Cabrera Bello wins Scottish Open in playoff

Here are nine tidbits from the first round of THE NORTHERN TRUST gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey is hosting for the fourth time since 2008 and plays 7,385 yards to a Par-71. Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 selected, plus one, golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf game presented by SERVPRO. The first round leaders posted 66 (-5) for the highest opening round score in four events at Ridgewood Country Club. Not even soft conditions and lift-clean and replace after rain on Wednesday and into Thursday morning could help scoring. Tucked pin placements and bushy, thick rough also helped keep scores in check in Round 1. Rob Bolton suggests that the early-late draw would have a slight advantage. Unusual Suspects Part I All three leaders started their rounds ranked No. 85 or WORSE in the FedExCup Standings but after Round 1 they would stand third, fourth and fifth. Kevin Tway (No. 85) rattled off six birdies against one bogey to continue his solid vein of form. He’s cashed in 10 of his last 11 and closed 65-65 for T11 at Wyndham last week. … Jamie Lovemark (No. 86) cashed his last top 10 on his own ball at the Honda in late February. He bogeyed his last hole to shoot 66 in the first round for the second week running. It was his only bogey of the day. Unusual Suspects II Vaughn Taylor (No. 112) was the co-leader with Tiger Woods here in 2010 on 65 before finishing T5. Taylor had the most active scorecard of the leading troika has circled eight birdies against three bogeys. … Gamers have seen this old trick from Sean O’Hair before. He entered the 2016 FedExCup Playoffs at No. 108 and finished T2 behind Patrick Reed at another A.W. Tillinghast course, Bethpage Black. O’Hair’s last of two top-10 finishes was T2 at Valero in April. Don’t get too excited as none of these four players have won this season and Tway and Lovemark have never won on TOUR. People’s Choice The heaviest selections this week were named Justin but it’s the one that in the stars and stripes who was the most popular selection. The defending FedExCup champion appeared on almost half of the rosters this week and got off to a decent start but he’s one of TWENTY TWO players who signed for 68 (-2), good for T27. He played the Par-3 holes in two-under and the other 14 holes even. No Hangover The U.S. Open and PGA Champion isn’t showing any signs of his season being finished after opening with 67 (-4). An eagle and four birdies wiped out a pair of bogeys as Brooks Koepka checked in at No. 3 in Strokes-Gained: Off-the-Tee but it was his scrambling (5 of 6) that kept him just one back. No. 1 World No. 1 and FedExCup points leader Dustin Johnson played with Thomas and Koepka in the marquee pairing in the morning wave. The event defending champion ate a triple-bogey eight after a wayward tee shot on No. 17 to throw away a four-under start. He added three more birdies on the front to post 67 (-4). The triple was a double-whammy for Johnson as it came on a Par-5 hole that I would have guessed he would have birdied. That’s a four-shot swing and a three-shot lead but there’s not a category on the scorecard for “what-if”. Don’t Panic, Yet Geez. The other Justin, Justin Rose, opened with 72 (+1) and will need a decent round tomorrow to play the weekend. Yes, there is a cut! The top 70 and ties advance to the weekend and the top 79 players after Round 1 are even. … It was a tough day for Thomas Bjorn’s Ryder Cup made men as Jon Rahm signed for 75 and was T108 from a field of 118. … Open Champion Francesco Molinari looked human as his ice-cold putter matched Rose on 72 and shares T80. Bubble Boys The top 100 will advance to the next round of the FedExCup Playoffs next week at the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston. Here’s how the guys under the gun are performing: Study Hall Round 1 saw 59 players post red figures as the scoring average was 70.546 (-0.454). … Trey Mullinax and Rafa Cabrera-Bello posted the only bogey-free rounds. … Joining Taylor with eight birdies was Bronson Burgoon (T18). … Last week’s winner Brandt Snedeker missed the Pro-Am yesterday morning with back spasms. They didn’t subside and he was forced to WD before the start of play in Round 1. … Grayson Murray (No. 113) returned to action for the first time since June last week at Sedgefield and MC. He began this week No. 115 before WD and ending his season after Round 1.

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PALM HARBOR, Fla. – This may not be the old Tiger Woods, but it was easy to forget that as his long birdie putt curled toward the hole. Woods had struggled all day to hit his irons close or strike his putts with the proper pace, but that first victory was now within reach after his birdie at the second-to-last hole. “All you want is a shot going up 18,â€� his caddie Joe LaCava said. “Now I’m thinking, ‘We have a shot,’ so I’m pretty jacked up.â€� It didn’t matter that the Copperhead Course’s 18th hole was the toughest of the day. Woods has made a career out of pulling off improbable shots at the most opportune times. He’d proved it again with that unlikely birdie from 44 feet. Woods hit a long-iron off the final tee, leaving himself a 7-iron into the final green. He was in between clubs, as he was throughout the final round, but took the shorter one to leave himself an uphill attempt at birdie. Even he couldn’t connect on a second consecutive putt of some 40 feet. His par on 18 left him one shot behind Paul Casey, who claimed his first PGA TOUR title since 2009. Woods’ 70 on Sunday left him in a tie for second with another player clad in red and black, Patrick Reed. It was still Woods’ best finish since a runner-up finish at the first event of the 2013 FedExCup Playoffs, THE NORTHERN TRUST. “I had a chance today,â€� he said. “Unfortunately, I just didn’t quite feel as sharp as I needed to with my irons and played a little conservative because of it.â€� Woods could only manage two birdies in the final round. He started the day by reaching the par-5 first hole with a long-iron second shot. His tap-in birdie tied him for the lead. He had to wait 16 holes for his next one. He came up short, but his first trip in more than two decades to Florida’s west coast gave fans the glimpse of Woods’ greatness that they came to see. The tournament had to bring in buses from Miami and Orlando, add more than 6,000 parking spots and saw ticket sales jump more than 35 percent. Even his peers, happy to have Woods back on TOUR after his dark, injury-riddled days, were rooting for his success. “It was … a week where Tiger played some good golf and (we) got to see some amazing stuff and hear the roars,â€� said Paul Casey, the tournament’s winner. “I said a couple times if I don’t win this thing I actually want Tiger to win it.â€� It was the first time Woods started a Sunday this close to the lead since the 2015 Wyndham Championship. He fell out of contention there with a back-nine triple-bogey. This time, Woods was in it until the end despite a sub-par ball-striking round. He hit 14 greens Sunday but needed 32 putts, his first time all week that he exceeded 30 putts. “I was just grinding and try to put myself in there,â€� he said. Woods only had three birdie attempts from inside 10 feet Sunday, and two of those were on par-5s he reached in two (with irons). He three-putted the par-5 14th for par, though, and it seemed to end his chances. Woods walked after his 2-iron shot that ended up on the front of the green. He wanted to leave an uphill birdie putt but was overly cautious and left himself 8 feet for birdie. The miss left him two back of Casey with the Copperhead Course’s intimidating Snake Pit ahead of him. Woods played them 1 under but it wasn’t enough. Sunday was his worst performance of the week in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green (+0.65) and Strokes Gained: Putting (-0.95), despite gaining more than a stroke with his putt at 17. He missed a 13-foot birdie putt at the par-5 fifth hole after missing a 5-footer for par on the previous hole. He hit a long-iron within 10 feet on the 228-yard, par-3 eighth hole but lipped out that putt and missed a 16-foot birdie putt on 13 before missing his 10-foot attempt at the par-5 14th. “He hit it pretty decent, but I wouldn’t say great,â€� LaCava said. “Basically, it was the speed of the greens that caught him.â€� Woods blamed his iron play, but not his nerves, for falling short. “I’ve been here before a few times,â€� he said. Woods keeps getting closer and closer to his 80th win. He’s been inside the top 15 at the end of each of his past seven rounds. Woods was four off the lead entering the weekend of The Honda Classic. He twice got within four shots of the lead in the final round. He was never outside the top 10 at the Valspar Championship, even though this was his tournament debut. He played with Brandt Snedeker in the second-to-last group on both Saturday and Sunday, starting the final round one shot behind rookie Corey Conners (who shot 77 to fall to T16). Woods was seeking his first victory since the 2013 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, and trying to win one week after Phil Mickelson claimed his first win since that 2013 season. It was not to be. Woods’ victory quest will continue next week at a course where he’s been winning for nearly three decades. He won the first of his six USGA amateur titles there at the 1991 U.S. Junior Amateur and he shared a victorious handshake with Arnold Palmer eight times as the winner of Palmer’s tournament. This will be his first appearance at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard since his 2013 victory. He’s won four of his past five starts at Bay Hill. “I believe my game is progressing,â€� Woods said. If it continues, victory does not seem far away.

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The PGA TOUR announced today the four Featured Groups for Thursday-Friday at the PGA TOUR’s Regular Season finale, the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. Full groupings and starting times for the first two rounds of the Wyndham Championship will be released officially at approximately 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 11. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Featured Groups), 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). FEATURED GROUPS (FedExCup Rank) Brooks Koepka (92), Jordan Spieth (94), Justin Rose (103) • Koepka is making his first start at the Wyndham Championship since 2015 (T6); entered the top 125 in the FedExCup standings for the first time this season with his runner-up at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational two weeks ago • 2015 FedExCup champion Spieth, who lost to Patrick Reed in a playoff at the 2013 Wyndham Championship, is looking to improve his FedExCup position of 94th and qualify for the TOUR Championship for the first time since 2017 • With a ninth-place finish at the PGA Championship, 2018 FedExCup champion Rose moved from outside the top 125 to No. 103 in the FedExCup standings; he will compete at the Wyndham Championship for the first time since 2009 Webb Simpson (3), Sungjae Im (5), Brendon Todd (9) Notable: All three players enter the week inside the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 • Simpson has seven top-10s in 11 starts at the Wyndham Championship, including a win in 2011 and runner-up finishes in each of the last two seasons • Im, who held the lead in the FedExCup standings when the season was suspended, finished in a tie for sixth in his debut at the 2019 Wyndham Championship • Todd, who held the 18-hole co-lead at last week’s PGA Championship (T17), is one of four players with multiple victories on the season (Bermuda Championship, Mayakoba Golf Classic) J.T. Poston (58), Brandt Snedeker (96), Sergio Garcia (134) Notable: Each player in the group has at least one Wyndham Championship title • Poston earned his first PGA TOUR victory at the 2019 Wyndham Championship; the tournament holds the second-longest streak on TOUR without a back-to-back winner (Sam Snead, 1955 and 1956) • Snedeker, winner of the 2012 FedExCup, won his second title in the event in 2018 after opening with a 59; he is one of 10 players to shoot a sub-60 score on the PGA TOUR • This is the second time Garcia will enter the Wyndham Championship outside the top 125 in the FedExCup standings; in 2018, he entered the tournament No. 131 in the FedExCup standings and finished T24 to move to No. 128, missing the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time in his career Patrick Reed (6), Paul Casey (54), Shane Lowry (131) • Reed, who won his maiden PGA TOUR title at the 2013 Wyndham Championship, can finish the Regular Season as high as No. 3 in the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 with a victory • With a T2 at last week’s PGA Championship, Casey made the biggest jump in the FedExCup standings of anyone in the field (67 spots from No. 121 to No. 54) • 2019 Open Championship winner Lowry enters the week No. 131 in the FedExCup standings; he has qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs twice in his PGA TOUR career (2016, 2019)

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