Naidoo wins rainy South Africa Open in playoff

Some of Tiger Woods’ most indelible career highlights have come at Pebble Beach. Now he’s planning on adding another, but with blueprints and bulldozers, not his golf clubs. Woods’ design company, TGR Design, and the Pebble Beach Company have announced plans for a reimagined short-course facility at Pebble, which will include a nine-hole par-3 short course, a putting course, and an indoor/outdoor food and beverage venue. “Everyone who plays this golf course is going to enjoy the playability of it,� said Woods, who has 82 career PGA TOUR victories. “Golfers will have the choice to play nearly any club off most tees and around the greens, which will make them think and channel their creativity. It will also play differently from day to day depending on the tee and hole locations and wind direction. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I can’t wait to play it.� Woods won the 2000 U.S. Open by 15 strokes at Pebble Beach. Earlier that year he overcame a seven-shot deficit in nine holes to beat Matt Gogel at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He has plenty of fond memories there. The new short-course facility on the former site of the Peter Hay Golf Course, located directly between the Pebble Beach Pro Shop and Golf Academy, will feature one of the resort’s most stunning views. The new facility will also feature: • A short course comprised of nine par-3 holes ranging in length from 47 to 106 yards and measuring 670 yards in total • A 20,000-square-foot putting course that can be set up in a variety of different hole and routing combinations • A 5,000-square-foot food and beverage venue featuring a full kitchen and bar, indoor seating, and the resort’s largest outdoor patio positioned for expansive views of the short course, putting course, Carmel Bay, and Point Lobos “We are thrilled to elevate the quality of our short course to a level consistent with our other world-class golf courses,� said Bill Perocchi, Chief Executive Officer of Pebble Beach Company. “You can see the genius of Tiger Woods and TGR Design come to life when you walk the site, the way it all fits together. I expect all aspects of this new facility will be very popular for junior golf events, resort golfers, outings, resident hang-outs, and everything in between.� Woods has reoriented the routing to better capture the views, with four holes now playing directly toward Carmel Bay. He also aligned each hole’s yardage to correspond with a significant year in Pebble Beach history, with accompanying plaques on each tee telling a story and creating the sense guests are walking amongst Pebble’s rich championship heritage. The course’s second hole will be an exact replica of the famous par-3 seventh at Pebble Beach Golf Links. “Pebble Beach is such an iconic golf destination,� Woods said, “we want guests to feel the entirety of that spirit when they play this course. We also know not everyone who comes to Pebble Beach will have a chance to play the U.S. Open course, so we wanted to create the opportunity for all visitors to experience one of its most famous holes.� The grand opening is scheduled for the spring of 2021.

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The golf betting community got a real taste of how weather can affect events throughout the United Kingdom during an interesting first round of the Genesis Scottish Open in North Berwick, Scotland. The wind picked up during the afternoon at The Renaissance Club, leading to much higher scores for half of the field as the morning wave posted a scoring average of 70.39, compared to 73.60 for the afternoon. This was frustrating for some players but also for many in the golf betting community. Of the 38 rounds under par Thursday, 32 came in the morning wave. Cameron Tringale took advantage of the scoring conditions early and fired a 9-under 61 to take a three-shot lead into the second round. But the beauty of golf betting is one doesn’t need to wait long for a new opportunity to right any wrongs, weather induced or not. Instead of waiting until the tournament ends on Sunday, there are a few betting opportunities at the BetMGM online sportsbook for Friday’s second round. One of those is 3-ball betting, i.e., which golfer within a threesome will have the lowest score for the round. As all three in any given wager face the same conditions, you can rest assured no unforeseen advantage can be gained by one player over the other. Here’s a look at 3-ball betting within the featured groups that you can also watch, and cheer on your choices, here. Matt Fitzpatrick (+165) / Collin Morikawa (+175) / Will Zalatoris (+190) – 3:05 a.m. ET Playing in the wilder winds Fitzpatrick (+1) lost ground in Strokes Gained: Approach, which is unusual for him, in the opening round. The U.S. Open champ is 22nd this year on the PGA TOUR for that metric. Interestingly his second-round scoring average is his worst this season at 70.21. The other three are all sub-70. The 25-year-old Morikawa (+1) gained two strokes against the field putting Thursday, which goes against his norm. He entered the week 86th on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting. He’s 97th in second-round scoring, with a scoring average of 70.5. Zalatoris (+1) was 1-under over his last five holes Thursday, so he will look to carry that into the second round. He has excelled in second rounds this season; his 69.5 scoring average ranks 19th on TOUR. Justin Thomas (+130) / Hideki Matsuyama (+190) / Tommy Fleetwood (+220) – 3:15 a.m. ET Thomas (+3) lost just over two strokes to the field on the greens Thursday, which is unusual for the PGA Championship winner. For the year, Thomas has the best scoring average in second rounds on the PGA TOUR (67.67). Matsuyama (+3) struggled with his putting in round one, losing 1.4 strokes to the field. This is somewhat normal for him this year; he’s 126th in Strokes Gained: Putting. One thing to note with Fleetwood (+3) is he’s had some issues in second rounds this year. His 70.54 scoring average ranks 103rd. Jon Rahm (+125) / Scottie Scheffler (+165) / Viktor Hovland (+275) – 8:15 a.m. ET Rahm’s (-2) success Thursday was aided by his putter. He gained just over 3.5 strokes against the field. He ranks 60th this season in Strokes Gained: Putting, but his 69.31 second round scoring average ranks ninth. It was a tough day for Scheffler (+3) on Thursday as the No. 1 ranked player in the world did not take advantage of the better scoring conditions. His scoring average of 69 is fifth on TOUR in second rounds. Like Scheffler, Hovland (+4) didn’t take advantage of playing in the morning wave. He lost just under three strokes putting, which is unusual considering he’s ranked 28th this season in Strokes Gained: Putting. Cameron Smith (+160) / Jordan Spieth (+170) / Tyrrell Hatton (+200) – 8:25 a.m. ET Smith (-2) got off to a good start despite losing strokes to the field in Strokes Gained: Approach. This isn’t the norm for him; he’s second in that category this year on TOUR. Spieth (-2) ranked sixth in the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green. This doesn’t come as a major surprise, considering he’s ranked 23rd this year on TOUR. Second rounds have been kind to Hatton (-2) this year. He enters the week with a 69.42 second round scoring average, 14th on the PGA TOUR. He shot under par Thursday while losing strokes to the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green. * Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. BetMGM is available in AZ, CO, DC, IA, IN, IL, LA, MI, MS, NJ, NV, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, or WY only. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Paid in free bets. Free bets expire in 7 days from issuance. Minimum deposit required. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling problem? 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Coming off four consecutive missed cuts and ranked 113th in Strokes Gained: Putting, Billy Horschel figured it was time for a putter change at THE PLAYERS Championship. The former FedExCup champion switched to a face-balanced PXG Bat Attack mallet that proved to be a difference maker one week later at the AT&T Byron Nelson, where Horschel defeated Jason Day on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. Playing the role of pursuer for most of the final round, Horschel jarred an impressive 59-foot bomb on the 14th that moved him into a tie for the lead at 11 under. Horschel would make a number of key putts over the next few holes, including a two-putt birdie from 46 feet on the 16th, and another from 98 feet on the 17th. For the week, Horschel ranked second in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, picking up a combined 8.412 eight strokes on the field over 72 holes. Horschel’s 350-gram Bat Attack putter was introduced earlier this year and comes equipped with weighted stainless steel wings that are set exactly one golf ball width apart to assist with alignment. Each putter is constructed with a aircraft-grade aluminum body and soft billet milled 304 stainless steel face. Behind the face is a TPE insert that produces a soft, solid feel at impact for consistency across the entire face. Here’s a look at Horschel’s entire PXG bag setup. Driver: PXG 0811X (Fujikura Atmos Tour Spec Black 6X shaft), 9 degrees 3-wood: PXG 0341X (Project X HZRDUS Black 75X 6.5 shaft), 15 degrees 5-wood: PXG 0341 (Project X HZRDUS Black 75X 6.5 shaft), 18 degrees Irons: PXG 0311T (3, 5-PW; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts) Wedges: PXG 0311T Milled (52-10, 56-10 and 60-07 degrees; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts) Putter: PXG Bat Attack Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

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