The United States’ Xander Schauffele entered the final round of the men’s golf tournament with a one-stroke lead on Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.

Sepp Straka leads the golf competition a the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after a brilliant 63 in a humid, soggy Round 1 of golf at Kasumigaseki Country Cub that was delayed by weather for more than two hours on Thursday in Japan.

Straka was in the first group off on Thursday morning, and nobody in any of the other 19 groups behind him was able to run him down. Still, there was plenty of jockeying for position just behind Straka, and several stars are in a good spot going into the final 54 holes.

Let’s take a deeper look at Straka’s impressive Round 1 performance and who has a chance to catch him over the next few days.

1. Sepp Straka (-8): The Austrian has missed three cuts in a row (and six of his last seven) so of course he shot a clean 63 that included no bogeys and a positive strokes-gained number in every category. Of course. It’s golf. Straka’s slim lead doesn’t amount to much as he doesn’t have a lot of staying power here. Could he contend for a medal here? Sure, but this feels a bit like a race rabbit for now. Straka has a nice game but there’s no evidence that it’s anywhere near form, though I’m encouraged by how he struck it on Thursday, and he noted that it feels like everything is coming together at the right time.

“Those first few weeks before [the Travelers Championship] when I missed the cut my irons were bad, but my short game was really good,” said Straka. “So I worked on my irons a lot and then my short game got bad. So that’s when I missed the last couple cuts. But yeah just changed my putting routine up a little bit and it worked really well and my irons have been pretty good the last few weeks, so I felt pretty good about my game.”

2. Jazz Janewattananond (-7): Janewattananond has not had his best year with just one top-10 finish to five missed cuts worldwide, but he was flawless on Thursday in Round 1. Beware of a bit of a streaky putter, though. If it flips on him on Friday, he could level out, although he did just make the cut and have a nice T46 finish at the Open Championship at Royal St. George’s in a much better field.

T3. Thomas Pieters, Carlos Ortiz (-6): Pieters absolutely flushed it in Round 1, which was a surprise to him because he said he’s been feeling terrible. His strategy? Don’t think about where not to hit it. He lost strokes to the field both on and around the greens and still dropped a tasty little 65 that has him vying to one-up his fourth-place finish at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

“Being from a small country we have got two medals up to now [at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics] … if you just get one more for your country, I mean it’s like legendary status back home,” said Pieters. “So, yeah, I just want to get a medal, it would be lovely. But long way to go.”

T5. Joachim B. Hansen, Jhonattan Vegas, Juvic Pagunsan (-5): Vegas has been on fire of late with three top-11 finishes in his last four starts, including a T2 last week at the 3M Open. This opener was no surprise given how well he’s been striking it, and the encouraging part for him (and those of us who picked him to finish in the top 10 at +350) is that he didn’t putt it that well at all on Thursday, which means more could be coming on Friday and Saturday.

T8. Sebastian Munoz, Paul Casey, Anirban Lahiri, Alex Noren (-4): The Great Britain team has been probably more vocal than any other about how meaningful this week has been, and Casey reiterated that on Thursday after his 67 when he discussed how inspired he’s been by other athletes from Great Britain.

“I feel that there’s an immense sense of kind of responsibility to I’ve got to try and deliver as much as I can,” said Casey, who is staying in the Olympic Village. “They don’t put pressure on you, Team GB is never about that, it’s not been mentioned once, you need to deliver kind of thing. No, but you feel that with the other athletes because everybody else is performing so brilliantly, I want to perform and live up to their expectations as well.”

T12. Xander Schauffele, Adri Arnaus, Henrik Norlander, Antoine Rozner, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Si Woo Kim, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Reed (-3): Schauffele is the big one here. Of his four wins as a pro, three have come in small field events with no cut like this one. He remains among the handful of favorites after his 68 in Round 1 (in which he made bogey at the final hole). He needs to tighten up his iron play a bit, but he’s in a premium spot going into the second round, and I think he’s the one to watch from the chase pack as the tournament begins to unfold a little bit.

T20. Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy (-2): Considering the amount of pressure on Matsuyama to thrive in his home country at these Olympics, his 69 in Round 1 wasn’t all that bad. His ball-striking was a bit shaky, but if one of the best of his generation in that category can right the ship on Friday, he should be in this going into the weekend.

“If I say there’s no pressure I’ll be lying, so hopefully I’ll be able to embrace the pressure and that’s upon me and just try to put together a nice tournament here,” Matsuyama said.

T41. Justin Thomas (E): There was absolutely nothing notable about Justin Thomas’ round. Literally nothing. He made 18 straight pars (which is actually extraordinarily difficult to do) and finds himself in a pretty deep hole going into Friday. It’s one he’s certainly capable of digging himself out of, but he’s going to have to get some shaky iron play (at least for him) over the last few months rolling again because that did not happen in Round 1 on Thursday. It would also help if he didn’t lose multiple strokes to the field with his putter. J.T. also gave the quote of the first round.

Michigan State women’s golf head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll has announced the program’s schedule for the upcoming 2021-22 season. The 2021 Big Ten champion Spartans will play a total of eight tournaments prior to the 2022 conference championship, which will take place at Fox Chapel Country Club in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, April 22-24.
The Spartans will get the season going Sept. 13-14 with a new tournament stop for the program – the Cougar Classic at Yeamans Hall Club in Charleston, South Carolina.

Michigan State will play three tournaments in October, starting with the Windy City Classic, Oct. 4-5, at Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette, Illinois. MSU returns to the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational, Oct. 15-17 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Spartans won the last Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational in 2019, which routinely features some of the nation’s top programs.

The fall schedule closes with a mainstay on the MSU schedule, The Landfall Tradition, Oct. 29-31 in Wilmington, North Carolina.

MSU’s first tournament of the new year will be another familiar stop in Orlando, Florida, with the UCF Challenge at Eagle Creek Golf Club, Feb. 6-8.

The Spartans head to Houston, Texas for the ICON Invitational at the Golf Club of Houston, Feb. 21-22, then back to Florida for the Gator Invitational in Gainesville, March 5-6. The month of March will wrap up with the Clemson Invitational at The Reserve at Lake Keowee in Sunset, South Carolina, March 25-27.

The Lady Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, April 15-16, will serve as the Spartans’ final tune-up prior to the Big Ten Championship, which will be April 22-24.

The four NCAA Regional sites for 2022 will be Tallahassee, Florida; Stillwater, Oklahoma; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The 2022 NCAA Championships return to Greyhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, May 25-30, for the second straight year.

Since the PGA Tour resumed in June, DFS pro Mike McClure’s golf top picks have resulted in more than $10,500 in winnings.

At 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the men’s golf tournament in the 2020 Summer Olympics will begin. A star-studded group of 60 golf players will compete in the 72-hole stroke-play event ET at “Kasumigaseki Country Club” in Saitama, Japan.

None of the three 2016 Olympics medalists are in the field for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Next week, 35 countries will be featured. The four Americans competing in the 2020 Olympics men’s golf tournament are Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, and Patrick Reed, and all four are among William Hill Sportsbook’s favorites.

In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics men’s golf odds, Morikawa is the favorite at 7-1, while Schauffele and Thomas are next at 9-1.

Reed is listed eighth on the gold odds board at 18-1 after having been replaced by Bryson DeChambeau as he tested positive for COVID-19.

Rory McIlroy (11-1), Viktor Hovland (12-1), and Hideki Matsuyama (12-1) are the other top Tokyo Olympics 2020 golf competitors. Make sure to check out Mike McClure’s proven golf model at SportsLine before making any 2020 Tokyo Olympics men’s golf picks.

Since the PGA Tour has resumed last summer, McClure is a DFS pro who has won almost $2 million, and his golf projection model, which simulates each event 10,000 times each event, has been on fire with his picks. Since the June beginning, his best bets based on the strategy have brought in moreover $10,500, with profits at tournament after tournament.

How to make 2020 Tokyo Olympics golf picks

McClure’s golf choices for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 indicate to value on a massive long shot who comes in well over 40-1. This veteran has won on the international level numerous times and has consistently been in the top 25 at PGA Tour events this season. Before you bet on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics or make any Summer Games golf choices, find out who it is and check out all of McClure’s top picks.

2021 Tokyo Olympics golf odds (via William Hill Sportsbook)

Collin Morikawa 7-1

Xander Schauffele 9-1

Justin Thomas 9-1

Rory McIlroy 11-1

Hideki Matsuyama 12-1

Viktor Hovland 12-1

Paul Casey 16-1

Patrick Reed 18-1

Cameron Smith 20-1

Shane Lowry 20-1

Joaquin Niemann 20-1

Corey Conners 22-1

Abraham Ancer 22-1

Christiaan Bezuidenhout 28-1

Sungjae Im 28-1

Tommy Fleetwood 28-1

Marc Leishman 28-1

Guido Migliozzi 45-1

Garrick Higgo 45-1

Alex Noren 50-1

Si-Woo Kim 50-1

Carlos Ortiz 60-1

Thomas Pieters 60-1

Jhonattan Vegas 66-1

Thomas Detry 66-1

Mackenzie Hughes 66-1

Sebastian Munoz 80-1

Antoine Rozner 80-1

Mito Pereira 100-1

Ryan Fox 100-1

Rasmus Hojgaard 100-1

Rikuya Hoshino 100-1

Matthias Schwab 100-1

C.T. Pan 125-1

Henrik Norlander 125-1

Jazz Janewattananond 125-1

Rory Sabbatini 150-1

Anirban Lahiri 150-1

Adri Arnaus 150-1

Sepp Straka 150-1

Yechun Yuan 200-1

Romain Langasque 200-1

Adrian Meronk 200-1

Sami Valimaki 200-1

Kalle Samooja 200-1

Joachim B Hansen 200-1

Scott Vincent 200-1

Rafael Campos 250-1

Maximilian Kieffer 250-1

Ashun Wu 250-1

Fabrizio Zanotti 250-1

Kristian Krogh Johannessen 300-1

Hurly Long 300-1

Gunn Charoenkul 300-1

Juvic Pagunsan 300-1

Ondrej Lieser 400-1

Gavin Green 500-1

Udayan Mane 500-1

Fan favourite Andrew “Beef” Johnston fired an opening 66 to lie just one shot off the lead at the BMW International Open.

Jon Rahm won the 121st US Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, California, on Sunday.

It only seems like yesterday that we were cheering Lefty as he stormed to victory at the US PGA Championship and here we are on the eve of the next Major.

Congaree—ranked 39th on Golf Digest’s 2021-2022 America’s 100 Greatest ranking—will test the world’s best players unlike most tour venues do.

Jason Kokrak played in 233 PGA TOUR events before getting his first victory. The big hitter didn’t have to wait nearly as long to win again, and overcame a local favorite to do it at Colonial.

SportsLine’s advanced computer model simulated the Charles Schwab Challenge 2021 10,000 times

Phil Mickelson shocked the golf world last week when he became the oldest major champion in history, and the legendary left-hander now moves to try and take on famed Colonial Country Club beginning Thursday at the 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge. Mickelson turned back the clock with his PGA Championship victory at Kiawah Island, and now attempts to subdue a narrow, tree-lined Colonial layout that demands accuracy off the tee and around its many doglegs. Mickelson knows how to get it done at Colonial, though, winning the tournament in both 2000 and 2008 as part of his 45-victory Hall of Fame career.

Can Mickelson contend as a 50-1 long shot in the latest 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge odds at William Hill Sportsbook? Or is Texas native and 2016 Charles Schwab Challenge winner Jordan Spieth a more logical pick as the 10-1 favorite? What about Justin Thomas at 12-1 or Collin Morikawa at 14-1? Before locking in any 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge picks, be sure to see the 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

Our proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed last June. In fact, it’s up well over $9,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.

At the Masters in April, McClure nailed Jon Rahm’s (+250) top-five finish, as well as Corey Conners’ (+550) top-10 showing. McClure’s best bets netted over $450 at the Masters.

In addition, McClure was all over Daniel Berger’s win at +1400 in his best bets at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. McClure also nailed Viktor Hovland’s (+2500) victory in the Mayakoba Golf Classic in December. That was one of many huge calls he’s made in the past several months.

This same model has nailed a whopping six majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.

Now that the 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge field is locked, SportsLine simulated the event 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge leaderboard.

The model’s top 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge predictions

One major surprise the model is calling for at the Charles Schwab Challenge 2021: Spieth, a three-time major champion and the tournament favorite, struggles and barely cracks the top five. Spieth returned to his winning ways this year by winning the Valero Texas Open, which ended a 1,351-day drought without a victory. He then finished in third place the following week at the 2021 Masters and has seven top-10 finishes this season.

But Spieth is coming off a disappointing 30th place finish at the 2021 PGA Championship in which he broke par in just one round. He continues to struggle off the tee as he ranks 185th (out of 215 golfers) in driving accuracy percentage. That doesn’t forbode good results at the Colonial Country Club, which has numerous doglegs and tight fairways, putting a premium on accuracy. With Spieth’s current form, there are better options for your 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge bets.

Another surprise: Will Zalatoris, a 25-1 long shot, makes a strong run at the 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge title. The 30th-ranked player in the world, Zalatoris made a magical run at the 2021 Masters to finish second, and was in the mix throughout last week’s PGA Championship en route to an eighth-place performance.

Even though his earnings don’t count as official PGA Tour money due to his special temporary membership status, Zalatoris is making a case to be a captain’s pick for the 2021 Ryder Cup. Zalatoris has finished fifth at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, sixth at the 2020 U.S. Open and seventh at the Farmers Insurance Open to win over $3.4 million.

Zalatoris ranks second on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: approach the green, which will be a vital attribute this week on Colonial’s narrow fairways. Count on Zalatoris to make a major run beginning Thursday as part of your 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge bets.

2021 Charles Schwab Challenge odds

Jordan Spieth 10-1
Justin Thomas 12-1
Collin Morikawa 14-1
Daniel Berger 18-1
Abraham Ancer 20-1
Tony Finau 22-1
Patrick Reed 22-1
Sungjae Im 25-1
Will Zalatoris 25-1
Corey Conners 25-1
Scottie Scheffler 25-1
Joaquin Niemann 30-1
Justin Rose 30-1
Gary Woodland 40-1
Billy Horschel 45-1
Charley Hoffman 45-1
Phil Mickelson 50-1
Brian Harman 50-1
Jason Kokrak 50-1
Kevin Na 55-1
Kevin Streelman 60-1
Emiliano Grillo 60-1
Matt Wallace 60-1
Sergio Garcia 60-1
Ryan Palmer 60-1
Chris Kirk 66-1
Brandt Snedeker 66-1
Matt Jones 66-1
Cameron Tringale 66-1
Matt Kuchar 66-1
Si-Woo Kim 70-1
Keith Mitchell 70-1
Branden Grace 70-1
Lee Westwood 70-1
Russell Knox 80-1
Kevin Kisner 80-1
Ian Poulter 90-1
Joel Dahmen 90-1
Harold Varner 90-1
Camilo Villegas 90-1
Brendon Todd 100-1
Doug Ghim 100-1
Carlos Ortiz 100-1
Cameron Champ 100-1
Patton Kizzire 100-1
Harry Higgs 100-1
Doc Redman 100-1
Jhonattan Vegas 100-1
Talor Gooch 100-1
Cameron Davis 100-1
Lucas Glover 100-1
Peter Uihlein 100-1
Rory Sabbatini 125-1
Luke List 125-1
Adam Hadwin 125-1
C.T. Pan 125-1
Scott Stallings 125-1
J.T. Poston 150-1
Kyle Stanley 150-1
Sepp Straka 150-1
Troy Merritt 150-1
Patrick Rodgers 150-1
Zach Johnson 150-1
Matthew NeSmith 150-1
Sebastian Munoz 150-1
Richy Werenski 150-1
Scott Piercy 150-1
Pat Perez 150-1
Joseph Bramlett 150-1
Wyndham Clark 150-1
Dylan Frittelli 150-1
Maverick McNealy 150-1
Henrik Stenson 175-1
Tom Hoge 200-1
Brice Garnett 200-1
Jason Dufner 200-1
Vincent Whaley 200-1
Mackenzie Hughes 200-1
Rafa Cabrera Bello 200-1
Nate Lashley 200-1
Adam Schenk 200-1
Michael Thompson 200-1
Byeong Hun An 200-1
James Hahn 200-1
Nick Taylor 200-1
Andrew Putnam 200-1
Sahith Theegala 250-1
Chase Seiffert 250-1
Will Gordon 250-1
Brian Stuard 250-1
Graeme McDowell 250-1
Danny Lee 250-1
Robert Streb 250-1
Tyler McCumber 250-1
Brandon Hagy 250-1
Anirban Lahiri 250-1
Denny McCarthy 250-1
Henrik Norlander 250-1
Scott Brown 300-1
Adam Long 300-1
Peter Malnati 300-1
Sung-Hoon Kang 300-1
Michael Gligic 300-1
Sam Ryder 300-1
Brian Gay 300-1
Cameron Percy 300-1
Mark Hubbard 300-1
Kramer Hickok 350-1
Andrew Landry 350-1
Austin Cook 400-1
Jimmy Walker 400-1
Hudson Swafford 500-1
Robby Shelton 500-1
Xinjun Zhang 500-1
J.J. Henry 1000-1
John Augenstein 1000-1
Erik Compton 1000-1
D.A. Points 1000-1
Michael Visacki 1000-1
Keith Clearwater 1000-1