McIlroy, Spaun set for Monday playoff at Players

Greg Norman announced the addition of two key executives to his staff at LIV Golf Investments, the group that announced his hiring as CEO last week and that is behind an effort to start a new golf league.

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Within the cadence of the 2018-19 PGA TOUR season, a new rhythm exists. The downbeat occurred in earnest with the return of THE PLAYERS Championship to March, and it’s maintained a toe-tapping groove that has included unique events like the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. There’s no better place than the birthplace of jazz to keep the jam going. This is the third edition of the team format in which there are 80 duets, if you will. It’s a phenomenal opportunity for fans to learn more about the relationships and harmony between players. POWER RANKINGS: ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS OTHERS CONSIDERED Brooks Koepka & Chase Koepka Bubba Watson & J.B. Holmes Jason Kokrak & Chris Stroud Branden Grace & Justin Harding Russell Knox & Brian Stuard PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf omits the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, so Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will be presented in an abridged format. As it was for 11 editions of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans as an individual event, TPC Louisiana is the backdrop for the PGA TOUR’s only team competition. All 160 in the field are professionals. The first and third rounds are scored as best ball (also known as four-ball), while the second and fourth rounds are scored using alternate shot (also known as foursomes). Teams inside the top 35 and ties at the conclusion of 36 holes will make the cut. The secondary-cut provision (i.e. MDF) does not apply. TPC Louisiana is a scorable par 72 with the full complement of four par 5s. It can stretch to 7,425 yards. Only the bermuda greens are overseeded, and they’re prepped to run upwards of 12 feet on the Stimpmeter. While that speed is standard for TOUR tracks, severe undulations contribute to the challenge and the targets average just 5,225 square feet. Together they elevate the value of proximity to the hole on approach. Because fairways are welcoming and in part because of the format, long hitters are encouraged to show us what they got, at least in best ball. The field’s average of distance of all drives for the first two spins as a team competition slotted TPC Louisiana inside the top-half shortest. By comparison, last year’s clip of 278.7 yards was one-tenth of one yard shorter than Sea Island’s Seaside Course, host of The RSM Classic and not considered a bomber’s paradise. Still, encouraging the thought of stepping on it is semi-dormant bermuda rough cut to just one-and-three-quarters inches this year. That’s down one-quarter of an inch from 2018. Spring in the bayou always include the threat of inclement conditions, but this week’s complications are isolated pre-cut. After a mild risk might gurgle on Thursday afternoon, the more probable concern is forecast for Friday afternoon. Otherwise, it’ll be quite nice with daytime highs flirting with 80 degrees and light-to-moderate winds throughout. When the winners are crowned on Sunday, each will receive 400 FedExCup points. That’s the average between first and second place in regular individual competitions. Similarly split, each co-champion will pocket $1,051,200.00. Both will earn two-year membership exemptions or an additional season to the maximum of five from the current if already exempt through 2020-21. They’ll also secure exemptions into next month’s PGA Championship, the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions, the 2020 PLAYERS and other invitationals if not currently eligible. Official World Golf Ranking points are not distributed for this tournament, but the top-five teams are eligible for the top-10 provision that grants entry into next week’s Wells Fargo Championship. Assuming you like what you experience, you’ll love the reminder that at the conclusion of last year’s edition, Zurich Insurance extended its partnership with the tournament through 2026. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton covers numerous angles in between tournaments. Look for his following contributions this week. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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With the rough up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Adam Scott used a calculated plan of attack to shoot a 4-under 68 that put him comfortably in the top 10 after the first day at Bay Hill. Instead of using the popular bomb-and-gouge approach, Scott went without a driver Thursday. The driver stayed in his locker, and the longest club in his bag was a 13.5-degree TSi2 fairway wood with a Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 9X shaft (more on the T-Series woods here). “The basic stats are you hit more fairways with a shorter club than you do a longer club, and a 3-wood you hit more fairways than a driver,” Scott said after his round. “I thought it was a premium on hitting fairways here this week. … It’s kind of hard to figure how I’m going to get (the driver) back in the bag for tomorrow. I want to. It’s inspiring to watch Rory (McIlroy) drive it, and I’d like to hit a couple. I’m going to hit a few on the range and see how it feels, but my game plan worked pretty good so far. It’s hard to criticize it.” Scott entered this week fresh off a T4 finish at The Genesis Invitational, where he used a 9-degree Titleist TSi4 driver. But he’s currently ranked 183rd in driving accuracy on the season, hitting just 52.7% of fairways. “I just don’t think anyone is particularly accurate with the driver, myself included,” Scott said. “Once you’re up at these ball speeds, it’s just hard to be relatively accurate. Rory (McIlroy) made it look great today. … (My driver) is far from terrible, but I have to say since the middle of last year the confidence is really improved with the driver. I just didn’t see the advantage with it (this week). I can get home on all the par-5s with the (13.5-degree wood). …I felt like I wasn’t really handicapping myself at all, even though I was watching a guy 50 yards in front of me.” How much distance is Scott really giving up? Well, his playing partner Rory McIlroy averaged 314 yards off the tee and hit 78.6% of the fairways on Thursday, while Scott averaged 276.7 yards and hit the short grass just half the time. Scott estimated that he gives up about 15 yards on average between his gamer driver and the 13.5-degree fairway wood. “Tomorrow it looks a bit windier and I’m going to have to have a serious think, because if it was into a stiff breeze on 18, maybe I’m handicapping myself,” Scott said. “You have to have your head in the right place to do stuff like this. Like if you miss a fairway anyway, you’re chipping out to the same spot whether it’s a 3-wood or a driver … and you have to get it up and down anyway.” Although Scott has admitted his accuracy is an issue with his driver, he asserts the no-driver-strategy was strictly based on the course setup (and windless conditions): “I’m not trying to get away from hitting a driver, I just really felt I’d only hit it a couple times here, and what was the benefit? Nothing. I’d still get home on the par 5s.”

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