Could Rahm have played through COVID?

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Harry Higgs lost his full PGA TOUR card toward the end of last season and took a step Friday at Sea Island toward getting it back. Higgs played bogey-free on the more difficult Seaside course for a 7-under 63, giving him a share of the lead with recent Texas grad Cole Hammer and Andrew Putnam going into the weekend of The RSM Classic. Plenty is at stake in the final official PGA TOUR event before a six-week break to end the year. Hammer, who had a 66 at Seaside, is playing on a sponsor exemption and has no full status on any tour. Putnam, whose only PGA TOUR title was in 2018, had a 65 on the Plantation course. He is playing for the eighth time in 10 weeks, having missed only the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in the fall because he’s made every cut — he was a runner-up in Japan — and because the weather isn’t all that great at home near Seattle. Higgs is an everyman, popular among his peers, and it stung to finish last season the way he did. After he tied for 14th in his Masters debut, Higgs missed the cut in 10 of his last 14 events to finish out of the top 125 in the FedExCup. He went to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and missed the cut in all three of those tournaments. Now he has conditional status, and this presents a great opportunity. Job security can be stressful on the PGA TOUR, especially going into a season in which only 70 will qualify for the lucrative postseason. “It’s in the back of your mind. It always is for almost everybody except for some of the top players in the world,” Higgs said. “But it can motivate you to work a little bit harder, make better decisions. The goal is to not really have to worry about it come March or as early as possible, right?” The leaders were at 12-under 130. Joel Dahmen (64 on Plantation), Beau Hossler (67 on Plantation) and Sahith Theegala, who matched Higgs with a 63 on Seaside, were one shot behind. Dahmen won in the Dominican Republic last year and his exemption runs out after this season. He often rooms with Higgs, so he can appreciate the feeling of playing with the pressure of trying to keep a job. “Golf is very hard and it can go sour quickly. To play with freedom for … two-and-a-half years, really, never had that in my career. So yeah, teeing up in Napa was like, `OK, we’re back at square one. If you don’t play well, you don’t have a job.’ I was very aware of that. “I don’t think about it necessarily when I’m out there, but there’s been a couple extra days of practice, for sure.” The weather wasn’t quite as cold as the opening round, and scoring remained low. The cut was at 4-under 138. Hammer, who made his first PGA TOUR cut as a pro last week in Houston, made bogeys from the fairway on the seventh and eighth holes at Seaside — two of the easier holes for the day — and then turned it around with an approach to 3 feet on No. 9 and then a birdie putt from 18 feet on the next hole. He was bogey-free the rest of the way and will be in the final group on the weekend. “I was a little bit depressed after 7 and 8. I put myself in great position to make birdies and I walked out with two bogeys, and that’s almost inexcusable,” Hammer said. “But coming back firing on 9 and then making a birdie on 10 — erasing those bogeys on two of the tougher holes right away — was huge for momentum and for confidence.”

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It’s the annual exhale following the Masters, but this year’s RBC Heritage presents its own hype. The tournament is celebrating its 50th edition this week. Thirty-three who competed at Augusta National Golf Club — three of whom recorded a top 10 and another six a top 25 — made the short trip to Harbour Town Golf Links along the Calibogue Sound that helps frame Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. For details on how the Pete Dye design should test the 132-man field, scroll beneath the ranking. POWER RANKINGS: RBC HERITAGE COMMENT PLAYER RANK The native of nearby Savannah, Georgia, recorded top 10s here in 2014 and 2017. Since last year’s T9, he’s added 11 top10s. He’s got no weaknesses as he’s dangerous throughout his bag. The recent runner-up at the Match Play lost in a playoff at Harbour Town in 2015. He also finished T11 last year after sitting T3 through 54 holes, and is eighth on TOUR in strokes gained: putting. It’s comical how well he’s performed at Harbour Town and still remains in pursuit of his first victory. Since 2009, he’s 9-for-9 with five seconds (one playoff loss), two thirds and a T15. His first appearance since 2009 allows him to test a newly refined approach game on a course where he can holster the driver. The world’s top-ranked talent leads TOUR in adjusted scoring. Perfect in all 14 appearances since 2004, he’s logged five top 10s, including the 2014 title. He’s no worse than T11 in the last four editions. Top 10s most recently in Austin and Houston. It’s remarkable how he’s adapted with his putter. He’s currently 10th on TOUR in strokes gained: putting and seventh in scrambling. A playoff victim here in 2013 and 7-for-7 since 2010. So much for the expectation to slide after Valspar win. He was eliminated from Match Play in pool-play playoff; T15 at Masters. Spot starts at Harbour Town include three top 25s from 2009-2014. He continues to impress on the biggest stages. Chased a T5 at the Match Play and the same at the Masters. He now has 11 top 20s in his last 14 starts worldwide. T15 here in 2015. He made it 5-for-5 at the Masters with a T12 punctuated by an ace at the par-3 16th on Sunday. He’s got top 20s in three of last five starts, and has a trio of top 15s at Harbour Town in eight visits. He’s 4-for-4 with no worse than a T18 at Harbour Town since 2014. Co-runner-up in 2016. Three top 20s in 2018. Inside the top 30 in both greens in regulation and proximity to the hole. Only has one top 25 (T9, 2013) in eight appearances, but is now a threat everywhere he commits. Four top 10s in 2018, including a solo ninth at the Masters where he was T4 in scrambling. He’s quietly crafting a solid season with six top 25s, including in each of his last five starts. Elevated ball-striking has yielded consistency, and top-shelf putting vaults him onto leaderboards. Failing to put four rounds together is shrouding his slots in GIR (46th), proximity (5th), scrambling (27th) and adjusted scoring (18th). The 2012 runner-up is 9-for-12 at Harbour Town. He finished T44 at the Masters as the last qualifier. The sometimer at Harbour Town posted top 20s in 2015 and 2017, and now has renewed confidence with his putter to match strong ball-striking. He’s comfortable at Harbour Town with three top 10s since 2014 and a scoring average of 69.44 in his last 16 rounds. His up-and-down 2017-18 features a T16 at the Valspar a month ago. Kevin Chappell, Jason Dufner, Brandt Snedeker and Luke List will be among the notables covered in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. Harbour Town is a third-shot track if there ever was one. The notion that greens averaging just 3,700 square feet demand precision on approach ignores the ease of salvaging par on a course where par has value. In benign conditions last year, the field averaged 70.676 on the par 36-35=71 measuring 7,099 yards. So, there’s no reason to panic after failing to find targets from the sky. Although the 2017 field averaged a little better than 11 greens in regulation per round, when it needed to scramble for par, it did so successfully nearly two-thirds of the time. En route to his breakthrough victory, Wesley Bryan authored a classic case for the opportunity that doesn’t discriminate against the extremes. Despite slotting just T55 in fairways hit and T66 in GIR, he carded four rounds in the 60s. He ranked seventh in proximity to the hole and led the field in scrambling. We should witness a mixed bag of (front-loaded) scoring this week. Primarily cooperative conditions are forecast through Saturday, albeit with intensifying winds of 10-15 mph by the third round. Come Sunday, the elevated risk of rain and storms will be accompanied by sustained winds flirting with and likely exceeding 20 mph. Therefore, experience, low ball flight and patience should connect the contenders for the tartan jacket. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton covers numerous angles in between tournaments. Look for his following contributions this week. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Facebook Live, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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Joel Dahmen (+400 for a Top 20) … Keep your shirt on. A fella can have a little fun in his backyard. His antics on the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale on Sunday were about the only thing worth watching (and even that is debatable) en route to a T62. That aside, the Scottsdale resident also, ahem, flashed his form for a T6 at Pebble Beach. He even modeled a T5 at Riviera in 2020. At 34 years of age and in his physical prime, obviously, his tee-to-green precision is worth celebrating this week. Mackenzie Hughes (+300 for a Top 20) … Although he captured victory at The RSM Classic in what was just his fifth start as a PGA TOUR member in November of 2016, the Canadian didn’t settle into a groove at this level until just before the pandemic shut things down for three months in 2020. He hasn’t won again but he’s connected for 10 top 10s in the last two years. He also cashed for the first time in three tries here last year with a T32. After his string of consecutive cuts ended at 12 at the Farmers three weeks ago, the 31-year-old sprung back to life with a T16 at Pebble Beach where he showcased his not-so-secret weapon – the putter. Lanto Griffin (+300 for a Top 20) … Since ending a relative drought with a T6 at the Shriners in October, he’s 7-for-7 with three top 10s and a T16 in his last start at Pebble Beach. This has been his profile since returning to the PGA TOUR two years ago. He’s done the most damage at this time of the season, so it’d be more surprising if he wasn’t delivering. With the momentum, he’s poised for a personal-best at the Genesis where he cashed in the previous two editions with above-average putting. The better of the results was a T26 last year. Adam Hadwin (+350 for a Top 20) … The 34-year-old Canuck is back to painting red numbers on leaderboards with regularity. Sure, courses are easier on average in the first quarter of the season, but he’s still converting, and he scuffled a bit at this time last year. He’s also back to using all 14 clubs for their optimal purposes. Best of all, he arrives at Riviera where he’s been a fixture since his rookie season of 2014-15. Perfect in seven trips with a T6 in 2018 punctuating three top 25s. Martin Laird (+450 for a Top 20) … Of all his worthy stablemates here, the Scot might step to the front as the most predictable among them. Like so many who tee it up at the WM Phoenix Open, he slept in his own bed last week, and like he’s done time and again at TPC Scottsdale, he played very well. A T14 was his sixth top 20 in the tournament. His previous two occurred in 2017 (T7) and 2018 (T9). In the wake of both, he finished a respective T8 and T9 at Riviera, so there’s a direct correlation of sustaining form. The 39-year-old doesn’t make a ton of noise, but he’s still among the best ball-strikers you’ll find. That works everywhere, but it’s rewarded handsomely at The Riv. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. For live odds, visit betmgm.

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