Graeme McDowell bounces back after tough finish on Thursday

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Here are nine tidbits from the first round of the CareerBuilder Challenge that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Know Thy Enemy These were the top 10 picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. It might not be time to panic just yet with a 54-hole cut but thankfully for some of you, substitutions are allowed in this game! Remember, this week’s ONLY METRIC is scoring! With all three courses playing less than 7,200 yards and all to par 72, there should be plenty of it. Course and Weather Management The talk of the event today was how perfect the weather was and how gusty it is going to be on Friday. Thankfully in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO substitutions are part of game. With three courses in play, it’s time to avoid the hardest of the bunch, the Stadium Course. The Tournament Course and La Quinta have been by far the easier of the bunch the last two seasons with the new rotation and today wasn’t any different. At one point La Quinta Country Club was playing a staggering four shots under-par this afternoon. Only five of the top 41 today were playing the Stadium Course. If you’re at a crossroads about who to stick into your lineup, La Quinta is the tiebreaker! Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition! Well, yes gamers did! As noted above, 68 percent of the folks playing PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO this week have Jon Rahm on their roster. The Spaniard fired 62 (-10) at La Quinta and affirmed his love for desert courses that he acquired during his four years at Arizona State. The dots kept connecting as he won the DP World Championship in November in Dubai. He’s the No. 3 player in the OWGR and is performing like it!  Oasis Those of you who have been riding the Brian Harman Express have noticed that the train car is getting fuller by the week! Those who have been late to the party and have bought a ticket this week won’t be disappointed after Thursday. The man with five consecutive finishes inside the top eight opened with a breezy 65 (-7) at La Quinta to sit T9 after round one. Normal service continues. #NappyFactor The debate rages on and you’ll read more about it in Study Hall down the page! Martin Piller’s wife, Gerina, is 25 weeks along with baby No. 1. She’s walking in the gallery this week as her hubby looks for TOUR win No. 1. He co-leads the field in birdies as he circled half of his holes on the Tournament Course. Piller has won three times on the Web.com Tour with totals of 18, 26 and 28-under par. He’s not afraid to make birdies! Low Net Even though only five players of the top 41 began on the Stadium Course, I’m keeping my eye on two who ended the day inside the top 10. Take a bow, Nick Watney and Grayson Murray! They both posted 65 (-7) and get to take on La Quinta, the easiest course in the rotation, tomorrow. Posting rounds this low and being only three back should give them both an excellent foundation to add to before returning to the Stadium Course on Sunday. Past Champion Problems Two-time winners Phil Mickelson and Bill Haas aren’t helping the desert historians feel any confidence after the first round. Mickelson could only manage 70 at La Quinta after starting three-under-par through his first five holes. Haas threw up an even par 72 at the Stadium Course and checks in at T125 in a field of now 155. Remember, these are two guys who have feasted in the desert over the years. Yikes. Fish or Cut Bait? As is the case EVERY SINGLE WEEK ON TOUR, there are big names that don’t fire in the opening round. This week is a bit different as the cut is 54-holes and two of the three courses are some of the easiest on TOUR. The question is even more difficult to answer as 2014 champion Patrick Reed, 10th-most selected above, posted 74 (+2) at the Tournament Course in his season debut. His reward is playing the Stadium Course tomorrow in gusty conditions…Bubba Watson was the 11th-most selected and just missed out on the chart above. His 70 today at La Quinta will make gamers think twice tomorrow as he’ll begin T88. Study Hall Brandt Snedeker returned to TOUR action this week after battling a sternum joint injury. His comeback was derailed overseas as he WD from the Indonesian Masters with heat exhaustion. His even-par 72 on the Tournament Course leaves his T125 with a trip to the Stadium Course Friday…Brandon Hagy withdrew Wednesday night with a wrist injury and was replaced by Rick Lamb…Corey Pavin withdrew after 17 holes with a neck injury for those of you keeping an eye on PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO…No bogeys in an opening round 69 (-3) for Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood pegged all 18 greens in Abu Dhabi… Sergio Garcia and Louis Oosthuizen are tied for the lead (66) while Pat Perez (70) is T-29 at the Singapore Open. 

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The par-5 16th at TPC Sawgrass routinely plays as one of the easiest at THE PLAYERS Championship. But no one had ever managed an albatross on the 523-yard hole – until Sunday. Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello set the crowd alight with a phenomenal 8-iron that traveled 181 yards to paydirt, kicking off a downslope short of the putting surface and finding its way to the bottom of the cup. It was just the third albatross in PLAYERS history behind Hunter Mahan’s sensational effort on the par-5 11th in round two of 2007 and Peter Lonard’s sublime shot on the par-5 second in the third round of the same year. “Obviously, it was pretty spectacular,” Cabrera Bello said. “I saw it kick off the bank of the bunker and I was a bit worried at the beginning because I kind of felt that it shot a little too fast, and I’m like, oh, is that going to go in the water now. “Then I saw it rolling towards the hole. … I saw it bump with the flag and I didn’t know what happened; had it gone in or had it just stayed just like a foot away or something like that. “Then I saw the crowd and just went crazy and enjoyed it.” The Spaniard threw his club in the air in jubilation and it comically landed in the water that lines the right side of the hole. Thankfully he could reach in and retrieve it after the first albatross of his career. The celebration continued as Cabrera Bello ran along the gallery ropes and high-fived the fans cheering his rare accomplishment. Impressively Cabrera Bello backed it up with a wonderful birdie on the par-3 17th island green, then saved a miraculous par on the final hole despite hitting his tee shot in the water. His 2-2-4 finish equaled the record for least shots played over the final three holes at THE PLAYERS and left him tied fourth at 6 under after a 70 on Sunday. It was Cabrera Bello’s highest finish of the season and moved him from 112th to 80th in the FedExCup.

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