Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Round 1: Leaderboard, tee times, TV times

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KAPALUA, Hawaii – Dustin Johnson gave up his last 54-hole lead but he has no intentions of repeating the story this time around. After producing a sublime 7-under 66 on Saturday – his 20th round in the 60s at the Plantation Course – Johnson surged to 16-under for the week, two clear of Brian Harman (69) and four ahead of Jon Rahm (66). It appears the Sentry Tournament of Champions is his to lose given he’s clearly the most experienced player in the field – making his eighth trip to Kapalua. No one else here has more than four. But wait – we’ve seen this story not so long ago. The world No.1 Johnson took a seemingly insurmountable six-shot lead through three rounds at the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions in late October only to shoot a 5-over 77 on Sunday to lose by two strokes to Justin Rose. Rickie Fowler, who will be one of the chasers on Sunday from five strokes back, playfully suggested Johnson wouldn’t remember his collapse in China. “I don’t expect him to necessarily do that again. All the times that he’s been in a position to win and having a lead, he’s taken care of that pretty well,â€� Fowler said. “D.J.’s a guy that forgets pretty quickly. I don’t think he remembers China. So that’s one of the reasons why he is the best player in the world right now. He quickly forgets, moves on. “There’s not necessarily a weak part of his game, so I’m going to have to go play well if I want to go chase him down.â€� When Johnson was asked if he had indeed forgotten – he claimed he had – until reminded of it by media as he finished his round. “It was a long time ago. It’s a completely different golf course. It was, what, two months ago or something,â€� Johnson said. “I’m going to try not to think about it tomorrow, hopefully I won’t. But I just need to go out and play my game and just see what happens.â€� For the record this is Johnson’s 14th lead/co-lead through 54 holes on the PGA TOUR. He has converted seven to victory, most recently at the Genesis Open in 2017. CALL OF THE DAY OBSERVATIONS BULLDOG HARMAN READY FOR FIGHT: Brian Harman has beaten Dustin Johnson before on Sunday – but he was the man in front. This time he will have to hunt the world No.1 down from behind. At the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship Harman overtook Patrick Reed, Alex Noren and Jon Rahm on Sunday for his second PGA TOUR win but it was a fast finishing Johnson, who had won his previous three starts, who was catching his attention. Johnson had started two back of Harman but had posted a nine-under total in the clubhouse. Harman knew he would prefer not to be in a playoff with the big bomber and had birdied the 17th to tie. He then nailed a 30-footer on the 18th for victory. “I’m just going to keep doing the same thing I’ve been doing and I’m going to try to put as much pressure on the golf course as I can,â€� Harman said Saturday. “I’m going to try to do the best I can on every shot. I can’t control what Dustin does, he’s a fabulous player, he’s going to be really hard to beat tomorrow, but trying to do something I’m not capable of is not the way to do it.â€� RAHM WANTS REVERSE RESULT: Jon Rahm remembers his battles with Dustin Johnson well. And they’re not all fond memories. Rahm had chances to win the World Golf Championships – Mexico Championship and THE NORTHERN TRUST last season only to be bested by Johnson. There was also their battle in the final round of the World Golf Championships – Dell Match Play that went the way of the American. He has another chance to best him in Maui, albeit a tough ask starting four shots back. “I do enjoy (going head-to-head with Johnson), but the outcome hasn’t been great for me,â€� Rahm said. “Hopefully I can play good down the stretch like I’ve been doing. Just start a little better on the front nine. If I can make a birdie before I get to the 5th I’ll be happy.â€� BONES RETURNS: FedExCup champion and defending Sentry Tournament of Champions winner Justin Thomas shot another disappointing 2-over 75 on Saturday to be 2-over and in 30th place. He tackled the Plantation Course without regular caddie Jimmy Johnson who succumbed to plantar fasciitis and has returned home for treatment. Thomas’ father Mike took over bag duties at Kapalua and will do the same on Sunday. Word is however that Jim “Bonesâ€� Mackay will make a cameo for Thomas when he defends the Sony Open next week. Mackay hasn’t caddied on the PGA TOUR since parting ways with Phil Mickelson. NOTABLES Jordan Spieth – A 3-under 70 on Saturday leaves Spieth sitting in a tie for ninth at 8-under, a distant eight shots back of the lead. Marc Leishman – The first and second round leader had a round to forget, posting a 3-over 76 to drop to 7-under and a tie for 12th. Hideki Matsuyama – The world No.5 and runner up last year could only muster a 72 on Saturday to sit 7-under and tied 12th. Patton Kizzire – Rounds of 72-72-69 have the current FedExCup leader at 6-under and tied 17th.  QUOTABLES Seventh place doesn’t really do a whole lot for me at the end of the day, so the idea is to fire at flags and just putt aggressively. It’s one thing to say it, it’s another to be out there and then all of a sudden you just feel so uncomfortable trying to hit that hard and I struggled with that this week. So, I’ve just got to be really aggressive on the greensI don’t think there’s two guys that speak to the ball more than we do. It’s true. It’s fun because we both react similarly when we hit a shot. It’s great.It was tough. The putter was cold and if I putted half decent I’d be right up there.Coming off of getting that win a few weeks back (at the Hero World Challenge) I think we were seven shots back and we’re not that far back going into tomorrow. But it won’t be easy. No.1, someone’s going to have to earn it tomorrow, whether it’s DJ or anyone coming from behind. SUPERLATIVES Low round: 7-under 66 – Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm positioned themselves nicely. Longest drive: 430 yards – Hudson Swafford on the par-4 7th. He then overshot the green and got up and down for par. Longest putt: 68 feet, 8 inches – Wesley Bryan drained a massive effort for par on the par-4 4th. Easiest hole: Par-5 5th – The reachable hole played at 4.235 with three eagles, 23 birdies, six pars, one bogey and one double bogey. Hardest holes: Par-4 10th – Uphill and into the wind it played at 4.412 with not a single birdie. There were eight bogeys and three double bogeys.

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SAN DIEGO – Ryan Palmer owes plenty to Jon Rahm but he has no problem trying to take something from him on Sunday at Torrey Pines. It was the fiery Spaniard who helped Palmer claim his fourth PGA TOUR win, nine years after getting his third, at last season’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The pair came together to take out the team event, which also gave Rahm his third PGA TOUR win. RELATED: Leaderboard | Tiger needs big Sunday to claim No. 83| Win probabilities But come Sunday at the Farmers Insurance Open the duo make up two of the final threesome looking to take home another title. Rahm leads after a sublime Sunday 65 left him 12 under for the week. Palmer is just one back in second place. As friendly as they are this time it’s for personal glory. “Of course you’re rooting for him at Zurich and trying to say, “hit it here” and “hit it there,” so maybe tomorrow I’ll say, “hit over there” instead,â€� Palmer joked. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s fun when you get to play with guys you know well and you have a good time. Getting to watch him and play with Rory, that’s the position you want to be in. You want to be with the best come Sunday late in the day, so I’m excited about that chance.â€� Just how they came together goes back to before the first team iteration of the Zurich Classic in 2017. Jordan Spieth, Palmer and their caddies Michael Greller and James Edmondson were having a friendly round at Trinity Forest in Dallas late in 2016 when an interesting wager was thrown up by Edmondson. The former college golfer and four-time club champion from Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth issued a challenge to the 2015 FedExCup champion Spieth: If I beat you, you have to partner up with Palmer at Zurich. Edmondson won and a partnership with some 17 years of age difference was formed. They were fourth in 2017 in New Orleans before missing the cut in 2018 when they were paired with Rahm and Wesley Bryan. Despite both teams going out early they had a fun time. So when 2019 rolled around and Spieth decided to give the tournament a miss and Bryan was struggling with injuries a new option was available. “I’ve known Adam Hayes (Rahm’s caddie) a long time and I’ve played a lot of rounds with Jon in the last two, three years, had him at my charity event and became pretty good friends,â€� Palmer said. “It was a matter of James and I saying who do we really look at playing with. I didn’t want to just play to go play, I felt like I wanted to find a partner that I got along with, but also I knew I could really contend with. “I texted Adam and mentioned it and he said to text Jon, see what he says. We hit it off and I knew our games related so well … the way we both drive it … his short game and my iron play was a perfect match. We’re looking forward to doing it again.â€� Before that title defense in April comes Sunday’s round in San Diego. Rahm already won the Farmers Insurance Open in 2017, his first win on TOUR that came in incredible fashion. On that Sunday Rahm played the final nine holes in six under with two eagles and two birdies to blow away what previously was a bunched leaderboard. “Hopefully, I don’t need to shoot 6 under. Hopefully, I do shoot 6 under honestly and I don’t have to stress down the stretch,â€� Rahm said. “The only thing it’s going to do is keep me focused, no matter how good I’m playing, knowing that somebody can come and do the same thing.â€� Rahm’s Saturday 65 included a chip-in birdie on the first and a hole-out eagle from 111 yards on the second. He then birdied three of the four par-5s and produced a laser from 203 yards on the par-3 16th to set up a three-foot birdie. Along with his win at Zurich in 2019 Rahm also won three times on the European Tour and sits at third in the world rankings. He has an outside chance to move to second with a victory but at the very least would get within striking distance of top spot should he prevail at Torrey. “We all try to show up to a golf tournament thinking we’re the better player that week and we can do it and it’s just a matter of showing it,â€� he said. “So hopefully I can keep playing good, do it tomorrow and I can be back here and tell you I was the better player that week.â€� While the duo are the front runners, they won’t have it all their own way. With them in the final group is FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy. He will start three back of Rahm. A win for McIlroy will take him to the top of the world. “It was nice to shoot a good third round here and get myself a little bit closer,â€� McIlroy said after a 67. “The way it’s set up this week, I think it’s built for me, especially with how I’m driving the ball. It’s playing long, we’re not getting much roll out there. The rough’s up, fairways are pretty narrow. I would love bent greens instead of poa, but I guess you take what you’re given.â€� TOUR winners Sung Kang and Cameron Champ, plus rookie Harry Higgs join McIlroy at 9 under. Among the throng at 8 under, just four back, are more TOUR winners in Tony Finau, Marc Leishman, Patrick Reed, J.B. Holmes and Brandt Snedeker. And then of course lurking, perhaps a little far back but a chance none the less, is 82-time PGA TOUR winner Tiger Woods. He searches for a ninth professional win at Torrey Pines from five shots off the pace. “I still got to go out there and post a low one tomorrow, still got to make a bunch of birdies tomorrow and move up that board,â€� Woods said of the challenge ahead of him. Should he find a way to the top Woods would stand alone at the top of the all-time win list on the PGA TOUR, jumping out of a tie with Sam Snead.

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