Rory McIlroy contending, again, at the Memorial Tournament

Wake up! Time to get back to work. The 2019-20 season is upon us, starting with this week’s event, A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. It’s a new date for the event, which skipped a year in the schedule reshuffling and now becomes the PGA TOUR’s kickoff event. Consequently, that means rookies in the field. In fact, all 21 rookies this season will be at The Greenbrier. So the chances of seeing a first-time winner this week? Higher than usual. The Flyover The 615-yard 17th is the last of the two par 5s on the back nine (but it’s not necessarily the last scoring hole, as the 179-yard par-3 18th played under par in 2018). Despite its length, the 17th is reachable for long hitters. Howard’s Creek guards the right side of the fairway, and bunkers surround the four corners of an undulating green. Landing Zone Beware of the “principal’s noseâ€� that sits in the middle of the fairway at the 385-yard 10th, the shortest – and easiest – par 3 at The Old White TPC. The nose is about 315 yards from the tee, so most players will land short – although J.B. Holmes had a tee shot two years ago that finished just left of the two bunkers. Here’s a look at where all tee shots landed in 2018. Weather check From PGA TOUR meteorologist Kyle Koval: “The threat for thunderstorms will persist into tonight, with highest chances before midnight. Another warm and humid day on Thursday may allow isolated shower/T-storm development over the higher terrain, again chances of impactful weather at the course is low. Shower and T-storm chances will increase Friday and Saturday as a front moves through the area. Rainfall amounts could exceed 0.50 inch. Drier conditions should return for Sunday but this will depend on the positioning of the front. Areas of morning fog are possible each day and could become dense after recent rains.â€� For the latest weather news from White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. Sound Check When you think about a bad season, really was it a bad season? I kept my job and I get to play golf for a living. When I look at it from that perspective it wasn’t a bad year at all. By the numbers 50 – Strokes under par by Kevin Na in his Greenbrier career (20 rounds). That’s the best cumulative score to par by any player in the tournament’s history. The next closest to Na is Russell Henley and Pat Perez, each at 39 under. 7 – Cuts made by Scott Stallings at The Greenbrier, the most of any player (he’s never missed a cut). Keegan Bradley is next with six made cuts. Stallings won the first of his three TOUR titles at Greenbrier in 2011. 480 – TOUR-leading total birdies made by Sungjae Im in his rookie season in 2018-19. It’s the third highest total in a single season on TOUR since 1980. Scattershots New cut line: This will be the first TOUR event since the change of the cut line from top 70/ties to now top 65/ties. Had the top 65/ties rule been in place the last time the Greenbrier was played, well, it would not have changed anything. A total of 77 players made the cut that week, with 18 players landing on the cut number of 3 under, leaving that group T-60 going into the weekend. Elusive Top 10: Although Bubba Watson has a house at Greenbrier, The Old White TPC has not treated him so kindly in his five starts. His best finish is a T-13 (in 2015 and 2018). A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier is one of just four events in which Watson has made five or more starts without at least one top-10 finish. (The rest of the list includes 12 starts at THE PLAYERS Championship, 11 starts at The Open Championship and five starts at the John Deere Classic). Zach’s 50th: Zach Johnson is playing A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier for the first time. It will be the 50th different tournament that Johnson has played on TOUR. His lone win in a tournament debut came in the 2008 Valero Texas Open. He has 24 top-25 finishes in those 49 previous debuts. Fall winners: Of the 43 players who have won fall events since the start of the wrap-around schedule for the 2013-14 season, 39 have finished inside the top 70 in the final FedExCup standings. That’s a 91% conversion rate. Of those who reached the BMW Championship, 25 advanced to the TOUR Championship. With 11 tournaments this fall, it’ll be interesting to see how those numbers are affected.

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SYDNEY, Australia – International Team Captain Ernie Els says he will go for the guy with “the look in the eyeâ€� when it comes to taking on U.S. Team Captain Tiger Woods in Sunday singles at next week’s Presidents Cup. Els confirmed that his 12-man team had been posturing for a chance to take on the 82-time PGA TOUR winner man-on-man since Woods officially selected himself to play. RELATED: Predicting the partnerships | How Internationals can turn loss into gain A Woods win in singles at Royal Melbourne could be the catalyst the International Team needs to win the biennial team event for the first time since 1998, even if Els says the U.S. captain has lost the aura he once held. “I don’t think it’s the same kind of aura like in the past, I think it’s a different kind of aura … It’s more he’s a celebrity kind of aura,â€� Els said of Woods, who will become the first playing captain since Hale Irwin in 1994. “I’ll analyze how the guys are playing and see who’s really got the look in the eye. There are a lot of guys who have put their hands up to want to play Tiger … but I will not put a guy in there that’s going to feel overwhelmed. “Obviously he’s (still) very competitive. He’s won The Masters and won in Japan this year. When he’s healthy, he can play at a very high level, but consistently, he’s not what he used to be and that’s just what age does.â€� While the likes of veterans Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen might seem like logical choices to take on Woods, Els has seven rookies on his team and says he’s not afraid to use them. This includes Sungjae Im and Joaquin Niemann, who are both 21. “It’s a very young team. These guys, they never competed against Tiger like some of the other guys like Scotty have,â€� Els said. “The youngsters look up at him, but they definitely want to have a piece of him. So, we’ll see who I think can really play against Tiger the best and get the best result.â€� Of course with the back-and-forth nature of setting up matches in the Presidents Cup, Woods could be the man in control of who he plays. In the past, the 15-time major winner has earmarked a local star, or big name player, to set a tone for his side. In 1998 at Royal Melbourne, Woods insisted on playing against Australian Greg Norman, and while the U.S. suffered their only team defeat, Woods prevailed in his match. He also took on Els in South Africa in 2003, Mike Weir in Canada in 2007 and Aussie Aaron Baddeley back at Royal Melbourne in 2011. If it is to be a home-grown talent once more that leaves Scott, Marc Leishman or Cameron Smith in his sights. Former THE PLAYERS champion Scott is one of the players asking for it. “It’d be great to stick it to Tiger and the entire American team,â€� Scott said. “He’s the ultimate competitor; there’s no way he’s not doing everything possible coming down here as a captain, and a player, to win this event. There’s no way he wants to be captain of a losing U.S. team. “It’s going to be very difficult, but we have to believe we can beat him and I believe we can win next week.â€� While Sunday strategy is part of the big game plan from Els, the South African legend has tried to shift his players concerns to the opening three days of competition where Four-ball and Foursomes take center stage. Given the Internationals have trailed heading to Sunday in the last six editions of the competition, he is wise to do so. “I’m really focused on the first couple of sessions. We’ve got four sessions before we get to the singles. There’s a lot of golf to be played,â€� Els said. Els says his data-driven pairings in the team portion may surprise people but he’s determined to see his blueprint through in order to provide an upset at Royal Melbourne. “There are a couple of pairings that are kind of natural pairings, if you can call it that, but I’m looking at it in a different way, not just a personality way. I’m looking at how the guys can really perform together. So, stay tuned,â€� Els said. “My pairings are on my phone and we’ve looked at quite a few different scenarios. I’ve spoken to the players … and my plan is kind of set in motion already.â€�

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Matt Jones coped best with difficult afternoon conditions on Saturday at the Australian Open for a 3-under 68 to take a three-stroke lead into the final round. Cameron Tringale was in second after a 69.

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