Featured Groups: Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide

DUBLIN, Ohio – He won in 2020. He led by six but had to withdraw with a positive COVID test in 2021. Jon Rahm comes into the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday having seen the highest highs and the lowest lows at Muirfield Village – or so it seems. The truth, he says, is more complicated. Yes, he wanted to become the first player since Tiger Woods to successfully defend his Memorial title (2000-01), but not getting to do so wasn’t going to define his year. “Yes, I walked off the course, I was told I couldn’t play, and I was mad for about 10 minutes,” he said. “I allowed myself to be upset. But instantly my switched flipped and I called my wife and I made sure that she was OK, and my son was OK. “Once I knew they were okay,” he continued, “I was in my little trailer, that little COVID hut we had, and me and my caddie were laughing. We ordered milkshakes and we were laughing at the funny part of everything, right. I mean, the fact that that happened; that I had a six-shot lead and it’s gone, I can’t even play, right. I mean, it’s just – the irony of it all …” Much has been said of Rahm’s maturation on the PGA TOUR, but perhaps no vignette better captures his equanimity than the Memorial a year ago. He had just completed his third round when he was told of the positive test, and while he was clearly aghast at the news, the image of him laughing about it soon after, milkshake in hand, speaks volumes. Still intense, but possessed of plenty of perspective, Rahm, 27, has found a gear that is serving him well. When he was asked about his putting struggles earlier this season, he shrugged it off, said the flatstick would come around, and won the Mexico Open at Vidanta a month ago, his seventh TOUR win. He’s 11th in the FedExCup, second on the Official World Golf Ranking. Now the husband and father of one, with another on the way, is headed into a two-week stretch in which he’ll be a big favorite (Memorial) and the defending champion (U.S. Open). He admits his game isn’t at its absolute peak, but it’s not far off. “I’m comfortable and confident it could be getting better,” he said. “I can tell you the first time I played here in 2017, I believe, for some reason, I absolutely hated it,” he added. “… I think it was my first missed cut as a pro (it was his second), and I was just like, ‘I’m done. Never going back.’ And Adam (Hayes), my caddie, kept telling me, ‘Man, I’m telling you, this place is great for you. You just need to learn … certain holes and certain shots.’” Winning here in 2020 changed everything, and he has called the golf he played at last year’s Memorial some of the best of his career. Then he won the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. He’s a popular pick to capture his second Memorial this week. Despite everything, he said, he won’t be playing with a chip on his shoulder. “It’s a whole new tournament,” Rahm said. “I can’t be playing, let’s say, mad at what happened last year. Is it motivation? Yes. But you know, it’s not much more added to what I already had.”

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BETHESDA, Md. – Tiger Woods officially changed his putter but the results on the greens remained pretty much the same in a humid opening round of the Quicken Loans National at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. Woods ranked 92nd of 120 players in Strokes Gained: Putting as he carded a grinding even par 70, leaving him seven shots off the pace set by leaders Andrew Landry and J.J. Spaun and in a tie for 48th place. The 79-time PGA TOUR winner added a TaylorMade Ardmore 3 mallet style putter, ditching the blade style putter he used for 13 of his 14 major championships, after recent poor results on the greens. Despite making just 48 feet, seven inches of putts Thursday – his longest being a birdie from eight feet, 11 inches – Woods said he was dedicated to the change. “I am very committed to it. It’s technology as well. We have the grooves in there just like when I was with Nike, helps roll the ball better, faster, earlier on the greens,â€� he said. “I’ve always struggled on greens that are a little on the slower side and these greens aren’t very quick right now and they won’t be quick in three weeks’ time, either. “So it was a nice thing to move to a putter that rolls a little bit quicker, it has more swing to it.  I’ve always liked putters that have some swing to it.â€� Short of a few misreads on his back nine Woods was adamant he putted well despite missing five putts inside 15 feet, three of which were inside 10 feet. “I rolled it well today, I really did. I hit a lot of good putts early that didn’t go in,â€� Woods claimed. “If I’m hitting putts on my line with my speed, then I’m happy. They’ll go in eventually. It’s been a while since I’ve done that.â€� OBSERVATIONS LANDRY GOES LOW … Last year TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm was the fourth hardest course on the PGA TOUR in its debut as host for the Quicken Loans National. Nick Watney fired a final-round 64 for the low round of the week. That mark was broken Thursday morning this year as Valero Texas Open champion Andrew Landry fired an impressive 7-under 63. J.J. Spaun then matched it in the afternoon for the pair to share the lead. Landry’s bogey free round was a welcome one given he’s missed three cuts, had a WD, and been no better than T65 since his breakthrough win in April.  Just last week he opened with an 81 at the Travelers Championship. “I’ve been working the last few days on doing something a little bit different in my golf swing and getting a little bit further away from it and it’s kind of making my plane a little bit flatter, which is what I need,â€� Landry, who sits 22nd in the FedExCup, said. “It’s definitely helping out and we’ll see how it goes.â€� BRACE SPAUNS RESURECTION … Earlier this season J.J. Spaun was being bothered by a pain in the back of his right hand. It was bad enough for him to WD at the Waste Management Phoenix Open after nine holes. But an MRI showed no problems so he battled on, playing at the Genesis Open and then The Honda Classic. It was in Florida the pain reared up again and Spaun figured enough was enough. So he went to see a hand specialist who works with the Los Angeles Dodgers. “He basically told me my ulnar nerve in my right elbow is compressed and it’s either from overuse or sleeping on it incorrectly,â€� Spaun revealed. “It’s almost sort of like cubital tunnel syndrome, it’s just kind of your arm, your hand goes numb.â€� The diagnosis meant six weeks off as he wore a brace at night to alleviate the condition.    “I had to sleep in an arm brace at night. It keeps my arm dead straight so you can’t bend it or sleep on it, so that was terrible for about a month,â€� Spaun added. “But it’s nice to kind of put that behind me and not really have to worry about it.â€� Although he’s missed five of eight cuts since his return he finished third at the AT&T Byron Nelson and sits tied for the lead after a bogey free 7-under 63 here at the Quicken Loans National. “I was making a lot of good putts from mid-range that I normally haven’t been making. I felt a lot more comfortable over my putter as of late and it’s kind of nice to hit a lot of greens, hit a lot of fairways and see some more putts go in,â€� he said. PUTNAM IN … In his first 120 PGA TOUR rounds, Andrew Putnam had zero scores of 64 or better. In nine rounds since, he has shot 64 four times including his opening round. Putnam missed six cuts in his first 11 starts of this season with no top-10s. In eight starts since, he is eight from eight making cuts with three top-10s including his runner up finish at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. “I’ve been playing good for the last couple months,â€� Putnam, who ranks 53rd in the FedExCup claimed. “You can’t score your best every single tournament, but I’ve made seven cuts in a row or more, so I would say that’s a pretty good streak.â€� NOTABLES MARC LEISHMAN – The 18th ranked player in the world hit just three fairways all day but still managed to shoot a 3-under 67 and sit in a tie for 10th. RICKIE FOWLER – Fowler sat two over through 13 holes but ground his way home with two late birdies to post at even par 70 and in a tie for 48th. KYLE STANLEY – The defending champion opened his account with a 1-over 71 to be T68 FRANCESCO MOLINARI – An impressive opening 67 from the world mo. 17 has him well poised in a tie for 10th. BEAU HOSSLER – His incredible Thursday run continues with a 5-under 65 to be tied fifth. QUOTABLES Sounds so cliché but you’ve just got to be so patient out there because one loose shot and you can really get yourself into some trouble. This course is tough. It penalizes you, except for Leish today. He hit three fairways and shoots 3 under. That’s hard to do on this place. It definitely wasn’t pretty … SUPERLATIVES Low round: 7-under 63 – Andrew Landry, J.J. Spaun Longest drive: 369 yards – J.B. Holmes on the par-4 6th. Longest putt: 60 feet, 1 inch – Marc Leishman nailed a birdie bomb on the par-3 3rd. Toughest hole: Par-4 11th played to 4.292 with just 10 birdies, 25 bogeys, seven doubles and two others. Easiest hole: Par-4 14th. The drivable par-4 played to a 3.658 average with four eagles and 51 birdies. CALL OF THE DAY For play-by-play coverage of the second round of the Quicken Loans National, listen at PGATOUR.COM. SHOT OF THE DAY

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FORT WORTH, Texas – Jordan Spieth measures his progress in weeks, insisting that strides have been made on his swing, and that he’s now entering the precision stage of what seems like an inevitable return to winning golf. The rest of us seem to be measuring his progress in days – specifically the last eight. Last week, there were the four rounds he put together at the PGA Championship, resulting in a tie for third. It was his first top-10 finish of the PGA TOUR season, albeit still six shots behind winner Brooks Koepka. And on Thursday, there was the 5-under 65 in the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge, placing him just a stroke off Tony Finau’s lead at Colonial. Related: Leaderboard | Spieth by the numbers | Finau uses claw grip en route to 64 Afterward, Spieth was asked if the last five rounds could be defined as “significantâ€� progress. Yet from his perspective, the uptick in performance has been brewing for much longer. “Probably the same as the previous four or five weeks before … since I’ve been really working on the right things and have the right moves for it, whether it’s the full swing or the putting,â€� Spieth said. “It’s just once you’re doing the right thing, repetition gets it closer and closer and gets you more precise.â€� That’s not to say Thursday’s round was a display of total precision. He hit just half of his fairways, and was 11 of 18 in greens in regulation. Trying to force a low hook with a wedge from the fairway at the par-4 18th (his ninth hole of the day), Spieth found Crampton’s Lake left of the green on the way to a double bogey. But thanks to a hot putter – he made 153 feet worth of putts – and a chip-in birdie from 73 feet at the par-3 13th, Spieth made the most of his round. Given how well he was putting Thursday, Spieth was second-guessing his decision with the approach shot at 18. “Considering I was 50 percent from 15 feet [putting], I may as well just keep giving myself 15 feet,â€� Spieth said. “If it’s any other pin, I probably birdie the hole, and I just tried to get cute with that one.â€� Spieth knows there is still work to be done tee-to-green. Six of his seven misses off the tee Thursday were left. That was in response – and perhaps an overcorrection — to his misses right that have plagued him this season. The fact he was hitting it where he wanted to hit it, though, is another sign of improvement. “I still had some scar tissue on shots today where I’ve had some foul balls to the right this year where that’s been my miss,â€� Spieth said. “… I played away from that shot because of the potential of what’s been there this year. “So, say, last week I probably trusted it 75 percent. Probably trusted it 90 percent today. Just trying to continue to when you trust it, pull off the shot. You know the feel and you know that the old ball is kind of out the window.â€� A year ago, Spieth finished T-32 at Colonial – a surprising result given his previous results in this tournament, including a win in 2016 sandwiched between a pair of T-2s. In retrospect, last year’s finish was an indication his game was out of sorts. Until last week at Bethpage Black, his only top-10 finish in the last 12 months was a T-9 at the Open Championship. It’s been a long, sometimes frustrating, climb back. While Spieth hasn’t been relying strictly on results to measure his progress, he realizes that’s what the rest of us have to go on. “Score-wise, it’s not necessary for me to feel good,â€� he said. “It’s more just I knew once I started to get the club back out in front of me, that the golf would start to be fun again – and it certainly is.â€� Professional golf, of course, is more fun when winning is involved. No one would be surprised if Spieth ends his two-year drought this week on a course that fits his game – especially if his hot putter continues to mask his work-in-progress swing. “Certainly could use hitting a few more fairways and a few more greens around Colonial the rest of this week,â€� he said. “But the putter blade is sharp.â€� He hopes the rest of his game will follow.

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