It’s time to add a shot clock to golf

Here are nine tidbits from the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. The Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida, plays 7,419 yards (par 72). Pain or gain These were the top five picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO: The eight-time winner was the main choice this week to the surprise of absolutely no one. All five on this list made the cut and they are all within five shots of each other heading to the weekend. People’s Choice: Tiger Woods There’s an old saying that you can’t win the tournament on the first day but you can lose it. Forgive me if I push this to include the second round as well. Woods didn’t have his best stuff on Friday but his even-par round of 72 didn’t turn into a blow-up round and MC. He held it together around the greens, saved some fantastic pars and will play the weekend seven shots off the lead. On a course where he’s dominated over the years, there’s no chance I’m writing him off. He’ll need a round in the mid-60s tomorrow to give his O&D investors hope. Moving Day Thoughts After the conclusion of play on Friday there are only five players within four shots of the lead shared by Henrik Stenson and Bryson DeChambeau, who both posted 11-under-par 133. It’s been no secret that the mornings have been chilly for the first two rounds but that’s changing on Saturday. I’d expect some hotter starts as guys will have feeling in the fingers and toes as temperatures will be much warmer for the earlier tee times. It’s interesting to see that the strongest wind will be later in the afternoon so I’d expect some low ones in the early wave. Morning Show Those of you who did your homework this week will know two things about 36-hole co-leader Bryson DeChambeau. His WD last week after an opening-round 76 chased me away but maybe I should have stuck around. In 2016, as an amateur, he was paired with Rory McIlroy on Sunday and lost by a shot. McIlroy shot 65 and they both finished T27. DeChambeau has played six rounds at this event is 17-under-par. #Noted. … Rookie Talor Gooch backed up his opening-round 65 on Thursday afternoon with a 70 on Friday morning and is alone in third. This makes perfect sense as he entered the week on back-to-back MCs in the last two Florida events. He has three top-25 finishes on the season with T16 at Sony Open in Hawaii the best. Afternoon Edition South Korean Byeong-Hun An posted his second consecutive 68 and sits alone in fourth. He set gamers up last week at Valspar after closing 69-65 at The Honda Classic (T5). The response was 73-73 and MC and plenty of groaning for those who were on board. He has more rounds above par than below par in Orlando but his metrics are strong across the board after two rounds. … Patrick Reed hasn’t been deterred by his “comebacker” on the final green last week at Valspar as he sits T6 after 68-70. He’s made two doubles but leads the field in putts per GIR and T2 in birdies. I hope the Houston resident doesn’t have one eye on WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play or Houston Open just yet. 3 up Big hitter Luke List continues his excellent form. His bogey-free 67 in the morning wave moved him up 26 spots to T6 and five shots of the lead. His worst payday in his last five events is T26. … Gamers (see: Glass) were SEETHING this afternoon as they noticed Ryan Moore ascending the leaderboard. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN LAST WEEK on a course he had previous successes, not at Bay Hill where his best finish is T34 in the last four years. His best weekend round in those four years is 73. Caution. … Charley Hoffman posted the round of the afternoon wave with a bogey-free 66 to jump up 27 spots into fifth place. The 54-hole co-leader from last year also shot 66 in Round 2 last year. He’s just four shots back but his four trips before last year included three MCs and T59. 3 down While Gooch was firing 70 after his 65 on Friday, Aaron Wise had a rougher ride following his 65. His 76 included six bogeys and a double plus an eagle and two birdies. Bay Hill is usually tough on young kids that don’t have the chops but I think he bounces back tomorrow because he’s not in that group. … The biggest surprise of the day might have been Brian Harman shooting 75 after his opening-round 68. The man who leads the TOUR in top-10 finishes gave up 31 spots on the leaderboard. He’ll need a couple really good ones on the weekend to add to that total. … Did the jet lag finally catch up to Emiliano Grillo? His opening-round 69 was followed by 75 to drop him 40 spots to T53. Last week he was in the hunt in the Hero Indian Open (6th) in New Delhi, half a world away. He’s rattled off 13 consecutive cuts worldwide. MC HOF World No. 29 Louis Oosthuizen (76-74) continues to frustrate gamers but he’s been doing this since he won the 2010 Open Championship. … World No. 31 Kiradech Aphibarnrat played this event twice before and cashed T6 each time. This week he’s out early (73-74) as the cut was 1-over-par. World No. 33 Matthew Fitzpatrick made three doubles on Thursday and dug a hole too deep (76-71). … I’m officially concerned about World No. 36 Kevin Kisner. He had the 54-hole co-lead here last year but that couldn’t spark him. He’s now MC in his last three events where there was a 36-hole cut and two of those are on his beloved Bermuda. Study Hall Friday’s scoring average of 72.059 was barley better than Thursday’s 72.20. … Along with Stenson, List and Hoffman, J.B. Holmes also posted a bogey-free round. Holmes has now made the cut here in nine of his last 10. … Billy Horschel has only made one bogey on the week and sits T6. This is his first weekend in five starts. … Danny Willett opened with even-par 72 but WD after four holes on Friday. He said on Twitter that his game is good but he needs to get his body to 100 percent.   Tweet of the Day

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LAS VEGAS – He’s baaaaaack. Well not really. Well maybe… Let’s just wait and see. There was no mistaking the murmurs on the range and the putting green at TPC Summerlin – Tiger Woods returning certainly got people on the PGA TOUR talking. Late Monday Woods announced he will make his long-awaited return to competition from back fusion surgery at his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas on Nov. 30 – Dec. 3. Plenty of players were talking about said comeback and their excitement for it – but there was also an air of trepidation – let’s not call it a comeback just yet.  “It’s great to have him back but it’s not really a comeback at Hero – it will be when he gets in a full field PGA TOUR event and sees how he stacks up against the guys on TOUR now,â€� long term rival Ernie Els said in Las Vegas. “He needs to play a few tournaments. It will be interesting to see what the swing looks like, what the attitude looks like, and what the body looks like in the Bahamas.â€� You see, we’ve been here before. Woods won five times in 2013 on the PGA TOUR but since then he’s made just 19 starts. He has gone through four surgeries in the last three years and has not played in the USA since the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open in January. A year ago he made a comeback attempt at the Hero World Challenge where he finished 15th in the 18-man field despite leading the field in birdies. By the time he made it to Torrey Pines the hype was massive yet he shot 76-72 to miss the cut and after back issues in the middle east he opted for further surgery. “I don’t know if he came back early before but it was certainly clear there might have been some external pressure to come back. Everyone around the TOUR wants him back, fans want him back, players, sponsors. There was a lot of pressure on him to come back,â€� veteran Rod Pampling says. “But it seems he’s taken more time this time around. It still needs to be a handful of tournaments in a row, no WD’s, no funky walking out of bunkers, none of those sorts of things we saw and thought, wow it doesn’t look good.â€� Els urged the fans to be patient with this edition of Woods’ return.  The South African finished inside the top-6 in six of the 14 majors Woods won, including runner up two times and has been front and center throughout his career. He would like fans to put realistic hopes on the speed of whatever level the 79-time TOUR winner can get back to. “You get the sense he really wants to get back to old TOUR life, week in and week out, Els said. “But let’s be reasonable and hopefully he is also reasonable. I know he wants to come with an attitude of I want to win and compete but I think a top 30, making a cut, getting comfortable are all good early goals in this case. You can work yourself up from there. “The public should also look at it that way. It is certainly going to be great to see him back in the arena and just take it for that and worry about the rest down the road. Let it just start flowing. Let him get comfortable out there again. Things have changed out here and let’s see how he adapts his game to the new body.â€� Bubba Watson took things a step further when it comes to expectations saying we shouldn’t care at all how Woods plays – just embrace the fact he’s playing at all. “Forget score,â€� Watson implored. “If Jack Nicklaus said he’s returning this week – no one cares what score he shoots. I’m not comparing their situations but they are two legends. You don’t care what Jack shoots, you just want Jack here. “We should all be thrilled to see a great champion like Tiger show up and be able to play again. You always want your legends to keep playing. And if he can get back near his best golf over time then, let’s face it, it’s great for the game and I hope it happens.â€� Woods turns 42 in December and can still hope to catch Sam Snead’s record of 82 PGA TOUR wins. Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors might be a bridge too far – but you can never say never. Snead holds the record for oldest victory at 52. There are seven occasions of players winning post 50 including his good friend Davis Love III. Love III contended multiple times last season at 53! “We have seen it through the years. A lot of guys have won majors in their 40s. It’s proven. It’s there. It’s a fact,â€� Els, who won the Open Championship at 42 says. “And Tiger is one of the best. If myself, Phil (Mickelson), Vijay (Singh), Darren Clarke… if we can do it he can certainly do it.â€� After last season was dominated by 20-somethings Pampling says a Tiger Woods at his best would be sensational viewing for everyone. He won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open last year as a 47-year-old and knows not to write off Woods. “I want to see him stare down a few of these young guys so they can experience what it’s like when the hairs stand up on the back of your neck or when he’s the guy you have to chase,â€� Pampling grinned. “They’ve seen his dominance as kids, but they’ve never felt it. “Realistically if he got to 75percent of where he used to be he’d still be able to win a couple of times a year. Of course it will be very hard to get it back to that level but if he does get that spark back the young guys at the top will need to look out.â€� Just where Woods plays after the Bahamas is still a mystery. In the past he would play in the middle east and usually pop up on TOUR at Torrey Pines where he’s won eight times. But Torrey is a tough test, especially on the back with its juicy rough. Maybe Woods could look at the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in early January before the Farmers Insurance Open. It’s a flat course that yields plenty of birdies in a perfect setting to ease your way back to TOUR life. Wherever he turns up, we’ll all be watching.

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We kept a close eye on the practice green and driving range prior to this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic from the Detroit Golf Club. What do the pros have in their bags as they prepare for liftoff? What unique practice aids were employed? And perhaps most importantly, who is the shoe game king of the PGA TOUR? Read on to see. Jimmy Walker has prototype next-generation Titleist T100 and 620 MB irons in a black finish in the bag. “All black everything” is a good look! Speaking of contextually appropriate club ornamentation, Max Homa’s Vokey SM8 wedges feature stampings well-suited for the 4th of July. A look at the Cobra King Forged One Length irons and prototype Artisan Golf wedges of defending champion Bryson DeChambeau. Bubba Watson’s pink driver shaft stands out, especially in contrast to his black Jordan 5s. Also wearing some fiery footwear, Patrick Reed is working with both an alignment mirror and string on the putting green to get his setup and stroke dialed. Here’s our first look at the next generation of Titleist T200 irons, this one spotted in the bag of Charles Howell III. LPGA star Lexi Thompson teed it up in the Rocket Mortgage Classic pro-am. Here’s a look at a few of her irons and wedges.

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