Tiger’s but back, but for how long?

A triple bogey in his opening round at the RBC Heritage. A string of six straight birdies. A second-nine 29 made it another interesting day for Jordan Spieth, who takes a few steps closer and a small step back toward finding his old form.

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Want to know when Justin Thomas tees off? Where the next PGA TOUR tournament will be held? Or where Jordan Spieth stands in the FedExCup? You can get immediate answers from the PGA TOUR’s new Chatbot. The automated bot will give responses to competition-related inquiries, providing information on topics like the current leaderboard and FedExCup standings. “A Chatbot represents another way for the TOUR to continue to reach our fans on any platform they may be using throughout the day,� said Scott Gutterman, the TOUR’s Vice President of Digital Operations. “The release of our Chatbot is part of the TOUR’s continuing commitment to innovation and reaching fans on new and emerging platforms.� While the bot, which was produced with the Microsoft Bot Framework and LUIS, currently answers questions about tournaments, the TOUR is committed to taking fan feedback to help improve their experience. To get started using the bot, fans can just type “main menu,� or try using one of the sample inquiries below that the TOUR’s bot can currently answer: •       “Who’s winning the tournament?� •       “How did Tiger Woods do today?� •       “When does Jason Day tee off?� •       “Who are the top 10 players in the FedExCup?� •       “Show me Dustin Johnson highlights from the TOUR Championship.� Fans also can type a player’s name to receive a card with links to the player’s profile, video highlights and scorecard, as well as the player’s tee time or standing in the current event. Fans can get help using the bot or provide feedback by typing ‘Help’ in the chat. The PGA TOUR encourages fans to send feedback to help improve the product in the future. Also, the bot will record questions that fans ask, even if the bot is unable to provide an answer. This will give the PGA TOUR guidance on what information to add to new versions of the bot. “The bot enables us to have a two-way conversation with fans,� Gutterman said. “Over time, we hope to learn from the bot what fans are asking for and continue to build out the capabilities of what questions it can respond to and how it responds.� The bot eventually may be able to help fans purchase tickets to tournaments or book tee times throughTeeOff.com, Gutterman said. It also could be developed to share biographical information on the TOUR’s players and answer historical questions about past tournaments and records. The bot is currently available on Skype and Slack and will soon be available on Facebook Messenger.

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With the sands to the 2020-21 PGA TOUR season quickly tumbling downward in the hourglass, this is crunch time for those on the bubble in the FedExCup standings. At the 3M Open this week outside Minneapolis, the race to finish in the top 125 to qualify for next month’s FedExCup Playoffs opener at Liberty National (THE NORTHERN TRUST) is very much front and center. RELATED: Leaderboard | Dustin Johnson looks to find form at 3M Open A handful of players on both sides the bubble have arrived at 3M and responded with some of their best golf of the season. With only three weeks remaining in the regular season – which includes next week’s break for The Olympics – count Chez Reavie (119th in the FedExCup standings) among those shining when he most needs to shine. Despite a sloppy bogey-6 at the par-5 18th – a hole he had eagled in the opening round – Reavie followed his opening 66 with a second-round, 4-under 67 to move into contention for the weekend at 3M. He is at 9-under 133. At one point this season, Reavie, who turns 40 in November, missed 10 cuts in 12 starts. In fact, you have to travel back to 2009 to find a season in which he has had as many weekends off as this one (14). Luckily for him, Reavie, eighth in the FedExCup final standings only two years ago, is experienced enough to know that if he kept his head down and kept working hard, eventually his game would turn for the better. It has. He arrived at 3M having missed only one cut in his last six starts, with top-20 finishes at Congaree and John Deere. “It was just more annoying than anything else,” Reavie said of his poor play to start the year. “Wasn’t playing bad, missed a lot of cuts by a shot and golf seemed really tough at the time. You know, I just kind of fought through it, and here we are playing well. I’ve played well the last few weeks, and that’s what I’m going to focus on.” Reavie was flawless through 17 holes on Friday, making five birdies and no bogeys. At the par-5 18th, he drove the ball into the native area down the left side and was only able to advance his second shot about 70 yards. He reached the green with his fourth shot and barely missed his 13-footer for par. Through two rounds, Reavie has been very encouraged by his quality of putting, which bodes well for a solid weekend. “Even like on the last hole, didn’t go in but I hit a great putt and it had every opportunity to go in, so that’s just what I want to focus on for the weekend,” Reavie said. Every player from Nos. 114 through 127 in the FedExCup standings ventured to Minneapolis to try to improve his positioning for the stretch run, trying to find some late-season magic. On a day with temperatures in the 90s and the heat index soaring near 100, the early scoring was proving just as sizzling. Bo Hoag (125th) came through with a 66 Friday, and names on the bubble such as Scott Stallings (117th), Brice Garnett (121st) and Rickie Fowler (124th) were responding well to the pressure of their situations as the second wave of players teed off on Friday afternoon. Fowler, 32, never has missed the Playoffs in his 11 seasons on the PGA TOUR. Hoag, 32 and in his third PGA TOUR season, shot 67 on Thursday and said it was important to keep the pedal down on Friday. He made six birdies, and like Reavie, encountered his lone bogey on his final hole, with Hoag settling for 5 at the challenging 511-yard ninth, where he drove his ball into left-side native area and had to chop out to get back into play. As for the torrid pace of scoring at TPC Twin Cities, which was softened by rains on Thursday? Hoag said he embraces it. “You only have one option,” said Hoag, who has been lifted by recent solid showings at the Memorial (his hometown event in Ohio), where he was T13, and last week’s Barbasol Championship (T11). “You know you’re going to have to shoot a good round or else you’re going to get left behind. There’s no real guessing game. Just got to be pretty aggressive with the scoring clubs in your hands and try to make some birdies out there.” With Friday’s afternoon wave still on the golf course, four players shared the lead at 9-under 133: Roger Sloan (69); Reavie; Hoag; and Jhonnattan Vegas (69). Others on the bubble who finished in the early wave on Friday and made needed moves: No. 118 Camilo Villegas, who played his last seven holes in 4 under (including an eagle at 18) to shoot 69; No. 123 Chesson Hadley (at 3-under 139 after shooting 72); No. 126 Chase Seiffert, who rallied with a bogey-free 67 after shooting 73 Thursday; and No. 131 Michael Thompson, the tournament’s defending champion, who shot 67 to move inside the cutline at 3 under. “There’s a lot to play for this week,” Thompson said.

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