Emergency 9: Fantasy advice following CareerBuilder Challenge

Here are nine tidbits from the final round of the CareerBuilder Challenge that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Rah Rah Rahm The most picked player in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO and PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO did exactly what he was supposed to do. Jon Rahm, the highest ranked player in the field at No. 3 in the OWGR, needed four playoff holes to win for the second time on TOUR. What a difference a year makes as this time last year he was No. 137 and had zero wins. He’s added the Farmers Insurance Open, the Irish Open and the DT World Tour Championship in those 12 months. He’s played two events on TOUR this season and has finished first and second. There’s nothing better in fantasy golf when the player meets the gamer’s expectations. Gracias! #NappyFactor Andrew Landry’s wife is due in March. This is his third top 10 in seven events in the new season and best finish on TOUR. He showed his meddle down the stretch as his birdie putt on the final hole forced a playoff. He only made one bogey on the week, his 60th hole, but it didn’t deter him. He’ll rue his chance on the second playoff hole as his putt for birdie and the win didn’t scare the hole. He’ll add this to his Oakmont experience from last summer and should be in the mix as 2018 rolls on. I’d stick him in any keeper league and watch him grow. No Questions for John John Huh hasn’t cashed a top 10 check since last March at Innisbrook before T3 Sunday. He hasn’t landed on the podium since the 2014 Barracuda Championship! Gamers might want to put a circle around him for next year as this was his third top 30 in four tries in the Coachella Valley. His weekend (65-66) included eight birdies on Saturday and six birdies and an eagle on Sunday. Had Another Chance Adam Hadwin didn’t show any signs of life in four events during the fall and only put two rounds of 16 in the 60’s. Course historians will point out that he was T6 in 2016 and second last year after his 59 Saturday at La Quinta. While his normally trusty putter wasn’t firing like he expected, his iron game saw him peg T7 GIR. His 68 Sunday was his worst round of the week and he still finished T4. It’s obvious that this course rotation fits his eye and game. California Dreamin’ Fresno native Kevin Chappell (T6) is going to petition the tournament committee to have ALL four rounds at the Stadium Course. He fired a bogey-free 64 Friday on his first trip. He added six more birdies for 67 on Sunday. The Stadium Course was the only track of the three to use ShotLink and it validated Chappell’s love. He led those who played the Stadium Course twice in SG: Approach to the Green, Tee to Green and Total. He was also T2 in GIR for the week across all three tracks. Chappell has never MC in six tries at this event. All in the Family His grandfather Arnold Palmer won this event five times. Grandson Sam Saunders collected a check for the first time in four tries. His 64 on Sunday was the low round of the day by two shots and vaulted him up the leaderboard 34 spots to T8. His 28 birdies were T1 for the week. He flashed signs at the Web.com Finals last fall as he fired 59 at Atlantic Beach. He hovered around the top 10 at Sony last week before fading on Sunday to T25. He’s never had more than two top 10’s in a season or finished in FedExCup top 125. Caution. Grandstand Finishers Canadian Nick Taylor’s 66 saw him quietly collect his fifth top 32 paycheck in seven starts this season. … Bud Cauley, one of my favorites, kept his streak of hitting T14 or better in the new rotation with his closing 66. He’s now cashed T14, T3 and T14 the last three years and is 51-under-par. … Harris English popped onto the radar for a hot second last week. His second round 65 caught my eye but his weekend (70-72) kept me away. He flashed 66 Sunday to move up 22 spots to T11. Noted. Familiar Faces PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO most popular player won the tournament but only two of the top 10 selected players missed the cut, Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed. Mickelson broke a streak of 12 events in a row once again proving that there are no guarantees in fantasy golf. Reed is a former champion but his win is his only top 10 in six tries. Of those eight selected playing on Sunday none finished inside the top 20. Fantasy golf is hard. Study Hall Sergio Garcia won the Singapore Open by five shots to start his 20th year as a professional. Pat Perez collected T21 money but will not play in his hometown event this week at the Farmers Insurance Open. … Tommy Fleetwood shot 65 and came from five shots off the pace to defend his title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Rory McIlroy (70) cashed T3 while Dustin Johnson was T9. Justin Rose, who is playing Torrey Pines, was bogey-free in the final round to claim T22. … C.T. Pan tweeted Sunday he had the flu this week and that was a factor to him missing the cut. He was T2 at the Farmers Insurance last year. … The top four finishers at the Singapore Open (not previously qualified) Jazz Janewattananond, Lucas Herbert, Danthai Boonma and Sean Crocker booked their spots at The Open Championship at Carnoustie. 

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