U.S. Women’s Open storylines: Can Nelly Korda get back in the winner’s circle? How will Erin Hills play?

Tiger at Torrey Pines – yes, that’s enough to make any golf fan salivate. But the Farmers Insurance Open includes plenty of other one-name notables in its stellar field this week. Rory. Rickie. Jason. Jordan. And while we’re at it, throw in last year’s FedExCup winner (Justin Rose) and this year’s leader (Xander Schauffele). Should be a big week in SoCal. THE FLYOVER Two years ago, the 570-yard par-5 18th at Torrey Pines South yielded 11 eagles. A year ago, no birdies were recorded on the hole. Yet the stroke average remained relatively the same (4.766 in 2017, 4.768 last year). Finding the fairway isn’t all that easy at the 18th, and bunkers on either side of the fairway often gobble up the loose shots. Here’s a closer look at the 18th. LANDING ZONE For the last four seasons, the 504-yard par-4 12th at Torrey Pines South has ranked inside the 10 most difficult of all holes played on the PGA TOUR. Last year’s stroke average of 4.435 ranked it as the seventh toughest. Uphill … into the wind … long-iron approach … awkward angles – it’s no wonder that four pars at 12 this week will leave players smiling. Here’s a look at where all tee shots landed last year. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Wade Stettner: “A high pressure ridge will influence the weather through this weekend resulting in dry conditions and above normal temperatures. High temperatures are forecast near 70 degrees through Sunday with winds out of the north/northwest each day. An off-shore gradient will keep the marine layer away from the coast over the next few days, although the marine layer may get close to the coast on Sunday as the gradient turns neutral.â€� For the latest weather news from San Diego, California, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK This is the first PGA TOUR event that I ever attended with my dad when this was the old Andy Williams tournament. To have won on this property and had the success I’ve had, it’s been a lot of fun and looking forward to getting out there this week. BY THE NUMBERS 48.82 – Percentage of fairways hit at Torrey Pines South last year. It was the only course played on the PGA TOUR with less than 50 percent success rate. 51.01 – Percentage of fairways hit at Torrey Pines North in the first two rounds last year. That made it the fourth most difficult course in which to hit the fairway. 14 – Wins in California by Tiger Woods. That’s the most of any player since 1997. Another native Californian, Phil Mickelson, ranks second during the time period with 11 wins. -166 – Score under par since 1998 by Tiger Woods at the Farmers Insurance Open. Mickelson ranks second on that list at 99 under. SCATTERSHOTS Eight again? If Tiger Woods wins this week, it will be his eighth Farmers Insurance Open victory. He already has eight wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and eight at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, tying the TOUR record for most wins at a single tournament set by Sam Snead at the Wyndham Championship. Woods, of course, already has eight wins at Torrey Pines, having captured the 2008 U.S. Open there. But that first hole: Tiger’s nemesis at Torrey Pines South lately is the opening hole. In his last 19 rounds played at that course, he has four double bogeys, including three at the 2008 U.S. Open). He’s played the hole at a stroke average of 4.38. Prior to 2008, he didn’t have much of a problem, playing the 450-yard par 4 No. 1 at a stroke average of 3.79 with zero double bogeys. Big points: Defending champion Jason Day has accumulated 1,268 FedExCup points at the Farmers Insurance Open since 2009 (two wins and two other top-10 finishes will do the trick). That’s the second-most points of any player at Farmers in that span; Brandt Snedeker has been even more productive with 1,681 points. Tourney debut: Rory McIlroy is making his first career start at the Farmers Insurance Open. McIlroy’s lone win in a tournament debut came at the 2010 Wells Fargo Championship. He has four other top-10 finishes in tourney debuts, including a T-4 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions earlier this month. Pro debut: Braden Thornberry, the 2017 NCAA champion, is making his first start since opting to skip the spring portion of his senior season at the University of Mississippi. This isn’t his first PGA TOUR start, though – he made four of them as an amateur, including a T-4 at the 2017 FedEx St. Jude Classic. Long layout: At 7,698 yards, Torrey Pines South was the longest course played on the PGA TOUR last season.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Tiger Woods never recovered from a quadruple bogey on the iconic Island Green on Friday at TPC Sawgrass, but the 80-time PGA TOUR winner left THE PLAYERS Championship full of optimism. Woods came into the week following a neck injury that kept him out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, but the 43-year-old closed with his best round of the championship on Sunday. His 3-under 69 left him at 6 under for the week, well off the pace, but still looking ahead with a positive mindset as he gears up to play the World Golf Championships–Dell Technologies Match Play for the first time since 2013. “I was close to getting over the hurdle and getting things rolling, and unfortunately I made a seven over at 17 (on Friday). I missed a few putts that I could have very easily got the momentum going that could have gotten me on a run,â€� Woods said. At the time, Woods had in fact entered the top 10 and was just two off the lead. Two balls in the water ended his charge as a serious threat. “I was close. I know that the score doesn’t really indicate that, but this is one of the golf courses … there’s some weird spots here … this is probably the most stressful golf course you ever play when there’s wind out here,â€� Woods added. “I felt like I was playing well. My score didn’t really indicate that going into the final day, but I was hitting the golf ball well and I’m frustrated at lipping more putts out than I think I have in a very long time. Just one of those weeks where just nothing really got rolling enough to get me going.â€� Woods’ putting may not have been to his full liking, but it was a serious improvement after his previous two efforts. The two-time FedExCup champion had six three-putts in both the Genesis Open and the World Golf Championships–Mexico Championship prompting him to bring in putting coach Matt Killen. He ended the week in the positive when it came to Strokes Gained: Putting. Woods also found himself near the top of the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. “I’m excited the way I drove it. I drove the ball well this week,â€� Woods enthused after hitting 12 of 14 fairways on Sunday. “I drove it not quite as long on the weekend with a little bit cooler temperatures, but I was driving it pretty straight and I was able to shape the golf ball both ways with all three of my woods, which was good to see.â€� As for his neck – and fused lower back – Woods said there were no issues coming out of TPC Sawgrass. And he has no concern with the prospect of having to play seven rounds at Austin Country Club should he be in contention to win the WGC–Dell Technologies Match Play for a fourth time. “I’m hoping that I can play all the matches. That would be great,â€� Woods said. “I’m guaranteed to play three instead of when I played it was only one guaranteed, so that’s kind of nice knowing that I’ll be able to get at least three good rounds in, possibly more if I play well, and that’s basically like a tournament.â€�

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The 15th of 24 contributing events for PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO is this week’s Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship. It begins on Thursday. Scroll for tournament notes, 23 notables and four wild cards from the field of 78 in Highland Park, Illinois. This isn’t complicated. In fact, I went back to review previous One & Done previews for the John Deere Classic so that I didn’t open with the same thought. If that’s not evidence of my confidence in Zach Johnson, we’re never going to understand each other. Steve Stricker is the all-time earnings leader and three-time champion at TPC Deere Run, but ZJ is one day from being exactly nine years younger, and that counts for something when you’re sizing up his equally impressive record in this tournament. Every time I see Johnson selected during another week – well, other than Colonial – I shake my head. But I don’t judge. You do you. I’ll be here waiting. If the 2012 champ isn’t available, pivot to Stricker and enjoy the week. Bryson DeChambeau is defending his first title. That would normally elicit pause among prospective investors, but the experience will be closer to the inside of the box than his frequency of going about his business on the outside. In other words, he’ll be fine. Like Xander Schauffele at last week’s A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, DeChambeau has rapidly risen on the list of permanent class. Fire away if you’re keen. Gamers in pursuit are overdue to burn Joaquin Niemann. That’s an incredible (and accurate) assessment given the fact that he’s been a professional for fewer than three months. The same strategy can be applied to Chesson Hadley, who is still simmering and filling up the box score. A T25 at last year’s JDC doesn’t hurt, but he’s been reliable almost everywhere, anyway. Stalwarts Ryan Moore and Kyle Stanley are sporty foils if you’re looking for something just a little outside the focus. They present stronger as roster plays, but that’s the reason their ownership percentages should be low in the One & Done. Smart, safe contrarians they are. Like all of the aforementioned (sans Schauffele, who didn’t commit), Francesco Molinari and Austin Cook also are in my Power Rankings. However, both present as possibly looking ahead to The Open Championship. It’s never something that we can quantify or accuse beyond the general narrative, but there’s always a small grouping of concerns who usually look good on the eve of a major and who you shouldn’t burn in a One & Done now. Assuming two-man gamers lead off with one of the golfers already covered, fill the blank on the back end with Kevin Tway, Scott Brown, Chris Kirk or Wesley Bryan. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2017-18. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Bill Haas … Wyndham (2) Zach Johnson … John Deere (1); Open Championship (5); WGC-Bridgestone (6); TOUR Championship (8) Ryan Moore … John Deere (3); TOUR Championship (6) Scott Piercy … John Deere (6) CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park, Illinois, is the host. Located north of Chicago, it’s a 122-year-old facility that has never hosted a professional event. The stock par 72 can stretch 7,149 yards. Scott McCarron is the defending champion. He ended Bernhard Langer’s string of three straight tournament titles, each on a different track. This is a 72-hole competition with 78 participants. There is no cut. With a purse of $2.8 million, it’s the third-most lucrative tournament on the schedule, but it’s the richest of the remaining 10 contributing to the fantasy game. The winner will pocket $420,000. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2018. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Stephen Ames … Boeing (2); Shaw (7) Joe Durant … SENIOR PLAYERS (1); 3M (6); DICK’S (12); Boeing (10); Shaw (11); PURE (3); SAS (13) David Frost … 3M (7); Boeing (5); Shaw (8); PURE (1) Fred Funk … Boeing (6); PURE (5) Doug Garwood … SAS (1) Paul Goydos … 3M (1; defending); DICK’S (3); SAS (5) Miguel Angel Jiménez … SENIOR PLAYERS (3); Senior Open Championship (4); 3M (9); Shaw (7); SAS (12) Brandt Jobe … SENIOR PLAYERS (1); 3M (5); Boeing (8) Jerry Kelly … Boeing (1; defending); Shaw (5); PURE (2); SAS (4) Bernhard Langer … Usable everywhere. Defending five titles. Tom Lehman … SAS (9) Jeff Maggert … Shaw (5) Billy Mayfair … Boeing (2); PURE (1) Scott McCarron … SENIOR PLAYERS (3; defending); Senior Open Championship (10); DICK’S (4; defending); Shaw (5; defending); PURE (8) Colin Montgomerie … SENIOR PLAYERS (2); Senior Open Championship (10); Shaw (4); PURE (7); SAS (3; defending) Tom Pernice, Jr. … Shaw (3); SAS (5) Kenny Perry … 3M (1); DICK’S (11); SAS (2) Gene Sauers … SENIOR PLAYERS (6); Boeing (1) Vijay Singh … Shaw (5); SAS (1) Kevin Sutherland … Usable everywhere. David Toms … Boeing (2); SAS (4) Kirk Triplett … SENIOR PLAYERS (1); Shaw (4) Duffy Waldorf … Shaw (5) WILD CARDS (short list of golfers not included above but on the rise or still building portfolios after recently turning 50): Bob Estes; Steve Flesch; Rocco Mediate; Scott Parel

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