Lower weight leads to low score for Mickelson

In the final round of The Greenbrier Classic, Xander Schauffele sticks his 162-yard tee shot to three feet to birdie 18 and pick up his first PGA TOUR win at The Old White TPC. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where Schauffele, 23, in just his 24th TOUR start, becomes the latest from the decorated high school Class of 2011 to enter the winner’s circle. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Much has been made of Schauffele’s tee shot on 18, but the start of his hot streak goes back to his ‘tree shot’ on 18—a shot that almost nobody saw. It was June 5, and Schauffele had lost his drive into the trees on the last hole of regulation at the U.S. Open sectional qualifier at Germantown Country Club in Memphis. He didn’t panic. Instead, he threaded his second shot through the timber and back into the fairway; birdied the hole to get into a 5-for-2 playoff; got through that playoff the next morning; and ultimately finished T5 at the U.S. Open at Erin Hills. “Huge for me mentally,â€� Schauffele, a former San Diego State All-American, said of his U.S. Open performance. With the T5 and his win at The Greenbrier three weeks later, he now has punched his ticket to the next four majors. He also jumped from 94th to 27th in the FedExCup, setting himself up for a deep run through the playoffs. “Being a rookie, my only goal was to just make the playoffs and maintain—just stay on the PGA TOUR,â€� he said. 2. “Everyone that knows me knows I’m a late bloomer,â€� Schauffele said. Wait. What? He was a winner at San Diego State, graduated from the Web.com Tour to the PGA TOUR after one year, and at age 23 won in just his 24th TOUR start. But here’s the thing: Schauffele is part of golf’s high school Class of 2011, a group of baton-twirling overachievers that includes, among others, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Daniel Berger. Oh, and there’s also Jon Rahm, another guy who picked up a win this season before Schauffele, and who won the European Tour’s Irish Open on Sunday. “I always joke with my buddies saying it’s not cool to be 23 and on the PGA TOUR anymore,â€� Schauffele said, “since everyone that’s been 22, 23, 24, they’re all winning. So, I guess kudos to them for kind of pushing me along.â€� 3. Speaking of the Class of 2011, Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz continues to be a winning personality on TOUR, even if he hasn’t yet won. His putting? Brilliant. (For three of the four rounds, anyway.) His decision to turn off his phone and distract himself with 80s movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? Brilliant. His final-round 72 and T3 finish at The Old White TPC? Okay, that was less than brilliant, but after watching him play so well through two rounds at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, and three at The Greenbrier, it was nice to see Munoz get a nice consolation prize, a berth in The Open Championship. Munoz, who moved from 198th to 140th in the FedExCup, admitted he was feeling dejected as he walked off the 18th green until his caddie reminded him he’d earned a trip to Royal Birkdale. “The first major, I would never have thought it was going to be The Open Championship,â€� Munoz said. “So it’s awesome.â€� 4. Want to win on the PGA TOUR? Statistically, your best bet is still to play from behind. Schauffele was three behind Munoz entering the final round, and was the seventh come-from-behind winner at The Greenbrier in the tournament’s seven-year history. (Technically it’s been around for eight years, but flooding ended last year’s tournament before it began.) Only six of 34 first-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win, and 11 of 34 third-round leaders/co-leaders. 5. Phil Mickelson’s first tournament with his brother Tim on the bag was a success. Absent his usual caddie, pal Jim “Bonesâ€� Mackay, who caddied for Mickelson for 25 years, Lefty did more than just make the cut at The Greenbrier. His 6-under 64 Sunday was his best final round since an 8-under 62 at the 2014 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. He moved up 41 places to finish T20, and enjoyed the company of his little brother. For his part, Tim Mickelson, a player-agent for Jon Rahm, kept one eye on the Irish Open, which Rahm won hours before the conclusion of The Greenbrier. “That was a nice plus,â€� Phil Mickelson said of Rahm’s victory. “But [Tim is] just a fun guy to be around. I just love being around him. We had a great first week, and I’m looking forward to spending more time with him.â€� FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Schauffele became the seventh TOUR winner this season to rank inside the top 10 in strokes gained: off the tee (+1.224, 2nd) and strokes gained: putting (+1.433, 6th). He made 102 feet, 6 inches of putts per round at The Old White TPC, which was 23 feet more than his season average. He also made the longest putt by a TOUR winner this season, a 59 foot, 6 inch draino at the 12th hole in round three (see Top 3 Videos below). That was barely longer than the previous record-holder, Billy Horschel, whose 59 foot, 3 inch make at the 14th hole propelled him to victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson. 2. Munoz’s putting drop-off was shocking. He made 396 feet of putts while leading through three rounds—the second most through 54 holes on TOUR this season, behind only Russel Henley at the Shell Houston Open (408 feet). He was 35 of 35 inside six feet, and had jarred a field-leading 14 putts of more than 10 feet. Then he went from the sublime to the ridiculous. Suddenly ice cold Sunday, Munoz made just 32 feet of putts, his longest make measuring three feet, 10 inches. 3. Robert Streb finished second for the second straight Greenbrier Classic, although his last runner-up finish, to Danny Lee, came in 2015. (Flooding canceled last year’s tournament.) Streb will rue his double-bogey at the par-4 13th hole, but after his eighth straight round in the 60s at The Old White TPC, he moves from 137th to 68th in the FedExCup. 4. The Greenbrier sits at an elevation of 2,000 feet, which may not seem like much but was enough to skew the driving distance numbers. Although FedExCup leader Dustin Johnson is tied for first, year-to-date, in that stat (312.1 yards), seemingly everyone blew past that number at The Greenbrier. Winner Schauffele averaged 317.9 yards per poke, which was only 15th best in the field. Streb was at 323.9 (sixth). Tops in the field: Tony Finau, at 338.3 yards per drive. 5. Sunday marked yet another TOUR event won by a player under 25, a list of winners that includes but is not limited to Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Si Woo Kim, Daniel Berger and now Schauffele. That’s a big season for the kids, and a bright future for golf. TOP 3 VIDEOS 1. 2. 3.

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Tiger at Torrey – always a nice mid-January gift for PGA TOUR fans. Tiger Woods has won the Famers Insurance Open seven times (and won another tournament at Torrey Pines South in the summer of 2008. You may have heard about it). If he wins Farmers for an eighth time this week, he’ll break his tie with Sam Snead and hold the record for most career wins in TOUR history at 83. Plenty of notables hope to spoil the party, of course. RELATED: Tee times | Power Rankings | Tiger eying No. 83 THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER THE FLYOVER The 570-yard par-5 18th was not the easiest hole, via stroke average, at Torrey Pines South last year. But it did yield the most birdies of any hole, and it has a habit of producing dramatic moments. It can also bite players if they’re not careful. In 1975, Bruce Devlin made a 10 after finding the water – now called “Devlin’s Billabongâ€� in front of the green. In renovating the South course, Rees Jones regarded the slope to the water and also expanded the surface area in front of the green. LANDING ZONE Say hello to the second hardest hole on the PGA TOUR last season – the 505-yard par-4 12th at Torrey Pines South. A year ago, it played to a stroke average of 0.387 over par; the only hole more difficult was the par-4 ninth at Sheshan International, site of the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, playing to a stroke average of 0.435 over par. At the 12th last year, nearly as many double bogeys (16) were made as birdies (22). Have to hit it straight; if you don’t find the fairway, you’re probably not going to make par on this brute of a hole. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Stewart Williams: “Can’t rule out some patchy fog Thursday morning. Otherwise, off-shore flow will return Thursday through Saturday, providing partly to mostly sunny skies and warmer temperatures in the mid- to upper-60s. On-shore flow will return Saturday evening into Sunday as a trough of low pressure approaches Southern California. This will provide cooler temperatures Sunday and maybe the chance for a few light showers late Sunday night into early Monday morning.â€� For the latest weather news from San Diego, check out the PGA TOUR weather Hub. SOUND CHECK It always feels good to be back here. It’s one of my favorite venues on TOUR, South course, one of my favorite golf courses in the world. And extra special I guess after playing so well last year, me being defending champion BY THE NUMBERS 176 under – Total score to par by Tiger Woods at the Farmers Insurance Open. It’s his best combined score in relation to par at any event he’s played on the PGA TOUR. 16 – Consecutive cuts made by Collin Morikawa, tied for the second-longest active cuts made streak on TOUR. (Tommy Fleetwood has the active longest streak at 31.) 16 – Top-10 finishes by Rory McIlroy since the start of the 2018-19 season, most of any player. 30 – Starts, including this week, by Phil Mickelson at the Farmers Insurance Open. That’s the third most in tournament history. 604 under – Mickelson’s combined score to par in California, second-best of any player in the last 37 years. 7,765 – Scorecard yardage for the South course, which is 67 yards longer than 2019 when the course was listed as the longest on TOUR last season. SCATTERSHOTS South changes: Rees Jones was brought in to lead the renovations made to the South Course, which will host the 2021 U.S. Open. Among the changes: • Rebuilding all bunkers, leveling and re-grassing all tournament tees, and re-grassing approaches and green collars • Modifying fairway bunkers on holes 1, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 17 • Hole 4 – Tee and fairway shifted towards the cliffs; size of front greenside bunker reduced • Hole 9 – Bunker in second landing zone brought in to act as cross bunker; new collection area added behind the green • Hole 10 – New tournament tee added to provide yardage flexibility; fairway bunkers moved inward to create options. • Hole 13 – New bunkers added to beginning of fairway; approach extended down the hillside • Hole 17 – New tournament tee added along the cliff north of the existing tee; fairway and fairway bunkers shifted closer to the cliff • Hole 18 – Front of green expanded to recapture lost surface area. Rose post-Farmers: After winning at Torrey Pines last year, Justin Rose took a month off. In his 23 worldwide starts since, he’s failed to get back in the winner’s circle, dropping from world No. 1 at the time of his Farmers win to currently 8th. “I got into bad habits last year. I swung the club poorly,â€� Rose said of his last 12 months. “I took a month off after this tournament and that was essentially my offseason. Didn’t do a ton of work because it was my offseason. I felt like the decision behind that was to be fresh for the majors. It just didn’t play out very well, it didn’t work out very well. So I was kind of learning on the fly last year about how to approach the new schedule and it just didn’t work, and kind of paid for it a little bit I felt like all season long.â€� Day’s back: Two-time Farmers Insurance Open champion Jason Day is making his first start since having to withdraw from the Presidents Cup due to a sore back. It was a tough decision for the Australian — who would’ve been a key player for the International Team – but a necessary one. “Obviously it was quite disappointing to not be able to play in the Presidents Cup, especially also playing the Australian Open,â€� Day said. “I was actually looking forward to going down there and playing there. Every time I would watch the Presidents Cup coverage, I was angry. I had to go up to the barn to kind of either ride or do some sort of exercise to get some frustration out because I really wanted to be there. But the rehab that I needed to do, I needed some time off.â€�

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