Expert Picks: Sanderson Farms Championship

I hope everyone enjoyed the 18-hour or so offseason! Plenty of time to see the family and just enough time to explain to them how it’s back to work. Roll out the barrel and sunscreen as Johnny Miller’s Silverado Resort and Spa kicks off the 2020-2021 50 event marathon. The North Course in lovely Napa Valley will host for the seventh consecutive season and will serve as the season opening event for the sixth time during that stretch. Wine country is a great place to kick back and relax if there wasn’t the pressure of winning the season’s first event and punching a ticket for most of the big events later this season. That sounds weird to say one day after The TOUR Championship but it’s time to pop the cork and get on with it. The North Course at Silverado plays 7,166 and to Par-72. Those numbers would suggest 30-under and course records somewhere in the 50s. Nope. There’s no way Miller would allow that! One of the toughest tracks on TOUR to hit fairways, the North Course annually hangs around the top five in this category. Bombing and gouging may work but with rough that’s approaching almost four inches it’s hardly guaranteed. Robert Trent Jones’ green complexes of Poa/Bent roll true as a sip of Silver Oak yet aren’t the easiest to read. Only one winner in the last six has finished inside the top 17 in Strokes-Gained: Putting so there will be plenty of noses buried in green books this weekend. The “short”-ness and Par 72 will have players chomping at the bit but patience, navigation and experience doesn’t hurt. In the last three seasons, the leading birdie taker has circled only 23 so this place is anything but a pushover. Chesson Hadley and Ricky Barnes share the course record of 61. Brendan Steele posted a tournament best 270 in calendar 2017 but the average winning score is 272. Cameron Champ is not here this week to defend but that won’t bother the full field of 156 players. Up for grabs are a $6.6 million purse ($1.188 winner), 500 FedExCup points and essentially a three year exemption, the rest of this 49 event season and the two seasons after. Not to mention a spot in the 2021 Masters, PLAYERS and a really cool wine barrel trophy to top it off! Recent Winners at Silverado 2019: Cameron Champ (-17; not entered) Led by three after 54 holes and won by a shot. … Sacramento native became the second Californian to win in the last three years. … Fourth winner of six 30 or younger at 24. … Fourth winner of six to lead the field in Strokes-Gained: Tee to Green. … Also led in Strokes-Gained: Off the Tee and Scrambling. … Second straight winner to rank outside the top 12 in Strokes Gained: Approach but also top also top eight in Driving Distance. … 21 birdies (T2). … Won in third attempt (T25-MC). Notables Playing This Week: Zac Blair (T4) posted 16-under over the final three rounds after opening with 75. … Cameron Percy (T7) signed for four rounds of 70 or better. … Xinjun Zhang (T7) led the field with 22 birdies. … Nick Watney (T10) sat two shots off Bryson DeChambeau’s (not entered) 36-hole lead at 10-under after 69-65. … Adam Scott (not entered) was the only player in the top 32 to post two rounds above par. … Top 16 were double digits under-par. … 2-under played the weekend. … Just 23 bogey-free rounds on the week. 2018: Kevin Tway (-14) Defeated Ryan Moore (not entered) and Brandt Snedeker in a three hole playoff. … Birdied Nos. 17 and 18 to get into playoff. … Birdied all three playoff holes to win for the first time on TOUR. … Joins all winners here by finishing in the top three in Bogey Avoidance. … Third in Strokes-Gained: Tee to Green. … Began the final round three shots back in the last group. Notables Playing This Week: Brandt Snedeker (P2) led by three after 36 and 54 holes, led the field with 23 birdies. … Aaron Baddeley and Luke List shared fourth with Troy Merritt and Sam Ryder. … JB Holmes cash alone in ninth. … Top 10 was all double digits under par on 10-under led by Bill Haas. … Phil Mickelson (T17) was the only player in the top 24 to have a round at par AND a round OVER par. … Sepp Straka (T46) posted 63 on Thursday for the first round lead. … Ricky Barnes (T69) tied the course record with 61 in Round 2. … 3-under played the weekend. 2017: Brendan Steele (-15) Defended his title successfully as he won by two shots. … Trailed by two shots entering the final round in the penultimate group. .. Ball-striking clinic from the Californian as he led the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and Tee to Green. … One of six winners to place in the top three in Bogey Avoidance. … Third winner in four to lead Par-5 Scoring. … Third winner in four to finish outside T25 in Strokes-Gained: Putting. Notables: Chesson Hadley (T3) broke 70 once as he posted the course record 61 in Round 2. … Phil Mickelson (T3) didn’t have anything better than 68. … Graham DeLaet, who returns from injury this week, was T5. … Tyler Duncan (T5) co-led after Round 1 and led alone after 36 and 54 holes, closed with 75. … Bud Cauley (T7) played with Steele on Sunday and shot 74 to round out the group at 10-under. … Only seven rounds in the 60s on Sunday as gusty winds and wildfires raged. … Hadley and Mickelson co-led with 23 birdies. … 1-under played the weekend. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. * – Previous Top 10 finish at Silverado Strokes-Gained: Off the Tee 3 Sergio Garcia (debut) 5 Jhonattan Vegas 14 Will Gordon (debut) 16 Sam Burns 17 Harold Varner III 25 *Luke List 29 Joel Dahmen 30 Doc Redman 34 Lucas Glover 35 Harry Higgs Scrambling 7 Adam Schenk 9 Mark Anderson 13 *Bud Cauley 14 Cameron Tringale 15 David Hearn 18 Kramer Hickok 22 Russell Knox 24 Tim Wilkinson 26 *Brandt Snedeker 27 Ben Martin 29 Carlos Ortiz 30 Maverick McNealy 32 Shane Lowry SG: Approach the Green 8 Cameron Tringale 10 Doc Redman 13 *Emiliano Grillo (2015 winner) 14 Jim Furyk 16 *Brendan Steele 20 Branden Grace 22 *Cameron Percy 23 *Matthew NeSmith 24 Jason Dufner 26 Russell Knox 28 Harold Varner III 29 Chez Reavie 30 *Chesson Hadley 31 *Nick Watney 32 Lucas Glover Sommeliers Brendan Steele: Two-time champ has been quiet the last two seasons but he’s the all-time money leader by a million bucks. Never missed in all six. Phil Mickelson: Backed up his T8 in 2017 with T3 in 2018 and followed with T17 in 2019 before MC last year. Martin Laird: Only other player in the field other than Steele and Mickelson to hit the top 10 twice since the move here in calendar 2014. Enjoys golf in the West and cashed T3 in 2015 and T8 in 2017. Emiliano Grillo: Won in his first attempt in his first event with a TOUR card. Won the week prior at the KF Tour Championship so he was a bit scalding hot. T26 is his best in four visits since winning. 90 Points Chez Reavie: All six have cashed including three T22 or better but nothing inside top 10. Harold Varner III: Never missed in five. Stroke average of 70.25 comes with an 80 and 79! Top 17 three of last four. Brandt Snedeker: P2 in 2018 hasn’t missed in four tries. Bud Cauley: Four of four as well with T7 in 2018. Charl Schwartzel: Teed it once, T6 with all four rounds in the red 2016.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – His father gave him the golf part. Cameron Smith would go out with dad, Des, on weekends at Wantima Golf Club, first beating the old man when he was 12. RELATED: Final leaderboard | What’s in Smith’s bag? How he came by the toughness part, though, is harder to pinpoint. “I think both sides of my family, my mum and my dad’s side,” Smith said after making 10 birdies and staving off disaster on 18 to shoot 66 and win THE PLAYERS Championship on Monday. “Both have – just both mentally strong. They’re working-class people who have had to work their whole life to live basically, and yeah, I guess that’s just kind of what I grew up in. Which means? Sharon Smith, Cameron’s mother, smiled from under her beige broad brim hat. “My father rode bulls,” she said as she walked the soggy back nine at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. “My mum made him choose, and he was smart. He picked her.” Strict constructionists will tell you it was Smith who grabbed this PLAYERS by the collar with five birdies in his first six holes and limited the damage of a wayward driver late on the back nine. But he brought a lot of people, those who came before him, along for the ride en route to his fifth PGA TOUR win. And it’s only when you get to know one of them, his maternal grandfather, that his seemingly preternatural toughness starts to make sense. Working class? John Hilliar, who will turn 83 next month, was the second-to-last of 13 kids growing up in Kempsey, New South Wales. The area is known for its national parks and farmland, and the Hilliar family made their living off the latter, milking cows and running cattle. “It was not a big house,” Sharon said. “They would fight for a bed after dinner.” Although Hilliar picked up golf recreationally, and Sharon expected her dad was almost certainly watching Smith from Brisbane on Monday, glued to the TV set, the sport that would make his grandson famous would have meant nothing to him then. The prospect of whether you used an interlocking or overlapping grip was immaterial next to whether you’d fixed the fence. “He has hard-working hands,” his daughter said. “They’ve done just about everything.” Sharon Smith stepped carefully around the soft areas on the course, careful to take the high ground. She said more than once that Cameron was a product of his father’s side, too. Cameron has settled in Ponte Vedra Beach, and he hadn’t seen Sharon or his little sister, Mel, in over two years. Late last month they made the long journey from Brisbane to Jacksonville. They were to meet him in baggage claim, but Cameron came as far toward the gate as security would allow. “Mel started crying first,” Sharon said. “Then I started crying.” And Cameron? “He had a bit of a giggle. He’s like me. He likes to keep things light.” It wasn’t until after Smith had salted away the tournament, the result becoming official only when Lahiri failed to birdie the 18th hole, that Smith blinked back tears, his voice breaking. “It’s just really nice to have them here,” he said. “It’s nice to give Mom a hug, and – yeah.” The three have been palling around, making up for lost time. Along with Smith’s agent, Bud Martin, they flew to Tampa last week to catch a hockey game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins. They sailed around on Smith’s boat, ordering takeout from a popular restaurant just up the Intracoastal. They ventured as far south as St. Augustine. Cameron gets a kick out of the stories about his grandfather, but his toughness is a product of more than that. Generations he never even knew. The ethos of being a Queenslander. Also, he’s not always so tough. It’s not an accident that his first two individual victories on TOUR, at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Sentry Tournament Champions, both came in Hawaii, Sharon said. “He likes Hawaii because it’s closest to home,” she said. “It’s only 10 hours.” At the start of his TOUR career, Smith suffered from acute homesickness. He tried to base himself in Australia, then, upon moving to Northeast Florida, kept flying home. He finally had to accept that it was just too far, and set about making a life for himself here, leaning on friends like Aron Price, himself an Aussie touring professional before turning to real estate. But Smith held fast to his working-class roots. He’s so tough, in part, because it’s his connection to home. “I think it’s probably just never give up,” he said. “I grew up watching rugby league and watching the Queenslanders come from behind, and even when it got gritty they’d somehow manage to win. I think that’s kind of instilled in all of us.” Said his pal Price, “He thinks head-to-head he’s got the wood on everyone.” That could mean world No. 1 Jon Rahm, whom Smith held off with a record-breaking performance at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January. Or it could mean Justin Thomas, whom Smith beat in singles at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne. “He thinks back to a time when he beat them,” Price said. “His self-belief is everything. I play a lot of golf with him. Even if he’s playing s— he’ll birdie the last three holes and take all your money. I don’t know where he gets it. His dad? Queenslanders are tough.” Sharon and Mel Smith will head back home on Friday. They wiped away tears, indulged the TV cameras. Cameron held them close, along with his girlfriend, Shanel Naoum. Cameron was bear-hugged by his friend and right-hand man, Jack Wilkosz, who was in tears. They shared the moment with Jack’s mom, also named Sharon, and her fiancé, and Cameron’s agent. It was Tuesday morning in Brisbane, where, one might imagine, an old man with working hands pointed the remote and clicked off the TV. His golfing grandson, rawhide-tough, had fought hard and prevailed. Cameron Smith would sleep well Monday night, in a bed of his own.

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The Sony Open in Hawaii offers the first Monday qualifier of the year. The four spots available in this week’s PGA TOUR event went to two players from the Aloha State and two players with conditional status, including one who already has a runner-up finish this season. Here’s a look at this week’s four qualifiers (Note: Monday’s score in parentheses): TALOR GOOCH (66) Age: 27 Hometown: Choctaw, Oklahoma Alma mater: Oklahoma State PGA TOUR starts: 31 Cuts made: 14 Best PGA TOUR finish: T13, 2018 Wells Fargo Championship Notes: Has conditional status this season after finishing 139th in last year’s FedExCup as a rookie. … Has made one cut in two starts this season, finishing T14 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. … Won the 2017 News Sentinel Open presented by Pilot on the Web.com Tour. … Was college teammates with PGA TOUR players Kevin Tway, Morgan Hoffmann, Peter Uihlein and Wyndham Clark. … Gooch’s father, Ron, spent five seasons in the Texas Rangers’ minor-league season. BRENT GRANT (66) Hometown: Honolulu Alma mater: BYU-Hawaii PGA TOUR starts: 1 Best finish: MC, 2017 Sony Open in Hawaii Notes: Made it to the final stage of Web.com Tour Q-School in December, finishing T118. … Shot 69-71 to miss the cut by three in the 2017 Sony Open. … Competed as an amateur at Waialae two years ago after winning a qualifier for members of the Governors Cup team, which is composed of the best amateurs in the state. … In 2014, Grant made headlines by qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball by himself, shooting 63 on his own ball. … Former Hawaii State Amateur champion. COREY CONNERS (67) Hometown: Listowel, Ontario, Canada Alma mater: Kent State PGA TOUR starts: 43 Best finish: 2nd, 2018 Sanderson Farms Championship Notes: Runner-up to Cameron Champ at this season’s Sanderson Farms Championship but only has conditional status after finishing 130th in last season’s FedExCup. … 38th in the current FedExCup standings. … Also Monday qualified for this season’s Mayakoba Golf Classic (MC). … Runner-up in the 2014 U.S. Amateur after reaching the semifinals the previous year. JARED SAWADA (67) Hometown: Mililani, Hawaii Alma mater: Hawaii PGA TOUR starts: 2 Best finish: T69, 2017 Sony Open in Hawaii Notes: Making his third Sony Open start. … Missed the cut in 2014 and finished T69 two years ago after shooting 68-66 in the first two rounds. … Has played the past two seasons on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada, missing 13 of 16 cuts. THE RSM CLASSIC QUALIFIERS T54. Brendon Todd, 68-69-69-68 MC. Blake Morris, 72-69 MC. James Driscoll, 72-74 MC. Alex Kang, 73-75 THIS SEASON’S QUALIFIERS Qualified: 20 Made cut: 7 Best finish: T4, Aaron Baddeley (Safeway Open) Top-10s: 1 Top-25s: 2 Most times qualified: Corey Conners (2)

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