Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson recently voluntarily entered a treatment facility for what a representative described as "family trauma and addiction", according to a report from TMZ Sports. The 56-year-old has since completed his stay. Mickelson has been away from LIV Golf for much of the 2026 season, previously citing a personal family health matter. His absence followed several controversies, including allegations involving a female employee at a San Diego golf club and separate claims of inappropriate conduct made by Ashley Perez, the former wife of professional golfer Pat Perez. Mickelson's representatives have disputed aspects of those reports. His timetable for a possible return to competitive golf is unknown.

At the halfway point in the season, Sudarshan Yellamaraju looked like a lock to make the International Squad. By mid-June, the Canadian had already racked up seven top-20 finishes, including a T5 at the Players Championship. However, what likely kept him off was missing five of his last seven cuts, and finishing no better than T47 in the other two. The steady play that had allowed him to get inside the top 30 in strokes gained tee to green after the RBC Canadian Open turned sour, especially in the ball striking department. In his last seven starts, the 25-year-old has averaged -0.879 strokes gained ball striking. Until that returns to some form of useful output like we saw earlier in the year, he is a strong fade candidate for DFS.

It was a strong showing last week for Nick Taylor, who was apart of the four rookies to make this year's International Team. The Canadian performed the most admirably of the group, with a record for the week of 2-1-1. This was the best way to bring this season's festivities to a close outside of an improbable victory, and he now gets set to play in some fall events to prepare for 2027. He's making the trip to Utah this week, where he finished T25 in 2024. Black Desert Resort isn't a demanding place from tee to green, so putting is the largest correlating factor to success. The 38-year-old is streaky on the greens, but it's more of a strength than a liability. He closed out the regular season averaging 0.858 strokes gained putting over his last six starts. The floor is high enough to feel comfortable about his chances of playing all four rounds, and the upside is good enough to get a victory. At $7,800 on DraftKings, Taylor is arguably one of the best lineup picks of the week.

Stephan Jaeger posted a T57 finish at the Biltmore Championship, carding rounds of 70-69-68-67. He looks to put together a stronger result at the Bank of Utah Championship, where he has previous finishes of runner-up in 2024 and T11 in 2025, both coming on the back of a very solid short game. This year, Jaeger ranks 77th in total strokes gained (+0.180 strokes per round), 24th around the greens (+0.259), and 41st in putting (+0.228). The areas where he has struggled are off the tee, where he ranks 126th (-0.243), on approach (98th, -0.064), and in driving accuracy (152nd). Despite those issues, his short game and strong course history make Jaeger a very intriguing play this week.