Live leaderboard: Arnold Palmer Invitational

Here are nine tidbits from the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. I bemoaned last week why more players in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO did not play Hideki Matsuyama. It’s good to see that I won’t be wondering aloud this week why Johnson was so lightly owned! WOW! I’m going to write “82.2 percent” down somewhere and see if we ever see a higher number the rest of the year. A smooth 67 (-5) at Spyglass Hill sees “Mr. Popular” lurking T6, just two shots off the lead. Three-Course Meal Every pro and their amateur partner will get a chance at all three courses this week before the top 60 will battle it out at Pebble Beach on Sunday. With perfect weather Thursday, the top 70 players were two-under-par. The weather is NOT expected to shift so there are two more chances for redemption. Annually, Spyglass Hill plays the most difficult of the three, but six of the top-15 scores on day one were posted there, including T1 and a pair of T3 rounds. Pebble Beach played the most difficult today (71.308) with Spyglass (71.231) right behind. MPCC (Shore Course), as usual in great weather, was a pushover (69.558). Leading Actors Kevin Streelman and Beau Hossler set the pace with matching 65’s. Streelman (-7) was bogey free at Spyglass Hill and got up-and-down an incredible seven times from seven attempts. He’s yet to MC this season, and it looks like that streak is well on its way to continuing. As for Hossler, loyal readers of this column (thank you!) will remind you that this is NOT surprising on any level. If you are tired of reading about him, I’m going to suggest that he’s not in your lineup. That’s a YOU problem! Hossler was also bogey free in his opening round, but his was on Pebble Beach where the California native was second in strokes-gained: putting. Family Affair After taking a couple of months off to close 2017, Rory McIlroy seems to be refreshed and raring to go in 2018. He’s paired with his father, Gerry, this week in his first attempt at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The Ulsterman opened his year T3 and second in the Middle East. He wasn’t his sharpest today as he only painted 10 of 18 GIR but hitting 10 of 14 fairways at Spyglass Hill is beyond decent. He’ll play three new courses in tournament action three days in a row, and that will tell gamers just how well he is dialed in. Eyes on Wise The former NCAA champ from Oregon, Aaron Wise, is playing out of the Web.com top 50 reshuffle this season and has eight starts to his name. Half of those have cashed checks with all four finishes T32 or better. He’s trying to move up the ranking, which will be reordered the Monday after the Genesis Open. He’s off to a flying start (T3) as he found 16 of 18 GIR and didn’t square a bogey or anything worse in opening with 65 (-6) at Monterrey Peninsula Country Club (Shore Course). Where There’s a Will… Will Zalatoris left early with MC at Farmers Insurance Open on the number while making his professional debut at Torrey Pines. After circling six birdies against only one bogey at Spyglass Hill, he’s put himself into the top 10 (T6) after 67. He’s under the tutelage of Cameron McCormack, Jordan Spieth’s long-time teacher, and that should answer most of your questions about him. His next project is establishing status as he currently is void of that on either the Web.com or PGA TOUR. He’ll need sponsor exemptions (limited), Monday qualifiers or top-10 finishes to make that happen. Know this before you add, trade, etc., for him. Opportunity for Oppenheim Rob Oppenheim has only played 30-something TOUR events in his career. The 38-year old has picked up only two top-10 finishes during that stretch and exactly half of them are at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He cashed T8 last year and that was, despite bogeying three of his last seven holes on Sunday after being 12-under-par at one time. He opened with 67 at Pebble Beach today and is T6. Star Search Jordan Spieth continues to struggle with his putter as he needed 32 whacks today to post E (72) at Spyglass Hill. He only made one birdie. I’m going to suggest he bounces back in a big way in Round Two. … Adam Scott made his season debut and looked like it. He took a whopping 37 putts and was only 1-of-6 scrambling. His 77 didn’t provide much hope for gamers in any format in Round One. … Brandt Snedeker, two-time champ and tournament record holder, opened with 71 (-1) at Spyglass and is currently T71. Study Hall Patrick Cantlay was four-under-par through his first three holes, buoyed by an ace on No. 11 at MPCC. He’s currently T6 after his 66 (-5). … Robert Garrigus almost aced the par four, No. 17 last week at TPC Scottsdale. He gave the cup another scare today on No. 7 on Pebble Beach but had to settle for a tap-in two. #DialedIn. … The Web.com is playing the Club Colombia Championship this week in Bogota. After Round One, four players are tied for the lead with 66 (-5). … Event No. 2 of the PGA TOUR Champions begins tomorrow at the Boca Raton Championship. Read more about PGA TOUR Champions Fantasy golf here.

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RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — Kyle Stanley shot an 8-under 64 on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead in the PGA TOUR’s Puerto Rico Open. Stanley had nine birdies and a bogey in windy afternoon conditions at Coco Beach Golf & Country Club. Related: Leaderboard | Brotherhood of the slump: How TOUR pros found their way back “Just kind of caught a hot putter,â€� Stanley said. “Ball-striking was pretty good and felt like I drove it well, too. Just a pretty solid round of golf. Kind of made my fair share of putts. Got off to a really nice start, birdieing my first three out of the gate. Pretty windy out there, so I’m really happy with the round.â€� The two-time PGA TOUR winner followed his opening birdie burst with another birdie on the par-5 fifth. He bogeyed the par-3 eighth, then birdied the next four and the par-5 15th. “To be honest, I really haven’t been playing that well the past month or so,â€� Stanley said. “I really struggled with my ball-striking last week in L.A., but felt like I putted pretty well. Just tried to clean up a few things in my swing and continue with some good putting prep leading into today.â€� Peter Uihlein, Josh Teater, Emiliano Grillo, Chris Couch, Henrik Norlander and Rhein Gibson shot 66, and 2013 winner Scott Brown, Martin Laird, Jay McLuen, MJ Daffue, Wes Roach and Julian Etulain followed at 67. “When it gets this windy, really the number on the bottom of the club kind of becomes obsolete, really,â€� Uihlein said. “It’s all about flight and what you want to hit, what you want to see.â€� Tom Lewis shot 73. Defending champion Martin Trainer opened with a 74. He played a five-hole stretch on his opening nine in 5 over with three bogeys and a double bogey, Six-time TOUR winner Bill Haas birdied two of the last four holes in a 69.

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What a year. As we prepare to close the book on 2021 still a little wobbly on our feet, a little glassy-eyed as we try to process it all, it seems only appropriate to pause and consider what we’ve seen. A six-man playoff. An eight-hole playoff. The first PLAYERS Championship in two years. Xander Schauffele striking gold at the Tokyo Olympics. Tony Finau winning again. We saw Power, as in Seamus, your Barbasol Championship winner, and power, as in driving distance leader Bryson DeChambeau’s crowd-pleasing, 370-yard moon shot on the par-5 sixth hole at Bay Hill as he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. English, as in Harris, was spoken seemingly everywhere, from Kapalua (Sentry Tournament of Champions) to Connecticut (Travelers Championship) to Kohler (Ryder Cup). We also had a long-awaited Ancer, as in Abraham, capturing his first PGA TOUR trophy in an unlikely playoff at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Here’s what else we saw over these unforgettable 12 months. Underrated Player of the Year: Hideki Matsuyama, as rated by himself At The Masters in April, Matsuyama became the first Japanese player to wear the green jacket and the first to win a men’s major of any kind. He was brimming with confidence. Alas, it was gone by the time he went home for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in October. “Ball striking, putting, chipping, all of these have not reached the level I want,” he said. “If my game scored 10 out of 10 at The Masters, now I would say it scores less than 1. I will be struggling this week, but I am here in Japan, so I am motivated to be in contention.” Then he won, after which he said, “I would rate my performance as two or three.” Geez. Tough crowd. Underrated Player of the Year II: Justin Thomas, as rated by himself Despite winning THE PLAYERS Championship, Justin Thomas said at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba that he would give his season a C-minus. Craziest finish: WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational Harris English was going to win, and if not him, then Bryson DeChambeau. They were 20 under and 18 under, respectively, as they went to the back nine at TPC Southwind. The next closest player was at 16 under. Alas, after multiple water balls, a long ruling, and being put on the clock, English and DeChambeau shot 40 and 41, respectively, on the back. Abraham Ancer (2-under 68) won after joining a playoff with Hideki Maruyama and Sam Burns, who finished an hour before English and DeChambeau and admitted he almost left the property. Shocker of the Year Phil Mickelson won the PGA Championship less than a month shy of his 51st birthday, becoming the oldest player to win a major – by 2 1/2 years. (Julius Boros) Shocker of the Year II After winning just three times in 27 years, the U.S. Ryder Cup Team trounced Europe 19-9, the biggest margin of victory since the event went to 28 matches. Most Functional Family Stewart Cink won the RBC Heritage in April with son Reagan as his caddie. It was the second time they’d teamed up for a W in the season’s first eight months. This, after Cink went into last season without a victory since 2009. Best Playoff Fittingly, it’s a four-way tie: “Patty Ice” Cantlay beat Bryson DeChambeau in a six-hole playoff at the BMW Championship (and went on to win the FedExCup). Harris English beat Kramer Hickok in eight extra holes at the Travelers Championship. C.T. Pan won a seven-man playoff to capture the Bronze Medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Finally, Kevin Kisner won a six-man playoff that also included Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim, Kevin Na, Adam Scott and Roger Sloan at the Wyndham Championship. Best Delivery World No. 1 Jon Rahm and his wife, Kelley, welcomed their first child, son Kepa, just prior to The Masters Tournament in early April. Best Delivery II Jon Rahm birdied 17 and 18 to win the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where he’d captured his first PGA TOUR title in 2017 and not far from where he later proposed to Kelley. Best Slump-Buster Jordan Spieth won for the first time since 2017 at the Valero Texas Open. “It’s been a long road,” he said. A total of 1,351 days, to be exact, but who’s counting? Best Home Cooking Breaking a drought going back to the 2019 PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP, Rory McIlroy won his third Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, where he’s a member. It was the first time he’s won a TOUR event three times. Best Reason to Keep Knocking on the Door Hideki Matsuyama won the Masters, becoming the first Japanese player to win a men’s major in April. It was his first victory in four years. Justin Thomas opened with a 38 Thursday and was a shot outside the cut line with nine holes remaining Friday, then shot 64-68 to win THE PLAYERS Championship. “It was a ball-striking clinic,” said his then-caddie, Jimmy Johnson. After winning for the first time in his career at THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK the previous fall, Jason Kokrak, 36, continued his transformation from journeyman to multiple TOUR winner as he captured the Charles Schwab Challenge in late May. And when he captured the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open in November, he had a sleeve of wins in a span of 13 months, making him one of the game’s hottest players. Supernova of the Year Less than a year after picking up his first major title at the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park, Collin Morikawa captured The Open Championship for major No. 2. The five-time PGA TOUR winner, who is still just 24, also went 3-0-1 at the Ryder Cup and became the first American to win the European Tour’s Race to Dubai. Nickname of the Year Patrick Cantlay rode a red-hot summer all the way to the FedExCup, but he was “Patty Ice” to the fans at the BMW Championship. Rarely has anyone so aptly lived into his new nickname, which was ironed onto the back of an Atlanta Falcons jersey (and apparently into Cantlay’s unflappable game) for the TOUR Championship. “It could have been a different nickname, but he really appreciated that the fans got behind him,” said Matt Minister, Cantlay’s longtime caddie. “Because up until last week (at the BMW), everybody else was being cheered for, and then they really started cheering for him. That’s what made the difference, that they got behind him.”

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