Woods makes cut as Mickelson, Fowler falter at TPC Sawgrass

This week’s FedEx St. Jude Classic presents one of the most underrated narratives of the year. On the eve of the season’s second major – the U.S. Open, colloquially accepted to identify the best overall golfer – there isn’t a fairer, more consistent or more reliable host course than TPC Southwind. Now in its 30th consecutive year as the site of the SJC, TPC Southwind rewards one’s game as much as it tests it. In accordance, two-time defending Daniel Berger has solved it as much as he’s survived one of the stingiest par 70s on the schedule. Scroll beneath the ranking for more on his formula, how the course sets up and more. Power Rankings: FedEx St. Jude Classic Rank Player Comment Defied empirical wisdom with a runner-up finish as a debutant at Colonial two weeks ago. Since 2014 at TPC Southwind, he’s 4-for-4 with a T2, a T3 and a scoring average of 68.56. The winner in his debut in 2012 also placed fifth in his last trip in 2016. Pacing the PGA TOUR in adjusted scoring and strokes gained: tee-to-green. Top 20s in all nine stroke-play starts this year. Loves TPC Southwind for the test. His results prove it. Since 2013, he’s 5-for-5 with two T2s, a T3 and a scoring average of 67.95. Led field in birdies-or-better percentage at Memorial to place T13. First trip since a T13 in 2012. Suits his game perfectly. Tops on TOUR in both fairways hit, greens in regulation and par-4 scoring. Also 20th in proximity and sixth in scrambling. The horse-for-a-course label normally doesn’t suit the streaky 31-year-old, but it’s a real thing at TPC Southwind. Since 2013, he’s gone T10-T6-T8-T4 with a scoring average of 68.31. Making his tournament debut. Fresh off a T13 at the Memorial, his sixth top 25 in seven starts. Sits 18th on TOUR in strokes gained: tee-to-green and 15th in adjusted scoring. All he does is win the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Champion in both appearances with a scoring average of 67.13. Just like in advance of last year’s title, he’s scuffling upon arrival this week. At third on TOUR in strokes gained: tee-to-green, TPC Southwind is in his wheelhouse. He’s back for redemption, too. Finished T18 after sitting one stroke off the 54-hole lead last year. Springs in after a bogey-free 66 on Sunday at Muirfield Village yielded a fifth-place finish, his second such result in three starts. Inside the top 20 on TOUR in both par-4 and par-5 scoring. Rebounded from an opening 77 at Muirfield Village with 69, but still missed the cut. It was one bad round on the heels of three straight top 10s. Shared runner-up honors here last year. Already eligible for Special Temporary Membership with three top 10s in five starts as a pro, the former top-ranked amateur in the world is drawing on the Jon Rahm speed slot to the PGA TOUR. If he sticks with his strengths, he’ll piggyback a T10 here in 2017. Currently seventh on TOUR in total driving, third in GIR, T32 in proximity and sixth in strokes gained: tee-to-green. The 2014 champ has earned more at TPC Southwind than at any other course with another five top 20s, including a T10 last year. He’s 7-for-7 since Honda with a T11 at Valero and a T8 at Colonial. After a T5 at the BMW PGA, placed T13 at Memorial in what was his first start with Special Temporary Membership. It was his first top 25 on the PGA TOUR in a non-WGC since 2016. Hey, why not? The 27-year-old has turned open qualifying into “The T.J. Vogel Show.” Six times a four-spotter this season alone, no one matches his mojo. Turned one opportunity into a T16 at Copperhead. Memorial co-runner-up Byeong Hun An, Kevin Chappell, Charles Howell III, J.B. Holmes and Steve Stricker will be among the notables included in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. TPC Southwind sets up as properly as any touring professional would want. It’s as good a primer for the U.S. Open as you’re going to find, but it very much stands on its own merit, thank you very much. At 7,244 yards, it’s long enough but it doesn’t eliminate the lightest of knockers. The set of four par 3s and both of its par 5s are scorable, but the dozen par 4s are challenging as a group. Yet, only once in the last nine years has any of the par 4s ranked inside the top-50 hardest on the PGA TOUR (hole No. 5 in 2015). Last year’s field scoring average of 70.630 aligned with its history, which is to say that it’s predictable, which is exactly what any collection of any tournament organizers targets. Finding fairways is a secondary objective to hitting greens that average just over 5,400 square feet, a smaller-than-usual area that helps defend par. The Champion bermuda surfaces are prepped to run as long as 12 feet on the Stimpmeter, so there’s nothing foreign or tricky about that. Tinier targets tend to cater to ball-strikers. Case in point, although Berger is renowned for loving himself bermuda greens, but he’s done his work at TPC Southwind without the putter, leading the field in strokes gained: tee-to-green en route to both of his titles. He finished a respective T1 and T10 in greens hit and T5 and T7 in proximity to the hole. Returning participants in the field of 156 will see some modifications on and around the greens at the par-3 eighth and 14th holes, but the overall yardage of the course is unchanged. The primary rough (also bermuda) has been manicured to reach two-and-a-half inches. Mother Nature will do her part in seeing that the course plays as planned. Warm and dry (but typically humid) air is in store through the 36-hole cut. A risk of rain and storms creeps into the picture on the weekend. Wind is not expected to be a factor. It was announced this spring that this tournament will evolve into the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in 2019. It will replace the existing WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and will continue to be contested at TPC Southwind. The dates for the competition are TBD. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton reviews and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Facebook Live, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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The U.S. Team is staging a comeback in the Sunday Singles at the Presidents Cup. Check back here for recaps after each match finishes. The International Team, seeking its second win in Presidents Cup history, started the day with a 10-8 lead. The U.S. Team is making things tough, though. PRESIDENTS CUP: Scoring | Quiz: Which team should you support? DAY 4 SINGLES MATCH 19: U.S. WINS 3&2 Tiger Woods (U.S.) def. Abraham Ancer (International) Holes won: U.S. 7, International 4 Holes led: U.S. 11, International 0 Recap: Ancer hung tough, keeping the match all square through eight holes. Woods was too much, though. made back-to-back birdies at 9 and 10 to take a 2-up lead. Ancer cut into the lead by holing a 10-foot birdie putt to win the 13th. He gave it back with a bogey at the next hole, though. Woods birdied the next two holes to close out the match. He executed an incredible lag putt from well short of the green on the par-5 15th, then closed it out with a 20-footer for birdie. “I knew the match was over with 6 feet remaining,â€� Woods said. This was his seventh Singles win, the most in Presidents Cup history. Woods finished 3-0-0 this week. This is just the second time he’s gone undefeated in nine Presidents Cup appearances. MATCH 20: TIED Hideki Matsyuama (International) tied Tony Finau (U.S.) Holes won: International 6, U.S. 6 Holes led: International 13, U.S. 0 Recap: This one stung for the International Team. Matsuyama was 4 up after 10 holes. Finau won Nos. 11-14, three of them with birdies, to tie the match. Matsuyama regained his lead with a birdie on 16, but he three-putted to lose the 17th. They both parred the final hole. MATCH 21: U.S. WINS 4&2 Patrick Reed (U.S.) def. C.T. Pan (International) Holes won: U.S. 8, International 4 Holes led: U.S. 16, International 0 Recap: Reed came out on fire. He won six of the first seven holes, five of them with birdies. Pan won the next three holes, but Reed staved off the comeback by holing a 10-footer to halve the 11th hole. Pan birdied the 13th to pull within 2 down, but it didn’t get any closer. Reed closed it out with wins on 15 and 16. “You make birdies, you don’t hear much (from the fans),â€� Reed said about his hot start. MATCH 22: U.S. WINS 4&3 Dustin Johnson (U.S.) def. Haotong Li (International) Holes won: U.S. 7, International 3 Holes led: U.S. 13, International 0 Recap: Johnson took the early lead by winning Nos. 3-5, two of them with pars. He never led by fewer than three holes after that. Another par earned him a win on the seventh hole. Johnson was 5 up after 11 holes, and while Li won Nos. 12 and 14, it was never close. The match ended with Johnson’s birdie on the 15th hole. “I played really well today. I hit the ball great,â€� Johnson said. “obviously he struggled just a little bit. I definitely put lot of pressure on him because I hit some great shots today.â€� MATCH 23 Adam Hadwin (International) vs. Bryson DeChambeau (U.S.) MATCH 24 Sungjae Im (International) vs. Gary Woodland (U.S.) MATCH 25 Joaquin Niemann (International) vs. Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) MATCH 26 Adam Scott (International) vs. Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) MATCH 27 Byeong Hun An (International) vs. Webb Simpson (U.S.) MATCH 28 Cameron Smith (International) vs. Justin Thomas (U.S.) MATCH 29 Louis Oosthuizen (International) vs. Matt Kuchar (U.S.) MATCH 30 Marc Leishman (International) vs. Rickie Fowler (U.S.)

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TULSA, Okla. — Justin Thomas is a major champion when he least expected it. Thomas matched a PGA Championship record Sunday when he rallied from a seven-shot deficit at Southern Hills, and then saved his most exquisite shot-making for a three-hole playoff to defeat Will Zalatoris. He closed with a 3-under 67, matching the low score of a final round made difficult more by nerves than the wind. He seized control in the playoff with a 3-wood to 35 feet on the 301-yard 17th hole for a two-putt birdie. He tapped in for par and stood tall with a smile, a mixture of joy and disbelief. “I was asked early in the week what lead is safe and I said, ‘No lead,’” Thomas said. “I can’t believe I found myself in a playoff.” Thomas needed plenty of help, and Mito Pereira provided it in a tragic finish. The 27-year-old from Chile, playing in only his second major, took a one-shot lead to the final hole and drove into a creek to make double bogey. It was the first time since Phil Mickelson at Winged Foot in the 2006 U.S. Open that a player lost a one-shot lead in the final hole to lose a major. Zalatoris looked like he had thrown away his chances for a first major — and first PGA TOUR victory — when he three-putted from just outside 20 feet on the 16th hole. But he responded with a birdie from the bunker at the 17th and holed an 8-foot par putt on the 18th for a 71. He joined Thomas at 5-under 275, and they played on when Pereira faltered. Thomas had gone 14 months without winning, dating to THE PLAYERS Championship last year. Now he has a pair of PGA Championship titles with his 15 career victories. John Mahaffey in the 1978 PGA Championship at Oakmont was the other player to come from seven shots behind on the final day. He also won in a playoff over Tom Watson and Jerry Pate.

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