Russell Henley looks to convert a perfect week to end drought

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Tiger Woods has posted a career best 7-under 65 at TPC Sawgrass, igniting the crowd early Saturday morning at THE PLAYERS Championship. Woods – who got it as deep as 8 under through 13 holes – bested the 66s he shot in the third rounds of the 2000 and 2001 PLAYERS. The 65 is also his lowest round on the PGA TOUR since Round 2 of the 2015 Wyndham Championship when he also shot 65 (Aug. 21, 2015). Woods’ previous best score this season is a 67 during the third round of the Valspar Championship. It moved the 79-time TOUR winner to 8 under for the tournament and into the top 10, although the majority of the field is yet to play. He remains seven shots back of Webb Simpson’s 36-hole lead. “I finally got off to a good start. I birdied the first couple of holes and I just kept it rolling from there,â€� Woods said after a personal-best front nine 30 at TPC Sawgrass. “It was nice to see a few putts go in. I hit a lot of quality shots and 65 was probably as high as I could have shot today, which was kind of nice.â€� His eight birdies were also a career-high tying number for Woods at THE PLAYERS. (2004, Round 3). Playing partner Mackenzie Hughes admitted to some early nerves after only meeting Woods for the first time on the first tee. Hughes – the winner of The RSM Classic during the beginning of the 2016-17 season – had tried to work up the courage to meet Woods recently at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard but backed down. “I was sitting next to him in player locker room, we were both eating lunch and he was 5 feet from me but I had no valid excuse to say, ‘Hey I’m Mackenzie Hughes’ so I just kind of sat there quietly and listened in as a fly on the wall,â€� Hughes joked. “It is 90 degrees but I can assure you I had some goosebumps and shivers at times out there when you hear some of the roars and you just realize I’m playing with Tiger Woods. “Starting out it had that vibe like you were playing for a title, you were playing to win, it just had that feel to it which is crazy at 9 o’clock on a Saturday morning. I wasn’t terrified of the moment but it gets the butterflies going in a good way.â€� Hughes admitted to appreciating Woods’ deeds even more after being in “the cauldronâ€� with him. After almost watching early he then embraced the challenge and tried to beat him, instead settling for a 68. Three closing birdies on the front nine helped Hughes but he still turned five behind Woods who had six birdies on the front side. After making nearly everything prior Woods slowed on the final six holes. He missed a mid-range birdie try on the 13th hole and then made bogey after his drive on the 14th found a tough lie in the rough amongst some mounds. A missed chance from 7 feet on 16 and a couple of routine pars coming in left him to settle for a 65. “The greens are soft and these guys are going to tear this place apart, there are going to be lot of low scores today and I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody went lower than what I did today,â€� Woods said. “Eventually I was going to put all the pieces together and today for the most part I did that. I got my playing feels back and it’s just a matter of playing and executing and putting the shots together. It was nice, I made some putts today, that was basically the difference. “I’ve hit quality irons before and I was able to convert today and got rolling early. I won’t be (in the top 10) by end of the day, but it’s nice to kind of somewhat be up there. It’s definitely gettable. I know there’s a lot of pressure coming down the back nine here, but I think these guys, the way they have setup the golf course today, it’s set up for these guys to go low.â€�

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Ah, that new season smell. Gotta love it. It also indicates a fresh start in all full-season fantasy games. This includes PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. In direct response to gamer experience and reaction, a new, simpler scoring system debuts at this week’s Safeway Open. Gone are most of the shot values and FedExCup bonus points. Instead, fantasy scoring largely will be determined by actual scoring with various bonuses applied. Every hole score is given a value. A par is worth 2 points, a birdie is 4 points, eagle is 6 points and albatrosses and condors are 8 points. Bogeys are worth zero, while double bogeys and worse subtract 1 point. Under-par rounds yield 1 point. Aggregate scores of 65 and lower are good for 3 points, while 60s and lower are worth 10. All field-low aggregate scores for each round net 10 points. Regardless of how many golfers may tie for low round, all golfers who sign for the second-lowest score in the same round are rewarded with 5 points. ShotLink will be used to award 5 points for hole-outs off the green from 100 yards and longer, 3 points for hole-outs off the green from inside 100 yards, 1 point for drives of 300 yards and longer that come to rest in the fairway, and 1 point for holed putts from 20 feet and longer. (To review every component of the game, read the Rules at FantasyGolf.PGATOUR.com.) Using Safeway’s two-time defending champion Brendan Steele as an example, if the new scoring system was in place last year, he would have totaled 212 fantasy points for the tournament. Comparing the extremes, his field-low-tying, 7-under 65 in the opening round would have been worth 71 points, while his third-round, even-par 72 scored at just 40. Steele’s hole-by-hole scores totaled 174 points, or roughly 82 percent of his overall. Seventeen of his drives qualified for the 1-point bonus, worth eight percent. Naturally, low scores with lots of circles on the scorecard will be of greatest value, but tournament finish won’t have as great of an impact. And while a good round will land from 55-60 points, which means that overall fantasy scoring will be lower and sustain competitive balance, absorbing zeroes will penalize just as they did in the previous iteration. Thus, the primary objective remains to have four golfers contributing in every round. The contenders will separate themselves from the also-rans in the long-term. Meanwhile, all of my weekly staples are ready for the season. The Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions and Rookie Ranking are current. Navigate to the FANTASY page or via the MENU at the top for each. You’ll also find my annual full-membership fantasy ranking that includes all kinds of important pieces of information to assist gamers and commissioners. This year’s guide includes 245 golfers. The printable Cheat Sheet will be ready on Wednesday. Finally, debuting on Twitter on Wednesday is a new fantasy show starring yours truly. We’re targeting 2:00 p.m. ET. In addition to answering gamers’ questions, assisting with lineup decisions and responding to anything else on your mind, I’ll be discussing a handful of topics that have my attention right now. The show will launch from Twitter.com/PGATOUR. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the Safeway Open (in alphabetical order): Patrick Cantlay Emiliano Grillo Adam Hadwin Ryan Moore Joaquin Niemann Brendan Steele You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Anders Albertson; Bronson Burgoon; Cameron Davis; Sungjae Im; Martin Laird; Phil Mickelson Driving: Bronson Burgoon; Cameron Davis; Martin Laird; Hunter Mahan; Patrick Rodgers; Harold Varner III Power Rankings Wild Card Chez Reavie … With a 4-for-4 record at Silverado that includes top 25s in the last three editions of the tournament, he presents as a no-brainer. However, uncharacteristically inconsistent form pervaded his second half of 2017-18, so there’s reason to second-guess his projection. Given the renewal of a season, his tee-to-green proficiency and his greenside touch when he’s misfiring on top of repeated success on this course, history here wins the argument. Draws Chris Kirk … Perfect for the new fantasy scoring in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. He concluded 2017-18 with 12 consecutive cuts made and owns a 3-for-3 record at Silverado with a T8 in 2016. Bronson Burgoon … Sat T11 after three rounds at Silverado last year, but his backpedal of a 74 left him at T17. It was among a series of performances by recent Web.com Tour graduates who maintained a high level of execution in the season opener. It’s not out of the question to consider his return trip to fall into a similar vein as he opened his debut in the FedExCup Playoffs with a T11 at THE NORTHERN TRUST. It was his sixth top 20 of 2017-18. He finished the season at sixth in total driving, 54th in GIR and T17 in par-5 scoring. Brett Drewitt … If you’re keen on a flier in DFS, look no further than the Aussie. The one-time PGA TOUR member (2016-17) entered the open qualifier on a whim and co-medaled with a bogey-free 65 at Coyote Creek Golf Club in San José. He was in the area after dropping his parents off at the airport, who came to the U.S. for his wedding last week. The 27-year-old went 3-for-4 in the Web.com Tour Finals, so he’s warm. Fades Sangmoon Bae … The first winner at Silverado in 2014 didn’t return until last year due to his military obligation in South Korea. He missed the cut with two over-par scores. In his last start on the Web.com Tour, he won in Boise. It secured at worst a spot in the reshuffle this season, but he still has 10 starts on a Major Medical Extension to retain status in that category. No doubt his confidence has never been higher since returning to competition, but his recent connection with success is too much too soon for conservative gamers. Beau Hossler … Because the 23-year-old isn’t going to let us down most of the time, this is as relative as it likely will be rare. Despite logging a fantastic first season on the PGA TOUR in 2017-18 in which he missed only four cuts, Silverado wasn’t his cup of tea en route to a 74th-place finish in his debut. On paper, he offers several attractive angles, but he’s still learning which sites suit him best. It would be rushing to judgment to label him as streaky so soon in his career, but he closed out the season without a top 30 in his last five starts. Danny Willett … Making his debut at the Safeway Open, but the bigger news is that he’s renewed his PGA TOUR membership for 2018-19. The 2016 Masters champ had to sit out last season for failing to fulfill the membership minimum of 15 starts in 2016-17, but he’s sending the earliest message possible that it won’t be an issue again. He’s flashed some form in recent months, but he’s far from the world-beater we observed before he slipped on the green jacket. Injuries derailed his progress. Sam Burns … As he embarks on his PGA TOUR career officially, tiptoe into him at first. He was incredibly hot and cold during the Web.com Tour season and failed to factor in all of his last four starts. Now, that bodes well for the long-term because he’s already learned how to ride a wave, but it’s dangerous for weekly gamers. Returning to Competition Bud Cauley … Suffice it to say that this is a welcome surprise. When he had to shut it down due to multiple injuries suffered in a car crash four months ago, it was anyone’s guess as to when he’d be physically ready to compete again. He’s fully exempt for finishing inside the top 125 of the FedExCup, so he can play as often as he wants without worrying about status and long-range planning. Despite this good news and a T7 in last year’s Safeway, give him the opportunity shake off the rust and fall back into the routine. Luke Donald … Committed to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, it’ll be his first action since the RBC Heritage in April. He’s rested a sore back that first flared a year ago at this time. Equipped with 15 starts via a Major Medical Extension on the PGA TOUR, his restart in Europe gives us a free look at his form. He’s also expected to play in next week’s Sky Sport British Masters in England. Notable WDs None Power Rankings Recap – TOUR Championship Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Justin Rose  T4 2  Justin Thomas  T7 3  Brooks Koepka  T26 4  Tony Finau  T15 5  Rory McIlroy  T7 6  Dustin Johnson  3rd 7  Bubba Watson  29th 8  Billy Horschel  2nd 9  Bryson DeChambeau  19th 10  Webb Simpson  T4 11  Francesco Molinari  T21 12  Tommy Fleetwood  T11 13  Rickie Fowler  T7 14  Hideki Matsuyama  T4 15  Xander Schauffele  T7 16  Jason Day  18th 17  Paul Casey  T11 18  Tiger Woods  Win 19  Phil Mickelson  30th 20  Kevin Na  25th 21  Gary Woodland  T11 22  Keegan Bradley  T26 23  Patrick Reed  28th 24  Cameron Smith  20th 25  Kyle Stanley  T15 26  Marc Leishman  T21 27  Aaron Wise  T15 28  Patrick Cantlay T21 29  Jon Rahm  T11 30  Patton Kizzire  T21 Power Rankings Recap – FedExCup Playoffs Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Justin Thomas  7th 2  Justin Rose  1st 3  Jason Day  16th 4  Tiger Woods  2nd 5  Jon Rahm  23rd 6  Dustin Johnson  4th 7  Jordan Spieth  31st 8  Tommy Fleetwood  19th 9  Patrick Reed  22nd 10  Webb Simpson  11th 11  Brandt Snedeker  40th 12  Paul Casey  25th 13  Tony Finau  6th 14  Brooks Koepka  9th 15  Patrick Cantlay  20th 16  Francesco Molinari  T17 17  Xander Schauffele  15th 18  Rory McIlroy  T13 19  Gary Woodland  26th 20  Kyle Stanley  27th 21  Kevin Kisner  47th 22  Marc Leishman  29th 23  Beau Hossler  46th 24  Phil Mickelson  21st 25  Bryson DeChambeau  3rd 26  Bubba Watson  10th 27  Kevin Na  28th 28  Rafa Cabrera Bello  41st 29  Austin Cook  38th 30  Chesson Hadley  44th Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR October 2 … George McNeill (43); Zack Sucher (32) October 3 … Danny Willett (31) October 4 … none October 5 … Kelly Kraft (30) October 6 … none October 7 … none October 8 … none

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KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Among the congratulations that poured in for Phil Mickelson becoming the oldest major champion in golf was a video tweet from Jack Nicklaus, who is still good at math. “You know, something sort of strikes me that 50 years old is older than 46,” Nicklaus said with a grin. “Well done, my friend. Many more.” Many more? At age 50? Mickelson plays a game with which Nicklaus might not be familiar, even though the most iconic of his 18 majors was Nicklaus winning the Masters at age 46. During an interview at the end of 2016, Nicklaus said that sixth Green Jacket “was an accident in many ways.” He started to scale back his schedule after winning two majors in 1980. He won twice more before the 1986 Masters, but he really wasn’t playing much golf. “It’s really difficult when you’ve had as much success as I had over a long period of time to charge your batteries, day after day, and go back out and say, ‘Man, I want to do this again,’” Nicklaus said. That’s where Mickelson stands alone. The list of 24 players who have reached No. 1 since the world ranking began in 1986 does not include Mickelson, who is more accomplished than all but one of them. He has never won a PGA TOUR money title. He has never been PGA TOUR Player of the Year. He is not among the most elite group in golf with the career Grand Slam. Only one of those can change. And even in the glow of his two-shot victory at Kiawah Island to win the PGA Championship, adding the U.S. Open still seems like a long shot. That would stand as his greatest major. It might even top Tiger Woods winning the Masters after overcoming four back surgeries that left him wondering if he could ever play again. What won’t change regardless of what Lefty does next is his legacy of longevity. It doesn’t sound all that sensational. But it is. Never mind Mickelson becoming the oldest player to win a major, breaking a record that had stood for 53 years. Mickelson set another record Sunday as the first player in PGA TOUR history to go 30 years between victories. He won his first when he was a junior at Arizona State. He won his 45th when his daughter was a senior at Brown. “He’s been on TOUR as long as I’ve been alive,” Jon Rahm said. “For him to keep that willingness to play and compete and practice, even when it hasn’t been working, it’s truly admirable.” From his first full season on the PGA TOUR, Mickelson never finished lower than 60th on the money list. That was last year, at age 49, during a season disrupted by the pandemic. He made the TOUR Championship 19 of his first 20 full seasons, the exception in 2003 when his wife went through a scary and troublesome pregnancy that ended well with their third child. As for team competitions, Mickelson played his first Presidents Cup in 1994 and was part of every U.S. team until the last one in 2019 at Royal Melbourne. He hasn’t missed a Ryder Cup since his 3-0 debut at Oak Hill in 1995. Whether he’s at Whistling Straits in September is to be determined. The last American to win a major and be left off the Ryder Cup team was Todd Hamilton, the British Open winner in 2004. The last American major winner left off any team was Keegan Bradley, who won the PGA Championship as a rookie in 2011. The final pick for the Presidents Cup went to Bill Haas, the FedExCup champion. Neither was named Phil Mickelson. Most remarkable about his longevity is that he kept working harder even as progress was difficult to see. Mickelson had gone more than two years without winning — except for two times he played on the 50-and-over PGA TOUR Champions — and nine months without finishing in the top 20. He fell out of the top 100 in the world in March. The last time he was outside the top 100 was August 1993, three weeks after Jordan Spieth was born. And still he pressed on without any secret sauce except to keep trying. “My desire to play is the same,” he said. “I’ve never been driven by exterior things. I’ve always been intrinsically motivated because I love to compete, I love playing the game. I love having opportunities to play against the best at the highest level. That’s what drives me, and the belief that I could still do it inspired me to work harder. “I just didn’t see why it couldn’t be done,” he said. “It just took a little bit more effort.” Winning is why he plays, and winning can be exhausting. That’s 48 victories worldwide to go along with 39 runner-up finishes and as much heartache as joy in some of the majors, particularly the U.S. Open. Mickelson is still finding ways to get better. The topic in that Nicklaus interview was Woods, who had just returned from 15 months off after a third of what would be four back surgeries. Nicklaus ended his thoughts on motivation by adding as aside, “Phil is not done yet, either.” That was five years ago. Nicklaus could say the same thing today.

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