{"id":576441,"date":"2026-05-10T13:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T13:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/576441\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T13:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T13:26:15","slug":"draws-and-fades-three-players-to-watch-for-top-20-finish-at-truist-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/576441\/","title":{"rendered":"Draws and Fades: Three players to watch for top-20 finish at Truist Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

10H AGO<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

6 Min Read<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Draws and Fades<\/p>\n

<\/a>*:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-17ygvlf>img,.css-17ygvlf>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-17ygvlf::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:56.25%;}]]>\"Highlights<\/p>\n

Highlights | Round 3 | Truist Championship<\/p>\n

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A<\/p>\n

Change Text Size<\/p>\n

Written by Brad Thomas<\/p>\n

The PGA TOUR is really starting to feel like the Fitzpatrick Show. After Matt Fitzpatrick<\/a>‘s recent dominance, it feels like Alex Fitzpatrick<\/a> (+190) is taking his turn at the top. He heads into the final round of the Truist Championship with a one-shot lead over Kristoffer Reitan<\/a> (+310) after an impressive 7-under 64 in the third round.<\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick is on a heater most golfers dream about. A win on Sunday would give him three wins in his last four starts.<\/p>\n

For Fitzpatrick, it’s been a steady dose of really strong iron play, which has led to some really low scores. Fitzpatrick opened with a 4-under 67, followed it with a 68, then delivered one of the rounds of the day Saturday with that 64.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get comfortable if you have a ticket on either of the two at the top. Cameron Young<\/a> (+200) is lurking after firing the low round of the day, an 8-under 63 that moved him from T12 to solo third. He is just two shots off the lead and has been nothing short of amazing this season.<\/p>\n

After a brief weather delay in the morning, players returned to the course and found the most gettable conditions of the week. The opening round played 0.47 strokes under par. The second round played 0.25 strokes under par. The third round was by far the easiest, playing 1.29 strokes under par.<\/p>\n

Only seven of the 18 holes played over par, and the field took full advantage.<\/p>\n

That was not all that surprising. Heavy rain softened the course, and with very little wind, players were able to go very low.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s forecast looks calm again, with no rain and minimal wind. If the course firms up even a little, it should play tougher than it did in the third round. That means mistakes are still on the table, and there are plenty of players close enough to make this interesting.<\/p>\n

The final group has all the pressure. Fitzpatrick is chasing his first Signature Event win, while Reitan is looking for his first PGA TOUR victory. Both have been terrific through three rounds, but Sunday pressure is a different animal.<\/p>\n

Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Top 20 (+170)<\/p>\n

For those not too familiar with him, it does feel like he came out of nowhere a bit. A few high finishes, a few big checks, and suddenly, he is becoming a household name.<\/p>\n

So far this season, Yellamaraju has five top-20 finishes, good for a 45.5% top-20 rate. Since THE PLAYERS Championship, he has finished inside the top 20 in three of his last five starts. He\u2019s stumbled a bit in his last two tournaments, but I still really like his long-term outlook.<\/p>\n

One of those events was the Cadillac Championship, where the iron play completely let him down. He lost strokes on approach and never really found a way to bounce back.<\/p>\n

This week at the Truist Championship, Yellamaraju has played really solid golf. He is T20 at 4-under, and the approach numbers have been fantastic. Per Datagolf, Yellamaraju has gained +1.55 strokes on approach and +2.18 strokes tee to green, which ranks fourth in the field. The putter has stunk, but we\u2019ve seen him get hot on the greens plenty of times this season.<\/p>\n

Yellamaraju is a great fit for this golf course because he is long off the tee and hits his long irons particularly well. There is always some risk in backing a golfer who has not putted well through three rounds, but he is right on the fringe of a top-20 finish.<\/p>\n

He does not need anything crazy on Sunday. He just needs one more strong ball-striking round and a little cooperation from the putter. It can be done, and the price isn\u2019t out of the question.<\/p>\n

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Sudarshan Yellamaraju holes 101-yard approach for eagle on No. 10 at Truist Championship<\/p>\n

Rory McIlroy, Top 20 (+250)<\/p>\n

After the first two rounds, seeing Rory McIlroy<\/a> at +250 to finish inside the top 20 feels almost like a misprint.<\/p>\n

McIlroy finished his second round with a 4-over 75 in what was one of the worst Strokes Gained rounds of his career. He lost -5.29 strokes to the field, made six bogeys and had just two birdies on the card.<\/p>\n

The driver was part of the problem, especially on the back nine. He hit four of seven fairways on the front, but things fell apart after the turn. McIlroy missed four straight fairways to start the back nine and made bogey on four of his first five holes. He finished the round hitting just six of 14 fairways.<\/p>\n

Somehow, he still managed to gain +1.16 strokes off the tee. The bigger issues came with the short game. McIlroy lost -3.46 strokes around the green and another -1.91 strokes putting.<\/p>\n

So why am I backing McIlroy to finish top 20?<\/p>\n

Because he is Rory McIlroy, and he knows how important it is to carry good momentum into a major. With the PGA Championship next week, you have to imagine he wants to put together a strong final round and head into Aronimink with some momentum.<\/p>\n

This is not an easy bet. There are probably guys at triple the price to finish inside the top 20 who are sitting at 2-under right now. But at +250, I think the number is playable. If McIlroy goes out and shoots 4-under or better, he should have a great shot to finish inside the top 20.<\/p>\n

As we have highlighted throughout the week, Quail Hollow is the perfect golf course for McIlroy. He can dominate off the tee, take a lot of the length out of the course, and set himself up with a scoring advantage over the field. He\u2019s won here. He\u2019s contended here. He has consistently played well here. Yes, I am taking a chance at +250.<\/p>\n

\"Rory<\/p>\n

Rory McIlroy reaches par-5 No. 15 in two, makes birdie at Truist Championship<\/p>\n

Adam Scott, Top 20 (+340)<\/p>\n

I\u2019m taking another stab at a golfer to finish inside the top 20, and this one comes at an even bigger number. It\u2019s Adam Scott<\/a>. Going into this week, I really loved where Scott\u2019s game was at. He felt like a home-run bet in the outright market, and frankly, I bet it myself. Then he went out in the opening round, had an absolute disaster and basically played himself out of the tournament.<\/p>\n

So what did Scott do after opening with a 4-over round? He responded with a 69 in the second round and a 66 in the third.<\/p>\n

The first round was ugly. Scott lost -3.46 strokes on approach and -5.47 strokes total to the field. The second round was an approach masterclass. He gained +2.79 strokes on approach, which was the fourth-best approach round of the day, but he left a lot out there and only finished 2-under because he did not putt well.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to the third round, where he shot a 5-under 66. He gained strokes just about everywhere, including off the tee, on approach and with the putter. The approach numbers were not even that great compared to the second round, and he still scored well.<\/p>\n

To put it in perspective, Scott shot 5-under while still carding two bogeys.<\/p>\n

This is another long shot given the price, but if Scott can replicate what he did last Sunday, when his 64 was tied for the best round of the day, he can move up the board in a hurry.<\/p>\n

Much like McIlroy, he probably needs a 67 or better to have a real chance at cashing a top-20 ticket. But given where his game is trending after that opening-round disaster, it\u2019s very possible.<\/p>\n

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May 8, 2026<\/p>\n

Draws and Fades: Matchups to back in Round 2 at Truist<\/a>Draws and Fades<\/a>\"Image\"Image<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"10H AGO 6 Min Read Draws and Fades *:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-17ygvlf>img,.css-17ygvlf>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-17ygvlf::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:56.25%;}]]> Highlights | Round 3 | Truist Championship *:not(style)~*:not(style){margin-top:0.5rem;-webkit-margin-end:0px;margin-inline-end:0px;margin-bottom:0px;-webkit-margin-start:0px;margin-inline-start:0px;}]]> A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":576442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-576441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=576441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}