Numbers to Know: The Honda Classic

They are going to start calling Playa del Carmen “Playa del Hovland” if Viktor Hovland keeps dominating El Camaleón Golf Club the way he did once again over the weekend. The 2020 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba winner successfully defended his title with a four-shot win over Mexico’s own Carlos Ortiz. Hovland, 24, flashed his trademark smile on the way to his third PGA TOUR title, perhaps fitting for one of the only stops on the PGA TOUR where monkeying around is par for the course. 1. Hovland goes back-to-back Mexico is about 5,000 miles from Norway, but Viktor Hovland has found a home at Mayakoba. He edged Aaron Wise by one a year ago, finishing at 20 under for his second TOUR title. This time Hovland had even more juice, getting to 23 under, four clear of runner-up Carlos Ortiz. Hovland’s third-round 62 gave him a two-shot advantage over Talor Gooch headed into the final round, which he began with a three-under front nine while Gooch went one-over on the same stretch. Ortiz, Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler showed some fireworks, but Hovland was never quite tested on the back nine, and he carded a 67 for the win. In his two Mayakoba wins, Hovland has rounds of 63, 65, 62 and 67 on the weekends. “I probably putted better throughout the whole week this year,” Hovland said. “I feel like I still hit the ball really, really well last year, but my short game was still not as sharp.” Hovland’s 23-under score is the lowest at Mayakoba since 2007, when the tournament took its place on the PGA TOUR schedule. He is also the first player to go back-to-back on TOUR since Brooks Koepka successfully defended his PGA Championship crown in 2019. The fifth-straight international winner on TOUR this fall, Hovland follows Sungjae Im, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama and Lucas Herbert. 2. Hometown fans get a show Mexico has two players in the top 100 in the world and both gave the home fans reasons to roar. Abraham Ancer, world No. 14, shot 68, 68, 68 and 65 to finish T8 at 15 under. His 65 was tied for the fifth-lowest score Sunday and included four straight birdies on holes 10-13. In his last five starts at Mayakoba, Ancer has five top-25 finishes, including three top-10s. Runner-up Carlos Ortiz has been even hotter at El Camaleón. Coming off at T2 in 2019 and T8 in 2020, Ortiz opened the 2021 event with rounds of 67, 65 and 67. After a mostly pedestrian final round, he birdied Nos. 12, 13, 14, 15 and 17 to put some light pressure on the eventual winner. “I’m really proud,” Ortiz said. “It was a tough day. I couldn’t really find anything on the front nine and I just kept pushing. The people, having them out here, all my friends, I just found a way to get something going. And it’s funny how golf works, but once you hit that first shot that you see and how you want, it just clicks and I just found that confidence that I needed to finish strong.” Ortiz signed for a final-round 66. He’ll take that mojo over the border to this week’s Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open, the site of his first TOUR win a year ago. Roberto Diaz, who won on the Korn Ferry Tour at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open last March, finished as the third-highest Mexican at T45. 3. Wolff continues hot streak Matthew Wolff is enjoying one of the most consistent streaks in golf, a statement that would have come as a surprise as recently as two months ago. After opening his season with a T17 at the Sanderson Farms Championship and a runner-up at the Shriners Children’s Open, Wolff opened with a 10-under 61 on Thursday at Mayakoba. He added a 68 on Friday, his tenth straight round in the 60s, for a two-shot lead headed into the weekend. An off-day led to a 74 on Saturday, but his final-round 65 got him to 16 under (T5). “I felt like even (Saturday) my game really felt good, just stuff wasn’t really going my way,” Wolff said. “I had a lot of bad breaks, and the putts weren’t dropping. I easily could have shot maybe a couple under if I made a couple of the short ones coming in, but it just didn’t turn out that way. “I knew that I felt really good with every part of my game,” he continued, “and I knew that if I came out today, especially with it being a little windy, and put a really solid round together, then I could shoot up the leaderboard and that’s what I did.” Wolff’s two top-10s so far this season have already matched his total from 2020-21 (which happened to be his first two events of that season). Still, he was the second-highest Oklahoma State finisher this week, behind his college teammate Hovland. 4. Thomas enjoying ‘fresh start’ Justin Thomas was in a slump last year, no other way to put it. After his win at THE PLAYERS Championship in March, he didn’t record another top-10 finish until THE NORTHERN TRUST. But now, over the last three months, Thomas has climbed back toward his former world No. 1 form. He finished 4th at the TOUR Championship, went 2-1-1 at the Ryder Cup and opened his 2021-22 campaign with a T18 at the CJ CUP. His four rounds in the 60s at Mayakoba were good for solo third, his best finish since the aforementioned PLAYERS in March. His strongest stretch came on Friday and Saturday (65 and 64, respectively). It was a solid week considering he went 3 over for his opening nine but birdied six of his last seven holes Thursday. He’s also using a new permanent caddie in Jim “Bones” Mackay. “This is a new season, completely different,” Thomas said. “Especially with Bones, it kind of feels like a fresh start, a new start.” 5. Kirk makes first-swing hole-in-one Many pros will tell you that starting a round on a par 3 isn’t ideal. Chris Kirk, on the other hand, began his week with an ace at the par-3 10th hole at El Camaleón. Part of the first group off the back nine on Thursday – 6:55 a.m. local tee time – Kirk carded his ace before most of the field had even taken a swing on the range. It’s safe to say some hadn’t even woken up. He was the first player to make a hole-in-one on his first swing of the tournament since Keith Mitchel, also at the par-3 10th hole at El Camaleón, in 2017. It was a mixed bag from there, as Kirk birdied 12 and eagled 13 – 5 under through five holes – and opened with a 64. But with ensuing rounds of 73, 70 and 71, he settled for a T64 (6 under). Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Barbara Van Buskirk, a volunteer with 11 years of service at The RSM Classic (St. Simons Island, Georgia), was honored Tuesday as the 2020 PGA TOUR Volunteer of the Year. With the award, the PGA TOUR will donate $5,000 to The Healing Hearts Project, a community charity directly serving the patients and families of both Wolfson Children’s Hospital and UF Pediatric Cardiology in Jacksonville, Florida, who are undergoing treatment for congenital heart disease (CHD). Van Buskirk has been a volunteer at The RSM Classic since its inception in 2010, most recently serving in Volunteer Headquarters. Her responsibilities include preparation and distribution of volunteer uniforms, coordinating breakfast and lunch for the volunteers, managing the volunteer merchandise center and other administrative tasks. Her duties are not limited to tournament week, as she is in the tournament office 40 days before the event to help organize and prepare, assisting in a key role in 2020 as it relates to COVID-19 protocols. "The Davis Love Foundation is fortunate to have someone with Barbara's skills, passion and energy leading our volunteer efforts," said Todd Thompson, The RSM Classic Tournament Director. "Her experience and dedication make her an indispensable member of our team. She leads with a servant's heart and is a perfect representative of the Davis Love Foundation, RSM and the tournament." Tournaments would not be possible without the support of volunteers, who not only help events operate, but also contribute to the overall charitable impact. With the support of more than 100,000 volunteers annually, the TOUR assists approximately 3,000 charities each year. In 2019, the PGA TOUR and its tournaments generated a record $204.3 million for local and national charitable organizations, bringing the all-time total to more than $3 billion. "Being the 2020 PGA TOUR Volunteer of the Year is a special moment for me that I will not forget," said Van Buskirk. "Being a part of the Davis Love Foundation and the RSM Classic for the past 11 years has been an honor and a privilege. The relationships I have formed with the staff and other volunteers are irreplaceable, and the work that Davis does through the tournament and foundation has a huge impact on children and families in need in our community. I think I speak for all volunteers when I say that the PGA TOUR is more than golf, it is a charitable mission that impacts communities, families and charities across the United States. I am proud to be a Volunteer for the RSM Classic and even more honored to be the PGA TOUR Volunteer of the Year." Robert Streb won The RSM Classic in November, becoming the first two-time winner in the event's history.

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FORT WORTH, Texas – Ten years ago at Colonial, four of the world’s top six players were in the field. So were all the reigning major winners. The weather provided perfect scoring conditions. In other words, very little wind. It was a birdie-fest. Lowest cut in tournament history. No surprise that the Colonial scoring record was set that week, with Zach Johnson becoming the first player to break 260 for four rounds on this historic course. He shot 64-64 on the weekend to finish at 21 under. RELATED: Leaderboard | How to bounce back from a 4-putt or a triple bogey | ‘Strange’ and ‘odd’ atmosphere for the TOUR’s official return So now it’s 10 years later. Another loaded field, with the world’s top five players. Again, scoring conditions seem ideal. And through 36 holes, a ton of birdies have been made. Another low cut. TOUR pros, playing competitively for the first time in three months, obviously haven’t forgotten how to light up a scorecard. The man who holds the current scoring record is prepared to lose it to someone else by Sunday night. “If conditions stay like this, with how the winds are supposed to be, especially in the morning – it wouldn’t surprise me,â€� said Johnson, a two-time Charles Schwab Challenge winner. Tournament leader Harold Varner III is more than halfway there, reaching 11 under thanks to his final birdie of the day in Friday’s second round. He’s followed by 2016 champ Jordan Spieth at 10 under. Another shot back is a group headed by world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, making his first start at Colonial. So is Justin Thomas, who is a shot behind McIlroy. The leaderboard is stacked and heavy with notables. While no fans are allowed on-site, the big names should generate plenty of eyeballs on live streams and network television this weekend. Unless the winds pick up considerably – the forecast calls for a slight increase to 12 mph max for both days – there should continue to be low scoring. But there will be a slight twist in the direction … and that could make a significant difference, according to Spieth. On Thursday, the wind came from the east-northeast. On Friday, it was east-southeast. Spieth said that played “into bombers’ hands … a lot of the holes where it’s normally straight into the wind and it’s blowing 10 to 15 in May, it’s blowing 2, 3 miles an hour straight off the left, and you can fly all the bunkers.â€� Spieth spent the first two rounds looking back at the threesome behind him – McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka – and kept seeing how close they kept coming to his group. “Some of these holes, they’re just hitting flip wedges into,â€� Spieth said. “They’re just bombing it over everything. With how receptive the greens are, that makes it a bit easier.â€� So easy, perhaps, that it took a full day for McIlroy to adjust to a course he’s seeing for the first time. He admitted after his 2-under 68 on Thursday that he had distance control issues with his wedges. Luckily, the house he’s renting this week has a golf simulator. So he went down to the basement to hit a few balls in hopes of solving the issue. It must have worked – he shot 63 on Friday. “I just needed to sort of dial them in a little bit,â€� McIlroy said. But if you think the big hitters are going to dominate the weekend … well, Colonial doesn’t roll over that easy. It will always be a shot-maker’s course, giving the best ball-strikers a chance. For every bomber like McIlroy, Gary Woodland or Bryson DeChambeau (he of the 195 mph ball speed that “quite honestly, I can’t use it out hereâ€�) on the front page of the leaderboard, there’s also guys like Varner (who has been stuffing his mid-irons this week) and Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele. A slight wind switch could take away the power advantage. “I think the weekend is going to change a bit,â€� Spieth said. “I think it’s moving more towards the south where it’s supposed to be. But I would say if anything I think it’s played a stroke or two easier in my opinion just off of the wind direction and the lack of wind that we’ve had.â€� No matter what, it seems like Colonial is headed for a memorable finish, with big names battling it out under the shadow of the Ben Hogan statue that greets visitors heading down the steps to the course. About the only thing this week’s event doesn’t have that 2010 did is fans and stands. Oh, and a couple of frozen margarita machines to counteract the heat. For golf to return after three months is one thing. For so many recognizable names to be in contention, well … “Watching from afar, this is a golf course that’s always let the best players rise to the top,â€� McIlroy said. “You have to be in complete control of your game, hit fairways, hit greens, convert some putts. “Yeah, the leaderboard is a who’s-who of golf right now. I’m just happy to be in the mix.â€�

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