Winner’s Bag: Phil Mickelson, 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

ATLANTA – Paul Casey rarely looks at leaderboards while playing the front nine on a Thursday. After all, what’s the point with so little movement that early in the tournament? But five holes into the first round of the TOUR Championship, Casey took a peek. This week’s new Starting Strokes format had him intrigued. “For once, first time ever,â€� Casey said, “[it was] anticipation to see scores.â€� Casey was one of five players who started the day at 2 under, eight strokes off the lead held by FedExCup points leader Justin Thomas. After shooting a 4-under 66, he’s now at 6 under – four shots behind co-leaders Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka – and has a realistic shot at winning the FedExCup at East Lake. RELATED: Big names tied atop leaderboard | Koepka to appear in ESPN’s Body Issue | How new format works for TOUR Championship In the previous format, Casey would have started the week needing a handful of scenarios to play out in his favor. In fact, a year ago, Casey arrived at East Lake ranked 26th in points. Not only did he need to win the tournament, he also needed seven different players to fall in line before he could claim the FedExCup. He entered this week ranked 16th in points. Sure, he started eight shots behind, but if he can make up the ground and beat everybody else at East Lake, the FedExCup will be his. No other scenarios need to play out. If he wins the tournament, he wins golf’s biggest prize. Pretty simple. “I guess it was a little bit strange,â€� said Casey when asked about teeing off eight shots behind. “It was nice once everybody was on the golf course.â€� Unlike previous TOUR Championships in the FedExCup era, there’s only one leaderboard needed this week. Once the leaderboard started to fill up Thursday, and players knew exactly where they stood, it seemed, well, a bit normal. “It didn’t feel that much different, to be honest with you,â€� said 2016 FedExCup champ Rory McIlroy, who started five shots behind Thomas but shot a 66 and is now just a stroke off the lead. “… I sort of had the mindset this week that I’m starting on even par, and I’m going to try to shoot a good four-round total and see where that leaves me at the end of the week.â€� Said Koepka: “You could say I played it like a five-day event. I knew I was three down and … by the time the turn comes, try to get back to all square.â€� Unlike previous TOUR Championships — in which each of the top five players in points controlled his own destiny by claiming the FedExCup title with a win – the only player wearing a target this week was Thomas. Entering with a staggered lead over the other 29 players in the field, Thomas – who won the FedExCup in 2017 by finishing solo second to Schauffele in the TOUR Championship – was the focal point. A hot start could have deflated the field. “If he came out with five straight birdies, it would be like, OK, we’re done,â€� Casey said. Instead, with Thomas shooting even par, the field is now bunched. Five players started the tournament within five shots of the lead; after the first round, there are now 12 players in that position. “If I were Justin Thomas, I would be more upset than me in my position,â€� said Charles Howell III, who opened at even par (10 shots off the lead) but shot a 68 to cut his deficit to eight. “Justin’s played phenomenal golf and has done what he’s done, and he could theoretically fall quite a bit, and I could move up, and he’s played better than I have.â€� Thomas said he didn’t think it felt weird with the lead, one he’s been sitting on since winning the BMW Championship on Sunday. “I felt I did a really good job in terms of getting myself where I need to be mentally,â€� he said. “I just didn’t quite hit enough fairways.â€� Without the need for scenarios, there is now clarity. Meanwhile, the volatility of the leaderboard certainly has made things intriguing. Top-five guys from the previous format rarely suffered a significant drop. Play poorly this week, though, and it may prove more costly. “There’s no insurance policy this week for anybody,â€� Casey said. For those in the middle and back half of the pack, aggressive play is the gameplan. Casey said he had four birdies inside 2 feet, and another inside 4 feet. “I aimed at a bunch of stuff, which I don’t always do on a Thursday,â€� he said. “I think it benefits the kind of middle of the pack in a way,â€� said Rickie Fowler, who started at 2 under but shot a 71 and is now nine shots off the lead. “Not that whoever starts in front doesn’t have a good chance of winning. They still do. You start with a little bit of a lead. But I think kind of the guys maybe in the 8 to 15 area for sure. “Before, you know, you look at Tiger winning the tournament last year, and you need a lot of things to kind of go your way in the old system to come out on top. Now you go play well, especially the first couple days, and you’re right in the thick of it, and you know exactly what you need to do. It’s not based on what someone else does.â€� For someone like Howell, there’s still a long climb before he gets into contention. But he’s got a chance. He’s also happy the Starting Strokes format gave those at the bottom of the field an acceptable score. “I’m just glad they didn’t started the leader off at even, and us at plus 10,â€� Howell said, offering a smile. “I think that would have been even more humiliating.â€�

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Here are nine tidbits from the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu 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. The decisions might have been a bit more difficult this week with a field of 144 instead of 34. Now you know who you’re up against! Lead Dawg Chris Kirk (Georgia Bulldogs) fired a bogey-free 63 in the morning wave to grab the lead. Kirk matched his opening-round 63 at The RSM Classic to wrap up the 2017 season (T4). This is the fifth time in the last six years that he’s posted 65 or lower at Waialae. He posted back-to-back finishes inside the top five in this event in 2013-14 with T5 and solo second. Co-Lead Dawg Zach Johnson (Drake Bulldogs) shares the lead also with a bogey-free 63. This Dawg didn’t have the pain and suffering as his friends from Athens after Georgia lost to Alabama in the College Football Playoff on Monday night. Johnson, similarly to Kirk, was posting low ones at the end of last year with a closing 64 at Mayakoba before a third round 64 at The RSM Classic (T8). The 2009 champ was late arriving because of the flu but he’s hit the ground running and looks to grab his fourth top 10 in the last five years. Hardy Har-Harman The way he’s been playing in recent weeks is no laughing matter. His 64 to open suggests he’s not satisfied collecting top 10s. Harman played in the final group the final three rounds last week and finished third, his fourth straight outing inside the top 10. Hop on that saddle and have both hands on the reigns! The Old Man and the Sea As I wrote about in The Confidence Factor, Waialae is Jerry Kelly’s happy place. Sure, he’s 51 but he’s also the second-highest earner in the history of this event. This is his 21st start and his opening round 66 will put him in a great position to make his 16th weekend. His MC last year broke up a streak of three in a row in the top 10. Think Fred Couples at Augusta if you need a comparison! Tide Rolling Defending champion Justin Thomas (67) posted his worst round in five trips as he didn’t sign for anything over 65 in setting the tournament scoring record last year. With Jim “Bones” McKay on the bag for the first time, Thomas didn’t square a bogey and made three birdies. The wind, as expected, was not a factor on Thursday so he’s in excellent shape for Friday morning to get even lower. With 59 and 61 to his name on this track already, I’m sticking him into the lineup tomorrow. Players who didn’t get in red figures today are going to have to get low on Friday as the top 98 are currently even or better. The cut last year was 3-under-par 137. Moon Rising Two-time winner Sangmoon Bae is back on TOUR after serving required military service in his native Korea. His two year duty has ended and he’s back and looking to recapture the form that made him valuable to gamers from 2012-2015. His final full season, 2015, saw him tee it up 30 times, win once and add four additional top 10s. At 31 he’s hardly past it as his 66 on Thursday suggests. I’ll also point out this is his first round in the 60s in 11 tries this season so I’m not jumping in just yet. Spieth’s ‘Snowman’ Those who stuck him in the starting lineup won’t be happy with his snowman in paradise on the penultimate hole of the day. The good news is that quadruple bogey was surrounded by eight birdies, including one on the final hole of the day that will make dinner for Spieth, and gamers, taste a little bit better. Last week, Spieth got off to a slow start yet rallied in Round 2. The brave (or trailing) will throw him out there tomorrow but those near the top can patiently bide their time. Study Hall Jimmy Walker (74) has a fantastic recent record at this event but he’s also battling Lyme disease and is nowhere near 100 percent physically or mentally, the television coverage reported … Luke Donald was hospitalized with chest pains at The RSM Classic in the first round leading to his withdrawal. He opened with 72 in his first event back … Morgan Hoffmann (69) disclosed in early December that he has been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. … Ryan Palmer (71) returned to action after shoulder surgery knocked him out after the Wyndham Championship. He has six starts on his major medical exemption to keep his status.

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Viktor Hovland returns to defend his title at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, but in order to do it he’ll have to top a field that boasts some of the most notable names in the game – including past PGA TOUR Players of the Year Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka. FIELD NOTES: Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka – both former No.1-ranked golfers in the world – are returning to action on the PGA TOUR for the first time since THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT… Viktor Hovland defends his second TOUR title. His win at Mayakoba last year made him just the fifth European since 1945 to win multiple times on the PGA TOUR before turning 24. Seve Ballesteros, Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm also achieved the feat… Plenty of Hovland’s European Ryder Cup teammates will join Hovland in the field. On the American side, Tony Finau and Scottie Scheffler join Thomas and Koepka in the field. In all, there will be 11 Ryder Cup players and four assistant captains teeing it up… Twelve major champions are teeing it up, as well… Abraham Ancer leads the Mexican contingent at El Camaleón, looking for a win in his home country (but now with a TOUR title under his belt, having won the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in August)… Taylor Pendrith – who led in Bermuda after 36 holes – is set to tee it up in Mexico, which would mark the second week of his “honeymoon,” having brought new bride Megan with him to Bermuda, too… Thomas Detry, Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra (a star at Oklahoma State), Guido Migliozzi, and Willie Mack III are among the sponsor exemptions… Mack shot a final-round 64 to win the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour Championship in August. He also made the cut in two PGA TOUR starts this summer, finishing T71 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and T64 at the John Deere Classic… Lopez-Chacarra is fifth in the PGA TOUR University ranking. The top five at the end of the collegiate season will earn Korn Ferry Tour status for the summer. He recently finished T45 in the Sanderson Farms Championship. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: El Camaleón Golf Course, par 71, 7,017 yards (yardage subject to change). Golfers will need to navigate three separate Mayan Rivera landscapes on this Greg Norman design – tropical jungle, oceanfront stretches, and mangroves. Scoring is a premium on the paspalum grass, as the average winning score from the past five seasons has been just a touch over 20-under 264. STORYLINES: With just two events left on the PGA TOUR schedule for 2021, it’s an important time to secure valuable FedExCup points. Cameron Tringale, Maverick McNealy, Matthew Wolff, and Brendan Steele are all currently inside the top 10 of the Comcast Business Rewards TOUR TOP 10. and looking to build up their point totals heading into the holiday break… With Carlos Ortiz and Ancer both winners on the PGA TOUR, could this be the year when a Mexican golfer breaks the drought and wins on home soil? Ortiz finished T8 while Ancer finished T12 in 2020… This event always produces Sunday drama, as just once in tournament history has the winner topped the filed by more than two shots. The last four winners have won by just one stroke… Justin Thomas is the top-ranked golfer in the world teeing it up in Mexico (7th) and shot a tournament-low 62 in 2020 en route to finishing T12. 72-HOLE RECORD: 262, Matt Kuchar (2018) 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Roland Thatcher (3rd round, 2008). LAST TIME: Viktor Hovland navigated a crowded leaderboard on a low-scoring day and ended up winning for the second time on the PGA TOUR. Hovland shot all four rounds in the 60s at El Camaleón and held off a hard-charging Aaron Wise, who finished with a 63. Hovland ended up winning by one shot over Wise after notching a birdie on the 72nd hole. The third time was the charm for Hovland, as he made his TOUR debut in Mexico in 2018 and missed the cut. He missed the cut in 2019, too. But Sunday in 2020 he was, well, the victor. Adam Long and Tom Hoge finished at 17 under and were tied for third, three shots back of Hovland. Harris English, Billy Horschel, and Lucas Glover rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m.-5 p.m. (Golf Channel) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday 12 p.m.-5 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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