Tiger Woods returns to the place that shaped his past and future

After a week off, the PGA TOUR returns to action for the final event of the calendar year with the Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN. Past FedExCup winner Justin Thomas and four-time major champion Brooks Koepka lead the way in Mexico, while Brendon Todd returns to defend his title. FIELD NOTES: Andy Ogletree, the low amateur at this year's Masters, will make his first professional start on a sponsor exemption. Ogletree was a two-time All-American at Georgia Tech, won the 2019 U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst and was a member of the winning U.S. Walker Cup team later that year. He had recently reached No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking... College stars Quade Cummins (Oklahoma) and Austin Eckroat (Oklahoma State) are also in the field on sponsor exemptions... Thomas makes his first start at Mayakoba since 2014... Koepka returns to Mayakoba for the first time since 2013... After earning Special Temporary Membership, Will Zalatoris will tee it up on the PGA TOUR again. He has made the cut in four of five starts this fall, including three top-10 finishes... Eight past champions are returning to Mayakoba for 2020, including Brian Gay, who has a win already (Bermuda Championship) this fall... Steve Stricker will tee it up on the PGA TOUR for the first time at an event that isn't a major championship since the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide in 2019. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. COURSE: El Camaleón GC, 7,039 yards, par 71 (yardage subject to change). The Greg Norman design bends through three landscapes on the Mayan Rivera - mangroves, oceanfront stretches, and tropical jungle. It was the first golf course in Mexico to host the PGA TOUR when the Mayakoba Golf Classic made its debut in 2007, just three years after El Camaleón was opened. STORYLINES: While there has never been a Mexican winner at Mayakoba things seem to be trending in that direction. Carlos Ortiz finished runner-up a year ago and won the Vivint Houston Open in November. Abraham Ancer, meanwhile, finished T8 last season and was in the final group on Sunday at the Masters... Only once in the tournament's history has a winner prevailed at Mayakoba by more than two shots, with four editions of the tournament going into playoffs... Ten of the 13 winners at Mayakoba have been in their 30s... Justin Thomas is 10th on the FedExCup standings and looks to make a move before the 2021 portion of the schedule gets underway in January. He is one of two golfers (Ortiz is the other) inside the top 10 of the FedExCup standings teeing it up in Mexico. 72-HOLE RECORD: 262, Matt Kuchar (2018) 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Roland Thatcher (3rd round, 2008). LAST TIME: After going five years between TOUR victories, Brendon Todd didn't have to wait nearly as long for his third victory. In fact, after Todd won the Bermuda Championship in 2019, he won in his next start in Mexico. On the strength of an opening-round 63, Todd finished at 20 under and won by one shot over Adam Long, Vaughn Taylor, and Ortiz. Todd held off a hard-charging Kuchar, who was looking to defend his title from 2018 and who shot a Sunday-best 62 (tied for the low round of the week). Harris English rounded out the top five, while Ortiz's countryman, Abraham Ancer, notched a top-10 finish. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m.-5 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Sunday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. ET (NBC). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. ET. Saturday, 12 p.m.-5 p.m. ET. Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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HONOLULU, Hawaii - There was a new addition to Waialae Country Club on the eve of the Sony Open in Hawaii - a row of white out-of-bounds stakes between the 18th and 10th holes inside the property. PGA TOUR Officials took the eleventh-hour step - and sent a text blast to all competitors at around 7 p.m. local time - after seeing a bunch of players cutting the corner off the tee on the par-5 dogleg left 18th by hitting into the 10th fairway. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Featured Groups roundtable They were then able to just wedge the ball up and over some palm trees to set up relatively easy eagle looks due to the fact there are none of the usual grandstands during the COVID-19 spectator-free event. "The funny story was I [was] playing my Pro-Am yesterday and Justin Leonard who is a really good buddy just happened to be on that green we were playing. He goes, “Hey, do you think about going down No. 10?”," Billy Horschel said Thursday after an opening round 5-under 65 had him just three shots back of the morning wave lead. "In years past that never even crossed my mind. I’m like, “No.” Then he said, “Well a lot of guys are. They are having like flip wedges into the green.” So, I was like, “Well, maybe I’ll have to look at it when I get on the tee.” But somewhere around 7 p.m. last night, we got a text saying that there was an internal OB now on No. 18, which is smart. I think the hole should be played the way it was designed and not take advantage of whatever you want to take advantage of." Brendan Steele, who hooked his second shot on the 72nd hole from the fairway a year ago on his way to falling into a playoff he would lose to Cameron Smith, was happy to see the move. He was particularly happy the stakes run out some 50 yards from the green meaning they're really only in play off the tee and his wild shot from a year ago would not have been as severely punished. "The only thing was a little troublesome about it was we didn’t know where they were going to be," Steele said after shooting an impressive 5-under 65 of his own as he looks for redemption. "I was hoping that they would do the right thing and only put them where guys would try to go in between the trees down 10 fairway and not where if you over-hook one trying to get it going left that it would actually go out of play... they did a good job. "I wouldn’t have been out-of-bounds (last year). But if you know it’s out-of-bounds, you probably don’t hit it over there, either." Defending champion Smith - after an opening 67 - couldn't resist a little tongue in cheek humor having remembered Steele's shot last year that ended up getting significant free relief because of the grandstands. "I think it’s a great idea. Too many guys hitting it down there, anyway," he smirked in fun. "It would be a significant advantage to hit it down 10. I hit the best possible drive today and I had 9-iron in. If I had hit it down 10, I would have had gap wedge in, like 20- or 30-yards' difference." The new penalty area stung at least one player in the opening round with Rory Sabbatini hooking his tee ball left into the death zone before having to re-tee and battle his way to a bogey.

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To finish inside the prize money in PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live at the AT&T Byron Nelson, you needed to be on the pre-tournament line of K.H. Lee to win at +10000. And yet, even that may not have been enough. The top-eight performers all connected on Lee at that kickback, but since only the top five pay, it required more than just that. Since cashing in this game can require considerable luck, it’s the best reminder and example that everyone wins at PointsBet when you nail the selection. Consider finishing inside the money in Pick ‘Em Live as a bonus to whatever you can wrangle on your own. Repeating the message at which our resident experts grimace, Rob and Glass are ineligible. Remember, when Rob finished third at The Honda Classic, the $750 reserved for the bronze slid to the next-best gamer. When Rob decides on his picks, he assigns a dollar value to his confidence and makes a note of it as a way to get a feel for the experience of the real thing. As a result, he estimates that, with “phantom bets” of $10-$100 on a variety of his selections in real time since the game launched at The Genesis Invitational, he’d have grossed about $20K by now. That includes what would have been a $50 bet on K.H. Lee to win when his odds were +5000 at the conclusion of the third round. (Don’t worry, he’s not quitting his day job.) That bet on Lee lifted Rob to 27th place at TPC Craig Ranch. So, he now has six top 30s in 12 events, and it all starts here, in Pick ‘Em Preview. This week’s early edition is special for the PGA Championship. Because the interface will not begin reflecting the tournament until Tuesday and perhaps not until tee times are released, only the three weeklong bets and the R1 leader are included below. When Glass and Rob decide on the R1 bets used in Pick ‘Em Live, look for their selections on their Twitter pages. Glass goes by, what else, @MikeGlasscott, while Rob’s corners the market on o’s for @RobBoltonGolf. Register for PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live here and monitor their progress as Influencers. For a broader explanation of the format and FAQs, click here. TOURNAMENT TO WIN Rob … Matt Fitzpatrick (+5000) Jordan Spieth (+1800) tops my Power Rankings, but I’ll open with value as usual. Southern Hills promises that a household name will be posing for pictures with the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday. Last time I checked, there are households in Fitzpatrick’s native England. He’s also in my PR. Fairways won’t punish him, while the challenging greens and surrounding areas will allow his short game to shine (when necessary). And when par is a worthy score, the gritty Brit doesn’t quit. Glass … Hideki Matsuyama (+2800) Phil Mickelson’s odds notwithstanding, there haven’t been many longshots in major championship golf holding the trophy at the end of 72 holes of grit and grind. Like Rob, I expect that to continue again this week. The 2021 Masters champion has plenty of firepower to get it around. Plus, his short game doesn’t get the credit it should for as sharp as it can be. With a recent major on the shelf and injuries (knocks on wood) behind him, he’s rested and ready to add to his collection of two wins this season. TOP 10 Rob … Talor Gooch (+800) Right? I might as well. Local boy does good. A top 20 is a smarter play at an actual betting window, but I don’t even care if this winds up being a push among the set-and-forget crowd. I just want a piece of this action. Glass … Matt Kuchar (+1100) I was just as shocked as you were to learn that his top 10s at the PGA Champions have come TWICE at Whistling Straits (T7, T10), plus once each at Quail Hollow and his last in 2019 at Bethpage Black in what were less than stellar conditions. Firm and fast will help, as will his incredible short game. Flying under the radar this week, but his recent form suggests he shouldn’t be that far out of sight. TOP 20 Glass … Harry Higgs (+1200) Not exactly the hometown hero but Kansas City isn’t that far away. His recent form suggests this isn’t the play, but … his first major was T4 at Kiawah Island. The next was T14 at Augusta National a month ago. If you’re concerned with windows closing/opening, I’d take a look at Jhonattan Vegas at +500. Remember, I had Sebastián Muñoz as my “back-up” as a Top 10 last week. Rob … Min Woo Lee (+900) The 23-year-old Aussie was so scared in his debut at Augusta National that he went ahead and finished T14. He hasn’t played since and I don’t care. Swagger that can generate that doesn’t rust. He’s played only in the U.S. since February, so his focus is singular as he chases a PGA TOUR card. ROUND 1 LEADER NOTE: When Pick ‘Em Preview was filed on Monday night, tee times weren’t yet released. For this bet, Glass and Rob always pluck a guy in the early wave, so if either selection lands in the late draw, it’s likely that what you see on their cards among the Influencers will not match what you read below. Glass … Joaquin Niemann (+5000) In his last six individual stroke-play events starting with 63 at Riviera, the Chilean has broken 70 in five of them. Posting 67 at TPC Sawgrass and 65 at Harbour Town, he “stumbled” last week with just 67 at TPC Craig Ranch. I guess I could have just told you he’s second on TOUR in first-round scoring average, but that’s not as much fun! Jason Day would also get a look here as his PGA pedigree is very solid. Rob … Justin Thomas (+3000) I love that Glass omitted that Niemann shot 2-over 74 on Sunday at TPC Craig Ranch … because it’s exactly the kind of zag that plays into his mitts. He stole my guy on the upbeat! Not that falling into JT constitutes but a consolation prize, however. The 2017 PGA champ leads the PGA TOUR in second-round scoring average, so there’s that, and he’s first in actual scoring average, thank you very much. He also leads in … well, you get the picture. It’s what makes JT JT. Yes, he can be a slow starter, but that’s my sharp angle.

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