Putting woes stymie Tiger Woods from going low at Wells Fargo

The Teddy Bear Trap? The launch of the Florida Swing is supposed to coincide with gusts of wind that separate the mettle from the meek, but The Honda Classic is forecast to be contested under tame conditions for once. Whether Camilo Villegas’ tournament record of 13-under 267 at PGA National’s Champion Course – a stock par 70 – is in jeopardy remains to be seen, but it’s a reasonable target. For more on how PGA National usually plays, what’s new on the course this year and much more, scroll past the ranking. Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Zach Johnson, Emiliano Grillo, Charl Schwartzel, Jason Dufner and Puerto Rico Open champion Martin Trainer will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. Every course requires a level of shotmaking in the context of the strike itself and/or its timing during the competition. Then there’s PGA National. It presents nothing but pressure essentially throughout the entire walk of 7,125 yards. Its scoring average last year landed at 72.303, highest in relation to par of all non-majors in the last two completed seasons. It also was a seven-year high for the course. Furthermore, PGA National has been the most difficult par 70 among all non-majors in four of the last six seasons. As noted at the top, that’s because the wind is usually howling. When Villegas prevailed in 2010, breezes were sustained at 10-20 mph throughout. In fact, he’s an outlier. His margin of victory of five strokes equaled the tournament record first established by Jack Nicklaus at Inverrary in 1977. That convenient truth brings us back to PGA National, a track with Nicklaus’ paws all over it. It includes renovation and enlargement of all 18 greens. The putting surfaces are still TifEagle bermuda, but it’s new grass in advance of this week’s edition. Meanwhile, greens on average now measure approximately 7,000 square feet, an increase of more than 25 percent. In theory, bigger targets assist in battling the wind, but with relatively calm conditions expected, hole locations and green speeds will have to play greater roles in defending the course. Undulating greens are prepped to touch 12 feet on the Stimpmeter, but they may not hit that mark until the weekend since midweek rain and storms will soften all turf. Daytime highs around 80 degrees will accompany humid air. The Bear Trap, as it’s dubbed officially, consists of the par-3 15th hole, the par-4 16th and the par-3 17th, the last of which is now only 175 yards, down 15 yards since last year thanks to an updated and adjusted tee box. Of 204 par 3s played during the 2017-18 season, No. 17 was the hardest at +0.533 strokes to par; No. 15 slotted third-hardest at +0.391. And with No. 16 ranking T36 among 551 par 4s, all three holes finished inside the top-50 hardest holes on TOUR all season. None had cracked that bubble since both par 3s in 2011. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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The 2018-19 PGA TOUR season begins this week with the Safeway Open in Napa, California. It’s the first of 43 regular season events, to be followed by the reformatted three-event FedExCup Playoffs next August. The Golf Channel will provide live coverage for all four rounds, with the first two rounds starting at 5:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. local time) on Thursday and Friday. PGA TOUR Radio will air live coverage starting at 3 p.m. ET for each of the first two rounds, and 4 p.m. ET on the weekends. Here’s a look at the Featured Groups for the first two rounds (last season’s final FedExCup ranking in parentheses): Jason Dufner (100) – One of 23 players to have qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs in 11 or more seasons. Hudson Swafford (156) – Missed the FedExCup Playoffs but had a strong finish to the regular season with two top-15 finishes in his last three starts. Wesley Bryan (163) – Ranked second on the PGA TOUR last season in putts per round with a 27.36 average. Tee times: Rd. 1 (3:20 p.m. ET); Rd. 2 (10:40 a.m. ET) Phil Mickelson (21) – California native has collected 11 of his 43 career PGA TOUR wins in his native state. Brendan Steele (56) – Two-time defending champ looking to become first player since Steve Stricker (2009-11 John Deere Classic) to win the same event three consecutive years. Sangmoon Bae (202) – The 2014 Safeway Open champ regained his PGA TOUR card with a victory in the 2018 Web.com Tour Finals. Tee times: Rd. 1 (3:30 p.m. ET); Rd. 2 (10:50 a.m. ET) Andrew Landry (37) – Led the Safeway Open field last season in Strokes Gained: Putting while finishing T-7. Michael Kim (81) – Won his first PGA TOUR event last season at the John Deere Classic by making 30 birdies – highest total at any TOUR event since 2016. Jhonattan Vegas (95) – Had the sixth highest clubhead speed on the PGA TOUR last season at 121.87 mph. Tee times: Rd. 1 (10:40 a.m. ET); Rd. 2 (3:20 p.m. ET) Patrick Cantlay (20) – One of five players with an active cuts made streak of 10 or more events. Brandt Snedeker (40) – One of 10 players who has qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs every year. Fred Couples (230) – Making his first start in this event since 2009 when he finished T-66. Tee times: Rd. 1 (10:50 a.m. ET); Rd. 2 (3:30 p.m. ET)

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Tiger Woods recaptured the imagination of the golf world with his victory at the Masters last month. It also raised one tantalizing question: Does today’s Tiger truly have the game to be as dominant as the Tiger of old?

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