How to watch: ‘Tiger Tales’ presented by Genesis

Every winter since 1968 the PGA TOUR has been hosted by the famed Torrey Pines Golf Club in La Jolla, California, and this year, thankfully, isn’t any different. The famed South Course will serve as annual host and will also be the venue for this season’s U.S. Open in June. Before we put the cart in front of that horse, for the second week in a row a field of 156 will navigate two courses in Rounds 1 and 2 before moving to the South Course for the final two rounds. This familiar piece of real estate has produced elite leaderboards and that shouldn’t change this week with a deep field. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks | The First Look The South Course and its undulating Poa annua greens add even more bite than the distance tee to green. It’s hardly a surprise why the USGA will return here to host its national championship again. Both courses have three inches of over-seeded (Rye) Kikuyugrass, as normal, this time of year. Tom Weiskopf’s North Course redesign made its debut in 2017. With friendly bentgrass greens and four Par-5 holes, it plays the easier of the two annually. At just 7,258 yards it will play 507 yards less than the South and with less tallying on the scorecard. The 69th edition of the Farmers Insurance Open will pay out a handsome $7.5 million purse with the winner pocketing $1.35 million and 500 FedExCup points for posting the low four rounds. It never rains in Southern California, but there is Marine Layer, blustery winds and cool temperatures that will have a say before a winner is crowned, hopefully on schedule Sunday. Hold all tickets to the end as just two winners in the last decade held the 54-hole lead and only three this century not named Tiger Woods. Recent Event Winners Stats Recent Winners and Notables 2020: Marc Leishman (-15, 273) Shot 65 on Australia Day to make up four shots and win by one over 2017 champ Jon Rahm. … 65 was the co-low of the week on the South Course. … Posted 11-under on the weekend. … Becomes the fourth consecutive international winner, but just fifth overall in 68 events. … At 35 he joins the club of 30 and older winners in four of the last five events. … Second straight winner to open on the North Course, but just the third since 2010. … Hit only 3 of 14 fairways in the final round, but found 14 of 18 GIR. … One of only 19 rounds in the 60s on Sunday. … Won in his 12th start (10 made cuts). … Entered the week on a personal streak of five straight paydays including a pair of top 10s. Notables: 54-hole leader Jon Rahm (2nd) posted 65, co-low of the week on the South, on Saturday but 70 on Sunday left him one short. … Rory McIlroy (T3) was just one of four players to post both weekend rounds in the 60s (67-69). … 2016 and 2012 winner Brandt Snedeker (T3) picks up another podium, his sixth and sits No. 2 on the all-time money list. … Tom Hoge (5th) closed with 67-68 for his best finish at FIO. … Tony Finau (T6) and Patrick Reed (T6) were the only two post all four rounds 70 or better. … 2011 winner Bubba Watson (T6) played for the first time since 2014. … San Diegan Charley Hoffman (T9) also posted 65 on Sunday. … Ryan Palmer (T21) posted 62 at the North Course and led after 36 holes. … Cameron Davis (T38) posted 65, the second lowest on the North. … Sebastian Cappelen (T21) opened with 66 on the South Course and shared the first round lead. … Only 20 bogey-free rounds for the week. … Cut was 1-under. … Rough was a bushy four inches. … The North Course played almost two shots easier, 70.57 to 72.53. 2019: Justin Rose (-21, 267) Picked up his 10th TOUR win in the easiest conditions at the event since 2001. … Set the 36-hole (-15) and 54-hole (-18) tournament records. … Missed tying the tournament record by a shot. … Became the first winner to play the North Course in Round 1 (63) since 2010. … Played the South Course 12-under. … Third consecutive top 10 at event. … Won in his ninth try. … Closed 2018 on fire and knocked the rust off at The American Express (T34) the week prior. Notables: Adam Scott (2nd) picked the right season for a debut. … Talor Gooch (T3) was the only American in the top seven. … Hideki Matsuyama (T3) posted the only round above par in the top 12 with 73 on Saturday. … Defending champion Jason Day (T5) was seven back. … Rory McIlroy (T5) posted the lowest round on the North Course (65) in Round 2 in his debut. … 2017 winner Jon Rahm (T5) opened with 62 on the North Course to lead after 18, but also posted two rounds of 72 on the South. … Billy Horschel (8th) picked up his second top 10 in four years. … Only Scott played the weekend better than Gary Woodland (T9). … Only one bogey free round on the weekend. … Cut was 3-under. … Scoring average on the South was under par at 71.73. … Weather was perfect. 2018: Jason Day (-10, 278) Defeated Alex Noren and Ryan Palmer (first to be eliminated) in a six-hole playoff for his second victory at Torrey Pines. … Won a four-man playoff in 2015. … As is usual for the winner here, he trailed by three heading into the final round. … Posted one of the 11 rounds (70) in the red on Sunday. … Posted 64 in Round 2 on the North. … Joined the group of recent winners who made hay (T1) on Par-4 holes. … Two wins in nine visits to this point. … T16 in 2020 is his worst payday in his last nine trips. Notables: Noren led by one after 54 holes. … Palmer was paired in the final group and led thru 36 holes. … JB Holmes (4th) posted the round of the week with 65 on Saturday. … Keegan Bradley (5th) backed up his T4 from 2017. … Tony Finau (T6) opened with 65 on the North to lead after 18 and was 9-under after 36. … Charles Howell III (T6) has never missed the cut here and posted 69 on Sunday, the co-low round of the day. … Harris English (T8) picked up his second top 10 in four starts. … Marc Leishman (T8) raked his fourth top 10 in 10 starts. … The light for Justin Rose (T8) finally turned on. … Defending champ Jon Rahm (T29) was one back after 36 holes. … Gary Woodland (T12) 66 on Saturday was only bested by Holmes. … Hideki Matsuyama (T12) closed with 69, tying Howell for the low round Sunday. … Third highest Sunday scoring (74.78) since 2000. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. * – Top 10 finish here since 2016 ** – Previous Champion Strokes-Gained: Tee to Green 2 *Hideki Matsuayama 3 *Jon Rahm 6 *Rory McIlroy 7 Xander Schauffele 8 Harold Varner III 10 Scottie Scheffler 11 *Tony Finau 16 Corey Conners 18 *Harris English 20 Viktor Hovland 22 Luke List 24 Emiliano Grillo 25 Cameron Tringale 26 *Patrick Reed 29 *Ryan Palmer Par-4 Scoring 4 Xander Schauffele 6 *Jon Rahm 6 *Patrick Reed 6 Scottie Scheffler 10 *Harris English 10 *Rory McIlroy 10 *Brandt Snedeker 14 Doc Redman 14 Cameron Tringale 14 *Hideki Matsuyama 14 *Tony Finau 14 Ryan Moore 21 Cameron Percy 21 *Harry Higgs 21 **Scott Stallings 21 *Joel Dahmen 21 **Kyle Stanley 21 Sungjae Im 21 Henrik Norlander 21 *Adam Scott 21 *Bubba Watson Bogey Avoidance 2 *Jon Rahm 3 *Harris English 4 Xander Schauffele 9 Cameron Tringale 11 Russell Knox 20 Adam Schenk 21 *Hideki Matsuyama 22 *Pat Perez 24 *Adam Scott 25 Matthew NeSmith 26 *Brandt Snedeker Horses for Courses

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DETROIT – Rickie Fowler was going the wrong direction, but he rallied with three back-nine birdies and shot a 1-under 71 to make the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. It was his first made cut since the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in March “Knew I needed to jump on the horse and get things going,” said Fowler, who is working on swing changes and came into this week 108th in the FedExCup and 31st in the world. “Made a few better swings on the back nine.” RELATED: Leaderboard | Wolff: ‘Maybe I need to impress the old greats’ Fowler, a Rocket Mortgage and Quicken Loans ambassador, had missed the weekend rounds in his previous two Return to Golf starts, at the Charles Schwab Challenge and RBC Heritage. He had struggled with blisters at the RBC, where he missed the cut by only a shot. “It’s nice to finally have a Saturday tee time,” he said. “I’m kind of sick and tired of taking weekends off, so I really wasn’t looking forward to that. Needed a little back nine action. We got it done.” Normally one of the best putters in the game, he looked into lackluster recent results and realized he was standing too close to the ball, which was leading to chaos in the stroke. Having adjusted, he saw some improvement in a solid first round at the Rocket Mortgage. He narrowly lost strokes to the field on the greens in round two. “Everything’s been getting better and better,” Fowler said. “Yesterday (a 5-under 67) could have been a lot better than it was, but happy with the progress we’re making. Like I said, Saturday tee time’s a good thing. It’s a pretty bunched up leaderboard. Go put together a good one tomorrow morning and we’re right back in it.”

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On the PGA TOUR, victories come in astounding fashion, arguably every single day. Sure, one player will be crowned champion each Sunday, but through the unparalleled efforts of its players, so many others reap far greater rewards. Those are the ones who receive the prize of things like food and shelter, medicine – and, even life. More inspiring than the hard-charging assaults TOUR players put on the courses is the collective soft heart they are driven by to turn those courses into platforms. No player on TOUR epitomizes that M.O. more so than Paul Casey. So, here’s the deal with just part of Casey’s commitment to UNICEF. It’s not a well-known tidbit of information, for recognition isn’t what drives the three-time TOUR winner. For every birdie he makes in any professional event – PGA TOUR or otherwise – Casey donates $100 to UNICEF. He doubles the amount for eagles. RELATED: Leaderboard | Amateur with one arm makes hole-in-one | How Phil became a social media star “Paul is a true champion for children in all that he does,â€� said Shanell Mosley, Deputy Director of Sports Partnerships at UNICEF USA. “He wears the UNICEF logo on his golf bag with so much pride and continually educates fans about UNICEF’s work, advocates on behalf of the rights of children around the world and raises crucial funds for the world’s most vulnerable children.â€� Since 2016, Casey has raised more than $300,000 for UNICEF. During the second round of The American Express at PGA West in La Quinta, CA., Casey’s amateur partners were Jimmy Dunne, vice chairman at Wall Street investment banking firm Piper Sandler, and investment banker, Adebayo Ogunlesi, a managing partner at the private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners. An idea entered Casey’s head. “Yesterday, I asked Steve Squeri, the CEO of American Express, if he wanted to match my pledge, since I’m paired with him on Saturday at the Stadium Course,â€� Casey said. “He said, ‘Yeah, brilliant’.â€� Casey made the same ask of Dunne, with whom he has been friends for years.   “He’s such a good guy,â€� Casey said. “So, I pitched the idea to him this morning, and he goes, ‘Yeah, I’m in. But I’m going to do one better than that,’.â€� Dunne would offer $1,000 for every birdie Casey made and $10,000 for every birdie he made. He also pledged $10,000 for birdie he made himself in Friday’s second round. “I made five, but the beautiful thing about this story is that Jimmy’s a good player,â€� Casey said. “He hit some great shots, but this is a difficult golf course, and I could see him, he was trying so hard. He missed a few putts for birdie, but then we got to the 15th hole and that’s when it all changed.â€� Dunne hit his tee just into the right rough, leaving himself 165 yards from the hole. For an eagle, he holed his approach shot. “He comes running up the hill with the biggest smile on his face,â€� said Casey. “He said we had never discussed eagles. I told him that was completely at his discretion.â€� Dunne would offer up $25,000 for the feat. In addition, Dunne secured a matching amount from Ogunlesi. “And it gets better, because on the next hole Jimmy almost flies it in for an eagle,â€� Casey said. “The ball ran to the back of the green and then he holed it for a birdie, which is another $10,000.â€� When the group finished their round, Casey did some quick math and informed Dunne and Ogunlesi that – all in – they were each in for $40,000. Dunne, though, took issue with Casey. “Jimmy looks at me and says ‘We can’t, 40 is no good’,â€� Casey said. “He looks at Adebayo and suggests $50,000 each…to UNICEF. Adebayo said ‘Sure’.â€� “I was immediately stunned when I heard the news,â€� said Mosley. “In fact, I had no words and it made me rather emotional because I could hear the joy in Paul’s voice.â€� “That’s what’s cool about these events to me,â€� Casey said. “Yes, somebody’s going to win at the end of the week, but it’s the impact that it has on people’s lives that truly makes the difference. Golf and the PGA TOUR are the platforms that allow these kinds of things to happen. It’s the coolest.â€� “He has an incredibly big heart and is so passionate about the work that UNICEF does,â€� said Mosley. “He continues to leverage his platform to make a difference for children and it means so much to the UNICEF family. We speak about the resiliency of UNICEF staff in the field and in a very real sense, Paul is an extension of our team. He won’t stop until every child has their basic needs met such as access to health care, clean water, nutrition, and education.â€�  As is the case for every TOUR player, some finishes are better than others for Casey. But, when he knows his every swing helps give children across the world a greater chance of getting into some swing of normalcy, he carries on, head held high. “He continually uses his platform for good and to raise awareness about UNICEF’s lifesaving work for children,â€� Mosley said. “We are also incredibly grateful to the individuals that accepted Paul’s birdie challenge and for their generous contribution. I can guarantee this is a story that many of us will never forget. Who would have thought a round of golf could literally save a child’s life?â€� Apparently, Paul did. For more information or to donate to UNICEF, visit unicefusa.org/wontstop

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