Everything you need to know about the men’s Olympic golf tournament

Tiger Woods’ best PGA TOUR finish since 2013 led to large leaps in both the FedExCup and the Official World Golf Ranking. Woods earned 245 FedExCup points after sharing second place with Patrick Reed at the Valspar Championship. They finished one shot behind Paul Casey, who earned his first PGA TOUR win since 2009. Woods jumped 89 spots in the FedExCup, from 132nd to 43rd. He now has 345 FedExCup points. Last season, it took 365 points to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs. Woods has not competed in the FedExCup Playoffs since finishing second in 2013. He is the only two-time winner of the FedExCup (2007, ’09). Woods also moved to No. 149 in the world ranking, his highest position since May 16, 2015. His four rounds at Valspar also gave him enough rounds to be ranked in the PGA TOUR’s statistics. He’s inside the top 30 in three of the four Strokes Gained statistics: Approach-the-Green (19th), Around-the-Green (21st) and Putting (23rd). He ranks 104th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, though he was 14th in that statistic at the Valspar Championship. Casey jumped to eighth in the FedExCup after earning his second PGA TOUR victory. He has finished in the top 15 of the FedExCup in each of the previous three seasons. Justin Thomas, the reigning FedExCup champion, leads this season’s standings with 1,573 points, 259 more than Patton Kizzire. Phil Mickelson, winner of the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, is third in the FedExCup standings with 1,149 points.

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Round 1 of The Honda Classic begins today. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action from PGA National. Round 1 leaderboard Round 1 tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel). Sunday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 7:15 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups and Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). FEATURED GROUPS (ALL TIMES ET) Brooks Koepka, Keith Mitchell, Matthew Wolff Thursday: 12:35 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee); Friday: 7:45 a.m. ET (No. 10 tee) Rickie Fowler, Viktor Hovland, Joaquin Niemann Thursday: 7:35 a.m. ET (No. 10 tee); Friday: 12:25 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee) Shane Lowry, Gary Woodland, Louis Oosthuizen Thursday: 12:25 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee); Friday: 7:35 a.m. ET (No. 10 tee) Tommy Fleetwood, Billy Horschel, Justin Rose Thursday: 7:45 a.m. ET (No. 10 tee); Friday: 12:35 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee) MUST READS Power Rankings Expert Picks The First Look The Honda Classic is the Super Bowl of Monday qualifying Reliving Knox’s win in 1986 after Monday qualifying Hoffmann receives PGA TOUR Courage Award

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What do you get when you combine the design of Riviera Country Club, the exclusivity of a 120-man field, the elegance of its construct and improved perks for the champion? Introducing the latest iteration of The Genesis Invitational. The anchor of the West Coast Swing got a detailing for its 94th edition, but Tiger Woods remains the host. Lost on no one is the irony that he made his PGA TOUR debut here in 1992, yet he’s winless in 13 career appearances. So, if you’re scripting the possibility in La La Land, it’d be poetic on this property for Woods to collect career victory No. 83 and break his tie with Sam Snead for most all-time. Scroll past the projected contenders for details on how the tournament was modified, what the field expects at the Riv, what the winner receives and more. POWER RANKINGS: THE GENESIS INVITATIONAL  Notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will include defending champion J.B. Holmes, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am champ Nick Taylor. Save the 2010 edition when 132 golfers filled the field at Riviera, the previous versions of The Genesis Invitational throughout the FedExCup era reserved space for 144. It included open qualifiers. However, having shifted into the current role as an invite (absent the four-spotter), and having extended the opportunity to play to all 125 who qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs in 2019, the field is as strong as it’s ever been. In fact, until Chesson Hadley and Brice Garnett withdrew after the commitment deadline, it was poised to be a 122-man competition given the plethora of automatic qualifiers. (For other invitationals, only the top 60, 70 or 80 from the previous Playoffs qualify automatically.) Not unlike how the Batman signal in the sky attracts the superhero’s attention, a historic venue generates a high-quality field, and Riviera doesn’t disappoint. It checks the boxes of firm and fair, and it will again this week. Consistently maintained to challenge the world’s best, par never is a bad score on the par 35-36–71. The field average has landed over par every year since 2010. Last year’s was 71.199. For the fifth consecutive edition, Riviera will tip at 7,322 yards. The only impactful change can be found to the right of the green on the par-4 fifth hole where a collection area has been added. Poa annua greens will reach 12-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter. The shortest kikuyu rough is presented at an inch and a half. The recent litany of long hitters capturing victory here demonstrates the value of the power and precision, but as easy as it might be to hang the same label on defending champion J.B. Holmes because he ranked ninth in distance of all drives, T2 in greens in regulation (averaging 13 per round) and 11th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, that would overlook him paying off the scoring opportunities on the greens. He also led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. He missed on only three of 10 tries from 10-15 feet. Holmes also paced the field in par-3 scoring and co-led in par-4 scoring, the latter of which is as close to a prerequisite as it gets for everyone planning to see his name on the electronic scoreboards regularly. Riviera’s par 4s are among the most difficult on TOUR every season. Interesting, and perhaps infuriatingly for those who overthink it, the famous 10th hole was the easiest of the 11 par 4s last year. It averaged 3.767. At the certainty of burying the lede, a stacked field also shows to get paid. This year’s prize fund is a record $9.3 million. It’s an increase of $1.9 million over last year. In addition to the standard 500 FedExCup points and invitations into an array of tournaments, the winner will receive $1.674 million. Also new this year is a three-year membership exemption that aligns with the same earned by the winners of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. The elements will do their part in identifying a worthy champion. Sunshine, light winds and daytime highs in the low 60s are expected throughout. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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