Emergency 9: Fantasy golf advice from the final round of The Honda Classic

Tony Finau carded a 2-under 70 in the third round of the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions to take a three-shot lead at 13 under.  Patrick Reed, Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele are tied for second place. Here’s everything you need to know to follow Round 3 of the WGC-HSBC Champions: Leaderboard Round 4 tee times HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN (ALL TIMES ET) TELEVISION: Saturday-Sunday, 11 p.m.-4 a.m. (Golf Channel) NOTABLE GROUPINGS 10:05 p.m.: Jason Day, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Keegan Bradley 10:15 p.m.: Tommy Fleetwood, Andrew Putnam, Patrick Reed 10:25 p.m.: Tony Finau, Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele MUST-READS Daily Wrap-Up: Finau grabs 54-hole lead

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The calendar now reads 2019 – and that means the current PGA TOUR season ends its six-week hibernation and cranks up again. As customary, the locale is Maui at the winners-only Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua. For most fans, that means prime-time golf on TV …. and yes, you’ll spend the next four days wishing you lived in Hawaii. THE FLYOVER The final three holes at the Plantation Course stretch out to nearly 1,600 yards and can be both challenging and fun. The 365-yard par-4 16th is not drivable due to the crossing trade wins, so most tee shots will finish short of the fairway bunker that guards the green. The 549-yard 17th is the longest par 4 on the PGA TOUR, and yet ranked just 271st among the 551 par 4s in stroke average. The 663-yard 18th is the longest par 5 on the TOUR and yet, just like the 17th, is not difficult; it ranked 97th out of the 163 par 5s in stroke average last season. LANDING ZONE The par-4 14th is listed at 305 yards on the scorecard, and yet played less than 300 yards in each of the four rounds last year. Nearly half of all tee shots tried to drive the green, and yet just two of those 67 attempts were successful. One of those was by Dustin Johnson in the final round en route to victory (the other was by Jhonattan Vegas). Here’s a look at where all tee shots landed last year. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Joe Halvorson: “Gusty east-northeasterly trade winds are expected for much of the week, peaking on Friday before beginning to slacken on Saturday. Passing showers will be possible mainly during the overnight and morning hours Wednesday through Friday, with rainfall totals expected to be rather light. Passing shower chances will persist through the day on Saturday, though rainfall is forecast to remain light. Sunday will see showers become isolated in coverage as easterly trade winds weaken substantially, perhaps weak enough for winds to becoming variable in direction.â€� For the latest weather news from Kapalua, Hawaii, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK It doesn’t get any better than being in Hawaii. … it’s a small field, a chance to get a lot of FedExCup points and get a good jump start to the year if you’ve either been behind or haven’t played yet. BY THE NUMBERS  155 – Combined career PGA TOUR victories by the 34 players in the Sentry Tournament of Champions field. 24,815 – Combined days between victories for 11 players who last season ended victory droughts of at least 1,600 days – Charles Howell III, Paul Casey, Kevin Na, Keegan Bradley, Ted Potter Jr., Ian Poulter, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson and Gary Woodland. All but Woods and Mickelson are in the field this week. 11 – Consecutive seasons since the start of his PGA TOUR career in which Dustin Johnson has won at least one TOUR event. Only Arnold Palmer (17 seasons), Jack Nicklaus (17 seasons) and Tiger Woods (14 seasons) have longer streaks to start their TOUR careers. 532 – Drives of 400 yards or more on the PGA TOUR in the ShotLink Era (since 2003). Of those 532 drives, 301 (56.6 percent) have been recorded at the Plantation Course. And of those 301 drives, 96 have been at the 18th hole. SCATTERSHOTS  The par-4 fourth has a new teeing area and is now at 424 yards after previously playing at 382 yards. What once had been a wedge for most players on their approach shots will now be a mid-iron – depending on the wind conditions, of course. “I usually have somewhere between 110 to 120, 125 every time I play that hole and I had 188 yesterday,â€� Justin Thomas said after his practice round Tuesday. “I hit 5-iron in. That green’s tough with a wedge let alone with a 5-iron.â€� A year ago, the fourth was the ninth toughest hole on the Plantation Course, playing at a stroke average of 4.037. When it comes to the FedExCup Playoffs, winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions (the second smallest field of the season) has become a vital element in reaching the TOUR Championship (the smallest field of the season). Each of the last 10 Sentry winners have advanced to the 30-man TOUR Championship; only the Valspar Championship and the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship can match that streak among regular-season events. All eight winners from the fall portion of the 2018-19 season are in the field, including one rookie (Cameron Champ). Not surprising, all eight of those players are in the top 10 of the FedExCup standings, including current leader Charles Howell III. The Plantation Course has ranked inside the top 5 among easiest courses on TOUR in 10 of the last 11 seasons. It had the lowest field stroke average in relation to par five times. Last year, the field averaged 1.779 strokes under par, fifth lowest among all courses.

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NORTON, Ma. – Put too much pressure on a bubble and it will burst. Keep that in mind if you’re at TPC Boston this week. There is always pressure on the PGA TOUR but the FedExCup Playoffs create a dynamic that allows the players to create their own mental narrative. If you’re at the top of the FedExCup standings you’ve given yourself a buffer. The TOUR Championship is secured. Do you try to conserve energy in the early weeks? Or do you try to create some sort of momentum? Is making it there enough or does the all-important top-5 position drive you harder? Does your desire in the critical moments subconsciously wain at all knowing you’ll still be there next week? If you’re at the bottom of the standings the equation is simple. It’s quite simply go hard or go home. Does this free you up? Does this allow you to play with devil-may-care abandon and see where the chips fall? And then there are the bubble boys… those sitting in the spot where just reasonable golf will “probablyâ€� be enough to advance. But then you never know. If you ask me, this is where the pressure lies. Stuck in between conservatism and aggression. “There really is only pressure on the guy on the bubble. If you are a competitor and you want to be competing and there is a chance that you won’t be there next week then you’ve got pressure on you,â€� Adam Scott says matter of factly. “The rest is an opportunity for everyone. And if you are a positive person then every week you’re out here is an opportunity.â€� Scott moved from 73rd to 40th on the points standings with his T5 finish at THE NORTHERN TRUST, and as a former champion at TPC Boston, he’s looking to surge into the top 30 this week at the Dell Technologies Championship so that he’s not a bubble boy at the BMW Championship. But a Presidents Cup teammate of his is now one of these bubble boys. Louis Oosthuizen sits 69th, leaving him in no man’s land in terms of his mental approach. The top 70 on the points list make it to the BMW Championship while the top 30 move on to the TOUR Championship after play at Aronimink. Of course the South African is looking to play well, knowing things would then take care of themselves, but if he finds himself being too aggressive he could shoot his way out of contention. “Where I am, basically I just have to have a solid week – not really start out going for everything, I don’t think that’s necessary – but what makes it difficult is you don’t really know what’s going on,â€� Oosthuizen says. “It would be nice to see every third hole to sort of know where you stand but you just kind of guess, really, and most of the time you think I need more birdies and to make something happen. “And you’re dealing with guys from the back making it as they freewheel it and they go for it … If things go their way they can get you.â€� One of those guys this week will be local boy Peter Uihlein. He sits 83rd in the FedExCup and knows it’s do or die. “Your mindset is you’ve pretty much got to have a good week. If not you have an extra week off in the offseason. So you pretty much give it your all for four days and see what happens,â€� Uihlein said. “Best case is you get to play one more week, hopefully two. But worst case is you just have an extra week off. “I’d say (the pressure lies with) the guys who are maybe 68, 67, those guys, just thinking in the back of their head, if I just make the cut I’m in kind of thing. I think when you start playing that way, at least I know that in the regular season, if you’re just trying to kind of make the cut you’re always going to be around that line, regardless. “So I think when you have that kind of mindset it definitely makes it a little more difficult. Guys that are in my position, around 80 or so, you’ve got to be a bit more aggressive, you’ve got really nothing to lose.â€� Last week six players played their way in from outside the top 100. Nick Watney, Bronson Burgoon, Jhonattan Vegas, Scott Stallings, Danny Lee and Brian Stuard gave their seasons a stay of execution. Burgoon and Vegas both talked of how they can play their best with their backs against the wall but yet without much expectation. And then what of the guys up top? Dustin Johnson was quizzed on why he doesn’t contemplate taking a playoff event off to rest despite being in position to do so. He saw no benefit in that concept. Justin Thomas sits third on the points list. “I understand how important these Playoffs are,â€� Thomas said. “I’ve kind of thought about it a couple times that you really have to win in the Playoffs. It’s pretty much just plain and simple. You have to win one of these four events.â€� He doesn’t feel freed up at the top because of the format awarding quadruple points. He’s already dropped a spot despite a decent T8 result in the opening week. “It’s never entered my mind to skip a playoff event. I just feel I could come here and play poorly and get 20 points and that’s better than staying at home and missing a cut and not getting any,â€� Thomas adds. “I learned the hard way my rookie year that every point matters and missing the TOUR Championship by whatever, two, three, four points. “These Playoffs are so important and the points are just so amplified that if I was to win one of these first three then I’m a lock to be in the top five going into Atlanta. So to me it’s 100-percent worth that risk.â€� The man who went past him was last week’s winner Bryson DeChambeau. He doesn’t plan to back down now that he’s taken top spot. “Pedal to the metal for me,â€� he said after his victory. “To be able to be No. 1 is fantastic. I think there’s a little bit of pressure, you want to hold that now, just like a four-shot lead.â€� If you’re looking for excitement, the last three holes at TPC Boston are sure to provide it this weekend. A par-3 with a water hazard (16th) into a short par-4 (17th) before a reachable par-5 finishing hole. Those on the bubble will be either looking to press or survive, setting up fascinating golf. Only time will tell if it will burst. BUBBLE BOYS AT DELL TECHNOLOGIES CHAMPIONSHIP 65. Stewart Cink 66. Jason Kokrak 67. Nick Watney 68. Jimmy Walker 69. Louis Oosthuizen 70. Kevin Streelman 71. Tyrrell Hatton 72. C.T. Pan 73. Bronson Burgoon 74. Matt Kuchar 75. Charley Hoffman

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