Simpson a better putter than ever before

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One of the oldest tournaments on the PGA TOUR that honors a legend who once won 11 tournaments in a row. A return to Trinity Forest for just the second time … the links looking course that actually is virtually treeless provides a great change of style in this middle period of the season. A local boy looking to burst out of a slump and a football hero continuing his new journey … welcome to the AT&T Byron Nelson. THE FLYOVER As you come towards the finish at Trinity Forest Golf Club you are acutely aware the final hole can be one tough cookie to crack. In fact last season the par-4 18th played over par and was the second hardest hole all week. With that in mind, if you need to make a late birdie, perhaps you need to target the par-3 17th. It is a deceptive hole which forces a player to play smart, away from pins, in order to use the contours of the terrain to get a good look at birdie. It is not as simple as taking dead aim as former U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy describes in the following video. Importantly champion Aaron Wise played the hole in two under over the four rounds. LANDING ZONE One of the early chances to get after Trinity Forest is the drivable 315-yard par-4 5th hole. Players have to decide to either load up and have a go at the green or lay back near a couple of bunkers. Last season the hole ranked 16th in the tournament, playing to a 3.620 average. There were seven eagles. Here’s a look at how the field attacked the hole. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Joe Halvorson: “A cold front will move through the region on Thursday, but the coverage of thunderstorms will be limited as it is forecast to move through during the morning hours. Dry condition are then anticipated Thursday afternoon. This boundary will stall over Central Texas, with the potential for scattered showers and a few storms to drift back north on Friday. An upper level disturbance will bring likely chances for rain and a scattered coverage of embedded T-storms Friday night and Saturday. Rain will be heavy at times Friday night and Saturday, with 0.50- 0.75â€� forecast. Isolated showers and thunderstorms may linger early Sunday before dry conditions return. Thunderstorms are not expected to be severe Thursday through Sunday.â€� For the latest weather news from Dallas, Texas, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK Last year it was really firm, really fast, you really had to kind of position your ball around the course … and this week looks like it’s going to be a little wetter and softer. This year might be a lot more driver being sent around the golf course. BY THE NUMBERS 26 – The number of PGA TOUR starts it took for Aaron Wise to win. His three-shot win at Trinity Forest last season was the catalyst towards Rookie of the Year honors. He was the second youngest to ever win the tournament (21 years, 10 months, 29 days) behind Tiger Woods (21 years, 4 months, 18 days). 2,288 – FedExCup points won by Jordan Spieth in Texas since 2010. He is third on the list in that timeframe in the Lonestar state behind Matt Kuchar (2,534) and Charley Hoffman (2,387). 7 – Seven of the 12 AT&T Byron Nelson champions in the FedExCup era (2007+) have gone on to make the TOUR Championship, including six of the last nine. All 12 have made it to the BMW Championship. 1,916 – Number of birdies at Trinity Forest last year. Only one course on the PGA TOUR last season yielded more birdies than Trinity Forest Golf Club (Glen Abbey GC). SCATTERSHOTS Can’t miss – Last season the field found the fairway off the tee 79.50 percent of the time at Trinity Forest, marking the easiest fairways to hit on the PGA TOUR. Most players enjoyed success getting the ball on to the greens as well with the putting surfaces being the second easiest to hit on the PGA TOUR last season at 76.82 percent. But it was on the greens where the course tried to fight back. The field made 85.61 percent of putts from inside 10 feet, marking the lowest Putting Percentage from this range of any non-major course. Unhappy home – In his career Jordan Spieth has finished inside the top 10 in 35.19 percent of his starts on the PGA TOUR (57 of 162). However, the AT&T Byron Nelson is one of three TOUR events where Spieth has made multiple starts without recoding a top-10 finish (WGC-Mexico Championship & Farmers Insurance Open). In his eight previous starts at this event his best result is T16 in 2010. Romo hoping for members bounce – Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current NFL on CBS analyst Tony Romo accepted his third sponsor exemption on TOUR, following invites at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship over the last two seasons. While he missed the cut in both previous starts Romo is a member at Trinity Forest and as such hopeful of a better performance.

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The U.S. Open is open again! After the resemblance of an invitational to accommodate the pandemic and a shift to September in 2020, the tournament is back in its traditional slot in mid-June with a Father’s Day finish. Oh, and the field of 156 reflects the familiar blend of survivors of the sectionals among the automatic qualifiers. As of Monday, 68 golfers gained entry via 11 sectionals, many of whom seasoned touring professionals, but they should be careful what they wished for. The souped-up South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, California awaits. For details on the host, how it will challenge and much more, continue reading beneath the extended ranking of projected contenders. RELATED: Nine things to know about Torrey Pines | How the field qualified POWER RANKINGS: U.S. OPEN Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will include reviews of 2021 PGA Championship winner and six-time U.S. Open runner-up Phil Mickelson, surging San Diego native Charley Hoffman, Congaree champion Garrick Higgo, Congaree co-runner-up Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick, Daniel Berger and other notables. For fans who typically do not monitor course setups, one of the lessons of the pandemic has been the timing of the need for overseeded grass. For many intents and purposes, the practice is utilized in months with cooler air and fewer daylight hours. Overseed adds body, and when maintained properly, the finished product is aesthetically pleasing. It’s not modeled after a program to thicken hair on a head, but you get the idea. In the context of the competition, the most important component is consistency. So, when the overseed isn’t necessary because of climate and other factors, the experience is poised to be pure. That’s what’s in store at Torrey Pines this week. For the Farmers for which the South Course is played three times by all golfers who complete the annual PGA TOUR stop, only the rough includes a measure of kikuyu grass (overseeded with ryegrass) due to its winter date, but the fairways are nothing but kikuyu for the U.S. Open. The rough still has an overseed of rye but that’s due in part to the allowance to grow to as high as five inches. Since Tiger Woods emerged from a playoff for his memorable victory at the U.S. Open in 2008, Rees Jones, who is part architect and part cosmetic surgeon for U.S. Open stages, and who renovated Torrey Pines seven years prior to Woods’ historic accomplishment prior to reconstructive surgery on his left knee, modernized the track ahead of the 2020 edition of the Farmers. Jones left the Poa annua greens alone, but he touched up everything else and installed new irrigation. Woods played the 2020 Farmers and finished T9, so he’s been tested by the update, but he will not be competing this week as he continues to recovery from serious injury. However, 53 golfers who pegged it alongside him qualified this week, and 61 from the 2021 Farmers are here. Forty-five competed in both editions. When Torrey Pines hosts the Farmers, it’s a stock par 72. Not this week. Just as it presented as a par 71 in 2008 for which Woods posted 1-under 283 in regulation, it will again for the 2021 U.S. Open. The sixth hole is converted from a 564-yard par 5 to a par 4 measuring 515 yards. Overall, the course tips at 7,652 yards. That’s 113 yards shorter than its setup for the Farmers and nine yards longer than the 2008 U.S. Open when the field averaged 74.712. Save the possibility for a marine layer in the morning, conditions will be ideal all week. Daytime highs probably will eclipse 70 degrees, it will not rain and winds will be light. Greens averaging just 5,000 square feet will be true throughout. All golfers positioned in the low 60 and ties at the conclusion of 36 holes will complete the tournament. The winner will earn a 10-year exemption into the U.S. Open, five-year exemptions into the other three majors, fully exempt status on the PGA TOUR through the 2025-26 season and $2.25 million of the $12.5-million prize fund. 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: 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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