McIlroy withdraws from the Memorial Tournament

HARTFORD, Connecticut – The Travelers Championship today announced that its three-time winner Bubba Watson has donated $200,000 to the tournament in support of The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. With Watson’s donation, the 2018 Travelers Championship has generated $2 million for charity. The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp is the tournament’s primary beneficiary. The organization was founded in 1988 by Paul Newman and provides a camp experience for children facing serious illnesses. Three campers — Tyler Backus, Carly Demartino and Jeremy Brown — served as the Honorary Co-Chairs this year, helping to raise awareness about the important role Camp plays in the lives of more than 20,000 children and family members each year. “Bubba is a tremendous person with a huge heart, and this unbelievable gesture is a demonstration of how much he cares about others,� said Andy Bessette, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Travelers. “On behalf of everyone at Travelers, I want to thank him and his family for their ongoing support of our goal of raising more money for charity.� “Bubba’s generous donation is an example of how he has embraced our tournament and our region,� said Nathan Grube, Travelers Championship Tournament Director. “We are extremely grateful to Bubba and everyone who has supported our mission to help nonprofit organizations like The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.� The Travelers Championship contributes 100 percent of its net proceeds to nonprofits throughout the region, and this year’s funding will support approximately 130 worthy organizations. Connecticut’s PGA TOUR event has generated more than $16 million for more than 700 local charities since Travelers became title sponsor in 2007. For more information, visit TravelersChampionship.com.

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There’s a new Mr. Monday in town. Veteran pro Chris Naegel has successfully navigated the lottery-type foray of PGA TOUR Monday qualifying for the third time this month, carding 7-under 64 at Victory Links GC and surviving a 4-for-2 playoff to earn a spot in this week’s 3M Open. Also advancing through the playoff was 40-year-old Andre Metzger, a Dakotas Tour legend who will make his first PGA TOUR start. Australia’s Daniel Gale and University of Tennessee alum Rick Lamb matched 8-under 63s to earn tee times Thursday at TPC Twin Cities with no playoff needed. In all, 64 players competed for four spots in this week’s field. For all scores from this week’s qualifier, click here. Here’s a look at the four players who earned spots in this week’s 3M Open via Monday’s qualifier … Daniel Gale (8-under 63) Age: 26 Hometown: Sydney, Australia Alma mater: N/A PGA TOUR starts: 0 Notes: Set for first career PGA TOUR start after making nine birdies Monday against one bogey … Has spent 2022 season on PGA Tour of Australasia, with a pair of runner-up finishes among 10 top-25 finishes in 12 starts … Australia native now resides in Castle Hill, Georgia … Started playing golf at age 6; attended Jack Newton junior golf program in Australia … Was awarded Renay Appleby Award in 2013 as part of Jack Newton program … Currently stands No. 546 on Official World Golf Ranking. Rick Lamb (8-under 63) Age: 31 Hometown: South Bend, Indiana Alma mater: University of Tennessee PGA TOUR starts: 32 Cuts made: 12 Best PGA TOUR finish: T3, 2017 John Deere Classic Notes: Made six birdies and an eagle Monday to earn his spot in the field … Knows how to win as a Monday qualifier, having done so at the 2016 LECOM Health Challenge on the Korn Ferry Tour … Has a twin brother, Scott, who has spent time on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica … 2-for-2 in made cuts this season on TOUR, having finished T30 at The Honda Classic and T15 at Corales Puntacana Championship … Played 31 events on 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour, making 15 cuts and finishing No. 129 on Points List. Andre Metzger (7-under 64; advanced via playoff) Age: 40 Hometown: Sioux Falls, South Dakota Alma mater: Lamar PGA TOUR starts: 0 Notes: Longtime grinder earned his first TOUR start in emotional fashion with a birdie on the third playoff hole of Monday’s qualifier … Has found great success on the Dakotas Tour, on which he had accrued double-digit victories … Has spent time as a pizza delivery driver while funding his pro golf dreams … Has made 26 career Korn Ferry Tour starts, highlighted by a T19 at the 2019 Chitimacha Louisiana Open … Won a high school state basketball title at Norman High School in Oklahoma. Chris Naegel (7-under 64; advanced via playoff) Age: 39 Hometown: Wildwood, Missouri Alma mater: Missouri Baptist PGA TOUR starts: 7 Cuts made: 4 Best PGA TOUR finish: T16, 2022 John Deere Classic Notes: Demonstrating a knack for qualifiers this summer. After earning a U.S. Open spot via Final Qualifying – then finishing T56 at Brookline – he also gained John Deere Classic entry via Monday qualifying, proceeding to a notch a TOUR-best T16, and Monday qualified into last week’s Barracuda Championship (MC). He stood T6 into the final round at TPC Deere Run before closing with a 2-over 73 … Currently holds 52 non-member FedExCup points as he chases the equivalent of a season-ending top-200 position that would secure Korn Ferry Tour Finals entry; the No. 200 spot currently holds 83 points … Best TOUR-sanctioned finish is a solo fourth at the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2019 WinCo Foods Portland Open, including a hole-in-one during the final round … Was a frequent travel buddy of TOUR winner Adam Long, a fellow St. Louis-area native, during their formative years in professional golf.

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It’s impossible to think of Torrey Pines Golf Course without associating it with Tiger Woods in some way at any point in time dating all the way back to his days as a junior. The seven-time champion of the Farmers Insurance Open is making his 18th appearance on the site where he also claimed the most recent of his 14 victories in a major – the 2008 U.S. Open. While he’s made it look easy at times, the chase never ends. Just as every career evolves, so do courses and tournaments. The last two editions of the Farmers contested on the North and South Courses in La Jolla, California, have yielded a new normal for the 156-man fields that descend. Scroll beneath the ranking for more on this and why the test will change again in advance of next year’s edition. Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will cover numerous notables who don’t appear above, including Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed, Keegan Bradley and Desert Classic champion Adam Long. It wouldn’t be wrong to cite that this is Woods’ first start at the Farmers all the way back from multiple back surgeries and proper recoveries. He tried, tried and tried again in 2014 (T80/MDF), 2015 (WD) and 2017 (MC), and last year’s T23 served as a glimpse of what was in store for the remainder of the season than it was a gauge of his capability. Now, his expectations at Torrey Pines are aligned fairly with his history on the course. It’s just that the vice versa isn’t reflective. Since the reveal of Tom Weiskopf’s redesign of Torrey North in 2017 – his comprehensive update added 206 yards to reach its current length of 7,258 yards – the last three rounds on the North rank inside its top-seven highest of 24 in the FedExCup era. (All golfers alternate one round on the North and South Courses in the first two rounds. After the 36-hole cut falls, only Torrey South hosts the third and final rounds.) Meanwhile, after 7,698-yard Torrey South played to its history as one of the most stringent tests found anywhere on the PGA TOUR in 2017 – which, to add another layer of perspective, was its easiest of a four-year stretch – both of last year’s rounds slot inside its top-four easiest in the FedExCup era. Still, the overall scoring averages between the courses varied by only 1.49 and 1.40 strokes in 2017 and 2018, respectively. In each of the last three editions prior to Weiskopf’s work, the difference was no lower than 3.29. (Four-round scoring is baked into Torrey South’s averages contributing to those comparisons.) The fairways on both courses have remained among the toughest to find, and distance off the tee continues to define contenders, but the bentgrass greens on Torrey North are measurably harder to hit in regulation despite the fact that they’re 40 percent larger than pre-redesign. As they mature and with Mother Nature’s assistance, GIR splits should rise from the 11.6-per-round clip, but Woods and Co. are still logging experience with the putter. If the would-be winner wanted to target specific soft spots on both courses, it’d be the par 3s on the South and the par 5s on the North. Of course, since both are par 72s, proficiency in par-5 scoring overall will help characterize the champion. Aggressors on the North also are benefited because of the larger putting surfaces and the knowledge that they’ll be able to salvage par three out of every five times on average. Rough on both tracks is allowed to grow to at least three inches. In a strange trend that challenges the definition of phenomenon, each of the last eight winners of the Farmers Insurance Open rotated to the North Course in the second round. Beginning with Bubba Watson’s 65 in 2011 and extending through Jason Day’s 64 last year, the scoring average of the eight champs on Torrey North is 66.13. (Jon Rahm debuted the redesign with 69 in 2017.) ShotLink is utilized on Torrey South throughout the tournament, but because it’s not employed on the North, statistics that use lasered measurements apply only to rounds on the South. This includes distance of all drives, proximity to the hole and all strokes-gained data. For example, strokes-gained putting rankings will represent only golfers who log 54 holes on the Poa greens of the host course. Downright dandy conditions are in store all week. Clouds will be evident, but wind might not be. Daytime temperatures will climb into the mid-to-upper 60s. Depending on atmospheric variables, a marine layer cannot be ruled out to make an appearance on any day, but if it does, the ocean view from atop the cliffs will pay off the patience after it burns off. After the PGA TOUR leaves town, Torrey South will be the focus of numerous upgrades. Tees, bunkers and landing spots around greens will be modified in part for improvements in irrigation. The greens themselves won’t be touched. All of the attention is necessary in advance of the 2021 U.S. Open scheduled to be contested on the course. 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*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: 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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