Dean Burmester cards four 2s in a row, posts back-nine 28 at Scottish Open

Tiger Woods posted three under-par rounds at the Hero World Challenge, including a final-round 4-under 68 highlighted by an eagle and a half-dozen birdies.

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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Matt Kuchar knew he was in trouble when his tee shot sailed so far to the right that he hit a provisional in case the ball was out-of-bounds. He found the ball, and somehow never lost the lead. Kuchar escaped his only big mess Friday with a 35-foot bogey putt on the 12th hole, and he rode eight birdies to a 7-under 64 that gave him a two-shot lead over PGA TOUR rookie Cameron Champ going into the weekend at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Champ, going after his second victory in three weeks, played in the morning and shot 62 with a bogey on his final hole. Kuchar was at 14-under 128 as he tries to end more than four years without a PGA TOUR victory. “Yesterday was kind of a bogey-free day and just easy, and everything else today was about the same,” he said. “I just had that one challenging hole.” The challenge was figuring out what to do once he found it. The ball was under a cluster of trees and bushes with rocks scattered everywhere. Even taking a one-shot penalty for an unplayable lie was not an easy option. If his drop settled between rocks, he would have to play that or take another penalty. Finally, he found a spot and the drop landed in enough soft soil for him to pitch out of trouble, through the fairway and into the rough. He got his fourth shot onto the green and made the long putt to escape with bogey. “That was great,” Kuchar said. “I knew I had a par 5 following it, and I figured I was probably going to make double there and birdie on the next. I ended up making bogey there and par on the par-5 13th, so still felt like I was very much in control.” What put Kuchar in good shape were the five straight birdies on the front nine, and then he took the lead for the first time with a birdie on No. 11 before his wild adventure on the 12th hole. Tied again for the lead, he added two birdies coming in for his two-shot cushion. Champ already is the talk of the tour for the speed of his swing and how far he hits the ball, though there is more to his game than length. El Camaleon Golf Club is all about location — preferably the fairway — more than smashing it as far as possible. Two weeks after winning the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi, he worked on a few tweaks in his swing and was in full control of where the ball was going. For the second straight day, Champ missed only two fairways, key to good scoring at Mayakoba. “It’s not a bomber’s course,” Champ said. “You have to place it off the tee, and some holes the rough is very thick and you’ve just got to whack it out. This course I feel like is very suitable for everyone. Just to be able to place my ball right in the fairways and on the greens and make the putts when I needed is great.” An area renowned for its wild weather — rain out of nowhere, plenty of wind — has seen sunshine and calms for two days, and it’s reflected in the scoring. The cut was at 4-under 138. The weekend will not include Jordan Spieth. The three-time major champion missed the cut in his final event of the year after a 69. Spieth managed only eight birdies in good scoring conditions and will have the weekend off for the seventh time this year. Next up is his wedding over Thanksgiving weekend. Kuchar, meanwhile, has more than Champ to worry about the next two rounds. The seven players at 11-under 131 included defending champion Patton Kizzire, past Mayakoba champion Brian Gay and Anirban Lahiri of India, who has played in the last two Presidents Cups. Eighteen players were within five shots of the lead. Rickie Fowler (68) and Tony Finau (65) were at 8-under 134, along with their Ryder Cup captain, Jim Furyk, who had a 65.

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There’s no “I” in team but there is an “I” in Zurich and Classic! The return to New Orleans for the 2021 edition of the Zurich Classic welcomes back team golf to the schedule. In 2017 the event evolved into a partner’s game with 80, two-man teams playing best ball (four balls) and alternate shot (foursomes) to determine the champion over four rounds. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks At 7,425 yards (Par-72), Pete Dye’s TPC Avondale has been run over in the best ball format but has held its own in the alternate shot. Plenty of 60s and 61s have littered the board in four balls so going low isn’t an option; it’s required. Conversely, 65 is the “record” for foursomes, set by 2019 winners Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer. Not very many sub-67s in that format either, nor rounds in the 60s. There has never been a round of foursomes in which more than eight teams have posted in the 60s in three editions. The course will feature TifEagle Bermuda greens for the first time as they were replaced after the 2019 event. Thankfully there is plenty of rain and humidity in this part of the world so I wouldn’t expect them to be too firm or fast like most surfaces that are redone. Celebration Bermuda is now in the fairways and new bunkers will also help drain quicker if and when rain arrives. Water is in play on eight holes and 106 bunkers will need to be avoided. Rough at less than two inches for the third week running should encourage risk-reward recovery shots again. This will be the fifth Pete Dye design used already in 2021 (TPC Stadium Course at PGA West, TPC Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, Austin Country Club and Harbour Town) so everyone should be relatively comfortable. Aggressive lines are rewarded and so is proper iron play into the 5,225 square foot and tiered greens. No point leaving it short when your partner has four feet or less for par so give it a run! With 25-under the average winning score from three events, the formula isn’t complicated! Defending champions Ryan Palmer and Jon Rahm are part of the 80 team field this week competing for a share of the $7.4 million ($1,069,300 each for first place) and 400 FedExCup points each. Recent Event Winners Stats Recent Winners and Notables 2019: Ryan Palmer & Jon Rahm (-26, 262) Set the tournament record for margin of victory winning by three shots. … Sat four shots back after 18 holes. … Set the 36-hole record on 15-under to lead by one. … Co-led after 54 holes by setting a tournament record on 23-under. … Posted the tournament record for foursomes with 65 in Round 2. … Palmer wins in his 11th start at the event and picks up his fourth top 10. … Rahm wins in his second. … First time as partners and are defending this year. … Palmer MC previous year with Jordan Spieth. … Rahm MC previous visit with Wesley Bryan. … Palmer entered on T28-MC-MC-T4 run. … Rahm cashed in the top 10 in eight of his last 10 including a top 10 the Masters. Notables: * – new partner this year; teams highlighted below are also playing this year unless mentioned. Only *Kyoung-Hoon Lee (T3), a rookie in 2019, returns from the podium in the last edition. … *Hank Lebioda (T5) hit the top five in his first visit. … David Hearn (T5) backed up his T10 from 2018. … Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Cameron Tringale and Roberto Castro (T5) first time together was a successful pairing. … Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown (T5) have done everything but win this event. … Martin Laird and Nick Taylor (T9) run it back again this year. … Charley Hoffman and Nick Watney (T9) picked up their second top 10 in three tries. … *Scott Stallings (T13) was part of a team who signed for 61 and 62 in fourballs. … Defending champions Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy (T13) finished eight back but are not playing this year. … Lucas Glover and Chez Reavie (T18) opened with 62 and picked up their best result in three starts. … Branden Grace (T32) was one shot out of the lead after 54 holes after posting 61 before 80 on Sunday knocked him out. … Only eight of 39 teams on Sunday posted rounds in the 60s (foursomes). … Top 35 teams were double digits under par or better. … Rained 2.5 inches Thursday. … Cut was a tournament record 8-under. 2018: Scott Piercy & Billy Horschel (-22, 266) Came from three shots off the 54-hole lead to win. … 67 Sunday was the low round of the day. … One of three bogey-free rounds of the day and just four in foursomes on the week. … 61 on Saturday. … Had to count two doubles and two bogeys in Round 2. … Highest winning score to date. … Horschel becomes the first player to win on his own ball and with a partner. … Horschel wins in his eighth appearance. … Piercy wins in his ninth. … Only top 10s here for both are wins. … Horschel rolled in on T11 and T5 in his previous two starts while Piercy MC the week before. Notables: Jason Dufner and Pat Perez (T2) missed a playoff by a shot. Both return with new partners this year. … South Africans Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel (3rd) MC in 2019. … Brice Garnett and Chesson Hadley (T4) posted 61 on Saturday and will have new partners this year. … Tony Finau (6th) picked up his only check from three starts and played from the final group. … Former Purdue teammates Tyler Duncan and Adam Schenk (T7) are back this year. … Patrick Cantlay (T7) changes out Patrick Reed for Xander Schauffele. … Scotsman Martin Laird and Russell Knox (T7) are both back but separated. … Australian Greg Chalmers and Cameron Percy (T10) reunite. David Hearn (T10) improved on his T22 from last year. … Brendan Steele (T10), Troy Merritt (T10) and Tom Hoge (T10) all have new rides as well. … Lucas Glover and Chez Reavie (T22) opened with 60, co-low round of the week. … Xinjun Zhang also opened with 60 to share the first round lead but shot 80 in Round 2 to MC. … Andrew Putnam (T22) led after 36 holes by a shot, trailed by one after 54 holes. … 54-hole leaders Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown (T15) fired 77 on Sunday. … Defending champions Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt MC. … Format changed days this year as alternate shot was moved to Friday and Sunday to cause more volatility. … Only seven rounds in the 60s on Sunday. … Cut was 5-under. 2017: Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith (-27, 261) First team event on TOUR since 1981. … Won a playoff on the fourth hole. … Set tournament scoring record. … Only winning team still to make an eagle (2). … Bogey free for the week. … Led by FOUR after 54 holes. … Led by one after 36 holes. … One back after 18 holes. … First TOUR win for Smith, third for Blixt. … Smith wins in his second appearance, fifth for Blixt. … Blixt and Smith only top 10s at the event are their win. … Smith was T6 the previous week at Valero. … Blixt was T14 at Harbour Town in his last start. … Formats were foursomes Thursday/Saturday and fourballs Friday/Sunday. Notables: Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown (P2) closed with 60 to force the playoff. …Kelly Kraft and Kevin Tway (3rd) were 20-under in fourballs. … Ryan Palmer (T4) opened with 66, co-second lowest score in foursomes to date. … Jason Dufner (T5) has two top 10 finishes with two different partners, just like Martin Laird. … Former champion Bubba Watson and JB Holmes (T5) return with new partners this year. … Charley Hoffman and Nick Watney (T5) are still together. … Co-First Round leader Kyle Stanley (T29) returns. … Only five of 42 teams broke 70 in foursomes on Saturday. … Cut was 7-under. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2020-2021 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. Horses for Courses

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