Dominic

Bozzelli

The Auburn product finished T35 at this event last year. He went 1-for-8 for the remainder of the season after that. Playing on conditional status, starts are not easy to come by but he’ll look to make the most of this week’s opportunity. He’s opened the new season with a missed cut (Safeway) and T56 (Corales). He’s also dabbled with the Korn Ferry circuit, going 0-for-3 since the restart before a T30 at the Orange County National Championship just a few weeks ago. Bozzelli has a good ratio of top-heavy finishes (six top 10s in 83 PGA TOUR starts) but he’s just 41-for-83 overall in terms of making it through the cutline. Gamers should consider him a risky fantasy option but one that could pay off big, about 10 percent of the time.

The Auburn product rocketed out of the gate a 4-for-5 record this season including a T6 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He’s gone quiet since then with four missed cuts and a solo 79th in the other start. Scoring has not been an issue as he ranks 17th in birdies per round this season (4.28). On the flip side, he’s swallowed more bogeys per round, compared to the field, in 8-of-10 starts this season. Bozzelli has cracked the Playoffs in just 1-of-3 seasons on TOUR but he sports six career top 10s in 78 starts which makes him a viable option in weekly fantasy formats, especially in weaker-field events.

This was the Auburn alum’s second appearance after T57 in 2017. It’s his first top 10 of the season, checking in off a T47 at the Greenbrier, and his sixth in 70 events, first since T9 at last season’s opposite-field Barbasol four starts ago. For the week, the 28-year-old carded rounds of 70-67-67-69 and totaled 21 birdies versus six bogeys. In R4, he hit seven (of 14) fairways and 12 greens in regulation, losing 0.625 strokes approaching but gaining 1.741 on-the-green, No. 1 in SG: Putting with a cumulative 8.913. He squared two bogey-5s at holes 1 and 2, but played his final 16 in blemish-free 5-under, circling 3, 7, 10, 15 and 18, two from between 10 and 14 feet. Bozzelli also saved par two times from between seven and 11 feet.

This is Bozzelli’s second appearance after a T57 in 2017 (71-69-73-72). He finished 139th in the FedExCup standings last season with two top 10s among 13 cuts made in 24 events. The Auburn alum attempted to improve his status via the Korn Ferry Finals, but conjured one top 25 and two missed cuts. He checked in off a T47 at last week’s Greenbrier (67-69-68-71). On six (of 14) fairways and 14 greens in regulation, the 28-year-old lost strokes approaching (-0.208) and around-the-green (-0.599), but gained 4.472 on-the-green. He offset two bogey-5s with seven birdies, recording 1.571 putts per GIR and converting three scoring tries from between 12 and 55 feet. The Rochester, New York, native opened with 70-67.

Bozzelli skipped this event last season, which is rather surprising since he won at Corales back in 2016 when this tournament was part of the Web.com Tour schedule. He posted a surprising fifth-place finish at the Desert Classic this season with the big boys, and he was 25th in his most recent showing in the Caribbean at the Puerto Rico Open. However, he missed the cut in each of his past two starts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and THE PLAYERS Championship. Confidence shouldn’t be an issue for Bozzelli, however, as he has had success at this course before, and that could make him a nice sleeper.

After opening with 67-69 and career-tying-low 64, the Auburn alum began T7, six back of leader Phil Mickelson. He found seven (of 14) fairways and 13 greens in regulation, losing 1.207 strokes around-the-green but gaining 3.124 on approach. The 27-year-old squared a lone bogey-4 at 13, outflanked by seven birdies, all from inside of eight feet. He registered 1.426 putts per GIR and 1.427 SG: Putting, ending the week with 25 birdies versus three bogeys. This was his third appearance, second cash and second top 5, joining solo 5th two tries ago in 2017 (as 18-hole leader). The New York State native improves to 5-for-6 on the season with two top 25s (T11, RSM), and records his first top 10 since T10 at the 2017 FedEx St. Jude Classic, which will also earn him a spot into this coming week’s Farmers.

The 27-year-old checked in off a T33 at last week’s Sony where he was T5 thru 54 holes (71-64-64-73). That was his final start on a Major Medical Extension, coming up 86.155 FedExCup points short of meeting the terms, and is now playing the rest of the season on conditional status. This is the Auburn alum’s third Desert Classic after a missed cut last year (72-70-83) and a solo 5th in 2017 as the 18-hole leader (64-67-69-71). On 10 (of 14) fairways and 17 greens in regulation, he rang up eight birdies, including four straight at holes 16 thru 1 (as he made the turn), and three consecutive at 5-7. The New York State native kicked off with 67 (NT) and 69 (SC), and today’s 64 matched his career low in 151 rounds (x6).

The 27-year-old, making his final start on a Major Medical Extension, mustered six (of 14) fairways and 12 greens in regulation, losing 1.403 strokes off-the-tee and 0.147 on approach, but gaining 3.959 around-the-green. He squared a lone bogey-5 at hole 6 (failed sand save), offset by seven circles at 3-5, 9, 15, 16 and 18. The Auburn alum’s most memorable were a pair of hole-out birdies at 4 (from a greenside bunker) and 15, both from between 32 and 37 feet away, and a 35-foot bomb at 3 the conventional way, posting 1.583 putts per GIR and 1.945 SG: Putting.

Bozzelli is playing his final start on a Major Medical Extension. He needs 104.705 FedExCup Points to fulfill those terms, although he does already have conditional status locked up which takes a bit of pressure off his shoulders. A two-way tie for 5th place or better is what he needs to keep his full status. The Auburn product made a move in the right direction today as he peppered 15 greens and converted six birdie chances. The highlight was a 25'1" birdie blast at the par-3 fourth hole. Bozzelli finished T38 in his Sony Open debut last year but he’s setting his sights much higher this week as he tries to collect a top-5 finish and keep his playing privileges.

The Auburn alum landed 10 (of 14) fairways and conjured 10 greens in regulation, outpacing two bogey-5s at holes 1 and 16 (failed scrambles) with six circles at 2, 4, 7, 11, 14 and 17, all the conventional way. He recorded 1.500 putts per GIR, currently T4 in that stat with a cumulative 1.455, and is right in the mix despite ranking 103rd currently in GIR at 61.11 percent (22/36). The 27-year-old’s career-best finish in 46 events is T3 at the 2017 Valspar.