Best moments from Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley’s win at The Match

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There was something about the eyes. Jonathan Randolph had just seen one of the “Star Warsâ€� movies, and when he looked at that puppy he and his wife Lacy had adopted, well, let’s just say a light dawned. “I just kept looking at these dogs and they looked like Yoda; eyes way off the side and stuff,â€� Randolph says. “So that was in the back of my mind. When we found her, Yodi for some reason just came out. “Seemed like a good dog name.â€� Indeed, and the name stuck. So did Yodi, a brown and black and white Chihuahua, who has traversed the PGA TOUR and Web.com Tour with Randolph for nearly three years now. Randolph and his wife have recently added another traveling companion, too. Their son, Boyd, was born in March, and made his first trip – with Yodi in tow, of course – to A Military Tribute At The Greenbrier in July. “We said it was a traveling circus before, because we had a dog with us,â€� Randolph says with a grin. “And now we’ve got a baby. “It’s a lot more bags and stuff, but when they’re able to be on the road with me it’s just so awesome. It makes you feel a little bit more like home.â€� There are days when an excited Yodi entertains her humans by running circles around the hotel room. And she’s happy to help Randolph when he practices putting on the carpet, picking up golf balls and bringing them back to him. Yodi is still getting used to the new addition to the family, though. When Lacy picks Boyd up, for example, Yodi clamors to be in her arms as well. “She’s definitely gotten jealous, but also shows off like crazy when she knows he’s watching and she’s playing,â€� Randolph says. “She’ll start high stepping around and doing stuff to make him happy, which is pretty awesome.â€� In time, though, Randolph knows the Yodi and Boyd will be thick as thieves. “She’s got a new best friend,â€� Randolph says. “She just doesn’t know it yet. He’s been grabbing at her and doing that fun stuff. … Her life is going to get a whole lot more interesting when he gets mobile and can grab her. “For now, she’s got it made.â€� Yodi, who will be 3 years old in December, joined the family in early 2016. The couple was looking for a dog and Lacy had owned Chihuahuas in the past. When Randolph headed to South America to open the Web.com Tour season, the puppy stayed behind with Lacy at the couple’s home in Oxford, Mississippi. Once the Web.com Tour went stateside in March, their adventure began. “She’s been to almost 40 states,â€� Randolph says. “She’s well-traveled.â€� Yodi is remarkably calm for a breed that is known to be a bit skittish. And she’s perfectly content when Randolph puts her in a carrier and takes her on a plane. “She just sits there and looks at everything,â€� Randolph explains. “We’ve never gotten a complaint. So it’s a credit to her, not to us.â€� Yodi has been a positive influence in other ways, too. The first time Yodi came out to the golf course during competition, Randolph finished birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie-par at the 2016 BMW Charity Pro-Am. A year ago at the Albertsons Boise Open, the puppy watched as he played the final three holes in 7 under for the week. “I’m not going to say she’s a good luck charm, but good things happen when she’s around,â€� the Ole Miss grad says. On Tuesday, Yodi made her second straight appearance in the media center at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Randolph’s a member at the Country Club of Jackson, which hosts the tournament, and tied for third last year. “She had a good run here last year so she’s allowed to come back, I guess,â€� Randolph says. “I had my best finish on TOUR the only time she’s ever come to the media center, so it’s good to have her back in here.â€� The family has also been there for the not-so-good times, too, though. Take a month ago when Randolph found himself back at the Web.com Tour Finals after finishing 174th in the FedExCup. He thought his game was rounding into form but he ended up missing the cut in three of the four events – a stretch he called “one of the most devastatingâ€� of his career. Lacy, Boyd and Yodi were waiting for him beside the 18th green, though, and suddenly life was good again. “Just to have them there — it’s hard to put into words, you know, like what that’ll do for you,â€� Randolph says. “But it’s pretty awesome to have the little guy on the road. “Last year I said we were a traveling circus. We are legitimately a traveling circus now with the baby and the dog and everybody, but it’s like the most fulfilling thing ever.â€�

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You may heard of the 16th at TPC Scottsdale. Shortest hole on the course. Enclosed by stands. A packed house. Party atmosphere. Sure, the gallery sometimes can be, well, a bit boisterous, but it’s all in good fun. Yet don’t forget the other 17 holes this week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Those are the ones that usually decide the winner. RELATED: Tee times | Power Rankings | Amy paying it forward THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER THE FLYOVER You’ve just finished the hardest hole at TPC Scottsdale, the 490-yard par-4 14th. Now it’s time to make your final move on the easiest three-hole stretch on the course. The 553-yard par-5 15th is the shorter of the two par 5s; the 163-yard par-3 16th is the shortest on the course; and the 332-yard par-4 17th is the shortest par 4. Collectively, they played to just under a half-stroke below par last year. The closing hole, the 442-yard par-4 18th, is more challenging, but by then, you’ve got momentum. Right? LANDING ZONE Speaking of the drivable 17th … more than 10% of all tee shots struck at that hole in the last 17 years have found the putting surface. Most of the field will try to drive the green – 86% tried it last year, with 18% of those being successful. Even finding the water that guards the left and back side of the green is not terrible, with a par-or-better conversion rate of 40%. No surprise it’s this week’s Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole. A look below at where all tee shots landed last year. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Stewart Williams: “Breezy conditions may linger into Thursday morning before decreasing and becoming light during the afternoon Thursday. Otherwise mostly sunny skies return with highs in the upper 60s expected. High pressure will build over the region Friday and dominate the weather through the weekend. This will provide a gradual warming trend, with highs returning to the mid-70s this weekend under sunny skies. The next piece of upper level energy will arrive on Monday, bringing a chance for showers and cooler temperatures.â€� For the latest weather news from Scottsdale, Arizona, check out the PGA TOUR weather Hub. SOUND CHECK It’s so hard to control your adrenaline. You have so many juices pumping and your … hands are tingling and it’s a little shaky. It’s a great atmosphere; it’s a great hole. The fans are unbelievable, they are what makes this event what it is.â€� BY THE NUMBERS 1,759 – Total tee shots struck at par-3 16th since the last hole-in-one (Francesco Molinari, third round, 2015). Despite the drought, the 16th remains one of the easiest par 3s on TOUR to ace; just eight other par 3s since 1983 have yielded more aces than the 16th. 27 under – J.B. Holmes’ score at the drivable par-4 17th in 48 career rounds. That’s the best of any player since 2006. +62.85 – Hideki Matsuyama’s Strokes Gained: Tee to Green at TPC Scottsdale, most of any player since 2014. 70 under – Matsuyama’s cumulative score at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, best of any player since 2014. 30 – Weeks that Justin Thomas has led the FedExCup standings in his career, making him the fourth player to reach that mark (Tiger Woods, Jimmy Walker and Dustin Johnson are the others). SCATTERSHOTS Welcome back: Charl Schwartzel is making his first PGA TOUR start in nearly nine months. Schwartzel last appeared on TOUR at the 2019 RBC Heritage in April. He was then sidelined with a wrist injury and didn’t return to action until December at an event in his native South Africa, finishing T3 at the Alfred Dunhill Championship. He missed the cut in his next two starts overseas. Schwartzel, a two-time TOUR winner, starts his season on a Major Medical Extension. He’ll have 12 starts available to earn 262 FedExCup points to keep his card. Speaking of South Africans: Branden Grace has found his game. He won the South African Open in mid-January, his first win on any Tour since 2017, and he also had a top-3 finish and a top-20 finish to sandwich that victory. A year ago, Grace was solo second to Rickie Fowler at TPC Scottsdale in his tournament debut, leading the field in scoring on the par 3s and par 5s. “I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season,â€� he said that Sunday. But he was unable capitalize on the momentum, failing to produce another top-10 finish in his next 23 stroke-play starts. That dropped him out of contention for a spot on the International Team, a tough blow given his track record at the Presidents Cup. His South African Open victory not only has him back on track, it also finished off the career slam of South African events. Grace had previously won the Joburg Open, Alfred Dunhill Championship, Dimension Data Pro-Am and Nedbank Golf Challenge. Grace’s lone TOUR win is the 2016 RBC Heritage. Speaking of winners: In this week’s field are 91 different PGA TOUR winners (for a combined total of 258 victories). Excluding THE PLAYERS Championship and the FedExCup Playoffs events, that makes just the fourth field on the PGA TOUR schedule since 2010 to have more than 90 different winners. The others are the 2018 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in both 2018 and 2019.

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