Live leaderboard: Moving day at the Travelers

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, West Virginia – You can bet the next time Harold Varner III plays a practice round with Tiger Woods he won’t be checking his smart phone on the tee or between shots. Varner did sneak some glances the first time the two teed it up. The second time, Woods laid down the law. “He made me put my phone up, because the first time I played with him, I was like, dude, relax, it’ll be okay,â€� Varner said with a grin. “And then he wasn’t having it the next time.â€� That was part of a broader lesson, though. Woods was trying to teach the affable Varner how to focus, how to block out the extraneous and concentrate on the task at hand. And should Varner win A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier on Sunday, the former world No. 1’s words of advice just might pay dividends. “He said that focusing is like reading a book while you’re watching TV,â€� Varner said. “So like you hear the noise but you focus on the book. So the golf course is the book, so don’t act like you don’t hear it. “And I thought that was awesome.â€� Varner enters the final round at the Old White TPC holding a share of the lead with Kelly Kraft. Both are seeking their first PGA TOUR win in their 85th starts. Neither has led entering the final round. Varner’s previous best TOUR finish came when he tied for fifth at the 2015 OHL Classic at Mayakoba. He did win the 2016 Australian PGA Championship, though, and feels like he’s getting better with each passing year. “I want to see how good I can get, and every year I find a way to just keep learning, keep growing,â€� Varner said. “… I’m going to wake up tomorrow and give it all I’ve got.â€� So far, Varner has been extremely steady. He’s only made two bogeys this week and hasn’t dropped a shot to par since the 12th hole of his first round. He’s tied for the lead in scrambling, too. “I’m pretty hungry,â€� Varner said. “I’m ready to see what happens. This is what you work for. This is what I get so pumped up to do.â€� At the same time, Varner plans to keep the day in perspective, a word he mentioned more than once in his post-round interview. He’ll be the same person when Sunday’s round is over regardless of whether he wins or not. “You know, if I shoot 90 tomorrow, I’m going to be able to go home and my mom is going to give me a kiss and say, You’re still a winner. I’m going to be mad, but that’s just how it is,â€� he said. “And then if I win, she’s going to humble me and be like, You’re not better than me, and I thoroughly enjoy that. I’m going to mow my parents’ grass on Monday, so that’s just what I’m going to do.â€� NOTABLES A year ago, Kelly Kraft was the one chasing the leaders at The Greenbrier. He was four strokes off the lead held by Sebastian Munoz and ended up shooting 69 to tie for fifth. This year, though, he and Varner are the hunted, one stroke ahead of defending champion Xander Schauffele and Kevin Na. “I’m looking forward to going out in the last group and having some fun,â€� Kraft said. “It will play firm again, so I will get after it with wedges and hit it to more conservative lines when need be. Hopefully I’ll roll in a few long ones. It will be a fun day. This is what we play for, to be in contention.â€� The Greenbrier has been played seven times previously and believe it or not, a first-, second- or third-round leader has never gone on to win. Schauffele was one of those come-from-behind winners, making up a three-stroke deficit last year with a final-round 67. He finds himself in a similar position this year, although only trailing by one, and is among15 players within five strokes of the lead. Schauffele feels the experience he gained in 2017 should serve him well on Sunday. “Instead of getting nervous, I’ve been trying to relive some of those moments last year and remind myself that I do play well here, obviously, and sort of keep that on the forefront versus getting nervous,â€� he explained. Bubba Watson delighted the crowd on Saturday as h climbed the leaderboard with a 65 that left him 11 under. Watson, who has a summer home here at The Greenbrier, is seeking his fourth win of the season and second in the last three weeks. His best finish in four starts at The Old White TPC, though, is a tie for 13th in 2015. Even though his 65 was his lowest in competition here, Watson knows he needs to improve his putting. He ranks third in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and Strokes Gained: Tee to Green but 49th in Strokes Gained: Putting. “Still not comfortable,â€� Watson said. “I think I left at least two from inside 15 feet, dead in the heart short. Maybe three today. So even though I made a lot of birdies there was a couple, one extra roll and I would have made a couple more birdies. But like I said, it’s my own frustrations. The score is great, but I want to be lower because I want to have a chance to lift that trophy.â€� QUOTABLES Every time I get in contention, I’m hungry to win. When I won, it took me eight years, and I told everybody that it will not take that long to win my second one, and I’m running out of time. Hopefully I get this done.I’m an athlete. I want to win. So let’s go with that first. Then all these other guys are trying to beat me, so I’m trying to beat them. Then another trophy on the mantle would be nice. Having a house here, being a member here at the club, The Greenbrier has been so good to me, the fans and everything, so it would be nice to win. I’ll call myself a local boy. It would be good to have the trophy stay here. SUPERLATIVES Lowest round: Bronson Burgoon, Kevin Na, J.T. Poston, Xander Schauffele and Bubba Watson each shot 65. Longest drive: Tony Finau hit a 369-yarder on the sixth hole. Longest putt: Brett Stegamaier made a birdie putt of 59 feet, 11 inches on the par 4 14th hole. Hardest hole: The par-4 13th hole played to an average of 4.247 with just 4 birdies, 53 pars, 18 bogeys, 1 double bogey and one “other.â€� Easiest hole: The par-5 17th hole played to an average of 4.571 with 1 eagle, 35 birdies, 38 pars, just 2 bogeys and one double bogey. CALL OF THE DAY For play-by-play coverage of the final round at A Miltary Tribute at The Greenbrier, listen at PGATOUR.COM. SHOT OF THE DAY

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Pebble Beach and the U.S. Open. They go together like Phil Mickelson and hitting bombs. It’s America’s national championship, the winner is scheduled to be crowned on Father’s Day and television coverage is in prime time for most of the country. What more could you want? OK, so Mickelson also is getting his latest chance to complete the career grand slam and at a course where he’s won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am five times. The only wrinkle is that hitting bombs won’t be in the equation to prevail for him and the others in the 156-man field. For matters on what it will take to contend, how Pebble Beach is set up for the 119th edition of the U.S. Open and more, continue reading beneath the special Power Rankings that includes every golfer in the field. Related: Tee times | U.S. Open roundtable: Tiger, Phil, Brooks and bold predictions | Nine Things to Know: Pebble Beach Golf Links WILD CARD Kevin Na … So much for the concern over a fractured pinky that opened 2019. He’s now rested since winning the Charles Schwab Challenge on similarly short Colonial Country Club. He led the field in greens in regulation, proximity to the hole, strokes gained: approach-the-green and par-4 scoring. In 11 appearances in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he’s risen for a pair of top fives and another two top 20s, including a T20 last year. Also finished along in seventh at Oakmont in the 2016 U.S. Open. CHALLENGERS Consider this grouping of 19 as a Power Rankings Plus. For various reasons, each golfer warrants attention as a threat, but each also stops short of cracking the top 20 and the Wild Card. Ranked in order of Rob’s confidence (* – former champion; 2010 U.S. Open finish in parentheses) Henrik Stenson (T29) Patrick Reed Francesco Molinari (MC) Ian Poulter (T47) Gary Woodland (MC) *Martin Kaymer (T8) Emiliano Grillo Kevin Kisner Marc Leishman (MC) Jon Rahm *Jim Furyk (T16) Rafa Cabrera Bello (T47) Matt Wallace Billy Horschel Scott Piercy Paul Casey (T40) Si Woo Kim Tony Finau Tyrrell Hatton SLEEPERS The U.S. Open presents a top-heavy field, so in a full-field Power Rankings, stretching to 26 Sleepers is possible. Ignore the usual restrictions for qualification such as recent and prior winners, recent team participants and those inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. Ranked in order of Rob’s confidence (* – former champion ; ^ – debutant; 2010 U.S. Open finish in parentheses) *Lucas Glover (T58) Branden Grace C.T. Pan Matthew Fitzpatrick Chez Reavie Kiradech Aphibarnrat Jason Dufner (T33) Matt Jones Andrew Putnam (MC) ^Keith Mitchell Joel Dahmen Jimmy Walker Hao Tong Li Rory Sabbatini (MC) Nick Taylor Scottie Scheffler ^Erik van Rooyen Daniel Berger Brian Stuard Thomas Pieters Shugo Imahira Roberto Castro Luke List Alex Prugh Sam Saunders Rob Oppenheim QUESTION MARKS Sixty-one golfers are split into the two subcategories below. Placement is relative to fit, form and other variables. ARROW UP Listed alphabetically (^ – debutant; # – amateur with World Amateur Golf Ranking in brackets; 2010 U.S. Open finish in parentheses) Aaron Baddeley (MC) Lucas Bjerregaard Keegan Bradley Joseph Bramlett (MC) Charlie Danielson Harris English Luke Guthrie ^Justin Harding ^Mikumu Horikawa ^#Viktor Hovland [1st] ^Kodai Ichihara Chan Kim ^Nate Lashley K.H. Lee ^Chip McDaniel ^Collin Morikawa David Toms (T33) Bernd Wiesberger Danny Willett ARROW DOWN Listed alphabetically (* – former champion; ^ – debutant; 2010 U.S. Open finish in parentheses) Byeong Hun An (MC) ^Abraham Ancer Zac Blair Dean Burmester Brian Davis (MC) Bryson DeChambeau Luke Donald (T47) *Ernie Els (3rd) ^Julián Etulain Ryan Fox Marcus Fraser Sergio Garcia (T22) Cody Gribble Chesson Hadley Nick Hardy Tom Hoge J.B. Holmes Sam Horsfield Charles Howell III Billy Hurley III Zach Johnson (T77) Patton Kizzire Anirban Lahiri Richard H. Lee Alex Noren Thorbjørn Olesen Louis Oosthuizen (MC) Carlos Ortiz Matthieu Pavon Andy Pope Ollie Schniederjans Lee Slattery Cameron Smith Kyle Stanley ^Sepp Straka Ryan Sullivan Brendon Todd Jhonattan Vegas ^Justin Walters Bubba Watson Mike Weir (T80) Aaron Wise DEBUTANTS So much is respected for the challenge of a first-time participant of the Masters that it’s often overlooked at the drought for a first-time participant to win the U.S. Open. If you’ve yet to cross paths with this terrific tidbit, then you’re sure to encounter at some point during your local trivia night: Francis Ouimet is the most recent to prevail as a debutant. As an amateur, he survived a three-man playoff in 1913. Listed alphabetically (# – amateur with World Amateur Golf Ranking in brackets) Connor Arendell Adri Arnaus #Devon Bling [85] Merrick Bremner Eric Dietrich Brett Drewitt #Chandler Eaton [82] #Austin Eckroat [36] Rhys Enoch Andreas Halvorsen #Daniel Hillier [24] Marcus Kinhult Matthew Naumec #Noah Norton [179] #Kevin O’Connell [43] Renato Paratore Guillermo Pereira #Jovan Rebula [28] Hayden Shieh Clement Sordet Callum Tarren #Michael Thorbjornsen [52] #Spencer Tibbits [479] #Brandon Wu [11] #Cameron Young [30] AMATEURS Four of the 16 amateurs in the field have appeared in the U.S. Open at least once before. They are grouped here below. Listed alphabetically (with World Amateur Golf Ranking in brackets) Luis Gagne [41] Stewart Hagestad [15] Matt Parziale [153] Chun An Yu [6] NOTE: Eddie Pepperell is the only qualifier not to commit. He’s resting a sore back. Pebble Beach’s first spin as host of the U.S. Open was in 1972. This week’s edition is the sixth in its history. Because the layout needs more than just a few months to be ready for a tournament of this prominence, the fairways for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am four months ago were narrower than usual (about 28-32 yards wide). As a result, the field averaged just 8.69 (of 14) fairways hit per round in the non-major, roughly one less on average as compared to 2018. While that’s a significant drop, it goes with the territory in the year when the United States Golf Association reserves Pebble Beach for the U.S. Open. The previous low for fairways hit at Pebble Beach in the non-major (9.11 per round) occurred in 2010, the last time the U.S. Open was last held on the historic track. Since then, Pebble Beach has undergone numerous changes and upgrades to evolve into as modern a test for the class of 2019, but overall par stays the same; that is, for the U.S. Open. With the second hole playing as a par 4 in the major (as opposed to a par 5 in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am), total par for the U.S. Open is 71. No. 2 is 14 yards longer than it tested in 2010 and the par-4 ninth is 21 yards longer thanks to a new tee. Now tipping at 7,075 yards, the course is 35 yards longer than it was nine years ago. Immediately flanking the trimmer landing strips is a first cut of rough as long as one-and-three-quarters inches. With slick Poa annua greens averaging only 3,500 square feet, the premium will be on finding the shortest of grass off the tee so that approaches hold. With wispy primary rough exceeding a measurable range (hip high?) for the most wayward of drives, there’s going to be quite of bit of medicine swallowed. This reality goes part and parcel with the U.S. Open, but especially at Pebble Beach. Of all par 71s since the 2000 season, the U.S. Opens in 2000 and 2010 rank a respective 1-2 in highest scoring averages at 75.359 and 74.983. Because it’s exposed on the Pacific Ocean, the elements impact scoring here than most places. However, Mother Nature is rolling out the red carpet of conditions. It’ll be cool with daytimes highs maybe eclipsing 60 degrees and only passing clouds will obscure sunlight that will dominate the tournament. That leaves wind as the primary challenge, which benefits preparation, experience and course management. As of midday Monday, 33 in the field competed in the 2010 U.S. Open and 42 laced it up at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this year. Fourteen played in both. After 36 holes are complete, the low 60 and ties will survive the cut and play two more rounds. If two or more golfers lead at the conclusion of 72 holes, a two-hole aggregate playoff on Nos. 17 and 18 will be used to determine the champion. If that’s not enough, the traditional hole-by-hole playoff will be employed beginning on 17 and alternating with 18 as necessary. Among the litany of spoils, the winner will receive 600 FedExCup points, a 10-year exemption into the U.S. Open, exemptions into the next five editions of the other three majors and fully exempt status on PGA TOUR through 2023-24. Oh, and he’ll also pocket $2.25 million of a record prize fund of $12.5 million. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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