Tiger feels ‘way better’ than last week

Given the construct of its field, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship won’t be for the faint of heart. Yet, it also increases the possibility of record-high scoring in PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live. To play or not to play isn’t even questioned. Though you fight to stay alive, your body starts to shiver. For no mere gamer can resist the evil of the thriller. Register for PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live here and monitor Rob’s and Glass’ progress as Influencers. For a broader explanation of the format and FAQs, click here. TOURNAMENT TO WIN Rob … Henrik Norlander (+8000) As eager as I was in launching the board, I can’t justify pointing an arrow at anyone longer than these odds, so we’ll start here and adjust as always (unfortunately). The Swede’s strongest skills keep the ball in play from tee to green, so he’s a lottery ticket with the putter. A lot like Sepp Straka, who broke through at The Honda Classic – I’ll never forget it! – Norlander has multiple seasons of experience without a victory on the PGA TOUR, so if he wants to make a change, he can start with the man in the mirror. This is his third appearance at Port Royal. He cashed in the inaugural edition in 2019 when you’d expect a ball-striker to step out front. Five of his six career rounds on the course are under par. Glass … Vaughn Taylor (+20000) Absolutely NO REASON this week not to have fun with this pick PRE-TOURNAMENT, so let’s dance. His last top 10 was in a similar field in Puerto Rico last March when he picked up T7. You bet I’m grasping at straws! His last win on TOUR came out of nowhere when he won at Pebble Beach in 2016, so I’m looking to recreate history in Bermuda this week. The format allows us to reload once the pipe dream wakes up covered in bogeys. TOP 10 Glass … Ryan Armour (+625) Traditional Horse for Course has witnessed Brian Gay pulling this off at an, ahem, extended age, so he’ll believe as well. Nothing wrong with a bit of veteran love this week as they know how to survive the elements and keep the ball in play in tough situations. Rob … Austin Eckroat (+625) It’s black and white. Although he’s one of my Sleepers, rising for this finish would be a bonus. Good thing we’re likely going to have multiple opportunities to pivot! Actually, I noted that he’s the only rookie with as many as three paydays and without a top 10, so that’s the kind of bulletin-board material that I expect to inspire him. He’s also not a debutant what with a T22 here last year. TOP 20 Rob … Austin Eckroat (+225) This is where I plan on retaining the investment even if given a choice. Getting back more than double the virtual investment is sufficient. His proclivity to find fairways and greens is the peace of mind we all want if this bet proves to be a hit-it-and-hope experience. It’s as easy as 1-2-3, at least in theory. Glass … Kevin Yu (+300) Won’t be intimidated by the field and has enough chops throughout the bag to factor this week. Always the most conservative of the three BIG BETS of the week as the window can get sticky or stuck closed on the weekends. I’m going to ride the youth to figure out a way to crash the party in Southampton. ROUND 1 LEADER Glass … Austin Smotherman (+7000) Start early so you can play often! Fantastic player tee to green means I’ll need a hot ROUND, not week, with the flat stick to cash in here. MC here last year but posted 67 in the second round suggests he might have figured it out. If not, I have all morning (minus the one-hour time difference) to adjust. The front nine on which Smotherman opens doesn’t have the four most difficult holes on the ledger, so I’d start on this side first. Rob … Henrik Norlander (+7000) I’m always so impressed at Glass’ positive energy for the FRL. I mean, why not, but rotating the bingo ball and hoping that my guy is B1 (be the one!) requires so much more luck than know-how. I can’t beat it. With threatening weather in the forecast, it’s possible that R1 won’t finish on Thursday, but if there isn’t a delay, scoring should be equitable across the waves, anyway. In other words, even though we always want to target an early starter, keep a finger on eject unless your guy matches Taylor Pendrith’s course-record 61. Norlander is my outright and he goes off in the second threesome (off 10). He’ll have signed his card by the time I’m lucid, so firing up the glowing rectangle to see if I’m in position to deposit 1,750 coins could be almost as much fun as any Halloween party that I’ve attended. Whatever happens here, enjoy it out there this weekend. NOTE: While Glass and Rob typically stick with their selections as detailed in Pick ‘Em Preview, they are allowed the right to make changes at any time. Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org.

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Tiger Woods is back in action at the newly-dubbed Genesis Invitational, where J.B. Holmes defends. Woods isn’t just the host. He’s also seeking a record-breaking 83rd victory. RELATED: Inside The Field FIELD NOTES: This is the first year that the tournament will be played as an invitational. The field is now 120 players, and the winner receives a three-year exemption, putting the Genesis on par with the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. … Rory McIlroy makes his fourth start at Riviera. He finished T4 a year ago. McIlroy, the reigning FedExCup champion, is expected to regain the top spot in the world ranking Monday. It will be the first time since 2015 that he has held that position. … All of the top five players in the world (as of Feb. 7) will be in the field including McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, and Dustin Johnson… Thomas had the 54-hole lead a year ago before shooting a 4-over 75 in the final round to finish runner-up. Thomas is currently the FedExCup leader as he seeks to join Woods and McIlroy as the only two-time FedExCup champs. … Joseph Bramlett received the 2020 Charlie Sifford Memorial exemption and will be in the field. Bramlett, who received the same honor in 2011, is the first two-time recipient. He shot 75-74 in 2011 to miss the cut. Since then, Bramlett completely re-built his swing after suffering an annular tear to his L4 and L5 discs. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points COURSE: Riviera Country Club, 7,322 yards, par 71. A long-time PGA TOUR host club, Riviera will be the site of the 2028 Olympic events. STORYLINES: This will be Woods’ third start of the season. He won THE ZOZO Championship to tie Sam Snead’s PGA TOUR wins record of 82, then finished T9 at the Farmers Insurance Open. Woods finished T15 here a year ago. This year will mark the 11th time that he tees it up at the venerable Riviera, a course that’s had his number throughout his career. It’s the only course Woods has played more than four times in his career where he hasn’t won. … Bubba Watson, who has two-straight top-10’s to begin 2020, returns to Riviera where he’s a three-time winner. Watson won in 2014, 2016, and 2018 and if history is any indication, these ‘even’ years have treated him well. … Stay tuned for the results of the Collegiate Showcase on Monday. The low collegiate golfer after the 18-hole earns a spot in the tournament. Past winners include 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler. … A great finish that catapults a golfer into the top-10 of the FedExCup standings will mean earning a late spot into the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship.   72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Lanny Wadkins (1985). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, George Archer (3rd round, 1983 at Rancho Park GC), Ted Tryba (3rd round, 1999 at Riviera CC). LAST TIME: It was a brutal Sunday a year ago at Riviera as cold temperatures and gusty winds impacted the scoring. While Thomas fell down the leaderboard after a 4-over 75, it was Holmes – who played 33 holes on the final day – who came out on top. Thomas made three bogeys in his first five holes in the final round while Holmes was 2 under through that same stretch. That was ultimately the turning point as Holmes ended at 1 under for the day and won – for the fifth time on TOUR – by a shot. He was able to hold off a hard-charging Si Woo Kim, whose 5-under 66 was the round of the day. Kim finished third while Marc Leishman and McIlroy finished T4. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-2:45 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (CBS).   PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:45 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 11:15 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (Featured Groups and Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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WarnerMedia’s Turner division has secured worldwide media distribution rights to “The Match,� a historic head-to-head, 18-hole duel between Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson. The highly anticipated showdown between two golfers – who have a combined 122 PGA TOUR wins and 19 majors – will be hosted by MGM Resorts International and held Thanksgiving weekend at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. The winner of this blockbuster pairing, featuring these two legends of the game, will walk away with $9 million. “The iconic Tiger Woods and five-time Major Champion Phil Mickelson are generational talents who have transcended the game of golf and their rivalry continues to be one of the most compelling in the history of sports,� said David Levy, President of Turner. “This one-of-a-kind, winner-take-all matchup provides a great opportunity to harness the assets within the AT&T and WarnerMedia portfolio.   For the first time since AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner (now WarnerMedia), Turner, DirecTV and HBO will come together to present a multi-faceted presentation of the live event and accompanying content across a vast array of platforms.� The Woods-Mickelson live event and accompanying content – collectively offering unprecedented access leading up to and during the competition – will be distributed across wide-ranging Turner, WarnerMedia and AT&T platforms including: · Live pay-per-view coverage of the event will be distributed through Turner’s B/R Live, the company’s new premium live sports streaming service, and AT&T’s DirecTV, as well as on-demand platforms. · HBO Sports and its groundbreaking 18-time Sports Emmy ® Award-winning 24/7 reality franchise will capture all the excitement leading up to the match. · Bleacher Report and its wildly-popular House of Highlights, which recently surpassed 10 million followers on Instagram, will offer comprehensive highlights and behind-the-scenes content. · Turner’s TNT will also televise programming with select content from the event in the weeks following the live competition. · Turner International will facilitate distribution of live PPV access to the event outside the U.S. As part of the live event, both Woods and Mickelson will selectively make side-challenges against one another during the match.  For instance, Woods or Mickelson could raise the stakes by challenging the other to a long-drive, closest-to-the-pin or similar competition during a hole as they play their match, with money being donated to the winning golfer’s charity of choice. Turner Sports will produce all live event coverage while also serving as the exclusive sales and sponsorship partner.  Turner Sports and its Turner Ignite Sports will work closely with marketing partners to elevate their brands within this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, tapping into award-winning live events, experiential and creative marketing solutions. B/R Live, Turner’s new premium live sports streaming service, is available at https://live.bleacherreport.com; by downloading the B/R Live app through iTunes or Google Play; and/or via Apple TV, the Roku platform and Amazon Fire TV. Pay-per-view pricing for the live event will be announced at a later date.  The media rights agreement with Turner was completed in partnership between CAA Sports, Excel Sports and Lagardere Sports.

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