Phil Mickelson’s former caddie praises Jordan Spieth’s caddie for ‘amazing’ British Open performance

Even though The RSM Classic is just the eighth tournament of the season, it signifies the conclusion of a long year of PGA TOUR action. So, it’s no doubt welcoming that neither course at Sea Island Resort is a grind. The Seaside Course is a par 70 at just 7,005 yards. In its seventh edition as host, it averaged a tournament-low 68.889 a year ago. The Plantation Course measures 7,058 yards, yet it’s a stock par 72. Its scoring average of 69.763 was more than one stroke lower than its debut in 2015. The 36-hole cut fell at 5-under last year. More on both tracks, the format and expectations beneath the ranking. Four consecutive top 20s upon arrival and six in his last seven starts. Perfect in five trips to Sea Island with a playoff loss in 2011 and a T7 in 2013. Season debut. It’s been two years now since he captured his first PGA TOUR title here. After a mild regression, he’s now a threat every time he competes. Like clockwork. He’s opened the new season T19-T15-T4. Ranked T2 in GIR at Mayakoba. He’s also 7-for-7 with three top 10s and a T13 (2016) at Sea Island. It took an illness to sidetrack him in Mexico, but that’s better than a swing-related malady. Seeking to avenge last year’s fade (T45) at the RSM; sat fifth through 54 holes. Since last year’s MC, he’s risen 100 spots in the OWGR to 27th. The lefty already has a pair of top 10s on the board this season. Also placed T10 here in 2013. One of the horses for the courses with a 4-for-4 record that includes a T13 last year. Two top 20s in his last four starts, including a T17 at the Safeway Open. Took three weeks off since launching 2017-18 in T17-T23-T19. Placed T6 in his rookie debut at Sea Island last year. Led field in proximity and birdie-or-better percentage. Making noise a little more often than usual. Top 10s in two of last three starts and five top 25s in his last eight. Three top 20s in four starts at The RSM Classic. Two of his 11 career top 10s have occurred in his only visits to Sea Island, so he’s adapted admirably. Placed T5 at THE CJ CUP four weeks ago. The FedExCup points leader is fresh off his breakthrough win, so a letdown is expected. Or maybe not. He placed T10 and T4 in his previous two starts. Co-led Mayakoba at the midpoint and played in the final threesome in the finale but finished T14. He’s 2-for-2 at The RSM Classic with a T10 last year. A consistent performer both early in the season (4-for-4 with three top 20s) and over the past five-and-a-half months (12-for-13 with seven top 20s). Among the plethora of locals. Although he has five top 25s in six tries, only one was better than a T20. Since the Presidents Cup, he recorded a pair of T31 in Asia. Off to a nice start with a T25 at the Sanderson Farms and a T10 at the Shriners. Making his fifth start at the RSM where he finished a personal-best T27 last year. Showcased his mettle with a T14 in Mexico after fading to a T10 in Vegas. In his debut at Sea Island last year, he was positioned inside the top 20 after 36 holes. Rank player comment POWER RANKINGS: THE RSM CLASSIC Defending champion Mac Hughes, Brandt Snedeker, Zach Johnson and Bubba Watson will be among the notables in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. For everyone who has worked as a course maintenance staffer in the Southeast, the last couple of years have tested that passion. Last year, Tropical Storm Hermine and Hurricane Matthew blew through the Golden Isles in the months leading up to The RSM Classic. This year, it was Hurricane Irma. But once again, after five dozen trees were removed and recovery from the storm surge was complete, both Seaside and Plantation are ready. As it pertains to the competition, preparation to challenge the field of 156 demands consistency since every golfer gets one round on the Plantation Course before the cut falls. Half the field will open on the co-host, while the other half will take its turn in the second round. Only Seaside hosts the final two rounds. Bermudagrass greens will be receptive, so splitting fairways won’t be as much of a prerequisite as a coincidence on the shorter courses. As with any shootout, hitting greens in regulation and converting on those opportunities is key. Mac Hughes ranked T50 in GIR en route to victory last year, but he still averaged 13 per round. Of the five in the playoff from which he emerged, the Canadian authored the strongest short game. (Only Seaside is lasered for ShotLink purposes.) A primary motivation to introduce Plantation two years ago was so that all of the Web.com Tour graduates could plan on making the trip. That’s pivotal because the first reshuffle of 2017-18 will occur after the conclusion of the tournament. Once the calendar turns over in January, playing time for the guys near the bottom of the category will be reduced until fields expand to 156 in the second half of April. Mother Nature will walk off official competition in 2017 with primarily cloudless skies and a drop-off in the daytime high temperature. After peaking in the mid-70s on Saturday, it’ll be some 10 degrees cooler for the finale. Wind is almost always a variable along the coast, but it’s proven not to be as much of a challenge as other destinations. ROB BOLTON’S WRITING SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Columnist Rob Bolton will be filing his usual staples leading up to this week’s event. Look for the following columns this week. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Satoshi Kodaira had just added to his wardrobe and verbally accepted PGA TOUR membership when he was asked a question few thought he would have to answer. How did he like his new plaid jacket? Kodaira looked down at the traditional winner’s coat, then out at his audience. “I will probably not wear it regularly,� he said through an interpreter, sending a burst of laughter through the winner’s press conference. “But this is special.� Japan’s Kodaira, 28, overcame strong winds and Si Woo Kim of Korea for his first TOUR win at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town. After coming from six shots back at the start of the day, the winner rolled in a birdie putt of 24 feet, 6 inches at the par-3 17th hole, the third hole of a sudden-death playoff, and watched as Kim failed to match him with a long birdie attempt of his own. “I wasn’t really thinking about winning,� Kodaira said of his thoughts early Sunday, when he teed off almost an hour before the final threesome of Kim, Ian Poulter and Luke List. List, who lost a playoff to Justin Thomas in The Honda Classic, had a chance to join the playoff but missed a birdie putt from just outside 10 feet on the last hole of regulation. He and 36-hole leader Bryson DeChambeau (66) tied for third at 11-under. Kim, who will defend his title at THE PLAYERS Championship next month, had a chance to end the tournament in regulation after knocking his approach shot 6 feet, 4 inches from the pin on the 72nd hole, but his birdie effort grazed the lip and stayed out. “I tried my best,� he said, “and the putts didn’t drop. It is what it is.� When his last birdie try came up short, a tournament that featured a third-round flyover by a Singapore Airlines Boeing 787, and the most accomplished male pro from Korea, had been won by perhaps the second most famous player from Japan. (Hideki Matsuyama being the first.) “I’ve not talked to Hideki,� Kodaira said. “But I’ve been watching him on TV, and it gives me confidence and inspiration to play on the PGA TOUR.� Sunday was always going to be a battle of attrition. With stiff winds and thunderstorms in the forecast, tournament officials moved the starting times up to 7-9 a.m. and sent the field off split tees. Although there were some good scores, lowest among them a 65 by Harris English, the leaders were left to make a few early birdies and then hang on for dear life. Third-round leader Poulter shot a back-nine 40. List bogeyed four of his last eight holes, with just one birdie at the par-5 15th to offset the damage. Kim, after seizing the lead with a 3-under 33 on the front nine, shot a 3-over 38 on the back. The last five winners of the RBC Heritage had trailed by at least three shots after 54 holes. Kodaira, who came into Sunday six off the lead, stayed on the offensive throughout. After scorching Harbour Town with a tournament-best 63 in easier conditions Saturday, he began the final round with three straight birdies and finished with seven of them overall. Given the tougher conditions Sunday, he said his 5-under 66 was the more impressive of the two rounds. The two playoff combatants made pars on the first two extra holes, both at the par-4 18th, the most tenuous moment being Kodaira’s clutch up-and-down for par from behind the green the second time through. He made a five-footer to stay alive before his winning birdie on 17. “I wasn’t that nervous on the last putt,� he said, “compared to the first two putts on 18.� After finishing T28 at the Masters the week before, the Japan Golf Tour member had earned a spot in next season’s Sentry Tournament of Champions (among other tournaments); and his best-ever result on TOUR; and had become the first player from Japan to win since Matsuyama captured the 2017 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. “This is a stage I’ve been dreaming about,� Kodaira said. “And having this opportunity to play [the PGA TOUR] fulltime is a dream come true.� OBSERVATIONS LIST SUFFERS ANOTHER NEAR-MISS. By his own admission, Luke List didn’t have it in the final round. He hit just eight of 14 fairways, and 10 greens in regulation. Still, he gave himself a chance on 18, knocking his approach shot to just outside 10 feet before missing the putt that would have gotten him into the Kodaira/Kim playoff. List signed for a final-round 72. “I hit a good putt,� he said. “I just didn’t hit very many fairways. Honestly, that really put me behind the 8-ball. I wasn’t able to play as consistent as I did the first three days. It was unfortunate that the swing wasn’t there today, but I hung in there and had a great attitude, and I had a chance at the end there.� Better news still: There’s a lot of golf left to be played this season, and List is starting to believe his first TOUR win is coming soon. “Hopefully next week,� he said. “I’m getting better each opportunity, and I feel like my game has risen to the point where I expect to contend every week. So it’s going to happen.� D.J. SOLID IN RBC RETURN. Dustin Johnson hadn’t played Harbour Town since missing back-to-back cuts here in 2008 and 2009, but as he said before the tournament, that was long ago. He wasn’t the No. 1 player in the world, hadn’t won a major. Proving he is a different, more complete player, Johnson battled a balky putter to not only make the cut this time, he shot a final-round 67 to finish 7-under (T16). “I like the golf course,� he said. “I really do. It actually sets up really well for me.� He had just two caveats: He wasn’t crazy about the short par-4 ninth hole or the dogleg-left par-4 11th, which he played in a cumulative 5-over for the week. After his round Sunday, Johnson was set to begin a three-week break, and was bound for the Bahamas. He knows what to work on upon his return: putting. After struggling on the greens at the Masters (T10), Johnson averaged 29 putts per round at Harbour Town, where he said he had trouble reading the breaks. “I’ve got a few weeks to work on it,� he said. “I’ll be ready for THE PLAYERS.� REDMAN TO TURN PRO AFTER NCAAs. One week after he missed the cut at the Masters, Clemson sophomore and reigning U.S. Amateur champion Doc Redman shot 72 to finish 1-under. He said he will turn professional before his next PGA TOUR start, the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, but for now is excited to rejoin his college teammates for the ACC Championship, April 20-22. “I’ve missed the last three events we’ve played, which has been tough,� said Redman, who also played in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, where he finished 71st. “We lost to Duke last year, so we want to win ACCs pretty bad.� NCAA Regionals are set for May 14-16, followed by the National Championship, May 25-29. After all that, Redman will go pro in time for his next TOUR start, at the Memorial. He’s also lined up to play in the U.S. Open, The National outside Washington, D.C., and the Open Championship, and hopes to make enough money to skip Q school and go directly to Web.com Tour Finals. “It’s definitely possible,� said Redman, who hopes to sprinkle in a few more TOUR starts this summer. “I’ve just got to play well. I sat down with my family and coaches to talk about turning pro. I’m just trying to strike while the iron is hot.� NOTABLES IAN POULTER – Third-round leader finally ran out of gas in his sixth straight week of competition. Going for his second victory in three weeks, the winner of the recent Houston Open never looked sharp, got on a back-nine bogey train and signed for a 75 to finish T7. BRYSON DECHAMBEAU – Rebounding from a third round that saw him card a triple-bogey and two doubles, DeChambeau chased a third-round 75 with a 66 to finish T3, a shot out of the playoff. KEVIN KISNER – Gave himself a chance to win for the second straight year, but the South Carolinian shot a final-round 72 to finish 9-under and three out of the playoff, in a tie for seventh. WESLEY BRYAN – Defending champ shot 70 (T42). Three players have successfully defended at the RBC: Payne Stewart (1989-’90), Davis Love III (1991-’92) and Boo Weekley (2007-’08). DAVIS LOVE III – After making the cut on the number, five-time winner shot 74-73 on the weekend to finish T74. Dru Love, his son, missed the cut by one (77-66) on Friday. JIM FURYK – The two-time RBC champion (2010, 2015) shot a second straight 73 to finish T70. QUOTABLES I’ve never seen so many putts left short for me today. I had a chance on the front to shoot 3- or 4-under, but never got it going.The conditions are really tough, starting with my snap into the water on No. 10, my first hole.This course is very similar to the courses in Japan: a little bit shorter, and a shaped course. SUPERLATIVES Low round: 65 by Harris English, who went from T69 to T32. Longest drive: 352 yards (Ryan Palmer/No. 9) Longest putt: 51’ 1� (Harris English/No. 13) Toughest hole: The par-3 14th (3.325)

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Brice Garnett and Scott Stallings birdied eight of their last 11 holes, Viktor Hovland and Kris] Ventura birdied nine of their final 12, and both teams shot 10-under 62 in Zurich Classic to share the first-round lead Thursday.

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