Expert picks for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Jordan Spieth came to Rickie Fowler’s defense on Tuesday when the discussion turned to majors won. Or in Fowler’s case, not won. Fowler, however, has won THE PLAYERS Championship, the signature victory of his four career wins on the PGA TOUR. Spieth has not won THE PLAYERS – in fact, he’s missed the cut in his last three starts after a T-4 finish in 2014 – but has three majors. From Spieth’s perspective, Fowler’s 2015 win at TPC Sawgrass is every bit as impressive as any major victory. “We look at this tournament up there in about equal value with the major championships,â€� Spieth said. “The only thing that holds it away from being a major is simply people jotting down how many majors people won. “I mean, it is one of the toughest tests in golf, with potentially the best field in golf. I think it is the best golf in all of golf. If you win here, you can win anywhere else. There is no added thing that any other tournament brings that this tournament doesn’t have. “Therefore, guys like Rickie, who kind of catches some slack for having not won a major yet, essentially he’s won what’s harder to win than a major: THE PLAYERS.â€� Informed of Spieth’s comments, Fowler could only smile. “See, so I won one?â€� he said. For the first two rounds this week, Fowler will be playing with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Those two have combined to win 19 majors. But from a PLAYERS standpoint, Fowler was won as many as Mickelson and could join Woods as a two-time winner this week. Mickelson, the 2007 winner, wouldn’t be surprised if THE PLAYERS eventually is recognized on equal terms as the majors. “It certainly is up there for me, given the strength of the field and the quality of the event,â€� he said. “I think it’s one of these events where, over time, it may very well become or be looked at as a major championship.â€� His thoughts have filtered down to younger players, including Jon Rahm, a frequent practice round partner who was coached at Arizona State by Mickelson’s brother Tim. “I’ve heard Phil say many times, he looked back at this win as the same category as the majors,â€� Rahm said, “I mean, that says it all for all of us. I think we would all look at it as a major championship.â€� Fowler, who posted his best major finish last month with a solo second at Augusta National, is proud of his PLAYERS win, when he played the final six holes of regulation in 6 under to join a playoff that included Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner. Fowler won on the fourth hole with a birdie at the 17th. It was his fifth birdie in six trips to 17 that week. “To have won this in ’15, you’d like to consider it almost like winning a major,â€� said Fowler when asked about being the best player without a major. “Obviously, it has that feel and the field that we have here, as well. We’re ready to go do it. It’s time to get myself off that list.â€� Origins of Tiger’s stinger shot Tiger Woods told the story Tuesday about how he developed his infamous stinger, the low, penetrating shot that he often leans on. It starts in his youth when he, ahem, “borrowedâ€� a beryllium copper Ping Eye2 1-iron from his dad Earl. “He couldn’t hit it anyways,â€� Woods said. “He had no speed, so he couldn’t hit it in the air. I said, I’ll take it off your hands. So I used it for a number of years. “I’m brilliant – the longer the ball stays in the air, the longer time it has to go crooked, so get that thing on the ground. So I started chipping and hitting these 1-irons, and it worked out. And then eventually, it started to basically cross over into other parts of my game. … “That 1-iron was probably the start of learning how to hit the ball down, and plus we had balata balls back then, so learning how to take spin off of it was a big thing.â€� Odds and ends Phil Mickelson posted his 43rd career victory earlier this year at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. Afterward, he received a congratulatory note from George W. Bush – the 43rd President of the United States. “He said 43 has a great ring to it,â€� Mickelson said. “I just thought that was one of the coolest things that came from that and one of the most memorable.â€� Jon Rahm’s victory earlier this year at the CareerBuilder Challenge came on the West Coast version of the Stadium Course, at PGA West. Pete Dye was tasked to design that course after his legendary creation at TPC Sawgrass. But Rahm doesn’t know if the earlier win will help him this week. “It’s night and day,â€� he said. “First off, it’s Bermudagrass here; it’s overseed over there. So that’s the first difference. The ball reacts completely different on the green. But the design, it is somewhat similar.â€� Justin Thomas has a morning tee time on Thursday and plans to return to his hotel in time to watch the Woods-Mickelson-Fowler group that tees off at 1:52 p.m. ET. How star-packed is that group? “It’s hard to believe – and it’s absolutely not even close to any disrespect to Rickie – but Rickie being the third person in a group … I mean, that hasn’t happened in however long,â€� Thomas said. “He’s such a big name everywhere we go, Rick is. But when you’re with Tiger and Phil, it’s a totally different animal.â€�  

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Here’s how the field qualified for THE PLAYERS Championship as of 3/5/2021. Check here for updates. Tournament Winners Since Last Played PLAYERS Championship Daniel Berger Patrick Cantlay Paul Casey Cameron Champ Stewart Cink Corey Conners Bryson DeChambeau Tyler Duncan Harris English Dylan Frittelli Sergio Garcia Brian Gay Branden Grace Lanto Griffin Tyrrell Hatton Jim Herman Max Homa Viktor Hovland Sungjae Im Dustin Johnson Sung Kang Si Woo Kim Kevin Kisner Brooks Koepka Jason Kokrak Martin Laird Andrew Landry Nate Lashley Marc Leishman Shane Lowry Graeme McDowell Rory McIlroy Collin Morikawa Sebastián Muñoz Kevin Na Joaquin Niemann Carlos Ortiz Ryan Palmer Cheng Tsung Pan J.T. Poston Jon Rahm Chez Reavie Patrick Reed Adam Scott Webb Simpson Cameron Smith Robert Streb Hudson Swafford Nick Taylor Justin Thomas Michael Thompson Brendon Todd Richy Werenski Gary Woodland Winner – Masters Tournament (2016-2020) Danny Willett Winner – THE PLAYERS Championship (2015-2019) Jason Day Rickie Fowler Winner – PGA Championship (2015-2020) Jimmy Walker Winner – The Open Championship (2015-2019) Zach Johnson Francesco Molinari Jordan Spieth Henrik Stenson Winner TOUR Championship (2017 & 2018) Xander Schauffele Winner – World Golf Championships Event – Mexico (2018-2021) Phil Mickelson Winner – World Golf Championships Event – Match Play (2018, 2019) Bubba Watson Winner – HSBC Champions (2017-2019) Justin Rose Winners of the Memorial (2017-2020) Jason Dufner Top 125 who earned most FEC points: 2019/20 -2021 PR/WGC Concession Tony Finau Hideki Matsuyama Abraham Ancer Scottie Scheffler Billy Horschel Adam Long Kevin Streelman Mackenzie Hughes Tom Hoge Maverick McNealy Matthew Fitzpatrick Byeong Hun An Talor Gooch Brian Harman Louis Oosthuizen Brendan Steele Joel Dahmen Russell Henley Harry Higgs Henrik Norlander Cameron Tringale Mark Hubbard Sam Burns Adam Hadwin Wyndham Clark Cameron Davis Peter Malnati Matt Jones Doc Redman Sepp Straka Alex Noren Matthew NeSmith Emiliano Grillo Denny McCarthy Charley Hoffman Danny Lee Kyoung-Hoon Lee Brian Stuard Charles Howell III Harold Varner III Patrick Rodgers Robby Shelton Matt Kuchar Aaron Wise Xinjun Zhang Russell Knox Pat Perez Keegan Bradley Troy Merritt James Hahn Vaughn Taylor Rory Sabbatini Tyler McCumber Ryan Armour Ian Poulter Lucas Glover Scott Piercy Luke List Kyle Stanley Bo Hoag Chris Kirk Scott Harrington Austin Cook Tommy Fleetwood Top 125 (Medical) Charl Schwartzel Top 50 – World Golf Ranking Victor Perez Christiaan Bezuidenhout Lee Westwood Bernd Wiesberger Robert MacIntyre Will Zalatoris Winner – SENIOR PLAYERS Championship – Prior Year Jerry Kelly Top 125 on the 2019-2020 FedExCup Points List Ryan Moore Brandt Snedeker Sam Ryder Adam Schenk Keith Mitchell Scott Brown Beau Hossler Scott Stallings Brice Garnett Tom Lewis Below Top 10 on Current Year FedExCup Points Doug Ghim Patton Kizzire Andrew Putnam Cameron Percy Jhonattan Vegas

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