Morikawa keeps momentum going at John Deere Classic

Cameron Tringale (+3000) ... You can't spell his surname without "angel," which is what receives its wings every time a golfer rings the bell for his first victory on the PGA TOUR. Tringale likely would say that he's had a wonderful life, but he's making his 297th career start as a professional without breaking through, as Joel Dahmen was the most recent to accomplish on Sunday in the Dominican Republic and as Valero Texas Open defending champion Corey Conners in 2019. Since Tringale's rookie season of 2010, there have been 135 first-time winners. If he ever were to join the club, it'd make just as much sense at TPC San Antonio as anywhere. He's cashed seven times in 10 trips, thrice for a top 20, including a T17 in the last edition. The 33-year-old also checks all of the boxes for precision and efficiency, and he's fresh off a T13 at The Honda Classic, his sixth top 20 of the season. Aaron Wise (+6600) ... Back in Texas where he broke through for his lone PGA TOUR title (2018 AT&T Byron Nelson). He's returned before, of course, but perhaps not as impressively until now. Currently 12th on TOUR in greens in regulation and 30th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. In his last start in the wind at PGA National just two weeks ago, he finished T13 for his fourth top 20 of the season. For the week, he slotted inside the top 20 in both SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Putting. Denny McCarthy (+8000) ... Endured a rough four months since a T4 at the Bermuda Championship and at a time when he was in a groove. He got back on bermudagrass in earnest on the Florida Swing and went 3-for-3, punctuating the series with a T3 at PGA National. Now 72nd in the FedExCup and a virtual lock to secure his card, he carries that momentum into San Antonio where he finished T20 in his debut in 2018. His propensity to split fairways and continue to rank among the best putters on TOUR favor him if the course stands taller than it did two years ago. David Hearn (+30000) ... While there must be a sense of national pride to compete alongside defending champion and fellow Canadian Corey Conners, Hearn fits the bill across the board of the quantifiable. In three of his last five trips to TPC San Antonio (2012, 2016, 2018), he's finished inside the top 20. He's also traveling from Corales where he posted a T13 for his third top 15 of the season; his last was at similarly exposed Bermuda (T8). And his combination of accuracy of the tee (17th), precision on approach (T22 in proximity) and putting (12th in Stroke Gained) presents as a triple threat when the winds kick up. Austin Eckroat (+20000) ... The pandemic has yielded unexpected dividends. For example, if the Korn Ferry Tour Finals wasn't canceled and eligibility extended for all PGA TOUR members, Martin Laird, Robert Streb and Branden Grace would've been subject to losing their cards, but each is now fully exempt through 2022-23 as a result of their wins this season. Also, Will Zalatoris is accomplishing more than any other PGA TOUR non-member who hasn't won in memory, in the process proving that there always is opportunity for the strongest talent on this stage. So, it stands to reason that, at a time when the lives of the world's youth are put on hold for a year, a strong talent among the golfers of the generation could break into the winner's column as an amateur. That's heady stuff for Eckroat, the 22-year-old senior at Oklahoma State University. In the world previously known to all, he'd have turned professional by now and would have been plying his craft wherever the game took him. In a peek at his potential, he finished T12 with four sub-70s at Mayakoba in December. That matched the likes of Justin Thomas and Max Homa. Former college teammate and current roommate, Viktor Hovland, prevailed, so Eckroat was first-hand witness to the experience. He's No. 5 on the PGA TOUR University Ranking. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, March 30 at 5 a.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. CO, IA, IN,MI, NJ, NV,PA, TN, VA or WV only. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-522-4700 (CO, NV, VA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, PA & WV), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), Call or Text the Tennessee REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN), or call 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN).

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As it was announced in late September, the Farmers Insurance Open is scheduled to start on Wednesday and finish on Saturday. The adjustment yields many benefits, including an impactful precedent, for it allows the third annual Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour’s Farmers Insurance Invitational to expand to two rounds and conclude on Sunday. Furthermore, like all four rounds of the PGA TOUR’s event at Torrey Pines, the APGA’s final round on the South Course also will be televised. For details of the annual TOUR stop in La Jolla, California, scroll past the projected contenders. The American Express champion Hudson Swafford, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Daniel Berger, Scottie Scheffler and Dustin Johnson will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Draws & Fades (formerly the Fantasy Insider). The last time that Torrey Pines was in the spotlight, Jon Rahm was posing with the U.S. Open trophy in his possession. That was seven months ago. Only the South Course hosted, and it played to a par of 71 measuring 7,685 yards, but it returns to its customary stock par of 72 for the Farmers Insurance Open. And at 7,765 yards, it’s the longest course under the jurisdiction of the PGA TOUR. Every golfer in the field of 156 will have one pass at Torrey Pines North. It’s also a stock par 72, but it’s tipped at just 7,258 yards since Tom Weiskopf’s renovation in advance of the 2017 edition. Once the 36-hole cut of low 65 and ties falls, all who survive will play only the South Course in the third and final rounds. In last year’s first two rounds, the North averaged 70.131 to the South’s 73.955. The South would retreat to 73.340 by the conclusion of the tournament to establish a five-year high – it can’t be ruled out that the setup was more challenging because of early preparation for the U.S. Open – but that disparity proves why it’s imperative to go low on the North. Since it was renovated, the winners of the tournament have averaged 65.6 on the course. All five have scored lower than 70. Strictly for the record (because the trends likely have more to do with wind and weather than the rotation of tee times), after eight consecutive winners who played the North in the second round, each of the last three opened on the easier of the tandem. Saving the possibility (likelihood?) for a marine layer in the mornings, conditions will be favorable throughout the tournament, so only darkness could prevent the cut from occurring as scheduled on Thursday. Daytime highs in the 60s will govern the distance balls can fly, but wind isn’t forecast to be a primary threat. Primary rough could be as tall as 3½ inches. The combination bent/Poa greens are ready to roll to 12½ feet on the Stimpmeter. En route to reaching 14-under 274 for a five-stroke victory in 2021, Patrick Reed averaged just 11 greens in regulation per round to rank T63. However, in vintage fashion, he led the field in putts per GIR (1.591) and converting those chances into par breakers (20 of 44). (ShotLink is used only on the South, so cumulative Stroked Gained statistics and other lasered data applies to at most three rounds.) In addition to pacing the field in par-4 scoring, he finished T3 in par-5 scoring, the latter a fixture of success on par 72s. While next week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am isn’t an open, professionals who finish inside the top 10 at the Farmers will gain entry via the top-10 provision. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Draws & Fades SATURDAY/SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Ranking * – 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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Sergio Garcia frustration over a ruling on a lost ball in the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship on Thursday, said “I can’t wait to leave this tour.”

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