Former PGA TOUR Policy Board Chair Dick Ferris passes away at 85

Good thing you have an appetite because we’re treated to a luau at the Sony Open in Hawaii. For starters, 23 of the 33 who competed at last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions made the short trip west to Oahu, including Gary Woodland (2nd), Justin Thomas (3rd), Marc Leishman (T4) and Bryson DeChambeau (7th). You’re going about this game incorrectly if any doesn’t get your call at some point this season. Given the historical trend supporting golfers who opened the calendar year on Maui, I wouldn’t talk you out of any at Waialae Country Club. Seriously. While we need to slow-play the season for positioning entering the FedExCup Playoffs when points are quadrupled, two considerations must be made. First, there are only three tournaments in this season’s Playoffs, so you can shift one of your monsters usually saved to a spot sooner on the schedule. Second, the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club is the only event of the series that doesn’t rotate host sites. Liberty National Golf Club last hosted THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2009 and 2013, while Medinah Country Club hasn’t served as the backdrop for an individual competition since the 2006 PGA Championship. This is why I’m advocating JT this week. For loyal readers, that will come across as a stark departure from my general approach, but he firmly checks both of the boxes guiding all gamers this week. Among his multiple strong showings here, the 2017 Sony champ established the PGA TOUR record for 72 holes at 27-under 253. He also closed strong at Kapalua on Sunday. Furthermore, as strange as it sounds but explained above, we won’t miss him during the Playoffs. And with the majors awarding only 100 more points for a victory than what’s up for grabs at Waialae, his value in this field is even greater. No doubt that part of my decision is reliant on the depth of PGA TOUR membership and worldwide talent to plug a gap later, but I’m vowing to be aggressive to defend my league title. Aside from the other three aforementioned studs, others who opened 2019 at Kapalua and deserve a peek at Waialae include Charles Howell III (T14). He never lets anyone down here, so he’s ideal for front-runners and contenders entering the 10th of 46 tournaments. Matt Kuchar (T19) was a cornerstone here for years and demands a long look. And Scott Piercy (T19) is a terrific play if you want to swing for the fence. Like Piercy, Kevin Kisner is a relative just-off-the-radar option at Waialae who shouldn’t be. That’s what makes him dangerous for gamers who have started slow. Otherwise, you’ll be settling for the stymie at Harbour Town or Colonial. A year ago in this space, the advice was to sit on Jordan Spieth for what would be one opportunity after another, but he didn’t qualify for the Sentry TOC. Now married and making his 2019 debut, you don’t see him going another calendar year without a title, but the advice remains the same. Give him a start or two for him to show us what he has. I know that the Sony Open in Hawaii slots third in Future Possibilities for Zach Johnson, but it’s a distant show from his set-and-forget appearance at the John Deere Classic. But you do you. Two-man gamers naturally get to belly up to the feast for a second helping for which the likes of Adam Hadwin, Danny Lee, Jerry Kelly and Shugo Imahira present intrigue. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2018-19. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Keegan Bradley … Farmers (2); Memorial (5); Travelers (4) Paul Casey … WGC-Mexico (6); Honda (10); Valspar (7; defending); WGC-Match Play (8); Masters (2); Wells Fargo (9); Travelers (1); TOUR Championship (3) Bryson DeChambeau … Waste Management (5); Arnold Palmer (3); Heritage (1);  Memorial (2; defending); Travelers (4); John Deere (7) Jason Dufner … Desert Classic (9); Honda (3); PLAYERS (7); Valspar (4); New Orleans (1); Charles Schwab (6); Memorial (5); U.S. Open (2); Wyndham (8); TOUR Championship (10) Emiliano Grillo … Arnold Palmer (2); Charles Schwab (3) Adam Hadwin … Desert Classic (1); Waste Management (4); Genesis (3); Valspar (2); John Deere (5) Brian Harman … Sony (2); Desert Classic (3); Arnold Palmer (7); Charles Schwab (1); Travelers (5); John Deere (4) Russell Henley … Sony (2); Honda (4); Masters (3) Charles Howell III … Sony (3); Desert Classic (4); Farmers (1) Zach Johnson … Sony (3); Waste Management (6); Arnold Palmer (7); Valero (4); Charles Schwab (5); John Deere (1); Open Championship (2); TOUR Championship (8) Si Woo Kim … PLAYERS (3); Heritage (1) Chris Kirk … Sony (4); Valero (3); PLAYERS (5); Charles Schwab (2) Kevin Kisner … Sony (4); Heritage (3); New Orleans (5); Charles Schwab (2); Memorial (6) Russell Knox … Sony (3); Heritage (2) Matt Kuchar … Sony (3); Waste Management (4); PLAYERS (5); Valspar (9); Masters (6); Heritage (2); Charles Schwab (7); Memorial (1); Open Championship (8) Marc Leishman … Farmers (2); Arnold Palmer (1); Byron Nelson (6); Memorial (4); Travelers (3); Open Championship (8) Hideki Matsuyama … Waste Management (1); Genesis (10); Arnold Palmer (11); PLAYERS (9); Masters (4); PGA Championship (13); Memorial (8); U.S. Open (14); Wyndham (7); TOUR Championship (5) Kevin Na … Genesis (2); Valspar (6); Charles Schwab (3); Wyndham (5) Scott Piercy … Sony (3); New Orleans (1; co-defending); Canadian (7; last winner at Hamilton in 2012) Patrick Reed … Pebble Beach (6); Valspar (1); Masters (5; defending); PGA Championship (4); U.S. Open (3); Travelers (7) Adam Scott … Genesis (4); Honda (1); Arnold Palmer (10); PLAYERS (2); Masters (6); Byron Nelson (11); PGA Championship (8); U.S. Open (9); Open Championship (7); TOUR Championship (3) Cameron Smith … Wyndham (3) Jordan Spieth … Sony (12); Pebble Beach (3); Genesis (10); WGC-Mexico (11); Valspar (14); Masters (1); PGA Championship (7); Charles Schwab (5); Memorial (13); U.S. Open (4); Travelers (9); Open Championship (6); TOUR Championship (8) Brandt Snedeker … Farmers (3); Waste Management (8); Pebble Beach (2); Masters (10); Heritage (6); Charles Schwab (7); U.S. Open (5); Travelers (9); Wyndham (1; defending) Justin Thomas … Sony (4); WGC-Mexico (2); Honda (7; defending); PLAYERS (11); PGA Championship (9); Memorial (8); TOUR Championship (3) Jimmy Walker … Sony (5); Farmers (4); Pebble Beach (1); Valero (2); Byron Nelson (6) Bubba Watson … Waste Management (4); Genesis (1; defending); WGC-Match Play (6; defending); Masters (5); Memorial (7); Travelers (2; defending); TOUR Championship (8) Gary Woodland … Sony (1); Farmers (2); Waste Management (3; defending); Memorial (4)

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Not even a player of the Tiger Woods’ caliber can give up a big head start to the field at Pebble Beach and expect to contend. Woods continued a frustrating trend at the U.S. Open in Sunday’s final round, failing to take advantage of the easiest stretch on the golf course. Related: Leaderboard | Tiger’s Jedi mind tricks at 2000 U.S. Open In fact, Woods was 4-over through six holes, giving up any chance of a miracle 82nd PGA TOUR victory. But he fought back impressively through the tougher sections of Pebble Beach, making six birdies to shoot a 2-under 69 – his best score of the week. At 2-under for the championship, Woods snagged a T20 finish at the venue where we won the 2000 U.S. Open by 15 shots. He’s projected to move to 17th in the FedExCup. The first seven holes at Pebble Beach included the three easiest of the tournament, with the field playing them in 96-under-par. Woods played them in 3-over throughout his four rounds. “Got off to another crappy start and was able to fight it off. Turned back around and got it to under par for the week which, normally, it’s a good thing, but this week the guys are definitely taking to it,â€� Woods said. The 43-year-old was at least proud of his fighting qualities. “Just because I got off to a bad start doesn’t mean it’s over. Keep grinding, keep playing,â€� Woods added. “It was just a matter of can I somehow get it back to even par for the day and the total. And that was our goal. Happened to get a couple more out of it which is great.â€� Before ramping up his preparation for The Open Championship at Royal Portrush next month, he intends to take some time off. His biggest smile of the week came off the 18th green Sunday, when he got a Father’s Day hug from his kids. “It’s just trying to wind down from the championship as well as my lifts and getting back into it,â€� Woods said. “And I know that Florida will not be the same temperature as Northern Ireland. I’m not going to be practicing with any sweaters at home, but it will be nice to get to Portrush and get with it again. “I’ve never been up to Portrush, and I’m looking forward to getting up there and taking a look at the golf course and trying to figure it out. I hope that my practice rounds are such that we get different winds, especially on a golf course that I’ve never played, and to get a different feel how it could play for the week. And definitely have to do my homework once I get there.â€�

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Rory McIlroy tried mind games. Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth pushed their opponent to the breaking point. Even fans were against the local leader. But Patrick Reed brushed them all aside to win his first major, at Augusta no less.

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