Expert Picks: QBE Shootout

ORLANDO, Fla. – His spot into the field at this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard is owed to his win here in 1996. That would be 1996 BT, he was told. Paul Goydos – 53 and still in possession of more all-world dry-humor than the next 25 guys combined – nodded his head and knew what the reporter meant. “Before Tiger,� he said. Yes, 22 Aprils ago, Woods was an amateur and not in the field at Bay Hill, so Goydos was left to deal with mere mortals. He prevailed, too, shooting 275 to edge Jeff Maggert by a shot. It was the first of his two PGA TOUR victories, but it was seven months later when Goydos started to sense that the PGA TOUR he had joined just three years earlier was changing. Woods had won his first tournament, the Las Vegas Invitational, where Goydos had finished joint eighth, but then at the event at Disneyworld, “I played behind him three days and I had never seen anything like it.� Woods won that one, too, then he won the Masters and three other tournaments in 1997 and, well, it was wild. “The crowds, the enthusiasm, the scene,� said Goydos. Now playing regularly on the PGA TOUR Champions, where he has won five times, Goydos still pays attention to the entire landscape and knows that Woods, 42, is seemingly rejuvenated and his healthiest since 2013. There have been young players who’ve talked about how great it is to have a healthy Woods in their presence that they always wished that they could have played against an in-primetime Woods. Goydos chuckles. “Be careful what you wish for,� he said. That’s because, “if he stays healthy, I don’t think these guys have a clue as to what’s coming.� If a ninth Woods victory at Bay Hill is coming, it will have to be from well off the 36-hole lead, because he struggled to an outward 38 and only heated up moderately. With birdies on the inward par 5s – Nos. 12 and 16 – Woods shot level-par 72 to get halfway home in 4-under, seven behind Henrik Stenson (64-69) and Bryson DeChambeau (67-66). He’s just inside the top 20, so there’s a healthy list of players he’ll need to pass, something that will require a lot more birdies than he’s made in two days (eight). Still, despite the lack of noise from his game, there was plenty of commotion from his followers as again, Woods owned the show. It’s a landscape Goydos knows very well. “He moves the needle like Muhammad Ali.� Goydos offered his perspective shortly after a second-round 74 left him at level-par 144, a whopping 11 off the lead, but inside the cut. A small victory for the former champion, who discovered the other day that one part of Woods’ repertoire doesn’t seem to have missed a step. The needle. “He’s sharp, very, very quick,� said Goydos, “and he isn’t afraid to give it.� As he walked across the putting green at Bay Hill, Goydos said Woods noticed him and they made small talk. Quick-witted, Goydos said he loved being out on the PGA TOUR “because where I hit it, there aren’t any divots,� but as he walked away he heard a voice call out. “Hey, Paul,� said Woods, “how many head covers you have these days?� It’s all part of the Woods’ aura, Goydos said, and he suggested that it’s slowly returning after a hiatus of a few years. “It’s his putting green, his driving range, his show,� said Goydos, and if players are starting to talk about how difficult it is to play alongside Woods, that part of the battle is returning to the icon’s side. “Wait till players get a piece of that deal,� said Goydos. “Tiger is used to it.� So quiet for so much of his Friday, Woods provided a little bit of the show-time sizzle that Goydos talked about. The birdies at 12 and 16 were ho-hum, because they ranked as the two easiest holes. But the par-save at the 14th, when his ball was buried beneath the lip of a greenside bunker? Vintage Woods, thanks to a 22-foot putt. The laser iron over the flagstick at the 209-yard, par-3 17th? Solid stuff, even if he did miss the 25-footer? But best of all was the one-two punch at the demanding 18th – a stinger driver that went 323 yards and a splendid approach that took the slope at the back of the green and trickled to 14 feet. Classy stuff when you consider the field average for proximity on the 18th was 42 feet. On this day, Woods’ birdie putt grazed the right edge, but he’s in contention. On a weekend. Again. Goydos lived, kids. “I mean, the guy’s never gotten up before noon on the weekend.�

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — A strong wind off the Atlantic Ocean swept over Sea Island on Friday, and it was no problem for Talor Gooch of Oklahoma as he handled the exposed Seaside course for a 5-under 65 to take a one-shot lead in The RSM Classic. As expected, the balmy conditions of the opening round that led to record scoring gave way to 25 mph wind and temperatures that were 10 degrees cooler. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Tee times “The only commonality between yesterday and today is that we played 18 holes,” said Zach Johnson, who lives at Sea Island and toiled for a 1-under 71 on the Plantation course to finish three shots behind. Gooch matched the low score of the round — Taylor Moore had a hole-in-one on the 17th hole at Seaside for a 65 — and was at 13-under 129. He was one shot ahead of John Huh, who had a 67 at Plantation, and Sebastian Munoz, who went from a 60 at Seaside to a 70 in the second round at Plantation. Moore and Mackenzie Hughes of Canada (68 at Seaside) were two shots behind. Gooch has been trending up. He’s 14th in the FedExCup and has a pair of top-five finishes at the Fortinet Championship to start the season and THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT in Las Vegas. Still seeking his first win, Gooch hasn’t missed a cut in six starts this fall and has finished 11th or better four times. “It’s just comfortable,” he said. “Obviously I’m playing well, but I think my game has made a turn for some good stuff in some ways. And I’ve been working my butt off for years, but especially the last six, eight months with driving the ball and working my butt off with putting. For my game, if I can get in the fairway … it’s just a matter of how many putts I’m going to make. Hopefully we can keep making putts and see if we can do some good this weekend.” Gooch highlighted his round with an eagle putt of just over 65 feet on the par-5 seventh, the longest putt he has made in his PGA TOUR career. “Any 66-footer, you’re just trying to two-putt, right?” he said. “But my speed’s been pretty good this week and I actually made about a 50-footer yesterday, so I’ve been comfortable on these greens from long distance. You’re always stealing one when you get those to drop though.” Gooch made only one bogey, no small feat under the conditions, and four of his five birdie putts came from 6 feet or less. Munoz, who matched the tournament record with a 60 in the first round at Seaside, birdied his last hole to share second with Huh. A day after half the field at the Seaside Course broke the scoring record with an average of 66.31 — the second-lowest on the PGA TOUR since 1983 — the other half averaged more than four stokes higher at 70.96. The average score on the Plantation almost increased by four shots, going from 68.70 to 72.68. The cut was at 4-under 138. Among those making it to the weekend was 57-year-old tournament host Davis Love III with birdies at Nos. 13 and 15 for an even-par 70 at Seaside. Also making the cut on the number was Adam Scott, who needed birdies on three of four holes on the Plantation back nine for a 71. Among those missing the cut were major champions Jason Day, Lucas Glover and Graeme McDowell, as well as defending champion Robert Streb. He beat Kevin Kisner in a playoff last year. Neither will be around for the weekend. Johnson, meanwhile, is trying to break the “Sea Island curse.” None of the players who live in the area have been able to win The RSM Classic in its first 11 years. That group includes Matt Kuchar, Harris English, Brian Harman and Hudson Swafford, all PGA TOUR winners. “Well, it’s hard, it’s hard to win,” said Johnson, who was in the final group in the final round last year, but finished three shots outside the playoff between Streb and Kisner. “Maybe there’s a little bit of added pressure because of who you’re playing in front of and that kind of thing. I think it’s going to happen. … I think the odds are in our favor.”

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CROMWELL, Conn. — Jordan Spieth continues to play just a little better than anyone else at the Travelers Championship. The 23-year-old Texan closed with a 20-foot birdie putt for a 4-under 66 on Saturday, giving him a one-stroke lead for the third straight round at TPC River Highlands. After predicting earlier that it would take a score of 16 under to win, the two-time major champion took a 12-under 198 total into the final round. Boo Weekley was second after a 65. The 43-year-old Weekley, playing just in front of Spieth, birdied five of the last eight holes, basking in the chants of “Boooo! Boooo!” from the raucous gallery. Spieth bogeyed Nos. 13 and 14, but matched Weekley with three birdies on the final four holes, capping it with the final shot of the round from below the hole. “It’s in the shadow,” Spieth said. “I’m looking to hit the putt at the right speed. If it goes in, great, if it doesn’t, so be it, tap it in. With a few feet to go it was going to have a chance and it curled right in the middle. That was a loud roar, and those are really fun to experience. Weekley is looking for his fourth tour title and first since 2013. The colorful Floridian said he’s been dealing with personal issues, but declined to elaborate. His had a season-best tie for 37th at the Puerto Rico Open in March and has made just eight cuts in 21 events. Spieth is looking for his 10th tour win and second this season after a victory in February at Pebble Beach. Weekley acknowledged that makes for an odd final pairing Sunday. “He loves to fish, so we’ve got a little in common there,” Weekley said. “So we can talk about that.” Daniel Berger, looking for his second victory of the month, was three strokes back after a 66. C.T. Pan (64), David Lingmerth (65) and Paul Casey (66) were 8 under. Because of morning showers, the players went off in threesomes from both the first and 10th tees. But the breeze helped the greens quickly dry out and play faster than had been expected. Pan, who went out just after the rain ended, and shot a bogey-free round. The 25-year old former University of Washington star is looking for his third top-10 finish this season and his first since finishing second at Torrey Pines in January. “It wasn’t as windy, so I made birdies on three of my first four holes,” Pan said. “That really helped my mindset and keep my momentum going.” Spieth hit his first six fairways and got his first birdie of the day on the sixth hole, when he chipped in from 30 feet behind the green. He made another birdie on the next hole, before giving a shot back at No. 9. He repeated that pattern on the back nine, making birdies at 10 and 11 to go up by two strokes, then put his tee shot into the water at 13. He bogeyed that hole and 14. But on 15, his chip from the greenside bunker landed inches from the hole and he had another birdie. Spieth has a chance to join Phil Blackmar (1985) as the only players to win in their first start at the Connecticut event. He’s also trying to become the first player to lead wire-to-wire alone in the event since Tim Norris in 1982 at Wethersfield. Peter Jacobsen had at least a share of the lead after every round in 2003. Berger had just one bogey, at the 17th, but came back with the last of his five birdies on the final hole. He won in Memphis two weeks ago before missing the cut at the U.S. Open, which was won by his Florida State teammate, Brooks Koepka. Another former Seminole teammate, Chase Seiffert, was in contention at 4 under after qualifying for the tournament Monday. Rory McIlroy remained at even par. He’s been trying to find his short game this week and decided to switch Saturday from the putter he began using while at the U.S. Open. He spent time before his round on the practice green with several different putters before picking a new one. The change didn’t seem to help. His first putt Saturday, a birdie attempt from 12 feet, went 3 feet past the hole and he needed 33 putts during his round of 70. He was even par overall.

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