Leaderboard: St. Jude Invitational, Round 3

Five of the top-10 players in the world are scheduled to tee it up at the Valspar Championship, led by second-ranked Collin Morikawa. World No. 3 Viktor Hovland is looking to build off a tie for third last season, while Sam Burns – now ranked 17th in the world – is hoping to defend his maiden PGA TOUR title. FIELD NOTES: Morikawa, who already has five TOUR titles to his name, is set to make his Valspar Championship debut… Xander Schauffele and a pair of former FedExCup champions, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson, are the other top-10 golfers in the world scheduled to take on Innisbrook… Twenty of the world’s top-50 will be in the field… Jackson Suber, a star at the University of Mississippi and the 11th-ranked player in the PGA TOUR University Ranking presented by Velocity Global, is amongst the sponsor exemptions. Suber is from nearby Tampa, Florida… Jason Day, just two weeks removed from losing his mother to cancer, will tee it up. He returned to action at THE PLAYERS Championship… Abraham Ancer, who finished fifth in 2021, is set to return along with fellow International Presidents Cup hopeful Joaquin Niemann… Brooks Koepka is looking for his first win on TOUR since the WM Phoenix Open in 2021… Ryan Brehm, who won the Puerto Rico Open in the last start of a medical exemption, will be in the field after making his PLAYERS debut… Alex Fitzpatrick (brother of Matt Fitzpatrick, ranked 25th in the world) who is a celebrated golfer in his own right at Wake Forest also earned a sponsor exemption for winning the Valspar Intercollegiate. Alex is No. 5 in the PGA TOUR University Ranking presented by Velocity Global and a former member of Great Britain & Ireland’s Walker Cup team. Tommy Fleetwood, Martin Kaymer, and Bernd Wiesberger also were given sponsor exemptions… Sam Burns, Paul Casey, who won the Valspar in both 2018 and 2019, along with Adam Hadwin (2017), Charl Schwartzel (2016), Kevin Streelman (2013), and Luke Donald (2012) are some of the recent Valspar champions set to return. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead), par 71, 7,340 yards. The Copperhead Course – the second course built at Innisbrook – has long been considered a favorite by those on TOUR. Located just north of Tampa, this Larry Packard design is tree-lined and puts a premium on positioning off the tee. Sam Burns, the winner in 2021, had as complete an effort tee-to-green has anyone, which resulted in him finding the winner’s circle. Burns was fifth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and third in Strokes Gained: Putting a year ago. The course, opened in the early 1970s, features a tough three-hole closing stretch called the ‘Snake Pit’ – two tough par-4s sandwiched between a bruising 200-yard par 3. STORYLINES: With several delays at THE PLAYERS Championship, it will be worth keeping an eye on the field leading into Thursday’s start at Innisbrook… Paul Casey was the first back-to-back winner in tournament history in 2018 and 2019… The tournament was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but will welcome back spectators at 100% capacity for the first time since 2019… The Valspar Championship puts a bow on the TOUR’s Florida Swing. 72-HOLE RECORD: 266, Vijay Singh (2004). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Padraig Harrington (1st round, 2012). LAST TIME: Sam Burns won for the first time on the PGA TOUR as the Valspar Championship returned to the TOUR’s schedule after being cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Burns, whose second-round 63 was tied for the low round of the week, won by three shots over Keegan Bradley. Burns had twice held 54-hole leads earlier in the season but was unable to convert both times. Bradley, meanwhile, was tied for the lead with six holes remaining in the final round but found the water with his tee shot on the par-3 13th, leading to double bogey. Bradley added another bogey on the par-3 15th and couldn’t mount a comeback. Despite a bogey on the 72nd hole, Burns’ 3-under 68 was more than enough to help him find the winner’s circle. Viktor Hovland’s 6-under 65 on Sunday was the round of the day, and that moved him into a tie for third with Cameron Triangle. Last year marked Hovland’s debut in Tampa. Abraham Ancer finished fifth alone, five shots back of Burns’ winning total. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12–6 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1–6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes

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It was Christmas 1989 when Mark Dusbabek made his first start for his hometown team. It came on Monday Night Football, in a winner-take-all contest between the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals at the Metrodome. The winner advanced to the postseason. Dusbabek grew up an hour south of Minneapolis. His family was interviewed by the local news before the game. Then the linebacker from Faribault starred before a national audience. He intercepted a Boomer Esiason pass and forced a fumble. The Vikings won, 29-21. “It was probably my best game,â€� Dusbabek says. Thirty years later, he’s returning to his home state for another important sporting event. The 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities is the first PGA TOUR event in Minnesota in 50 years. Dusbabek isn’t trying to become the next John Brodie or Tony Romo. He traded in his NFL playbook for the Rules of Golf. He’s worked in the golf industry for three decades, and as a PGA TOUR rules official since 2006. Making a living on both the gridiron and the golf course may be unique, but the transition was natural for someone from a family that was passionate about the game (his sister, Teresa Bergs, is the 3M Open’s director of sales and marketing, as well). Ed Dusbabek’s plaster and drywall business gave him the means to join Faribault Golf & Country Club, a modest course where Mark and his four sisters spent the long summer afternoons after working for their father. “I couldn’t wait for training camp to start because that was a breeze compared to working for him,â€� Mark said. He was a standout in basketball and football at Faribault High before accepting a football scholarship to the University of Minnesota. The Houston Oilers drafted him in the fourth round of the 1987 draft. He signed with the Vikings as a free agent in 1989. “Playing football, you had the microscope on you,â€� he says. “If you made a mistake, it was exposed to the world. I like that pressure with going and doing rules. “The difference is that in football, you were always trying to get away with something. I respected the officials, but I also knew where they were and what they were looking for and what I could get away with. Golf is different. It’s about honor and etiquette.â€� Dusbabek doesn’t deny, however, that a linebacker’s build – his NFL.com player page lists him as 6-3, 232 pounds — comes in handy when handing out rulings, especially the unfavorable ones. Mark Russell, the PGA TOUR’s Vice President of Rules and Competition, jokingly calls Dusbabek his “enforcer.â€� It’s not only Dusbabek’s size that can diffuse a stressful situation, though. He has the proper demeanor for the role, as well. “You have to be good with people to walk in there and make the players feel at ease,â€� Russell says. Dusbabek knows how to handle an angry player. He’s experienced the frustrating side of sports, as well. He exceeded expectations when he worked his way into the Golden Gophers’ starting lineup as a freshman – “I was told by everyone that I wasn’t even good enough to play Division II football. I wanted to prove everyone wrong,â€� he says — and he never thought about playing pro football until scouts started showing interest during his senior season, but his career was ended just as he was progressing in the pro ranks. Dusbabek started 11 games for the Vikings in 1990. The team ranked third in passing defense that year, allowing just 165 yards per game in the air. Little did he know it would be his last full season. He blew out his left knee in the first game of the 1991 season, tearing his ACL and meniscus. Surgery and rehab were unsuccessful. “After the fourth operation, I just realized that I couldn’t pass a physical and my knee wouldn’t come around,â€� he recalls. “I had to retire.â€� He worked in finance for a few years, but golf kept pulling him back. He made a move after reading a book entitled, “Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow.â€� To gain industry experience, he moved to Southern California and spent a year as a volunteer with the Southern California Golf Association. One of his early mentors told him that a knowledge of the Rules of Golf would be useful in a variety of positions. His unpaid tenure with the SCGA led to a job with the PGA of America’s Metropolitan Section. He returned to Southern California in 2001, spending four years with the SCGA before being hired by the PGA TOUR. The Official Guide to the Rules of Golf is 522 pages long. Rules officials have to decipher the complex language in that tome. Officials encounter unique rulings, and Dusbabek has had his share. He was involved in the ruling at last year’s RBC Heritage when Kelly Kraft’s tee shot hit a bird and went in the water (he had to accept the penalty stroke). His most humorous involved another Minnesota native, Tim Herron. Herron’s ball was in a penalty area at the Puerto Rico Open. He was hoping to get free relief from an animal hole, though. “It wasn’t a hard ruling. You can’t get burrowing-animal relief in the penalty area,â€� Dusbabek says. “But as we were talking, the crab came out and pulled the ball into the hole.â€� The role of rules officials is more than simply enforcing the letter of the law. They are responsible for marking the penalty areas and boundaries, and roping the golf course. It’s one of Dusbabek’s favorite parts of the job, and an area where there are parallels to his former career. Both require taking a wide view to see how all the pieces work together. “Mark is a good thinker. He thinks outside the box,â€� says Slugger White, also Vice President of Rules and Competition. “He’s very careful in his thought process. He’s not a knee-jerk type of guy. He’s very thorough. “When we’re marking the course, we have members come out and say, ‘No one ever hits it there.’ I say, ‘You’re probably right, but we have to be ready for it if they do.’â€� Dusbabek played for Lou Holtz at the University of Minnesota. When Dusbabek played for the Vikings, the defensive coaching staff included Monte Kiffin and Pete Carroll. Dusbabek enjoyed the challenge of deciphering an offense. Learning its tendencies. The preferred plays in certain situations. “The finer points of the game,â€� he says. “That was a big chess game. It’s the same way in golf, working out the strategy of it all. You try to put it together to make the best tournament you can.â€� There’s one big difference between the two vocations, though. “The physical aspect,â€� Dusbabek says. “You didn’t want to get your ass kicked.â€�

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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – This is a week to celebrate consistency because the PGA TOUR has set up its stage at the RBC Heritage on a most-beloved golf course. RELATED: Leaderboard | Five Things to Know: Harbour Town Harbour Town Golf Links “is in my top five,” said Tom Watson, and Hale Irwin gushed about “that look, that feel, that mystique.” Said Nick Faldo, “it’s got the right charm, the right ambiance,” and when Nick Price came here, he added, “I used every club in the bag because it demands strategy.” Those Hall of Famers have given way to a new generation of elite players, but the sentiments strike a consistent chord. Many of those on the first page of the leaderboard may be playing well because they feel they’ve already won just by being here. “I love the island here, such a great event,” said Graeme McDowell, who won here in 2013 and hasn’t missed it since. No surprise, he shot an opening-round 66 this time around, after which he said, “A phenomenal golf course where people are just happy to see you.” He’s three off the lead (Cameron Young, 63), and so is Shane Lowry, another most personable Irishman and the winner of the 2019 Open Championship, won on Irish turf, no less, at Royal Portrush. At 35, Lowry has stepped out of the shadows of his great friends and fellow major winners, Rory McIlroy and McDowell, and established himself as a global star. Ranked 30th in the Official World Golf Ranking, he might be playing as nicely as anyone not named Scottie Scheffler. “Yeah, it’s pretty good,” said Lowry, who can be excused for missing a short birdie putt on his 18th hole, the par-4 ninth, in Thursday’s first round, for his performance – five birdies and 13 pars for a 66 – was part of a long run of good form. “I felt I was (just) looking out the window at the Honda,” he said. “And I’ve played pretty good since that.” He speaks the truth. Second to Sepp Straka at The Honda Classic, Lowry continued solid play at THE PLAYERS Championship (T-13), Valspar Championship (T-12), and Masters (T-3). He has broken par in 11 of his 16 rounds, and just once in seven stroke-play tournaments worldwide in 2022 has he finished outside the top 20. That finish, in his so-called off-week, was a T-24. On a breezy Thursday morning when the Calibogue Sound offered its usual sultry backdrop, the challenge to Harbour Town was as it always has been – figure out how to shape the ball around the trees and don’t get too lofty with your trajectory. Veterans know that, and sometimes rookies catch on quickly, too. “You can’t get around here without thinking, that’s for sure,” said Young, who teed off in in the first pairing off the first hole and went bogey-free in his pace-setting 63. “It can get pretty windy out there, so you have to really pick your spots where you think you can be a little aggressive and places where you just can’t.” Rookie Young had it going early this season with a second at The Genesis Invitational amid a stretch of five straight tournaments in which he never finished worse than T-26. Then came a missed cut at THE PLAYERS Championship, a lackluster World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play – he failed to make it out of group play – and another MC at the Masters. In other words, Young came into this week seeking consistency. McDowell, Lowry, and others RBC Heritage veterans would tell the kid from Scarborough, N.Y., via Wake Forest, that he’s come to the right spot. Harbour Town Golf Links is saturated is consistency, from the way the residents embrace the tournament to the style of play the course demands. “The way the course is set up, I like keeping the ball under the trees,” said Lowry. “I think it kind of suits that. You kind of flight it around here and that’s what I do well, keeping it down out of the wind.” And the 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year has another attribute that serves him well at Harbour Town. “There are a lot of talents I would like for myself,” McDowell said. “Rory’s driving, Tiger’s mind. (But) Shane’s chipping is right up there for me. Shane, to me, is one of the best chippers of the ball that I’ve seen.” That is a valuable tool anywhere, but particularly at Harbour Town, where you might feel like you’re playing 18 postage stamps. The small greens are partly why this Pete Dye design generates such a passionate following. Lowry’s steady form continued as he hit 11 of 14 fairways and 14 greens, so his chipping prowess wasn’t tested much in his bogey-free effort. Maybe it’s become ho-hum stuff, but for Lowry, it’s all about keeping himself in the mix as he chases his first win since that Open Championship. “I just need to be patient and need to keep going,” he said. “Hopefully, I get the breaks on some Sunday when I need it and I can win another tournament soon. That’s kind of what’s just spurring me on is just trying to win. It’s so hard to win out here.” Consistency is also elusive, even at Harbour Town, which continues to do its part – timeless, unchanging and charming as ever.

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