Day: February 2, 2017

Photo Gallery: Waste Management Phoenix Open, Practice & Round 1Photo Gallery: Waste Management Phoenix Open, Practice & Round 1

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The Upshot: Round 1, Waste Management Phoenix OpenThe Upshot: Round 1, Waste Management Phoenix Open

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz — Notes and observations from Thursday’s opening round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where Matt Kuchar leads after shooting a bogey-free, 7-under 64. For more Round 1 coverage click here to read the Daily Wrap-up. MASTERFUL HIDEKI Tom Weiskopf collaborated with Jay Morrish on designing the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale, and he redesigned it in 2014, but Hideki Matsuyama has mastered it. In with a bogey-free, 6-under 65 on Thursday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, no one from the early draw went lower than the defending champion. He missed only one green in regulation and connected for six birdies, including a pair stretching 12-14 at Nos. 15 and 16. In 13 rounds at TPC Scottsdale, the last nine after the redesign, Matsuyama has posted a sub-70 on 11 occasions. He’s averaged 67.31 overall and has gone 48 consecutive holes without a bogey, scoring 12-under during the arc. Matsuyama can be a man of few words, and sometimes even fewer when he still doesn’t have an explanation to a relatively basic question that he was asked both last year and today; that is, what is it about this place that brings out his best? “I wish I knew why I play well here, but I did hit the ball very well today … a lot of good shots,” he said. While the results are enough reason to sustain his confidence, the WMPO holds a special place, even if last year’s crowd was decidedly partisan for Rickie Fowler, who Matsuyama outlasted in a playoff to secure his second PGA TOUR victory. “Probably No. 1,” Matsuyama said in reference to where the tournament slots among his favorites,” because I have had such good success here and played well here.” Masterfully, in fact. ROUND 1 HIGHLIGHTS A WELL-RESTED KUCH If you thought that the 2016 Olympics was done impacting the schedule of a touring professional, think again. The bronze medalist at Rio hasn’t played anywhere of note since he and partner Harris English prevailed at the Franklin Templeton Shootout in early December. Some guys, when they rest, they don’t rust. “I played so much this past summer through basically Christmas,” Kuchar told the media outside the clubhouse on a perfect day at TPC Scottsdale. “I knew I needed a break, and my break happened to be early on this year. “Normally I can’t wait to get out to Hawaii and Palm Springs. They were hard for me to skip. I was able to be home, able to be dad. …
 It was a great break for me and nice to come out. ’17, kicked off in a good way.” Indeed, this is the latest he’s begun a calendar year since he was limited in playing time due to Past Champion status in 2006. Kuchar’s 64 is his personal best on the Stadium Course, but it could have been even lower as he missed four looks inside 10 feet. “I felt I left some out there, too,” he acknowledged. “I just played some nice golf today. It was a lot of chances, not too many par saves, which is nice. To play a bogey-free round of golf out here my first round back was great.” ‘RAHMBO’ RETURNS All things considered, Jon Rahm’s first round as a PGA TOUR winner was acceptable, if not impressive. The Farmers Insurance Open winner carded a 1-under 70 in Thursday’s lid-lifter of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. It’s a red number on a course that averaged over par in 2016 for the first time in 11 years. He hit only 11 greens in regulation, covered two bogeys with three birdies and still lamented that it could have been lower. “I played a pretty solid round,” the 22-year-old said. “I’m happy with it. It felt great. It’s just, I couldn’t make a couple of putts I had between 10 and 15 feet. That was a big difference.” For most intents and purposes, 70 figures to be the worst he should find on TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course. He opened his debut in 2015 with the same before linking sub-70s the rest of the way for a share of fifth place. Not too shabby for a member of the Arizona State University golf team at the time. “When I came here as an amateur, I was so naïve, such a rookie on the golf course,” he said today. “I had no idea what to do. I was scared of being in everybody’s way. “And today I get paired with Jordan [Spieth] and Rickie [Fowler] in the feature group. That’s quite a change. That’s for sure.” Winning yields new playing partners, but some things never change. Taking a page out of his own book from the 2015 edition, Rahm donned an ASU football jersey for his tee ball at the par-3 16th hole. He two-putted for par. The name on the back of the jersey: “Rahmbo.” “That is one of my nicknames. I did it two years ago, and I enjoyed it. Today was a little bit early for anybody to be there, but I’m pretty sure tomorrow they will be a little louder.” And you expect his score to be a little lower. PETERSON STARTS QUICK “I feel like a more mature player.” Those are the words of John Peterson after he signed for a bogey-free, 5-under 66 in his opening round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Going out in the first threesome off the 10th tee at TPC Scottsdale Thursday, Peterson hit 16 greens in regulation and buried five birdies, including a kick-starting 30-footer at the par-4 11th. He totaled 31 putts. His career hasn’t taken the direction that he’s expected, either. It’s a thing about which the 27-year-old is very much aware and plans to eliminate as a narrative sooner than later. “In my opinion, I have severely underachieved, and I think a lot of people that are around the PGA TOUR, have been here for a while, would agree with me,” he said. “I just haven’t really given it my full effort since I have been out here. I just kind of treaded water and do just as good as you can and hadn’t really treated it as a job. “I’m starting to treat it more like a job, and I’m really just getting sick of underachieving.” The WMPO is Peterson’s 74th career start and sixth this season on a medical extension afforded for having surgery on his left hand in early 2016. He said that he hasn’t had any pain “in six, seven months.” Because he still has 18 starts remaining on the medical and hung up a T15 at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in the fall, it’s not hanging over his head like it does for some. That frees him up to chase the ultimate goal. “I want to win one,” said the LSU product. “I have been out here long enough. This is my fourth year. I need to win one. I’m treating it much more — I have got a much different outlook on it now than I did.” FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING You know the shot. Check that. You know the experience. For Thursday’s opening round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the par-3 16th hole measured just 168 yards, which is actually five yards longer than what’s printed on the scorecard, but there isn’t another tee ball that generates the kind of anxiety and exhilaration sewn into a sporty, little package. “If it was a 5-iron in your hand, it would be a little more difficult,” said first-time participant Louis Oosthuizen after a 3-under 68. “It’s what the people want to see, and it’s great to have that in golf.” The major champion is one of 15 debutants at the Stadium Course this week. Oosthuizen made his first appearance at the Farmers Insurance Open last week as well. His opening stops in 2017 reflect a shift in his focus to play more on the PGA TOUR this year. He’ll be happy if he totals 21 starts, including a return to the TOUR Championship for which he’s qualified just twice (2012, 2015). “Had to start early somewhere,” he said. “With the new [strength-of-field] rule, I have to play a new event. I always wanted to play Torrey. I’ve never done it before. I loved it and was glad I played it.” “If I don’t do the Middle East like I used to, this week is always opposite Dubai [Desert Classic], so it always clashed a bit. Looked forward to coming here. Weather is perfect, the golf course is great and I’m right on the doorstep of PING, my main sponsor.” Still, for the thorough researchers positioned inside the 16th hole, he may hear a blast from the past this week. Oosthuizen is on the record for preferring the name Louis, not his birth name Lodewicus, which he shares with his grandfather. “Not even my family can call me that,” he told The Independent in 2010. “I won’t talk to them if they call me that. That’s a passport name. I’ve always been Louis, right from the beginning.” So, the inadvertent challenge was issued years before he stepped foot inside the ropes at TPC Scottsdale. “If they can pronounce it properly, then it doesn’t matter,” he joked today. “It’s not going to bother me. You just gotta take it for what it is. Just smile, wave and walk off with whatever number you’re making.” After finding a bunker off the tee today, he got up and down for par. No bother at all. THE POWER OF FAILURE Never underestimate the power of failure. For the first time in five years, Robert Garrigus missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, a tournament he’s played every year since joining the PGA TOUR in 2006. The Scottsdale Community College product lives in Phoenix, so his routine has been to fly home on Sunday night. He’s also a member of TPC Scottsdale, so he wouldn’t arrive until his tee time in the opening round. Results have varied. In seven prior appearances, he’s finished T11 twice and missed four cuts. On Thursday, he connected two birdies on three occasions en route to a 5-under 66, good for a share of the clubhouse lead when he signed his card. “We [members] never get to see [the course] like this, so it was so much different,” he said. “The breaks are different. It’s a completely different golf course, but the tee shots, you know, settle into your eye a little bit better, and it’s easier to shape your shots because you have hit them so many times.” While he has one PGA TOUR victory in the books, Garrigus is arguably known best as one of the longest hitters on TOUR. Last spring, he went to a 33-inch Cure putter and began lurking on leaderboards. With the stick today, he poured in over 121 feet of putts, three of which ranged from 22-27 feet. “I tell you what, I walked two putts in today … about 15 feet away I knew they were in,” he said. “That’s just one of the things that’s so nice about having perfect greens and starting the ball on line.” “I think that’s going to be the key for me, to keep rolling it.” If he can maintain the touch, it’s still unlikely that he’ll volunteer to start missing cuts at Torrey Pines. CALL OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL

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Kuchar shoots 64, leads at TPC ScottsdaleKuchar shoots 64, leads at TPC Scottsdale

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Matt Kuchar eagled the par-5 13th and added two late birdies and a big par save on the rowdy par-3 16th hole Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Kuchar shot a 7-under 64 in perfect afternoon conditions at TPC Scottsdale for a one-stroke lead over defending champion Hideki Matsuyama and Brendan Steele. The crowd was estimated at 103,420 on the fan-friendly stadium layout. Kuchar made a 20-foot eagle putt on the 13th, and ran in a 6-footer for birdie on the par-5 15th. He got up-and-down for par from the left bunker on the triple-deck stadium 16th, making a 12-foot putt, and chipped to inches from the front fringe on the short par-4 17th to set up his final birdie in the bogey-free round. Matsuyama had a bogey-free round in the morning. Last year, he beat Rickie Fowler in a playoff.

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