All eyes on Brooks Koepka and Smash GC as LIV Golf’s season concludes

DALLAS – A year ago, in its debut as the host venue for the AT&T Byron Nelson, Trinity Forest yielded a winning score of 23 under to then-rookie Aaron Wise. No previous champ in the tournament’s 65-year history had ever reached that level, and only Sam Snead in 1957 made it to 20 under. That was at Glen Lakes Country Club, a defunct course once divided by a freeway. Among all PGA TOUR winners last season, only Michael Kim at the John Deere Classic went lower in relation to par, finishing at 27 under at TPC Deere Run. First impressions, then, is that Trinity Forest – a links-type layout, built on a landfill by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, that drew attention for being different than most TOUR venues — is a pushover, the world’s best golfers lighting up a course most had never previously seen. But Harrison Frazar, the retired PGA TOUR pro who helped bring Trinity Forest to life in 2016, was not surprised. Earlier this week, he was in the midst of explaining why Wise’s score was so low. As if on cue, the wind kicked up into his face. “What you’re feeling right now – this is the normal wind,â€� Frazar said. “This is here almost every day – 12 to 15 mph, just like that. “If you get this, the scores are naturally just going to go up.â€� Trinity Forest obviously didn’t get the wind much last year, an unusually quiet week by Texas standards. Add in course conditions that made the 7,380-yard layout play significantly shorter, and it’s no wonder players went low. “It was firm and fast last year. Tee balls were going a country mile,â€� said PGA TOUR agronomist Mike Crawford. “50, 60, 70 yards of roll – almost unheard of. I think there was at least one drive of 400 yards. “But this year, we’ll see the golf course play differently.â€� Year 2 of Trinity Forest will indeed have a different vibe. Record rainfall last fall – more than 28 inches of rain combined in September and October – along with a wet winter and spring has continued into this month. Last week, 2-1/2 inches of rain fell at Trinity Forest, and Wednesday’s thunderstorm left several areas of the course with standing water. More rain is expected, especially on Friday and Saturday. Related: Origin of arm-lock putting | Featured Groups, tee times | The Flyover | Koepka keeping focus on AT&T Byron Nelson | Tiger receives Medal of Freedom Directly above the landfill is a clay cap of several feet in depth that prevents moisture from infiltrating the landfill. To work as a sealant, the clay cap must stay intact, which means water can only evaporate through the topsoil. Miles of drainage above the clay cap have been installed, but Crawford recognizes that Trinity Forest’s grounds crew must “actively tackleâ€� drainage issues on “an ongoing basis probably forever.â€� So what’s this mean for this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson? Trinity Forest should play longer. Players who used wedges and short irons into some holes last year may find themselves using mid-irons this week. “Instead of a 3-wood and a wedge into a par 5,â€� added Crawford, “hopefully it’ll be driver, iron – and maybe another iron. Would be nice to see some 3-shot par 5s.â€� Also, the par-3 eighth and 12th holes will play longer, thanks to new tee areas. The eighth is now 160 yards; last year at 140 yards, it was the easiest par 3 among the 204 played in the entire 2017-18 PGA TOUR season, playing to a stroke average of 2.646. Players also are expecting some tees to be played back this year. Beau Hossler, a member of Trinity Forest, said after his practice round Tuesday that he hit 6-iron into the 18th green. A year ago, he used 9-iron. “Strategically, they set up the golf a little bit longer,â€� he noted. Of course, the wet weather may also make the greens more attackable, said the defending champ. “I know the scores were still low last year but it was a lot more layups and positioning off the tee,â€� said Wise, whose win at Trinity Forest fueled his Rookie of the Year campaign. “This year might be a lot more drivers being sent around the golf course.â€� But the real difference-maker at Trinity Forest is the wind. You can say that about most courses in Texas, but perhaps none moreso than this one, given that not only is it a flat surface on a landfill, but that few trees exist inside the course boundary to block the wind. “The cool thing with this piece of land – flat with no trees – is that it’s very susceptible to get wind,â€� said Hossler, who shot a final-round 64 last year with birdies on his last five holes. “That changes the golf course entirely. The direction of the wind also could make a big impact. The winds have been coming from the south early this week but are forecast to switch on Thursday to a north wind for the rest of the week. That means players will have to adjust their gameplans. Still, the winds aren’t forecast to be overly severe, outside of gusts to 20 mph during the first two days. While 23 under might not be needed to win this week, the scores could again be low if the winds don’t make their presence known. And maybe that’s OK. “When we were out here building it, Ben talked about how with the greatest links courses, the defense needs to be the wind and the turf,â€� Frazar said. “So if you have no wind and the best players in the world? They’re going to tear it up. “He wanted the golf course to be built that if there was no wind, then give the guys a chance to shoot 61, 62, 63. But if the wind blows? 71, 72 is going to be a good score.â€�

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NAPA, Calif. – Phil Mickelson didn’t end his drought Sunday as he had hoped. But he likes the direction he’s heading – both with his golf game and the next tournament on his schedule. He hopes the confluence of those two things will lead to career win No. 43. Mickelson shot a 2-under 70 in the final round of the Safeway Open to finish at 12 under, three strokes behind winner Brendan Steele. His tie for third is his best result since The Open in 2016 when he finished second in a Sunday duel against Henrik Stenson, and continues his upward trend – his last 12 rounds on TOUR have been at par-or-better. He’ll now take two weeks off, then play the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China. Having won twice at Sheshan Golf Club, Mickelson certainly has reason to hope for a third win. If it happens, it would end the 91-start drought since his last victory on TOUR, The Open in 2013. “I’m going to keep giving myself good chances, and it will happen,� Mickelson said. “I get on a course like Sheshan where I’m very comfortable. I know the greens. I know the course well. I think I’ll have a good week there.� He almost had a great week at Silverado. Mickelson posted 23 birdies – tying Chesson Hadley for most of any player this week – and entered the final round four shots off the lead. He had hoped to get off to a fast start and apply pressure on the leaders, including 54-hole leader Tyler Duncan. Sunday’s tough scoring conditions prevented anybody from going low, but Mickelson was still in the mix after his birdie at the par-5 16th. He figured if he could birdie the next two holes, he might have a shot to catch eventual champ Brendan Steele. But he missed the fairway on the par-4 17th to the left, leaving him with a difficult shot over a tall redwood that guards the left side of the green. His approach found the bunker, and he failed to save par. Missing fairways was the only troublesome element for Mickelson’s week – at least from a statistical perspective. He hit just 15 of 56 fairways – only 3 of 14 on Sunday – and that tied for 74th in the field. “He’s very close; he’s been playing really well,� Steele said. “I think the only thing that ever holds him back is just missing a few fairways here and there. If he hits a few more fairways, then he’s probably not far off at all.� But from Mickelson’s perspective, the missed fairways should not be considered cause for alarm. “This is a very skewed golf course to judge fairways hit,� Mickelson said. “I hit three beautiful drives on 18; none of them found the fairway. The fairway’s 13 yards wide. I paced it. “So on a normal TOUR course, I would have hit 10, 11 fairways today. I drove it fairly well. But out here, I think, is a way to kind of protect that, they move the fairways in so that they’re about half what they normally are.� Overall, Mickelson said he enjoyed the challenging conditions at Silverado. He also enjoyed the heat of a back-nine battle. “It was fun to be in the mix. It was fun to have a chance,� he said. He expects there will be many more. So does Steele. “I don’t see any reason why he can’t be competitive for a really long time,� the two-time Safeway Open champ said. “I’ve always said I think Phil can win at Augusta well into his mid- to late-50s. He just knows the course so well. He has such an excitement for getting there and has just the right game for it, so I don’t see him slowing down anytime soon.� But before Augusta, there is China in three weeks. Might be time to start winning again.

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