Masters 2019: Tiger Woods caddie Joe LaCava on the advice he gave on the first tee, and nine other takeaways from his boss’ win

Click here to read the full article…

NOTE: If you play PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO, the Shaw Charity Classic begins on Friday. For my recommendations among notables in the field, scroll to the bottom of the page. I think I know Ben Everill well enough now that he’s not necessarily bursting with virtues, but patience is one of them. Gotta tip my visor to the rookie’s beginner’s luck and every worthy gamer who sat on Dustin Johnson long enough to connect with DJ’s victory at THE NORTHERN TRUST. Every FedExCup Playoffs event awards its winner a season-high 2,000 points. Ben will be holding his breath after the coup, but he deserves at least this week to chirp. Don’t be surprised if he tweets about it, too. Suffice it to say that Johnson is no longer bothered by a sore back or any bad habits he picked up since his spill on the Wednesday of Masters week. I’ve been saving him for the TOUR Championship, but it’s tempting to ride his wave right now, particularly since a golfer has prevailed in consecutive tournaments five times in FedExCup Playoffs history. (Billy Horschel was the last to join the club in 2014.) However, because I’m still within range of Ben’s lead, there’s no need to deviate from the grand plan. Before we review the field for usual suspects, it’s incumbent upon me to review who Ben and Jonathan still have available as they are in my crosshairs. Only a league championship matters, so I’m not concerned with the guys in the rearview mirror. Unfortunately, I’m settling for a push with Ben at the Dell Technologies Championship where both of us have had Rory McIlroy slotted for months. The compelling story in the mainstream is that McIlroy is competing at all given his comments after the PGA Championship about possibly disappearing until 2018, but all gamers really care to know is if he’s committed. As the defending champion and in pursuit of becoming the first to successfully defend a FedExCup title, he remains a strong option. Ben will likely conclude the FedExCup Playoffs with Jason Day at the BMW Championship and Jordan Spieth at the TOUR Championship, neither of whom is available to me. Likewise, I have Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson as my probables, respectively, neither of whom is available to Ben. Among the most notable, only Day remains available to Jonathan. So, short of the Aussie capturing victory at Conway Farms in two weeks, I fully expect to challenge only Ben for my own title defense of our little league. I lay out the basics of my permutations as an example for you and yours. You have to get the lay of the land to adjust your short list. If you’re the front-runner, look at the most logical stymies but also decide which philosophy suits you better. Do you empty the chamber now and hope for the best later? Or do you sit on a heavyweight to anchor the season? I prefer the latter because your competition still needs to execute in the interim. Insurance is never a bad thing as long as you don’t have too much of it. That can make an infinitesimal offseason feel a lot longer than the 10 days it is. If you’re chasing, the less you think about it, the better. With only two more events after the DTC, there’s less about which to think, anyway. DJ, McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey, Patrick Reed, Louis Oosthuizen and Adam Scott all make sense at TPC Boston. Short of those cornerstones, Webb Simpson and Charley Hoffman could be timely bridges. Jon Rahm remains a dynamic wild card. Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka and Justin Rose are likely to make more sense next time. I can only imagine the chicken scratch two-man gamers have scribbled on their legal pads by now. If possible, finally burn Chez Reavie, will ya? Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Jason Kokrak also deserve attention. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2016-17. All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … BMW Keegan Bradley … Dell Technologies Paul Casey … TOUR Championship Kevin Chappell … Dell Technologies Jason Day … Dell Technologies; BMW; TOUR Championship Jason Dufner … TOUR Championship Rickie Fowler … BMW Sergio Garcia … TOUR Championship Billy Horschel … TOUR Championship Dustin Johnson … BMW (defending on a different course); TOUR Championship Zach Johnson … BMW; TOUR Championship Russell Knox … Dell Technologies Hideki Matsuyama … BMW Rory McIlroy … BMW; TOUR Championship (defending) Ryan Moore … TOUR Championship Louis Oosthuizen … Dell Technologies Patrick Reed … Dell Technologies Justin Rose … TOUR Championship Charl Schwartzel … BMW Adam Scott … Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship Jordan Spieth … TOUR Championship Bubba Watson … TOUR Championship Gary Woodland … Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE NOTABLES Shaw Charity Classic Canyon Meadows Golf & Country Club in Calgary has been the only host of the tournament since it debuted on the PGA TOUR Champions in 2013. After playing as a par 71 for its inaugural edition, the 7,086-yard track has been a par 70 with five par 3s and three par 5s since. Golfers listed alphabetically. Rob’s serious considerations in bold. Stephen Ames … Impressive season continued at Snoqualmie with a T13. It gave him six top 20s in his last seven starts. Just one top 50 at Canyon Meadows in three tries, though, a T5 in 2015. Billy Andrade … Lost in a playoff in his debut here in 2014, but didn’t land inside the top 35 in both return trips. Up-and-down 2017 warrants future use, so hold tight for another week. Woody Austin … Horse for a course, but his form has been erratic. Not that it hasn’t glistened at times, but you’d be leaning almost entirely on a 6th-T10-T19 slate at Canyon Meadows since 2014. Fred Couples … Disappointing T20 outside his native Seattle last week. It was his first finish outside the top 15 in 10 starts this year. Winner here in 2014. T10 in 2013 and a T5 in 2015. Joe Durant … A splendid find for gamers who somehow haven’t yet burned him. Twelve top 20s this season, including in seven of his last eight starts. Two top 20s in three tries at Canyon Meadows. Bob Estes … Since he didn’t qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs, he can focus on taking on guys his own age. Last week’s T33 was his first of four results outside a top 25 on the PGA TOUR Champions in 2017. Steve Flesch … Strides in with six consecutive top 20s and Canyon Meadows is a good fit for the lefty. Not eligible to be ranked officially in the stats, but the results speak for themselves. Carlos Franco … Defending champion. Canyon Meadows is the site of his only victory in individual competition on the PGA TOUR Champions. He hasn’t logged a top 30 on another in five months. Fred Funk … Continue to holster for the PURE Insurance Championship, but hope that he flips his form. Paul Goydos … Bridge. He’s traded top 20s (including a win at the 3M) with results outside the top 25 in his last six starts. T7 at the Shaw in 2014, but a T68 last year. Lee Janzen … Streak of seven straight top 20s came to an end with a T39 at the Boeing. Making his third appearance at the Shaw and still chasing his first top 35. Miguel Angel Jiménez … Sustaining a phenomenal season. All of his 15 starts have resulted in a top 25; eight have gone for a top 10. T12 in his first look at Canyon Meadows last year. Brandt Jobe … Shared 14th in his debut here last year. He’d take another after finishing outside the top 30 in his last two starts after a torrid couple of months. Still a wild card for us. Jerry Kelly … Beaming off his breakthrough title at the Boeing Classic. It was only a matter of time. Now 11th on the money list, it’s a good time to let the rookie go this one alone. Scott McCarron … Answered victory at the DICK’S with a season-worst T41 at the Boeing. Didn’t crack the top 10 in either prior visit to Canyon Meadows. Colin Montgomerie … Strong converging trends with progressively improving results in his last three starts, culminating in a solo fifth at the Boeing. Runner-up here in 2015 and T6 last year. Corey Pavin … Rested since a T20 at the DICK’S. Top 20s in four of his last six starts. T15 (2014) and T22 (2015) in his trips to the Shaw. Tom Pernice, Jr. … Two top 10s and another two top 25s at Canyon Meadows, but only one top 25 in his last 10 starts. Kenny Perry … Making his first appearance. Ranks third on the money list but he’s been inconsistent. Very much worth a shot if you’re chasing. Gene Sauers … Played up to his billing at the Boeing with a T10, his fifth consecutive top 25. Mixed bag at Canyon Meadows, however, with only two top 40 in four tries, and both were but T19s. Vijay Singh … Tournament debut. Settled for a T29 at last week’s Boeing. Twelfth on the money list but hasn’t logged enough rounds to qualify for official rankings. Kevin Sutherland … If there’s a spot where you’d consider taking a pass, Canyon Meadows might be it. No better than a T9 (2014) in three appearances. David Toms … T6 at the Boeing where fellow rookie Jerry Kelly broke through. Four top 10s and another six top 25s this season. Kirk Triplett … Top 20s in three of the four editions. His T71 at last week’s Boeing ended a string of four straight top 25s. Scott Verplank … The tour’s leader in putting has recorded top 10s in four of his last six events, but he’s making his tournament debut. Duffy Waldorf … The wait is over. It’s time to give him a look. He finished a respective T3, T15, T22 and T6 in this event. Trending nicely with a T7 and a pair of T20s in his last three starts.

Click here to read the full article…

A piece of advice dear to Keita Nakajima comes from fellow Japanese golfer Takumi Kanaya: Confront yourself and keep challenging. Nakajima is set to embark on a new challenge this week, as the former world No. 1 amateur makes his PGA TOUR debut as a professional at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. Nakajima, 22, turned pro last month and was awarded a sponsor exemption to compete at Accordia Golf Narashino CC. In the first of what he hopes are many TOUR starts in the years to come, his “Hello, world” moment will occur in his native country. The Japan Sport Science University alum will commence action at 9:56 a.m. local time Thursday alongside Kurt Kitayama and Davis Riley. “I am honored to participate in the PGA TOUR as a pro,” Nakajima said Wednesday. “I have been sending swing videos to my coach, but now I am a pro, so I need to bring my best game out there.” Nakajima was clear Wednesday that he has raised his standards for his game as he embarks on a professional career. His base of expectations is high. He set a record with 87 weeks atop the World Amateur Golf Ranking, also becoming the first player to win the Mark H. McCormack medal twice as the world’s top men’s amateur golfer (2021 and 2022). “I appreciate the opportunities I have been given thanks to the medal,” Nakajima said. “I hope I have created a pathway for not only Japanese players but all Asia-Pacific players to pursue the dream they have.” Nakajima finished T28 in his ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP debut last fall; that was one of five TOUR starts last season including three majors. Upon turning pro last month, he has made two Japan Golf Tour starts, finishing T48 at the Panasonic Open – which he won as an amateur in 2021 – and T26 at the Vantelin Tokai Classic. He credits last year’s ZOZO winner and Japan native Hideki Matsuyama as an inspiration, and he’s close with Kanaya, who won the Mark H. McCormack Medal in 2020. “I grew up watching Takumi, and he did the same in following in the steps of Hideki,” Nakajima said. “I feel it’s my responsibility to leave a positive impression on the players that will come after I leave.” This week in Japan, he can do so firsthand.

Click here to read the full article…