Kevin

Chappell

Chappell is 8-for-13 on the big stage this season but finds himself outside of the top 175 in the FedExCup race. It appears that his priorities have shifted after dropping down to the Korn Ferry Tour and posting a T15 at the AdventHealth Championship, two weeks ago. An ideal solution might involve the tours working together to dish out cross-tour points but that’s not the reality of the current situation, which means he needs to pick and choose on a week-to-week basis. Gamers should remove him from all weekly lineups and keep an eye on his KFT results over the next few months.

The 25-year-old Riley, a Korn Ferry Tour graduate playing his first full season on the PGA Tour, has made 11 cuts in 18 starts this season with four top 10s. His fifth-place finish in Mexico was his third top 10 in five starts for Riley, who finished T-4 in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and solo second at the Valspar Championship in March. He’ll be replaced in the field by 35-year-old Kevin Chappell, who’ll make his 13th PGA Tour start this season (7-for-12 cuts made) and got in on his own number. Also joining the field is 23-year-old Clemson product Turk Pettit, who joins the field on a sponsor exemption.

Taking their places are Richard S. Johnson and Derek Ernst, both currently listed at +50000 via PointsBet Sportsbook. The 35-year-old Chappell finished T-29 over the weekend at the Zurich Classic, where he partnered with James Hahn and made his second cut in five appearances at the event. He notched back-to-back top-20 finishes heading into New Orleans, finishing T-15 at Corales and T-18 at the Valero Texas Open. Chappell is 7-for-12 in cuts made in 2022. Hardy, meanwhile, finished T-21 at the Zurich Classic with partner Curtis Thompson. On the season, the 25-year-old Hardy has made six cuts in 13 starts. This week will mark the third Tour start of the season for Ernst (1-for-2) and the fifth for Johnson (1-for-4).

Chappell managed his game well on Thursday but couldn’t get the scoring machine fired up (2 birdies, 1 bogey). He didn’t have that problem today as he racked up five birdies and an eagle without dropping any shots along the way. The highlight of his day was a 260-yard approach (6-wood) at the par-5 second which he stuffed inside of five feet and converted for eagle. This matches Russell Knox with the low round of the week so far. “Today the key was I missed in good spots. Whether it was chipping into the wind or missing on the right side of the hole, that allowed me to scramble with relative ease.” If this lead holds, then it would go in the books as his fifth career 36-hole lead or co-lead on the PGA TOUR, but first since the 2016 Deutsche Bank Championship. He went on to post top 10s in all four of those previous instances. UPDATE: With R2 complete, Chappell is T2, two back of leader Ryan Palmer (66), and will be in the final threesome for R3 with Palmer and Matt Kuchar (69).

The 35-year-old, who took 12 weeks off (back) after a T36 at last season’s Travelers, has five starts remaining on the medical, including this week, and needs to earn 128.577 FedExCup points to meet the terms. Asked post-round today is he was feeling any pressure because of that, he commented, “What’s meant to be, will be. If I’m not meant to play this game any longer, that’s fine with me. I’m going to put my head down and play the best I can the next five events.” That led to a follow-up question about retirement, to which the UCLA product said, “When you don’t get tee times anymore, what are you going to do.” Making his first Sony appearance since a T59 in 2012 (72-67-67-74), he outpaced one bogey with eight birdies on 15 greens in regulation, gaining 1.400 strokes on approach and 3.271 on-the-green, converting four birdies from between eight and 19 feet. Chappell’s career-low round on TOUR is an 11-under 59/R2 at the now-defunct Greenbrier in 2020 (finished T47), and is chasing his first top 10 since T10 at the now-defunct CIMB Classic during the 2018-19 season (Oct. 2018). See link below to post-round comments.

Chappell had been showing signs of form lately but this is more evidence that his back concerns are still lingering. He did the same thing at the Valspar Championship in April where he was an 11th-hour WD. Chappell will remain a high-risk fantasy option any time he pegs it, for the foreseeable future.

The UCLA product has been slow to return to his old form since coming back from injury in September 2019. There have been hints lately that he might be close to a breakthrough, though. Chappell has been starting fast, in particular. He has found himself T20 or better thru 36 holes in three of his last five starts. Only one of those fast starts resulted in a top-35 finish (T13 at The Honda Classic). Next up is a showdown with Detroit Golf Club, a venue where he posted a T62 last year. He was T13 thru 54 holes that week before fading to T62 on Sunday.

The 34-year-old is still trying to play his way back into form and has flashed a few big finishes this season. The most notable was a T13 at The Honda Classic, two starts ago. This pre-tourney WD is a reminder that he’s still not 100 percent and probably never will be. It’s possible that he finds his groove again but in the mean time, gamers should continue to treat him as a high-risk fantasy option.

Chappell has failed to find any momentum since returning from his injury in September 2019. That narrative could be changing as he arrives off a T13 at The Honda Classic. It was his first top 20 since October 2018 at the CIMB Classic. How did Chappell get the job done at the Honda? He gained 1.1 strokes on approach, 2.8 strokes around-the-green, and another 4.9 strokes putting. His lack of consistent form makes him a risky fantasy option but gamers could give him a look if they want to be early on a potential surge back into shape. In addition to his 2017 Valero victory, he also has notable finishes of T2 (2011) and T4 (2016) at this week’s venue.

Chappell opened his morning with a 13-footer for birdie to start his week off on the right foot. He added circles at 3 and 6 before dropping back-to-back shots at the 7th and 8th. That is where the putter warmed up, dialing in a 25'10" birdie bomb at the 9th and following it up with a 23'11" birdie at the 16th and closing with a hole-out eagle from 34'4" at the par-5 18th. The UCLA product is currently 5.1 shots better than the field average today, which would be his best-recorded round since day one of the Sanderson Farms last fall (+7 SG: Total). Chappell is still searching for his lost consistency, failing to find a top-20 finish since returning from injury at the 2019-20 Greenbrier. Perhaps this round will help him find some confidence and/or momentum.