Jamie

Lovemark

Lovemark enters with three straight missed cuts on the PGA TOUR but a strong finish in his most recent KFT start. He tossed together a T2 finish at the MGM Resorts Championship. It was an event where he carded six more birdies than the field average after finding five more greens in regulation than the field average. That may serve as a perfect confidence booster for Lovemark as he heads to a course that has yielded four top 45s in five tries including a T16 in his most recent trip (2018). He’s far from a safe fantasy option but he does provide some upside this week at Innisbrook Resort.

The Jupiter resident will feel right at home sleeping in his own bed this week. It’s an added benefit that he could really use right now as he arrives with nothing better than a T40 in 11 events played this season. He has just five starts remaining on his Major Medical Extension, needing 280 FedExCup Points to fulfill the terms. Lovemark didn’t find much success in his first six trips to the Honda but he found himself co-leading after 36 holes of the 2018 edition and ended the week with a solo 7th. He cited a familiarity with the conditions that year when contending, “I’m kind of used to South Florida winds here. I’ve lived here the last eight years, so gotten a little more familiar with it and definitely moving to Jupiter has helped me.” His lack of recent form will make him a high-risk option for weekly fantasy gamers.

Lovemark traded two birdies with two bogeys on his opening nine holes, almost matching the field perfectly in that regard. From there, he picked up the pace with five birdies on his next eight holes. The big hitter split just half of the 14 fairways but still managed 13 greens in regulation which is top 50 in the field. The 32-year-old is playing this season on a Major Medical with 15 starts to earn 304 FedExCup Points. He picked up just 5 FEC Points in the first start of the season (T56 at the Safeway Open). Lovemark finished top 90 in the FedExCup race for three straight seasons before injuries derailed him in 2019. Gamers should watch closely because he’ll become an interesting weekly option if his health is back to 100 percent, or close to it.

Beginning off No. 10 tee, the 32-year-old hit eight (of 14) fairways and 11 greens in regulation, losing strokes off-the-tee (-1.099) but gaining 2.231 approaching and 0.575 around-the-green. He squared two bogeys at holes 4 and 7 (failed sand saves), offset by three circles at 15, 1 and 3, with a long of 17'10" at the par-4 first. The Jupiter, Florida, resident posted 1.727 putts per GIR and 0.526 SG: Putting with 28 total putts. He missed two birdies tries from inside of 10 feet, but saved par two times from between eight and 10 feet. Inclusive of this start, the California native has 14 starts remaining on the medical to earn 283.935 FedExCup points to meet the terms. This is his eighth Honda with one prior top 30, a solo 7th on last visit in 2018 (68-69-68-72).

The USC product was steady last fall with a 4-for-5 record but just one of those finishes landed inside the top 35. As the calendar flipped to 2019 he started the year with a missed cut at the Sony and WD after R2 of the Desert Classic. It turned out he was dealing with a partially dislocated shoulder and he sat out for the remainder of the season. Lovemark has made three rehab starts on the Korn Ferry Tour (MC, MC, T67). The 31-year-old has top 25s in 31 of his 152 career starts but there is no reason to jump the gun until he flashes a bit of form. If his KFT rehab starts are any indication of the state of his game then he still has some work to do before he becomes a key fantasy target again.

The USC product has been dealing with a partially dislocated shoulder since January when he withdrew during the Desert Classic. He was 4-for-6 before that with a T23 at the CJ CUP being the highlight. Gamers should expect him to return this fall on the PGA TOUR with a medical extension in hand. In the meantime, he’ll be allowed a handful of Korn Ferry Tour starts to get back in the groove of competitive golf. It’s unclear how many KFT starts he intends to make but gamers should certainly watch closely to see how his game is looking after six months on the IR.

The PGA TOUR did not cite an injury after he withdrew last week but Lovemark later addressed the issue on social media, “Sucks to have withdrawn from this week. My shoulder partially dislocated on a tee shot on Thursday. After an MRI that night, I learned I have a partially torn labrum.” It’s possible that he misspoke when he said Thursday instead of Friday. If not, then he carded his even-par 72 on Friday while playing through the injury. This was surely a tough event to miss as he attended Torrey Pines High. There is no timetable for his return to action.

This is the 30-year-old’s third mid-tourney WD in 152 events, first since the 2011 Shell Houston Open. After opening with 71 (LQ) and 72 (NT), he was 1-under thru 36 holes, ending Friday’s second round with back-to-back bogeys. The California native entered the week 4-for-6 on the season with a best of T23 at THE CJ CUP four starts ago, and off a missed cut by two at last week’s Sony. He is in the published field for this coming week’s Farmers where he’s 5-for-8 with a best of T28 in 2014.

Lovemark missed the cut at the Safeway Open to kick off the new season, but he was a respectable 39th at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia and 23rd at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in South Korea last month. While the momentum is nice, his inaccuracy off the tee is a concern at this course. This is one of the shortest on TOUR, but accuracy is a key area of focus. He ranked 152nd last season, hitting just 699 of a possible 1,228 fairways. He did all right in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, and was an outstanding third in SG: Around-the-Green in 2018. He finished 35th at this course in the Nov. 2016 installment of this event, but missed the cut the previous season while placing just 65th in Nov. 2013.

The USC product has been up-and-down all week. He ranks T2 in birdies made with 11 but also T50 in bogeys with seven through 36 holes. “Yeah, played well, nothing crazy. Made some good putts, hit some good shots, good mix of some pretty decent golf.” There is plenty of room for improvement over the weekend as Lovemark has found just 22 greens in regulation (T67 in the field). The California native hasn’t found a top 20 since June (T19 at Travelers) but he did finish T5 here last year.