putts over the four rounds, tied for fifth best in the field, and hit 54 of 72 greens in regulation, tied for seventh best. 2. The winner was one of four players who went bogey-free in the final round, the others being Brian Stuard (65, T9), Charles Howell (66, T4) and Ryan Moore (68, T6). 3. Fowler was second in both average driving distance (299.2 yards), which was not a terribly important stat at El Camaleon, and putts per round (26.25), which was.  4. Charles Howell III achieved his T4 finish, going 66-66 in the third and fourth rounds, the old-fashioned way: hitting fairways and greens. He hit 42 of 56 fairways, tied for 12th best (and a crucial stat at tree-lined El Camaleon), and 59 of 72 greens in regulation, tied for second best. 5. It was a great week for Mexico in many ways, especially with the scores. Four of the five Mexicans in the field made the cut, a record in the 11-year history of the OHL. Abraham Ancer, who has dual U.S./Mexico citizenship, went 65-68 to finish T9 and lead the native sons.   TOP THREE VIDEOS Rooftop rob hangout Hanging on the edge Better than birdie for Byrd

Click here to read the full article…

Round 3 of The American Express takes place Friday from PGA West’s Stadium Course. The deep field includes defending FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay, world No. 1 Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and reigning Rookie of the Year Will Zalatoris. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and newly expanded and extended coverage on ESPN+. Click here for more details. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Sunday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (Golf Channel) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1–7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m.-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) PGA TOUR LIVE ON ESPN+ FEATURED GROUPS Thursday – Marquee Group Matthew Wolff, Gary Woodland Featured Groups Jimmy Walker, Patton Kizzire Charles Howell III, Talor Gooch Friday – Marquee Group Jason Day, Justin Rose Featured Groups Russell Henley, Chris Kirk Sungjae Im, Abraham Ancer Saturday – Marquee Group John Rahm, Tony Finau Featured Groups Patrick Cantlay, Scottie Scheffler Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler MUST READS Patrick Cantlay leads by one at The American Express Will Zalatoris shoots 61 after making seven consecutive birdies Five things to know about PGA West’s Stadium Course

Click here to read the full article…

One of Brooks Koepka’s college teammates and a local favorite were among the Monday qualifiers for the Travelers Championship. Chase Seiffert, who played at Florida State with the new U.S. Open champion, shot 67 on Monday at Ellington Ridge Country Club to share medalist in the Travelers Championship’s qualifier. Tom Hoge, Neil Johnson and former University of Connecticut standout Zach Zaback also shot 67 to earn spots in this week’s PGA TOUR event. Zaback went to high school in nearby Farmington, Connecticut, and completed his career at the University of Connecticut last year. He was the team’s co-captain and the winner of the 2016 Connecticut Amateur. Zaback competes on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica, where he has two top-25s in six starts this season. “It feels amazing, I’ve dreamed about playing in this tournament,” told the Hartford Courant. “You dream about a putt on 18, you pretend it’s to win the Travelers.â€� Zaback, who lost a playoff in last year’s Monday qualifier, can walk to work this week. His parents rent a house near the 14th green at TPC River Highlands and Zaback moved home last year after graduating from UConn. The family has been members at TPC River Highlands for six years.  Len Mattiace, runner-up at the 2003 Masters, finished one shot back. Hoge is the only one of the qualifiers with PGA TOUR status. Hoge, 28, is 189th in the FedExCup standings. His best finish this season is a T10 at the Puerto Rico Open. This is Seiffert’s second successful attempt at Monday qualifying this season. He also played The RSM Classic, finishing T74. Johnson also played in this year’s Puerto Rico Open, missing the cut. 2016-17 Monday qualifiers Qualifiers: 67 Made cut: 18 (28.4%) Top-25s: 4 (6.0%) Top-10s: 0 Best finish: T11, Keith Mitchell at Valspar Championship FedEx St. Jude Monday qualifiers MDF. Chip Deason, 72-69-72 MC. Garrett Osborn, 72-70 MC. Jordan Russell, 72-71 MC. Arjun Atwal, 75-76

Click here to read the full article…