Numbers to Know: Rocket Mortgage Classic

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NORTON, Mass. – For a second straight week, a FedExCup Playoffs event had slipped out of Jordan Spieth’s hands, but save your curiosities about his state of mind. “Things are in good shape,� he said, shrugging off his second runner-up in two weeks. Last week to Dustin Johnson, Monday to Justin Thomas at the Dell Technologies Championship on a sun-splashed, warm and breezy day at TPC Boston. He could have bemoaned the repetitive disappointment, but instead, Spieth saluted a sense of familiarity that provides great pleasure – the latest battle with Thomas. One pairing ahead of Thomas, Spieth finally got a chance to cross paths at the end. He congratulated Thomas, who had just made par at the 18th hole to wrap up a tidy 5-under 66 for 17-under 267, three clear of Spieth. “We grew up together,� said Spieth, responding to a question about this closeness with a competitor. “You grow up and you watch each other work from when you’re 14. He’s one of my best friends inthe whole world.� On the other end of the hug, Thomas conceded he appreciated the best wishes, but acknowledged that it was Spieth’s early success (a win in ’13, five more in ’15) that stoked his competitive juices. “Any time any of my friends wins and I don’t, I’m extremely happy for them, I’m pumped for them,� Thomas said. “But I’m jealous.� With his fifth win of the year and sixth in his young career, Thomas is closing the gap (Spieth owns three wins this year, 11 in all). Not that their rivalry needs fuel, but there is this: It is Spieth who remains No. 1 in the FedExCup standings, with Thomas second. It sets up a great backdrop to the next two Playoffs events – the BMW Championship in two weeks, followed by the TOUR Championship – but for now, it’s best to savor what took place Monday. As sure as the letter R remains silent in these parts, it’s wild how this annual gathering at TPC Boston concludes with a Monday show that is a salute to the ideals that we hold dear on Labor Day. Strength: Incredibly deep field that spit out leaderboards dotted by marquee names. Prosperity: An opportunity to pile up red numbers on the outward nine. Laws: Mix up the names, alter the weather, but in the end, you get a strap-your-seatbelt back nine that is part Newman and Redford, and part Sinatra and Bennett. The best. It was 10 years ago when a guy named Phil Mickelson closed with 66 to beat a guy named Tiger Woods and his 67 and the hits have just kept coming. Rory McIlroy rallied with a fourth-round 67 to edge Louis Oosthuizen in ’12 and a year later Henrik Stenson’s sizzling 66 overtook Steve Stricker. The year 2015 saw Rickie Fowler finish with 68 to rally past Stenson and last year was vintage McIlroy – out in 31, a neat 65 in all, he stormed to a win that put in motion his FedExCup title. Topping McIlroy’s outward brilliance might have seemed improbable, yet there was even more electricity. Spieth – two behind the co-leaders, Thomas and Marc Leishman – started birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie. Leishman answered with four birdies in five holes. Thomas, who birdied the par-5 second and slam-dunked a 50-foot eagle putt at the par-4 second, seemed to be stunned that his 3-under start left him chasing. “Patience,� stressed Thomas’ veteran caddie, Jimmy Johnson. “This is a marathon.� Out in 30, Leishman led at 18-under. Spieth (30) and Thomas (32) were two back. But if it was an ill-timed wild tee shot left at the 10th that set Leishman into the background with three straight bogeys and an inward 40, it was a pair of declarative wedge shots by Thomas – 8 feet at the 13th, 5 feet at the 15th – and a gut-check up-and-down from left of the par-3 16th green that highlighted the latest installment in this rivalry between two special young golfers. It was an AJGA Junior All-Star tournament in Mansfield, Texas, when Spieth, 13, and Thomas, 14, first chased one another to the finish. “He came up and introduced himself on the range. I thought that was cool,� Thomas said. Spieth went 68-71 to win, Thomas was 68-76 for second and likely none of us realized the chapters that would unfold. AJGA for a few seasons, an unforgettable NCAA Championship in 2012 when Spieth pulled off some miracles to beat Thomas and give Texas a title, and now this hard-to-script stuff on the PGA TOUR. “Great memory,� said Spieth of that epic Riviera match. “I’ll have that one on him every time we’re there.� But five years later, their pro careers appear on a similar trajectory. That is quite all right with Spieth – who fell behind with bogeys at the par-4 12th and par-4 14th and managed just one birdie on the back as he shot 67. “We can share experiences with each other that we can’t really describe or explain,� he said. Should things continue in a way that unfolded Monday at the Dell Technologies Championship, Thomas – whose brilliant play included just two bogeys over 72 holes – might just be able to share something else that his friend earned in 2015: A FedExCup title.

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ORLANDO, Fla. – Gary Woodland took a long look across the large practice green at Bay Hill Club and Lodge on Tuesday, and it kind of felt like home. It should. Woodland used to live just a short drive away in Orlando’s gated Lake Nona community, and pretty much grew up as a professional around here, a regular at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. He lives down the east coast in Delray Beach now, a Kansas guy near the ocean. A good deal has changed since Woodland last was here in 2016, which was Arnold Palmer’s last year as host. Woodland became a father, for one, as he and his wife, Gabby, now look after three young children, including twin girls born in 2019. Golf-wise, Woodland, now 37, winner of the 2019 U.S. Open, just hasn’t felt like himself for a couple of years. Once ranked as highly as 12th in the Official World Ranking, he slid to No. 142 before teeing it up in last week’s Honda Classic. A lot played into that slide, including injuries that promoted poor swing habits. He reached a breaking point after missing the cut at the WM Phoenix Open three weeks ago. It was time to accept where he was, and then start doing something about it. At the rugged Honda Classic on Sunday, where danger lurks everywhere, Woodland tied for fifth. Sunday, he shot 67 in difficult conditions. It was one tournament, sure, but the way he felt on the golf course was, well, different. And that in itself was refreshing to him. “On one of the most demanding golf courses we see all year (PGA National), it was pretty stress-free for me,” Woodland said. “Even when I got into trouble, I knew what I was doing. I felt comfortable all week. Coming down the stretch on Sunday – 15, 17, those holes can jump up and get you – and I felt as good as I’ve felt in a long time. I’m talking a couple of years. That was nice.” Woodland has been one of the PGA TOUR’s premier ballstrikers for years. The mammoth drives, the 2-iron stingers, the crisp, towering irons. Solid tee to green, his successes often came down to his putting. But Woodland grew so uneasy with his long game that he said he stood in fairways in Phoenix with little idea where he his next shot might travel. “On 15 there, par 5, I had a 6-iron into the green that I pulled into a bunker,” he said. “I said, ‘Butchy (what he calls his caddie, Brennan Little), I don’t know where this thing is going.’ That’s a horrible feeling. I can’t play this way.” Woodland went home and got to work. It helps that a bad hip that had bothered him was now pain-free, and he can make the motions in his powerful swing that he needs to make. His putting has been pretty good, frankly. He has worked hard on it with Phil Kenyon, and it was solid again at Honda. Only a three-putt from 8 feet at the final hole kept him from being in the top 10 in strokes gained. He will look for more of the same at Bay Hill. A well-rounded athlete, Woodland usually walks around TOUR stops the way Clint Eastwood used to walk through Westerns. There’s a presence about him, and you wouldn’t want to see him in an alley. He acknowledges that some of his swagger is back. Honda marked the first of four consecutive Florida starts for him (he is a past champion at Valspar) as he looks to build some rhythm. Woodland’s veteran caddie, Little, likes the way things seem to be trending. “We all know this game,” Little said. “It knocks you down, and then you start to see guys playing well, so he’s on a good track getting up. Now he just needs to keep climbing. His practice rounds have been good, his swing has been good, but you have to get it done. Until you see results, it’s really hard for a guy to get confidence.” Woodland used to work with Butch Harmon, and when the legendary teacher retired in 2018, it had a big impact on him. Beyond providing thoughts on the swing, Harmon was an endless resource in building up a player’s confidence. Woodland has been working with Mark Blackburn, who teaches a handful of TOUR players including Max Homa, and he’s happy with the progress they’ve made. He has some Harmon “feels” back. But there is nothing quite like having the sage voice of Harmon in his ear. “It was hard on me. I relied on Butch, more for confidence than anything,” Woodland said. “He’s always a phone call away, I know. But there were numerous times when I’ve gone to see him, and you feel like you’re the worst golfer in the world. When you leave, you feel like you’re the best golfer in the world – no matter how you’re playing.” Woodland is thankful that he reached a tipping point and hit pause on the season. His missed cut in Phoenix (68-73) led to a long flight home and an honest assessment of where he was in his game. An elite player who was on the 2019 Presidents Cup team, he wasn’t feeling too elite. It was his sixth missed cut in eight starts this season, and there was work to do. Since, he has begun to feel things coming together. Bay Hill, where the rough is thick and lush, will be every bit of demanding as Honda was a week ago. Bring it on, he says. “I think I was denying where I had dropped in the world, denying everything that has happened,” Woodland said. “It was time to accept it, and move on, and start working my way back. “Last week was a big step for me. I was able to do stuff last week hitting a golf ball that I hadn’t done in a long time. That’s encouraging to me. There are no more Band-Aid fixes. You have to accept where you are, and start climbing back up.” Here in a town where his professional career pretty much got jump-started, Woodland is in a good place mentally, and ready to climb again.

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