Woods: ‘I haven’t felt this good in years’

Now that we’re past the midpoint of the fall portion of the last wraparound season, it’s a good time to remind you that the stand-alone PGA TOUR Fantasy app will be discontinuing at some point after the conclusion of Segment 1. I first relayed the news in this space for the Fortinet Championship, and then an email with timing of the change was distributed on Oct. 11. RELATED: Horses for Courses, Statistically Speaking You’ll still be able to navigate to PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf via the PGA TOUR app, via the PGA TOUR’s website or directly at FantasyGolf.PGATOUR.com. Unlike how many rookie gamers think about what decides league titles, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship is the kind of event that can have a greater impact than the no-cut invitationals and majors. This is because there’s so much more of a learning curve for gamers in the absence of household names than when we can throw a handful of darts and hit chalk with confidence. It’s a week in which the preview material that Mike Glasscott and I contribute is more valuable. I’ve used the comparison before because it applies: This is like a position week in a bowling league. No, our season-ending tournament – in our lingo, the FedExCup Playoffs – isn’t imminent, but it’s the kind of experience that tends to separate the contenders from the pretenders. We’re presented with a few of these throughout every season, and they can add up. Unless cornered and at the buzzer, I always play conservatively. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf rewards the approach because it’s a season-long contest. So, my roster in Bermuda reflects a blend of consistent success at Port Royal and my confidence in others just to make the cut. As much as it is an easy week to generate distance from your opposition, that operates in the wrong direction, too. Note that Bermuda is an hour ahead of Eastern Time in the United States, so if you navigate to Tee Times or the Leaderboard, and either page defaults to “Event” time, it could fool those of you living in Eastern Time into thinking that it’s your local time, which would be a reasonable time to begin, when, in fact, you’ll be an hour late. POWER RANKINGS WILD CARD Seamus Power (-120 for a Top 20) … The Irishman presents a worthy exercise in what matters more – recency or course success. Had he been cruising along as he has so often since the spring of 2021, he’d have a prominent spot in the Power Rankings proper, but it’s been four months since his last top 25, a drought that includes a couple of limited-field, no-cut competitions. Even this lowest Top-X finish offered at BetMGM is aggressive given that, while he’s 3-for-3 at Port Royal, he’s connected for only one top 30. However, and even the most ardent of cynics must cite this, he didn’t elevate in earnest until after his second appearance in 2020, but he had been tracking for last year’s T12 for months. DRAWS C.T. Pan (+300 for a Top 20) … Not that there haven’t been other opportunities for him to rekindle form, but Port Royal is right up his alley. He’s making his debut, but he won’t be overwhelmed off the tee, so he’ll be finding the shortest grass more often than others. This target is a reach, but it’s worth a fraction of a unit. Stephan Jaeger … Including his flourish of a fortnight at the finish line to qualify for his first FedExCup Playoffs, he’s cashed in seven consecutive starts. He also placed T20 in his debut at Port Royal last year. Solid DFS complement. Brian Gay … He turned 50 a few weeks after a T12 in his title defense here last year, but don’t let that stop you from fractional plays in DFS. His scoring average in 12 rounds at Port Royal is 67.42. He’s also done well as a rookie on the PGA TOUR Champions where two of his last three starts resulted in a top 10. Bottom line, he remains a great fit. Will Gordon Harry Hall Adam Long Cameron Percy Nick Taylor Kevin Yu Odds sourced on Tuesday, October 25th at 6 p.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. FADES Erik van Rooyen … To recap, two weeks ago, he returned from a three-month absence due to the injured neck that forced him out of The Open Championship at the 11th hour. In the swing through Spain, he finished T61 and missed the cut. Suffice it to say that he’s rarin’ to get back after it. With his second child due in a couple of months, it’s fair to consider that his game will sharpen back into form, but the dynamics of the timing now are very different than how the Nappy Factor seemed to be in play when his first child was born in the summer of 2021. So, while on name value alone, he cannot be ignored, be choosy and cautiously optimistic. Charley Hoffman … Sure, he had a T10 in Detroit three months ago, but it’s his only top-30 finish of the last 12 months. And in his only appearance at Port Royal, he shot 73 and 84 in 2020. Doug Ghim … Form over fit here. Finished T14 in his last trip in 2020 but he’s scuffled since hanging up a pair of T16s in a three-week stretch in July. Perhaps utilize in exactly one aggressive DFS build. Scott Gutschewski … The 46-year-old was omitted from my full-membership fantasy ranking, but he was granted one start on a Minor Medical Extension after I filed. To fulfill its terms (130.629 FedExCup points), he needs to finish alone in fourth in Bermuda. It’d be a career-best but perhaps not out of the realm of fair possibilities. Consider that it was just three months ago that his solo fifth at the Barracuda Championship set a personal-best on the PGA TOUR, albeit with Modified Stableford scoring measuring performance. However, the more realistic goal is a two-way T38. That’d yield 17.500 FedExCup points and clear the threshold (17.041) required for conditional status for the remainder of the season. If he falls short, he’ll lose his card and, who knows when/if he’ll ever play another TOUR event. You wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t a gamer, but if you were just a fan, this is one of the most compelling narratives to follow this week. MJ Daffue Lucas Glover Harry Higgs Michael Kim Matthias Schwab Brian Stuard RETURNING TO COMPETITION n/a NOTABLE WDs Peter Malnati … This is a bummer because he’s gone for a T21 (2020) and a T7 (2021) in his two tries at Port Royal. As he’s proven, it’s an ideal layout and challenge for his skill set. Vince Whaley … Meanwhile, course-history buffs appreciate this decision. He had been in contention throughout last year’s edition en route to a T7, but his form has been off since a burst this past summer. That burst is the exception to his norm, so stick with full-season considerations, if at all. Davis Thompson … The rookie opened at 28th in the Korn Ferry Tour graduate reshuffle and currently stands to rise 24 spots when the category reorders for the first time at the conclusion of the fall portion. Whenever the value of getting off to a hot start is referenced in the context of the grads, this is how it’s done. Not only is he positioned not to be concerned about playing time for the foreseeable future, but he also can rest now and pivot to the invaluable less-is-more gameplan. RECAP – THE CJ CUP at South Carolina POWER RANKINGS Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Rory McIlroy Win 2 Jon Rahm T4 3 Justin Thomas T40 4 Viktor Hovland T21 5 Scottie Scheffler T45 6 Shane Lowry T23 7 Tom Kim T11 8 Max Homa T23 9 Jordan Spieth T52 10 Keegan Bradley T21 11 Sahith Theegala T67 12 Sungjae Im T34 13 Sam Burns T7 14 Matt Fitzpatrick T13 15 Emiliano Grillo T45 Wild Card Collin Morikawa T29 SLEEPERS Golfer (Bet, if applicable) Result Byeong Hun An (+400 for a Top 20) T62 Luke List (+275 for a Top 20) T58 J.J. Spaun (+350 for a Top 20) T58 Keith Mitchell T40 Alex Smalley T52 GOLFBET Bet: Rory McIlroy (Top 5), Scottie Scheffler (Top 10) and Sungjae Im (Top 20) – +1200 Result: McIlroy (Win), Scheffler (T45), Im (T34) BIRTHDAYS AMONG ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE PGA TOUR October 25 … Troy Merritt (37); Xander Schauffele (29) October 26 … none October 27 … Fabián Gómez (44) October 28 … none October 29 … none October 30 … none October 31 … Mark Wilson (48) Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org.

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Webb Simpson won the RBC Heritage at 22 under for his second victory of the season. It continues a stellar run with five top-10s in sevent starts. RELATED: Final leaderboard Driver: Titleist TS3 (10.5 degrees, A1 setting, draw setting) Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue 65 TX (45.25″) 3-wood: Titleist TS2 (15 degrees, A1 setting) Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Blue 70 TX 5-wood: Titleist 913Fd (18 degrees, B1 setting) Shaft: UST Mamiya VTS 86 TX Hybrid 1: Titleist 913Hd (21 degrees, B2 setting) Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X Hybrid 2: Titleist 915Hd (23.5 degrees, C3 setting) Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Irons: Titleist 620MB (5-PW) Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design Raw SM7 (54-14), Titleist Vokey Design Raw SM5 (60-06K) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Putter: Odyssey Tank Cruiser V-Line Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

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There are 27 rookies on the PGA TOUR in 2021-22. This page provides a subjective ranking updated weekly. The Arnold Palmer Award winner is determined in a vote by PGA TOUR members who make at least 15 starts. The Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup and the Olympic Games count as one of the 15. Entering The Genesis Invitational, Cameron Young owned the best finish by a rookie this season – a co-runner-up at the Sanderson Farms Championship. You’re forgiven if you don’t remember. It was the just the second event of the season and the United States still was celebrating its Ryder Cup romp at Whistling Straits. Yes, there was that, but you know the old saying about never remembering who finishes second, well, unless it’s the Ryder Cup. (Sam Burns prevailed at the SFC.) Young went relatively quiet after that podium finish, too. In his next six starts, he cashed four times but only once for a top 25 (T20, Farmers). Furthermore, as the only rookie who recorded multiple top 10s in the fall, Hayden Buckley was the rabbit for the Rookie of the Year award. He also opened with a T12 at the Sony Open in Hawaii, so Buckley’s body of work had overshadowed Young’s close call. Sahith Theegala then elevated into the top spot in the Rookie Ranking with a close call of his own at the WM Phoenix Open, where he finished T3. That was just a week ago, but when you look for him below, you’ll see him slotted second … beneath Young. It was another week to remember, not just for Young but also for golf fans. With a field that the Official World Golf Ranking valued stronger than every tournament that wasn’t a major, a FedExCup Playoffs event, a World Golf Championship and THE PLAYERS Championship in 2021, Young belonged among the stars. Boosted by a tournament-low 62 in the second round, the 24-year-old recorded another co-runner-up finish, this time checking up two strokes short of Joaquin Niemann’s wire-to-wire performance. In addition to pacing all rookies in the FedExCup standings and having the top-two finishes of the season, he also co-leads in top 10s and low-rookie performances. Nine rookies competed at Riviera Country Club last week, including Alex Smalley. He was a last-minute last man in for Matt Fitzpatrick, who withdrew due to an illness. Smalley didn’t waste what always is a bonus for any rookie to crash this elite field. He opened with 69 and finished 72nd (of 75 who survived the cut). Elsewhere, six rookies teed it up at the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. Of the four who made the cut, Justin Lower was best with an eight-way T6. It was the first KFT event of 2022 in which any PGA TOUR rookies played. Typically, only those who have started slow want or need the playing time, but Chad Ramey didn’t balk. While it’s mildly unusual given his current FedExCup position of 121st, he made it count with a T28. As the PGA TOUR crosses the country for the start of the Florida Swing, this will be the first time in FedExCup history that every rookie will have gained entry in the field of The Honda Classic on merit. Because the tournament reserves tee times for only 144, the cutoff to play always has fallen in the graduate reshuffle category. Of the 27 rookies only Theegala is choosing to rest. LOW ROOKIE: Cameron Young, T2. Second time (T2=Sanderson Farms). CAREER-BEST FINISHES (AND TIES): Cameron Young, T2. Second time (T2=Sanderson Farms). * – In the field at The Honda Classic as of Feb. 20. NOTE: A player’s rookie season (“Rookie Year”) is defined as the season in which he becomes a PGA TOUR member (including Special Temporary Members) and plays in 10 or more events as a member or finishes in the Top 125 on the Official FedExCup Points List or qualifies as a Top 125 non-member, whichever occurs first. Further, for purposes of this definition, a new member (including Special Temporary Members) shall not be eligible to be a rookie if he has previously played in more than seven (7) Official PGA TOUR Money events as a professional in any prior season.

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