Numbers to Know: the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – As Phil Mickelson was heating up before packed six-deep galleries on the back nine at Pebble Beach on Saturday, Nick Taylor was finishing up his third round before a handful of fans at the ninth hole at Spyglass Hill. Taylor has led this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after each of the first three rounds, but outside of a little interest Friday at Pebble Beach, he’s spent this week in relative obscurity, a tournament leader seen by few of its fans. “I’m not going to draw a big crowd typically, other than people who know me,â€� said the sixth-year pro from Canada. That, of course, changes on Sunday. Taylor, at 17 under, will be in the last group at Pebble Beach, paired with defending champ Mickelson, who’s one shot back. The next closest pursuer is Jason Day, another two shots behind. Everyone else is at least six shots off the lead. Thus, all eyes finally will be on Taylor with each swing Sunday. But he doesn’t expect those eyes to be accompanied by much vocal support. RELATED: Leaderboard | Pro-am leaderboard | TOUR Insider: Five wins and Phil’s lucky silver dollar “I know who they’re going to be pulling for,â€� he said. “… Obviously if he makes a putt or great shot, the crowd’s going to go wild. I’ve just got to do my own thing, try to block all that out.â€� Mickelson will be going for a tournament-record sixth win. He’ll also be going for his 15th win in his home state; only Tiger Woods has as many California wins since 1983. And he’ll be going for the 45th win of his career. And he’s doing all this at age 49. The crowds that Taylor will see for the first time this week have been following Mickelson for nearly three decades. “It’s a special place,â€� Mickelson said after his 5-under 67 that showed off his short-game wizardry. “… Having that special connection with Pebble Beach and the Monterey Peninsula through my family going back to the first year Pebble Beach opened, my grandfather being one of the caddies, and being able to share last year’s experience with my brother (his caddie Tim) — this has been a really fun family experience.â€� It’s also been a fun family experience for Day, who has his wife and kids in tow this week. His oldest son, 7-year-old Dash, has been particularly keen to see his dad play golf. “He doesn’t really come out too much,â€� said Day, looking to finally win at Pebble Beach after top-5 finishes in his three most recent starts here, “but my wife said, did you hear him at all out there, because he can be a little loud.â€� Meanwhile, it’s been a mostly low-key and not very loud experience this week for Taylor, whose lone PGA TOUR win came in his rookie season at the Sanderson Farms Championship in the fall of 2014. Since then, Taylor has made 125 TOUR starts; his lone top-5 finish in that span came in 2016 at the Puerto Rico Open. While he didn’t enter this week as a notable name to watch, Taylor liked how his game was shaping up, and he certainly likes putting on poa annua, which he grew up on in Western Canada. An opening 63 at Monterey Peninsula, still the low round of the week, set the tone and Taylor’s been chugging along ever since. The low-key approach has worked well for him. “When you’re playing well, it’s easy to keep it low-key,â€� Taylor said. “I felt like our group has been very relaxed.â€� His amateur partner is esteemed Golf Digest editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde, a winner of the PGA of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism. For the first time in his nine starts as an amateur in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Tarde has made the team cut to Sunday. He’s definitely been impressed by what he’s seen from the Canadian this week. “He’s so calm,â€� Tarde said Saturday. “That’s the amazing thing.â€� The challenge for Taylor now is to remain calm in an environment that will be unlike what he’s seen for most of his career. He’s saying all the right things – “Just got to keep my head down, do my thingâ€� – but it’ll be much tougher to put that into practice. “I’ve played in front of big crowds – not consistent but I’ve done it enough to where it will be fun tomorrow,â€� Taylor said. “Need to kind of embrace it and see what happens.â€� Now that he’s seen Taylor play so well, Tarde was asked if Golf Digest might have any future content devoted to him. “Whenever we have a chance to meet somebody, we get to know him better and you begin to think of ways you can help him, whether it’s online or in the magazine,â€� Tarde responded. “I played golf with Luke Donald last year in a practice round and we ended up doing a swing instruction series with him on video. “So yeah, I was just talking to him. We’d love to do a swing sequence, maybe an instruction article, an interview with him. He’s an impressive guy. Really shows you the depth of field here and how guys are just a good round away from stardom.â€� On Sunday, Taylor would gladly settle for the winner’s trophy. After that, he can circle back with Tarde on what Golf Digest might do with him. Or even for him. “Maybe,â€� smiled Taylor, “he’ll give me a free subscription.â€�

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AVONDALE, La. – They call it ham and egging when a team cleverly splits their good holes between them. Chez Reavie and Lucas Glover timed it perfectly with six birdies each to send their team to a blistering opening 12-under 60 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Thursday and a share of the lead with Chinese duo Xinjun Zhang and Zecheng Dou. The key? Making a ton of putts after solid communication. While most teams leave each individual to do their own thing in Four-ball play, this pair picked each other’s brains. And it worked. “We read them right early, and that just gave us good feeling for the rest of the day. Chez birdied the first two; we were dead on with both the reads, so we just kept it going,â€� former U.S. Open winner Glover explained. “We changed maybe a ball or two in a direction one way or the other and that was it. We were pretty right on. Luckily we were hitting our lines also.â€� The pair combined last season for a T39 finish and learned plenty from the experience. Joining back together again they’ve taken an analytical approach, as well as putting in plenty of practice. “I think we’re both really good ball strikers. We wanted to strategize properly, and so I would lay back in some of the fairways and let him get more aggressive on the tees,â€� Reavie explained. “We’re just very comfortable helping each other out. If I tell him something and he’s not all in, then he’s going to do what he wants and I’m completely good with it, and vice versa.â€� They expect to keep the roll going in alternate shot on Friday after getting in a solid 27 holes of practice in the format over the past few days. NOTABLES Xinjun Zhang and Zecheng Dou have been struggling a little in their rookie seasons on the PGA TOUR, but the Chinese pioneers had no such issues Thursday. Zhang, who sits 128th in the FedExCup and Dou, who is a distant 215th, came flying home in the final group to join the lead at 12-under 60. Despite being in the culinary town of New Orleans, the pair said they felt at home after finding a Chinese market and buying supplies. Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown are still a little rankled by their playoff loss to Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt a year ago, so their 10-under 62 to open this year was certainly a step in the right direction for redemption. They sit T3. “Obviously we didn’t finish it off the way we wanted to, so we’re coming back for a little revenge this week,â€� Kisner said. Tony Finau and Daniel Summerhays have been friends a long time. They share the same coach (Daniel’s brother Boyd) and Utah roots. Summerhays opened their round with two birdies and closed it the same way to help them to a 10-under 62 and T3 position. Finau – in his return from an ankle injury had six birdies of his own. “I think it’s really important to get off to a good start in best ball,â€� Summerhays said. “Last year we started alternate shot and you always felt like you were behind the eight ball, because it is a more difficult format. So to come out and really play good golf as a team I think that sets us up really nice for tomorrow.â€� Tommy Fleetwood and Chris Paisley are looking to continue the trend of international winners at the Zurich Classic. The English pair and good mates fired up an impressive 10-under 62 to be T3. Both have won on the European Tour this season and are looking to now notch up a PGA TOUR win. “It’s been kind of the best start to the year I’ve ever had,â€� Paisley said. “It’s been amazing. Hopefully I can just kind of keep it going. Maybe get my card over here. That would be great.â€� Jim Furyk and David Duval turned back the clock with an impressive 7-under 65. Duval, who has played just seven TOUR events in the last three seasons and hasn’t made a cut since 2015, produced four of the seven birdies. “It’s a joy,â€� the former World No. 1 Duval said. “The competition is different. I certainly miss it. I’d like to play a little bit more than I do.â€� Rob Oppenheim created a huge highlight with an albatross on the par-5 7th hole. His hole-out from 262 yards helped his partnership with Nick Lashley open with an 8-under 64 to be T11. Roundup: Jordan Spieth and Ryan Palmer sit T32 after a 6-under 66. Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt started their title defense with a respectable 7-under 65 to be tied 21st. Patrick Reed, in his first start since winning the Masters is T21 after a 65 with Patrick Cantlay. FedExCup leader Justin Thomas and Bud Cauley struggled to a 2-under 70 to be T77 of 80 teams. QUOTABLES Going to try and look good so we feel good to play good.When you got on so well and you feel comfortable, it makes a big difference out there.He’s the par-3 assassin, so he gets three Par-3s and I get to putt them.Sometimes simplicity is huge in this game. SUPERLATIVES Low Round: 12-under 60 from the Chez Reavie/Lucas Glover and Xinjun Zhang and Zecheng Dou teams. Hardest Hole: Par-4 15th played as the only hole over par at 4.013. It yielded just five birdies. Easiest Hole: The Par-5 7th averaged at 4.238 and had three eagles and 54 birdies. SHOT OF THE DAY

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