Draws and Fades: Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Francesco Molinari returns to Bay Hill to defend last year’s win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard but in order to do it, he’ll have to top world No.1 – and 2018 champ – Rory McIlroy, recent World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship winner Patrick Reed, and several notable Orlando, Florida, residents. Bay Hill will once again be the final event before the PGA TOUR’s signature tournament, THE PLAYERS Championship. RELATED: Inside The Field FIELD NOTES: McIlroy, who will defend his title next week at TPC Sawgrass, has made five starts this PGA TOUR season and has finished inside the top-5 each time. … Rickie Fowler hopes to rebound from a missed cut at The Honda Classic, his second MC in his last three starts. … Notable Orlando residents Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, and Graeme McDowell are all in the field… Last year’s runner-up, Matthew Fitzpatrick is still searching for his first PGA TOUR win; the second-place finish was his best result in 61 career PGA TOUR starts. … Matt Every, Robert Gamez, Jason Day and Marc Leishman join McIlroy and Molinari as past winners teeing it up again. … Every’s two PGA TOUR wins came in back-to-back years at Bay Hill (2014-15). … Phil Mickelson, another past champion, makes his second-straight appearance at Bay Hill after playing last year for the first time since 2013. … Recent winners Reed, Adam Scott, Viktor Hovland and Nick Taylor will be looking for their second win this season. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Bay Hill Club & Lodge, 7,454 yards, par 72. Bay Hill hosted its PGA TOUR event in 1979. Arnold Palmer bought the property in the 1970s and his legacy lives on at the storied Florida venue. STORYLINES: Brandon Matthews will be making his PGA TOUR debut on a sponsor exemption. A fan with special needs inadvertently caused Matthews to miss a putt during a sudden-death playoff on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica last year, but the way he compassionately responded to the fan was Arnold Palmer-like, according to tournament organizers. Tweeted Matthews after receiving the invite: What an incredible honor to be able to get the chance to compete in the @APinv as my first PGA tour event. Words can’t describe how grateful I am for this opportunity. … Viktor Hovland, who won the Puerto Rico Open, was an amateur last year at Bay Hill when he made the cut and finished T40. He turned pro three months later. … The winner of the Arnold Palmer Invitational will receive a three-year exemption on TOUR instead of the usual two, thanks to its elevated status. … Past tournament winner Marc Leishman, Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer, and Grammy-award winner Darius Rucker are the 2020 tournament ambassadors. 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Payne Stewart (1987). 18-HOLE RECORD: 62, Andy Bean (2nd round, 1981), Greg Norman (2nd round, 1984), Adam Scott (1st round, 2014). LAST YEAR: A sizzling 8-under 64 (the low round of the week) sent Francesco Molinari into the winner’s circle, as he won for the third time in 12 TOUR starts. On the par-4 18th, the site of so much drama over the years, Molinari punctuated his victory with a 44-foot birdie putt. It was the second consecutive year the winner shot 64 in the final round, with McIlroy doing the same in 2018. … Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick was runner-up while Sungjae Im, Tommy Fleetwood, and Rafa Cabrera Bello finished T3. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel). Sunday, 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups and Featured Holes).  Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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Harold Varner Jr., better known to his family and friends as Duece, is the unofficial ticket broker for this week’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. And Varner is more than happy to help. After all, that’s one less thing for his son, Harold III, to worry about as he makes his debut in the exclusive global series in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. “I got 20 a day,â€� the second-year PGA TOUR pro says with a smile. “He’ll take care of it.â€� The younger Varner punched his own ticket to play at Firestone Country Club when he won the Australian PGA Championship in December. He closed with a 65 to beat Andrew Dodt by two and former world No. 1 Adam Scott by four. Varner dedicated the win at RACV Royal Pines Resort to his “Day 1s,â€� which is what he calls the people who have been “pulling for me since day oneâ€� of his pro career. Plenty of “Day 1sâ€� will be in his gallery at Firestone this week. Varner, who was born in the same hospital as his favorite athlete, LeBron James, lived in Akron until he was 6 years old. That’s when Varner’s father, a car salesman, moved his brood to Gastonia, N.C., which is about half an hour west of Charlotte, where next week’s PGA Championship will be played. But most of his extended family still resides in Akron. “I really don’t know what it will be like,â€� Varner said when asked about playing in his hometown. “… All (but one of) my aunts and uncles on my mom and dad’s side live in Akron, so it’s great.â€� In fact, one of those aunts, Janet Varner, spent nearly two decades working at Firestone as a cook. Varner’s father, also an avid golfer, got to play there a couple of times before they moved but his son was too young. Still, the elder Varner, who usually shoots between 75 – on a really, really good day,â€� Harold III says, grinning – and 85, got his son Fisher-Price golf clubs when he was 2 years old. It didn’t take the youngster long to gravitate toward the game as he grew older in N.C. “He just dropped me off on the way to work,â€� Varner recalls. “I loved it. There was a lot more opportunity, obviously, down in North Carolina, especially when it comes to golf. You play year around.â€� Varner used to come back to Akron in the summers to visit his grandparents, though. When he was in the Rubber City, he’d often go practice and play at J.E. Good Park, a municipal course designed by Bert Way in 1924, two years after the Englishman created nearby Firestone South, which not coincidentally hosts the Bridgestone Invitational this week. (Robert Trent Jones redesigned the South course in 1960). Varner even played in the Good Park Junior twice. He won it the first time he played, when his age group only played nine holes, but the following summer was somewhat forgettable. “I moved up the next year and I played so bad,â€� Varner said, shaking his head. “I had to be 12, 13, 14 maybe. I was obviously young because I remember the course being so long.â€� Varner, who turned pro in 2012 after earning a marketing degree from East Carolina, has enough length to tackle any course these days, averaging 301.2 yards off the tee to rank 28th on TOUR. He is looking for FedExCup points, though, so this week’s Bridgestone Invitational is much more than a trip down memory lane. Varner ranks 133rd right now and has three weeks to work his way into the top 125 to make the Playoffs and secure his card for next season. He’d also like to play his way into the PGA and have back-to-back “hometownâ€� events. “It’s a great opportunity for me to get the year going back in the right direction,â€� says Varner, who tied for 23rd last week at the RBC Canadian. “Starting to play well, so I’m excited.â€� Not only has Varner been preparing for the Bridgestone Invitational, he also found time to give PGATOUR.COM these 18 things people might not know about him. And he wrote this piece published Tuesday in The Players Tribune. 1. I’m allergic to shellfish. 2. I am a huge NBA fan. 3. I am a huge NFL fan. 4. I am a huge fan of Lebron and any team he plays for (you heard me Cleveland). 5. My girlfriend and I love HGTV. 6. I am a big-time neat freak. 7. My closet is color coordinated. 8. During an off week I love being on the lake to boat and jet ski. 9. I hate the ocean (you can’t see anything down there). 10. I listen to every type of music except techno (give me some words….) 11. I am addicted to working out. 12. I am huge East Carolina University fan (not a fan of UNC or Duke….) 13. My favorite color is purple. 14. I love Gas Town (Gastonia, N.C.) 15. I am a brand-new uncle to my niece. 16. Someday I am going to pound the drum at the Carolina Panthers game. 17. I credit my dad, aka Deuce, for getting me into golf. 18. We Here – that’s my motto.

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JACKSON, Miss.  — Ryan Armour and Tyrone Van Aswegen are threatening to break up the young men’s monopoly at the Sanderson Farms Championship. The 41-year-old Armour shot a 4-under 68 in Friday’s second round to take a one-shot lead over Van Aswegen at the Country Club of Jackson. Armour has never won on the PGA TOUR and has only four top 10s in 104 career events. He made four straight birdies on the back nine and finished just before a wave of thunderstorms swept over the Country Club of Jackson and suspended play for the day. There were 30 players still on the course when play ended. They’ll finish their second rounds on Saturday in what’s expected to be much colder weather. Armour, who grew up in Ohio, said he’s used to playing in less than ideal conditions. He’s at 10-under 134. “No matter if it’s cold or hot, if the scores are going crazy, just give yourself as many opportunities as you can to be successful,” Armour said. Armour or Van Aswegen, 35, would be the oldest winner at Sanderson Farms since Woody Austin in 2013. Cody Gribble, Peter Malnati and Nick Taylor were all in their 20s when they won over the past three years. So were Scott Stallings, who won in 2012, and Chris Kirk in 2011. Armour has been on the PGA TOUR off and on since 2007, but never had consistent success, bouncing between the Web.com and PGA TOUR. He didn’t play in any PGA TOUR events from 2011 and 2014 and didn’t even qualify for the Web.com Tour in 2013. He spent much of that time around his home course in Florida, catching up with family and making adjustments to his game. “I knew if I was going to get back going, it had to happen then,” Armour said. He got his Web.com card back in 2014 and eventually made it back to the PGA TOUR last season. He had to go to the Web.com Tour Finals to get his card back for this season and finished second in the first Finals event last month. Now he’s brought that form to Mississippi. Van Aswegen, winless in four years on the PGA TOUR, shot the low round of the day, a 7-under 65. He tied for ninth at the Safeway Open earlier this month in Napa, California. The South African started on the back nine and was 3 under before a double bogey on No. 16. He rebounded with seven birdies over his final 10 holes. “I had to just make a decision to keep going,” Van Aswegen said. “If you don’t do that, your round is toast. I was pretty happy to rebound after that. I had some luck along the way, too, so that was nice.” Vaughn Taylor shot 66 and was two shots back, along with Seamus Power, who had two holes left to play in the second round on Saturday. Dru Love, the son of Davis Love III who is playing on a sponsor’s exemption, shot 67 and was four shots back. His father shot 72 and was likely to miss the cut.

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