Yin-Thitkul in 3-way tie atop Dow Championship

• COURSE: TPC Summerlin, 7,255 yards, par 71. Carved from rugged desert on the western outskirts of Las Vegas, TPC Summerlin opened in 1991 as a collaboration of Bobby Weed and two-time major champion Fuzzy Zoeller. The course winds through arroyos and canyons, leading to a four-hole closing stretch bursting with risk/reward – the drivable par-4 15th, the par-5 16th, the water-lined par-3 17th and a strong par-4 No.18. Originally part of a three-course rotation for the PGA TOUR’s annual Vegas stop, TPC Summerlin became the sole venue in 2008 as part of tournament restructuring. • FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. • CHARITY: Shriners Hospitals for Children, a system of 22 facilities offering specialty pediatric care and medical teaching. The network boasts the largest full-time staff of pediatric orthopedic specialists in the United States, and its burn centers and spinal cord rehabilitation programs are recognized worldwide. • FIELD WATCH: Charley Hoffman and Kevin Chappell, part of last month’s U.S. Presidents Cup romp at Liberty National, headline a roster that also includes 2016 John Deere Classic champion Ryan Moore. … Hoffman and Chappell are among five entrants who competed in last month’s TOUR Championship at East Lake. So is Tony Finau, who also finished runner-up at the Safeway Open to start the new season. … Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, who was eliminated after the first two rounds of the 2017 FedExCup Playoffs, is set for his Las Vegas debut as he opts to get in at least one fall start. … New professional Maverick McNealy, formerly the world’s top-ranked amateur, is in the field on a sponsor invitation. • 72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Ryan Moore (2012), Webb Simpson (2013). • 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Chip Beck (3rd round, 1991 at Sunrise GC). TPC Summerlin record: 60, J.J. Henry (1st round, 2013), Rod Pampling (1st round, 2016). • LAST YEAR: Rod Pampling hit the jackpot for the first time in eight years, tying the Summerlin record with an opening 12-under-par 60 and capping a two-shot triumph with four birdies in his final six holes. The 47-year-old Aussie began the final day one shot behind Lucas Glover, but caught him with three straight birdies from Nos. 13-15. They were still tied before Glover bogeyed his final two holes and Pampling birdied No.18 to leave no doubt. Pampling hadn’t tasted victory anywhere since the 2008 Australian Masters, and his last PGA TOUR win came at Bay Hill in 2006. He had spent the previous two years on the Web.com Tour, using a strong run through the Web.com Tour Finals to regain PGA TOUR status. • STORYLINES: Las Vegas has proven to be a haven for first-time winners, with 10 of the event’s past 15 champions making it their first. Smylie Kaufman (2015) and Ben Martin (2014) were the latest to do it, and there was a six-year run of debut winners from 2004-09. … Hoffman is among more than a half-dozen entrants with Las Vegas ties seeking to keep the trophy in local hands. Kevin Na did prevail on home turf in 2011, followed by UNLV grad Ryan Moore a year later. … Pampling has a chance to become just the second man to claim back-to-back titles in Las Vegas, accomplished by Jim Furyk in 1998 and ’99. … Finau, Marty Dou and Xinjun Zhang arrive straight from playing the WGC-HSBC Champions in China. Dou and Zhang are among last month’s graduates of the Web.com Tour. • SHORT CHIPS: This year’s winner will be the first to have his name on the new Howard Hughes Cup, created by The Howard Hughes Corp. to honor the late billionaire’s longtime relationship with the event. The Summerlin development is named after Hughes’ grandmother, built on land he purchased in the 1950s. … A total of 23 Shriners Hospital patients will serve as standard bearers during the final two days. Among them: 11-year-old Christina Juris, born with a deficient left arm who competes in national cross country meets, skis and recently took up golf. • TELEVISION: Thursday-Saturday, 4:30-7:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Sunday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. (GC). • PGA TOUR LIVE: None. • RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 2-8 p.m.; Saturday, 3-8 p.m.; Sunday, 2-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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The man whose putting lessons will help many pros at The Open

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* * * BREAKING NEWS * * * We interrupt Segment 4 of PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf for the Olympics. Officially dubbed the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition, it is not an official event on the PGA TOUR, so it does not contribute to the fantasy game at PGATOUR.com. Segment 4 will resume with next week’s World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. But you already knew that, so that’s not all. RELATED: Power Rankings | PGATOUR.COM Expert Picks The real breaking news is that PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf is undergoing a renovation for the 2021-22 PGA TOUR season. The bones of the game as you know it today will remain the same. They include roster construction of up to four starters and two bench players per round, as well as limited starts per golfer per X-number of Segments. The refinements are many but they are being introduced to simplify and improve gamer experience. So, if you’re inclined to be overwhelmed by change, you’ll be fine. It begins with a fresh interface. There will be a familiarity to it but design upgrades will make it more intuitive. Once you learn the basics, it’ll be easier to navigate. The most notable modification is that ShotLink no longer will be used to measure performance. So, no shot-level data will be gathered. Only actual scores and bonus points will be tabulated. Scoring per hole will resemble what you’d find in DFS, which was, in part, derived from Modified Stableford scoring. The FedExCup points bonus at the conclusion of the tournament will remain 10 percent. By eliminating ShotLink, real-time fantasy scoring and its completion after a round and a tournament will be faster, plain and simple. Save Monday finishes, obviously, the days of waiting until Monday afternoon every week for confirmation that everything is buttoned up are over. If you participate in a league, your experience also will be enhanced. Roster comparisons, sending invites and other concepts will be seamless and, again, more intuitive. In addition to finer detail to much of the aforementioned, other tweaks and performance upgrades also will be baked into the platform. I’ve seen the mocks and they’re impressive. This evolution was made possible largely because your opinions and feedback have been heard. Too often gamers or users of anything digitally consumed can’t feel or quantify how their voices make a difference. I experience the same in my own pursuits away from the gig, so I get it. Well, I’m here to tell you that your voice has mattered, and it’s not unprecedented in my tenure. The tech team, as I’ve often referred to it, went to work and on your behalf. I’m still digesting what I’ve learned in the short period of time I’ve known about what’s coming, so it’d be presumptuous to predict how ownership philosophies and game play will be affected. In due time, gang. Until then, it’s back to regularly scheduled preview material next week! PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf RETURNING TO COMPETITION Si Woo Kim … Sidelined since withdrawing during his first round of the John Deere Classic with a sore back. It’s been the through line of the career for the 26-year-old. Can’t help but wonder if it could complicate matters if he fulfills his military conscription in his native South Korea. Unless he medals at this week’s Olympics, he’ll be required to register by age 28. Sungjae Im also is pursuing the same dispensation, but he’s only 23, so he could have another chance in Paris for the 2024 Games if he doesn’t medal in Tokyo. NOTABLE WDs Jon Rahm … Tested positive for COVID-19. Just prior to the news, he announced that he wouldn’t be competing in next week’s World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, but the commitment deadline for the season’s final WGC isn’t until this Friday at 5:00 p.m. ET. So, it’s reasonable that he’d change his mind and compete. Bryson DeChambeau … Also tested positive for COVID-19. POWER RANKINGS RECAP – 3M Open Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Louis Oosthuizen T2 2 Dustin Johnson MC 3 Emiliano Grillo MC 4 Tony Finau T28 5 Bubba Watson T51 6 Luke List T58 7 Hank Lebioda WD 8 Charl Schwartzel T2 9 Ryan Moore MC 10 Matthew Wolff T39 11 Robert MacIntyre MC 12 Stewart Cink MC 13 Mito Pereira T6 14 Steve Stricker MC 15 Dylan Frittelli MC Wild Card Patrick Reed T34 SLEEPERS RECAP – 3M Open Golfer Result Brandon Hagy MC Wes Roach MC Roger Sloan T16 Cameron Tringale T16 Erik van Rooyen T58 BIRTHDAYS AMONG ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE PGA TOUR July 27 … Jordan Spieth (28) July 28 … Will Gordon (25) July 29 … Harrison Frazar (50) July 30 … Graeme McDowell (42); Justin Rose (41) July 31 … none August 1 … none August 2 … Jonathan Kaye (51); Brian Davis (47) Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. CO, IA, IN,MI, NJ, NV,PA, TN, VA or WV only. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling Problem? 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