How to watch the Genesis Scottish Open on ESPN+

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Tiger beat Phil on Sunday at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD, but neither walked away with much to smile about. Normally it would be a pairing to savor on a Sunday when Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson go head to head, but sitting well back in the tournament they failed to ignite and were both bested by Adam Long, the third member of the trio. Woods cobbled together a 2-over 74 to finish the week at 1 under, 22 shots behind Patrick Cantlay's winning score. Mickelson slashed around for a 6-over 78 that saw him well back at 3 over. For the record, Long posted a 69 and finished his week at 4 under. Woods, the defending champion from his record tying 82nd PGA TOUR win in Japan a year ago, now must decide whether or not to play the Vivint Houston Open the week prior to trying to defend his 2019 Masters title. Had he played well at Sherwood, Woods admitted he would likely skip Houston but given the lack of form he is considering making a rare stop to play the week prior to getting to Augusta National. In his 20 Masters appearances as a professional, Woods has never played the week prior. In fact the only time Woods has played the week before a major is for the PGA Championship which has routinely been preceded by a World Golf Championships event. "Probably the next couple days. I’ll make the decision soon. I’m not going to wait around on that decision," Woods said of his plans. "We were talking about it this morning... our progression and our training sessions and we’ll be in the gym tomorrow afternoon and get back after it that way, but I’ll make a decision quickly on whether or not I’m going to play Houston or not." Woods didn’t take advantage of the par 5s at Sherwood, which is unique in that it offers five of them on the par-72 layout. He was just 4 under on the 20 attempts over the tournament and his 4.8 averaged ranked T72 in the 77-man field. "I played the par 5s awful. They’re all reachable and I did not do that well this week. I did not drive the ball and didn’t hit my irons close enough consistently," he said. "The only thing I can take out of this week that I did positively I feel like each and every day and pretty much every hole is I putted well. I feel like I rolled it great. Unfortunately most of them were for pars and a couple for bogeys here and there, but not enough for birdies." Woods said he will now focus his attention on hitting high-ball draws as he prepares for the COVID-19-rescheduled November Masters. That shot shape, and others, were the topic of discussion between he and Mickelson throughout the final round on Sunday. "We were talking about the Champions Tour a little bit. I said, ‘Hey, man, I’m still five‑plus years away,’" Woods smiled after hearing first-hand all about Mickelson's success in winning his first two starts on the over-50 circuit. "We touched on here and there about our (Masters) prep, what is it going to be like, is it going to be like when Zach (Johnson) won when you can’t go for any of the par 5s in two; is it going to be like that, that long, that soft, that hard, that windy. You just never know. It could be in the 70s, it could be in the 30s, you just never know." Mickelson was one of the few players to play the par 5s (4.9) worse than Woods. He will either play in Houston or in the PGA TOUR Champions event the same week in Arizona. "Disappointing week, but fun. I love the golf course and learned a few things, got a few things out of the week, but all in all, disappointed with the way I played obviously," Mickelson said after a final round that included three double bogeys. "I have some pretty good direction on where I need to go with my game and I’ll take this week to work on it and try to apply it the week before. I’ll go home, talk to Amy, see what course is best suited to get me ready." Without on-course spectators, the old magic was harder to muster for the old foes who together have chalked up 126 TOUR victories. Mickelson believes both still have the capabilities to add to their impressive career totals, including the eight green jackets they've won. "We didn’t play this week the way we wanted to," he admitted. "(But) I think it’s still in there, I just think it’s harder to get four solid rounds without the mistakes, and at this level the quality guys are so good that you just can’t make the mistakes."

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When my man (and colleague), Mike Glasscott, writes The Confidence Factor in advance of tournaments and the daily Emergency 9 during competition, succumbs to the temptation to preemptively surrender, I don’t know where else to turn for a warm embrace. Glass launched the erstwhile #TTA (for “The Thursday Army”) on Twitter years ago. It’s a tag for all of gamers who lament about an early double bogey or birdie-free opening round in a competitive format in which there is a multitude of opportunities to reverse course and contribute to our cause. With the world connected electronically as it is, why remain patient in sharing dissatisfaction? Like so many others, Glass circled Dustin Johnson as his One & Done for the Genesis Open. After opening the tournament with a 3-over 74 and sitting birdie-free 1-over through eight holes of the second round, DJ seemed to be on a sauntering beeline to slam his trunk. So, at 9:42 a.m. PT on Friday, Glass tweeted, “First, [Hideki] Matsuyama at WMPO. Now, DJ at Genesis. Fantasy golf, bloody [expletive].” Lo and behold, Johnson came home in bogey-free 3-under to survive the cut by two strokes. A bogey-free 64 on Saturday thrust the defending champion to within striking distance of 54-hole leader Bubba Watson. Alas, DJ squandered the four-shot deficit, closed with 73 and landed in a four-way share of 16th place, eight swings adrift of Watson’s championship pace. The last golfer to prevail after opening any tournament with as high as a 74 was Justin Rose at the 2014 Quicken Loans National contested at Congressional, which is a par 71 like Riviera. The last 75 by a champion was carded by Mark Calcavecchia on par-71 Copperhead at the 2007 Valspar Championship. Since 1970, there have been five winners who opened with 76. So, hang in there, Glass, er, gamers, especially when Johnson is in control. If your pick for The Honda Classic signs for an over-par score after his first loop of PGA National’s Champion Course, you’ll have reason to whine. The average score in the opening round among the 11 winners on the par 70 is 67.64. The last six champs averaged 66.67 in laying the foundation. Defending champion Rickie Fowler carded a pair of 66s before opening a four-stroke cushion with a third-round 65. If you’re not angling at him in a major this season (as I am), you think no further while plugging him in. Of the eight golfers among the 29 featured in Future Possibilities below for whom Honda is bolded, Graeme McDowell is the only other with a “1” beside this stop. Given where G-Mac is on his career arc, he presents better as the tail of the tandem in two-man games. Of the foursome with a “2” beside their names, only Sergio Garcia serves as a smart option right now, but he’s always the go-to at THE PLAYERS or The Open Championship because he’s the most reliable at both tournaments devoid of constants. Save Luke Donald for the RBC Heritage, Billy Horschel for the FedEx St. Jude Classic and Adam Scott until he regains form. Rory McIlroy is tempting every time he laces up the spikes, but the Honda doesn’t even appear on his relative long short list. Same goes for Justin Thomas and Jason Dufner. Abstain. Tyrrell Hatton is a timely option and he’d be my choice if Gary Woodland wasn’t available. The Englishman serves as a bridge in a field full of them. Fellow international PGA TOUR members Alex Noren, Tommy Fleetwood and Rafa Cabrera Bello line up similarly. If you’re in a two-man format and McDowell isn’t your pint of Guinness, consider Patton Kizzire, Russell Knox or Dylan Frittelli. Now all you need to do is hold your breath for a red number on Thursday. 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 2017-18. 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. Daniel Berger … Houston (3); St. Jude (1; two-time defending); Travelers (2) Keegan Bradley … Houston (3); Memorial (5); WGC-Bridgestone (2) Luke Donald … Honda (2); Valspar (3); Heritage (1) Jason Dufner … Valspar (1); DEAN & DELUCA (2); Memorial (3; defending); U.S. Open (4); Wyndham (6); TOUR Championship (7) Rickie Fowler … Honda (1; defending); Houston (4); Masters (8); Wells Fargo (7); PLAYERS (9); WGC-Bridgestone (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (10); Dell Technologies (6) Jim Furyk … Valspar (5); Heritage (1); Memorial (7); U.S. Open (8); Canadian (3); WGC-Bridgestone (2); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9); TOUR Championship (4) Sergio Garcia … Honda (2); Masters (3; defending); PLAYERS (5); Open Championship (1); TOUR Championship (4) Brian Harman … Arnold Palmer (5); DEAN & DELUCA (4); John Deere (3) Russell Henley … Houston (1; defending); Greenbrier (3) J.B. Holmes … Houston (2); Wells Fargo (7); Greenbrier (5) Billy Horschel … Honda (2); Arnold Palmer (5); Valero (3); St. Jude (1); TOUR Championship (4) Charles Howell III … Valspar (4); Houston (7) Chris Kirk … Valero (4); PLAYERS (3); DEAN & DELUCA (2) Kevin Kisner … Heritage (4); DEAN & DELUCA (1; defending); Memorial (5); Wyndham (6) Russell Knox … Honda (6); Heritage (2); PLAYERS (8); Dell Technologies (7) Jamie Lovemark … Arnold Palmer (3) Graeme McDowell … Honda (1); Heritage (4); WGC-Bridgestone (3) William McGirt … Heritage (1); Memorial (4) Rory McIlroy … Arnold Palmer (10); WGC-Match Play (11); Masters (2); Wells Fargo (1); PLAYERS (8); Memorial (9); Open Championship (4); WGC-Bridgestone (7); Dell Technologies (5); TOUR Championship (3) Ryan Moore … Valspar (5); Masters (8); Travelers (2); John Deere (3); TOUR Championship (6) Ryan Palmer … Valero (1); DEAN & DELUCA (2); St. Jude (6) Scott Piercy … Houston (5); John Deere (6) Patrick Reed … Valspar (6); Travelers (5); PGA Championship (8); Wyndham (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9); Dell Technologies (2) Adam Scott … Honda (2); Arnold Palmer (11); Masters (4); PLAYERS (5); U.S. Open (10); Open Championship (8); WGC-Bridgestone (3); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (6) Webb Simpson … Wells Fargo (7); DEAN & DELUCA (4); Travelers (8); Greenbrier (5); Wyndham (1) Brandt Snedeker … WGC-Mexico (13); Arnold Palmer (12); Masters (7); Heritage (10); DEAN & DELUCA (11); U.S. Open (5); Travelers (6); Canadian (3); Wyndham (4) Justin Thomas … WGC-Mexico (7); Valspar (8); Wells Fargo (9); Dell Technologies (6; defending); TOUR Championship (3) Jimmy Walker … Valero (6); Greenbrier (8); Dell Technologies (7) Gary Woodland … Honda (6); Wells Fargo (5); Barracuda (1); Dell Technologies (3)

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This week's World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession presents a new venue for the world's best, with the beautiful but difficult Jack Nicklaus/Tony Jacklin co-design hosting a TOUR event for the first time. It's the first of a four-week stay in Florida for the PGA TOUR. That's good news, because the Florida Swing has brought no shortage of highlights. RELATED: Five things about The Concession | Predictions for Florida Swing Corey Pavin and Fred Couples dueled at The Honda Classic in 1992. Flashbulbs popped in the dark as Tiger Woods drained a putt to win the 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. And of course you can't beat THE PLAYERS Championship tension on the weekend at TPC Sawgrass. So, who are the best performers, both historically and now, on the TOUR's Florida Swing? 15th Club went through more than three decades of round-by-round data to break down who succeeds, who overperforms, and what types of players fare best in Florida. Demanding Venues TOUR events in Florida are typically more demanding ball-striking tests than average. That makes sense, given the courses on the Florida Swing. PGA National (Champion) and Innisbrook (Copperhead) annually rank among the most difficult non-major venues in several key statistics. Since 2010, the average Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green field rank of tournament winners in Florida is 6.3. The PGA TOUR average in that stretch is 7.3. Driving accuracy proves to be less vital in Florida than normal - the average fairways hit ranking of winners in Florida since 2010 is 22.0, compared to the TOUR average in that span of 18.8. Iron play is where players can separate themselves from the pack: the Strokes Gained: Approach average rank of winners is 11.8, compared to the TOUR average of 13.5. Tiger Woods' historic dominance It's only fitting, then, that the best iron player of his era has been so successful here. Tiger Woods has 16 wins in Florida in his storied career. Since 1960, only one player has even half as many wins as Woods in the Sunshine State: Jack Nicklaus, with 10. From the 1999 Disney Classic through the end of the 2003 season, Woods played 14 official TOUR events in Florida. He picked up six wins and finished worse than third only three times. From 1999 through 2003, Woods was 203-under-par in his TOUR starts in Florida, 31 strokes better than any other player. Davis Love III was second-best at 172-under-par. Since 1990, there are 568 players with at least 30 TOUR rounds played in the state of Florida. Not only is Woods the only player with a scoring average under 70.0 in that group, coming in at 69.8, but he is the only player under 70.5. Woods' mark is a full 0.82 strokes better than any other player with 30 or more rounds (Justin Thomas, 70.64), and 0.83 better than anyone with 100 rounds played (Rory McIlroy, 70.65). Woods' margin over his peers in birdie average is even more startling. In Woods' 239 career rounds in Florida, he has averaged 4.44 birdies-or-better per round. Of the 393 players with 60 or more rounds played in Florida since 1990, that is 0.35 more per round than anyone else. (McIlroy, again, is second at 4.08.) The gap between Woods and McIlroy on the list is equivalent to the gap between McIlroy and number 25, Bob Tway (3.73). Incredibly, even as Woods has reached the later stages of his career, he has remained dominant in Florida. Since 2010, he is the only player with 50 or more rounds to average 2.0 or more Strokes Gained: Total per round (2.08). McIlroy has the second-best average, at 1.46. When isolating just the previous five years - a period in which Woods has not won a tournament in Florida, mind you - he still comes out on top. Woods has averaged 2.10 Strokes Gained: Total per round in Florida events in that stretch, best of any player with 20 or more rounds played. Sungjae Im loving it in Florida Florida isn't just the site of Sungjae Im's first TOUR victory, the 2020 Honda Classic. In six career TOUR starts in Florida, Im has four top-5 finishes. He leads all players in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green in Florida over the last three seasons, racking up 2.10 per round. Im and Woods are the only players in the last five seasons to average 2.0 Strokes Gained: Total per round or more at Florida TOUR stops. In 22 career rounds in Florida, Im has beat the field average 18 times. Fleetwood flourishes, too He hasn't yet won on TOUR, but maybe this year's Florida Swing is where Tommy Fleetwood breaks through. Since 2018, Fleetwood is one of five players with a scoring average in the 60s in Florida. He ranks second behind Im in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green per round in that span (+1.92) and third in Strokes Gained: Total (+2.09). Fleetwood is fourth in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee on the Florida Swing the last five seasons, trailing only Bryson DeChambeau, McIlroy and Bubba Watson. Scott great in the Sunshine State Since 2010, among players with 50 or more rounds in Florida, no player has averaged more Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green per round than Adam Scott (1.53). Scott ranks third in Strokes Gained: Total in that same span (1.37), and third in birdie average (4.08) going back to 1990. He's one of six players with three or more TOUR victories in Florida since 2004, along with Woods, Stephen Ames, Rory McIlroy, Ernie Els, and Luke Donald. ‘Burns'-ing the greens Sam Burns threatened to become the youngest player to win The Genesis Invitational since 1975, and the first wire-to-wire winner of the event since 1969. He isn't in the field at The Concession, but keep this in mind going forward: Burns is a savant when putting in Florida. Since 2010, players make 68.7% of their putts from 4 to 8 feet on the Florida Swing. Burns makes 79% of those putts. In 31 PGA TOUR rounds in Florida, Burns is averaging a ridiculous 1.31 Strokes Gained: Putting per round. Over the last five years, he is the only player to gain an average of a full stroke or more per round on the greens. Burns is normally a very good putter - 2020-21 is his third consecutive season ranked in the top 30 in Strokes Gained - but he takes it to another level in Florida.

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