How WHOOP helps TOUR players perform their best

• FIELD: See who’s playing this week. • COURSE: Colonial Country Club, 7,209 yards, par 70. Set to host its 72nd edition, only Augusta National has a longer unbroken tenure on the PGA TOUR schedule. The 1936 Perry Maxwell/John Bredemus design is a classic shotmaker’s layout, known for its tight fairways and many doglegs. The U.S. Open came to Colonial in 1941 – the first time the Open went south of the Mason-Dixon Line – and the PGA TOUR made its first visit five years later. Colonial also held the second edition of THE PLAYERS Championship in 1975, the 1991 U.S. Women’s Open and Annika Sorenstam’s historic 2003 venture as the first woman to tee up in a PGA TOUR event since World War II. • FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. • CHARITY: A record $11 million was raised last year for some three dozen Tarrant County charities, bringing total donations over the past two decades to more than $90 million. Among last year’s beneficiaries were SafeHaven of Tarrant County, the All Saints Health Foundation and The First Tee of Fort Worth. • FIELD WATCH: Jordan Spieth makes a title defense in his home state for the first time, joined by Masters champion Sergio Garcia in a lineup featuring eight of the top 30 in the world rankings. … Si Woo Kim, newly crowned winner of THE PLAYERS, is set to tee it up for the first time since his triumph at TPC Sawgrass. … Phil Mickelson, the 1996 champion, returns to Colonial for the first time since the 2010 edition. … Beau Hossler, a former All-American at Texas now in his first full year as a professional, will play on one of two Champions Choice invitations given out each year to young pros. … The other invite went to Jamie Sadlowski, a two-time World Long Drive champion now splitting time between the Web.com Tour and Mackenzie Tour. • 72-HOLE RECORD: 259, Zach Johnson (2010). • 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Keith Clearwater (2nd round, 1993), Lee Janzen (4th round, 1993), Greg Kraft (3rd round, 1999), Kenny Perry (3rd round, 2003), Justin Leonard (4th round, 2003), Chad Campbell (3rd round, 2004). • LAST YEAR: Spieth finally came up with that elusive first win in his home state, heating up on Sunday’s back nine and finishing with a birdie/birdie/birdie charge for a second straight 65 and a three-stroke victory over Harris English. Spieth took a one-shot lead into the final day, but nine pars on the front dropped the Dallas native two shots back before he found his rhythm. Three straight birdies after the turn brought him level with English, and the tie stood until Spieth made a curling 20-foot birdie at No.16. A chip-in followed at No.17, and he coaxed home a 34-foot birdie at the 18th to seal the victory. It was Spieth’s first win in 19 Texas starts, including a trio of runner-up finishes in 2015. • STORYLINES: Spieth, fresh off back-to-back missed cuts at THE PLAYERS and AT&T Byron Nelson, heads to the other side of the Metroplex seeking to turn it around in short order. It’s just the second time he’s exited early in consecutive starts, after The Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship in 2015. … After a rare week off, Kim also gets to tee it up as something of a local hero. The South Korean, who already has 19 starts this season, now calls Dallas his adopted hometown. … Ryan Palmer, a Colonial member, again seeks home-course triumph after last year’s share of third. That was his fourth top-15 finish in the past five years, including ties for fifth in 2012 and ‘14. … Spieth also has a chance to join Ben Hogan as the only man to record back-to-back wins at Colonial. Hogan did it twice – 1946-47 and 1952-53. • SHORT CHIPS: Former AT&T Byron Nelson champions Jason Dufner and Steven Bowditch can become the 16th man to hit the “DFW Doubleâ€� by winning both Dallas-Fort Worth stops in their career. Adam Scott was the last, not only taking the double in 2014 but becoming the first to complete the “Texas Grand Slamâ€� when combined with wins in Houston (2007) and San Antonio (’10). … Before Spieth’s victory, the previous seven editions had seen the 54-hole leader unable to finish the task. … Barring a late WD, Matt Kuchar and Jhonattan Vegas are the only players that will have teed it up in all five Texas stops this year. • TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). • PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. (featured groups), 4-7 p.m. (featured holes). • RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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SYDNEY, Australia – International Team Captain Ernie Els says he will go for the guy with “the look in the eyeâ€� when it comes to taking on U.S. Team Captain Tiger Woods in Sunday singles at next week’s Presidents Cup. Els confirmed that his 12-man team had been posturing for a chance to take on the 82-time PGA TOUR winner man-on-man since Woods officially selected himself to play. RELATED: Predicting the partnerships | How Internationals can turn loss into gain A Woods win in singles at Royal Melbourne could be the catalyst the International Team needs to win the biennial team event for the first time since 1998, even if Els says the U.S. captain has lost the aura he once held. “I don’t think it’s the same kind of aura like in the past, I think it’s a different kind of aura … It’s more he’s a celebrity kind of aura,â€� Els said of Woods, who will become the first playing captain since Hale Irwin in 1994. “I’ll analyze how the guys are playing and see who’s really got the look in the eye. There are a lot of guys who have put their hands up to want to play Tiger … but I will not put a guy in there that’s going to feel overwhelmed. “Obviously he’s (still) very competitive. He’s won The Masters and won in Japan this year. When he’s healthy, he can play at a very high level, but consistently, he’s not what he used to be and that’s just what age does.â€� While the likes of veterans Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen might seem like logical choices to take on Woods, Els has seven rookies on his team and says he’s not afraid to use them. This includes Sungjae Im and Joaquin Niemann, who are both 21. “It’s a very young team. These guys, they never competed against Tiger like some of the other guys like Scotty have,â€� Els said. “The youngsters look up at him, but they definitely want to have a piece of him. So, we’ll see who I think can really play against Tiger the best and get the best result.â€� Of course with the back-and-forth nature of setting up matches in the Presidents Cup, Woods could be the man in control of who he plays. In the past, the 15-time major winner has earmarked a local star, or big name player, to set a tone for his side. In 1998 at Royal Melbourne, Woods insisted on playing against Australian Greg Norman, and while the U.S. suffered their only team defeat, Woods prevailed in his match. He also took on Els in South Africa in 2003, Mike Weir in Canada in 2007 and Aussie Aaron Baddeley back at Royal Melbourne in 2011. If it is to be a home-grown talent once more that leaves Scott, Marc Leishman or Cameron Smith in his sights. Former THE PLAYERS champion Scott is one of the players asking for it. “It’d be great to stick it to Tiger and the entire American team,â€� Scott said. “He’s the ultimate competitor; there’s no way he’s not doing everything possible coming down here as a captain, and a player, to win this event. There’s no way he wants to be captain of a losing U.S. team. “It’s going to be very difficult, but we have to believe we can beat him and I believe we can win next week.â€� While Sunday strategy is part of the big game plan from Els, the South African legend has tried to shift his players concerns to the opening three days of competition where Four-ball and Foursomes take center stage. Given the Internationals have trailed heading to Sunday in the last six editions of the competition, he is wise to do so. “I’m really focused on the first couple of sessions. We’ve got four sessions before we get to the singles. There’s a lot of golf to be played,â€� Els said. Els says his data-driven pairings in the team portion may surprise people but he’s determined to see his blueprint through in order to provide an upset at Royal Melbourne. “There are a couple of pairings that are kind of natural pairings, if you can call it that, but I’m looking at it in a different way, not just a personality way. I’m looking at how the guys can really perform together. So, stay tuned,â€� Els said. “My pairings are on my phone and we’ve looked at quite a few different scenarios. I’ve spoken to the players … and my plan is kind of set in motion already.â€�

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One of the most important reminders of the pandemic has been never to take anything for granted. However, those headed from the Masters to the RBC Heritage once again can count on a 150-mile decompression corridor that ends on U.S. Route 278 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. If there isn’t a slower heartbeat upon arrival, they’re doing it wrong. Almost half the field of the Masters (42 of 88 as of Monday afternoon) are committed to the annual stop at Harbour Town Golf Links. A similarly strong field seized on the opportunity on what was just the second tournament of the Return to Golf last summer. For a brief recap of the records established, the new wrinkle this week’s field will experience and more, continue reading beneath the projected contenders. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field POWER RANKINGS: RBC HERITAGE Recent World Golf Championship winners Billy Horschel (Match Play) and Collin Morikawa (Workday) will be included in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider with Sungjae Im, Kevin Kisner, Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood and other notables. If you ever wondered what the strongest field in tournament history could do to Harbour Town, the scheduling adjustments triggered by the pandemic presented the case in 2020. The Official World Golf Ranking determined the 2020 RBC Heritage to have a strength-of-field rating of 647. It was the eighth-highest of all tournaments worldwide last year, but even though there were far fewer events conducted, consider that the last three editions of the RBC Heritage were valued at 280 (2017), 342 (2018) and 430 (2019). The field averaged an all-time low of 69.137 on the par 36-35—71. Since data was first maintained in earnest in 1983, the previous record was 70.490 in 2015. Not surprisingly, Webb Simpson’s winning pace of 22-under 262 also established a tournament record. He offset five bogeys with an eagle and 25 birdies. The 36-hole cut of low 65 and ties landed at 4-under 138. To accommodate playing time for as many as possible, last year’s tournament reserved space for 144 golfers, but it went final at 151 because of the unprecedented commitment of eligible qualifiers for the invitational. This year’s edition has reverted to its customary space of 132, but at the time this went to publish, the field was 135 strong. So, alternates will not be called unless it drops below 132. Whether it was the depth of the field or its first-ever June date that yielded record scoring, that question might be answered in the return to its normal April slot. Unnecessary in June, the TifEagle bermuda greens are overseeded as usual for the April staging. They’re only 3,700 square feet on average and they could run up to 12-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter. The only rough, also overseeded bermuda, tops at just three-quarters of an inch. Because of slow growth due to a harsher winter, the bomb-and-gouge crowd could crash the party perennially reserved for shot-makers, but at just 7,121 yards and always averaging among the shortest in distance of all drives, the Davids in the field have as terrific a chance as any to slingshot around the Goliaths. The entirety of the walk represents and increase of 22 yards on the par-3 17th hole. Thanks to a larger tee box, it now can stretch to 196 yards. The elements almost always play a supporting role in the outcome, and this week should be no different. Moderate winds out of the west on Thursday and Sunday will sandwich equally fresh breezes off the coast to the east on Friday and Saturday, but course experience hasn’t mattered as much in recent years as it did in the more distant past, anyway. Controlled low ball flights is preferred and putting takes a backseat to precision on approach. Rain could fall on the weekend, but scoring should be balanced until then. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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