Leaderboard: Round 1 of the Masters

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SAN DIEGO – There is no doubt Torrey Pines has been a playground for Tiger Woods. With his eight career wins at the venue they say he owns the joint. But as we head to the weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open he is not the only familiar name on the leaderboard at the seaside gem in Southern California.  Woods sits six shots off the pace at four under through 36-holes as we head to the South Course for the weekend, a position he’s won from three times at the venue. He’s looking up at leader Ryan Palmer who shot an incredible 10-under 62 on the North Course Friday to be two clear at the top.  RELATED: Leaderboard | Tiger claws back after four putt | Win probabilities The veteran Woods is chasing an 83rd PGA TOUR win which would take him out of a tie with Sam Snead for the most wins of all-time. It would also break his own record of wins at one venue. “Shot by shot got me to 82. It’s one of those things where it’s just a process, it’s a marathon, it’s four days, it’s a long haul,â€� Woods said. “Just trying to be there at the end and you never know what happens at the end.â€� Palmer is no stranger to being amongst it at Torrey. Two years ago he held the lead at the same point and eventually battled with Jason Day and Alex Noren in a playoff only to fall short. A year ago he was T3 at the halfway mark before fading to 13th.  The Texan was actually 11 under with a hole to play on the North Friday with an outside chance of going sub-60 before a final hole bogey. He’s already ahead of the target he set for the week but is acutely aware that five of the last seven versions of the event have seen the winning score in relation to par come backwards from the 36-hole mark.  While the North Course is traditionally much easier (it played to a 70.574 average for opening two rounds compared to 73.297 on the South), the South Course can be an animal at times depending on softness of the greens, thickness in the air and other factors.  “We said if we shot two under every day, we would have a chance and be close, at least have a chance to win,â€� Palmer said. “So it’s nice to be ahead of that mark by two.â€� Palmer opened Thursday on the South with a round of 72. He needed to fight back from being three over through eight holes to do that.   “The South is not a golf course that you’re going to go out and shoot low… when it gets on the weekend things tighten up a little bit as far as pressure,â€� he added.  “I don’t see any low rounds out there. A low round on that golf course tomorrow and Sunday is probably 4 or 5 under par. We shoot a couple under, we’ll be in good shape.â€� Second place is currently held by Brandt Snedeker at 8 under. One clever scribe was heard to say if Woods owns Torrey, then Snedeker must rent it. He’s a two-time winner at Torrey Pines in 2012 and 2016 and has been runner up twice, third another time and inside the top-10 a further two times.  “This golf course, for whatever reason, sets up really well for me. I kind of know how you’re supposed to play it. You’ve got to think your way around it. Everybody thinks it’s this huge golf course and you’ve got to overpower it, and that’s not the case,â€� Snedeker said.  “The greens here… they test you in a different way than most greens test you. You’re going to hit some great putts that don’t go in, so you’ve got to have a good mindset and realize it’s part of being on poa annua. I always have, I love it, so hopefully continue to do it over the weekend.â€� Amongst four players sharing third at 7 under is J.B. Holmes. He lost a playoff in 2015 at Torrey Pines, was a shot out of another in 2018, and was sixth in 2016. Keegan Bradley is part of five players at 6 under and he’s notched up two top-5s here in the last three years.  Jon Rahm is part of a five-way tie for 12th at 5 under. The Spaniard won here on debut in 2017 and was fifth a year ago. Then we get to Woods at 4 under. He has seven Farmers Insurance wins (1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013) and also won the 2008 U.S. Open at the venue. Between 1998 and 2008 his worse finish was T10. Off his 19 events prior to this week 15 of them finished with him inside the top 25. “If you make the cut on the number here, anything can happen on the South Course, especially the way it’s playing now,â€� Woods said. “It’s so much more difficult and I think so much more volatile because of the fact that if you shoot a good round out here on the South, you’ll move up the board.â€� Among the 20 players joining Woods at 4 under are more Torrey Pines specialists. Jason Day: a two-time winner (2015, 2018) with another further three top 10s. Bubba Watson: 2011 winner, two further top-10s. Scott Stallings: 2014 winner, 2015 runner-up. Marc Leishman: Four top-10s including two runners-up. And with further Torrey form, albeit to a lesser extent; Rory McIlroy: T5 in lone appearance last season. Tony Finau: Five top-25s from five starts, two top-10s. Billy Horschel: Two top-10s. Hideki Matsuyama: T12 and T3 the last two seasons. Lucas Glover: Three top-10s. Joel Dahmen: Top 10 last year. If you add the fact the 4 under group also contains former FedExCup champion Jordan Spieth and current PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Sungjae Im then you can be sure it’s going to be a weekend worth watching. 

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Depending on your exposure, fusion might be most familiar as the scientific process in which multiple particles come together. You may also think of it as when jazz met rock and roll. Or maybe the winner of the word association is the popular sedan. With Tiger Woods performing as well as he has in 2018, we have to wonder if back surgeons are getting flooded with inquiries on another application: fusion surgery. Then there are the folks who play fantasy golf and lean on the fusion of current form with course history to identify value. Lo and behold, Woods is the father of all synergies at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. With eight victories at Bay Hill Golf Club and Lodge, his margin over Vijay Singh in second place on the tournament’s all-time money list is more than $2 million greater than The Big Fijian’s total. Despite Woods’ incredible success at Bay Hill, he’s seeing the four-year-old renovation for the first time this week. Scroll past the ranking for more on how Palmer’s beloved test has matched up in the 120-man invitational. First appearance at Bay Hill since 2013 title, his fourth in last five trips. Tee-to-green game was the primary foundation of last week’s T2 at Copperhead. Putting was already strong. In the process of a T5 at the Valspar, ranked third in strokes gained: putting with highest recorded clip over four rounds since winning 2011 BMW. Five top 15s at Bay Hill since 2011. Just his third start of 2018. Chased Farmers title with a T2 at Pebble Beach. Winner at Bay Hill in 2016. Currently leading the PGA TOUR in strokes gained: putting. A regular leaderboard presence. Leads the TOUR in birdies-or-better percentage after going for the green. Fourth in adjusted scoring. T10 in Bay Hill debut last year. Continues to excel with his first PGA TOUR card with a P2, a solo third and three more top 25s since late January. Slots third in both adjusted scoring and the all-around. All three paydays in six starts at Bay Hill were top 20s. Now rested from a T5 at the WGC-Mexico where he led the field in total distance of putts holed. Five top fives in 2017-18! First Power Rankings since the WGC-HSBC in October. Opened Florida Swing with T13 at the Honda. Added a T16 at the Valspar. Three top 15s at Bay Hill; T12 in his last in 2016. Prevailed by six at the Asian Development Tour’s stop in Brunei on Saturday. Two wins in last four starts. T5 at WGC-Mexico in between. T6 in both prior starts at Bay Hill. Save the stumble at PGA National (MC), he’s just as hot as he was at this time last year when he placed T4 in his API debut. Third-place finishes in two of last three starts.   Wouldn’t mind tighter form upon arrival for his title defense, but he’s averaged 69.625 on his last eight rounds at Bay Hill. Currently seventh in birdies-or-better percentage. Travels after fading to solo sixth at the Hero Indian Open where he led after both of the first two rounds. Three top 15s in last four starts worldwide. T17-T7 in last two APIs. Italian stallion for Bay Hill with three top 10s and a T17 (2015) in the last four editions. Ranked fourth in strokes gained: tee-to-green en route to a T25 at WGC-Mexico. Relatively quiet opening to 2018 mirrors his track record at Bay Hill. In six prior trips, both of his two top 25s among five cuts made are top 15s. Solo 12th last year. Finally reemerged on the leaderboard at Copperhead (T2) where he led the field in strokes gained: approach. Appearing at Bay Hill for the third time, his first since 2014. Among the notables cut at Copperhead, but he’s been a force at Bay Hill. Five straight top 15s punctuated by top fives from 2014-16. Last year’s MC was an anomaly.  RANK PLAYER COMMENT POWER RANKINGS: ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Bubba Watson, Zach Johnson and Kevin Chappell will be among the notables covered in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider.  This is the 40th edition of the API at Bay Hill. No course could claim to have evolved as much as the stock par 72 in Orlando. The latest sweeping modifications greeted the 2015 field with new Celebration bermudagrass on the fairways and TifEagle Bermuda on the greens (which are not overseeded).  If it can be accepted that three years of play and data are required before attaching identity and expectations to any course after a renovation, then Bay Hill has hit the bull’s-eye. Last year’s scoring average of 72.890 was a four-year high, but moderate-to-gusty winds challenged the field in the first and final rounds. The bottom line is that the course rewards all strengths upon execution. Consider that the leaders in distance of all drives (Rory McIlroy), fairways hit (Adam Hadwin), greens in regulation (champion Marc Leishman), proximity to the hole (McIlroy) and scrambling (Hadwin) all finished inside the top six on the leaderboard.  Leishman’s pace of 11-under 277 was the highest in six years. As referenced above, he got the job done by eliminating the need to scramble more than anyone else, but he also ranked second in strokes gained: putting. Not surprisingly given the value of par, the Aussie also co-led in bogey avoidance in which eight of the 11 golfers who finished inside the top 10 on the leaderboard ranked inside the top 10 for the tournament.  While the absence of dozens of trees felled by Hurricane Irma last September may be noticeable to eyes familiar with the property, the only relevant change to gameplay at Bay Hill since last year occurred beside the green of the par-3 second hole. The bank in between it and the creek isn’t as severe. And despite numerous upgrades, the course will tip at 7,419 yards for the eighth straight year.  Terrific weather is on tap throughout the tournament. Gradually warming daytime highs into the low 80s by Sunday will be accompanied by light breezes and primarily cloudless skies.  The winner will earn a three-year PGA TOUR exemption as well as berths into the next three editions of THE PLAYERS.  ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE  PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton will be filing his usual staples leading up to this week’s event. Look for the following columns this week.  MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings  TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider, Facebook Live  WEDNESDAY: 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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