Rob

Oppenheim

Oppenheim steadied 10-of-14 fairways today which was the story for him all week other than round one (5 fairways). His steady off-the-tee play helped him set up six birdies and an eagle while also swallowing a trio of bogeys. It was a high-risk, high-reward type of day as Oppenheim knew he needed something special to catapult himself into contention. The highlight of his round was a chip-in eagle at the par-5 15th. The 41-year-old is building a strong record at Grand Reserve Country Club as he’s now posted back-to-back top 10s (T9 last year) at the PRO after missing the cut in his 2016 debut. Those account for two of his four career top 10s on the PGA TOUR.

The 40-year-old was the last player into the 144-man field, not getting his ticket punched until this morning when Greg Chalmers withdrew. This is his fourth Shriners with missed cuts in each of the last three, including last year, where he opened with a prior-best 66 before trunk-slamming after a R2 74, and also in 2019 as an open-qualifier. The Massachusetts native arrived 2-for-3 on the season with a couple of finishes between T30 and T40, and a MC by five at last week’s Sanderson Farms (75-71). On 13 (of 14) fairways and 17 greens in regulation, he gained 2.304 strokes off-the-tee, 2.726 approaching and 3.305 tee-to-green. The Rollins College alum squared two bogey-4s at 17 (3-putt from 27'0") and 8 (3-putt from 74'7"), outflanked by nine circles at 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 3, 6 and 9. He posted 1.706 putts per GIR and 0.583 SG: Putting with 30 total putts. Oppenheim’s split featured three from between 13 and 20 feet, and also saved par at 3 from 15'5".

This is the 40-year-old’s third Safeway with a best of T52 last year as an alternate (68-74-74-69). He finished up last season a career-high 138th in the FedExCup standings, going 11-for-21 with just one top 10, a T9 at the opposite-field Puerto Rico Open back in February. The Massachusetts native did, however, record a career-best five top 25s, including at the regular-season-ending Wyndham, where he was solo 5th after 54 holes, highlighted by a career-low 8-under 62 in R3, before finishing T15 with a closing 72. On nine (of 14) fairways and 14 greens in regulation, he lost 0.300 strokes around-the-green but gained 0.636 off-the-tee and 0.712 on approach. Beginning off No. 10 tee, the Orlando resident carded six birdies at 11, 15, 18, 5, 6 and 9, four from between 10 and 24 feet, registering 1.571 putts per GIR and 3.258 SG: Putting with 26 total putts, including a 23'5" par-saver at 4.

This is just the second time the Massachusetts native has been in the top 10 after 54 holes in 77 career events. He was solo 5th at the 2017 AT&T Pebble Beach (on a sponsor invite) before even-par 72 for a still-career-best T8. The 40-year-old who arrived 145th in the FedExCup standings, is attempting to make the Playoffs for the first time, though this is just his third season on the main stage. After opening with twin 66s, he began T10 on 8-under, two back of quad-leaders (including Kim). On 11 (of 14) fairways and 16 greens in regulation, the Rollins College alum gained 1.399 strokes approaching and 1.216 around-the-green. He walked off with a lone bogey-5 at 18 (failed scramble), preceded by seven circles at 1, 2, 12, 13, and 15-17, adding an eagle-3 at 5 (fringe-shot from 15'1"). The Florida resident gained 3.008 strokes on-the-green, converting two scoring tries from between 33 and 50 feet, and is No. 1 in SGP (cumulative 7.069). His 62 is a career low in 215 rounds, previously 64 in R1 at the 2020 Bermuda (finished T24).

The 40-year-old fired out of the gate today with a four-hole birdie train that kicked off with an 11'3" conversion at the par-4 second hole. The four-hole stretch would including more than 35 feet worth of made putts and he’d follow it up with a 12'3" conversion to save par at the sixth. Oppenheim’s putter cooled off from that point but he still managed 1.869 strokes gained putting by day’s end. At the midpoint, he ranks outside the top 50 in strokes gained off-the-tee and approach but top 10 around-the-green and putting. He’ll need his ball-striking to catch up if he wants to hang around over the weekend. Oppenheim started the week at 145th in the FedExCup race and is currently projected at 127th so he’ll likely need a top-5 finish to secure a spot in the Playoffs which begin next week at TPC Boston.

The 40-year-old is playing in just his third full season on the PGA TOUR and has been keeping busy going 8-for-13 with four top-25s and a top-10. He enters the week ranked 114th in the FedExCup Standings and is fresh off a T9 at the Puerto Rico Open last week. The veteran has been phenomenal around the green gaining .725 stokes per round which is good enough for fourth best on TOUR. The Rollins College grad is another solid back-end DFS option that checks in at 200/1 odds to win. While he likely won’t be holding the hardware come Sunday he makes for an intriguing and affordable weekly option. He will try his luck at PGA National this week alongside Mark Anderson and Tom Lewis.

This was the 40-year-old’s second PRO after a missed cut by eight in 2016 during his rookie campaign (72-79). He improves to 8-for-13 on the season with four top 25s and one top 10, bettering a T21 at the Sony four starts ago. Overall, the Rollins College alum records his third career top-10 finish in 69 events, first since a career-best T8 at the 2017 AT&T Pro-Am on a sponsor exemption. For the week, he carded rounds of 69-68-69-69 and totaled one eagle and 19 birdies versus eight bogeys. In R4, the Massachusetts native found 10 (of 14) fairways and 16 greens in regulation, outflanking three bogeys at holes 3, 11 and 12, with six birdies at 1, 2, 4, 5, 15 and 18.

This is the Korn Ferry Tour grad’s third appearance after missed cuts in 2016 and 2018. He kicked off with an even-par 70 (1 eagle, 2 birdies, 2 bogeys, 1 double), ending that lap with an eagle-3 at 18, and today’s effort was his best at Waialae CC in six rounds, previously 69/R2 in 2018. Beginning off No. 10 tee, the 39-year-old found 10 (of 14) fairways and 11 greens in regulation, losing 0.605 strokes approaching but gaining 0.318 off-the-tee and 2.015 around-the-green. He penciled five birdies at 15, 16 (hole-out from 22'7" away), 18, 3 and 9, and is currently 5-under on the four par 5s that he’s played thus far. The Massachusetts native posted 1.727 putts per GIR and 3.075 SG: Putting, buoyed by three par-savers from between five and 10 feet. The Orlando resident arrived 5-for-8 on the season with no top-10s and off a T53 at the RSM seven weeks ago (69-69-71-68).

The World No. 644 is back playing full time on the PGA TOUR courtesy of a top-25 finish in the Korn Ferry Tour Playoffs last summer. The 39-year-old journeyman his 3-for-5 on the season with a high of T24 at the Greenbrier. Oppenheim had an up-and-down second round that included five birdies and four bogies. The veteran couldn’t seem to find the same momentum he had Thursday as he found only 5-of-14 fairways and converted that into a mere ten greens-in-regulation. The Rollins College Grad struggled out the gates going two over on his back nine (his front) and needed to scramble to get back under par on his front. Oppenheim will be seeking his first top-10 on TOUR since 2017 this weekend.

The 39-year-old found just half of the potential 14 fairways today but kept it in position to allow him to land 16 greens in regulation. All of the scoring happened on the outward nine as he sprayed seven birdies on the first eight holes. Oppenheim cruised home with 10 straight pars with eight straight two-putt pars from 10 thru 17. Playing his 172nd round on the PGA TOUR, this is the first time he’s eclipsed 65, previously signing for rounds of 65 at the 2015-16 RSM Classic, 2016 FedEx St. Jude Classic, and 2019-20 Greenbrier. He went on to finish T24 last month after that opening 65 and will try to aim a little higher this week. His career-best finish is a T8 at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am so these short coastal tracks seem to fit his game well.