Day: November 7, 2018

Jordan Spieth encouraged after return to old driver, 3-wood at MayakobaJordan Spieth encouraged after return to old driver, 3-wood at Mayakoba

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Last week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open was a disappointment for Jordan Spieth, who was making his first U.S. fall start. After carding an opening 66, he struggled with a new driver and 3-wood, and finished T55. That was then. Making his first visit to the Riviera Maya for the Mayakoba Golf Classic this week, Spieth, the 2015 FedExCup champion, has gone back to the driver, 3-wood he’d played for the last five years. And it’s gone so well, he said, Vegas is a distant memory. “It’s way more positive than that,� Spieth said after his pro-am round on the El Camaleon Golf Course at Mayakoba on Wednesday. “Last week I just, I was looking at something different, and the performance just wasn’t coming out the same. It’s been totally different the last couple days for me here. I’ve been striking the ball extremely well, hitting a lot of the fairways, and the short game has been just—trying to improve a little bit more. “The ball-striking is as good as it’s been in quite a while,� he added. “It’s just the short game I need to dial in a little bit.� One of the best barometers for Spieth, as with many players, is his putting. After carrying him to 11 victories before the age of 25, it suddenly fell off for much of last year. He said he likes the paspalum grass at Mayakoba, which bodes well in his struggle for form. That said, Spieth rightly pointed out that getting to the greens in the first place is no picnic. The course is tighter off the tees than he expected; beautiful but narrow. “You’ve got to keep it in between the beacons,� he said. In other words, the old driver and 3-wood could be huge. “I feel like he’s going to drive the ball well this week, which is needed around here,� said Rickie Fowler, who played a practice round with Spieth on Tuesday. Spieth is trying to rebound from a winless 2017-18 season, when he finished 31st in the FedExCup and missed the TOUR Championship. Meanwhile, he’ll soon wed longtime girlfriend Annie Verret, who is back in Dallas, doing wedding planning, leaving Spieth single until the arrival of his parents here later this week. Not that Spieth isn’t doing a little planning himself. Speaking at a Monday fundraiser for the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Dallas, he said he’d kicked out his housemates, including TOUR rookie Kramer Hickok, a former teammate at Texas, in preparation for married life. Asked if Mayakoba would mark his last start as a single guy, Spieth laughed. “Yeah, I guess it is,� he said. “Yeah, not much will change. I’m just excited to be here. It’s pretty awesome here, as you know. I mean, I get the afternoon on the beach.�

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Fantasy Football Rankings, Week 10: Model that beat experts says start Mike Davis, sit Carson WentzFantasy Football Rankings, Week 10: Model that beat experts says start Mike Davis, sit Carson Wentz

More than half of the NFL season is gone and Fantasy football owners everywhere are turning their attention toward the playoffs, using Fantasy football rankings to navigate the waiver wire and trading block. However, in order to make the playoffs, you need to keep winning. In Week 10, there are plenty

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NFL continues to set season-to-date scoring recordsNFL continues to set season-to-date scoring records

With nine weeks in the books, the NFL once again has set a record for the points scored to date. The league’s teams have scored a collective 6,440 points through Week Nine, the most points scored through any Week Nine in league history. Likewise, the total touchdowns scored (736) and passing touchdowns

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Quick look at the Mayakoba Golf ClassicQuick look at the Mayakoba Golf Classic

Wake up. Step out of your room. Hop onto a boat. Arrive at the first tee. Theoretically, that’s how you could start the day at Mayakoba, the resort course hosting this week’s event. Of course, players will need to warm up on the range first, but it’s easy to get distracted at the Riviera Maya, with all the fresh-water canals, emerald jungles and wildlife in the area. And yes, those are spider monkeys roaming the fairways. THE FLYOVER The 532-yard par-5 13th is the easiest hole at El Camaleon. A year ago, it played to a stroke average of 4.475, which made it the 31st easiest par 5 of the 163 played on the PGA TOUR last season. A prevailing left-to-right wind will impact a player’s strategy, but those who fail to make at least a birdie are giving up significant strokes to the field. Here’s a look at an Aaron Wise chip-in for eagle at the 2016 Mayakoba. LANDING ZONE Of the 918 holes played on the PGA TOUR last season, the 452-yard par-4 14th at El Camaleon was the 11th toughest, playing to a stroke average of 4.373. Just one eagle and 19 birdies were made, compared to 113 bogeys and 29 doubles or others. The fairway offers a fairly generous landing zone, but a headwind and dense mangroves surrounding the hole turn par into a difficult task. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Stewart Williams: “High pressure will keep the tranquil weather pattern going through Friday. Can’t rule out an isolated shower or thunderstorm on any given day, but the bulk of the area will likely remain dry. Just enough increase in moisture may increase our chances for seeing scattered showers and thunderstorms on Saturday. Showers may linger into Sunday morning with dry conditions returning for the afternoon. A cold front will drop south and bring a good chance for t-storms by Tuesday.â€� For the latest weather news from Playa del Carmen, Mexico, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK Brought a smile to my face really just stepping on this property.This is an extremely relaxing week, which I’ll take advantage of that. Definitely a couple spa days. BY THE NUMBERS 68.65 – Scoring average by Charles Howell III in his nine appearances at Mayakoba. He has three top-10s in his last five starts in this event. 70 – Number of birdies made individually this season by Beau Hossler, Emiliano Grillo, Si Woo Kim, Chez Reavie and Gary Woodland, each of whom is in the field this week. That’s one birdie shy of the current birdie leader Kevin Tway (71). 1 – Number of players who have competed every year of the Mayakoba. That distinction belongs to Chris Stroud, who has three top-5 finishes in those 11 starts. 2 – Number of Mexico natives who have won PGA TOUR events. Cesar Sanudo won the 1970 Azalea Open Invitational, while Victor Regalado won twice, in 1974 (Pleasant Valley Classic) and 1978 (the tournament now known as the John Deere Classic). SCATTERSHOTS  A record four players from Mexico – Carlos Ortiz, Roberto Diaz, Jose de Jesus Rodriguez and Abraham Ancer — have their PGA TOUR cards this season, and all four are in the field this week. They’ve each played and made the cut at Mayakoba in previous starts. “Having four Mexicans playing with a full card this year, it’s incredible,â€� Ancer said. Added defending champion Patton Kizzire: “They didn’t just get here by chance; those guys are really good golfers.â€� U.S. Amateur champ Viktor Hovland of Norway is making his PGA TOUR debut this week. Hovland, who played collegiately at Oklahoma State, is playing on a sponsor exemption. So is Adria Arnaus, who also is making his TOUR debut. Arnaus, who played collegiately at Texas A&M, is from Spain. Green speeds this week will be between 10.5 to 11 feet due to the contours of the green and the sea breeze. The latter is most noticeable on the ocean holes No. 4 and 15.

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman on missing the Chris Sale trade: ‘Thank God’Yankees GM Brian Cashman on missing the Chris Sale trade: ‘Thank God’

Despite Chris Sale’s instrumental role — both on and off the field — in helping the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series, the rival Yankees don’t regret avoiding a trade for him in 2016. In fact, New York’s longtime general manager is thankful for it. “Thank God I didn’t do that, actually

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