WiretoWire: Hideki Matsuyama’s Hawaiian heroics at Waialae

How it works: Each week, our experts from PGATOUR.COM will make their selections in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. Each lineup consists of four starters and two bench players that can be rotated after each round. Adding to the challenge is that every golfer can be used only three times per each of four Segments. Aside from the experts below, Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton breaks down the field at this year’s Sentry Tournament of Champions in this week’s edition of the Power Rankings. For more fantasy, check out Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers and Reshuffle. THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN OUR EXPERTS? The PGA TOUR Experts league is once again open to the public. You can play our free fantasy game and see how you measure up against our experts below. Joining the league is simple. Just click here to sign up or log in. Once you create a team, click the “LEAGUES” tab. Then click on “FEATURED,” and then on the PGA TOUR Experts league that populates. SEASON SEGMENT

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Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised. After all, remember that bright red – dare we say dorky — wet suit with the short shorts and crash helmet that Ben Crane wore in all those “Golf Boysâ€� videos? Well, he loves dressing up for Halloween, too. That’s why Crane hates that he can’t go trick or treating with his family of five this year. He’s in Las Vegas to play in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. At least he has FaceTime, though. “Our kids are at that sweet age,â€� Crane says. “I’ll miss it for sure.â€� Of course, the themes his family chooses for trick or treating are a little more traditional than his Golf Boys’ garb. Crane’s wife Heather and their three children — CC, Brady and Saylor, who are 11, 9 and 6 years old, respectively – will be pirates this year. “We went to family camp this year and we did the pirate theme there and it was sort of like, we’ve got to carry it into Halloween.â€� Crane says. “So it’s fun.â€� Past Halloweens have seen the Cranes dressed as characters from the “Star Warsâ€� movie – with dad playing Luke Skywalker. A year ago, the five were a vision in blue-and-yellow Minions costumes. “Alice in Wonderlandâ€� was another popular theme. Saylor was born two weeks before Halloween, and on this fairy tale year the family made a dry run in their costumes at the birthday girls’ request. “We said, well, what do you want to do, and she said, I want to go to the pumpkin patch,â€� Crane recalls. “And somehow we figured out she wanted us to keep our outfits on. “So, we were the only people dressed up at the pumpkin patch. But it was fun.â€� Crane, who is follicly challenged, was dressed as the Mad Hatter. “A tall hat — anything to cover up my head I’m good,â€� he says, chuckling. “The secret sauce for me has always been the wig. If I go wig, it’s just a game-changer for me.â€� Small wonder, then, that Luke Skywalker may be the five-time PGA TOUR champ’s favorite costume. “Again, had the wig on,â€� Crane says. “I remember what it was like for the first 15 years of my life when I had hair.â€� Crane’s wife Heather has several go-to websites for their costumes. Once the family’s choice is made – the final decision rotates among the five — she orders everything so there’s plenty of time to get things delivered and make sure all of fits. “Now we’ve got a trunk full so we can all play dress up or whatever if we’ve got a party or something we need to go to,â€� he reports. The Cranes, who have moved from their native Oregon to Nashville, Tennessee, live in a housing development where there are a lot of like-minded families. Halloween is quite the production. “Our neighborhood does a great job,â€� Crane says. “They pull trailers behind their trucks with big bales of hay and people are in golf carts. It’s good fun.â€� Crane knows these years won’t last much longer. In fact, he was a little concerned that his son was going to buck tradition this year and join his friends for the trick-or-treat festivities. “And our oldest daughter just got a disco outfit in the mail so I’m like, is this just falling apart before our very eyes?â€� Crane says with mock alarm. Crane says he was a teenager before he got “too coolâ€� to dress up for Halloween. Brady might be “getting the disease a little earlier than me,â€� he says but Crane’s still hopeful there is some time left.  “These are critical years here,â€� the dad says. “We’d like to draw another three years out of this – it’s crunch time. “We’re on the 15th hole, we’re right around the cut line. So we’ve got to play solid coming in here.â€�

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The Masters is finally here. It's been a long 19 months since Tiger Woods completed one of the game's most historic wins. As always, there are plenty of storylines surrounding this year's Masters. Let's discuss some of the top ones before the final major of a trying year. 1. As it's been for many, 2020 has been one to forget for Tiger Woods. He is coming off a T72 in his title defense at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD and a missed cut at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. What do we expect from our defending champion? BEN EVERILL: Rocks and diamonds. After seeing what he was able to do in 2019, I won't be dismissing the notion of another win anytime soon, but I get the feeling this time a few mistakes will do enough damage to pull him out of the mix. Without the roars and energy to help him float around the pines Woods will finish somewhere in the ballpark of 25th. CAMERON MORFIT: As we know from Jack Nicklaus, Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer and others, people who learn how to play Augusta National don't just suddenly unlearn it. Woods hasn't looked right in 2020, his speed is down, and I STILL think he'll be in the mix for at least a couple rounds. Even he doesn't really know what he has when he shows up to tournaments these days, but so what? I'd argue that was the case at the TOUR Championship, Masters and ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, his last three wins. SEAN MARTIN: He hasn't missed a Masters cut since his sophomore season at Stanford, so I think that's out of the question. He has 14 top-10s in 20 Masters starts as a pro. Familiarity with Augusta National goes a long way, but it also can't overcome physical limitations. I agree with Ben. I think a T25 is in the offing. 2. Good times for the oldies lately, with 40-somethings Stewart Cink (Safeway), Sergio Garcia (Sanderson Farms) and Brian Gay (Bermuda) picking up wins. Martin Laird, 37, also won at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Which wily veterans are on your radar at Augusta? EVERILL: Woods has the capacity to be what we saw multiple times from the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer but if we are using 40 as the barrier to veteran status I'll also put in a vote for Adam Scott. He had decent form through the Vivint Houston Open to show his bout with COVID-19 hasn't hampered him too much. MORFIT: He's still just 37, but Francesco Molinari is starting to play well again just in time for another Masters. He'll want to make a new memory after his painful wreck on 12 (on the way to a T5) that opened the door for Tiger last year. And you'll think I'm crazy, but 2007 champion Zach Johnson, 44, is starting to show something again with a T8 at the U.S. Open and top-25s at the Sanderson Farms Championship and Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. If Augusta plays fast and bouncy and cool, I could see a top-10 finish from him. MARTIN: Paul Casey's form has been a bit off since, but he did finish runner-up at the PGA Championship. Combine that with the fact that he had four straight top-15s at the Masters from 2015-18, including three finishes of sixth or better in that span. 3. Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, had a nice showing at the Vivint Houston Open. Anyone else from the last 10 years of winners we should be keeping an eye on? EVERILL: As noted above, I see Scott having a good crack at another title but if I have to shove away from my Aussie mate, I'll say Bubba Watson is a serious sleeper for a third Masters win. He's been showing flashes of form in recent weeks and he can curve the ball around the joint better than most. MORFIT: I agree that Watson is trending in a nice direction with a T4 at the ZOZO and T7 at THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK. I'd also throw Sergio Garcia in there after watching him win the Sanderson. As much as I'd like to say to keep an eye on Phil Mickelson, I just can't. Patrick Reed would be a better bet. MARTIN: I'll have to give another mention of Watson because of his good form and the fact that he has made steps to work on the anxiety that can hamper him. He admitted in a Golfweek story that his drastic weight loss a few years ago was caused by anxiety but he has been getting help and doing breathing exercises. Watson has all the physical gifts in the world. If his mental game is improving, as well, that could be a dangerous combination. 4. Much of the attention since golf returned in June has been on Bryson DeChambeau. He won the U.S. Open on a course that many didn't think would suit him, and now heads to Augusta, which as Jordan Spieth said recently should suit him perfectly. Is Bryson the clear favorite? EVERILL: Short answer, yes. While he hasn't putted well at Augusta before this new and improved Bryson is much steadier on the greens and he will be hitting wedges on most holes so his putts will all be shorter anyway. While finishing off a Masters win is very difficult, the fact no patrons will be in attendance will also limit the pressure. MORFIT: He's the clear favorite. We forget that in 2016 then-amateur DeChambeau was just one off the lead as he stood on the 18th tee Friday, but triple-bogeyed the hole and finished 21st. He likes the course, and this will showcase the aspect of his game that remains underrated, his putting. MARTIN: How quickly we forget about the No. 1 player in the world, a guy who has finished in the top 10 in the last four Masters. And it wasn't long ago we were calling HIM unbeatable because of his dominant run to the FedExCup. Johnson has figured out how to play Augusta National and has the physical skills to boot. I give Johnson the edge because of his history at Augusta National. 5. This Masters will be played seven months later than usual. Will it still be the same? EVERILL: No. But that's OK. We will all miss the roars and atmosphere we've become accustomed to but hopefully it's a one-off and can be one of those things you can talk about well into the future. Remember the 2020 Masters when we could see the entire course without grandstands? Remember how pure the product looked on tv? It was like being right in the middle of the action yourself. And how about that epic finish when Jason Day, Adam Scott Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman all made the playoff. MORFIT: Not exactly. One of the oddities of this Masters has been the qualification criteria, which didn't account for hot players since the PGA TOUR came back in June. So there's no Daniel Berger, no Stewart Cink. That feels odd. No fans will feel odd. The weather will be cooler, and that, too, will feel odd. So no, it most assuredly won't be the same. That said, it will feel good to be there again soaking up all that history amid the pines. Kudos to Augusta National for even finding a way to have the tournament. MARTIN: I'm OK with the field being frozen from April. Those other players will get their chance in 2021, as it's always been. It would be weird to me if a player won this year's Masters who was only in the field because the tournament was moved by a pandemic. To me, that would be more unfair. The biggest adjustment will be the two-tee start and early weekend finishes. It will be interesting to see how, if at all, these new tee times will impact the tournament.

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