Winning numbers: Billy Horschel at the AT&T Byron Nelson

To have confidence, one must build it. It’s not the chicken and the egg, it’s the horse before the cart. That’s a fact of life. Still, this isn’t necessarily the objective at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BIRDIES as much as it is the by-product of the 72-hole, stroke play competition on Jeju Island in South Korea. Whoever prevails at The Club at Nine Bridges this week may not necessarily be the most confident, but he’ll probably be the most prepared. It’s within that context that gamers should pursue value. Precocious talent always figures out a way to earn that label, which is why there are always surprises, and it’s more likely to occur on the unknown putting surfaces that Nine Bridges is introducing, but it’s still smartest to embrace youth in doses. Experience already knows the formula for success of which the greatest portion is understanding how to minimize mistakes while facing mysterious variables. Jeju Island is known as the Hawaii of South Korea. It’s a popular vacation destination for natives especially, but first-time visitors shouldn’t have any trouble acclimating given the usual red-carpet treatment afforded to the best touring professionals on the planet. In other words, the primary challenge will be the golf course and whatever Mother Nature unleashed in the form of wind. The European Tour committed to a three-year stint for the Ballantine’s Championship at nearby Pinx Golf Club in March or April from 2008-2010. Graeme McDowell was the first champion, but that’s primarily fact over friction as the only correlation is that both courses are on Jeju Island. The only reason I throw it out there is to save you time if you were struggling to connect dots. So, it’s once again time to keep it simple. Below are only three identifiers if your aim is to complete a lineup in DFS or perhaps find a flier in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. NOTE: Golfers inside the top or bottom 25 in each statistic on the 2016-17 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete in THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. Those who haven’t logged enough rounds to qualify for official rankings are omitted. * – In the Power Rankings Greens in Regulation One way to eliminate doubt is to create opportunity. While Nine Bridges is projected to yield many par breakers, the unknown variable of how much the wind will influence approach shots adds value to those attempts. Rank Golfer 2 *Kyle Stanley 3 *Paul Casey 6 Lucas Glover 11 Gary Woodland 14 Luke List 15 Chad Campbell 17 *Tony Finau 18 Stewart Cink 20 *Keegan Bradley 22 Graham DeLaet 23 Hudson Swafford 24 Jim Herman Lowest Apex Height This stat is making its debut in The Confidence Factor, and it’s the perfect time for it. With a new course on which a file of data will be generated, gamers are advised to invest in what they know site unseen. The 10 golfers below possess the lowest ball flights of all returning PGA TOUR members in the field. NOTE: Officially, apex height ranks golfers from highest to lowest measurements. So, the grouping below is sorted from the bottom of 190 who qualified for official rankings in 2016-17. Rank Golfer 189 Rod Pampling 188 Ollie Schniederjans 185 Ian Poulter 182 Robert Streb T177 Camilo Villegas 176 Charles Howell III 173 Wesley Bryan T171 *Russell Henley 170 Branden Grace 169 Lucas Glover Scrambling If the tournament evolves into a shootout due to soft turf, then scrambling still matters as saving par amid flourishes sustains momentum. If the wind dictates scoring, then this morphs into salvaging par to retain confidence. Rank Golfer 1 Ian Poulter 5 Chad Campbell 7 *Paul Casey 13 *Chez Reavie 15 Brian Harman T18 *Pat Perez 21 Adam Hadwin 25 Charles Howell III

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LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas resident Kevin Na had two back-nine eagles and shot a 9-under 62 on Friday for a share of the second-round lead in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Playing alongside Phil Mickelson at TPC Summerlin, Na eagled the par-5 13th and 16th holes and added birdies on the par-3 17th and par-4 18th to match Lucas Glover, 2017 winner Patrick Cantlay and Brian Stuard at 12-under 130. “My putter was hot,” Na said. “I started with a 60-footer on the first hole, and I just kept making putts today. I hit a lot of good shots, too, but the putter was working.” Na won the 2011 tournament for the first of his three TOUR titles. He made four long putts on the back nine Friday, holing out from 43 and 35 feet for the eagles and 23 and 22 feet on the closing birdies. “One of those days you stand over it and you feel everything,” Na said. “My stroke just felt good and I felt confident over the putt. I was more into focusing on putting a good stroke on than trying to make it.” Glover shot 63, also making an eagle on the 15th. “Same as any weekend. It’s going to be a shootout,” Glover said. “I’ve got to go out there and shoot 10 or 12 more. Just stay aggressive when I can be and be smart when I have to be. If the putts go in, fine. If not, keep rolling that line end over end. That’s all I can do.” Cantlay eagled the par-4 15th, driving the green and holing a 45-footer, in a 64. “Hit it really well,” Cantlay said. “Hit a lot of tee balls in play and far down there, which leaves you a lot of wedges. … That’s what it takes to play well here. If I keep driving it well, should have a lot of opportunities.” Stuard shot 65. “Just feeling comfortable with my game,” Stuard said. “I wanted to get off to a good start this fall and I feel like I’ve done that.” Matt Jones was a stroke back after a 63. First-round leader Nick Taylor followed his opening 63 with a 69 to top the group at 10 under. Mickelson was 8 under, following an opening 65 with a 69. “I didn’t score great. I didn’t have a very good putting day,” Mickelson said. “I missed five or six putts that I should have made and it took away from what could have been a really good round on the back nine. Should have been 5-, 6-under par pretty easily, and I just struggled with the putter on the greens.” He missed the cut last week at the Safeway Open in his season debut. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau also was 8 under, shooting 68. Joel Dahmen ended up at 8 under, too, settling for a 64 after playing the first 10 holes in 9 under. Needing to play the final eight in 3 under to shoot 59, Dahmen was 2 over with bogeys on the par-4 second and fourth holes. Brooks Koepka missed the cut in his season debut with rounds of 70 and 71. He had stem cell treatment on his left knee Aug. 25 after the FedExCup ended. “Not really disappointing,” Koepka said. “Everything I’ve worked on — I’ve worked on my wedges, trying to control yardages a lot, and they were spot on all week. And I was just a hair off. Putting, just kind of reverted back to some old things, but that’s going to happen. I’m not disappointed. I feel like I was very, very close.” Koepka’s younger brother, Chase, advanced to the weekend, shooting 66-69 in his fourth PGA TOUR start.

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Driver: Bridgestone Tour B JGR (9.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Atmos Tour Spec Black 6S 3 Wood: Titleist TS2 (13.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Speeder Evolution 757 X-flex Hybrids: Bridgestone Tour B XD-H (18 degrees), Ping Anser (20 degrees) Shafts: Fujikura Motore Speeder TS 8.8 X-flex Irons: Bridgestone J15CB (5-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 S300 Wedges: Bridgestone J40 Forged (52 degrees), Cleveland RTX-4 (56 degrees), Cleveland RTX-3 (62 degrees) Putter: Bettinardi Arm Lock prototype, DASS KM-1 (Kuchar Model 1) – Face Balanced Putter ( Heel Toe Weighted, no toe-hang) – F.I.T. Face – 400 grams – 70 Degrees of loft – 71 degrees of lie – 2.5 offset (forcing the club forward) – Soft Carbon metal Golf ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS PGA TOUR SUPERSTORE: Buy equipment here.

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