How Tony Finau helped save volunteer’s life

The hot, humid days of May have shifted to the relatively cool, damp days of March in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, as the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass hosts the top 50 players in both the FedExCup standings and the OWGR for the 46th edition. Pete Dye’s masterpiece (Par 72, 7,189) has stood the test of time and was originally designed for play in March. With multiple different doglegs, visual tricks and no two consecutive holes playing the same direction, multiple decisions and multiple shot shapes will be on display. The major differences will be not navigating Bermuda rough and greens that are not crispy from the lack of heat this time of year. Manageable rough and softer conditions this week might make March more palatable, but the winner ($2.25 million; 600 FedExCup points) of the $12.5 million purse will need every club in their bag plus the six inches between their ears to lift the new trophy. Need more Course Info? Check Rob Bolton’s Power Rankings, The First Look and Course Preview. Recent Winners Webb Simpson (2018). Justin Thomas remarked that we would never see TPC Sawgrass play as easy as it did on Sunday (70.014) of last year. Simpson destroyed too many records to list as he led the field in fairways, Strokes-Gained: Putting and Par-4 and Par-5 scoring while winning comfortably (73 on Sunday) by four shots. Notables: Brooks Koepka closed with 63, the lowest final round in history to cash T11; Xander Schauffele continued his role a quick study as he cashed T2 in his first appearance; Simpson was last in driving distance and went co-wire-to-wire as he shared only the first round lead. Si Woo Kim (2017): The youngest winner ever at 21, the South Korean debuted in 2016 (T23) and spent his weekend scrambling for pars (T1) and avoiding bogeys (T1). He posted 10-under, including 69 in Round 4, to win by three in hot, blustery conditions.  There were just seven rounds in the 60’s on Sunday. Notables:  54-hole leaders J.B. Holmes (84) and Kyle Stanley (75) never factored; Kim was bogey-free in the final round as he beat Louis Oosthuizen (T2) heads-up by three; Like Kim, Rafa Cabrera Bello made his second start and cashed T4. Jason Day (2016): Picked up his second win of the season in wire-to-wire fashion (API) to go along with his WGC-Dell Match Play victory. Gamers will remember his victory at Match Play as he injured his back and couldn’t pick the ball out of the hole. Day opened with 63 and never looked back as he won by four. Notables: Thomas fired 65 in the final round (T3) in his second start; Colt Knost posted 63 in Round 2 and shared T3 with Thomas and Ken Duke proving this course can be played by short, straight hitters. Day led the field in scrambling, bogey avoidance and Par-4 scoring while finishing T51 in fairways hit. Key stat leaders Golfers inside the top 25-ish in each statistic on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. This is the 20th event of the season. * – Finished inside the top 10 since 2010 Strokes-Gained: Tee to Green  1  *Rory McIlroy  2  *Justin Thomas  3  *Hideki Matsuyama (20 under par in four starts before MC last year)  4  Byeong-Hun An  5  Dustin Johnson  6  Gary Woodland (best T11, 2014)  7  Patrick Cantlay  8  Jason Kokrak (6 trips, 1 weekend)  9  *Tommy Fleetwood (T7 ’18, T41 ’17) 10 Matthew Fitzpatrick 11 Luke List 12 *Paul Casey (first time, 2004, none in 10 other trips) 13 *Xander Schauffele 15 Keith Mitchell (coming in HOT) 16 Lucas Glover (T6 ’17, 3 2010) 18 Sungjae Im (maiden; rookie) 19 Corey Conners (maiden) 20 Talor Gooch (maiden) 21 Jon Rahm (T63, T72) 22 *Webb Simpson 22 *Ian Poulter (T2, 2017) 24 *Matt Kuchar (2012 winner) 25 Bubba Watson (T37 best in 11 trips) Strokes-Gained: Putting  1  Dominic Bozzelli  2  Brian Gay  4  Andrew Putnam  6  *Rafa Cabrera Bello (T4 ’18, T17 ’17)  7  Scott Langley  8  *Rickie Fowler  9  Dustin Johnson 10 Patton Kizzire 11 *Jason Day 12 *Brandt Snedeker 13 *Xander Schauffele 14 Patrick Reed 16 Wyndham Clark (maiden) 17 Charles Howell III (16 events, T17 ’18 is his best) 18 *Adam Scott 19 *Francesco Molinari 20 Billy Horschel 21 Cameron Smith (MC, MC) 22 Denny McCarthy (maiden) 23 Vaughn Taylor 24 *Si Woo Kim 26 Kiradech Aphibarnrat Bogey Avoidance  1  *Lucas Glover  2  Charles Howell III  3  Dustin Johnson  4  Patrick Cantlay  5  *Matt Kuchar (2012 winner)  6  *Webb Simpson  7  *Xander Schauffele  7  Kevin Tway  9  *Jim Furyk 10 *Aaron Baddeley 13 *Marc Leishman (one top 10 in 9 starts) 15 *Harold Varner III 16 *Kevin Kisner (P2 on debut in ’15 is only top 50 result) 17 Talor Gooch 18 *Justin Rose 20 Troy Merritt 21 *Justin Thomas 21 Andrew Putnam 23 Abraham Ancer (maiden) 24 *Rory McIlroy 25 *Jhonattan Vegas Levels of Confidence Premium Veterans Tiger Woods is the only player to win in March (2001) and May (2013) and has only missed once in 18 tries. He’s also the only multiple winner in the field. Rested and raring to go, he’ll look to improve his T11 from last year, his first start since 2015. Another veteran who has played both sides is Sergio Garcia. The 2008 champ was second in 2007, T4 in 2002 and has cashed in 17 of 19 appearances. He’s quietly racked up T9 and T6 in his last two on TOUR. At age 23 in 2004 Adam Scott became the youngest winner after Fred Funk became the oldest winner in 48 the year before. He backed up his win with T8 and added T6 in the first May edition. Since 2012 he’s played the event under-par and has finished outside T19 exactly once. Last week’s winner Francesco Molinari will look to join Woods (2001) as the only players this century to win THE PLAYERS the week after winning on TOUR. Woods also used the Arnold Palmer Invitation as his springboard that season and interestingly enough, Day won his trophy after claiming the API earlier in the year in 2016. Form Over Function    The foot of Rory McIlroy has to be sore from trying to kick open the door to victory this year as his streak of top-10 finishes is now at five. His run of T8, T6, T8 and T12 from 2013-16 cooled with T35 in ’17 and MC last year. It’s shocking that Dustin Johnson has never hit the top 10 here in 10 trips. It’s also not shocking he’s won twice worldwide in 2019 including his last time out at WGC-Mexico Championships. His two best paydays are the last two years (T17 ’18, T12 ’17). With three top-25 cashes, including T3 and T11, I’ll suggest Justin Thomas is comfortable around these parts. I’m trying to think where he’s not comfortable … The last time Brooks Koepka was at TPC Sawgrass he set the Sunday scoring record (63) that included an albatross. His check for T11 was his third-consecutive pay INCREASE at THE PLAYERS. Caution The last time we saw Jason Day he WD after six holes on Thursday at Bay Hill. He claims his injury has been blown out of proportion. His three top-10 paydays in the last eight years will gather eyeballs again this week. Justin Rose has only one top-10 payday from 15 tries but he’s also won this season at a difficult Torrey Pines. After finishing T2 in 2012 and winning in 2015, Rickie Fowler looked like an annual “save” for this event. Since his win he’s left early twice and cashed T60. With only two cuts made in five trips I’m not sure if I’m running Jordan Spieth to the front of the line this week. I don’t believe this is the track or event to get healthy or bust a slump. The mystery that is Phil Mickelson continues to taunt gamers as he’s done nothing since his win at Pebble Beach. He’s MC in six of his last seven here with the best result being T41.

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Montreal, QC, Canada — An object in motion generally stays in motion, and just one event removed from his first professional victory at the ATB Financial Classic, Corey Pereira seems to have maintained his momentum through the off-week and into this week’s Mackenzie Investments Open presented by Jaguar Laval. With a staggering nine birdies on his round, the Mission Viejo, CA native played a bogey-free round for the seventh time this season and matched his lowest score relative-to-par as a professional golfer in the form of a 9-under 63 to set the Elm Ridge Country Club course record. “It was awesome, I really got it going out there,� said Pereira. “Tee-to-green, it was mediocre, but I haven’t putt that well in a long time; I seemed to make everything out there and golf is fun when it’s like that.� While a hot putter was the case in Montreal, just under a month ago in Calgary, the Washington University alum proved he could do it by striking the ball as well, firing rounds of 64-65-62-67. While Pereira self-admittedly struggled with the flat stick during his second round at the ATB Financial Classic, it was how he turned it around that won him the title. “I know how difficult it is to win; one warm day doesn’t mean it’s the summer,� said the second-year pro. “I can go out tomorrow and struggle, but I have to be prepared for anything, and there’s some things I need to tighten up if I want to win this tournament.� Currently in the No. 6 position on the Order of Merit, a win would solidify Pereira’s spot among The Five that gain Web.com Tour status at season’s end, and while Pereira knows this, it’s not something he is actively going to think about as the week goes on. “It’s huge being in that top-5, I know that,� said Pereira, who finished last season at No. 39 on the Order of Merit. “I can only control my game, take it one shot at a time, try to shoot the lowest score I can and see where the numbers stack up.� Two Canadians currently sit in a tie for 13th at 4-under, Luke Moser, who Monday qualified into the event, and Sebastian Szirmak, a Quebec native playing this week on a Sponsor’s Exemption. The duo leads the charge for the Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week award, while Mackenzie Tour regulars this season Taylor Penrith and Michael Gligic sit in a tie for 42nd at 2-under. Key Information  When asked about his ability to take rounds way under-par, Corey Pereira made reference to his closest call to a 59 at Cameron Park Country Club, his home club in California. Playing with his course-record holding friend, Pereira had a putt for 59 on the final hole that would not only get him to the elusive number for the first time but would also break his pal’s record by one. While Pereira left the putt on the lip, he says it’s rounds like those back home that taught him how to play freely when under par.  Entering the week at No. 65 on the Order of Merit, Theo Humphrey played his best round since the Windsor Championship in July, avoiding any bogeys to fire a 66 to put him in a tie for third place.  With his spot in the Freedom 55 Financial Championship secured, Blake Olson has his sights set on more as he comes into the Mackenzie Investments Open presented by Jaguar Laval in spot No. 42 on the Order of Merit. In search of his third top-10 of the season, Olson made eight birdies, including two to close out his round, to shoot 65.  While Paul McConnell opened the season strongly with back-to-back top-15 finishes to start the year, he has struggled since, missing three cuts. However, on Thursday at Elm Ridge the University of Texas-Arlington alum was back in form, making five birdies in a row from hole Nos. 13-17 before closing with a par to fire a 66.  Last season, JD Tomlinson finished the season as the odd-man out in spot No. 61 on the Order of Merit, giving him no status on the Mackenzie Tour. Working his way back onto the Tour, Tomlinson comes into Montreal in a similar position, currently at number 59. The Gainesville, FL native did himself a favour on Thursday, making six birdies to fire a 67 to sit comfortable in a tie for sixth.  Zach Wright, who, while playing consistently, has cooled slightly since his dominant start to the season, looks to solidify his spot at No. 2 on the Order of Merit with a good finish this week at Elm Ridge. The Louisiana State product got off on the right foot on Thursday, carding a bogey-free 67 to sit in a tie for sixth.  Order of Merit leader Tyler McCumber, winner of three of the past four Mackenzie Tour events, played his worst first round since the season-opening Freedom 55 Financial Open, making four birdies and two bogeys to shoot 70. Quotable “I just tried to shoot 59 when I had that going, and my home course is like that, it plays pretty easy and we shoot some low rounds out there, so I try to go as low as I can, and I feel like I’m comfortable under-par and I’m comfortable going more under par. My background helped me today.� – Corey Pereira “I just played pretty solid, hit the driver really well, gave myself some short irons and then just made a couple putts, so it was an easy day overall. The wind was starting to pick up towards the end of the day, so it was a bit more difficult for the guys in the afternoon, but overall I played really good.� – Blake Olson “I’ve got other goals, like, trying to get into the top-10 and we’ve got two weeks to do it, so I’m trying to do all I can and just play well each day. Being aggressive off the tees and being patient coming in is just really a priority, so that’s what I’m going to try to do all week.� – Blake Olson “I started off hitting a snap hook on the first hole and thought, ‘oh boy, this might not be good,’ but I ended up making a great par putt, about an eight-footer, on one of the easiest holes on the golf course. To make that save to start the day allowed me to have a good round, and I hit the ball really well after that and ended up shooting a good score.� – Theo Humphrey “I think I’ve been too focused most of this year on end results, trying to do this or trying to do that, I just need to go out there and play good golf and that usually adds up pretty well.� – Theo Humphrey First-Round Weather: Warm and sunny, 23 degrees Celsius with minimal wind.

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Moving Day at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship gets underway on Friday. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action from Round 3. Round 3 tee times Round 3 leaderboard HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 2-5 p.m. (GC). Sunday, 2:30-5 p.m. (GC). PGA TOUR LIVE: None. RADIO: None. NOTABLE TEE TIMES Trey Mullinax, Harris English, David Hearn: 10:10 a.m. ET (No. 10) Jhonattan Vegas, Tyrone Van Aswegen, Denny McCarthy: 10:30 a.m. ET (No. 1) Joel Dahmen, Graeme McDowell, Kelly Kraft: 11:10 a.m. ET (No. 1) Sungjae Im, Jonathan Byrd, Aaron Baddeley: 11:30 a.m. ET (No. 1) MUST READS McDowell bounces back on Friday Romo misses cut in Punta Cana Garnett recalls great memories from Puntacana 18 things about defending champion Garnett The Flyover: Quick look at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship

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