PGA featured holes: The Northern Trust

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Sergio Garcia rushed to the first tee and raced to the finish line Thursday in THE PLAYERS Championship. RELATED: Leaderboard | Mickelson sees positives at THE PLAYERS Most importantly, he avoided the kind of wreck that allowed TPC Sawgrass to live up to its reputation as the course where anything can happen to anyone at any time. Garcia thought he had plenty of time to get from the range to the 10th tee to start his round. The sun was in his eyes when he looked at the clock, he wasn’t sure what he saw, jogged the rest of the way and had a minute to spare. Then he fired off a 7-under 65, capped off by a birdie-birdie-eagle finish for a two-shot lead over Brian Harman. It was a solid day that became brilliant over the final three holes. Garcia only had to look next to him to see what kind of damage the Stadium Course inflicted, even on a pristine day of pleasant sunshine and a mild breeze. Rory McIlroy, the defending champion, opened with a double bogey from the trees. He hit two in the water on the 18th and made a quadruple-bogey 8. He wound up with a 79, his worst score since his opening round at Royal Portrush in the 2019 Open Championship. When darkness brought the first round to a halt — 21 players didn’t finish — there already were 13 scores of 80 or higher. That included Henrik Stenson with an 85, his highest score ever on the PGA TOUR. There were 22 scores of triple bogey or worse. Garcia took eight shots to play his final three holes. Byeong Hun An took 11 shots on the par-3 17th hole. The Spaniard feels comfortable on a course that causes anxiety even in good weather. “For some reason, it just kind of fits my eye,” said Garcia, who won THE PLAYERS in 2008 and has twice been runner-up. “I see what I want to do pretty much every hole, and then it’s a matter of doing it.” Harman played in the afternoon and was hanging around par until he began the back nine with three straight birdies, shot 31 on the back and wound up with a 67. The Open champion Shane Lowry took bogey on his final hole for a 68 and was tied with Corey Conners and Matt Fitzpatrick. Bryson DeChambeau, coming off his victory last week at Bay Hill, had to take a little off his driver on the par-5 16th and had 9-iron left, setting up a birdie-birdie-par finish to join the group at 69. The small number of fans — by Sawgrass standards — saw a little bit of everything. It started early with McIlroy, who shot 43 on his opening nine holes. “The big number on 18 didn’t help and then doubling the first wasn’t helpful, either,” he said. “It’s hard to recover when you just haven’t played good. If you take that 18th hole out, it still wasn’t a very good day.” Stenson hit into the water on consecutive holes for a double bogey and a triple bogey. He put two more in the water, including one of 18 balls in the water on the island-green 17th. Ian Poulter (77) sat for lunch with McIlroy, Stenson and Tyrrell Hatton (76) and posted video of this fearsome foursome that combined to go 29-over par. “Oh, what a bunch of muppets,” Poulter said. Rickie Fowler, the 2015 champion, had three double bogeys in his round of 77, leaving him in danger of missing the cut. Dustin Johnson took double bogey on the par-5 11th and eagle on the par-5 16th in his round of 73. Jordan Spieth missed only two fairways and had to settle for a 70. Garcia’s lone bogey came after perhaps his best shot. From the pine straw next to a tree left of the first fairway, he hooked an iron that came out low and right to left with enough run that it settled 25 feet away. And then he three-putted. The most remarkable round might have belonged to Hoge, who managed to get through 18 holes without a bogey. “It was a good, solid day, kind of what you want here on the Stadium Course,” Hoge said. “I haven’t been hitting it that well coming in here, so I just tried to hit a lot of greens and stay out of trouble for the most part.” Sebastian Munoz was at 4 under with one hole to play, that being the 18th, and a shot into the water led to a triple bogey for a 71. He tried to take out the positives of five birdies, and that’s what makes this tournament so tough to predict. There are plenty of birdies available. It doesn’t take much to erase all the good work. “You do have a lot of wedges in your hand,” Munoz said. “Par 5s are reachable. So yeah, we do have a lot more chances than a usual course. But I mean, danger is around the corner on every hole.”

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Schauffele honored as PGA Tour’s top rookie

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NORTON, Mass. – Stewart Cink has learned his lesson. He promises to look at his projected FedExCup position down the stretch in Monday’s final round of the Dell Technologies Championship. Two years ago, he didn’t look at the projections. Playing the final round of THE NORTHERN TRUST, Cink arrived at the par-4 18th hole at Plainfield Country Club in great shape to take the next step in the FedExCup Playoffs. Cink, who had started the week ranked 116th, was projected inside the top 100. His caddie asked if he wanted to know where he stood. Cink was emphatic. “No!� The 18th was playing at 307 yards that day. Cink figured an aggressive approach on a drivable par-4 offered favorable odds. He took out driver … and hit a poor shot left into “the weeds,� Cink recalled. His second shot found the other side of the green. He pitched to 14 feet and missed the par putt. The bogey dropped him nine spots on the leaderboard – and dropped out of the top 100. He finished at 102nd in the FedExCup standings, two points behind Jason Kokrak, the No. 100 player who had missed the cut that week. Had Cink made par, he would’ve finished in the mid-90s in points and moved on to TPC Boston. When Cink told his wife Lisa about not wanting to know where he stood, she was just as emphatic in her reaction – only with a different spin. “You always want to know!� she said. Cink entered this week ranked 81st in points, leaving him outside the bubble for the top 70 advancing to the BMW Championship. After rallying from a poor start in Friday’s first round – he was 4 over through his first eight holes before getting back on track with an eagle – Cink is now in position after his second consecutive 68. He’s tied for 14th at 6 under – and projected to 61st in FedExCup points. Cink has not reached the third leg of the FedExCup Playoffs since 2010, the year after his win at The Open Championship. He hasn’t played in the TOUR Championship since 2009. It would be a tremendous story if he gets that far. After all, not only is he a member at East Lake, but he’ll be honored that week as the Payne Stewart Award winner. Is it difficult to keep East Lake out of his mind? No, Stewart said. “I’m having a lot more difficult time not thinking about Chicago,� he added. “East Lake’s not even in my mind to put out. That’s not a problem.� Cink was planning to huddle with his caddie prior to Monday’s final round to discuss their game plan. If the scenario boils down to the final few holes and Cink remains in contention to advance, there will be no question. He will want to know where he stands. “I’ve seen the other side,� Cink said, “and it cost me.� BUBBLE WATCH Here are the players who are projected to move inside and outside the top 70 that will advance to the third leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, the BMW Championship. QUOTE OF THE DAY I would look at winning the FedExCup like winning a major. I think it’s become that big. I think a lot of players, because it’s a season-long race, I feel like it’s got a lot of meaning. TOP 5 WATCH The Top 5 players entering the TOUR Championship will control their own destiny at East Lake. Here’s a look at how the current top 5 fared Saturday at the Dell Technologies Championship. 1. Dustin Johnson (66). Bogey-free round ended with a flourish – four birdies in his final five holes. Tied for seventh at 9 under. Projected to second. 2. Jordan Spieth (66). Suffered his first bogey on TPC Boston’s front side this week; otherwise a productive day. Tied for fourth at 10 under. Projected to third. 3. Justin Thomas (63). Posted his second consecutive bogey-free round; in fact, he has played 40 holes since his last bogey. Co-leader at 12 under. Projected to first. 4. Hideki Matsuyama (70). Produced his lowest score of the week but still giving up ground to the leaders. Tied for 36th at even par. Projected to fifth. 5. Jon Rahm (67). Entered the third round with the lead but three bogeys on the back nine dropped him off the pace. Tied for seventh at 9 under. Projected to sixth. Projected into the top 5 – Co-leader Marc Leishman, who started the week 20th in points, is projected to fourth. FEDEXCUP NOTES Paul Casey is again in position to win at TPC Boston, just like he was last year. In fact, he has finished inside the top five in four consecutive FedExCup Playoffs events, and has seven top-10s in 15 starts. Asked why the Playoffs seem to bring out the best of him, Casey said: “The end of the season is near. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t know. I like the fact there’s a conclusion, I really do. I do like the volatility. I like the fact you can move up and there’s genuinely something to play for.� … The three players currently projected to move from inside to outside the cutline have few strokes to make up. Anirban Lahiri only needs to make up one stroke; Russell Knox two strokes, and Kevin Tway three strokes to keep their positions inside the top 70. … Five rookies are currently projected inside the top 70 in points – Wesley Bryan, Xander Schauffele, Mackenzie Hughes, Ollie Schniederjans, Grayson Murray and Patrick Cantlay. Schauffele and Schniederjans missed the cut on Saturday, but the other four will pick up points. Murray (T4) and Cantlay (T9) will begin the final round inside the top 10 on the leaderboard. “I’m going to have to go out there and play my ‘A’ game,� said Murray, noting the big names packed at the top of the leaderboard.

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