Reed, Ortiz share lead at Torrey Pines

Tiger Woods tees it up for the first time since his momentous Masters triumph – and subsequent Presidential Medal of Freedom – as the PGA Championship raises the curtain on its new May date, with Bethpage Black serving as host. Brooks Koepka makes the first of his two major title defenses in 2019, seeking to become the PGA’s first back-to-back champion since Woods in 2006-07. Jordan Spieth, meantime, makes his third run at completing the career Grand Slam. FIELD NOTES: Phil Mickelson, runner-up at both U.S. Opens held at Bethpage Black (2002, 2009), is set for his 102nd major start since turning professional. … One spot in the field remains for the winner of this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson, if not already qualified. … The field includes 69 international players, representing 27 different nations. … All but two of the top 65 in the FedExCup standings have entered, missing only No. 59 Patrick Rodgers and No. 64 J.T. Poston. … The lineup also includes the top 20 finishers from the PGA Professional Championship earlier this month. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 600 points. STORYLINES: Woods, with that elusive 15th major title finally in the bag, now goes after a 16th on a Bethpage Black layout where he won the 2002 U.S. Open. He has not hit a competitive shot since leaving Augusta, opting for rest instead of his usual start at Quail Hollow. … Koepka seeks a fourth major title in a 23-month span, coming off a runner-up finish to Woods at Augusta. He’s finished outside the top 15 in a major just once in that stretch. … A Spieth victory would make him just the sixth to accomplish the career Grand Slam, and second-youngest to do it after Woods. However, he’s still in search of his first top-20 finish of 2019. … With the move to May, the PGA Championship ventures outside the July-August window for just the second time in 70 years. The other came in 1971, played in February in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. … The top 60 in the world rankings after Sunday’s finish receive automatic berths into next month’s U.S. Open. No. 60 Sungjae Im is on the bubble; Emiliano Grillo (61st) and Chez Reavie (63rd) are trying to move in. COURSE: Bethpage State Park (Black), 7,432 yards, par 70. Taking its third bow on the major championship stage, the 1936 A.W. Tillinghast gem was a bit of a New York secret until the 2002 U.S. Open. Woods won that crown, posting the only under-par score of the tournament, and Lucas Glover captured a rain-soaked U.S. Open upon its return in 2009. Since then, the Black Course has become part of THE NORTHERN TRUST rotation with host duties in 2012 and ’16. A famous sign greets golfers near the first tee warning only “highly skilled� golfers should play the Black, and its reputation attracted pros such as Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen and Byron Nelson early on for a trial. Snead famously called it “an unfair test� after beating Nelson in a 1940 exhibition. The 2024 Ryder Cup will be contested at Bethpage Black. 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Brooks Koepka (2018 at Bellerive CC). 18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Bruce Crampton (2nd round, 1975 at Firestone CC), Raymond Floyd (1st round, 1982 at Southern Hills), Gary Player (2nd round, 1984 at Shoal Creek), Michael Bradley (1st round, 1993 at Inverness), Vijay Singh (2nd round, 1993 at Inverness), Brad Faxon (4th round, 1995 at Riviera CC), José María Olazábal (3rd round, 2000 at Valhalla), Mark O’Meara (2nd round, 2001 at Atlanta AC), Thomas Bjorn (3rd round, 2005 at Baltusrol), Tiger Woods (2nd round, 2007 at Southern Hills), Steve Stricker (1st round, 2011 at Atlanta AC), Jason Dufner (2nd round, 2013 at Oak Hill), Hiroshi Iwata (2nd round, 2015 at Whistling Straits), Robert Streb (2nd round, 2016 at Baltusrol), Brooks Koepka (2nd round, 2018 at Bellerive), Charl Schwartzel (2nd round, 2018 at Bellerive). LAST YEAR: Koepka became a major champion for the third time in 14 months, posting a record-setting performance to hold off Woods’ electrifying Sunday at Bellerive. With cheers for the resurgent Woods ringing out across the terrain, Koepka took control with three straight birdies to end the front nine and added two more at Nos. 15 and 16 to open enough cushion. He finished with a 4-under-par 66, and his total of 264 matched Henrik Stenson’s week at the 2016 Open Championship. Paired with his two U.S. Open titles, Koepka became just the fifth man to capture three majors before the age of 30. Woods finished two shots back after a 64, his best final round in any major. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday, 1-7 p.m. ET (TNT). Friday, 1-7:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (TNT), 2-7 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: None. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-7 p.m. (SiriusXM).

Click here to read the full article…

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – If I were to play golf with Rory McIlroy and hit my drive 260 yards before he hit his 395, would that adhere to “social distancing� protocols?  As I sat home during the long, strange weekend of not covering THE PLAYERS Championship, I had this and other thoughts about the meaning of golf in all of this.   For the record, I was working on a story about how stars such as Webb Simpson and Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott celebrated winning THE PLAYERS on the decidedly un-festive occasion of coronavirus canceling the tournament. How ironic. For the record, Simpson swung by Wendy’s for a double cheeseburger on his way home, just as he had after winning the U.S. Open. Mickelson and his lawyer popped over to Dwight’s in Jax Beach for lobster ravioli. Scott spent Sunday night at Stuart Appleby’s house in Orlando and, he admitted with a bemused smile, attended a Britney Spears concert the next day.    “Hey, it was 2004,� Scott said with a laugh. And that all adds up to – what? I don’t know. And I’m not sure what it says that for me golf has connected some grim historical plot points: the 1989 Bay Area earthquake (I was playing), the terrorist attacks of 9/11 (playing) and the coronavirus cancellation (working, until not working). Coronavirus canceled a friend’s wedding, too. Or postponed it. Golf was on the itinerary the day before the ceremony. On Facebook, I read about the anguish he’d felt in making the decision to cancel after all that planning and anticipation. Relatable, if you watched in real time as PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan decided to cancel THE PLAYERS, Valspar Championship, World Golf Championship-Dell Technologies Match Play, and Valero Texas Open. The Corales Punta Cana Resort Championship: postponed. The same goes for the Masters, the Boston Marathon, and too many other sporting events that occupied too many squares on the calendar. March Madness? Gone, along with every other NCAA spring sport. The NBA, NHL, MLB – on hold, all of it. Youth sports: also gone. Then on Tuesday, four more PGA TOUR events canceled – RBC Heritage, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Wells Fargo Championship and AT&T Byron Nelson. And another major postponed (PGA Championship). And that all adds up to – what? I don’t know. What I do know is that I play golf and cover the TOUR because it is the opposite of social distancing, in the figurative sense. Socially, it is the animating force of my life. I won’t forget that I was playing golf with my roommate at Cal during the 1989 earthquake, or that I thought he was going to have to call an ambulance because suddenly Cameron couldn’t walk straight. I will always remember 9/11 and how I was supposed to be playing golf with friends from Sports Illustrated in a staff tournament called the Christmas City Classic in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. We tried to play a few holes, some of us, then huddled around the TV in our host’s living room. Today, golf gives me occasion to talk to my across-the-street neighbor (no PLAYERS tickets needed this year), and our next-door neighbor (yes, please, although never used), and various friends and relatives whom I barely talk to unless it’s TPC week. It gave me occasion to talk to Rickie Fowler (tacos in the TPC clubhouse) and McIlroy (Silver Oak wine back at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club) last week about their PLAYERS celebrations.  And what is golf for them? More or less the same as it is for all of us. A way to make a living, yes, but also the connective thread, the glue in the scrapbook of their memories.  It’s Gary and Amy at TPC Scottsdale, and their bond that somehow brought us all a little closer. It’s $3 billion worth of charitable contributions, and humanity, and touch points. It’s PLAYERS winners remembering what they did, but more so who they were with. “I remember having a beer up in the old clubhouse,� Adam Scott said, “with Butch Harmon and Thomas Bjorn and Marie (Kojzar, his wife) was there, and that was fun.� Then: back to Appleby’s house. Next day: Britney Spears concert, with Kojzar. “I don’t think Apples went to the concert,� Scott added. Si Woo Kim recalled missing his flight home but having dinner with his father after winning THE PLAYERS in 2017. Those types of moments, those stories, are the ones I remember. Cameron Champ winning the Safeway Open while his grandfather, who got him into the game, lay in hospice nearby. J.T. Poston winning the Wyndham Championship as his grandfather, who got him into the game, followed him around Sedgefield Country Club. Tiger as the Pied Piper on the occasion of his 80th win at the TOUR Championship at East Lake, and Tiger winning his 15th major at the Masters, and everyone remembering where they were and with whom, especially those of us who were there. That’s golf, and TOUR golf, at its best – connecting us to each other, and strengthening those connections. Without that, absent golf as the organizing principle of our lives, who would we be? With luck, we’ll never know. We’ll get through this, and golf will be there waiting on the other side, timeless and unchanging, ready to help us navigate the world once again.

Click here to read the full article…

As I explained in the Fantasy Insider on Tuesday, even if you’ve exhausted one start per each of six golfers during every event of Segment 4, you cannot burn through so many starts as to be left without a full lineup for the TOUR Championship. However, who you save and for when still matters. With THE NORTHERN TRUST leading off the FedExCup Playoffs, the focus drifts outside the top 10 to see who your opposition might be reserving for later. Rickie Fowler (11th), defending champion Patrick Reed (14th) and Jason Day (12th) jump off the screen, although with two majors and a World Golf Championship previously in the Segment, it’s possible that gamers are already out of starts on one or more of those guys. Stay tuned. It’s interesting that Hideki Matsuyama paces the field of 120 with less than 50 percent. While that’s a low leader as compared to most weeks, it could become the norm as gamers scramble to fill rosters the rest of the way. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO NOTE: Rob’s Rating refers to where our Fantasy Insider slotted a golfer in his Power Rankings (“PR”) and other preview material. Golfers in the Power Rankings and outside the top 10 in most owned: Other notables: PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO Well, here we go. With the potential of 8,000 FedExCup points to be collected, this game takes on an entirely different feel during the FedExCup Playoffs. As a result, and assuming all gamers are aware of how performance is measured for the remainder of the season, we’re going to get a terrific sense of who’s left on the board and who’s already been burned. On cue, we’re treated to the sensible timing of sending Jason Day out as the majority pick for THE NORTHERN TRUST. Of all of the faces of the sport, he’s at the top of the list of guys who misfired more often than not during the PGA TOUR Season, so it stands to reason that he’s the most available right now. If you visit this space again during the last three tournaments, get used to seeing Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy outside the top 10. Of the trio, only Spieth presents as a possibility to sneak back inside if not threaten for the top spot at the TOUR Championship. There’s so much to learn about how other gamers plan for the Playoffs. And so much to gain. Other notables:

Click here to read the full article…