American rookie shoots nine birdies to lead South African Open

After three months of a COVID-19 hiatus, the PGA TOUR returned last week for the hotly contested Charles Schwab Challenge. A stellar leaderboard kept us riveted to live golf all weekend before a wild finish saw Daniel Berger prevail in a playoff over Collin Morikawa. Welcome BACK to the Monday Finish where if somehow you weren’t glued to the screen all week like we were … well here are some things you may have missed. THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS 1. Perspective. Daniel Berger grew up as the son of a top level tennis player turned Davis Cup and Olympic tennis coach, but that doesn’t automatically spell success. But being around professionals from a young age gave Berger a great appreciation of how to make it to the top. For Berger, making the PGA TOUR and winning was expected. Sure it was cool, but at the end of the day… that’s what he was there to do. Berger made the decision to be a professional athlete before he knew exactly what sport that would be in! He even admitted he used to not really love golf, it just turned out to be the sport he was best at. And yep, he’s pretty good. He won back-to-back FedEx St. Jude Classics (2016, 2017) before it was turned into a World Golf Championships event and was on his way. Then he hurt his wrist and the injury curtailed everything. A young man who knew nothing but practice, practice, practice and play could not do this anymore. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, they say, and for Berger it was true. As the months dragged on he started to worry he might never be fully fit and be able to compete to his usual standards. But finally as 2020 rolled around things were looking up. His perspective changed when he returned to competition and was trending very nicely with a T9-T5-T4 run going before the COVID-19 enforced break. What’s another three months right? He vowed to make sure he made each week count and not take anything for granted anymore. So as the stacked leaderboard was getting dissected pre final round and his name wasn’t the main focus. “I just kept telling myself, why not me today?â€� Berger said. Why not indeed. Read more on his victory here. 2. Approach – Precision on approach has long been a key factor at Colonial Country Club and it continued with Berger outperforming the field by +1.362 strokes per round this week. He ranked fifth in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green on his way to hitting 77.8% of Greens in Regulation (T4). That was over 10% more than the field average (67.45%) and he had the fifth closest proximity to the hole average at 26-feet, 1 inch, a good 5-feet, 10 inches closer than the field average (31-feet, 11 inches). 3. Putting – Berger made a field leading 16 putts from over 10-feet for the week, a career best for him in a single tournament. He was deadly from 10-15 feet where he made 10 from 14 for a PGA TOUR season high 71.4% (minimum 10 attempts). Berger ranks third in make percentage among players who’ve faced at least 50 putts from that distance over the entire season and he is the only player to make 10 or more putts from 10-15 feet in one week…, a feat he’s now done twice having also done so at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. For more numbers to know, click here. OBSERVATIONS New normal. It was nearly three months between a ball being hit in a full-field PGA TOUR event thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and took a lot of work from countless people to enable the TOUR’s Return to Golf, albeit under new guidelines. The endeavor went extremely well. Social distancing was in the forefront of the mind and while things are certainly different without on-site fans, there was still plenty of excitement. We can be pretty confident the next four events, before we start seeing some fans in the crowds and the guidelines shift slightly again, can also be a success. Read more about how it all went down here and here. Putting is hard, crowd or not. Pressure doesn’t need thousands of eyeballs piercing at a player to rear its head. Coming down the stretch at Colonial countless players had chances to make their mark on the title only to see their hopes dashed on the greens. Jordan Spieth had a four-putt earlier in the week and offered the simple explanation of having picked up all his close range putts during the three month break from competition. Maybe Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa had done the same. Schauffele had a horrible horseshoe lip out on the penultimate hole from close range and Morikawa lipped out in sudden death from close also to hand the trophy to Berger. Morikawa had missed from 6-feet to win on the 72nd hole. Others missed from makeable range to join the playoff. Get the full run down here. Old school course creates cool contest. Colonial is an old-school course where bombing away can help, but not necessarily be the difference. You can play short and precise and do well and you can wail away and still survive if you are a little off. This helped give us a leaderboard of all types. Bryson DeChambeau, Gary Woodland and Rory McIlroy used power, Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth and co used precision. Early in the week 58-year-old Tom Lehman started hot… anyone can play decent on this track. We might get something similar this coming week in Hilton Head. HV3 always an MVP. Harold Varner III doesn’t ask to be a role model. He just is one. As one of the few African Americans on the PGA TOUR, Varner III became the point person for talk on racial and social injustice issues weighing heavy on the nation at this time. Varner III was strong in his views but as always even stronger in his actions. For those of us lucky to spend considerable time with him the facts are always clear – he’s a champion human who always tries to make others around him smile and feel important. The fact he led at the halfway point this week and went close to a breakthrough win was cool to see. And he will win sooner rather than later. Read more about the TOUR’S response to social change here. QUOTEBOARD “It’s tough out here. It’s cutthroat, and the best players in the world every week are showing up. I worked my butt off the last year to be in this position, and I’m just glad it all paid off.â€� – Daniel Berger “Definitely progress,â€� – Jordan Spieth who notched his third top-10 this season as he looks for first win since 2017. WYNDHAM REWARDS The Wyndham Rewards Top 10 is a season-long competition that offers a $10 million bonus for the 10 golfers who end the regular season at the Wyndham Championship inside the top 10 in FedExCup points. The player atop the standings will earn $2 million, with varying payoffs for the others through $500,000 for the 10th place finisher. Sungjae Im continues to hold the top spot this week, in fact second place Justin Thomas and third Rory McIlroy also hold their spots. Patrick Reed’s T7 at Colonial helped him vault from sixth to fourth sending Brendon Todd and Webb Simpson down a slot each. Xander Schauffele finds himself inside the top 10, jumping from 12th, with his T3 finish while tournament winner Daniel Berger is now just outside the mark in 11th, up from 45th. Other significant movers this week in the FedExCup Justin Rose from 205th to 123rd, Jason Kokrak from 116th to 69th, Collin Morikawa from 41st to 18th and Jordan Spieth from 110th to 88th. Here’s how the standings look heading into this week’s RBC Heritage. SOCIAL SNAPSHOT

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The second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge gets underway today at Colonial Country Club. Here’s everything you need to know to follow Friday’s action. Round 2 tee times Round 2 leaderboard HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 12:00 to 23:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 13:00 to 22:00. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). FEATURED GROUPS Bryson DeChambeau, Rickie Fowler, Max Homa: Round 2 tee time: 12:55 p.m. ET Jordan Spieth. Kevin Kisner, Ryan Palmer: Round 2 tee time: 1:06 p.m. ET Justin Rose, Francesco Molinari, Brandt Snedeker: Round 2 tee time: 9:06 a.m. ET MUST READS Cut prediction Another step in the right direction for Spieth Jordan Spieth: By the numbers Claw grip helps Finau to first round lead Cancer scare gives Weekley big picture Burns quitting smokeless tobacco CALL OF THE DAY

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Here are nine tidbits from the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. I bemoaned last week why more players in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO did not play Hideki Matsuyama. It’s good to see that I won’t be wondering aloud this week why Johnson was so lightly owned! WOW! I’m going to write “82.2 percent” down somewhere and see if we ever see a higher number the rest of the year. A smooth 67 (-5) at Spyglass Hill sees “Mr. Popular” lurking T6, just two shots off the lead. Three-Course Meal Every pro and their amateur partner will get a chance at all three courses this week before the top 60 will battle it out at Pebble Beach on Sunday. With perfect weather Thursday, the top 70 players were two-under-par. The weather is NOT expected to shift so there are two more chances for redemption. Annually, Spyglass Hill plays the most difficult of the three, but six of the top-15 scores on day one were posted there, including T1 and a pair of T3 rounds. Pebble Beach played the most difficult today (71.308) with Spyglass (71.231) right behind. MPCC (Shore Course), as usual in great weather, was a pushover (69.558). Leading Actors Kevin Streelman and Beau Hossler set the pace with matching 65’s. Streelman (-7) was bogey free at Spyglass Hill and got up-and-down an incredible seven times from seven attempts. He’s yet to MC this season, and it looks like that streak is well on its way to continuing. As for Hossler, loyal readers of this column (thank you!) will remind you that this is NOT surprising on any level. If you are tired of reading about him, I’m going to suggest that he’s not in your lineup. That’s a YOU problem! Hossler was also bogey free in his opening round, but his was on Pebble Beach where the California native was second in strokes-gained: putting. Family Affair After taking a couple of months off to close 2017, Rory McIlroy seems to be refreshed and raring to go in 2018. He’s paired with his father, Gerry, this week in his first attempt at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The Ulsterman opened his year T3 and second in the Middle East. He wasn’t his sharpest today as he only painted 10 of 18 GIR but hitting 10 of 14 fairways at Spyglass Hill is beyond decent. He’ll play three new courses in tournament action three days in a row, and that will tell gamers just how well he is dialed in. Eyes on Wise The former NCAA champ from Oregon, Aaron Wise, is playing out of the Web.com top 50 reshuffle this season and has eight starts to his name. Half of those have cashed checks with all four finishes T32 or better. He’s trying to move up the ranking, which will be reordered the Monday after the Genesis Open. He’s off to a flying start (T3) as he found 16 of 18 GIR and didn’t square a bogey or anything worse in opening with 65 (-6) at Monterrey Peninsula Country Club (Shore Course). Where There’s a Will… Will Zalatoris left early with MC at Farmers Insurance Open on the number while making his professional debut at Torrey Pines. After circling six birdies against only one bogey at Spyglass Hill, he’s put himself into the top 10 (T6) after 67. He’s under the tutelage of Cameron McCormack, Jordan Spieth’s long-time teacher, and that should answer most of your questions about him. His next project is establishing status as he currently is void of that on either the Web.com or PGA TOUR. He’ll need sponsor exemptions (limited), Monday qualifiers or top-10 finishes to make that happen. Know this before you add, trade, etc., for him. Opportunity for Oppenheim Rob Oppenheim has only played 30-something TOUR events in his career. The 38-year old has picked up only two top-10 finishes during that stretch and exactly half of them are at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He cashed T8 last year and that was, despite bogeying three of his last seven holes on Sunday after being 12-under-par at one time. He opened with 67 at Pebble Beach today and is T6. Star Search Jordan Spieth continues to struggle with his putter as he needed 32 whacks today to post E (72) at Spyglass Hill. He only made one birdie. I’m going to suggest he bounces back in a big way in Round Two. … Adam Scott made his season debut and looked like it. He took a whopping 37 putts and was only 1-of-6 scrambling. His 77 didn’t provide much hope for gamers in any format in Round One. … Brandt Snedeker, two-time champ and tournament record holder, opened with 71 (-1) at Spyglass and is currently T71. Study Hall Patrick Cantlay was four-under-par through his first three holes, buoyed by an ace on No. 11 at MPCC. He’s currently T6 after his 66 (-5). … Robert Garrigus almost aced the par four, No. 17 last week at TPC Scottsdale. He gave the cup another scare today on No. 7 on Pebble Beach but had to settle for a tap-in two. #DialedIn. … The Web.com is playing the Club Colombia Championship this week in Bogota. After Round One, four players are tied for the lead with 66 (-5). … Event No. 2 of the PGA TOUR Champions begins tomorrow at the Boca Raton Championship. Read more about PGA TOUR Champions Fantasy golf here.

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