A look back at Tiger Woods’ winning bag at the 2007 TOUR Championship

Chesson Hadley … Enduring an up-and-down season is a lot easier when there’s considerable “up” baked in. To wit, he’s registered five top 20s, the last two to open the Florida Swing. He’s 50th in the FedExCup standings thanks primarily to laser-like precision with his irons. When he descended for his fifth appearance at TPC San Antonio, where he finished T4 in 2015 and T20 last year, he was T2 on TOUR in proximity to the hole and 14th in strokes gained: approach-the-green. Kevin Streelman … Among a handful in the field who arrive hoping to find form on a track that isn’t expected to be friendly, but he’s 5-for-5 at TPC San Antonio with three top 15s, including a T8 last year. For the week, he ranked second in strokes gained: around-the-green and fourth in strokes gained: tee-to-green. If one thing’s for certain, he’ll keep his ball in play in the Hill Country. Currently 10th on the PGA TOUR in fairways hit. Chris Kirk … Like Streelman, the Georgian could use a little TPC San Antonio in his life. Spanning his last 15 starts, Kirk has connected for only one-40 finish. It was less than a month ago at Bay Hill (T15), so it’s relatively recent, but it’s an anomaly nonetheless. In the last four editions of the Valero Texas Open, he’s recorded a pair of T8s and a T13. His putting leaves much to be desired, but his tee-to-green game is still solid enough to warrant consideration as a threat. He’s also done his best scoring on par 5s this season. Sung Kang … The 31-year-old is quietly assembling a sturdy season with five top 20s that have lifted him to 60th in the FedExCup standings. He capped a 4-for-4 on the Florida Swing with a T18 at the Valspar Championship where he ranked fourth in total driving, T9 in par-5 scoring and 17th in strokes gained: putting. His sum is greater than his parts overall, but he’s T23 in par-5 scoring for the season. He’s also no stranger to TPC San Antonio, which has boggled everyone who’s played it at some point, but he survived the battle in 2017 with a share of sixth place. Julián Etulain … The native of Argentina didn’t enter his second spin with a PGA TOUR card with any momentum, but he’s drummed up nine paydays to sit 113th in the FedExCup, eight of which in 2019 alone. He prevailed just over a year ago at the Web.com Tour’s Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by MISTRAS, and then chased it with a T5 at the Savannah Golf Championship, but hasn’t recorded a top 10 on either circuit since. Still, he lines up as a game-changer around and on greens at 21st on the PGA TOUR in scrambling and 16th in strokes gained: putting, but his improvement tee to green is why he’s found consistency of late. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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Jason Kokrak … Let’s try this again, shall we? Not long after this space published for last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he withdrew from the tournament. Looking ahead, he makes even more sense at the Genesis Open where the vagaries that influence performance are minimal by comparison. He hasn’t missed an edition since first qualifying in 2012 and he’s missed only one cut in those seven trips. His last three resulted in top 25s, including a co-runner-up in 2016, and his scoring average over those 12 rounds is 69.08. Arrives in solid form with 12 consecutive cuts made, the last three of which were top 20s. Certainly long enough when he needs to find another gear, but the 33-year-old arguably is most confident with his irons. Martin Laird … He’s been performing pretty much as expected in recent weeks, and that includes an early pop at the Waste Management Phoenix Open before fading to T26. So, the mildly sneaky horse for a course deserves attention across the landscape at Riviera where he’s gone T11-T8-T9 with a scoring average of 68.92 since 2016. It’s sensible given his experience – this week’s edition marks his 10th appearance – and balanced attack throughout his bag. Jhonattan Vegas … When in his groove, he’s one of the PGA TOUR’s strongest talents tee to green, so he rarely worries about giving himself enough chances to make noise. The issue, as it has been since crashing on in 2011, is the putter. That explains not only his hit-and-miss record over time, but the same at Riviera. In six starts, he’s connected for just two top 35s among four cuts made, but both were top 15s. True to the formula, en route to a T15 here in 2017, he ranked 18th in strokes gained: putting. In his most recent start, he slotted fourth in strokes gained: tee-to-green and finished T10 at TPC Scottsdale, another track that rewards that skill set. Sung Kang … He’s the product of converging trends, but it matters more that he’s 4-for-4 at Riviera with a T8 in 2016, a T22 in 2017 and a T16 last year. His scoring average for those 12 rounds is 69.33. Yet, it still doesn’t hurt that he’s recorded three top 20s since returning from the holiday hiatus, including a T14 at Pebble Beach. He’s ridden spurts in between long droughts before, but his elevated tee-to-green game at the moment suggests that this latest burst will extend at least one more week. Bud Cauley … At 28 years of age, he’s the youngest on this page, but he’s in his seventh season with a PGA TOUR card and this will be his fifth start at the Genesis Open where his personal-best of three cuts made was a T20 last year. He’s made us forget all about the time missed as a result of the automobile crash last summer by opening this season 5-for-7 with a pair of top 15s. Presents evenly analytically, which projects well once again at Riviera. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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