Live leaderboard: Valspar Championship

How the field qualified for the Farmers Insurance Open as of 1/17/2020: Check here for updates. Winner – PGA/U.S. Open Championship Jason Day Jordan Spieth Jimmy Walker Gary Woodland Winner – THE PLAYERS Championship Rickie Fowler Rory McIlroy Winner – The Masters Patrick Reed Tiger Woods Winner – The Open Championship Francesco Molinari Winner – TOUR Championship (2017 & 2018) Xander Schauffele Winner – World Golf Championships Event Hideki Matsuyama Phil Mickelson Justin Rose Bubba Watson Winners of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard & the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide (Last 3 Years) Jason Dufner Marc Leishman Tournament Winner in Past Two Seasons Keegan Bradley Cameron Champ Austin Cook Dylan Frittelli Brice Garnett Lanto Griffin Jim Herman J.B. Holmes Max Homa Billy Horschel Charles Howell III Sung Kang Patton Kizzire Russell Knox Satoshi Kodaira Troy Merritt Keith Mitchell Collin Morikawa Sebastián Muñoz Joaquin Niemann Ryan Palmer Cheng Tsung Pan Pat Perez Ted Potter, Jr. Jon Rahm Cameron Smith Brandt Snedeker Brendan Steele Martin Trainer Kevin Tway Matthew Wolff Career Money Exemption K.J. Choi Steve Stricker Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt Harris English Hunter Mahan Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted Stewart Cink Isaiah Salinda Justin Suh Brandon Wu PGA Club Professional Champion – 6 Events Alexander Beach PGA Section Champion\Player of the Year Michael Block Top 125 on Prior Season’s FedExCup Points List Tony Finau Jason Kokrak Sungjae Im Lucas Glover Rory Sabbatini Harold Varner III Byeong Hun An Joel Dahmen Wyndham Clark Emiliano Grillo Adam Schenk Danny Lee Kevin Streelman Jhonattan Vegas Charley Hoffman Chesson Hadley Matt Every Michael Thompson Matt Jones Luke List Roger Sloan Sam Burns Bud Cauley Nick Watney Mackenzie Hughes J.J. Spaun Talor Gooch Chris Stroud Kyle Stanley Patrick Rodgers Cameron Tringale Sam Ryder Kyoung-Hoon Lee Scott Stallings Denny McCarthy Scott Brown Carlos Ortiz Sepp Straka Aaron Baddeley Peter Malnati Martin Laird Top 125 (Prior Season Nonmember) Doc Redman Lucas Bjerregaard Major Medical Extension Bronson Burgoon Kevin Stadler Graham DeLaet Ben Martin Jamie Lovemark Grayson Murray John Huh Seung-Yul Noh Brandon Hagy Trey Mullinax Leading Points Winner from Korn Ferry Tour & KFT Finals Scottie Scheffler Top Finishers from Korn Ferry Tour Prior Season (reordered) Scott Harrington Tom Hoge Harry Higgs Xinjun Zhang Robby Shelton Zac Blair Richy Werenski Cameron Percy Fabián Gómez Henrik Norlander D.J. Trahan Hank Lebioda Robert Streb Maverick McNealy Beau Hossler Bo Hoag Matthew NeSmith Rob Oppenheim Kramer Hickok Joseph Bramlett Rafael Campos Chase Seiffert Mark Anderson Kristoffer Ventura Rhein Gibson Ben Taylor Tyler McCumber Chris Baker Michael Gligic Tim Wilkinson Sebastian Cappelen Doug Ghim Cameron Davis Ryan Brehm Michael Gellerman Nelson Ledesma Anirban Lahiri Vincent Whaley Vince Covello

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Former world No. 1 and reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler is commanding a large portion of the handle at the BetMGM online sportsbook as he looks to break a near eight-month win drought in his home state Texas this week. After claiming his first four PGA TOUR wins in a six-event span last spring, a run that included the Masters title at Augusta National and a World Golf Championship in Austin, Scheffler has gone winless in his previous 14 starts as he lines up for the Cadence Bank Houston Open. Despite losing top spot in the world to Rory McIlroy a few weeks ago, Scheffler has still played solid golf during his “drought”. He has five top five finishes over that span, including a T3 last week in Mexico. This has ensured he remained a favorite each week in golf betting and that is once again the case as early action at BetMGM suggests bettors like his chances in Houston. As of Tuesday, Scheffler has the most handle (22.3%) on the third-most tickets (6.7%). He has the best golf odds to win at +600, which makes him a massive betting favorite, with Sam Burns having the second-best odds at +1400. The 26-year-old’s T-3 finish at the Worldwide Technology Championship at Mayakoba last week featured a final round 62 giving him significant momentum. He also enjoys playing at Memorial Park, not just because he’s back in the state where he went to college (University of Texas) and now resides, but also because of past results. Scheffler has made the cut both times the event has previously been played at the course, including a T-2 a year ago when he shot a second round 62. A year prior he settled for a T32 but shot a 65 in the final round. There’s no question he should have good vibes at a course that won’t yield as many birdies as the other events this fall. A win sends him back to world No.1. Tony Finau is another popular player ahead of the event, drawing the most tickets (10%) and third-most handle (10.3%). At over 7,400 yards for a par-70, Memorial Park is a much longer course than players have faced of length and should be a place where Finau can use his distance off the tee to his advantage. Current Handle & Tickets Handle Scottie Scheffler – 22.3% Sam Burns – 16.2% Tony Finau – 10.3% Hideki Matsuyama – 6.8% Keith Mitchell – 6.4% Tickets Tony Finau – 10% Sepp Straka – 7.8% Scottie Scheffler – 6.7% Taylor Pendrith– 4.7% Keith Mitchell – 4.7% With the second-best odds, Burns is pulling in the second-most handle at 16.2%. He had a strong showing at his event a year ago, finishing T-7. With a longer course, sharp runoffs around the greens, and the potential for windy conditions, don’t expect super-low scores this week. In fact, in the two years this event has been played at Memorial Park, the winning scores have been 13 and 10 under. * Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. BetMGM is available in AZ, CO, DC, IA, IN, IL, KS, LA, MI, MS, NJ, NV, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, or WY only. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Paid in free bets. Free bets expire in 7 days from issuance. Minimum deposit required. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO, DC, LA, NV, WY, VA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-GAMBLER (IN, NJ, PA & WV), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA) or call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), call or text the Tennessee REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN) or call 1-888-777-9696 (MS). Sports betting is void where prohibited. Promotional offers not available in Nevada. Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org

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The ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP was Tiger Woods’ first tournament in two months. It was his first start since knee surgery. He bogeyed the first three holes. It didn’t matter. Woods still earned his record-tying 82nd win. The ShotLink team broke down Woods’ 82 wins here. Today’s Stats Insider will focus on last week’s performance in the first PGA TOUR event in Japan. 1. BOUNCE BACK: Woods became the first player in the ShotLink era (since 2003) to win after making bogey on his first three holes of a tournament. Woods is the fifth player since 2003 to win after playing his first three holes in +3 or worse. Highest score to par on first three holes to start event among PGA TOUR winners since 2003 2. IRON IT OUT: Woods’ impressive iron play was on full display in Japan. He was in full control of his ball, finishing third in greens hit (55 of 72, 76.4%). This shouldn’t be a surprise. Among players with at least 300 measured rounds, Woods has the highest career Strokes Gained: Approach per round, and it’s not even close. He’s averaged +1.1 strokes gained per round. Jim Furyk is second with +0.74, while ZOZO runner-up Hideki Matsuyama is third with +0.72. 3. HAPPENS IN THREES: Here’s further proof of Woods’ stellar iron play last week: he played the par-3s last week in 9-under-par. It marked his career-best performance on par-3s (in relation to par). He is one of six players since 1983 to play the par-3s in 9 under or better en route to victory. Best Par-3 performance among PGA TOUR winners since 1983 4. GOING LOW: Woods finished three shots ahead of Matsuyama. Third-place finishers Rory McIlroy and Sungjae Im finished six shots back. The 10th-place finishers were 10 shots back. Woods’ 36-, 54- and 72-hole scores this week were among the best of his career. Yes, one of the par-4s was shortened to a par-3 for one round, but it was still an incredibly impressive performance. This was the 25th consecutive time that Woods converted a 54-hole lead of 3+ shots into a victory. He’s never lost in that scenario. 36 HOLES: 64-64—128 (5th-best of his career) 54 HOLES: 64-64-66—194 (3rd-best) 72 HOLES: 64-64-66-67—261 (3rd-best) 5. TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER: Woods led the field in birdies (27) and putts per green in regulation (1.62). The latter is proof of strong ball-striking and strong putting. It means you’re hitting it close enough to one-putt, and rolling it well enough to convert. There was no ShotLink in Japan, but wasn’t necessary to show us that Woods was the cream of the crop.

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