Rested Rahm takes lead in Memphis with opening-round 62

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.

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NAPA, Calif. – Phil Mickelson didn’t end his drought Sunday as he had hoped. But he likes the direction he’s heading – both with his golf game and the next tournament on his schedule. He hopes the confluence of those two things will lead to career win No. 43. Mickelson shot a 2-under 70 in the final round of the Safeway Open to finish at 12 under, three strokes behind winner Brendan Steele. His tie for third is his best result since The Open in 2016 when he finished second in a Sunday duel against Henrik Stenson, and continues his upward trend – his last 12 rounds on TOUR have been at par-or-better. He’ll now take two weeks off, then play the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China. Having won twice at Sheshan Golf Club, Mickelson certainly has reason to hope for a third win. If it happens, it would end the 91-start drought since his last victory on TOUR, The Open in 2013. “I’m going to keep giving myself good chances, and it will happen,� Mickelson said. “I get on a course like Sheshan where I’m very comfortable. I know the greens. I know the course well. I think I’ll have a good week there.� He almost had a great week at Silverado. Mickelson posted 23 birdies – tying Chesson Hadley for most of any player this week – and entered the final round four shots off the lead. He had hoped to get off to a fast start and apply pressure on the leaders, including 54-hole leader Tyler Duncan. Sunday’s tough scoring conditions prevented anybody from going low, but Mickelson was still in the mix after his birdie at the par-5 16th. He figured if he could birdie the next two holes, he might have a shot to catch eventual champ Brendan Steele. But he missed the fairway on the par-4 17th to the left, leaving him with a difficult shot over a tall redwood that guards the left side of the green. His approach found the bunker, and he failed to save par. Missing fairways was the only troublesome element for Mickelson’s week – at least from a statistical perspective. He hit just 15 of 56 fairways – only 3 of 14 on Sunday – and that tied for 74th in the field. “He’s very close; he’s been playing really well,� Steele said. “I think the only thing that ever holds him back is just missing a few fairways here and there. If he hits a few more fairways, then he’s probably not far off at all.� But from Mickelson’s perspective, the missed fairways should not be considered cause for alarm. “This is a very skewed golf course to judge fairways hit,� Mickelson said. “I hit three beautiful drives on 18; none of them found the fairway. The fairway’s 13 yards wide. I paced it. “So on a normal TOUR course, I would have hit 10, 11 fairways today. I drove it fairly well. But out here, I think, is a way to kind of protect that, they move the fairways in so that they’re about half what they normally are.� Overall, Mickelson said he enjoyed the challenging conditions at Silverado. He also enjoyed the heat of a back-nine battle. “It was fun to be in the mix. It was fun to have a chance,� he said. He expects there will be many more. So does Steele. “I don’t see any reason why he can’t be competitive for a really long time,� the two-time Safeway Open champ said. “I’ve always said I think Phil can win at Augusta well into his mid- to late-50s. He just knows the course so well. He has such an excitement for getting there and has just the right game for it, so I don’t see him slowing down anytime soon.� But before Augusta, there is China in three weeks. Might be time to start winning again.

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