Down a rib, Merritt makes his move

During his career, Woods has reigned supreme eight times as a professional at Arnold Palmer’s place, and before these wins, there was also the U.S. Junior Amateur title in 1991, where Tiger won for the first time at Bay Hill. As the 45-year-old continues his recovery from his serious car accident suffered last week, here’s a look back at Woods’ five greatest shots at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the clubs he used for each one. 5. 2012 (final round): Approach to No. 8 At the 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Tiger was looking to end a two-and-a-half-year winless streak, on what was a windy Sunday with greens and pins that Woods would afterwards describe as the most difficult he had ever experienced at this event. On the treacherous eighth hole, Woods held a two-stroke lead. Sitting in the middle of the fairway with the pin on the left side guarded by the pond in front of the green, Woods, who would often lean on his cut shot during his time working with Sean Foley, struck a high draw. The ball landed softly on the front portion of the green and rolled to within 5 feet of the cup. The bold shot paid off and gave Woods a three-stroke advantage, and he would go on to secure his 72nd PGA TOUR win and begin his ascension back to World No. 1. Club Used: Nike VR Pro Blade 8-iron with a True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shaft. 4. 2009 (final round): Third shot to No. 16 Tiger began the 2009 final round at Bay Hill five strokes adrift of playing partner Sean O’Hair. The 16th hole in 2009 was a challenging par 4 (now plays as a par 5), and it looked to be advantage O’Hair after Woods was forced to pitch out following a wayward drive. However, O’Hair gave the initiative back to Woods when he found the water guarding the pin at the front of the green. Faced with a tricky 85-yard wedge shot to the flag for his third, Woods aimed 25 feet away from the hole toward the archway on the green, causing the announcers in the booth to question the line he was taking. As Woods’ pitching wedge landed at the top of the archway and spun back to just a couple of feet from the hole, the announcers quickly laughed off how they had foolishly questioned Woods’ thinking, saying: “I think he knows what he’s doing!” Club Used: Nike Victory Red 60-degree wedge with a True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shaft 3. 2001 (final round): Approach to No. 18 Back in 2001, Woods and Mickelson were locked in a tense battle on Sunday at Bay Hill. With Lefty in the house at 15-under par, Woods needed a par on 18 to force a playoff or a birdie to win. However, a birdie seemed extremely unlikely after the 15-time major champion pulled his tee shot into the rough. While many players would have played safe out to the left and try and salvage par from there, Woods attempted what Johnny Miller described as a ‘hero shot’ over the water and rocks to a tucked pin. Woods striped his 5-iron into the heart of the green and then curled his birdie putt into the cup before celebrating with his signature uppercut fist-pump. All Mickelson could do was applaud from the side of the green. Club Used: Titleist 681T (Endo Forged) 5-iron with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shaft. 2. 2009 (final round): Final putt At Bay Hill in 2009, Woods was searching for his first win since undergoing reconstructive surgery for an anterior cruciate ligament rupture in his left knee the previous summer. After Woods’ stunning wedge shot into 16 (No. 4), a bogey on 17 had brought him back into a share of the lead with O’Hair. On the 18th hole, Woods was left with a 16-foot birdie putt for the victory as the light faded over Bay Hill. Woods backed off the putt due to a shout from the crowd, went through his routine once again, and then poured the left-to-right putt into the hole to spark wild celebrations between him and Steve Williams. Nine months after his surgery, Tiger was well and truly back. Club used: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS 1. 2008 (final round): Final putt Tiger Woods entered the 2008 Arnold Palmer Invitational playing some of the best golf of his life, having won seven of his last eight PGA TOUR events. At Bay Hill that year, looking to keep the perfect season dream alive, Woods was embroiled in a battle for the ages, and once again, it all came down to the 72nd hole. Tied with Bart Bryant on the 18th hole, Woods left himself an immensely difficult 24-foot birdie putt above the hole with a severe break from left to right. Tiger’s putt started out to the left before turning towards the hole and dropping right in the middle of the cup with the perfect pace. ‘Hello, Ben Hogan!’ was the famous call from the tower as a fired-up Woods ripped off his hat and threw it to the ground in an outpouring of joy to celebrate his 64th PGA TOUR victory. Woods was 0-for-20 in putts over 18 feet that week before the 72nd hole, but in true Tiger fashion, when it mattered most, he would summon up the magic needed to find the back of the hole. Club used: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS

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Answer: This golf tournament, while traditionally contested in April, was shifted to November for the first time in 84 editions. Question: What is the 2020 Masters? The playful tribute to the late Alex Trebek, the long-time host of "Jeopardy!," aside, the Masters really is a tradition unlike any other, and especially amid a pandemic. Not only are there two editions during the 2020-21 PGA TOUR super season, they will occur consecutively as it concerns the six majors. For more on the when the field was determined, a review of the weather, how Tiger Woods prevailed and other information, scroll past the projected contenders. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field | Nine things to know: Augusta National POWER RANKINGS: MASTERS TOURNAMENT Tuesday's Fantasy Insider will include 2015 champ Jordan Spieth, Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler and first-timers Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff among the notables. The construct of the field for the 2020 Masters was announced months ago but it's timely to revisit it once more. The qualifiers for the tournament were set as if it had been staged in its usual slot in April. Winners of eligible tournaments since play resumed in June qualified only for the 2021 Masters. With the recent withdrawals of Joaquin Niemann and Sergio Garcia, both due to COVID-19, the field stands at 92 as of Monday afternoon. Twenty-six (or 28 percent) are first-time participants, a not-so-insignificant fact given the documented value of course knowledge at Augusta National Golf Club. Because the par 72 is so consistent over time, the golfers aren't just playing the course, they're playing against relative experience of others. It's as close to a home-course advantage as a veteran can get at what technically is a neutral site. The variable that's new to all is the weather, at least as it concerns the seasons. However, with traces of summertime heat and humidity hanging on, it's possible if not probable that only the reduction of daylight hours will feel different to everyone who has traveled to Augusta, Georgia, in early April. Daytime highs will eclipse 70 degrees and even flirt with 80 during the first two rounds. Winds will be light, but rain is all but guaranteed thanks in part to the encroachment of what's left of Tropical Storm Eta that made landfall in southern Florida late on Sunday night. Suffice it to say that the SubAir system has been oiled and will be engaged. Advance forecasts were suggesting much cooler air. The compromise is that it'll likely be warm enough for fewer hours every day, but the impact on the distance the ball flies won't be as substantial as previously considered. Even so, because Augusta National is a second-shot test and favors placement off the tee over length, the conditions could influence roll on the fairways and the greens. Because of the unprecedented transition to the fall, comparisons to the last edition in 2019 should be left to the record only, but there's still a curiosity for how Augusta National will stack up against it this week. With a scoring average of 71.865, the 2019 field was the first to break par since 1992. The average driving distance of 296.5 yards was much longer than usual (although only holes 1 and 2 are measured) as driving accuracy also rose. Those two statistics rarely evolve with a direct relationship, but all other facets of completing a round also were easier. Defending champion Tiger Woods navigated a scintillating finale to prevail and he led the tournament in greens in regulation. That's job one for anyone who intends for him to slip the green jacket over his shoulders come Sunday. ShotLink isn't utilized at Augusta National, but it's not dumbing down the recap by attaching other analytics to his performance. Woods ranked 10th in converting GIR into par breakers, 14th in putts per GIR and T10 in bogey avoidance. On the whole, it was just enough to escape with a one-stroke victory, his 15th in a major. For the second consecutive edition, Augusta National tips at 7,475 yards. The addition of 40 yards to the par-4 fifth hole last year yielded a scoring average of 4.336. Not only was it the hardest hole on the course, but it also was the 10th-hardest of 522 par 4s in all of 2018-19. That's notable because as recently as 2016, it wasn't inside the top-half hardest holes on the course. In addition to a new format that will send groupings off split tees in the first two rounds, the 36-hole cut has been modified to low 50 and ties. The previous provision of including all within 10 strokes of the lead has been eliminated. Included in a series of spoils, the champion will receive a lifetime exemption into the Masters, five-year exemptions into the other three majors and a five-year membership exemption on the PGA TOUR. ROB BOLTON'S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM's Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM's Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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NORTH BERWICK, Scotland – Some players’ tee shots struggled to reach the fairway. Long-irons and woods were needed to get within shouting distance of the green … on par-4s. The most recent major champion watched an approach shot sail on the wind and land on the wrong green. After a morning that was docile enough to have one player dreaming of a sub-60 round, the afternoon of the Genesis Scottish Open was a struggle as the winds gusted off the Firth of Forth. Collin Morikawa didn’t hesitate when asked about the wildest shot he saw. It wasn’t one he hit and it barely got airborne, but it came to rest in a most unlikely spot. Matt Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris may have been separated by just a single shot in last month’s U.S. Open but their balls on the par-5 16th on Thursday were separated by the most miniscule of margins. Zalatoris’ chip on rolled across the green before hitting the hole. It slowed down until coming to rest atop the poker chip that Fitzpatrick uses to mark his ball. It was odd enough of an occurrence that Morikawa’s caddie, J.J. Jakovac, got down on one knee to snap a photo with his phone. In the morning, Cameron Tringale parred his final three holes for a 9-under 61 that gave him a three-shot lead. With the winds relatively manageable, Morikawa and Jakovac decided to leave the 5-wood in the bag instead of the lower-flying option of a 2-iron. “The 2-iron would have come in handy on the back nine,” Morikawa said with a smile. The Renaissance Club’s second half offers the best vistas of the Firth of Forth but that beauty also makes it brawny, leaving it more exposed to the high winds that are a trademark of golf in the game’s birthplace. This is the fourth edition of the Genesis Scottish Open played at The Renaissance Club. The first three were defined by benign conditions and low scores. The course fought back Thursday afternoon. A 66 from Kurt Kitayama was the best round from the afternoon wave by two shots. Only six players who teed off in the latter half of the draw shot under par, and only two shot lower than 69. Thirty-two players were in the red in the morning. The late starters’ scoring average of 73.5 was more than three strokes higher than the scoring average for the morning wave. Rickie Fowler, the 2015 Scottish Open champion, was among those who shot 69 in the afternoon. His 6-iron on the 147-yard, par-3 14th landed 20 yards short of his target. He needed a driver, 2-iron and 6-iron to reach the green on the par-5 16th, where many players struggled to reach the fairway. A driver and a 2-iron left him 30 yards short of the green on the par-4 finishing hole. The group of Fitzpatrick, Morikawa and Zalatoris represented the reigning champions of the U.S. Open and Open Championship, and the player who may be the TOUR’s best when conditions get tough. They all shot 71 on Thursday afternoon. “It was just knowing that you have to hit a great shot to hit it to 40 feet,” said Morikawa. Zalatoris, who ranks 16th on TOUR in driving distance, hit three 3-irons into par-4s, as well as a 3-wood. Fitzpatrick watched his tee shot on the par-3 12th catch a gust and sail into the middle of the adjoining 14th green. He took a drop off the putting surface, hit a 40-yard pitch over that green and an ancient wall to within 10 feet of the hole. He made the putt to save par. Justin Thomas shot 73, as did Hideki Matsuyama. Xander Schauffele shot 72. The rain that fell Wednesday made things even more difficult, making the course play longer and limiting players’ ability to run the ball along the ground. Winds of 15-20 mph are expected Friday, as well. “That’s links golf,” Zalatoris said. It is indeed.

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