Leaderboard: Fowler imploding at WMPO

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Granted, it was a wet first round of THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass, but it was still surprising to hear Keith Mitchell credit a swimmer for the assist after shooting a 5-under 67 to trail co-leaders Tommy Fleetwood and Tom Hoge by one. Over a year ago, Mitchell, 30, was well into a promising career had yielded one PGA TOUR victory at The Honda Classic, but he suspected he wasn’t getting the most out of his game. The culprit: his bad attitude. To address the problem, he reached out to 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, the most decorated U.S. swimmer of all time. “I was not giving it my all,” Mitchell said after his opening round Thursday, which featured an eagle at the par-5 ninth hole. “And he was kind of helping me through some like downs and kind of really hit the reset button about a year ago. That kind of started everything, getting a mentality, getting some coaching, and really just not just feeling sorry for yourself out here.” With weather delays that eclipsed five hours, the first round tested everyone in the field. Mitchell said he had fun hanging out in the locker room and maintained a positive attitude. That hasn’t always been easy, but his work with Phelps, an avid golfer, has helped. Before they began their skull sessions, Mitchell said, he felt beat up, and like he had hit some sort of wall. “We had dinner a long time ago in Phoenix,” Mitchell said, “and he was talking about some really thoughtful things that apply to every sport. I’ll never forget, it really made an impact on me. It’s not just your typical golf stuff like one shot at a time and stay patient. It was more of kind of how to act and focus on the course, which is how you would do in swim meets. “… I just remember feeling like a loser talking to him sometimes,” he continued, “how I felt on the golf course, like pity and sorrow, and this game is hard. He just pretty much said there’s no place for that if you want to be at the top. That was probably a year, year and a half ago, when I was probably the lowest I’ve been in the World Rankings since I got on the PGA TOUR.” Mitchell had dropped all the way to 249th in the world after the Valspar Championship last year but began his comeback with a T3 at the Wells Fargo Championship. Since then, he has made a steady climb, and top-10s at The Honda Classic and WM Phoenix Open have him up to 73rd. Asked how often he sees Phelps, Mitchell said not often, but they still talk on the phone. “One call with him is pretty impactful,” he said. “I can promise you that.”

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OVERVIEW Trying to find weaknesses in Justin Rose’s recent play, and assessing how he might improve in 2019, is like trying to find fault with a rainbow. Still, Rose dealt himself a mild criticism at the World Golf Championship-HSBC Champions in October, when he said, “It would be great to get in the winner’s circle more regularly.â€� Well, OK. But the fact remains, Rose, 38, has won a whole lot lately: A major (2013 U.S. Open), a gold medal (Rio Games, 2016), and most recently the FedExCup in late September, which he secured with a clutch birdie on the 72nd hole at the TOUR Championship at East Lake last season, keeping Tiger Woods from sweeping both the tournament and season-long trophies. Rose has also hit No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking multiple times in recent months What’s next? He finished third at the WGC-HSBC Champions to start his 2018-19 PGA TOUR campaign, when he will try to be the first to successfully defend his FedExCup title. No, he didn’t get into the winner’s circle, but contending goes a long way; in winning the FedExCup, Rose notched seven top-10s, five of those top-fives, in his final nine starts last season. Hard to believe this is the guy who missed 21 straight cuts around the world after turning pro in 1998. He has said it’s kept him from taking anything for granted, and kept him working hard. That hard work is paying huge dividends. — By Cameron Morfit Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: 30th Playoff appearances: 12 TOUR Championship appearances: 9 Best FedExCup result: Won the FedExCup in the 2017-18 season SHOTLINK FUN FACT With his next PGA TOUR win, Justin Rose will have 10 career PGA TOUR victories, which would be the most by any Englishman since 1945. INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Justin Rose in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: Rose has 11 top-15 finishes but no wins in the majors and THE PLAYERS Championship since winning the 2013 U.S. Open. Last season he shot up to 17th in Strokes Gained: Putting after ranking 123rd in 2017, a quantum leap that led to his FedExCup title. In addition to putting better, he has also learned to manage occasional back pain. Last summer, as a precaution, he WD’d from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, then came up big in the Playoffs. Those improvements, should they continue, could net Rose more trophies in ’19, maybe even a green jacket at the Masters, where he’s done everything but win. — By Cameron Morfit FANTASY INSIDER: While he’s made just 18 PGA TOUR starts in each of the last three seasons, gamers still have trouble rationing them in formats in which they’re restricted. And now, he’s coming off a career season at age 38 and giving no reason why he won’t continue to excel. His improved putting serves as the easy explanation for both his ability to capture the FedExCup without winning a Playoffs event – the first to do so – and his ascent to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, but it was just the final box to check on one of the most fulfilling careers of his generation. Continue to expect a frugal schedule, but he’s announced that he’ll be returning to the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play for the first time in three years. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: Rose has been on staff with TaylorMade for … well, pretty much forever. In 20 years as a professional, TaylorMade is the only equipment company he’s been on staff with. That will likely change in 2019, as reports and rumors are circulating about Rose switching to Honma. And Rose has done more to fuel those rumors than to quell them when discussing the matter. Assuming he does in fact switch to Honma, that leaves a number of questions including, how many Honma clubs will he put into play, which TaylorMade clubs will he leave in the bag, and will he put any clubs in play that aren’t Honma or TaylorMade? Rose’s equipment decisions early in 2019 will be the top equipment story to start the year. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: Rose’s style is a great example of how golf apparel and footwear have evolved. His simple, classic-looking threads have a high tech component as they are crafted from luxurious performance fabrics. Rose pairs his apparel with contemporary trainer-style shoes that feature a spikeless molded outsole for comfort and traction. — By Greg Monteforte

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A week ago, a Saudi-backed league to rival the PGA Tour was gaining momentum. Then Phil Mickelson’s thoughts became public, and everything unraveled in an instant.

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