Q&A: McIlroy explains how his putter design fixed a bad habit

Ya hear, pards? There’s a new sheriff in town. With the revised look of the PGA TOUR schedule this season, the Valero Texas Open has assumed a new position. This week’s edition is the first of 10 straight in the week preceding the Masters. The AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio hosts for the 10th consecutive year. For more on this extreme par 72 and other nuggets of knowledge, scroll past the ranking. Corales champion Graeme McDowell, Jordan Spieth, Charley Hoffman and former VTO winners Jimmy Walker and Andrew Landry will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. For the tournament that’s never left San Antonio since it debuted in 1922, it’s not easy to present fresh perspective. And truth be told, this isn’t the first time that the Valero Texas Open has been contested on the eve of the Masters, but it’s just the second. Six years ago, in the last season before the PGA TOUR introduced the wraparound schedule, the VTO immediately preceded the Masters. The primary difference between then and now is that the 2013 field went the full 156 deep. This week’s field was limited to 144 entrants. Even at San Antonio’s latitude in early April, the limitation of daylight impacts field size. The last exemption into the Masters is reserved for the winner of the Valero Texas Open. As of midday Monday, only 17 in the field at TPC San Antonio have qualified for the season’s first major. While the opportunity to play is invaluable, the opportunity to be tested is guaranteed. TPC San Antonio is a beast of 7,435 yards. Despite the full complement of four par 5s, it’s never averaged under par. Last year’s clip of 72.367 slotted it third-hardest among par 72s in non-majors. The field averaged 4.81 on the par 5s, which have never ranked easier than fourth-hardest of any course during a PGA TOUR season. Greens average 6,400 square feet, so they’re not small targets, but they’re among the stingiest in holding for scoring opportunities. Last year’s field average of 11 greens in regulation per round ranked the course ninth-lowest all season, and that was more than half a click higher than the previous year. As a result, splitting fairways eases the challenge more than usual, but despite two-inch primary rough which is overseeded, proficiency in finding the shortest grass still isn’t a prerequisite for success. En route to his breakthrough title last year, Andrew Landry beat the field average of fairways hit by less than one percent, and then paced it in GIR. He also brought his touch around and on the targets in ranking eighth in strokes gained: putting and second in scrambling. This combination likely will define this week’s champion. The undulating putting surfaces (overseeded bermuda) are governed to run no faster than 11 feet on the Stimpmeter due to winds that are a way of life in south Texas. However, and with a note of respect for the possibility of change, breezes are forecast to be negligible throughout the entirety of the tournament. This wasn’t the case in 2013 when gusts reached 25 mph, much more in line with what’s expected in the Hill Country. With sunshine warming, daytime temperatures will rise into the mid-80s every day but Saturday when clouds and the risk of inclement weather will make it feel 10 degrees cooler. 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 WEDNESDAY: 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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With a marathon finish in the Genesis Open awaiting golfers on Sunday, Justin Thomas made the eight holes he played on Saturday count, taking a one-shot lead.

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All of the gold at the end of the rainbow is up for grabs at East Lake Golf Club outside Atlanta as the FedExCup Playoffs will pay out $60 million in bonuses to close the 50-event 2020-2021 season. East Lake Golf Club, established in 1904, has served as the permanent host of the TOUR Championship since 2004. Tom Bendelow’s original design was updated in 1913 by Donald Ross so greens pitching back-to-front will again be in play this week. Rees Jones has handled the upkeep over the last 25 years to keep up with the best players on TOUR annually. The FedExCup Playoffs debuted in 2007 so course history is a very real angle this week. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks In 2008 East Lake changed their greens from Bentgrass to Bermuda so Zach Johnson’s course record of 60 set in 2007 can be taken with a grain of salt. Since the introduction of Bermuda, 63 has been the lowest round posted four times, last done by Henrik Stenson in 2015. Before 2016 the event concluded with a Par-3 hole. The nines were flipped in 2016 to add another layer of drama as the Par-5 18th, one of the easiest annually on the course, will provide the final act. Xander Schauffele holds the event (gross) record, set last year, on 15-under 265. Since the nines were reversed, the winning score has been double digits under par in every event. Zoysia fairways and Mini-Verde Ultradwarf Bermuda greens running around 13 feet are surrounded by almost three inches of Bermuda rough. The remnants of Hurricane Ida are dumping rain Tuesday on the area after a very abnormally wet July. The Par-70 (35-35) already stretches out to 7,346 yards and nothing about firm or fast will be on the cards this week. The two Par-5 holes annually play the easiest on the course so scoring on both of them will be required. Wet Bermuda rough won’t allow for much control off of the fairway and around the greens. The perfect Bermuda greens, just over 6,000 square feet on average, will see putts holed for both par and birdie. The formula this week will involve finding the most fairways to attack hole locations and saving pars when missing the fairway and greens. Like any big-time event, the full bag and the six inches between the ears should be in play and that is definitely the case this week. The 30 players involved will have four rounds (no cut) to try and chase down FedExCup leader Patrick Cantlay and his Starting Strokes of 10-under par. The player posting the lowest net total (Starting Strokes combined with the total of strokes accumulated after 72 holes) after 72 holes will take home the biggest bonus of them all, $15 million plus a five year exemption on TOUR. Dustin Johnson is back for the 13th time in this event and will look to repeat as FedExCup Playoff champion. The only multiple winner of this event (entered this week) is Rory McIlroy (2019, 2016) and nobody has ever defended the title of Playoff Champion or Event champion. Top 30 FedExCup bonus money distribution Recent Event Winners Stats Recent Winners 2020 – Dustin Johnson (-21 net, -11 gross) Fired a final round 68 to win by three. … Won his sixth FedExCup Playoff event and first FedExCup championship. … First No. 1 seed to win since Tiger Woods in 2009. … Led by five, an event record, after posting 64 in Round 3. … Final group off Round 3 after leading by one after 36 holes. … Opened with 67 to share the first round lead. … Would have finished T3 without Starting Strokes. … 17th win in start No. 274. … His six wins in the FedExCup Playoffs are the most in history. … Picked up his third win in his 10th tournament since the restart. … 64 tied the low round of the week (four others listed below). … Notables in the field this week: 2017 FedExCup Playoff EVENT champion Xander Schauffele (2nd) posted the lowest 72 hole total since Bermuda was introduced in 2008. … 2017 FedExCup Playoff champion Justin Thomas (T2) picked up his fifth top 10 in his fifth visit. … Jon Rahm (4th) posted the second WORST round of the week with 74 in Round 2. … Debutant Scottie Scheffler (5th) posted 12-under (gross), second best on the week. … Debutant Collin Morikawa (6th) co-led the field with Schauffele with 21 birdies. … 2019 champion Rory McIlroy (T8) also posted 64 (Rd 1) but only made four birdies thru the middle two rounds. … Patrick Reed (T8) picked up his best finish in his seventh attempt as he led the field in Fairways and Pars. … Sungjae Im (11th) opened 68-64 to trail Johnson by one after 36 holes. … Harris English (T12) ranked third in Putts. … Daniel Berger (T14) joined the party with 64 in Round 3. … Abraham Ancer (T18) opened his second visit with 64 before cooling. … Viktor Hovland (T20) led the field in GIR. … Scoring average was 68.917. … Only five bogey-free rounds and Reed had 40 percent of them. 2019 – Rory McIlroy (18-under net, 13-under gross ) 2016 winner posted a final round 66 to become just the second player to win the FedExCup Playoffs and Event twice. … Began the final round one shot back of Brooks Koepka. … Only player to post all four rounds in the 60s as he won by four shots. … Posted 13-under gross, three better than Schauffele, for the best total of the week. … Led the field with 20 birdies. … Co-led the field in Bogey Avoidance. … Becomes the only winner to also win THE PLAYERS in the same season. … Third win of the season along with the RBC Canadian Open. … Hits the top 10 for the sixth time in seven visits. … 17th TOUR victory in start No. 268. Notables in the field this week: Xander Schauffele (T2) opened with the co-low round of the week, 64, posted 10-under (gross) and co-led the field in Bogey Avoidance. … Brooks Koepka (T3) tried to go wire to wire but his final round 72 saw him fall short. … 2017 FedExCup Playoff Champion Justin Thomas (T3) entered the week as the No. 1 seed. … Tony Finau (7th) posted all four rounds 70 or better. … Hideki Matsuyama (T9) matched McIlroy with two rounds of 66. … Patrick Reed (T9) cashed his first top 10 in six appearances. … Just eight players posted rounds of 60 on Sunday. … Scoring average 70.003. … Only three bogey free rounds for the week. 2018 – Tiger Woods (11-under, 259) Did not qualify this season (injury). … Woods won the Event but Justin Rose (did not qualify) won the FedExCup Playoff Championship. … Final edition before Starting Strokes. … Only player double digits under par. … Led by three after 54 holes. … Shared the 36 hole lead with Rose. … Opened with 65, co-low round of the week, to share the lead. … Becomes first player to win the FedExCup Playoff Event twice. … 80th win in 346th start. … First appearance since 2013. Notables in the field this week: 2014 champion Billy Horschel (2nd) led the field in Fairways and GIR. … Dustin Johnson (T3) picked up his best finish in his 10th appearance. … Hideki Matsuyama (T4) ranked T3 in Fairways, 3rd GIR and signed for the only bogey free round of the week. … Rory McIlroy (T7) played in the final group and co-led the field with 19 birdies. … 2017 champion Xander Schauffele (T7) picks up his only finish outside of the top two. … Justin Thomas (T7) was one of four players who posted all four rounds at 70 or better. … Jon Rahm (T11) joined McIlroy with 19 birdies. … 69.617 scoring average. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2020-2021 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. Horses for Courses East Lake Gross 2019-2020

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