Mickelson revises earlier prediction on 50 PGA TOUR wins

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With one more PGA TOUR win, Tiger Woods will break his tie with Sam Snead and become the solo record-holder for most career victories in TOUR history with 83. Each time Tiger tees it up, we’ll look at his chances. Here’s a CHASING 83 preview entering this week’s The Genesis Invitational, the tournament that he hosts and that supports his foundation. Asked what it would mean to break the record this week at his own event – and to finally conquer Riviera Country Club, a course he’s never won on as a PGA TOUR pro – Tiger replied: “Hopefully I can put it together this week and we’ll have a great conversation on Sunday.â€� RELATED: TOUR pros: My first time with Tiger | Power Rankings RECENT FORM In his last start at the Farmers Insurance Open, Woods produced a backdoor top-10, moving into a tie for ninth after a final-round 70. It was a solid week at Torrey Pines for Woods, who was making his first start in the 2020 calendar year and his first on TOUR since winning the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP last October. During that weekend, Woods was asked to assess his total number of TOUR wins. “I’ll just say what 82 means: Consistency over a long period of time,â€� Woods replied. “You’re not going to win them all, and I’ve put myself there in the position to win a lot of events. I’ve lost my share of events, but in order to win them, you’ve got to be there a lot. Over the course of 20-plus years out here, I’ve been pretty consistent.â€� Between his win in Japan and his start at Farmers, Tiger still made his presence felt. In early December, he played in his annual Hero World Challenge, an 18-man field in the Bahamas that he hosts to benefit his foundation. Woods got off to a slow start, shooting a 72 but followed with three rounds in the 60s to finish solo fourth, four strokes behind winner Henrik Stenson. Woods and the rest of his American team immediately flew to Australia for the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne. Woods, as player captain, had double duty. It turned out to be a very successful week for Tiger on both fronts. Not only did the U.S. Team rally in Sunday Singles to beat the Internationals, but Woods played a big part in the outcome. He was the only player on either side to win each of his matches, going 3-0-0 during the week. He led off the Americans’ charge on Sunday, taking down Abraham Ancer – the Internationals’ hottest player – 3 and 2 to set the table for the comeback. TOURNAMENT/COURSE HISTORY Woods has played in his hometown PGA TOUR event 13 times. He’s never won it, making The Genesis Invitational the TOUR event that Tiger has played the most without a win. The only other event in which he’s made double-digit starts without a win is THE NORTHERN TRUST (10 starts). Of those 13 starts, 12 have been at Riviera. Again, it’s the most times he’s played a course on TOUR without a win. The closest Tiger came to winning at Riviera came in 1999 when he tied for second with Davis Love III and Ted Tryba, two strokes behind winner Ernie Els. Woods started that final round in second with Els and Love III, but Els shot a 68 to Tiger’s 70. Woods made six starts over the next seven years but then didn’t play Riviera for 11 more years. He finally returned two years ago but missed the cut. Last year, he tied for 15th, making a third-round move with a 65 but failing to sustain the momentum in the final round, shooting a 72. Tiger pinpointed one part of his game that seems to come up short when he plays Riviera. “I have historically never really putted well here,â€� he said this week. A year ago, he ranked 38th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. In 2005, he ranked 69th. In 2004, he ranked 48th. So he has a point. For a full report on Tiger and his history at Riviera, check out the TOUR Insider on Wednesday.

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So much for respecting the elders. One of this season’s notable changes was the shift of Firestone Country Club’s South Course from the PGA TOUR to the PGA TOUR Champions. It hosted the Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship two weeks ago. At 7,400 yards, it was the longest course on the 50-and-older circuit in nine years and the field averaged 72.820 on the par 70. Retief Goosen prevailed at 6-under 274. Only six golfers finished under par in the 72-hole event. With that challenging track dispatched, the firm, fair and scorable TPC Southwind has taken over as the host of the newly named World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Scroll past the projected contenders for a profile of the stroll in Memphis, the field’s experience on it and more. Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau and Phil Mickelson will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. From 1989-2018, TPC Southwind hosted the FedEx St. Jude Classic. It’s been a par 70 since 2006 and it will set up for a potential stretch of 7,237 yards this week. That reflects a one-yard decrease at the par-3 eighth hole that now tips at 171 yards. Traditionally slotted in the week before the U.S. Open and open to the maximum field of 156, the course has been reassigned to serve as the backdrop for a limited field of the sport’s elite. There is no cut and there are no alternates. As of midday Monday, 64 of the 69 qualifiers are committed to competing. (Rickie Fowler, Francesco Molinari, Lee Westwood, Bernd Wiesberger and Tiger Woods declined.) Forty pegged it at TPC Southwind at least once before; 25 made at least two appearances. Overall, this field went a collective 82-for-117 with 28 top 10s in the old iteration of the tournament. Two-time champion Dustin Johnson (2012, 2018) is the only winner of the FedEx St. Jude Classic who qualified for and committed to this week’s WGC. After sharing the 54-hole lead here in 2018, DJ ran away to win by six strokes, the largest margin at TPC Southwind in 14 years (David Toms, 2004). Johnson’s 19-under 261 was the second-lowest winning aggregate to John Cook’s 258 in 1996. Indeed, those who attempted to tame Firestone in the past won’t miss it. This isn’t to say that TPC Southwind is a pushover, however. It averaged 70.520 as a 156-man contest last year, and that hit the bull’s-eye for expectations. With a smaller and exponentially stronger field that has course experience, overall scoring should drop. The fairways are narrow, but TPC Southwind essentially is a second-shot test because the bermudagrass rough is trimmed to two-and-a-half inches. It’ll be juicy because it’s been a rainy 2019, but there’s not enough overall length to intensify the challenge. The dozen par 4s are sturdy as a group, but finding the small greens in regulation is the priority. TPC Southwind surrendered only 10.67 GIR on average last season, good for the fifth-lowest clip among all courses. However, it’s one of the easier layouts on which to salvage par (58.72 percent), so it’ll benefit both course management and aggressive types who can get up and down. The Champion bermuda greens will touch 12 feet on the Stimpmeter. Among other perks, the champion will receive 550 FedExCup points and a three-year PGA TOUR membership exemption. Warm and pleasant conditions will facilitate scoring. Daytime highs in the mid- to upper 80s will complement the omnipresent sunshine every day. Winds will be light.   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 (WGC) TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Barracuda), Sleepers (WGC), Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done (WGC), One & Done (Barracuda), Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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