DraftKings preview: Vivint Houston Open

For the second time in three years, a familiar backdrop on the West Coast Swing is pulling double duty in the same season. After Pebble Beach Golf Links hosted both the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the U.S. Open in 2019, the South Course at Torrey Pines does the same this year. It's why the Open Doctor, er, architect Rees Jones, renovated the South Course two years ago. It didn't miss a turn as host of the Farmers Insurance Open in 2020, so this is the latter of the opportunities for U.S. Open qualifiers and would-be hopefuls to play in the season's third major a peek to prepare for the monster piece of property in La Jolla, California. Scroll past the projected contenders for how the South Course compares to the North Course that co-hosts, an explanation of the tournament's format and more. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field POWER RANKINGS: FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN Tuesday's Fantasy Insider will include Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Matthew Wolff and Jordan Spieth among other notables. Torrey Pines South already is a beast. At 7,765 yards, it's the longest course on the PGA TOUR, so the USGA likely won't need to fiddle with it much for its presentation of the U.S. Open in five months. In the truncated season of 2019-20, it checked in as the fourth-hardest par 72 at 0.534 strokes over par. Although a firm, fair test, that's still not as challenging as it has proven to be for the Farmers Insurance Open. Unlike Pebble Beach's early adjustment of narrower fairways and longer rough two years ago, Torrey Pines can get away with saying, "Here I am. Come get me." It rewards distance off the tee, but in 2021, that's almost a wash given the proliferation of muscle across membership. To pivot to underscoring the value of hitting fairways ignores the same in respecting the entirety of the exam. Last year, the South Course ranked inside the top-15 toughest in fairways hit, greens in regulation, proximity to the hole, putting: birdies-or-better (a measure of scorability), scrambling and par-3, par-4 and par-5 scoring. It still is what you think it is. Of course, Torrey Pines isn't a stranger to hosting a U.S. Open. We'll examine that more when the major arrives, but it can't be overlooked now that Tiger Woods, whose victory in the 2008 U.S. Open here is one of eight professional victories on the course. He's sidelined for a while after having back surgery on Dec. 23. Each of the 156 entrants of the Farmers will play Torrey Pines North once before the 36-hole cut. After alternating with the South before the cut, those among the low 65 and ties at the conclusion of two rounds will attempt to tackle only the South in the third and final rounds. In its fourth year post-Tom Weiskopf overhaul, the North Course averaged 70.574 last year. That's in the heart of the expectation during the FedExCup era. Compared directly to the South for the two rounds during which both courses are used in 2020, the North averaged 2.97 strokes easier in the first round and 2.47 strokes easier in the second. It's also a stock par 72, so there's pressure on every golfer to capitalize on his walk on it. En route to his one-shot victory at 15-under 273, Marc Leishman carded a 4-under 68 in the first round on the North. It was the second straight year (Justin Rose, 63, 2019) that the winner opened on the easier of the pair. That's statistically notable after eight consecutive years in which the champion rotated to the North in the second round, but neither "trend" deserves as much attention as the weather conditions. Moderate winds and the threat of rain increase into Friday before both factors relent, but daytime highs may not eclipse 60 degrees throughout. That means that the ball won't fly as far, which already is a variable along the coastline. Early starters also may be slowed by the marine layer. While possible, these elements are not likely for the return in mid-June. ShotLink is used only on the South Course, so full-tournament data that includes measured strokes and Stroked Gained analytics reflect only three rounds. This didn't prevent the tournament from slapping a three-hole stretch on the outward side of the North with a nickname. The par-4 second, par-3 third and par-4 fourth now are known collectively as The Undertow. Prior to Weiskopf's work, each hole regularly averaged under par, but they've evolved into one of the most difficult three-hole sprints on the schedule. Last year, the field averaged 0.697 strokes over par in the two rounds that the North hosted. Since 2017 champion Jon Rahm navigated them in par-bogey-par, each of the last three winners penciled in pars on all three holes. 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: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM's Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday. As of January 26, 2021, PGATOUR.COM will no longer support Livefyre commenting on our website. We invite you to join the conversation by following and interacting with Rob Bolton on Twitter (@RobBoltonGolf) and PGA TOUR Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels. If you have any feedback or questions, please reach out to us via the Contact Us page."

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LA QUINTA, Calif. — Lee Hodges and Paul Barjon took advantage of a late tee time Saturday to miss the worst of a windy day and share the third-round lead in The American Express. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Inside the Field: Farmers Insurance Open “It was tough early and it kind of died on our back nine a little bit,” Hodges said. “It was off and on, but it was a good wind. The easy holes were playing a little easier, but the hard holes were hard. So you just had to make a couple pars and then get to those downwind holes.” Playing together in the final group off the 10th tee on PGA West’s Stadium Course, the PGA TOUR rookies and close friends each birdied the par-5 fifth, par-4 seventh and par-5 eighth and closed with a par. “We’re just best buddies and we have a great time out there,” Hodges said. “We keep it really light and it’s easy to compete when your friends are playing well.” Hodges, a 26-year-old former Alabama golfer, shot an 8-under 64. Barjon, the 29-year-old Frenchman who played at Texas Christian, had a 65. “We just kind of feed off each other, so it’s been fun,” Barjon said. Hodges opened Thursday with a 62 at La Quinta Country Club for a share of the first-round lead with defending FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay, then shot a 72 on Friday on PGA West’s Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course. Hodges and Barjon, both making their 14th PGA TOUR start, were at 18-under 198. Tom Hoge was a stroke back after a 68 at La Quinta, playing in the second group off the first tee in the strongest wind of the day. “Generally, I would say it’s better to be here,” Hoge said about tree-lined La Quinta. “It’s a little more protected from the trees and a little bit shorter golf course, so you could play a little more conservatively off the tee, get the ball in play and go from there.” Hoge opened with his lone bogey of the week. He holed out from a greenside bunker on the par-4 fourth for the first of three straight birdies, added a birdie on the par-5 11th and parred the last seven. Seamus Power, also at La Quinta, was 16 under after a 66. The Irishman played a five-hole stretch on the front nine in 6 under, capping the run with an eagle on the par-5 sixth. “It was an interesting round,” said Power, who won his first TOUR title at the Barbasol Championship last year in Kentucky. “It was very fun on the front there. It was one of those rounds just kind of made everything I looked at for an hour and a half.” Hudson Swafford, the 2017 champion, was at 15 under with Harry Higgs and Lanto Griffin. Swafford birdied four of his last five holes on the Stadium Course, the site of the final round. “I was really patient,” Swafford said. “I gave myself a lot of looks even though it played really tough early. I mean the wind, I’m not going to say it’s laid down, but it was blowing early pretty good.” Griffin had a 69 at La Quinta. He’s making his first start of the year after injuring his back carrying his dog and withdrawing from the Sony Open last week in Hawaii. “It’s feeling a lot better than I thought it would and I’m playing a lot better than I thought I would,” Griffin said. “So, it’s been a really fun week.” Higgs shot a 67 on the Stadium layout in the first group off the first tee. Cantlay, a stroke ahead entering the day, had an even-par 72 on Stadium Course to drop four strokes back. Trying to win for the third time in four starts, the former UCLA player had four birdies and four bogeys. Last year in the desert, he closed with a Stadium-record 61 to finish a shot behind winner Si Woo Kim. Top-ranked Jon Rahm shot a 67 on the Stadium Course to get to 13 under. The 2018 winner finished with a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th. Defending champion Kim was 11 under after a 69 on the Stadium Course. Tournament host Phil Mickelson tied for 150th in the 156-man field, shooting 78-73-72 and failing to advance to the final round.

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The morning session of the Ryder Cup is set for a thrilling conclusion on a dramatic final four holes at Le Golf National.

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