Quick look at The RSM Classic

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – It was during Friday’s second round at Monterey Peninsula, and Phil Mickelson had just escaped potential trouble with another magical bunker shot. The reaction from his amateur partner, Hall of Fame 49ers quarterback Steve Young, was either a look of disbelief or a look of awe. Probably both. Mickelson then turned to Young. “I’m pretty good at this,â€� Mickelson said. “I have a DVD out.â€� It was a funny moment, but Mickelson is showing this week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am that he’s deadly serious about defending his title. After his Saturday 5-under 69 at Pebble Beach, he’s 16 under and in solo second, one behind leader Nick Taylor. The two will be paired for Sunday’s final round at Pebble Beach, with Mickelson seeking a record sixth win in this event. RELATED: Leaderboard | Pro-am leaderboard | TOUR Insider: Five wins and Phil’s lucky silver dollar Driven by his competitive juices, Mickelson is even more serious in proving that at 49 – his 50th birthday is just four months away – his golf skills will not be hampered by his age. Certainly his skills with a wedge in his hands remain unequaled by anybody on the PGA TOUR. One day after his joke to Young, Mickelson displayed a short game that goes down as one of his best for a single round. Time and time again, he delivered that’s-just-Phil magic. He holed out twice for birdies on the back nine – from the bunker at the 13th and from 90 feet away at the 14th — and successfully scrambled eight of nine times, including memorable shots around the fifth green (from the rough), the sixth (from the fairway), and the 18th (after he was given relief when his second shot landed in pine straw near an obstacle). Oh, and he produced a shot for the ages out of the back bunker on the iconic 110-yard par-3 seventh. With his ball plugged into the sand, he told his caddie, brother Tim Mickelson, that he thought he could hit it low and catch the rough in order to slow down the ball and let it trickle to the pin. Few would’ve tried it, but he pulled it off, leaving him 2 feet to save his par. Mickelson called it, “No. 2 in my all-time greatest bunker shots.â€� And No. 1? “I made one in the final round at Memorial, Muirfield Village, the old 16th hole from under the lip, plugged, and I holed that one,â€� Mickelson said. “This one didn’t go in, but it was the second best I’ve ever hit. “I was just trying to not make 5. I was trying to get on the green and just make a 4, give myself a putt at a par. But it came out great.â€� Brandt Snedeker, the other pro in the foursome, didn’t see the shot. But he knew it was plugged – and he wasn’t surprised that Mickelson pulled it off. “For Phil, that’s probably run of the mill,â€� Snedeker said. “For most of us out here, it’s once in a lifetime.â€� But as Young found out in these first three days playing next to Mickelson, it’s no accident. Mickelson may be producing art, but there’s a science behind it. “If that was me, I would’ve just hit into the ocean and dropped,â€� Young said of the plugged lie at 7. “But he kind of thought about it. … It’s not like he lucked into it. He’s calling it. That’s what he wanted to do.â€� “As someone who can appreciate other athletes,â€� Young added, “for me this has been a special three days. I’ve never seen anything like this.â€� The fact that Mickelson is doing it at age 49 is a testament to his will to win and his ability to continually reinvent himself. Currently, that means a dramatic weight loss due to a nutritional diet. He’s doing what it takes and is motivated to prove that he’s not finished winning. “If you think it’s over at 45, 50, 55, he’s going to press into those numbers,â€� said Young, who played in the NFL until concussions forced his retirement at age 38. “It shows you how much he cares,â€� added Snedeker. “… I wish more guys out here had the passion he does for the game of golf. He really loves it. Loves the competition.â€� And he loves producing short-game magic. After all, he’s got the DVD to prove it.

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People travel from all over the world to experience the natural beauty of Bermuda’s pink-sand beaches and scenic ocean views. Protecting this natural environment is crucial for not only it’s tourism-based economy, but also for the health and well-being of its 64,000 residents. Being that the small island nation is only 21 total square miles and located 653 miles from the nearest mainland, everyone must be considerate of their impact. Large events must be especially thoughtful of the waste they generate. This is certainly the case for the PGA TOUR’s official stop on the island, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. The tournament is committed to being intentional and responsible with all aspects of the event, which this year has implemented several new and innovative sustainability solutions. The tournament, however, isn’t accomplishing this alone. “Collaboration and partnership with local leaders have been key to all of our sustainability progress,” said Danielle Baiunco, Tournament Director of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. “Guidance from Keep Bermuda Beautiful, the Ministry of Public Works, and support from our Sustainability Partner, Aspen Bermuda Limited, have made this all possible.” The sustainability program starts with a significant reduction of single-use plastic used throughout Port Royal Golf Course during the week. Ticket holders are encouraged to bring their own reusable bottles and the tournament will be giving away bottles to the first 500 fans each day courtesy of Aspen Bermuda Limited. Water stations will be positioned around the course so spectators can refill their bottles and concession stands will serve drinks in reusable cups rather than single-use plastic. All Butterfield Bermuda Championship volunteers will also be provided a reusable bottle and 90 percent of the polo shirt they will be wearing is made from recycled plastic. In addition to reducing plastic on site, the tournament is focused on recycling the items accepted on the island. Through collaboration with the Ministry of Public Works, the tournament has adopted a TAG – tin, aluminum, glass – recovery program. Bins will be placed throughout the golf course to separate these items from general waste, ensuring that they can be correctly processed at the local recycling facility. Tin and aluminum are sold for a small return, but the Ministry of Public Works has innovated the re-use of its recycled glass. With the help of a machine that crushes the glass into various grades, the facility is able to provide a permeable drainage solution for construction projects on the island, namely used under the grass-playing surface of sporting fields and golf courses. “It is so cool to know that glass from our event will be turned into something else used on the island,” Baiunco said. “Promoting circularity and re-use is one of our main goals.” All other general tournament waste will be disposed of at Tynes Bay Waste to Energy Facility, where an incinerator converts waste to energy. This facility generates produces enough energy to power 10 percent of Bermuda’s residential dwellings, or 3,000 homes. To reduce paper waste, the tournament has also moved to digital tickets, pairings guides, and course map. These items that were printed in previous years will be accessible via smartphone and QR code in 2022. Throughout the year, the tournament works with Keep Bermuda Beautiful to ensure that the areas of the island that were directly impacted by the tournament are maintained and that the Butterfield Bermuda Championship is doing all it can to minimize its environmental footprint. “We are still at the beginning of our sustainability journey, but we are proud of the strides we have been able to make this year,” Baiunco said. Through an honest and thoughtful approach, the tournament hopes to set sustainability standards that can be followed by sporting events held in Bermuda and other golf tournaments around the world.

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The Houston Open is back after an 18-month hiatus – and don’t be surprised if Sunday’s final round is a tight finish. Since 2009, eight of the last 10 winners have either been decided in a playoff or by just one stroke, including the most recent winner, Ian Poulter, who beat Beau Hossler in a playoff in 2018. Russell Henley, Cameron Champ and Henrik Stenson are in the field, and Stenson is making his PGA TOUR debut at a tournament he’s played well at in the past. The Golf Club of Houston – the host course for the last time before the tournament moves to Memorial Park — is a par 72, measures a long 7,441 yards and will offer Bermuda greens this week as opposed to overseeded rye in the spring. The Houston Open played as the 10th easiest course in scoring relative to par last season but played as the 24th most difficult course the year before. What changed? The wind. The weekend rounds recorded extremely winding conditions and scores averaged 73.4 on Saturday and a few strokes better on Sunday at 70.2. Playing in Texas always means potentially playing in the wind; since 2015, the Houston Open has had 25% of their rounds played with significant windy conditions. Other than Vijay Singh, who has won this tournament three times dating back to the early 2000s, Australian golfers have done extremely well, winning this tournament five times since 1999. Check the weather report for wind conditions as this is an important piece of information we can leverage when building lineups. Other than playing the weather conditions, golfers will need to again be strong with their approach. In 2018, the top-5 gained an average just under three strokes with their irons (2.92). A lot of those iron shots were hit from 200-plus yards out, once again being the approach distance with the highest shot distribution. This is the first time we’ll experience the course in its new scheduling slot and we don’t know how it will play differently, but the strokes gained category to correlate the highest here is Strokes Gained: Putting. Winners here have gained 34% more strokes on the greens than off-the-tee. Putting has the highest variance day-to-day making it difficult to predict but should still be important on these Bermuda greens this week. Other key statistics will be par-5 scoring average and birdie or better percentage on this Rees Jones course design. TOP VALUES SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER ($9,900) He’s been my favorite play even though he shot 7 over last weekend in Las Vegas, which has been Scheffler’s Achilles heel of recent. His scoring average in the opening two rounds this season is 65.8, while his weekend scores increase to an average of 71.75. Scheffler, who grew up and played his college golf (University of Texas), also ranks first in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green over his last two tournaments. HARRIS ENGLISH ($8,900) English is hitting the ball fantastic and playing impeccable golf, gaining an average of three strokes tee-to-green over his last five tournaments. English ranks 15th in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green, first in par-4 scoring average, and first in birdie or better percentage over his last six tournaments. English is also a great putter, ranking eighth in Strokes Gained: Putting on Bermuda greens over his last 50 rounds. If he’s able to hit these fairways with regularity this week, he should be in contention. SHAWN STEFANI ($6,800) Stefani played decently in his first start of the season with a top-30 a couple weeks ago and should have another solid performance this week heading back to his home state of Texas, where he also played his college golf. It’s not only his home ties, which make him a potential play this week, he also ranks 21st in birdie or better percentage, eighth in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and inside the top-50 in Strokes Gained: Putting on Bermuda greens over his last 50 rounds. CAMERON DAVIS ($7,000) Davis is a cheaper option who has upside with his ability to score ranking sixth in birdie or better percentage over his last three tournaments. He’s been struggling with his driving accuracy of recent, but these wide Bermuda fairways should help Davis find the short grass even though he ranks 192nd in hit fairway percentage this season. He’s also struggled on Bermuda greens last season ranking 147th but gained 4.5 strokes putting over his last two tournaments on Bermuda. His experience growing up and playing in Australia should give him an advantage over the field this week hopefully mitigating his inconsistency over his short career. 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