Ryan

Brehm

The big hitter backed out early ahead of the Zurich Classic and did the same last week ahead of the Mexico Open. He’s reportedly dealing with a triceps issue and was having trouble even swinging ahead of the Zurich. There is no timetable for his return to action.

Brehm was a late WD last week ahead of the Zurich Classic and he’ll remain sidelined. Historically, his top two finishes on the PGA TOUR have come at the Puerto Rico Open which is another event played by the coast on a long golf course with paspalum turf. Brehm is just 171st in the FedExCup race and he will likely remain off the radar for fantasy gamers.

The big hitter arrived with missed cuts in seven of his last eight starts but flipped that script today. The highlight of his round was an ace at the par-3 17th. It was his first hole-in-one on the PGA TOUR and the fifth of his lifetime. Speaking about the rest of his round, “No real highlights. I took care of the par-5s. That’s obviously a goal of mine every time play, but it seems harder to do than on paper. My lag putting was good enough to get the balls down in two, I had a few up-and-downs and never hit one out of play. So I think that’s kind of a recipe to just hang in there.” If this co-lead holds then it would be his first time posting a first-round lead or co-lead on the PGA TOUR. He has led after three rounds, all coming the week of his 2022 Puerto Rico Open victory.

The big hitter from Michigan had his wife by his side all week and the duo pieced together four straight sub-69 rounds (66-67-68-67). Conditions got really tough today at Grand Reserve Golf Club with steady rain and blustery winds. Brehm fought off Mother Nature and did so with a hot putter. He was pouring them home in bunches and it took a lot of stress off his shoulders, knowing he had already reached 20-under for the week, extending a huge lead, after his birdie at the 11th. He ended the week T15 in GIR and 1st in Scrambling. This will go in the books as his first career win on the PGA TOUR with his previous-best finish also coming at the PR Open (T11 last year). Brehm was playing his final event on a medical extension and needed a win to maintain full status. What a great time to deliver the best performance of your career.

Playing with his wife by his side this week, the big hitter has racked up 14 birdies and an eagle while swallowing just one bogey along the way. That’s an impressive feat considering he sits at just T23 in GIR Percentage, pelting 39-of-54 greens so far this week. The Michigan State product has won two times on the Korn Ferry circuit but this will be his first on the PGA TOUR where he’s entered the final round ranked inside of the top 10, let alone held the lead. “I don’t have a number in mind. I know that somebody’s going to play well, probably more than one person, so it’s up to me to go out and do my job and play my game. We’re probably not going to change much strategically, we’ll hit irons off some tees and drivers off others. Really, the goal is to improve. I want to keep getting better and better every day and we came into this week with that attitude and we’re going to continue that tomorrow.” Brehm’s last win came at the 2019 LECOM Health Challenge.

The 35-year-old split 8-of-14 fairways and landed 12 greens in regulation. He ranks just T39 in GIR Percentage of the week but has scrambled well to maintain a clean card in both rounds. “Yeah, it was kind of boring until the end. I feel like I had to scramble quite a bit, had some difficult up-and-downs, got them up and down, made a few good putts for par, kept the momentum going and finished with a birdie-eagle, made a bomb on the last hole.” This will be his first time leading or co-leading after any round on the PGA TOUR. His best position through 36 holes previously has come at the Mayakoba, Farmers Insurance Open, and Bermuda Championship. His career-best finish is a T11 at the 2021 Puerto Rico Open. Add that up and it’s safe to say he likes something about coastal golf.

The Michigan State product took care of the par 5s (three birdies) but also birdied two of the par 3s. He walked off the course ranked inside of the top 25 in both fairways hit (9-of-14) and GIR (13). Gamers may have seen this round coming if they’ve been following him on the Korn Ferry circuit this year. Brehm arrived with four straight cuts made including a T18 at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic and a T9 at the Astara Golf Championship. He’s playing his first (and final) event on a Minor Medical Extension but with 299 FedExCup Points required, anything less than a win doesn’t really put much of a dent into that, meaning he’ll need to head back to the Korn Ferry Tour anyway. Brehm’s career-best finish on the PGA TOUR was a T11 at this event last year, so he certainly likes the layout at Grand Reserve Golf Club.

The 35-year-old Brehm, who lives in Michigan and played college golf at Michigan State, is competing on a minor medical extension. He’s played in four Korn Ferry Tour events so far in 2022, making the weekend in all four and finishing T-9 in the Astara Golf Championship in mid-February. In three previous starts at the Puerto Rico Open, he’s missed one cut (2017) and recorded his best finish in 2021 where he finished T-11 at Grand Reserve CC. Grand Reserve’s par-72 Championship Course is 7,506-yard design by Tom Kite that features two par-5s that surpass 600 yards on the back nine. The course is set to host the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship in April, marking the first time a USGA championship will be held outside the U.S. mainland, and the Latin America Amateur Championship in January 2023.

The 35-year-old has been trying to tightrope between the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry circuit. He is 6-for-14 on the big stage this season, currently good for 182nd in the FedExCup race. Down on the KFT, he is 4-for-8 with a T18 at the Utah Championship being the highlight. Brehm is known as one of the longer hitters on TOUR but in his one appearance at TPC River Highlands, he got the job done on the greens. It was the 2017 Travelers where he made his one and only appearance here, gaining 6.7 strokes putting to posted a T35 finish. Arriving with six straight missed cuts on his game log, he’s a long shot to contend this week.

Stricker has a strong record at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course but won’t get to improve on it this week. He is 5-for-9 in his career with all five of the cuts made doubling as top 15s. The 54-year-old just won the Chubb Classic on the Champions circuit eight days ago so it’s likely safe to assume this is just a scheduling change rather than an injury. Gamers should remove Stricker from all weekly lineups.