Leaderboard: Back-nine drama at Augusta

LA JOLLA, Calif. – It is fitting that Tiger Woods’ first opportunity to set the PGA TOUR wins record comes at Torrey Pines. He’s won eight times at this course perched on the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean, tying his own record for most wins at a single site. The 2008 U.S. Open remains one of the most memorable performances of his career, and was his most recent major triumph until he won last year’s Masters. Even if he doesn’t win, Woods will pass one milestone this week. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks | Featured Groups, tee times | Tiger chases No. 83 He’s playing the first two rounds alongside Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm. Morikawa was born in February 1997, after Woods had already won the first three of his 82 titles. Thursday will mark the first time Woods has played in a PGA TOUR event with a player who was born after Woods turned pro. “In order to be a good player or be considered a good player in football, maybe you can get to a decade of playing in the league. Here, we’re measured by decades,� Woods said in Tuesday’s pre-tournament press conference. “It’s a different sport but it’s neat to see the young kids come out. I’ve only seen Collin hit balls, never had a chance to play with him until this week.� This is Woods’ first official stroke-play start since winning THE ZOZO Championship in Japan to tie Sam Snead’s record of 82 victories. Woods hasn’t been seen since his impressive performance as the playing captain for the United States’ Presidents Cup team. Woods went 3-0 as the U.S. Team made a Sunday comeback at Royal Melbourne. Woods’ precise iron play on the Alister Mackenzie layout was one of the highlights of the week. He was the first playing captain since Snead 60 years earlier to go undefeated in a professional team competition and lead his team to victory. After leaving Australia, Woods didn’t pick up a club until playing on his birthday with his son, Charlie. The celebratory round was an annual tradition between Tiger and his father, Earl. “I just wanted to get away from it,� Woods said Tuesday. “I was a little bit fried physically, mentally, emotionally and just wanted to have it all end.� Woods, who turned 44 on Dec. 30, said that he now has “more bad days than I do good days� physically. Fred Couples said in a post-Presidents Cup interview that Woods sat out the third day at Royal Melbourne because his body wouldn’t allow him to compete. “It’s hard to put it together for all four days as you get older,� Woods said. “It’s just harder.� This week, he’ll face a long Torrey Pines South Course that underwent a recent renovation to prepare for next year’s U.S. Open. Woods has won this event seven times, but it’s been seven years since his last triumph at Torrey Pines. He’s finished T23 and T20 in the past two years, shooting par or better in all eight rounds. The long layout with its thick rough was a perfect venue for Woods to showcase his strength, one of his biggest assets during his prime. Woods, who ranks 18th in this season’s FedExCup, now has to rely on precision and his accurate iron play. “I don’t have the ability to hit the ball as far as I used to compared to the field. … I was one of two guys to hit the ball over 300 yards consistently when I first came out here. Now we’ve got 50-plus guys doing the same thing,� Woods said. “It’s just a different ballgame but at the end of the day it’s how many birdies and how many mistakes can you eliminate throughout a round, throughout a tournament that will lead you to a win. Hopefully that will be the case for me this week.� If it is, Woods will sit alone atop the PGA TOUR’s all-time wins list.

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Brian Harman (+333 for a Top 20) … Before you think that the 35-year-old lefty slotted 61st in the Official World Golf Ranking is low-hanging fruit for this prop, consider that none of his seven paydays in eight appearances resulted in a top 20, and only one (T24, 2017) went for a top 30. Still, the upshot is that his experience on the course is as invaluable as his firepower. He’s 6-for-6 since the renovation (2015-present) and he recently connected for a T3 at The American Express. Branden Grace (+400 for a Top 20) … The South African knows a little about summering in February, just not on this side of the equator. He’s been nails in the dry heat of Scottsdale with a runner-up finish here in 2019 and a T9 in 2020. His scoring average in those eight rounds is a sporty 67.75. The tournament arrives at a time when he really needs it, too. Since a T7 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP three-and-a-half months ago, he’s just 1-for-4 with (the guaranteed payday of) a T33 at Kapalua to open 2022. Also sat out the Tilt-A-Whirl of the last three weeks and eight courses in California, so he’s rested. Sahith Theegala (+550 for a Top 20) … Not unlike last week’s endorsement in Draws and Fades for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, there’s something to be said again this week of a young professional who still can feel the thrills of playing in college. The 24-year-old former stud at Pepperdine now gets to experience the joy, the rush and the unknown of navigating the hoopla at TPC Scottsdale for the first time. He and Greyson Sigg are the only rookies to open 2022 with four cuts made in as many starts, but Theegala is in the WM Phoenix Open on a sponsor exemption. As of Monday night, he’s the only rookie in the Korn Ferry Tour graduate reshuffle category in the field. Kevin Chappell (+1400 for a Top 20) … While he and Patrick Cantlay never overlapped at UCLA, it still was fitting that the duo was paired together for three rounds at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. After all, it might have been Chappell’s final stop on the PGA TOUR in his home state. In what also promises to be compelling for at least two rounds this week, the WM Phoenix Open is poised to be his last start via a Major Medical Extension. for which a solo fifth-place finish is what’s necessary to retain status for the remainder of the season. (It’d also yield an exemption into THE PLAYERS Championship.) Short of that, he’d need no worse than to finish alone in 34th place to secure conditional status for the remainder. In eight prior trips to TPC Scottsdale, he failed to crack a top 20, but he’s managed a trio of top-31 finishes. For more detail on his targets, click or tap here. Preston Summerhays (+2000 for a Top 20) … Let’s face it, a cut made would be a relative win, so it’s unfair to attach an expectation such as this prop onto the 19-year-old amateur who lives a short longboard ride from TPC Scottsdale and represents the maroon and gold of Arizona State University. He’s just 72nd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and doesn’t even qualify for the Velocity Global Ranking at PGA TOUR University. Rather, this is a personal celebration worth watching even though it’s already his third TOUR start. (He missed the cuts at the 2020 U.S. Open and 2021 Barbasol Championship.) Yes, he has the pedigree. His father and former TOUR member, Boyd, is the only coach he’s ever had and will be on his bag this week. Uncle Daniel is a veteran of 215 PGA TOUR starts, including a pair of runner-up finishes. And Preston prevailed at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in 2019, a rare moment when he wasn’t shadowing family friend, Tony Finau, who also is in the field at the WM Phoenix Open. Preston isn’t expected to rise for a top five like Jon Rahm did as an amateur straight off the ASU campus in 2015, but this week will serve as a building block for a legacy that also will be worth watching. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. For live odds, visit betmgm.

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The 150th Open Championship draw for the opening two rounds at the Old Course in St. Andrews has been released with some mouth-watering trios set to play together early in the historic championship. Tiger Woods, looking to secure a fourth Open Championship title and third at the Old Course, will play the opening two rounds with recent U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and four-time PGA TOUR winner Max Homa. The trio starts the opening round at 2:59p.m. local time. Defending champion Collin Morikawa is joined by pre-tournament favorite Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele – a winner in his last two starts at the Travelers Championship and last week’s Genesis Scottish Open – in the 9:58a.m. slot Thursday. PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas will follow them off the first tee at 10:09a.m. Thursday along with 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry and three-time PGA TOUR winner Viktor Hovland. FedExCup leader and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will begin at 1:26p.m. with Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and Englishman Tyrrell Hatton while World No. 3 Jon Rahm is joined by 2017 Open Champion Jordan Spieth and Harold Varner III heading out at 3:10p.m. All times are local. Related: Power Rankings | Nine Things to Know: The Old Course at St. Andrews

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