Knapp hangs on in Mexico, secures Masters spot

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This week's World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession presents a new venue for the world's best, with the beautiful but difficult Jack Nicklaus/Tony Jacklin co-design hosting a TOUR event for the first time. It's the first of a four-week stay in Florida for the PGA TOUR. That's good news, because the Florida Swing has brought no shortage of highlights. RELATED: Five things about The Concession | Predictions for Florida Swing Corey Pavin and Fred Couples dueled at The Honda Classic in 1992. Flashbulbs popped in the dark as Tiger Woods drained a putt to win the 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. And of course you can't beat THE PLAYERS Championship tension on the weekend at TPC Sawgrass. So, who are the best performers, both historically and now, on the TOUR's Florida Swing? 15th Club went through more than three decades of round-by-round data to break down who succeeds, who overperforms, and what types of players fare best in Florida. Demanding Venues TOUR events in Florida are typically more demanding ball-striking tests than average. That makes sense, given the courses on the Florida Swing. PGA National (Champion) and Innisbrook (Copperhead) annually rank among the most difficult non-major venues in several key statistics. Since 2010, the average Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green field rank of tournament winners in Florida is 6.3. The PGA TOUR average in that stretch is 7.3. Driving accuracy proves to be less vital in Florida than normal - the average fairways hit ranking of winners in Florida since 2010 is 22.0, compared to the TOUR average in that span of 18.8. Iron play is where players can separate themselves from the pack: the Strokes Gained: Approach average rank of winners is 11.8, compared to the TOUR average of 13.5. Tiger Woods' historic dominance It's only fitting, then, that the best iron player of his era has been so successful here. Tiger Woods has 16 wins in Florida in his storied career. Since 1960, only one player has even half as many wins as Woods in the Sunshine State: Jack Nicklaus, with 10. From the 1999 Disney Classic through the end of the 2003 season, Woods played 14 official TOUR events in Florida. He picked up six wins and finished worse than third only three times. From 1999 through 2003, Woods was 203-under-par in his TOUR starts in Florida, 31 strokes better than any other player. Davis Love III was second-best at 172-under-par. Since 1990, there are 568 players with at least 30 TOUR rounds played in the state of Florida. Not only is Woods the only player with a scoring average under 70.0 in that group, coming in at 69.8, but he is the only player under 70.5. Woods' mark is a full 0.82 strokes better than any other player with 30 or more rounds (Justin Thomas, 70.64), and 0.83 better than anyone with 100 rounds played (Rory McIlroy, 70.65). Woods' margin over his peers in birdie average is even more startling. In Woods' 239 career rounds in Florida, he has averaged 4.44 birdies-or-better per round. Of the 393 players with 60 or more rounds played in Florida since 1990, that is 0.35 more per round than anyone else. (McIlroy, again, is second at 4.08.) The gap between Woods and McIlroy on the list is equivalent to the gap between McIlroy and number 25, Bob Tway (3.73). Incredibly, even as Woods has reached the later stages of his career, he has remained dominant in Florida. Since 2010, he is the only player with 50 or more rounds to average 2.0 or more Strokes Gained: Total per round (2.08). McIlroy has the second-best average, at 1.46. When isolating just the previous five years - a period in which Woods has not won a tournament in Florida, mind you - he still comes out on top. Woods has averaged 2.10 Strokes Gained: Total per round in Florida events in that stretch, best of any player with 20 or more rounds played. Sungjae Im loving it in Florida Florida isn't just the site of Sungjae Im's first TOUR victory, the 2020 Honda Classic. In six career TOUR starts in Florida, Im has four top-5 finishes. He leads all players in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green in Florida over the last three seasons, racking up 2.10 per round. Im and Woods are the only players in the last five seasons to average 2.0 Strokes Gained: Total per round or more at Florida TOUR stops. In 22 career rounds in Florida, Im has beat the field average 18 times. Fleetwood flourishes, too He hasn't yet won on TOUR, but maybe this year's Florida Swing is where Tommy Fleetwood breaks through. Since 2018, Fleetwood is one of five players with a scoring average in the 60s in Florida. He ranks second behind Im in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green per round in that span (+1.92) and third in Strokes Gained: Total (+2.09). Fleetwood is fourth in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee on the Florida Swing the last five seasons, trailing only Bryson DeChambeau, McIlroy and Bubba Watson. Scott great in the Sunshine State Since 2010, among players with 50 or more rounds in Florida, no player has averaged more Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green per round than Adam Scott (1.53). Scott ranks third in Strokes Gained: Total in that same span (1.37), and third in birdie average (4.08) going back to 1990. He's one of six players with three or more TOUR victories in Florida since 2004, along with Woods, Stephen Ames, Rory McIlroy, Ernie Els, and Luke Donald. ‘Burns'-ing the greens Sam Burns threatened to become the youngest player to win The Genesis Invitational since 1975, and the first wire-to-wire winner of the event since 1969. He isn't in the field at The Concession, but keep this in mind going forward: Burns is a savant when putting in Florida. Since 2010, players make 68.7% of their putts from 4 to 8 feet on the Florida Swing. Burns makes 79% of those putts. In 31 PGA TOUR rounds in Florida, Burns is averaging a ridiculous 1.31 Strokes Gained: Putting per round. Over the last five years, he is the only player to gain an average of a full stroke or more per round on the greens. Burns is normally a very good putter - 2020-21 is his third consecutive season ranked in the top 30 in Strokes Gained - but he takes it to another level in Florida.

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DUBLIN, Ohio – Notes and observations from the wild third round of the Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide, where Daniel Summerhays (68) surged into the lead while Jason Dufner (77) swooned, bringing several players into the tournament. Matt Kuchar, the 2013 champion here, shot 67 and was in second at 10 under, three back, while Bubba Watson (68) and Justin Thomas (69) joined Dufner at 9 under. For more coverage from Muirfield Village, click here for the Daily Wrap-up. SUMMERHAYS EYES BREAKTHROUGH Daniel Summerhays, 33, has swung from being completely under the radar to just mostly under the radar. When he left BYU for his Mormon mission to Santiago, Chile, where he perfected his Spanish and swung nothing but a taped-up broom from 2003 to 2005? Totally under the radar. He has been just mostly under the radar during his 10-year career on the PGA TOUR. Until this year. Summerhays came into this week 157th in the FedExCup standings, his best result a T16 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He was working on his swing, but all that work wasn’t showing up in his scores. He was a non-factor. Ironically, a missed cut at last week’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational at Colonial sent him to Muirfield Village on a high note. “He called me and said, ‘Bro, I played good, it’s clicking,’â€� said Boyd Summerhays, Daniel’s older brother by four years and also his coach. (He also coaches Tony Finau.) A swing change to improve his iron game was working, and kept working Saturday. Paired with Dufner, whose game was by his own admission “pathetic,â€� Summerhays played his own game and hit a rock-solid 12 of 14 fairways and 15 greens in regulation at Muirfield Village on Saturday, which marked his best performance of the week so far from tee to green. That he is vying for his first win in his 185th career start might be a surprise to some, but not to Boyd or the other members of the small contingent of Utahans on TOUR. Summerhays has finished in the top 100 in the FedExCup for each of the past five seasons, and last year finished T8 at the U.S. Open and third at the PGA Championship. He is sneaky good. He also has some good career mojo in Ohio, having won the Web.com Tour’s 2007 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational at the Scarlett Course at OSU Golf Club. While the world was atwitter over Tiger Woods winning the 2012 Memorial Tournament, Summerhays finished T4. “Last summer was a big deal for me, playing in the final two, three groups at the U.S. Open,â€� he said. “That was probably the most nervous I’ve ever felt. That and trying to keep my job back in 2011 after my rookie year at Q-School.â€� He played through nerves, as well, in contending at the PGA at Baltusrol, won by Jimmy Walker.

“There will definitely be nerves,â€� Summerhays said of his expectations for Sunday’s final round. “I’ll probably hit a few putts with the hands shaking and everything like that. But it’s nothing that I haven’t experienced before.â€� DUFNER FALTERS Jason Dufner could do no wrong while shooting a tournament-record 14 under (65-65) through 36 holes. Alas, Saturday was a reminder that some days are diamonds, some days are stones. “Today was pretty pathetic on all accounts,â€� said Dufner, who bogeyed four of his first five holes, missed a 2 foot, 9 inch putt at the fifth, and ranked -4.799 in strokes gained: putting. “So [I] have to play better tomorrow.â€� After righting the ship to go 1-under from holes 6-10, Dufner laid up at the 11th hole only to spin his approach shot into the water and make double-bogey 7. His sudden struggles gave new life to the chase pack, some of whom were surprised to find themselves back in the tournament. “I will say this: super classy, Duf—he was nothing but class out there, always,â€� Summerhays said. “He was always cheering me on. ‘Good shot. Great job.’ So that’s definitely a good lesson for me to learn. It went about as bad as it could for him today, and he was nothing but class.â€� CALL OF THE DAY BUBBA BACK IN THE MIX Bubba Watson continues to obliterate the back nine at Muirfield Village. One day after he toured the inward nine in 31 strokes, he got through it in 30 strokes to post a third-round 68 and move into position to end his slump. A nine-time TOUR winner and two-time Masters champion, Watson came into this week at 118th in the FedExCup standings. The free-swinging lefty and his caddie Ted Scott have had to stay patient all season, and Saturday was no exception, as Watson made no birdies and shot 38 on the front nine. Then he birdied the 10th hole and eagled the par-5 11th, and the floodgates opened even as he dealt with a heckler for part of the back nine. “We knew that a birdie would come eventually,â€� Watson said, “and somehow it just came in bunches, so it worked out.â€� Watson was second in strokes gained: putting (+2.798) in round three, and is seventh for the week (+3.792). “I feel good,â€� he said. “It’s always nice to have a chance.â€� HAHN SHOOTS ‘DISAPPOINTING’ 65 James Hahn started the day in a tie for 60th place, but after a two-putt birdie at the par-5 15th hole he was 9 under par on the day. He had just reeled off 10 birdies in a span of 13 holes, he seemed to be threatening the course record (61) as he walked to the 16th tee. A young boy held his arm over the rope and urged him to finish strong. Hahn smiled and slapped the kid’s hand and continued onto the tee, out of earshot. “I jinxed him,â€� the boy said. “He jinxed him,â€� the boy’s father said, chuckling and shaking his head. Yep, he jinxed him. Hahn bogeyed 16 and 17 before his 13-foot birdie putt on 18 lipped out, giving him a 65 that left him “disappointed,â€� he said, for what might have been. At 5 under, he is eight off the lead. “I guess any sport is very mental,â€� Hahn said, laughing at the high-five moment. “Walking from 15 to 16, a little kid just kind of gave me a high five and said, ‘You’re going to break the course record today.’ I said [in my head], ‘Are you serious?’ The first time we talked about it the whole day.â€�

The pin at 16 was back-left, and Hahn played it safe but watched as the wind blew his tee shot into the right greenside bunker. He blasted out to just under five feet but missed the putt. “I don’t know how that doesn’t go in,â€� he said.
 He split the fairway at 17, but left his 190-yard approach right of the green. He misjudged the chip shot, his ball rolling 14 feet too far, and bogeyed again. Poised to end on a high note, he watched as his 13-footer for birdie lipped out on 18.

“Those are the ones—it just happened to be a coincidence,â€� Hahn said. “But you never know what would happen if the little kid didn’t call me out. It’s almost like a baseball pitcher and guys saying, ‘Hey, you’re pitching a perfect game! Did you know that?’ It’s like, No.

“He looked like 8, 9, 10 years old. Probably 12 years old. But it’s all fun. We’re here to entertain.â€� ODDS AND ENDS Justin Thomas, tied for third and just four off the lead, would take the FedExCup lead with his fourth victory this season. He is currently third in the FedExCup, 415 points behind leader Dustin Johnson and 10 behind Hideki Matsuyama. Johnson missed the cut, and Matsuyama sits T65. A win comes with 500 FedExCup points. … Kuchar, who won the 2013 Memorial Tournament, would join Hale Irwin, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman and Tom Watson as two-time winners of the tournament. Kenny Perry has won the Memorial three times, while Tiger Woods leads the pack with five victories at Jack’s place. … Rickie Fowler shot what he called a ho-hum even-par 72, remained at 8 under par—and gained a shot on the leader (Summerhays at -13 as opposed to Dufner at -14). Fowler finished second here in his first start in 2010. … Pat Perez, who is 17th on the list to make the U.S. Presidents Cup team that will play at Liberty National Sept. 28-Oct. 1, had a chance to impress captain Steve Stricker as the two played together Saturday. Perez did just that, as they each shot 69. “I like Pat,â€� Stricker said. “I think he’d be great in the team room. He tells you what he thinks. You could tell he wanted to play well today. I told him he’s going to have to go on a good run.â€� … Hideki Matsuyama, David Lingmerth and William McGirt were first-time TOUR winners as they won the last three Memorials, respectively. Of the top 10 on this year’s leaderboard only Summerhays and Jamie Lovemark (70, T6) haven’t won and would keep the streak alive. … Si Woo Kim, who won THE PLAYERS Championship three weeks ago, withdrew after hurting his ankle hitting a bunker shot on the 17th hole. He was 5 over par at the time. … Stewart Cink’s 4-under 68 in round three marked his 54th round of par or better. Another such round Sunday would put him in a tie with three-time Memorial Tournament winner Kenny Perry, at 55. The record belongs to Jay Haas, who has 68 rounds of par or better at this event. SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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