Rory triumphs at CJ Cup for 20th PGA Tour win

Follow today’s final round live, as Tiger Woods (1:50 p.m. ET tee time) is within striking distance of his first tournament win in almost five years.

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AVONDALE, La. – In his first two starts at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson partnered with his good friend and Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose of England. It was not particularly fruitful — they missed the cut in 2017 and finished T-19 a year ago. Last year, Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland teamed with another Englishman, Ian Poulter. They finished a ho-hum T-22. Rose is not playing this week. Poulter, meanwhile switched to one of his countryman, Sam Horsfield. Now Stenson and McDowell are together – and will go into the weekend at TPC Louisiana in prime contention at 12 under through two rounds, just two strokes off the lead. All that leads to one conclusion. “Nothing good comes out of England,â€� smiled G-Mac. He was joking, of course, especially with Rose and Poulter being so instrumental in past Ryder Cup success for the European Team. But McDowell, searching for a partner, was hardly disappointed when he got the text from Stenson asking if he wanted to team up. Although they’ve been teammates on just two Ryder Cup teams (and never partnered together) and have just three career rounds as playing partners at PGA TOUR events, McDowell and Stenson have shared plenty of practice time. They’ve owned the back of the range at Lake Nona for years, and they also share a coach in Pete Cowan. Related: Tee times | The secret ingredient to success in New Orleans | How International partners fared in Round 1 | Sabbatini, Gay find right formula “Henrik and Justin were a fantastic team,â€� McDowell said. “With Justin not playing this week, I was very, very pleased when I got the text from Henrik to play with him this week.â€� Interjected Stenson: “That was before he won, though.â€� It was less than a month ago when McDowell won the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, his first TOUR win in four years. He immediately followed that with a T-7 at the Valero Texas Open, making his trip this summer to Pebble Beach an intriguing one, given that he won the U.S. Open there in 2010. “I saw it coming,â€� Stenson said of G-Mac’s resurgence. “That’s why I was out early.â€� Explained McDowell: “I sent Henrik a text after he invited me to play, and I said to him, I look forward to you resurrecting my career for me at New Orleans. “Thankfully, I didn’t need to wait that long.â€� Playing 36 holes in a single day can test any golfer, especially one in his 40s (Stenson) and another one who’ll soon turn 40 (McDowell in July). But after an acceptable 7-under 65 in Four-balls on Friday morning, they turned around and shot a more impressive 67 with just a single bogey in the afternoon Foursomes when Stenson found the water at 18 with a 6-iron. “It was really pleasing to play as well as we did in what I consider the toughest format in golf, Foursomes,â€� McDowell said. Added Stenson: “I wouldn’t say we played our absolute, absolute best, but the few times that we did miss, we were lucky enough that it didn’t cost us too much.â€� Although McDowell has won recently, Stenson’s last top 10 in a stroke-play event on the PGA TOUR was a T-6 at last summer’s U.S. Open. “I feel like I’m a little away from firing on all cylinders,â€� Stenson said. But McDowell isn’t worried that he’ll need to carry the team this weekend. “He says he’s not firing on all cylinders,â€� G-Mac said, “but I’ll take a Stenson not firing on all cylinders as my partner any day of the week.â€�

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One of the most important reminders of the pandemic has been never to take anything for granted. However, those headed from the Masters to the RBC Heritage once again can count on a 150-mile decompression corridor that ends on U.S. Route 278 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. If there isn’t a slower heartbeat upon arrival, they’re doing it wrong. Almost half the field of the Masters (42 of 88 as of Monday afternoon) are committed to the annual stop at Harbour Town Golf Links. A similarly strong field seized on the opportunity on what was just the second tournament of the Return to Golf last summer. For a brief recap of the records established, the new wrinkle this week’s field will experience and more, continue reading beneath the projected contenders. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field POWER RANKINGS: RBC HERITAGE Recent World Golf Championship winners Billy Horschel (Match Play) and Collin Morikawa (Workday) will be included in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider with Sungjae Im, Kevin Kisner, Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood and other notables. If you ever wondered what the strongest field in tournament history could do to Harbour Town, the scheduling adjustments triggered by the pandemic presented the case in 2020. The Official World Golf Ranking determined the 2020 RBC Heritage to have a strength-of-field rating of 647. It was the eighth-highest of all tournaments worldwide last year, but even though there were far fewer events conducted, consider that the last three editions of the RBC Heritage were valued at 280 (2017), 342 (2018) and 430 (2019). The field averaged an all-time low of 69.137 on the par 36-35—71. Since data was first maintained in earnest in 1983, the previous record was 70.490 in 2015. Not surprisingly, Webb Simpson’s winning pace of 22-under 262 also established a tournament record. He offset five bogeys with an eagle and 25 birdies. The 36-hole cut of low 65 and ties landed at 4-under 138. To accommodate playing time for as many as possible, last year’s tournament reserved space for 144 golfers, but it went final at 151 because of the unprecedented commitment of eligible qualifiers for the invitational. This year’s edition has reverted to its customary space of 132, but at the time this went to publish, the field was 135 strong. So, alternates will not be called unless it drops below 132. Whether it was the depth of the field or its first-ever June date that yielded record scoring, that question might be answered in the return to its normal April slot. Unnecessary in June, the TifEagle bermuda greens are overseeded as usual for the April staging. They’re only 3,700 square feet on average and they could run up to 12-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter. The only rough, also overseeded bermuda, tops at just three-quarters of an inch. Because of slow growth due to a harsher winter, the bomb-and-gouge crowd could crash the party perennially reserved for shot-makers, but at just 7,121 yards and always averaging among the shortest in distance of all drives, the Davids in the field have as terrific a chance as any to slingshot around the Goliaths. The entirety of the walk represents and increase of 22 yards on the par-3 17th hole. Thanks to a larger tee box, it now can stretch to 196 yards. The elements almost always play a supporting role in the outcome, and this week should be no different. Moderate winds out of the west on Thursday and Sunday will sandwich equally fresh breezes off the coast to the east on Friday and Saturday, but course experience hasn’t mattered as much in recent years as it did in the more distant past, anyway. Controlled low ball flights is preferred and putting takes a backseat to precision on approach. Rain could fall on the weekend, but scoring should be balanced until then. 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: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – 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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