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SPRINGFIELD, N.J. -- The years final major is upon us this week outside New York City, and it starts just 11 days after The Open at Royal Troon finished. How are the top pros going to handle the rare turnaround in major championship conditions and pressure?And what can we expect from Phil Mickelson, who finished oh-so-close to capturing another Claret Jug in Scotland? Our experts tackle these topics and more in this weeks edition of Monday Four-Ball.1. World No. 1 Jason Day and No. 2 Dustin Johnson were the only players in the top 15 in the Official World Golf Rankings to play the RBC Canadian Open. Will that help or hurt them this week at the PGA Championship?SportsCenter anchor Jonathan Coachman: I think fatigue will absolutely play a factor for those that played the Open Championship, then in Canada, and then at Baltrusol. But heres the thing: Playing in the heat of summer when you start to play well can be an advantage. The only two players that should have had confidence coming out of Royal Troon were runner-up Phil Mickelson and winner Henrik Stenson. So the long answer is yes, I think playing in Canada will help those that did.ESPN.com senior golf analyst Michael Collins: It will hurt them. I completely understand the tie to the sponsor, but if Im RBC, Id much rather have them winning majors this season than playing in Canada. Two majors in three weeks is tough on its own. Maintaining high-level play for three weeks straight is an impossible ask which is why the 13 other top guys didnt do it.ESPN.com senior golf writer Bob Harig: Playing well wont hurt them, but maybe playing at all will. Having two major championships in three weeks is tough enough, but add another tournament in between -- along with the travel from Europe -- and getting worn down is certainly in play, especially with a hot weather week ahead in New Jersey.ESPN.com senior golf editor Kevin Maguire: It probably wont do either, but it could hurt both of them down the road. Granted, neither of them will be playing in the Olympics despite qualifying, but theyve got a long stretch of golf with the FedEx Cup playoffs right around the corner to wrap up the 2015-16 season.ESPN.com senior golf writer Jason Sobel: Can I pick none of the above? Heres what will happen this week: If JD and DJ each contend for the title, well explain theyre sharp because they played a tourney the week before; if they each play poorly at the PGA, well explain theyre worn out from playing the week before. The truth is, theyre golfers. And golfers play golf. Playing last week shouldnt really have much of an effect on how they play this week.2. More likely for Phil Mickelson: Inside or outside the top 10 at Baltusrol?Coachman: I am going inside the top 10. He has had a sneaky good year. He was big time at Troon and will be big time at Baltusrol.Collins: Outside. As great as it would be to see him play well here again, when Mickelson finishes second in a major, his next start usually stinks. Heres the past five starts after major second-place finishes; MC, 78, MC, MC, T58. You still have that confident feeling you had when you first read the question? Sorry for the honest reality slap.Harig: Outside. As well as he played at Royal Troon, and as good as it is for him to be able to keep the momentum going, there are no guarantees. Mickelson had missed the cut at the Masters, Players and U.S. Open.Maguire: Wish I could say inside, but outside is more likely. Most will point to his win here at Baltusrol at the 2005 PGA as a reason for hope, but after expending all that energy and still coming up short at Royal Troon, I cant imagine a 46-year-old Mickelson keeping the gas on the pedal for a second time in three weeks.Sobel: I really like Mickelsons chances this week, so Ill say inside the top 10. I spoke with Phil for a while after the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, two weeks before he finished runner-up at Troon. One thing he said struck me as noteworthy: While most elite golfers are squeezing a lot of golf into a tight window this summer, hell have a three-week break starting next week. At the time, I thought that could mean hed make a run at the FedEx Cup. Now I think hell make another run at a major.3. Andrew Beef Johnston just signed an endorsement deal with Arbys. Whats your favorite player/sponsor combo?Coachman: To me, a perfect combo would be Dunkin Donuts and Jason Day. How many start your day with ... sentences are there? So many. And with his family, they could factor them in as well.Collins: Coming off the win at The Open, Henrik Stenson -- aka The Iceman -- should have a golf bag sponsored by Polar Temp. You know all the big freezers you grab bags of ice from at gas stations and convenience stores? Theyre made by Polar Temp. Then his golf bag (white) would just say ICE (blue letters) and his head covers could have icicles hanging from them!Harig: Boo Weekleys deal with Firethorn is perfect. Camouflage shirts and hats seems totally appropriate.Maguire: To stay with the Beefs fast-food theme, how about Graeme McDowell and McDonalds? Theres got to be someone who can work in this McDowells/McDonalds clip from the movie Coming To America right?Sobel: Duh. Its Miguel Angel Jimenez, who played The Most Interesting Man in the World in those Dos Equis commercials.4. Thumbs up or thumbs down to the European Tour floating the idea of six-hole tournaments.Coachman: Thumbs down. There is nothing wrong with the way things are done. I am all for new ideas and trying to make things fresh, but I would focus on promoting the players instead of getting gimmicky.Collins: Thumbs way up! Thered be all kinds of infrastructure changes that would have to be made, but the thought of 100 guys playing six holes, best score wins? Talk about pressure and drama. European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley is going to get blasted by the old (stuffy) guard, but I love him not being afraid to blow it up and try something different.Harig: Its a nice idea, but ideas on the pro tours are better if they are truly during the course of a real tournament. Why not play 12-hole rounds over 4 days and have the event count?Maguire: Thumbs up. Golf needs this kind of shake up in a big way. Will it solve all that ails the sport? Of course not, nor does anyone expect that. But what casual observers and weekend hackers like me know for certain is that whatever the pros do, the general golfing public tends to go in that direction as well. One can only hope the PGA Tour brass is trying to come up with similar ideas to keep the game relevant to younger generations.Sobel: No. No, no, no, no, no. Just -- no. I dont even understand this. Golf isnt so broken that it needs this much fixing. Im all for alternative ideas to make events more fun and fan-friendly. But a six-hole tourney sounds like a terrible idea. Im out.Elie Okobo Suns Jersey . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. Steve Nash Jersey . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. http://www.officialsunsfanstore.com/dan-majerle-suns-jersey/ . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jason Kidd Jersey . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. Penny Hardaway Suns Jersey . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League.Fans headed to Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon are in for a treat with Madison Bumgarner and Jake Arrieta set to take the mound in a meeting of two of baseballs premier aces.Both outstanding competitors, both have won the top awards, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Saturdays matchup. It will be an interesting day theres no question -- its going to be a very low-scoring good game.Go inside the numbers that make both pitchers stand out, and then vote for which ace you would rather have at the bottom of the page:?Why Bumgarner-Arrieta is a true ace showdownSaturdays matchup will be a spectacle because of their pedigrees, obviously. Arrieta, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, is enjoying an impressive followup season with a 16-5 record, a 2.84 ERA, and a scant 111 hits allowed in 168 innings. Bumgarner, the 2014 World Series MVP, has been in optimal MadBum form this year. He ranks second in the NL in ERA to Kyle Hendricks and third in strikeouts behind Max Scherzer and Jose Fernandez, and hes instinctively the man that manager Bruce Bochy and the Giants look to when things arent going well and the team is in dire straits.Beyond the numbers, few matchups in baseball exude more intensity than this one. Bumgarner and Arrieta both wanted to take part in the All-Star Game Home Run Derby, and were legitimately ticked when they didnt get the call. They also have two of the best death stares in baseball. Whomever comes out on top in this one is going to have to earn it. -- Jerry CrasnickWhat makes Bumgarner special?Bumgarner doesnt have the Cy Young on his mantel that Arrieta does, nor the no-hitter (let alone more than one) under his belt, but for the Giants power pitcher, it feels like only a matter of time before he reaches those accolades and accomplishments. A few more thoughts on the lefty whose 2.49 ERA is second in the majors:Get him to the postseason and watch him go: Bumgarner won World Series MVP honors in 2014 for a Fall Classic performance that just begs on the superlatives. His five-inning save in Game 7 was the longest in postseason history. He became just the second pitcher with 5 or more scoreless innings in relief in a winner-take-all World Series game, and the first since 1947 (Elias). And it wasnt just that game -- he threw 21 innings in that World Series, allowing just one earned run.And it wasnt just 2014 in the World Series, eithher.dddddddddddd Bumgarner has a 2.14 ERA in his career in the postseason, the best ERA among active pitchers with at least 9 postseason starts. Those pre-2014 starts include eight scoreless innings in Game 4 of the 2010 World Series at just 21 years old and seven scoreless in World Series Game 2 in 2012.Hes consistent: Bumgarner has made at least 30 starts in each full season of his career. Saturdays start will be his 29th this season. He has 106 starts of at least seven innings pitched since he was called up for good in 2010 -- only two NL pitchers have more such games in that span.Good luck hitting his curveball: Opponents are hitting just .118 against Bumgarners curveball this season, the third-lowest mark against any starter who has thrown at least 350 curves and the best among NL starters. Hes one of just two starters to throw at least 350 curveballs this season and not give up a home run on the pitch.?-- Sarah Langs, ESPN Stats & InfoWhat makes Arrieta specialWhile Arrieta hasnt been quite as dominant as he was during his Cy Young-winning year last season, hes still in the mix to repeat for the prestigious award. Heres what makes the Cubs ace stand out: ?He avoids hard contact: Since the start of 2014, Arrieta is one of three starting pitchers with a hard-hit rate under 10 percent (9.5 percent). The other two are Clayton Kershaw (8.6 percent) and Tyson Ross (9.2 percent).Its hard to get hits off of him: Opposing hitters are hitting .185 against him this season, lowest in MLB. The highest batting average against any of his pitches this season is .237 against his slider.His curveball has been great lately: In his last eight starts, Arrieta has thrown 102 curveballs. Opponents are 2-for-23 in plate appearances ending with the pitch with no walks and nine strikeouts.Its nearly impossible to get to him early: In the first three innings of his starts this season, Arrieta has allowed a 1.73 ERA, second in MLB to Kyle Hendricks (1.44). Opponents have a .454 OPS against him in the first three innings of games this season, which is nearly 100 points lower than the next-closest pitcher (Carlos Martínez, .550).The Cubs are 14-1 in Arrietas starts this season when they give him a lead after three innings. --?Ken Woolums, ESPN Stats & Info ' ' '