2017 Presidents Cup: Day 4, Leaderboard, tee times, TV schedule

LOS ANGELES – The usually jammed 405 freeway was wide open with seven lanes on each side near empty. The drive from home had never been quicker but trying to find a parking spot at Rancho Park Golf Course proved as difficult as always. RELATED: Where things stand, watch to expect for TOUR and fans | Why bonds of golf are so vital | A message to our fans Rancho – as the locals affectionately call it – is the premier municipal course owned by the city of Los Angeles. It hosted the L.A. Open (now The Genesis Invitational) on 17 occasions from 1956-67, 1969-72 and in 1983. It is steeped in history. Arnold Palmer won three times at Rancho while Charlie Sifford and Billy Casper also prevailed there. It is the site where Jack Nicklaus earned his first PGA TOUR check — a huge $33.33 as a 21-year-old rookie in 1962 after he tied for 50th. Nancy Lopez won two of the three LPGA events staged there. On multiple occasions, Rancho has served as the busiest muni in America, routinely logging over 100,000 rounds a year. On this Friday afternoon, things were no different. Strange, perhaps, given the previous day, the mayor of Los Angeles and the governor of California had given stay-at-home edicts due to the coronavirus pandemic. Perhaps that’s why it was so busy, golfers recognizing that courses might not be open much longer. In fact the starter, a little disgruntled, remarks that today and the day before had been the busiest in some time. Nik Adell is at the window looking for a tee time. There are taped lines on the ground six feet apart to show people where to stand to keep social distancing protocols in place. This is one of many changes to the norm. Carts are still available, but for single riders only. Flagsticks are to remain in and untouched. Ball washers and rakes have been removed from the course. Adell, his wife and friend Ken are put on a waiting list, so he buys a card that allows priority online booking for the future. Turns out he is a member at a nearby private club that has already closed. “Golf is a stress reliever. And I work in the financial markets … so right now I need a stress reliever,â€� Adell said. “We just had to play. We don’t know when they will shut this all down.â€� It is a sentiment shared by multiple people I talk to. From others on the waiting list, players practicing on the range, and a group of (let’s just say nine to stay under the rules) friends engaged in a very serious putting duel on the practice green. The uncertainty of availability of golf has everyone wanting to cram as much in as possible. I, too, can relate as I walk to the first tee to meet the foursome I’ll share the next five hours with – at an acceptable distance of course. I am joined by Ben Northenor, Matt Macedo and Adam Zoucha wondering if this might be my last round in months. Northenor is a 41-year-old who was laid off from his job as an editor on the hit show Dynasty as Hollywood came to a halt. He found golf only in the last 18 months but is, by his own admission, basically obsessed with it. When he was given the layoff news, he went right out to play with his 7-year-old son and has since tried to play as much as possible. “It is hard to put into words, but the game is almost therapeutic, possibly even necessary in times like this,â€� Northenor said after making a great par on the first from a rake-less fairway bunker. “Golf has helped in every aspect of my life. As an editor, having a producer standing over your shoulder is real pressure. Trying to make a 5-footer to win a hole, or make a birdie or par, recreates that. “We search for perfection on a daily basis in our lives, but golf reminds you to enjoy the journey, as much, if not more so, than the destination. Countless obstacles are always thrown in your way but one must never give up.â€� Thirty-year-olds Macedo and Zoucha are college friends who also scrambled to Rancho when another course had closed. Zoucha is supposed to be married on June 6 … in Italy. He is resigned to the fact a change of venue is likely although holds out small hope of a postponement. Zoucha is a double digit handicapper but impressively wields a Scotty Cameron putter, a gift from his fiancée. I’d like to borrow it on this round, given I accidently left my TaylorMade Spider at the Everill family mini-golf course and am now putting with a wedge. But of course sharing is NOT caring at the moment. “I hope this place stays open. It allows people an outlet where they still can be cautious and practice social distancing,â€� Zoucha said. “It will be a shame to cancel the wedding trip but of course that’s nothing compared to what others are experiencing. I feel for those even more directly affected.â€� If not for my questions, Coronavirus talk would have likely been near non-existent. The four of us took extra time telling stories that made us smile and laugh and, of course, well-naturedly ribbed each other for each thin, fat, topped or shanked shot. But we also heavily praised those great shots that keep everyone wanting golf in their lives. As the sun set, we made a point of visiting the famous plaque on the par-5 18th that commemorates Palmer making a 12 there during the 1961 L.A. Open, two years before winning the first of his three titles. It was first erected in 1963 with Palmer in attendance “as an inspiration to all golfersâ€� and the rededicated plaque includes a quote from Palmer: Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening – and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented. Before going our separate ways post-round, the four of us agreed the game itself also remains an inspiration, now more than ever. And we were hopeful that Rancho might stay open a bit longer, providing therapy in these uncertain times. Alas, the news came down over the weekend – all public courses in Los Angeles now closed. But I look forward to one day getting back out to Rancho, perhaps even sharing another round with my new golf mates Adam, Matt and Ben. Coming Tuesday: PGATOUR.COM’s Jim McCabe visits his local course in Quincy, Massachusetts.

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The four-tournament Florida Swing on the PGA TOUR is made up of The Honda Classic this week, the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, THE PLAYERS Championship, and the Valspar Championship. Although it sometimes seems to be, like the earth itself, mostly water – see: this week’s Bear Trap holes (Nos. 15-17) – the Florida Swing is in fact very driveable, like the 12th at TPC Sawgrass. It’s 162 miles from PGA National to Bay Hill, 120 from Bay Hill to TPC Sawgrass, 165 from there to Innisbrook, and 216 back to PGA National for a grand total of just under 700 miles. That’s four tournaments, no TSA agents, if you’re keeping score at home. Caddies sometimes call that taking Air Honda, which is convenient because so many TOUR pros live in Florida. They’re in Jupiter (Keegan Bradley, Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler, among others in the Honda field) and Orlando (Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter) and sprinkled liberally around Jacksonville near TOUR headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach (Cameron Smith, Jonas Blixt, Billy Horschel, Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh, among others). “I wish it was a little bit closer,â€� said Gary Woodland, who finished T6 and T2 at Honda in 2011 and 2017, respectively, and lives in Delray Beach. “With no traffic, it’s 30 minutes, but there’s always a little bit of traffic around here. For me now with the family, it’s nice to be home, nice to sleep in my own bed, try to get just a little comfortable for the week.â€� Even better, he added, not many friends and family will follow him this week, allowing him to focus on golf. No matter where you rest your head at night, the Florida Swing means poa annua greens are out, and Bermudagrass is in. “I’ve always felt like this was my good stretch because I grew up on Bermuda greens,â€� said the defending champion at Honda, Keith Mitchell, who birdied the last hole to beat Fowler and Koepka. “I grew up in this part of the country playing golf, so I’m a little more comfortable here.â€� A lot of players are. Singh’s solo sixth at PGA National last year was his only made cut in six starts on TOUR last season. (He turned 57 last week and plays mostly on PGA TOUR Champions.) Who is most comfortable in Florida? Glad you asked. Woodland hasn’t missed a cut in seven Honda starts, while Tiger Woods, no surprise, has the most wins in Florida since 1983, with 16. More recently, 35 players teed it up in all four Florida Swing tournaments last season. Only three – Sung Kang, Jason Kokrak and Anirban Lahiri – made the cut in all four. Kokrak (69.94) had the lowest scoring average. Tommy Fleetwood and Sungjae Im were the only two to record multiple top-five finishes on the Florida Swing last year. Fleetwood is 47 under in the Sunshine State over the last three years. Lucas Glover has the most Florida Swing birdies over that span (151), while Jupiter resident and reigning PLAYERS champion Rory McIlroy has the most FedExCup points (1,338). The Florida Swing is comprised of the 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th events of the TOUR season, which is to say we’re just about to the halfway mark. (For three-hole stretches with catchy nicknames – The Bear Trap at Honda, The Snake Pit at Valspar – we’re just getting started.) Want to read the tea leaves on TOUR? The Florida Swing provides. Tiger Woods won the 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational on his way to the FedExCup title, his second of two, and Jim Furyk captured the 2010 Valspar en route to the FedExCup that year. Jordan Spieth won the Valspar as part of his 2015 FedExCup-winning season, and of course McIlroy last season won THE PLAYERS, the FedExCup and PGA TOUR Player of the Year. In the FedExCup era, eight of 13 Honda winners have made it to the TOUR Championship. The Florida Swing is important from the get-go, and players know it. “Hopefully it’ll start to turn around here,â€� said world number three Brooks Koepka, who hasn’t found much form since coming back from a knee injury this season and will play the Honda, PLAYERS and Valspar. “I feel good. I’m excited to play.â€� The Florida Swing is also hard. Mitchell’s winning score of 9 under last year was the first single-digit (to par) winning score since Justin Thomas won – wait for it – The Honda Classic in 2018. The other three Florida Swing courses are no picnic, either. Woodland embraces the high degree of difficulty because there can be no mistaking the feedback; players simply can’t fake it around all that water. This is good because with their flaws magnified, they can get their games organized to take on the remainder of the TOUR schedule. “Yeah, it’s a hard golf course, and I think that benefits me,â€� Woodland said of PGA National. “Scores are never going to get too low. Obviously it’s a lot weather-depending, but it’s one of the most mentally demanding golf courses I think we face all year. “There’s a lot of shots,â€� he added, “especially coming down the back nine, that you just have to step up and hit shots. There’s just really no bail-out.â€� You could say that about a lot of the Florida Swing. Time to settle in and see who’s got it and who doesn’t, because there’s no turning back now.

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