PGA featured holes: The Northern Trust

MCKINNEY, Texas — Before his round Sunday, Jordan Spieth wanted to be 25 under par on the 72nd tee. He missed by one. One was the difference. A birdie on the last hole of the AT&T Byron Nelson gave him second place alone and a sting he said he’d feel for a while. Spieth shot 5-under 67 to finish 25-under total, one stroke back of K.H. Lee, who became the first back-to-back winner of the tournament since Tom Watson achieved the Texas two-step in 1979 and 1980. While disappointing to lose a meaningful tournament in his hometown, the one that gave him a sponsor exemption when he was in high school, Spieth said his performance through four rounds at TPC Craig Ranch gave him confidence, purpose and a sense of calm as he starts to focus on next week’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills. “Good momentum going into next week,” said Spieth, who lacks only the PGA in a quest for the career Grand Slam. Spieth started the fourth round in the final group, one stroke off the lead held by fellow Dallas resident Sebastian Munoz. He shared the lead at times on a topsy-turvy afternoon. He showed glimpses of the Jordan Spieth of old, the one who putted boldly and delivered one quality iron shot after another. He also made three bogeys through 10 holes. But the mistakes were past him at that point. “I played the holes from there exactly how they were supposed to be played,” Spieth said. “Grabbed three more birdies and it just wasn’t quite good enough.” The drama built throughout the round and reached its apex at the tee of No. 14. Spieth was two shots behind Lee when he reached the short par 4. The group ahead, which included the defending champion, allowed the final group to play in. Spieth drove the green. He marked his ball. Then he watched Lee three-putt. The par by the leader kept Spieth in the chase. He two-putted for birdie, reaching 24 under, a shot behind Lee. It was that way until the end. Spieth saw Lee make a 6-footer for par on the long 16th and a gritty 12-footer for par on the short 17th. He watched from 245 yards away in the par-5 18th fairway as Lee lined up his putt for eagle. Lee two-putted for birdie, granting Spieth one more chance. Spieth cut a 3-metal. It stalled in the crosswind. His ball landed just short of the green, near a seam in the grass, 30 feet from the hole. He chipped it close but not in. “I would love to win it someday,” Spieth said. “I had a good chance here.” He goes to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a recent win (the RBC Heritage in April) and a pair of runners-up, including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. He appears well clear of the winless streak of 83 starts that ended at the 2021 Valero Texas Open, his 12th PGA TOUR title. He is making putts he used to miss. “I thought I made some really nice 5-foot sliders down the stretch,” Spieth said. “Those are ones that I just put good fluid strokes, more judging line than speed. I was more outwardly focused than stroke focused. So that’s really important under pressure as I look into a major.” Spieth said last spring that he was seeking the swing of his youth. He said Sunday he felt much closer to that goal. “I feel like I’ve got every shot,” he said. He made an eagle and 29 birdies at the AT&T Byron Nelson. TPC Craig Ranch and Southern Hills Country Club are two different courses, but Spieth said he trusts his game to travel intact to Oklahoma. “I don’t feel like I have to go change much,” he said. “I just feel like I’m doing the right things.”

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Ready or not, here it comes! A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier launches the 2019-20 PGA TOUR season. The first of 49 tournaments sat out last season to accommodate the shift of the FedExCup Playoffs to August. This is the ninth edition of the tournament, all of which have been contested at The Old White TPC at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. There are only nine days between the conclusion of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and the first round at Greenbrier. While some graduates may be weary after long seasons and the pressure of the series, all should be encouraged that numerous golfers just like them over the years have sustained form when the light turns green on the PGA TOUR. As of midday Monday, all 50 are committed to the tournament, including all 21 rookies. For what the entire field of 156 is getting in The Old White TPC and more, scroll past the projected contenders. Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will include Jimmy Walker, Scott Piercy, Cameron Smith, Byeong Hun An and Doc Redman among other notables. No matter one’s position in the overall pecking order, The Old White TPC is a proper opener. It’s fair and fun. Checking in as a par 70 with both par 5s on the inward side (Nos. 12 and 17), the course is one of the longest of its kind at 7,292 yards. For the record, that reflects an increase of six yards from the 2018 edition, and 15 holes are listed at a different yardage this week, but none more than the reduction of nine yards at the 484-yard, par-4 11th. The Old White TPC also boasts the only par-3 finisher on the PGA TOUR. Defending champion Kevin Na parred the 179-yard 18th hole in all four rounds last time, but he could afford to, having prevailed by five strokes at 19-under 261. That’s the second-lowest aggregate since Stuart Appleby’s 22-under 258 in the inaugural edition of 2010 and before the course was fitted with some teeth. Na’s path to the title was unconventional, but it proved the worth of the equity of the track. Hitting greens and sinking putts is the standard objective on a scorable course with average-sized greens (6,500 square feet of bentgrass) rolling upwards of 11-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter. However, of the 10 golfers who finished inside the top 10 of the 2018 edition of A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, Na tied for hitting the fewest (53). His percentage (73.61) was nearly three clicks higher than the field average, but in a shootout, that puts pressure on the short game and putter. On cue, Na finished second in both Strokes Gained: Putting and scrambling, and he led the field converting GIR into par breakers with the flat stick. He also paced it in par-4 scoring, which is to say that he capitalized on an occasional weakness of the course. The set of 12 par 4s never plays harder than TOUR average, but the field scored just 3.97 on them in 2018, fourth-easiest of 51 courses all season. The absence of impactful wind will contribute to another good week of scoring, but looming rain and boomers figure to challenge the more inexperienced touring professionals who aren’t as familiar with stopping and starting on this stage. Warm, juicy air with daytime highs in the mid-to-high 80s will remind everyone that the autumnal equinox still is a couple of weeks out in the Northern Hemisphere. 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 TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider THURSDAY: 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 Tuesdays.

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