Two-time winner Greg Norman was not invited to participate in the Champions Dinner or the R&A Celebration of Champions as the R&A celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Open Championship next week at St. Andrews.
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The Hilton Head Island golf course where the PGA Tour stops each year is known by players to be a bit diabolical. But the hazards aren’t limited to the large waste bunkers, many trees or Calibogue Sound. As the weather warms for the April golf tournament, the reptiles emerge at Harbour Town Golf Links. Alligators have provided numerous unsettling — and often humorous — encounters with players throughout the years. They are home in the Hilton Head lagoons that make up the golf course design. Golfers often have no choice but to play shots near where the creatures lurk, whether they realize the gators are there or not. Golf’s rules allow relief from a dangerous situation, but sometimes players and
Tiger Woods begins his quest Thursday for a PGA TOUR record-tying 82nd win, as well as his 16th major, at this week’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He won his first U.S. Open here 19 years ago by a record-breaking 15-stroke margin. How will he fare this week? We’ll have hole-by-hole coverage when his first round begins at 5:09 p.m. ET. RELATED: Leaderboard | Tee times | Tiger ‘trending in right direction’ | Chase for 82 continues | Tiger’s Jedi mind tricks in 2000 TIGER NOTES TIGER’S GAMEPLAN: Although he’s not as dominant as he was in 2000, Tiger does know what it takes to win a U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. “You look at all my angles,â€� Tiger said when asked how he could apply his 2000 win to this week. “I did not hit every green. I did not hit every fairway, but I always had the proper angle. And gave me the best chance to get up-and-down. I poured everything in. Hopefully I can have one of those weeks on the greens again.â€� PEBBLE BEACH THEN AND NOW: Woods was asked to compare the differences at Pebble Beach this year compared to 2000. “Right now I would have to say that it’s more clumpy than it was in 2000,â€� he said. “In 2000 it was pretty uniform all the way through. Right now they’ve got some spots where you can draw a good lie. You can get a ball to the green with no problem. And then there’s spots where it’s just a wedge, hack it out in the fairway and try to get up-and-down from the middle of the fairway. That’s probably the biggest difference between uniform and clumpy, between the two years.â€� TIGER ON PEBBLE BEACH: Besides his U.S. Open win, Tiger also has won the 2000 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. And in his first pro start at Pebble Beach, he shot 63-64 on the weekend to finish T-2; that ties his lowest weekend score ever on TOUR (along with the 1999 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines). While his success on the historic course can’t quite match another California track a little farther south – the aforementioned Torrey Pines in San Diego – Woods understands how special it is to play a major here. “There’s nothing like playing a U.S. Open setup here in the Pebble Beach,â€� he said. “The golf course is not overly long. It’s not big in that regard, but man, it’s tricky. The greens are all slanted, very small targets. And if they ever firm up, then we have a totally different ballgame.â€� PLAYING PARTNERS: Woods’ playing partners for the first two rounds are Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose. This will be the eighth different tournament that Spieth and Woods have been paired, including last year’s THE PLAYERS Championship. The only other major was the 2014 Open Championship. This will be the 12th different tournament that Rose and Woods have been paired, including just two weeks ago for the first two rounds of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. They’ve also been paired three different years of the Open. Follow along for a hole-by-hole breakdown of Woods’ opening round at the U.S. Open. No. 1 (par 4, 380 yards) No. 2 (par 4, 516 yards) No. 3 (par 4, 404 yards) No. 4 (par 4, 331 yards) No. 5 (par 3, 195 yards) No. 6 (par 5, 523 yards) No. 7 (par 3, 109 yards) No. 8 (par 4, 428 yards) No. 9 (par 4, 526 yards) No. 10 (par 4, 495 yards) No. 11 (par 4, 390 yards) No. 12 (par 3, 202 yards) No. 13 (par 4, 445 yards) No. 14 (par 5, 580 yards) No. 15 (par 4, 397 yards) No. 16 (par 4, 403 yards) No. 17 (par 3, 208 yards) No. 18 (par 5, 543 yards)
Welcome back to PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live, you seasoned players. Remember, there’s only one, awkward first day of class. Consider yourself settled in. Everything now is familiar. If you’re new here, a plain-old welcome suffices. And relax. Every week is its own competition to win free money. Play as often or as little as you want. You can dive into more of the detail here. PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live enters its second week for The Honda Classic. The field of 144 presents a greater likelihood that a non-winner or a golfer with maybe one title on his résumé will prevail, and the odds powered by PointsBet reflect it. In addition to supporting all six props below, Glass and Rob share valuable feedback about what happened at Riviera last week. Understand that every week possesses a unique set of variables that require patience and understanding of where to respect the dynamics and when it’s sensible to pull levers. Register for PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live here. WEEKLONG Outright Glass … Lucas Glover (+6600) As we learned last week, there’s no reason to book favorites this early unless you are completely sold that they will do the business. While not everyone is going to go wire-to-wire like Joaquin Niemann did at Riviera, there is always time on Sunday to latch on and get a piece. I’m riding with an experienced ball-striker who knows when to hit the gas and when to pump the brakes in South Florida. With T21 or better in four of his last five at PGA National, including T4 in 2019, I’ll start my ascent here. Rob … Mito Pereira (+5000) What Glass said. See, we can agree! I authored the lesson in Draws and Fades on Tuesday. And yeah, I’m opening with the expectation that Chilean chums will go back-to-back on the PGA TOUR. Pereira witnessed first-hand what it was like for fellow countryman, Joaquin Niemann, to endure and survive the stress at Riviera. The big difference, at least in our world, is that Niemann was +6600 in that field, while Pereira isn’t that long at PGA National. He’s well above average with most of his bag in his rookie season, so the timely, inspirational bump is the kicker. And although he’s a non-winner, Keith Mitchell (2019) and Sungjae Im (2020) are recent breakthroughs on the Champion Course. Top 10 Rob … Hayden Buckley (+1300) I know that this is aggressive, but that’s the point. One thing we learned last week, other than having and holding a pre-tournament Joaquin Niemann at +6600, the prop for a Top 10 remained locked until after the third round. So, it pays to reach for a calculated flier in this space and still put points on the board in the finale in case it flames out. The rookie sat out the potential for last week’s large payday to rest and get ready for this week’s test where his ball-striking can shine. He also has quite of bit of success on bermuda, so I’m thrilled that his line is as favorable. With a pair of top 10s on the board as a rookie, he’s already unafraid of that airspace. Glass … Ryan Palmer (+540) Don’t let the MC at Riviera bother you as that is not one of his happier hunting grounds. T17 and T4 in his last two visits here will allow me to fly him in under the radar. Also has cashed in eight of his last nine, and I don’t mind a bit of experience this week. Top 20 Glass … Harry Higgs (+425) Made a ton of pars last week at Riviera, which is usually helpful but only good for T55. He returns to a track where he led the field in par-3 and par-5 scoring a year ago plus, and he was No. 1 in Strokes-Gained: Approach the Green. Let’s hope he can add to his T19 with three rounds in the 60s from last year! Rob … Brice Garnett (+750) C.T. Pan’s top 20 at +850 was responsible for more than half of my total points at Riviera, so I’m focusing again on the edge of the lens at PGA National. I really wanted to work in Garnett in some capacity, too. The grass is bermuda, not paspalum on which he’s thrived, but he’s one of the most underrated ball-strikers on the PGA TOUR. That toolbox comes to life on shorter courses and in the wind. Check, check! In the last two editions, he finished T11 (2020) and T25 (2021). Round 1 Leader Glass … Sam Ryder (+10000) Had to get somebody early before you used them all up! With you already investing in Buckley and Garnett, you’re awfully bullish on the first threesome off the 10th tee on Thursday morning! One of the first groups out on the back side, Ryder will get a chance to navigate THE BEAR TRAP (GRRRRRRRRRRRRR) in hopefully the quietest part of the day. Fresh greens, a 63 here in Round 2 last year plus a raucous ace on No. 16 at TPC Scottsdale, can mix into some magic mojo in Round 1. Rob … Mito Pereira (+5000) It’s almost like Glass is reading my notes (as usual). He’s right. The FRL is going to come out of the morning wave and before wind kicks up midday. I’m all-in on tiptoeing through the par 10 before the bear arises for lunch. Of course, there’s the not-so-insignificant expectation for my outright to start strong, but the juiciest part of this is that Ryder and Pereira are in the same threesome. Stakes within the stakes! Make the Cut Rob … Camilo Villegas (-149) Don’t stress too much about this prop. Last week, I snared Francesco Molinari at (-188). Those were the longest odds on the board. He made the cut and yielded 13 coins. If Villegas cashes, he’ll contribute 17 coins, and there are only two longer options available. He’s among the players commuting from home, and he’s among the locals who have won at PGA National (T8). He also finished T8 last year and has a modest three consecutive cuts made upon arrival. Glass … Jhonattan Vegas (-229) I was looking for Jason Dufner who has never MC in 12 appearances. Or Stewart Cink who has cashed 11 straight. I’ll settle on the Venezuelan who has picked up a check in five consecutive appearances and eight of nine. Surely, he was caught up in the wave of South American pride at Riviera and will be excited to join the conversation. Matchup Glass … Billy Horschel (+136) over Patrick Reed and Cameron Young Nobody is hotter than Young, but Horschel didn’t have to fly across country and fight any jetlag as he skipped Riviera. Reed hasn’t played here since 2018 and has MC in his last two visits. I’ll take #FloridaMan over the upstart making his first appearance after a career-tying-best. The letdown is natural. Rob … K.H. Lee (+150) over Ryan Palmer and Henrik Stenson. I was hoping to get Vaughn Taylor in his 3-ball but it didn’t pop up on the boards so I’ll pivot to my top sleeper pick in K.H. Lee. In his last 14 starts, he’s connected for just one top 10 – a T6 at the 3M Open that started the stretch – but he’s missed only one cut (Sanderson Farms) while adding five top 25s on the strength of solid ball-striking and a nice touch around greens. This is his fourth consecutive appearance at PGA National, which forever will be the site of his first-ever top 10 on the circuit, a T7 in 2019. Palmer, a draw from this week’s Draws & Fades presents a challenge for sure but veteran Stenson sits as a fade.
