McIlroy starts season-opener in Abu Dhabi with 8-under 64

After a year off as the new schedule took shape the Houston Open returns in a new time slot in the expanded fall portion of the FedExCup after spending significant time as the precursor to the Masters. But it still seems like yesterday a fist pounding Ian Poulter took out a young Beau Hossler in a pulsating playoff. Perhaps this time the heroics will fall to his European teammate Henrik Stenson who makes his 2019-20 season debut. RELATED: Featured Groups, tee times | Power Rankings THE FLYOVER The 488-yard par-4 18th has provided plenty of drama over the years as one of the most difficult finishing holes on TOUR. It was the ninth hardest finishing hole in 2018 (4.223) – the last time we were at the Golf Club of Houston – primarily because of the water down the entire left side and the bunkers on the right. There is no faking it here. If you want to win this tournament you need to step up and hit good shots or you open the door for others. LANDING ZONE The 338-yard par-4 12th hole provides players with a risk-reward opportunity as they look to make a run. Of course laying up with iron is always an option given the water down the right side and the bunkers on the left but those who thread the needle can certainly find the putting surface and set up an eagle chance. Here’s a look at where everyone played from off the tee in 2018. WEATHER CHECK From meteorologist Joe Halvorson: Southeasterly winds will increase in speed on Thursday, bringing back an influx of humidity along with an isolated coverage of showers during the afternoon. A strong cold front will bring a likely chance of showers (60% rain probability) and a few thunderstorms (30-40% lightning probability) for Friday. There remains some uncertainty with the exact timing of this cold front, but generally expect a passage sometime between 10am-1pm Friday. Blustery north-northwesterly winds are expected to occur behind the cold front Friday afternoon. A lingering shower or two will remain possible early Saturday morning, otherwise expect much cooler and drier conditions to take over for the weekend. For the latest weather news from the Golf Club of Houston, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK “It’s always sad when one of the trusties has to retire,â€� BY THE NUMBERS 6 – Number of fall series winners (from eight tournaments) who went on to qualify for the season-ending TOUR Championship and had a chance at the FedExCup last season. Will we get a glimpse of a potential champion this week? The fall now has 11 events and last season all 30 TOUR Championship players had starts in the fall. 605 – The amount of points early FedExCup leader Sebastián Muñoz already has tallied up as he looks to extend his spot atop the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 list. There are 17 players in this week’s field who can steal top spot away this week. 63 – The current course record. Held jointly by Sung Kang (2017), Scott Piercy (2015), Jimmy Walker (2011), Phil Mickelson (2011), Johnson Wagner (2008) and Adam Scott (2008). 24 – Number of playoffs at the Houston Open including last time out when Ian Poulter defeated Beau Hossler. SCATTERSHOTS Houston native and University of Texas sophomore Cole Hammer is set to make a second career start on the PGA TOUR and first since the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay at age 15. Currently sits No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Was a member of the winning 2019 Walker Cup team and won the Mark H. McCormack Medal as 2019’s top amateur. This is the third time the Houston Open will be played in the fall. The first time was in November 1966 when Arnold Palmer shot a final round 69 to take the prize. The other was in October 1991 when Fulton Allem shot 66 to overtake a handful of challengers, including Tom Kite. While the Houston Open has been played at the Golf Club of Houston since 2003, the Tournament Course has served as the Host Course since 2006. Beginning in 2020, the tournament will be played at Memorial Park, a city-owned park in downtown Houston.

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BLAINE, Minn. — Bryson DeChambeau figured a score well into the double digits below par could win the inaugural 3M Open. He’s already there, halfway through. DeChambeau dominated the second round, racking up nine birdies to finish Friday at a career-low 62 and vault into the lead with a 14-under-par score halfway through the first-time PGA TOUR event at the TPC Twin Cities. The 25-year-old DeChambeau hit greens in regulation on 17 of 18 holes. He sank four putts from 20-plus feet, including the No. 7 and No. 8 holes during a commanding surge on his second nine. “You’re not going to be perfect, but I can keep driving it well just like I have been, and become more and more confident, that’s the Bryson we saw last year,” said DeChambeau, who went bogey-free over the first two days for the first time in his career. Adam Hadwin arrived in the clubhouse in second place at 12-under, after five birdies in a steely performance on the back nine amid an on-and-off drizzle during the afternoon. Hadwin, who finished sixth a month ago at the RBC Canadian Open in his native country, shot a 66 to follow up his first-round 64. He was well aware when he teed off exactly how far he’d have to come to pull within striking distance of DeChambeau. “I am the quintessential leaderboard watcher. I know almost at any point where everybody is at, even at 9 a.m. on Thursday morning,” Hadwin said. “I knew. I obviously knew that low scores were available today, but at the same time you still have to be patient. You still have to let it come.” Scott Piercy, who opened a two-stroke lead with a 62 in the first round Thursday, started on No. 10 and sputtered through the windless, muggy morning with five bogeys on his first nine to offset an eagle. Piercy still came in at 10-under. He was joined by Sam Burns, Brian Harman and Sam Saunders in a four-way tie for third place. DeChambeau played with Keegan Bradley and Charles Howell III, who used two eagles to shoot 66 and reach the weekend at 8-under. Tony Finau joined Howell in that large group by chipping in for eagle on the 18th. Just ahead of them, in a smaller bunch tied for seventh at 9-under, was Arjun Atwal, a 46-year-old from India who became one of four late qualifiers Monday for the 156-player field by shooting a 62. Brooks Koepka had another quiet day, finishing at 3-under. The biggest name to miss the cut was Phil Mickelson, who has failed to reach the weekend in four of his last six events. After taking a triple bogey on his way to a 74 in the first round, Mickelson shot a 73 to finish 2-over. DeChambeau entered the event tied for just 133rd on the TOUR in greens in regulation. His previous best round on the TOUR, which he joined in 2017, was a 63 he posted three times. The most recent one was at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January, when he finished tied for 10th. The first high-profile player to commit to this tournament at the Arnold Palmer-designed, 19-year-old course about 20 miles north of downtown Minneapolis, DeChambeau has four top-10 finishes this season. That includes the fifth TOUR victory of his career at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas in November. After finishing third in the FedExCup standings in 2018, DeChambeau entered the week in 25th place on the strength of his tied-for-eighth finish at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut two weeks ago. He missed the cut in three straight starts this spring, including the PGA Championship. The 3M Open was attractive to DeChambeau for more than just the potential boost toward a top-10 FedExCup finish and the momentum heading into the final major of the year at the Open Championship in two weeks. The former physics major at SMU who’s fondly known on TOUR as the “Mad Scientist” for his exceptional interest in and knowledge of swing mechanics and other intricacies of the sport, DeChambeau eagerly paid a visit this week to 3M world headquarters in Maplewood about 25 miles from the course in Blaine. He checked out some of the innovative projects in the works by the manufacturing giant best known for Post-It notes. Wearing his usual newsboy-style, classic white golf cap in tribute to Ben Hogan, DeChambeau doffed it often as he walked confidently around the course. The sure sign this was his day came as he wrapped up at the daunting ninth hole, a 502-yard par-4. His second shot landed slightly beyond the rough between the green and one of the many water hazards lurking at the course, about 50 feet from the pin and out of danger. He left his first putt just 3 feet short, leaving an easy tap to save par. “That was the only time I was nervous today,” DeChambeau said. “Everything else felt like just a pure rhythm.”

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