Leaderboard: Round 2 of QBE Shootout

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - Camilo Villegas was dressed in all white on Friday. The only dash of color on his outfit was the rainbow ribbon attached to his hat. That rainbow has been there for months, as a tribute to his late daughter, Mia. RELATED: How the Villegas family has kept their daughter’s memory alive She loved rainbows. Villegas saw one while warming up for the first round of this week's The RSM Classic. "I start thinking about Mia and said, ‘Hey, let’s have a good one,'" he said Thursday. He has. Villegas is in second place, just two shots off the lead, at the tournament's halfway point. The four-time TOUR winner set a personal best with his 12-under 130 (64-66). Villegas is the sentimental favorite this week. How could he not be? A win so soon after an unspeakable tragedy would be an inspiration in the midst of this trying year. Only Robert Streb, who won his lone PGA TOUR title here in 2014, is ahead of Villegas on the leaderboard. "I’m not entirely sure how they cope with it," Streb said. "Obviously it’s horrible and don’t wish that upon anybody, but pretty amazing how well he’s playing." Mia was 22 months old when she passed away in July from cancer. Villegas has displayed incredible strength by simply competing on the PGA TOUR, let alone contending. While many may wonder how he can do it, Villegas wonders what other options he has. He was taken aback when asked what the hardest part about the next 48 hours would be. "I don’t know why you’d be thinking about what’s tough. We do this for a living," Villegas said. "What’s different tomorrow than the other Saturdays that I play golf? It should be the same. Just see what happens." He's seeking his first top-10 in four years and his first win in six. He's competing on a medical extension because of a shoulder injury that caused him to play just once last season. A win would be one of the most emotional the TOUR has seen in a long time. Villegas is focused on the task at hand, however. While he admitted getting emotional when he mentioned Mia in Thursday's post-round interview, he said the difficulty of competing on these windswept courses on Georgia's Atlantic coast keeps his mind from wandering. "When I’m out there, I’m so focused, there’s so much going on, especially under these conditions. I’m there with my brother (Manuel, his caddie) and you just follow a process," Villegas said. Even when he rolled in an eagle putt on his final hole Friday, Villegas responded only with a quick fist bump with his brother. Villegas, who's 14th in Strokes Gained: Approach this season, has hit 15 greens in each round this week. He has just one bogey, on the par-3 11th in the second round. He's been competing at Sea Island since his amateur days and called it one of his favorite stops on TOUR. His last top-10 was a runner-up here four years ago, when he was part of a five-man playoff won by Mackenzie Hughes. The last of Villegas' four PGA TOUR victories came at the 2014 Wyndham Championship. Villegas, who was ranked in the top 10 in the world after winning two of the four FedExCup Playoffs events in 2008, is now 866th in the world. He's made two cuts in five starts this season, with a best finish of T23 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Villegas doesn't want to think about the larger significance of a win, however. He's focused on the next 36 holes. "We’ve only played half the tournament," he said. "A lot of golf to be played. We’ll do the same thing tomorrow, come out here, try to be free and just add them up at the end of the day."

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Hey! Remember us? Yeah, so you’re wish didn’t come true in the offseason. It’s still Glass and Rob analyzing the PointsBet boards for PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live. Better luck next time. Then again, Rob put up a decent fight last season to keep his card. He recorded two top 10s among seven top-30 finishes in this game. The highlight was the solo third on the timeliness of the rain at the conclusion of The Honda Classic. It no doubt aided in Sepp Straka hanging on for a breakthrough victory. Rob’s a lifelong Chicago Cubs’ fan, so it’s not the first time he’s benefited from weather late in a competition. Glass forever is the formidable foil, which is just how he likes it. He has Rob exactly where he wants him, or something like that. Our fellas haven’t wasted any time in latching hope to the shiny new toys, er, the latest Korn Ferry Tour Finals graduating class for the Fortinet Championship. As always, they’ve baked strategic advice and tips into their analyses below. Register for PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live here and monitor Rob’s and Glass’ progress as Influencers. For a broader explanation of the format and FAQs, click here. TOURNAMENT TO WIN Rob … Austin Eckroat (+12500) Not that anyone remembers – well, except for me – but I’m fresh off shutting out Glass in the 2021-22 season finale, so I open 2022-23 with the honor. That said, Glass totally has the right idea here. I’m done with limping in with odds shorter than five digits because even when my pre-tournament choices have been in contention on a Sunday and without me touching the dial, the odds have been longer on Sunday. I vow, never again. I’ll call Glass’ sophomore with Eckroat the rookie. He was the runner-up at the KFT Championship just down the road from Glass in The Crossroads of America. Rollovers of KFT studs into the fall portion of the TOUR schedule has been the real deal over time, so in this last experience of the phenomenon, I want to hop on for a ride. Glass … Brandon Wu (+12500) California love usually reigns here and so does painting fairways and greens. The Stanford alum sat 63rd in fairways hit and 19th in greens in regulation on TOUR last season, and he won’t be overwhelmed by his surroundings. With a pair of top-10 paydays and four of six finishes of T30 or better, he is trending in the right direction. As always with this early decision, start high and work your way back down, if necessary. TOP 10 Glass … Will Gordon (+1100) I’m not shy endorsing bombers this week and there are plenty entered. His second tour on TOUR sees him roll into town in fantastic form. A pair of T5s preceded his win on Poa annua at Albertsons in the KFT Finals. Grinding out cuts in the next two events of the Finals suggests he’s not settling this time around. Rob … Justin Suh (+550) Here’s where we need to be sharp about our selection. With this bet historically opening during a reasonable hour in the U.S. after R1, but then infrequently at the same hour after R2 and R3, I want to open with a strong foundation who I believe will shorten after he signs his first scorecard as a member of the PGA TOUR. Suh is everything we want, so I was going to figure out a way to slot the KFT points leader times two into a bet. I’d have been elated with, say, +400. TOP USA PLAYER Rob … Maverick McNealy (+1600) At last check, Eckroat was +8000, which is favorable, but we don’t know how often this bet will unlock, if at all. Before you consider griping, remember, this is gambling and we’re all in it together. Homa is No. 1 in my Power Rankings – he should be as the defending champion and home-state stud – but in respect to the potential that he’s looking ahead to his debut in next week’s Presidents Cup, I’m sliding down to the No. 2. McNealy was the runner-up last year and Silverado is almost as comfortable a stage as its regional neighbor and his personal haunt, Pebble Beach. He’s among the best on TOUR without a victory, but he doesn’t need to win to yield coinage. Glass … Scott Harrington (+15000) Not his first rodeo as he’s cashed in both previous visits to Silverado (T36-T23). Has no problem sending it and his aggregate total of 20-under doesn’t have me panicking. Yet. Good news is the market can be timed over the weekend – if you handle it – and adjustments can be made. Let’s hope that’s not the case in Week 1! ROUND 1 LEADER Glass … Patrick Rodgers (+10000) Five straight entered, five straight paid. The last two have been 68 and 67 so I’m looking for another low one, this time off the second group Thursday morning. The former Stanford player is teeing it up here for the ninth consecutive season so I won’t have to worry about him being motivated getting out of bed. Always dream early so that you can find reality later in the day. Rob … Cam Davis (+6000) Silverado is the most equitable in terms of its nines and how every hole lines up within them. So, there’s no reason to consider either side of the course as the opening half among the morning wavers. With the tournament in my time zone, I don’t have to worry about this window closing before I’m lucid, so it’s nice to know that it’s not entirely a lottery ticket. The Aussie was lighting the world on fire for four months, so he’s a no-brainer to get after it out of the fifth threesome going off 10. Sure, like others, he might be distracted by what’s on deck at the Presidents Cup, but all we care about here is one round. I also believe in thinking less about the action in favor of letting the body and muscle memory do its thing, so therein lies the experiment. NOTE: While Glass and Rob typically stick with their selections as detailed in Pick ‘Em Preview, they are allowed the right to make changes at any time.

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Everyone associated with the game – players, media, fans – has his or her own memory of what went down that week in 1997 and what it meant to them. It remains one of those rare events where you can still remember where you were and what you were doing when it happened. Tiger Woods winning the Masters at age 21, and in record fashion. “In that win that week, he checked all the boxes,â€� Charles Howell III said. “He’s young, he hit it far, he hit it straight, he had a phenomenal short game. He did it all, and he did it on the biggest, hardest stage in the world. I think in time we’ll look back on that week as sort of a turning point for the professional game.â€� Ernie Els, who in later years would become a frequent major championship bridesmaid to Woods, said he remembered seeing Woods on the range after that roller-coaster opening-round 70 that began with the 40 on the front nine and ended with a 30 on the back, “and I could see the excitement and the joyâ€� in Woods’ face. “He knew he’d won the first hurdle,â€� Els said. “I think he knew then that it was over.â€� Nick Faldo, the defending champion who was paired with Woods in that opening round, knew it was over, too. “The way I analyzed it, he went out in 40, came back in 30 and we didn’t see him for dust for another 14 years,â€� Faldo said. “That was the start of Tiger and the start of his dominance. It was a special day. You go out in 40 and then you win by 12. That’s something pretty unique.â€� Faldo shot 75 that day and followed it with an 81 and missed the cut. Paul Azinger, an 11-time PGA TOUR winner with one major championship and now a TV analyst for NBC and FOX, was paired with Woods in the second round. He began the day one shot ahead of Woods and ended it six shots behind after Woods’ 66 to his 73. “I’d never seen Tiger actually make a full swing and hit a shot — driving range, golf course, nothing —maybe on TV,â€� Azinger recalled. “I said to my caddie on the second hole — there was a little bit of a wait — and I said, ‘You know, I’ve never seen this kid hit a shot. I’m going to watch this.’ I’d heard about how far he hits it. That ball left four feet underneath the top of the trees, which is miles high, never curved an inch, about five feet right of the trees. “It was the most beautiful, picturesque drive I had ever seen in my entire life. I just looked at my caddie and whispered to him, ‘Holy s—.’ That was all I could say. He hit 6- or 7-iron in there to the right of the green, was all ticked off, chunked his chip, took the club and slammed it in the bag, and it went straight to the bottom. It sounded like a drum. I can remember this buzz of the crowd. It was the most unique buzz. He then chipped in for birdie. He shot the easiest 66 that I’d ever seen. “I hit 3-wood, 8-iron to 13 and he hit 3-wood, pitching wedge. I hit driver, 8-iron into 15, he hit driver, pitching wedge. We were two clubs apart, which blew my mind that I was two clubs shorter than anybody on TOUR. I was like, ‘Really? Two clubs? Are you kidding me?’ One club is one thing, two clubs? You can’t defend against being two clubs shorter than somebody. You’re not going to beat that guy. “It intimidated me a little bit. That’s why I tried not to hit balls near Tiger on the practice range, because I wanted to feed my confidence.â€� Azinger said after that second round he’d played with Woods, he thought, “I don’t know how anybody’s going to beat that.â€� “I didn’t jump the gun and predict he would win,â€� Azinger said. “But in my head, I was thinking, ‘Jack [Nicklaus] was right saying that he’s going to win the Masters 10 times.’ I believe him. The bigger the event, the higher he’ll raise the bar. He’s Michael Jordan in long pants.â€� On Friday night, Colin Montgomerie, who was three shots behind Woods at the time, waxed poetic about the fact that the young Woods had never been in the position of taking a major championship lead into the weekend, and how everything changes on the weekend of a major. “The pressure is mounting,â€� Montgomerie said in what clearly was a public warning to Woods. “And I have a lot more experience in major championships.â€� Woods, in his book “The 1997 Masters: My Story,â€� revealed that Montgomerie’s words “definitely motivated me.â€� He shot 65 that Saturday to Montgomerie’s 74, and after the round, Montgomerie spoke as if he’d seen a ghost. “All I have to say is one brief comment today,â€� he told reporters. “There is no chance … we’re all human beings here … (and) there is no chance humanly possible that Tiger is going to lose this tournament. No way.â€� Montgomerie, surely rattled by the thumping he took from Woods on Saturday, shot 81 on Sunday. For Woods it was merely a coronation; playing with Italy’s Costantino Rocca, he shot 69 to win by a record 12 shots. Like millions around the world, Gary Woodland, then a teenager in Kansas, watched it all play out on TV and decided then and there he wanted to become a professional golfer. “That week changed everything for me,â€� Woodland said. It did for a lot of others, too.

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