Sam Burns aims to leave smokeless tobacco behind

NAPLES, Fla. – The last time Brandt Snedeker and Bubba Watson were on the same team it was at the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine. Snedeker was a player, Watson an assistant-captain. They had the same goal, a U.S. victory, but different job responsibilities. Snedeker was tasked with making birdies, while Watson, to hear him tell it, was tasked with making lunch. “Fixing him sandwiches, getting water for him, you know,� Watson joked Wednesday from the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club, where he and Snedeker will pair up and go for the title against the 11 other two-man teams at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort. Players form teams for all sorts of reasons. The seeds for Snedeker/Watson were sewn at Hazeltine, where they became good friends. Snedeker wanted to pair up with Watson at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but Watson already had a partner. They finally got together for this week’s QBE, a low-stress get-together where Snedeker won with Jason Dufner in 2015 and where Watson once dressed up as Santa Claus along with partner Rickie Fowler.   On the surface, they don’t seem much alike, Snedeker a great putter, Watson a long driver. But they’re not that dissimilar. Both are pushing 40, both have played on Presidents and Ryder Cup teams, and both are on the cusp of 10 wins on TOUR, Watson holding a narrow 9-8 lead. But the similarity that stands out most is that Snedeker, 37, and Watson, 39, hope to use this week as a springboard into 2018 after enduring mid-career lulls. Watson failed to win last season for only the second time since 2010, while Snedeker fought through a sternum injury that baffled even the medical experts and sidelined him for five months. To say that both are hungry would be an understatement. Watson finished 75th in the FedExCup after missing the cut at the Masters, THE PLAYERS Championship, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship last season. He had planned to take four months off after a T69 at the Dell Technologies Championship. His wife, Angie, was getting knee surgery. Their son, Caleb, was starting kindergarten. Alas, the plan didn’t take.  Watson says he simply missed the game too much. He returned to play in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (T51) in Las Vegas, and The RSM Classic at Sea Island (67th). It was a humble beginning, but Watson is well aware that the last time he went winless, in 2013, he bounced back with authority, winning twice the next year, including his second Masters. “I’m looking forward to it,� he said Wednesday from Naples, “and I know I’ve done it before, and I know how good I can be when I’m focused on the right things.� Snedeker’s 2017 was even more confounding. He couldn’t figure out why it hurt to swing, and neither could doctors. He finally got a diagnosis and ended his season after finishing T14 at the Travelers Championship. Although he qualified for the Playoffs, the 2012 FedExCup champion sat on the sidelines, just as he had for The Open Championship, the PGA Championship, and other elite events. He would end the season 73rd in the FedExCup, two ahead of Watson. All of which begins to explain why Snedeker is so excited about finally playing again. He came back to competition at The RSM Classic, opening with rounds of 67-67 before a pair of 70s left him in a tie for 29th place. “Felt really good,� Snedeker said. “Body felt amazing.� He hopes a solid week at the QBE at Tiburon presages a big upcoming season, in the same way that he thrived in 2016 after winning here with Dufner in December, 2015.    Oh, and Snedeker is flying halfway around the world to play in next week’s Indonesia Masters. He says he needs the reps, and then there’s this: He is 50th in the Official World Golf Ranking, and the top 50 at the end of the season are guaranteed spots in the field at the 2018 Masters. “I think it’s a 15-hour flight from JFK to Hong Kong, and I’m not even close to being there once I get to Hong Kong,� Snedeker said. “So it’s going to be a long trip.� Still, he’s looking forward to it, partly because he has never been to Indonesia. Like his QBE teammate, Watson, Snedeker knows he’s got work to do to get back to his old self, especially after a 14-week hiatus. And like too many others to count, Snedeker says he didn’t fully realize what he had until it was suddenly gone, even if it was only for a year. “You realize how much you love what you do,� Snedeker said, sitting to Watson’s right and more or less speaking for them both. “How much—how lucky we are to do what we do, and how passionate we are about it.�

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FORT WORTH, Texas – Time to talk changes for Bryson DeChambeau – currently tied for second after 36 holes at the Charles Schwab Challenge — since the last time we saw him play three months ago. First … THE WEIGHT. He’s between 235-240 pounds right now, thanks to his added muscle and the fact that he hasn’t been playing competitive golf in so long. He figures he’ll drop down to 230 in the next few weeks now that the TOUR has resumed its 2019-20 schedule. But hitting a specific number on the scale is not really part of his process in becoming stronger. “My ultimate goal is to get as strong as I can, and I don’t know what that weight is,â€� he said Friday after his second consecutive 65 left him at 10 under, tied with Jordan Spieth and one shot behind leader Harold Varner III. “I’m just going to keep proportionally making everything stronger and applying some force and speed to the golf swing to see what it can handle.â€� In case you’re wondering, when DeChambeau left SMU after winning the NCAA individual championship and the U.S. Amateur in the same year, he weighed just under 200 pounds. The additional bulk, of course, has forced changes to … HIS APPAREL. He’s gone up two sizes. “I was a medium starting last year, at the end of last year actually, and now I’m in an extra large,â€� he said. “It’s a little big fit on me depending on the style of shirt, but I love it. It feels comfortable. My back honestly in this XL fits perfect. “So I have had to change some stuff. Puma has been really nice to give me some clothing so don’t really have to worry too much about that.â€� Apparel size isn’t the only thing he’s had to adjust. Consider … CLUB LOFT. He’s producing so much spin now that he needed to make some drastic loft revisions. Like with his driver, which is 5-1/2 degrees. And he’s looking at a 3-wood at around 10 degrees. And his 4-iron is 17-1/2 degrees. All his irons, in fact, have been delofted. “I produce 4,000 spin,â€� he said. “It’s just that speed and deflection and all that. It’s crazy stuff that I would have never expected to happen, but I’ve had to make adjustments because loft is irrelevant, it’s really about your launch angle and spin right coming off of the ball, and the ball speed. “Pretty much that’s all that matters.â€� Still, he has to take all that into consideration with his … COURSE STRATEGY. Especially at Colonial, a tight, old-school shot-maker’s course that has never been a big-hitter’s favorite layout. DeChambeau is making his fifth career start in the Charles Schwab Challenge, but he’s getting to places this year that he never previously encountered. For example, the 390-yard par-4 sixth. There are two bunkers on the left side of the fairway, and one on the right. In his last six trips to the hole, DeChambeau has played short of those bunkers, his drives between 256-266 yards. On Thursday, he split the bunkers with a 297-yard drive. On Friday, he blasted a 330-yard drive over the right-hand bunker, setting up a 76-yard shot that finished inside 9 feet for a birdie. “I can just drive it all the way up past those bunkers and have a nice little flip wedge in there,â€� DeChambeau explained. “15, fly it over the bunkers, have a nice little flip wedge in there. 14, I had 100 yards in today. “I mean, it’s just stuff that is so beneficial when you get out here. You’ve got those bunkers and hazards in the way and I wanted to make those obsolete.â€� On Friday, he finished his round with a 335-drive at the 18th that came dangerously close to flirting with the water on the left side near the green. It wasn’t the stroke he wanted; he pulled the drive. But with his added muscle, he has to worry about such things now. “That’s something I’m going to have to be cautious of tomorrow depending on the wind,â€� he said. “If it’s pumping into the wind, I wouldn’t get it there, but if there’s no wind, I’ve got to make sure I stay right and draw it around the lake.â€� Oh, such problems, being so long off the tee that trouble comes into play. It’s a new world for DeChambeau; this weekend, it could be an extremely profitable one.

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Round 3 of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans takes place Saturday from TPC Louisiana. Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay lead after 36-holes. Click here for a breakdown of the team format and how it works. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and newly expanded and extended coverage on ESPN+. Click here for more details. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.–6:30 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.–6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes FEATURED GROUPS SATURDAY Marquee Group Scottie Scheffler/Ryan Palmer, Stephan Jaeger Joel Dahmen Featured Groups Justin Rose/Henrik Stenson, Tyler Duncan/Adam Schenk Viktor Hovland/Collin Morikawa, Nick Hardy/Curtis Thompson Bonus Coverage Cameron Smith/ Marc Leishman, Shane Lowry/Ian Poulter Bubba Watson/Harold Varner III, Brandon Wu/ Patrick Rodgers MUST READS Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele maintain one-shot lead at Zurich Classic Jay Haas breaks Sam Snead record as oldest to make cut on PGA TOUR Jason Scrivener: Five Things to Know Five generational Zurich Classic of New Orleans teams

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