Quick look at the Genesis Open

We made it. In addition to everything we've learned and as much as our behavior has been modified in 2020, we've been reminded not to take anything for granted. This includes the traditional time off from official tournament action between the holidays. The Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN concludes the fall portion of the 2020-21 PGA TOUR season and does so after the Thanksgiving weekend in the United States. A field of 132 has assembled at Mayakoba Resort's El Camaleón Golf Club on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Details on the host course, how defending champion Brendon Todd prevailed and other analysis can be found beneath the projected contenders. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field POWER RANKINGS: MAYAKOBA GOLF CLASSIC Notables reviewed in Tuesday's Fantasy Insider will include defending champion Brendon Todd, 2016 champion Pat Perez, Rickie Fowler, Gary Woodland and Joaquin Niemann. The PGA TOUR hasn't held a competition contributing to the FedExCup or with official earnings in December since 1973. In what was known as the Walt Disney World Golf Classic and in its third edition - all in December - it concluded on Dec. 1 just as the first two had, with Jack Nicklaus as champion. (The tournament then evolved into a perennial stop in October or November until its run ended in 2012 as the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.) While wholesale rescheduling and other adjustments guided the return of golf since June of this year, the Hero World Challenge wasn't saved. Originally scheduled to be contested this week, it was officially canceled in October. The upside is that a few of the golfers who may have pegged it in the Bahamas were not forced into a choice. Additionally, the winner at Mayakoba will earn exemptions into THE PLAYERS Championship, the Masters and the PGA Championship in 2021 (and probably the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational once the Official World Golf Ranking's strength-of-field rating is determined late this week). He'll also be the last qualifier into the Sentry Tournament of Champions when that tournament reopens this season on Jan. 7-10. El Camaleón consistently has favored the golfer who finds the fairway off the tee, not as a rule but by profile. It's not a coincidence that needle-threaders like Fred Funk (2007), Brian Gay (2008), Mark Wilson (2009), John Huh (2012), Graeme McDowell (2015) and Matt Kuchar (2018) preceded Todd, a sharpshooter in his own right. In fact, it's the entirety of the ball-striker's toolbox that's rewarded throughout the picturesque Greg Norman design on the Riviera Maya. At just 7,017 yards, El Camaleón is a track for all. Consider that Todd ranked 79th of 82 in driving distance here last year. (Because ShotLink is not utilized, only the par-5 fifth and 13th holes measure drives for statistical purposes. No. 7 is the third of the three par 5s on the par 71.) However, he split one more fairway per round than the field average and ranked third in greens in regulation, T8 in putts per GIR and T4 in scrambling. Todd also capitalized on what annually is a set of the easiest par 3s on any course that hosts the PGA TOUR. He played the quartet in bogey-free 7-under to rank T2. He also co-ed the field in par-4 scoring, thus softening the bite of where El Camaleón challenges. Meanwhile, with no changes to the layout since last year, those returning will be reacquainted with the consistency of paspalum greens running up to 11 feet on the Stimpmeter. Lush primary rough at two inches will factor into a few decisions on club selection, thus lifting course management as a quiet prerequisite. Last year's field averaged 70.087. That's both in line with its history and a fair target this week. Just as severe weather banged Thursday's scheduled first round before a single shot could be struck a year ago, similarly inclement conditions are all but guaranteed to impact play this Thursday. The threat extends in earnest through Saturday before it tapers. The energy is not associated with a tropical disturbance, so wind should not be an issue. Time will tell if the tournament will require a Monday finish like last year, but with nowhere to compete next week, there are worst things than spending another night in paradise during the holiday season, especially in 2020. 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: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider SUNDAY/MONDAY (post-Mayakoba): Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM's Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

Click here to read the full article…

AUGUSTA, Georgia – Tiger Woods was always told he was the chosen one but only now does he fully believe he’s a walking miracle. Less than a year after back fusion surgery finally released him from years of pain – Woods is not only back at Augusta National for the first time since 2015 – he’s firmly in the mix to win. That is according to all of his peers and the majority of pundits. Woods is the favorite in many circles. “He’s got a great chance. Look at how he’s played the last few weeks. He’s had four wins here. He’s very comfortable around this golf course, and his game is right there,â€� Rory McIlroy said. “Any time Tiger Woods is healthy and in this sort of form, he’s dangerous at any golf tournament. But given his history here, I think even more so.â€� In his last two starts on the PGA TOUR Woods was runner up and T5 – he felt the cauldron of contention in both. But can he claim PGA TOUR win number 80 on the major championship stage? With his swing speed at near unbelievable levels … anything is possible. It is easily the most amazing aspect of this version of his comeback – the force in which he’s been able to swing the club again. Woods has the fastest recorded swing on TOUR this season at 129.2 miles per hour and his average club head speed of 121.9 miles per hour is fourth on TOUR. It has some players joking with Woods that they need to go under the knife to fuse their own backs for more distance. “The reason why I say I’m a walking miracle is that I don’t know if anyone who has had a lower back fusion that can swing the club as fast as I can swing it,â€� Woods said. “That’s incredible. I went from a person who really had a hard time getting up, walking around, sitting down, anything, to now swinging the club 129. That is a miracle, isn’t it?â€� Woods admits he never expected this sort of result. He thought he’d have a nice comfortable life but was resigned to not being able to generate his old speeds. A year ago he could barely sit at the Champions Dinner. He was trying cortisone shots, epidurals … but in his own words his back was fried. “But all of a sudden I have this pop and my body and my speed’s back and my timing. I’m hitting speeds that I hit in my prime,â€� he continued. “That’s what’s the shocking thing, is I didn’t think I would ever reach north of 120, and I’m cruising at 120. “So that part is very exciting because I know that if I can maintain this, I can play out here for a very long time and be able to have the length to get around pretty much any of the golf courses.â€� This week’s course has always been kind to Woods. With wins in 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005 and seven top-6 results in nine starts since his last triumph Augusta National is certainly a place he could rekindle the old magic and claim TOUR win number 80. Woods likened the hype to that in 2001 when he came to the Masters with three straight major wins and in search of the famous “Tiger Slamâ€�. “I have four rounds to play, so let’s just kind of slow down,â€� Woods smiled. “I got to go play and then let the chips fall where they may, and hopefully I end up on top. But I got a lot of work to do between now and then.â€�

Click here to read the full article…

OAKVILLE, Ont. – News and observations from the first round of the RBC Canadian Open, where Ollie Schniederjans, Hudson Swafford. Kevin Chappell, Matt Every and Brandon Hagy share the lead after firing matching 7-under 65s at Glen Abbey Golf Club. There was a rain delay Thursday that halted play for one hour and 55 minutes.  Smylie’s solid debut   The last time Smylie Kaufman was in Canada, he played poorly at a Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Monday Qualifier in Saskatoon, Sask. It was the opposite Thursday at the RBC Canadian Open, as he fired a 6-under-par 66. His 66 was his best opening-round result in 2017, and it was kick-started by going 5-under par over his opening five holes. “I’ve had starts like that in my career, so it’s kind of tough to keep it going as low as it felt like I was going. Definitely was on point with everything to start the round,â€� said Kaufman. Heavy rain started as Kaufman’s group arrived at the par-3 7th, and he saw his tee shot plug in a bunker en route to a double-bogey five. However, he chipped in on the very next hole to keep the momentum going. “It was one of those days kind of got some good breaks and I also got some bad breaks, too. I was able to kind of stay as levelheaded as possible and just try to bounce back and do as well as I can the next hole,â€� he explained. It’s no secret Kaufman is friends with Jordan Spieth, and although he said Thursday he didn’t get a chance to watch Spieth’s finish Sunday, he’s been in touch with the now 24-year-old a lot since his win. “I FaceTimed him right after the round, of course, and … it doesn’t seem like the Claret Jug has left him since he’s left The Open. He’s definitely enjoying it,â€� said Kaufman. “Looks like he’s staying hydrated out of the Claret Jug as well.â€� ‘Part-Canadian’ Bubba off to his best-ever start at Glen Abbey Whenever Bubba Watson returns north of the border, he makes sure everyone knows he’s practically Canadian. “We’re back to playing American golf (this week). I know we’re in Canada, but I’m part-Canadian since I married a Canadian,â€� Watson said after his 6-under-par 66 Thursday, his best-ever opening round at Glen Abbey Golf Club. Watson, whose wife Angie is from Markham, Ontario (about 50 miles from Glen Abbey), is having one of his poorer seasons in recent memory, sitting 117th in the FedExCup with only three top 10s. But you wouldn’t know it Thursday, as Watson was bogey-free and sits just one shot back of the lead. It was his first bogey-free round this season.   “I had a couple, I would say, maybe two wayward shots, two mistakes that I can think of. Other than that, though, it was a good day,â€� said Watson. The nine-time PGA TOUR winner admitted he’s struggled with his swing for ‘about a year’ and is unsure why. But it looked like he got things back on track Thursday and is looking forward to the upcoming stretch run. “Maybe it’s because of losing weight,â€� said Watson. “But that’s why I wanted to play so many rounds. That’s why I wanted to play six tournaments in a row so I can keep building on it and try to get better for the (FedExCup) Playoffs.â€�  Jared du Toit returns, now as a professional A lot has changed for Jared du Toit since he was the story of the 2016 RBC Canadian Open, playing in the final group Sunday and eventually finishing tied for ninth as an amateur. He’s finished school and turned professional – holding status on the Mackenzie Tour – and inked a handful of new sponsorships announced this week. On Thursday, du Toit, with brother Russell on the bag, fired a 1-under 71 and admitted he left a few shots out there on a day that was prime for scoring. “I was 3 under through 15 and cruising, and I would have liked one or two more because I was hitting my irons well and putting well. Missed a short birdie to get to 4 under and than had two bogeys coming in, so kind of a bitter way to end,â€� said du Toit. “I felt like I could have been 4 or 5 under, so to be 1 under is definitely disappointing.â€� With a smile, du Toit admitted there were ‘a little more’ fans following him on Thursday versus last year, but he had a fun day with his brother on his bag and good memories of a year ago to reflect back on. “A lot of things went my way (last year),â€� I was playing well and making putts and I’ve got a lot of good memories here,â€� he said. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Click here to read the full article…