Matt

Every

Other field changes since Friday’s commitment deadline include Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who’ll be replaced Derek Ernst; Kurt Kitayama, replaced by Brian Davis; Sangmoon Bae (who’s playing the Korn Ferry Tour’s The Ascendant), replaced by alternate John Merrick; Davis Riley, replaced by alternate Kevin Stadler; and J.J. Spaun, replaced by Ryuji Imada. Berger last played two weeks ago at the U.S. Open, where he shot 70-75 and missed the cut. On the season, Berger – a four-time Tour winner – has made nine cuts in 12 starts with three top 10s including a solo fourth at the Honda Classic and a T-5 at the Memorial. He revealed in February that he had suffered a sacroiliac joint sprain. In three previous appearances at the John Deere, Berger has made all three cuts and finished fifth in 2017 for his only top 10. For the 38-year-old Every, this week marks his eighth start at TPC Deere Run, where he’s made just two cuts (2010, 2012). On the season, Every has made just four starts and made the cut only once – at the Puerto Rico Open. He withdrew from the Bermuda Championship in October and most recently missed the cut at the RBC Canadian Open.

Also withdrawing after confirming their commitment to play in the KFT event are Kevin Chappell (replaced in the field by Kevin Stadler) and D.J. Trahan (replaced by alternate Brian Davis). The 43-year-old Gomez has made one cut in five PGA Tour starts this season, finishing T-50 at the Puerto Rico Open in March, and he’s made seven cuts in 12 starts in KFT action, most recently missing the cut in his last two events (AdventHealth Championship, REX Hospital Open). The 34-year-old Every, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2014 and 2015, will make his fourth PGA Tour start of the season and first since missing the cut at the Mexico Open at Vidanta in May.

After opening with a 5-over 76 (2 birdies, 5 bogeys, 1 double), the Florida alum actually had a good lap going in R2. He was 2-under thru 10 holes (4 birdies, 2 bogeys), had just circled birdie-3 at 10, and then WD after hitting three shots to the par-4 11th, two from the primary rough. The two-time TOUR winner, most recently the 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational 151 starts ago (as defending champ), is playing this season out of the Beyond 150 category, despite not collecting any FedExCup points last season in 22 events (20 missed cuts, 2 WDs). This is his 16th mid-tourney WD in 269 events (5.9%) and hasn’t cashed a paycheck on TOUR since a T59 at the 2020 Wyndham, which ended that campaign at 189th in FEC points.

The Florida Gator had a colorful scorecard started today with no pars through 10 holes played today. He traded three birdies with six bogeys and a double bogey before calling it quits today. Every had opened his week with a 3-under 69 but was 2-over for the week at the time of his WD. This will go in the books as his 15th career mid-tournament WD (265 starts) and moves him to 0-for-19 on the season.

The Florida Gator has more than his fair share of success at Bay Hill, winning back-to-back editions in 2014 and 2015. He has two other top 35s on his course resume in addition to seven finishes of T52 or worse. Last year was a little painful for Every as he led after round one with a 7-under 65 but swallowed an 11-over 83 on day two to miss the cut. More recently, he arrives with missed cuts in 11 straight PGA TOUR events with a T34 at the LECOM Suncoast Classic (Korn Ferry Tour) the lone highlight of late. Course history has worked wonders for Every at Bay Hill in the past but his lack of recent results makes him tough to trust in fantasy leagues.

At press time, no reason was supplied for the WD. This is his 14th mid-tourney WD in 256 events, first since last season’s Workday Charity Open, where he departed during the R2 restart on Saturday (no reason) after opening with 9-over 81. The 37-year-old arrived this week 0-for-9 on the season, with his last made cut a T59 at the 2020 Wyndham, which concluded his season at 189th in the FedExCup standings. This week, he opened with a 5-over 77 (SH) and was 7-over thru 13 holes on Friday, 12-over total when he called it quits.

Every is one of several players who would have lost status on Tour if it weren’t for the pandemic, but his finish in the 2019 FedEx Cup ensured that he’ll retain status into 2021, albeit now subject to a reshuffle after finishing the 2020 campaign 189th in points. Every’s most noteworthy start of the year came at Bay Hill, where the two-time winner took a surprising early lead with an opening 65 only to back it up with an 83 in difficult conditions and miss the cut. That turned into a trend once the 37-year-old returned from the pandemic hiatus, as he made the cut only twice in 13 starts after the break. Those two results weren’t anything to write home about, a 68th-place finish at the 3M and a T-59 result at Wyndham, and Every missed the cut in six straight cuts during the fall to begin the 2020-21 season. He made a total of four cuts this year, and his most recent top-25 finish remains a T-18 in Las Vegas in October 2019.

Burns was the 36- and 54-hole lead in his most recent start (Vivint Houston Open/T7). The LSU product was sitting around 66/1 on the betting boards this week. He would have likely been a very popular DFS option given his track record of putting surges that come on bermudagrass greens. Instead, gamers should remove him from all weekly lineups. There is no word on whether this is injury-related or not, but we will update if that information gets released.

The Florida Gator tapped into his course history on day one but gave it all back today, and then some. It all went wrong today as he found water twice, hit it OB once, and needed 33 swipes with the flat stick to make his way around Bay Hill Club & Lodge. Every knows his game well as he said this just yesterday, “I always feel like my good stuff has been really, is really, really good. There’s just no, like, middle ground with me, though. That’s the problem. It’s, like, either ragged or really good.” Today would be bucketed into the ‘ragged’ category. While Every currently sits at 90th on the live leaderboard, the course is playing 2 shots over par so there is still a small sliver of hope that he finds his way into the top 65 by day’s end to earn a weekend tee time.