GolfDigest.com’s most popular stories of 2018

SILVAS, Ill. – Steve Wheatcroft is so far back in the FedExCup (209th), he tries not to think about it. He’s so far down the Official World Golf Ranking (927), he almost needs a comma. And yet there was Wheatcroft, 40, reeling off six straight birdies to finish his opening-round 62, which was good enough for the early lead at the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run. “I wanted to just go to the first tee and start the second round,� Wheatcroft said. He was one shot clear of Michael Kim, while Nick Taylor and Johnson Wagner were two off the lead after posting 64s. Scott Brown (65) was alone in fifth after the morning wave. Early starters had the best of all worlds: a soft course, and almost no wind. Wheatcroft and his playing partners, Keith Mitchell (67) and Patrick Rodgers (66), shot a combined 18 under par. “The greens for the morning guys were absolutely perfect,� Mitchell said. If there was a theme to the first round, it was this: Better get moving. It’s crunch time with just six weeks (and eight tournaments) remaining until the start of the FedExCup Playoffs, and the players at the top of the Deere leaderboard have considerable work to do to crack the top 125. Wagner, who made over 131 feet of putts Thursday, is 144th. Taylor is 128th. Kim, who had an outside shot at 59 but went 1 over for his last three holes, is 161st. No one, though, was a bigger surprise than Wheatcroft, whose bogey-free round saw him make nearly 111 feet of putts. He strafed his irons, leaving himself with birdie putts of six feet or less on holes 13-15 to start his closing kick. Another key, he said, was the driver head he had installed Wednesday, a Callaway with a slight draw bias to help him stop losing his shots right. He’d only hit the new club on the range before Thursday, when he hit 12 of 14 fairways. So far, so good. “I’m 40 years old; I’m realistic about where I’m at in my career at this point,� Wheatcroft said. “I’m well back in the FedExCup, I’ve got a long ways to go.� Does he have his passport in case he wins and gets a late ticket to The Open Championship? Yes, but he always travels with it. The Open, he added, was the last thing on his mind. “It’s been a brutal year, to be honest with you,� said Wheatcroft, whose best finish this season is a T28 at the Corales Punta Cana Resort & Club Championship. “It’s probably the worst year I’ve had so far, but I don’t feel like I’m playing the worst golf of my career. I actually feel like I’m playing some good golf, I’m just not getting the results out of it. “It’s a weird thing to say; until you go through it, it’s kind of hard to explain,� he added. “But, you know, I feel like it’s close; 62 didn’t surprise me. Maybe a little bit with the new driver going it into play, but it was rock-solid today and the rest of the game was there.� OBSERVATIONS RODGERS BACK IN THE FRAY. Patrick Rodgers tied for 15th in his first crack at the Deere in 2013. He was runner-up to Bryson DeChambeau a year ago, and shot 66 Thursday. None of which is surprising, given his affinity for the course. The only thing that doesn’t compute with Rodgers, 26, is that he’s still trying to break through on TOUR after a gilded career at Stanford in which he won 11 times in three years, tying the all-time mark set by Tiger Woods (in two), and set the career scoring record (70.32). Does Rodgers feel he has unfinished business at TPC Deere Run? Well, yes. “I’m definitely reminded with all the billboards around town having Bryson’s face instead of mine,� he said. “… I’d be lying if I said it didn’t play a factor. I’m still without a win. I think this is a great venue for me.  I think I have a great chance every time I tee it up here, and I’m looking forward to getting myself in that position again.�   NOTABLES ZACH JOHNSON – The 2012 winner and tournament ambassador, Iowa’s favorite golfing son got off to a rocky start with bogeys at three of his first seven holes, but rebounded for a 69. STEVE STRICKER – Searching for his 13th PGA TOUR victory at age 51, three-time Deere champion Stricker made 13 pars and never got much going during an opening 70. KELLY KRAFT – The runner-up to Kevin Na at A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier last week, Kraft kept up his solid play with an opening 66. QUOTABLES See if I can kidnap him for tomorrow.I’m reminded with all the billboards around town having Bryson’s face instead of mine. I feel like I played better than 5 under today.

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SAN DIEGO (AP) — Top-ranked Jon Rahm closed with an eagle on the tougher South Course at Torrey Pines for a 6-under 66 on Wednesday, trailing leader Billy Horschel by three strokes after the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Rickie Fowler hits all 18 greens, shoots 66 at Farmers | Dustin Johnson shoots 68 on South Course after long layoff Horschel shot a bogey-free 9-under 63 on the North Course and led Michael Thompson by one stroke. Of the 30 players who shot 67 or better, 26 played the North. Rahm’s was the best score on the South by one over Luke List, Peter Malnati and Cameron Tringale. The players switch courses Thursday and play the final two rounds on the South. Taking advantage of the North’s shorter distances and more forgiving rough, Horschel made five birdies on the front nine, highlighted by a 25-foot putt on the par-4 second hole. The 35-year-old from Florida is seeking his first non-match play victory on the PGA TOUR since April 2018. “I told my caddie, ‘Let’s just go out there, no expectations, and just enjoy,’” Horschel said. “And I think we did a really good job of that. My game is in a really good spot.” Thompson also played bogey-free, putting him one shot ahead of Stephan Jaeger and Kevin Tway. Rahm’s strong start in San Diego is no surprise: The world No. 1 got his first PGA TOUR victory at Torrey Pines in 2017, and he won last year’s U.S. Open on the South Course for his first major. “Doesn’t shock me,” Horschel said when told of Rahm’s impressive round. “I think he won a U.S. Open on that course, last I checked. He’s a really good player. There’s a reason why he’s the No. 1 player in the world.” Rickie Fowler, Doug Ghim and Francesco Molinari also shot 66s, all on the North. Rahm said the conditions were “relatively easy,” even on the South. He stumbled with two bogeys on the back nine before finishing strong, crushing a 280-yard approach shot on the par-5 18th to 12 feet for eagle. “It was probably one of the best swings I’ll make all year,” Rahm said. “That 3-wood was absolutely perfect.” Horschel tied for 36th at the Sony Open in Hawaii two weeks ago, but he nearly had to skip Torrey Pines because of a persistent upper-body muscular injury that has required daily treatment. He didn’t decide to play for sure until he felt good when he woke up on Wednesday morning. “Thankfully (with) all the work we’ve done and everything I felt, it never got any tighter,” Horschel said. “It’s actually felt like it’s a little bit looser right now. Hopefully we got through the tough of it and now we’re on the downhill side and I don’t have to worry about it anymore.” Horschel, who won the BMW PGA Championship in England last September on what is now called the DP World Tour, had two top-10 finishes in his first 11 career starts at Torrey Pines. His excellent start came two days after he dressed up as a human target and allowed kids to hit balls at him in a stunt widely enjoyed on social media. Thompson is seeking his first win since July 2020, and he played another excellent round after finishing in a fifth-place tie at the Sony Open. Thompson is a PGA TOUR veteran, but he is getting plenty of double-takes around the TOUR while rocking a thick, long beard that he started growing before last year’s playoffs. “I haven’t been mistaken for anybody,” said Thompson, whose wife told him to keep the look. “It’s just more people think I’m a rookie because I look so different. You know, I’ve probably gotten more comments of, ‘What hockey team do you play for?’” The Farmers Insurance Open being played Wednesday through Saturday to avoid a television conflict with the NFL’s two conference championship games on Sunday.

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LA QUINTA, Calif. — Patrick Cantlay fought through gusting wind on his back nine Friday to take a one-stroke lead into the weekend at The American Express in a bid to win for the third time in four starts. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Will Zalatoris shoots 61 after making seven consecutive birdies Tied for the first-round lead with Lee Hodges after a 10-under 62 at La Quinta Country Club, Cantlay shot a 68 on PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament Course to reach 14-under 130. “I actually putted really well today and made nothing,” Cantlay said. “The greens were a little beat up and it was hard to make putts. But I rolled it really well and I rolled it how I wanted to, I just didn’t get any to go in.” Tom Hoge was second after a 66 on PGA West’s Stadium Course. “I really felt fortunate that we got through 17 holes without the wind really coming up,” Hoge said. “Just our last hole there it got gusting.” Joseph Bramlett, playing in the last group off the 10th tee at La Quinta, bogeyed the final two holes in strong wind for a 67 to drop into a five-man tie for third at 12 under. “We guessed on the whole back nine and a couple of them I guessed right and a couple of them I guessed wrong,” Bramlett said. “That’s just kind of golf.” Will Zalatoris birdied his last seven holes on the Nicklaus layout for a 61 to also join Cameron Young (68), Lanto Griffin (65) and Greyson Sigg (67) at 12 under. Young played at Nicklaus, and Griffin and Sigg at the Stadium. Cantlay won the BMW Championship and TOUR Championship in his final two starts last year to take the FedExCup, then opened this year with a fourth-place finish — at 26 under — two weeks ago in Hawaii in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Last year in the desert, the 29-year-old former UCLA player closed with a Stadium-record 61 to finish a shot behind winner Si Woo Kim. Cantlay will play the Stadium the final two days, with more wind expected Saturday. “It’s a golf course that suits my game,” Cantlay said. “We’ll see how it plays tomorrow with the increased wind. … Controlling your golf ball will be a premium tomorrow and leaving your golf ball in the correct spot will be really key to scoring well.” Hoge will play tree-lined La Quinta on Saturday. “I feel better playing La Quinta,” Hoge said. “A little more protected over there in the trees, a little shorter golf course. You can play a little more conservatively off tees and just get it in play and go from there.” Zalatoris finished with a birdie from the wrong fairway on the par-4 ninth. The PGA TOUR rookie of the year is making his first start of the year. “I just gave myself chances,” Zalatoris said. “I hit a lot close and made a couple 20-, 30-footers to keep the round going and, obviously, making birdie on 9 from the wrong fairway is kind of the icing on the cake.” He wasn’t concerned about the wind that picked up just as he finished. “I live in Texas, so I’m used to it,” Zalatoris said. “Really, playing golf the last few days without a lot of wind has been a little strange for me, so I’m looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.” Hodges remained at 10 under after a 72 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course. Top-ranked Jon Rahm was 8 under after a 70 at the Nicklaus layout. He won the 2018 tournament. Kim was 4 under in his title defense after a 68 at Nicklaus. Tournament host Phil Mickelson was 155th in the 156-man field at 7 over. He shot a 73 at Nicklaus after opening with a 78 at La Quinta.

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