International Team looms large at Augusta

2021 Masters Tournament, Round 1 (Delayed) Scoring Conditions: Overall: -0.61 strokes per round Morning wave: -0.23 Afternoon wave: -1.32 Current cutline (top 50 and ties): 50 players at -1 or better (T34) Top 3 projected cutline probabilities: 1. Even: 37.0% 2. 1 under par: 30.6% 3. 1 over par: 17.6% Top 10 win probabilities: 1. Justin Thomas (T2, -5, 17.8%) 2. Dustin Johnson (T13, -3, 10.5%) 3. Xander Schauffele (T2, -5, 8.9%) 4. Jon Rahm (T13, -3, 6.8%) 5. Webb Simpson (T2, -5, 5.5%) 6. Paul Casey (1, -7, 5.4%) 7. Hideki Matsuyama (T5, -4, 4.5%) 8. Patrick Reed (T5, -4, 3.4%) 9. Adam Scott (T5, -4, 3.2%) 10. Patrick Cantlay (T21, -2, 2.9%) NOTE: These reports are based off the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live "Make Cut", "Top 20", "Top 5", and "Win" probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 20K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of the Masters Tournament, or to see how each golfer's probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model's home page.

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DUBLIN, Ohio – Kevin Streelman didn’t exactly come out of the blocks quickly when the PGA TOUR resumed play after a four-month shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He missed the cut in the Charles Schwab Challenge, as well as the RBC Heritage. But the early exit in Hilton Head proved to be fortuitous when Streelman and Aaron Baddeley got together for a friendly 18 holes on Saturday while everyone else was battling at Harbour Town. “He just saw one little thing in my putting and kind of gave me a little tip, and I’ve been putting beautifully since,” the Duke graduate said. The boost of confidence on the greens was among the keys to Streelman’s second-place finish at the Travelers Championship, his second runner-up of the season. And it’s carried over to the Workday Charity Open where he entered Saturday’s third round tied for second, three strokes off the lead held by 23-year-old Collin Morikawa. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Morikawa builds on lead Streelman made nine birdies in a round of 64 on Friday and stood first in Strokes Gained: Putting through two rounds with a career-best +8.475. The 41-year-old finished four rounds at TPC River Highlands ranked a solid 10th in the same category, as well. Streelman, whose golf bag was signed by his beloved Chicago Cubs starters before the pandemic hit, is now 37 under in his last seven rounds on the PGA TOUR. “I putted beautifully, kept it below most of the pins, was able to give some nice strikes to some putts, but took care of the difficult shots out there and birdied the par 5s and put myself in position,” Streelman said, terming himself “excited.” As for the tip? Well, Streelman declined to share it when he met with the socially distanced media after his round on Friday. It wasn’t anything fundamental, anyway. “It’s actually nothing with the stroke, it’s much more visual and getting out into my spot of how I want it to go in,” Streelman said. “I was more into my stroke, and it just kind of freed it up, to be honest.” Streelman, who is seeking the third win of his career, came to Muirfield Village relaxed after beating the 110-degree heat in Phoenix by spending more time in the pool with his kids last week than playing golf. He finished fourth in last year’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, closing with a 66, and said Jack Nicklaus’ signature layout fits the Midwesterner’s eye. He’s been driving the ball particularly well this week – ranking third in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and second in fairways hit this week. “There’s just shots you’ve got to step up and hit great shots,” Streelman explained. “… I drive the ball straight. Been able to hit a lot of fairways, and when my putter is on, I know I can compete with most of the guys and (looking forward to) see how I do against these young guys on the weekend.” Streelman finished a distant second to Nick Taylor at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am earlier this year. He had a much better chance at the Travelers Championship where he started the final round three shots behind Brendon Todd and one behind Dustin Johnson, the eventual winner. “I was right there in Hartford,” Streelman said. “I played well enough, and I was bummed to not finish that off. I enjoy that moment. I enjoy having a chance and just going for it. Sometimes you do great and sometimes you don’t, but I enjoyed … having that opportunity to attack and see what you’ve got. “I think that’s my favorite part of this game, playing it professionally, is going head-to-head with the best players in the world when the cameras are on, when the heat is on and just seeing what you’ve got. Like I said, some weeks you’ve got it and some weeks you don’t but being in the moment is what’s awesome about playing this sport competitively.”

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PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic (AP) — A hornet sting early and a bunch of birdies late carried Hudson Swafford to a 5-under 67 on Friday for a two-shot lead going into the weekend of the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship. Joining him in the final group will be Sean O’Hair, who missed an entire year with a torn oblique and returned just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic to shut down golf. Swafford played in the morning when it was humid along the Caribbean Sea but without much wind. He started on the back nine and it was largely uneventful, except for that hornet that stung him on the joint of his pinky finger while he reached for his putter after playing one hole. “It started swelling up, so I was just kind of rubbing ice on it after tee shots for the first five, six holes on the back side,” Swafford said. “I guess it kind of cleared my mind of the golf thing and just let me focus on something else.” RELATED: Leaderboard | O’Hair off to strong start after ‘really hard recovery’ | McCumber has good energy at Corales Puntacana Swafford has a good feel for the greens this week, so his objective was to give himself enough chances. After a pair of birdies on the back nine, and then a few mistakes when the wind arrived, Swafford ran off three birdies at the end of his round and set the target at 12-under 132. “My caddie got stung yesterday on the forearm on the first hole, and I guess he said it’s kind of a good omen,” Swafford said. “We played well, and we ended up playing well again today.” Two shots behind were O’Hair (67), former Southern Cal star Justin Suh (67) and Luke List (65). All have dealt with some form of injuries. Swafford is missed most of last summer with foot surgery. Suh had a wrist injury right when he turned pro that slowed his progress. And then there was 38-year-old O’Hair, a four-time PGA TOUR winner. He tore his oblique at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February 2019, had surgery to repair and remove scar tissues, and he didn’t play another PGA TOUR event until Pebble Beach this year. He played the Honda Classic. And then golf shut down. “I’ve been out pretty much almost a year-and-a-half now,” said O’Hair, who missed the cut in the Safeway Open last week. “So it’s trying to get in a groove again, in the routine again. My body is still not quite there as far as the workload that you do from traveling and hitting balls and walking and practice. It’s kind of hard to practice that at home. “I’ve tried to play as much as I can at home to get ready for this, and this is going to be my first three weeks in a row for a year-and-a-half, so that’s going to be a big task for me, for sure.” Suh chipped in for birdie on the 17th, and then made an 18-foot par putt on the 18th when his approach rolled off the side of the green into a collection area. Mackenzie Hughes had a 67 and was at 9-under 135 along with Adam Long, who ran off six straight birdies and was 8 under through 12 holes on his round until he made back-to-back bogeys. He had to settle for a 65, still not a bad way to celebrate his 33rd birthday. The cut was at 3-under 141, and among those missing the weekend was Graham DeLaet. The Canadian opened with a 78 and was 14 shots better Friday. But his 64 left him one shot short of making the cut. Defending champion Graeme McDowell shot 73 and missed the cut.

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