Farmers Insurance Open, Round 4: Leaderboard, tee times, TV times

BLAINE, Minn. – When Bo Van Pelt teed it up at the Safeway Open earlier this year, it had been 1,321 days since his last PGA TOUR start. Let that number sink in for a minute. That’s more than three-and-a-half years sucked out of Van Pelt’s career, which was interrupted first by surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, secondly by a procedure to clean out bone spurs and lastly by an operation to remove one of his ribs. Small wonder, then, that the 45-year-old veteran was so encouraged by his performance through two rounds at the 3M Open. Van Pelt fired a 68 on Friday to go with an opening 66 – the first time he’d broken 70 in consecutive rounds this year – and is just four strokes off the lead. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Dustin Johnson withdraws from 3M Open citing back injury Some players in his position would have given up, content with a life of playing client golf. Van Pelt, after all, had earned more than $20 million during a PGA TOUR career that included one victory at the now-defunct U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee so making money wasn’t top of mind. But he wanted to see if he could still compete at the highest level – and at least through 36 holes at TPC Twin Cities, Van Pelt has been equal to the task. “It’s like I told my wife and my kids, this is going to be the hardest thing I ever had to do is to try to compete out here at 45 after taking almost four years off,” Van Pelt said. “I don’t think there’s anybody probably ever done it. “But I like where my game’s going. It’s hard to just keep rah-rahing yourself when you’re shooting over par, so it’s nice to kind of put some red on the board and hopefully this will be some momentum going the right way.” The 2019-20 season has certainly been a challenge for Van Pelt. He wasn’t able to start playing 18 holes until several weeks before returning to the TOUR at the Safeway Open, where he tied for 62nd. Until this week, that was one of just three checks he’d cashed in 15 starts. Van Pelt said the four-month COVID layoff worked in his favor, though, because it gave the former Oklahoma State standout time to knuckle down and really concentrate on his game. “Even though my results haven’t been great this first month, the way I’ve been playing’s been a lot better,” Van Pelt said. “Just kind of sticking with it. It was just hard. I didn’t play 18 holes for over three years. “Basically, I was trying to relearn every kind of feel that I had less than a year ago. Yeah, it’s just been kind of a process. Finally feeling like I’m getting back to where I can compete again.” Van Pelt’s physical problems began in 2016, likely after he reached behind the driver’s seat of his car to pick up a backpack that was heavier than he expected. A few weeks later, the pain in his right shoulder ratcheted up on the weekend of the Waste Management Phoenix Open as a pair of 74s turned a solid 6 under start into a tie for 51st. So, after he missed the cut at Pebble Beach the following week, Van Pelt headed home to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to find out what the problem was. “I tore like 85 percent of my labrum and I just couldn’t play,” Van Pelt said, remembering the diagnosis. “So, they went back in and found a bunch of bone spurs, cleaned it out, thought that was going to do it.” When his hand started going numb, Van Pelt was really worried. In truth, he feared he might never play again. So, his doctor referred him to Dr. Greg Pearl in Dallas. This time, the diagnosis was thoracic outlet syndrome which occurs when blood vessels or nerves in the space between your collarbone and first rib are compressed. “So, they said on top of the torn labrum, (that’s) what I had going on,” Van Pelt said. “That’s why I kept getting a pinch and pain. He removed my first rib I guess a year and a half ago in February and it just gave me the opportunity to play.” Van Pelt made this week’s highlight reel when his 6-iron at the eighth hole on Thursday found the bottom of the cup for an ace. It was a nice way to bounce back from a bogey that had ended a run of four birdies in his previous five holes. “It was great,” Van Pelt said. “I was playing well and bummed about bogeying 7, so it was a great bounce-back. It was funny, I mean, half the holes-in-one I ever had have been with a 6-iron, so that has been my lucky club.” And time will tell if this is his lucky week.

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Scottie Scheffler might have earned top spot in the FedExCup standings heading into the TOUR Championship in Atlanta but fans of Max Homa and Cameron Smith have one big reason to suggest their men brought more joy in 2022. The cream of the 2022 PGA TOUR season descends on East Lake Golf Club this week chasing the prestigious FedExCup and the $18 million bonus that comes with it. All 30 players in the field will have dreams of hoisting the Cup even if they are starting various distances behind points leader Scottie Scheffler. If you had placed a $100 bet with BetMGM Sportsbook when the markets opened for every PGA TOUR event the top 30 played in this season it wouldn’t be Scheffler who profited you the most money. Even with his TOUR leading four wins from 24 starts Scheffler’s return for those bets would have profited $7,800, a mark that falls behind Smith and Homa. Of the 30 players in the field, 22 of them had at least one win this season. Scheffler started at +2800 for his first career win at WM Phoenix Open, +1600 for his Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard triumph and +1800 for his World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play dominance. He opened at +4000 for the Masters although by tournament week he’d tightened in to +1600. Had you waited till then your profit above would’ve dropped from $7,800 to $5,400. But if you jumped on the mullet toting Australian Smith you would’ve collected at +2000 for his Sentry Tournament of Champions win, +3300 for his PLAYERS Championship efforts and +5000 for his historic Open Championship win at St. Andrews. To be fair, much like Scheffler at the Masters, Smith’s odds had been slashed by tournament week to +2500 so profit for those bettors would drop from the $8,600 to $6,100. And then there is Homa. The very popular TOUR pro opened at a very juicy +6600 for his season opening win at the Fortinet Championship and then helped his fans out at +4000 for his Wells Fargo Championship. As such Homa’s wins would’ve turned a $8,300 profit from his 23 starts. For the record Scheffler starts at +250 at East Lake this week, mainly due to the fact he starts the tournament 10-under as the top seed so his return for a win won’t put him over the others. Smith is +2500 starting six shots back while Homa would bring a hefty +12500 payday but he is starting eight shots off the pace. Interestingly the next three best returns over the year come from players in Atlanta off the back of just one win this season. Sepp Straka’s win at The Honda Classic came at +10000 but his TOUR Championship leading 32 starts this season mean the profit drops to $6,800 for those Straka lovers out there. K.H. Lee was a very generous +8000 leading into his title defense at the AT&T Byron Nelson but his second straight win at the event means his profit line sits at $5,300. And Billy Horschel had an incredible ball-striking week to win the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday at +6600 leaving a profit this season of $4,500 for his fans. Three-time winner Sam Burns collects came at +1600, +2000 and +2500 leaving profit after his 23 starts at $3,800 while U.S. Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick opened at +5000 to bring a $3,100 profit if his fans backed him every week. Last week’s BMW Championship winner and current FedExCup reigning champion Patrick Cantlay would have represented a loss for his betting fans prior to the triumph at Wilmington Country Club. But his salute from +1600, combined with his +800 collect in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans brings a $500 profit for the Patty Ice crew. Cantlay’s teammate in New Orleans, Xander Schauffele, would have provided a $2,600 profit from his three wins. The +800 at the Zurich Classic, combined with wins at +2000 for the Travelers Championship and +2500 for the Scottish Open helped his followers. Despite sporting victories this season fans of Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas and Viktor Hovland would still be facing a loss on their seasons. Rahm’s win at the Mexico Open came when he was a heavy favorite at +450 so his 18 starts means a loss at -$1350. Thomas was as high as +25000 during the final round of the PGA Championship but he opened at +1200 so unless you connected on live odds it’s a loss of -$800 over the season. And Hovland’s win at Mayakoba came at +1600 leaving a season loss of -$400. Of the eight players without wins, the biggest loss would be with rookie Sahith Theegala at -$3,100 from his 31 starts.

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JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Troy Merritt isn’t obsessed with his position in the FedExCup and what he needs to advance in the PGA TOUR’s Playoffs. He figures the best solution is good golf, and he delivered his best round of the year Thursday in THE NORTHERN TRUST. Merritt began with a 10-foot par save, followed with a pair of 20-foot birdie putts and took advantage of calm, rain-softened Liberty National by tying the course record with a 9-under 62 for a one-shot lead over Dustin Johnson. It wasn’t a career low — Merritt twice has shot 61 on the PGA TOUR — but it might have been his best round hardly anyone saw. The storm was so fierce on the eve of the FedExCup Playoffs opener that the public was not allowed in until 10 a.m., nearly three hours after the round began. And when the fans arrived, most of them were watching the action — what little there was — two groups behind him with Tiger Woods. Woods, in only his third round since the U.S. Open, made double bogey on the shortest hole on the course, three-putted from 15 feet and had three bogeys from the fairway in a listless round of 75. Along with being 13 shots out of the lead, he was in danger of missing the cut for the first time in the FedExCup Playoffs, which also would jeopardize a return to East Lake for the TOUR Championship. “We all knew it was soft out here with the rain last night,” Woods said. “I knew I had to go get it, post a low one, and didn’t do it. It’s certainly out there. Greens are soft. Fairways are soft. You can play aggressively and not have any real ramifications for playing aggressive.” Johnson ran off four straight birdies near the end of his round for a 63, a good start in a tournament he already has won twice. Kevin Kisner and Jon Rahm were at 64, while the group at 65 included Rory McIlroy and the suddenly hot Webb Simpson, who posted his sixth straight round of 65 or better dating to the final round of the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational two weeks ago. The wind arrived in the afternoon, slowing the onslaught of low scores, with no round better than the 66 by Justin Rose. “Got a bit tricky this afternoon,” Rose said. “I didn’t pay too much attention to this morning’s scores. Saw a scoreboard at one points — 9 (under), 8, 7s, 6s — and I knew it was on. This golf course, if you’re playing well, you can take it on and challenge it. … If you’re not 100 percent on your game, you have to play conservatively.” Merritt is No. 72 in the FedExCup, with the top 70 advancing next week to the BMW Championship at Medinah. Points are quadrupled in the Playoffs. “I know good golf will take care of itself,” he said. “You just try to play the best you can. Obviously, I’ll be watching throughout the weekend, but just getting off to a good start, put that to the back of the mind and try to win a golf tournament.” Johnson has no such worries as the No. 7 seed, though this time of the year means a lot to him only because of past failures. He narrowly lost out on the FedExCup in 2016 when he had a share of the 54-hole lead, shot 73 and still could have won the Cup if anyone but McIlroy had won. McIlroy won in a playoff. Four other times he went to the TOUR Championship among the top five seeds and didn’t get it done. “Absolutely — especially with what they’re paying this year,” he said with a smile, referring to the $15 million payout. “That’s like winning five majors.” His math was a little off, but point taken — his interest level is high, and his game was sharp. Even with a 63, Johnson couldn’t help but recall four birdie putts of inside 10 feet in a five-hole stretch around the turn that didn’t fall. Brooks Koepka, who has won four majors in the last three years, still hasn’t found his groove in the FedExCup. Koepka is the No. 1 seed. In 15 playoffs events, he has managed only two top 10s — his best is sixth place at the TOUR Championship two years ago — and he didn’t get off to a great start at Liberty National with only three birdies in his round of 70. Either way, he’s assured of being in East Lake. That isn’t the case for the likes of Phil Mickelson at No. 34, who opened with a 72. And it’s never been this big of a struggle for Jordan Spieth, who is No. 69 and can’t even bank on next week. He played bogey-free for a 67 in the afternoon. “I don’t like starting where I did this Playoffs, and I don’t plan on ever starting this far down again,” Spieth said before he paused to smile. “Last year I said that, and then I did. But things are improving. Today was a good day.”

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