Inside the Field: THE NORTHERN TRUST

April might seem a ways off, but it’s been several years since McIlroy has won a major. He’s hoping for a victory early in 2018 to boost his confidence ahead of Augusta. Oh, he also shares a Tiger Woods story.

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PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Justin Thomas struggled with his putter at the Valspar Championship, but the ball-striking was strong enough for a top-15 finish that put him atop the FedExCup standings. Thomas, who won the FedExCup in 2017, now has a 30-point lead over Bryson DeChambeau. Thomas is trying to join Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy as the only two-time winners of the FedExCup. Thomas also took the lead in the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10. The Valspar was his 11th top-25 in 13 starts this season, including a win at THE PLAYERS Championship. He finished T13 this week after shooting four consecutive rounds of par or better (69-71-67-70). RELATED: Final leaderboard | What’s in Burns’ bag? “I’m playing some really good golf and I’m really, really close to, I feel like, getting it going here pretty good,” Thomas said. “(Moving to No. 1) is a good kind of bonus for a so-so week.” Thomas led the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, Approach-the-Green and Tee-to-Green. It’s the first time he’s led a tournament in all three categories. He’s the first player to accomplish that since Rory McIlroy at the 2018 BMW Championship. “When I feel like I can kind of lay it off at the top and try to hit pull cuts — that’s what really was my thought at THE PLAYERS — I’ve had a lot of good ball striking rounds doing that,” Thomas said after shooting 70 on Sunday. “My miss, I’m still getting a little stuck underneath it, but it’s close. My good shots are really, really good right now and the consistency is there. I just need to see a couple putts fall.” Thomas also led the field with three eagles this week. He started the final round with his second eagle of the week on the first hole, hitting a 206-yard approach to 7 feet. He was third-to-last in Strokes Gained: Putting among the players who made the cut, however. He lost 6.5 strokes on the greens, the second-worst putting performance of his career. He saw some improvement over the weekend, however. “I just was trying to focus a little bit more on speed and how far I was trying to hit it as opposed to how hard,” Thomas said. “Sometimes I get a little wrapped up in trying to maybe hit it harder instead of farther and when I do that I kind of drag the handle and that’s when I hit that one to the right. That’s just a tendency in my stroke. I really was just trying to focus on speed and speed I was trying to hit the putt and stay stable.” Thomas is playing next week Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, where he won the 2017 PGA Championship, and then playing the PGA at Kiawah Island.

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The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is a unique week on the PGA TOUR calendar. When its new format debuted in 2017, it was the first team event on TOUR in more than 30 years and the first to use foursomes, or alternate shot, in stroke play. Unfortunately, this event will not be played in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. But, because the Zurich Classic is one-of-a-kind, so much of its intrigue happens before a shot is struck. The players’ selection of teammates gives us an insight into their relationships. Measuring how their skills complement each other is a fun exercise in analysis. So even though we won’t see players at TPC Louisiana this week, we can still celebrate the Zurich Classic. In that vein, here’s a look at 10 modern teams (active PGA TOUR players) we’d love to see if the Zurich Classic was being played this week (and one that had already confirmed its pairing). With this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans canceled, PGATOUR.COM writers will publish a series of our favorite two-man partnerships in honor of the tournament’s unique team format. Each day, we’ll focus on a specific category. Use the comments section to let us know which two-man teams you’d most enjoy seeing: TODAY: Modern teams. Sean Martin picks out his 10 favorite teams from today’s active pros. WEDNESDAY: Classic teams. Tom Alter picks out his 10 favorite teams from former PGA TOUR and golf greats. THURSDAY: Fantasy teams. Jim McCabe picks out his 10 favorite teams using partners from different generations. FRIDAY: ShotLink teams. PGA TOUR’s ShotLink crew picks out its 10 best partners utilizing analytics from the ShotLink Era (since 2003). 1. Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson Who else would you put first? And we can almost guarantee that this pairing will have more success than it did at Oakland Hills in the 2004 Ryder Cup. 2. Rory McIlroy-Brooks Koepka There were final-round showdowns at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, as well as the TOUR Championship with the FedExCup on the line. Then there were the quotes exchanged in the fall and the talk of a rivalry. But what if they joined forces for just this week? 3. Collin Morikawa-Matthew Wolff They were competing in college events this time last year. Now they’re both PGA TOUR winners and part of the TOUR’s youth movement. Morikawa and Wolff are two of five TOUR winners age 22 or younger since July. Compare that to the 15 years from 1985-2000, when there were four winners from that age group. Morikawa and Wolff have known each other since high school. They’ve already dueled once on TOUR, going head-to-head down the stretch at the 3M Open. Wolff won with an eagle on the final hole. Their duel was one of the highlights of last summer. They have the potential to be a strong team, as well; thus, no surprise they were scheduled to partner had this week’s event been played. Wolff’s length off the tee will leave Morikawa, who’s known for his laser-like approach play, with shorter iron shots in the alternate-shot format. 4. Charles Howell III-Viktor Hovland Let’s not forget Hovland, who was playing with Wolff at Oklahoma State in 2019. Hovland has a win of his own, at this year’s Puerto Rico Open. Another former Cowboy, Charles Howell III, could be a good partner for Hovland even though he’s nearly two decades older. Howell has served as a mentor for his fellow OSU alum during his brief pro career. They play practice rounds together and share a swing coach (Dana Dahlquist). Their games could complement, as well. Hovland admits that the short game is his weakness. Howell is 23rd in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green this season. 5. Francesco Molinari-Tommy Fleetwood Remember MoliWood? They were the stars two years ago at Le Golf National. Fleetwood has been his usual consistent self, while Molinari has struggled recently. Perhaps pairing with his former Ryder Cup partner is just what Molinari needs. 6. Bryson DeChambeau-Harry Higgs The former college roommates are a study in contrasts. DeChambeau is the mad scientist, in an unceasing quest to eliminate the variables. Higgs is a little more laid-back, as evidenced by his unbuttoned collars that often expose his chest hair. Don’t let his easygoing demeanor obscure his talent, though. The rookie is 42nd in the FedExCup thanks to a runner-up finish in the Bermuda Championship and ninth-place finish at the Farmers Insurance Open. 7. Maverick McNealy-Danielle Kang The first-year TOUR player and his LPGA-major-winning girlfriend have become one of golf Instagram’s power couples. McNealy is having a strong debut season on TOUR after Kang introduced him to instructor Butch Harmon. McNealy, who had a decorated amateur career at Stanford, is 57th in the FedExCup. His missed cut in his last start snapped a streak of 11 straight cuts made. That includes a T5 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and three other top-25s. Kang’s most recent LPGA victory came in October, and she’s currently fifth in the Rolex Rankings. 8. Hideki Matsuyama-Denny McCarthy Hideki’s prowess with his irons, and struggles with the putter, have been well-documented (he’s currently third this season in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green but 198th in Strokes Gained: Putting). That’s where McCarthy comes in. He’s the undisputed best putter on the PGA TOUR. He led the TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting last season and is first among players with at least 15 measured rounds this season. 9. Bubba Watson-Webb Simpson Watson beat Simpson in a playoff at TPC Louisiana nine years ago, so they’ve had success here. Simpson is already a top-10 player in the world. He’d be even closer to the top of the world ranking if he had another 30 yards off the tee. That’s what this pairing gives him. TPC Louisiana’s wide fairways allow Watson to be aggressive off the tee. They’re both in good form, as well. Simpson won this year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open and has four top-7 finishes in five starts this season. He’s fifth in the FedExCup. Watson finished sixth in this year’s Farmers Insurance Open and third at TPC Scottsdale, three shots behind Simpson. 10. Sungjae Im-Justin Thomas This would have been a shrewd move on Sungjae’s part. If he paired with JT, then Thomas wouldn’t have been able to gain on him in the FedExCup. Im is atop the FedExCup thanks to his win at The Honda Classic and three other top-3 finishes, but his lead is just a slim 55 points over Thomas. It will be quite the race when the season resumes. Im, despite his good play and stellar Presidents Cup performance, remains underrated, so giving him a week with JT would help expose more people to his impressive game.

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