Justin Thomas showing no signs of slowing down

Talor Gooch (+500 for a top 10) … A consequence of him withdrawing early from last week’s Sanderson Farms Championship is that he’ll soar under more radars in Vegas this week. But he shouldn’t. The 29-year-old splashed into this season with a T4 at Silverado, his best finish of calendar-year 2021. It’s redundant to cite that he does it all inside the ropes and throughout his bag, but it doesn’t mean that that should go unnoticed every time, either. Recorded his first-ever top 25 at TPC Summerlin in 2017 when he chased a dreadful 77 in the third round with a 64 in the finale to climb 39 spots for a T16. Scott Piercy (+1000 for a Top 10) … It’s been a challenging couple of years for the 42-year-old, but despite him salvaging his card at the buzzer last season and his position at 197th in the Official World Golf Ranking, he really isn’t a Sleeper at the Shriners. For one, he’s a homegrown talent from Las Vegas who made three starts in the tournament before his rookie season of 2009. Since he’s connected for four top 10s among eight top 25s, including a T19 last year. He also opened this season with a T11 at Silverado, so he didn’t exhaust all his energy locking up fully exempt status. Nate Lashley (+1200 for a Top 10) … If you squint in places, TPC Summerlin could resemble TPC Scottsdale where he’s finished T3 (2020) and T17 (2021) a mere car ride from his own pillow, so it’s proof that he can excel in the desert. He sat T19 entering the final round here last year before blowing up for a closing 75 to finish T52. For what is now his fourth appearance, the 38-year-old brings the mojo of consecutive top 20s to open the new season. He didn’t qualify for the 2021 FedExCup Playoffs but he’s fully exempt by virtue of his win at the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic and extended eligibility due to the pandemic. Alex Smalley (+1200 for a Top 10) … If you tuned into the Sanderson Farms Championship, you likely learned that PGA TOUR rookie Sahith Theegala eked into the Korn Ferry Tour Finals via his equivalent of non-member FedExCup points. To wit, his 97.917 points would have slotted him 199th among members. After a timely surge in the Finals to secure his card, Theegala held at least the co-lead after every round before fading for a T8 in Mississippi. Smalley doesn’t have as strong a pedigree, but he, too, barely cracked the field at the Finals as his equivalent of 108.961 points would have positioned him 195th among members, and he needed a T29 at the regular season-ending Wyndham Championship to clear the hurdle. After rising in the Finals to join Theegala in the class of 27 rookies, the Duke University product missed the cut at Silverado and opened with 76 at Country Club of Jackson. However, he responded with a bogey-free, 9-under 63 in the second round to survive the cut on the number (en route to a T31), and then open-qualified for the Shriners with a bogey-free, 9-under 63 at Boulder Creek Golf Club. He’s a fighter personified. Harry Hall (+2500 for a Top 10) … The recently betrothed 24-year-old from England is making his third career PGA TOUR start. He was a Sleeper in each, so it’s apropos that the third time presents as the charm in the shadows of his collegiate stomping grounds at UNLV. After missing the cut at the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open, he finished T47 at The American Express to kick off his 2021. Middling results followed on the Korn Ferry Tour until he broke through for victory in Wichita in June. He’s a terrific putter but this endorsement leans strongly on the intangibles of his confidence and familiarity of the local connection on the coattails of a joyous life experience. Odds were sourced on Oct. 5, 2021. For live odds, visit betmgm.

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POTOMAC, Md. — Tiger Woods used a new putter and got the same middling results Thursday in the Quicken Loans National. Woods battled back from a double bogey with five straight birdie chances from 8 feet or closer. He made only two of them and had to settle for an even-par 70, leaving him seven shots out of the lead in the opening round on the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. Andrew Landry set the pace on a difficult, but rain-softened course with a 7-under 63. J.J. Spaun matched him in the afternoon, playing in the group behind Woods without hardly anyone noticing that he played bogey-free while running off five birdies in a seven-hole stretch. Landry, who won the Texas Open in April for his first PGA TOUR title, also had a new putter in the bag. All the attention was on Woods, who had hoped a mallet-style putter might help him shake out of a putting slump. It didn’t. “I shot about the score I should have shot today,” Woods said. He never made a putt outside 10 feet, and the final stretch in the afternoon appeared to be a wasted chance to salvage a score under par. Woods also kept his round from getting worse with two big par saves to start the back nine, including an up-and-down from 147 yards on No. 11 after driving it into the trees. “This is a course that’s going to get tougher as the week goes on,” Woods said. It was plenty tough for him in his first competition on the TPC Potomac, and his first time playing the tournament since 2015. This also is the last edition, and the field is among the weakest on the PGA TOUR this year. Rickie Fowler is the only player in the top 10 in the world, and he also rallied for a 70. Even when he kept it in the short grass off the tee, Woods didn’t have a reasonable birdie chance until No. 5, and he missed from 10 feet. And then he ran into trouble on the par-4 sixth, starting with a tee shot he pulled left that caromed off a tree and landed in a the mown path that leads from the tee to the fairway. Woods tried to hit a 3-wood to the green and it came up short and into the hazard. He had to drop it in more rough, came up just short of the green and wound up making a 4-foot putt to escape with double bogey. Going with an iron off the tee at the par-5 10th, he pulled that into the hazard but at least was able to chop it back to the fairway, rip fairway metal around the green and chip it close to save par. On the next hole, he blasted a tee shot well right, over the gallery, and had to pitch out back into play again. He said the 6-foot par putt gave him momentum, and he was never under much stress the rest of the day. He just didn’t make anything. Woods missed from 10 feet and 6 feet on his next two holes. He made his first birdie on No. 14 with a 3-foot putt, only to badly miss from 7 feet on the next hole. “I didn’t really have anything going through the middle part of the round,” Woods said. “I hit some poor tee shots and didn’t really give myself a chance. I have to do a better job of getting more chances.” He had no beef with the putter, saying he rolled it well and hit plenty of good putts that didn’t fall. “Most of the good scores were shot in the morning,” Woods said. “Hopefully, I can go out there and do it myself.” The course was the fourth-toughest on the PGA TOUR last year, trailing only three majors, though it was soft enough and the wind was mild so that low scores were available. Kyle Stanley won at 7-under 273 last year. Landry and Spaun shared the lead at 7 under after one round. “I expect that if we don’t get any rain the next few days, the course is going to firm up, greens get firm, get a little bit quicker, but it’s not going to be like last year,” Billy Horschel said after his 64. “So you’re going to have to go out with the mindset that it’s a little bit different course, you can’t be as conservative, you’ve got to still try and make birdies.” Andrew Putnam also was at 64 while playing in the afternoon. Beau Hossler and Abraham Ancer were another shot behind. Woods has been at least six shots behind — and no better than a tie for 29th — after the opening round of his last six tournaments dating to the Masters.

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SAN DIEGO – Rory McIlroy is making his debut at the Farmers Insurance Open, but this isn’t the first time he’s played in San Diego. Every year, the world’s elite junior players flock to the area to compete in the Junior World Championships. The oldest contestants play Torrey Pines’ South Course while younger players compete on courses throughout the area. McIlroy fit into the latter group when he played the Junior World. He competed on Presidio Hills, a par-3 course in San Diego, in the 10-and-under division. He didn’t win, but it was an eventful week. “I actually made a hole-in-one that week,� McIlroy said Wednesday. “And I remember the opening ceremonies, I got my picture with Earl Woods, which was pretty cool at the time.� McIlroy finished eighth in the 10-and-under division of the 1999 Junior World Championship. His 54-hole total of 164 (57-55-52) was 12 shots behind winner Philip Francis, who went on to win the 2006 U.S. Junior in nearby Rancho Santa Fe and play on UCLA’s 2008 NCAA title team. Tony Finau tied McIlroy that week. McIlroy, the 2016 FedExCup champion, is making his second consecutive start at a new PGA TOUR event. He opened the calendar year with a fourth-place finish at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. It was the 10th time in the past 11 years that McIlroy started with a top-5 in his first event. It was also the seventh consecutive time that he failed to win after playing in Sunday’s final group. He started the final round at Kapalua three shots behind Gary Woodland. FedExCup leader Xander Schauffele shot 62 to pass them both. McIlroy finished eight back after shooting 72. “I’m committed to the journey of getting to a point where that’s not a conversation anymore,� McIlroy said. He’ll try to end that narrative at another new course. McIlroy turned pro in late 2007, but he was unsuccessful in his attempt to qualify for the following year’s U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. He usually plays in the Middle East during this time of year, but is focusing on the PGA TOUR this season. “I like coming to new golf courses, the process of learning them, what you’re hitting off tees, good angles coming into the greens, what side to miss on, all that stuff,� said McIlroy, who’s 82nd in this season’s FedExCup standings. “It’s been a pretty productive three days.� He’ll play the first two rounds with Rickie Fowler and Adam Scott. They’re scheduled to tee off at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday on the South Course. “I feel like I’ve watched this tournament a lot on TV, whether it be the U.S. Open or this tournament over the years,� McIlroy said. “I’ve alluded to the fact that I want to play in the strongest possible tournaments each and every week. I’m happy to be here because of that.�

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