Jon Rahm holds off Andrew Landry to win CareerBuilder Challenge

ORLANDO, Fla. – Rest easy, golf universe. There are no plans to “Charlie-proof“ the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in preparation for the arrival of Tiger Woods’ long-hitting son at this week’s PNC Championship, which begins on Saturday. Charlie Woods, 13, will be moving back one set of tees, but that’s just a matter of age. Charlie turned 13 since last year’s event, in which he and his father finished second behind the Dalys, John and John II. Unless Charlie and his father choose for Charlie to play a longer course – indications are that they will not – Charlie will be teeing it up from roughly 6,500 yards in the parent-child competition. At last year’s PNC, the tees Charlie played from were closer to 6,000 yards. A variety of tees are in use at the PNC Championship because of the wide disparity in ages and skill levels. Several reports circulated Wednesday stating that Charlie would be moved back to the second-longest set of tees this week, which play approximately 6,750 yards. That’s just one tee box up from the set used by PGA TOUR professionals age 54 and younger, a group that includes his dad, Tiger. Those players will compete from approximately 7,100 yards. Charlie was briefly listed in the group of players who would compete from the second-longest set of tees, but with an asterisk next to his name that signified that he had been moved at the discretion of the Tournament Committee. As always, the Tournament Committee reserves the right to make adjustments as deemed necessary, but Joe Terry, this week’s advance official and Chief Referee for the PGA TOUR, said he wasn’t going to “penalize” young Charlie just because he hits a golf ball a long way. (Tiger admitted at The Match last week that Charlie has outdriven him at home.) “Age is age, and it’s always constant,” said Terry, who is in his 25th year at the PNC, a 20-team event of pros and amateurs that utilizes four different sets of tees, all according to age. For instance, there are only three players in the field who will compete from the most-forward Grand Masters tees, set up at 5,643 yards: Gary Player and Lee Trevino (both in their 80s) and 11-year-old Will McGee, son of Annika Sorenstam, who is playing for the first time. McGee is the youngest player in this week’s field. “We have always done everything by age,” Terry said. “If we changed it to get Charlie to play from further back, we would do so only at the request or the wishes of Charlie or Tiger. (Terry added that historically, Tiger always has been committed to following age guidelines.) Every other 13-year-old has played from the 13-year-old tees, so if we win, when we win, the record can stand as a 13-year-old.” Charlie Woods will be playing from the same tees as the pros ages 65-72 (Bernhard Langer, Mark O’Meara, Nick Price, Nick Faldo), club professional Mike Thomas (Justin’s dad), Petr Korda (Nelly’s dad), amateur Carson Kuchar (son of Matt). Annika Sorenstam, one of two LPGA players in the field, also will play from those tees. Should Charlie and Tiger return in 2023, Charlie again would move back one set of tees. Terry said he listened to suggestions that Charlie needs to play a longer course because he hits it far, but he said, “I’m not going to arbitrate that. Age is age. If I moved him (back) because he’s good, then why don’t I move some others because they’re not good? Age is age, and it’s always constant, and if we stick by our tournament regulations, we’ll be fine.” Tiger and Charlie Woods will play in Saturday’s final grouping, heading off at 12:02 p.m. alongside Justin and Mike Thomas, the 2020 PNC champions.

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THE OVERVIEW ORLANDO, Fla. — When it comes to Tiger Woods and his comfort zone at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, a remarkable sense of symmetry surrounds his total of eight victories. To wit, there have been eight different standings after Round 1 and eight different players who have been his runner-up: Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson, Michael Campbell, Stewart Cink, Bart Bryant, Sean O’Hair, Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose. Where the story has achieved a semblance of consistency is Woods’ blueprint for success at Bay Hill. In his eight wins, he has fired a solid sub-par second round (scoring average: 66.63) to roar inside the top 10, then assumed even greater control in Round 3 (scoring average: 68.36) to get into at least a share of first (seven times) or second. That, in turn, has afforded Woods a position he relishes — the chance to pretty much go head-to-head against a reduced list of competitors. The result has been vintage Woods as his final-round scoring average in the eight wins is 68.63, while the 12 players who have been second to Woods through 54 holes and the one who led him (O’Hair) have a fourth-round average of 72.31. Uncanny stuff, especially when you consider that some high-octane names have been in position through 54 holes to outplay Woods here — Love, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler, to name a few. Yet for all of that, Woods will be the first to polish some caution onto his story here. Mostly due to injuries, Woods hasn’t played in the last four tournaments at Bay Hill and the eight times when hasn’t won, he pretty much has been well back — five times outside the top 20, just once inside the top 10. “Just because I won here eight times doesn’t mean I’m going to win this week,â€� Woods said Tuesday, just three days after tying for second at the Valspar Championship. “I’ve got to do some serious homework (Wednesday) and really get to know and get the feel of how this golf course is playing this particular year.â€� THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER Jason Day Playing for the first time in a month, he’ll be well-rested on a course that’s treated him well (2016 win). Tommy Fleetwood Six top-10 finishes in his last nine worldwide starts for the new special temporary TOUR member. Rory McIlroy Hard to believe: In his last eight starts on American soil, he has exactly zero top-10 finishes. THE FLYOVER Want to make a birdie down the stretch at Bay Hill? Your best bet is the 511-yard par-5 16th. Last year, it was the only hole among the closing five holes at Bay Hill to play under par (4.393 stroke average). In fact, of the 900 holes on TOUR last season, it was the eighth easiest. THE LANDING ZONE The 458-yard par-4 18th isn’t the toughest closing hole in Florida – that belongs to the 18th at TPC Sawgrass – but it’s still one of the toughest on the PGA TOUR. A year ago, it ranked as the fourth toughest, playing to a stroke average of 0.283 over par as water on the right side challenges approach shots. Here’s a look at where all tee shots landed last year. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Stewart Williams: “Below normal temperatures can be expected through Thursday as high pressure builds over the gulf and slowly moves east across Florida. Temperatures will be quite cool each morning, with lows in the low to mid 40s and highs generally in the upper 60s to low 70s each day. The high will shift east on Friday, producing more of a southerly flow. This will provide a quick warming trend with highs returning to the low 80s this weekend.â€� For the latest weather news from Orlando, Florida, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK “I thoroughly enjoyed being around him, being with him and we had so many great times — none more so than last time I won here. We were over there, I’m cleaning out my locker, and he’s over there having his ice tea thing and so he’s just sitting there and, hey, grab a seat. Absolutely, yes, sir. So we sat down, we just started to BS and have a great time together and I’m going to miss those times, for sure.â€�  BY THE NUMBERS 122.5 – Average clubhead speed off the tee for Tiger Woods this season. That’s more that 4 mph faster than his average in 2013 when he won five events. His average driving distance of 303.4 yards is 10 yards longer than his 2013 average. 0.478 – Strokes above par average for the field at the opening three holes at Bay Hill last year. That was the highest average of any opening three holes on TOUR last season. 72.890 – The field stroke average last year at Bay Hill. The 0.890 strokes above par made it the fifth toughest course on the PGA TOUR last season. 3,008 – Balls in the water at Bay Hill since 2003. The par-5 sixth has accounted for 21 percent of those balls (636). SCATTERSHOTS Australians enter on a two-year winning streak, with Jason Day winning in 2016 and Marc Leishman winning last year (when 10 Aussies were in the field). This week, there are six Aussies teeing it up – Day, Leishman, Stuart Appleby, Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and Curtis Luck. Matt Every’s two career PGA TOUR wins have been at Bay Hill. If he wins this week, he would become the first player to post his first three TOUR wins at the same tournament since 1934, when Leonard Gallett won his third Wisconsin PGA event. Bay Hill has some of the toughest par 3 holes on the PGA TOUR. When Tiger Woods won in 2013, he played the par 3s in 1 over – the worst par-3 performance of any Bay Hill champion in the last five years. On the flip side, Matt Every had the best performance at 3 under while winning his second consecutive Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2015. University of California junior Collin Morikawa is in the field this week thanks to the Arnold Palmer Cup exemption. The 20 participants of the Arnold Palmer Cup – a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the top male university/college golfers – vote on the player who best represents the “Arnold Palmer Legacy.â€�

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The Golf Club of Houston hosts for a 14th and final time this year as this event is moving from Humble to Memorial Park Golf Course downtown next season. Dating back to 2006, this event was the last tune-up before the Masters and the winner, if not already eligible, would claim the final spot in the year’s first major. Last season the new schedule didn’t have room so the event landed in fall for the new season. For the second consecutive week the field of 144 will have massive green complexes and pesky water hazards to navigate as 500 FedExCup points and $1.35 million await the winner. Even though the winning scores average around 17 under par, there is plenty of trouble lurking off the tee boxes and into the undulating Miniverde Bermudagrass greens. The par-72 tips at 7,441 yards and rounds above par need not apply. J.B. Holmes is the only winner here with a round over par since 2005. Keys to success will involve keeping it dry and keeping the three-putts off the card. The last Houston Open was in spring of 2018 but Rob Bolton suggests more difficult conditions this time of year in his Power Rankings. Need more Course Info? Check The First Look and Course Preview. Recent Winners  2018: Ian Poulter (-19, 269) Taught young Beau Hossler a lesson as he rolled in a big putt on the last hole to force a playoff that he would go on to win. … Played a stretch of 49 consecutive bogey-free holes. … Led the field in Par-4 scoring as have three of the last four winners. … The last five winners have been in the top 10 GIR (T4). … Only winner of the last five to be outside top 11 in Strokes Gained: Putting and to have needed less than four previous tries as he won in his third attempt. Notables: Hossler led after 36 and played in the final group with Poulter. … Henrik Stenson joined Hossler as two of three players to post all four rounds in the 60s. … Johnson Wagner is the only one of six who has shot 63 (course record) in the field this week. … Poulter joined J.B. Holmes as the only winners since 2006 to have a round above par (73) for the week. 2017: Russell Henley (-20, 268) Trailed by four after 54 holes before circling 10 birdies and posting 65 to win by three. … Tied Phil Mickelson’s tournament record as he holed 541 feet of putts. … Posted 27 birdies for the week as he led the field in both Strokes Gained: Putting and Birdie-or-Better conversion percentage. … T8 was 10 behind his total so it wasn’t as easy as he made it look! … Only winner of the last five younger than 32 (27). Notables: Luke List (T3) joined Henley in the penultimate group. … Zac Blair (T8) rolled in 505 feet of putts and had a 75 in Round 3. … Michael Thompson (T12) didn’t have a bogey in his final 37 holes. 2016: Jim Herman (-15, 273) Playing out of the final group Sunday, held off Dustin Johnson (3rd) and Stenson (2nd), who began the final round one back. … Only winner in five years to crack the top 29 in proximity #LawnDarts. … Only winner in the last four who did NOT lead the field in Par-4 scoring. He was T2. … Joined Matt Jones (2014) as first-time TOUR winners at this event in the last five years. Notables: Henley (T5) also began the final round one back. … Daniel Berger (T5) led the field with 23 birdies but also had a 74. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week.  * – previous top 10 finish here Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green 22 *Henrik Stenson 27 Jhonattan Vegas 32 Russell Knox 36 *Keegan Bradley (T5, 2015) 40 *Bud Cauley (T8, 2012) 50 *Matt Jones (Win, 2014) Strokes Gained: Putting  1  Denny McCarthy  3  Dominic Bozzelli  6  *Aaron Baddeley (T4, 2011)  7  Patton Kizzire 10 *Beau Hossler 14 *Pat Perez (T8, 2008) 15 Harris English 18 *Johnson Wagner 22 Patrick Rodgers 23 *Sam Ryder (5th, 2018) 32 Peter Uihlein Par-4 Scoring (last four winners first or T2)  7  *Cameron Tringale  8  Brice Garnett  8  *Sam Ryder  8  Josh Teater  8  Dominic Bozzelli 23 Sepp Straka 23 Harris English 23 Talor Gooch 23 *Aaron Baddeley Astronauts Russell Henley: Six cashes from six events with the last five all T8 or better. Closed his last two visits with 65. Henrik Stenson: Three podium finishes from seven events but is seeking the elusive first win. T6 in 2018. Daniel Berger: T25 on his first trip but backed that up with T5, solo fifth and T18 the last three years. 43 under over that stretch. Black Gold Johnson Wagner: 2008 champ was T2 in 2015 and shares the course record of 63. He’s rattled off four straight here and nine of 12 total. Cameron Tringale: Had a stretch from 2012-2015 where he cashed T8, T16, fourth and T5 before cooling off the last three editions. Keegan Bradley: Eight starts have cashed four T15 or better, including three top-10 checks. Kyle Stanley: In six starts he’s cashed five times but his last two, T19 and T8 in 2016 and 2017 are his best two. Bud Cauley: T18 or better in three of four stretching back to 2012.

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