Sleeper Picks: The Genesis Invitational

For fans who wanted to see Tiger Woods healthy and competitive just one more time, his healthy walk and strong rebound on the back nine Thursday were truly special to watch.

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LA QUINTA, Calif. – Andrew Landry and Scottie Scheffler broke away Saturday at The American Express. Landry shot a 7-under 65 at PGA West’s Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course to join Scheffler atop the leaderboard at 21-under 195, four strokes ahead of third-place Rickie Fowler. Related: Leaderboard | Tee times | Amateur with one arm makes hole-in-one  Scheffler had a 66 on the adjacent Stadium Course, also the site of the final round Sunday. “It’s a tough course. It’s a good track,” Scheffler said. “If you’re not on your game, you can really struggle. There’s a lot of trouble out there, so you’ve got to hit a lot of quality shots to keep the ball in play. Good test.” Fowler, tied with Scheffler for the second-round lead, overcame two front-nine bogeys to shoot 70 at the Stadium Course. At the event for the first time in six years, he played the Pete Dye-designed course for the time Saturday after only taking a quick scouting drive early in the week. “I was actually surprised by the green speed early on,” Fowler said. “They were a bit slower than what I’ve seen the last two days, so adjusting to that, really didn’t have anything go in early on until the ninth hole. But I thought I did a good job of hanging around, not getting too far behind.” Ryan Moore and Chase Seiffert were five strokes back at 16 under. Moore had a 67 at the Stadium, and Seiffert shot 67 on the Nicklaus layout. Tournament host Phil Mickelson missed the cut by six strokes. The 49-year-old Hall of Famer finished three rounds at 3 under. He eagled the par-5 16th on Saturday in a 71. Landry lost a playoff to Jon Rahm two years ago at PGA West. The 32-year-old Texan has found something in the desert after missing the cuts in seven of eight starts this season. “It’s been a heck of a week so far with my ball-striking,” Landy said. “Just kind of one day’s ball-striking, the next day’s putting and putting’s just been here all week. So, we’ll just keep riding it out and see what happens tomorrow.” The 2018 Valero Texas Open winner closed with a 12-foot par save on the par-4 ninth after bogeying the par-3 eighth. He birdied six of his first eight holes. Scheffler got a break on his final hole, escaping with par on the par-4 18th after his drive bounced out of the rocks along the left-side water and into the fairway. “I was just trying to hit a little draw 3-wood — and I drew it a lot,” Scheffler said. “I’m not sure if it would have crossed up there, so it was a great break bouncing off the rocks like that. I guess you take them where you can get them.” The 23-year-old former University of Texas star is in his first season on the PGA Tour after winning twice and topping the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and overall points lists. “I think winning is pretty similar at all levels of the game, and I feel like I’ve gone a good job of closing tournaments out, especially last year on the Korn Ferry Tour,” Scheffler said. “So, looking back on that experience should definitely help. It should be a fun day.” The leaders became friends when Scheffler was in college. “I live in Austin,” Landry said. “I’ve kind of watched his career, because I work with Chuck Cook out at UT Golf Club, so I’ve known Scottie for a little while. … I’m going to feel super comfortable out there with him. And hopefully he doesn’t hit it too far by me.'”‘ Tony Finau followed a second-round 62 on the Nicklaus Course with a 71 at the Stadium alongside Mickelson. He was seven strokes back. “I shot a 62 this week already,” Finau said. “It looks like I might need that tomorrow.”

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Dustin Johnson, the 20-time PGA TOUR winner and current world No. 3, underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage damage on his left knee Thursday morning and is expected to make a full recovery before returning to the PGA TOUR this fall. The surgery was performed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, by orthopedic surgeon Dr. George Caldwell, who has worked with both the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins, as well as other sports teams. The procedure, according to Johnson’s representatives, is considered routine and was similar in nature to the surgery performed by Caldwell on Johnson’s right knee in December, 2011. Johnson was able to return to action in mid-January the following year. The 35-year-old Johnson comes off a 2018-19 season in which he posted one victory — at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship — and was runner-up in two majors. He also qualified for the season-ending TOUR Championship for the 11th consecutive year and the win in Mexico continued his streak of having won at least one time in every PGA TOUR season since 2008. But in his last eight starts after his solo second to Brooks Koepka at the PGA Championship – in which Koepka took over world No. 1 from Johnson — DJ failed to produce a top-10 finish. That’s his longest non-top-10 stretch in a single season on TOUR since his rookie year of 2008. In his most recent start, he tied for last in the 30-man field at the TOUR Championship, recording four rounds over par and finishing at 10 over despite entering the tournament at 3 under via the new Starting Strokes format. Not since the 2013 BMW Championship at Conway Farms has Johnson failed to produce at least one round of par-or-better when playing four rounds. And not since the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion has he finished double-digits over par for four rounds. Given that he was the only player at the PGA to post all four rounds under par, Johnson certainly seemed in good form after leaving Bethpage Black. “I’m pleased with where the game’s at, especially we’ve still got a lot of big tournaments left this year,â€� he said after the final round. But on the weekend at East Lake, he said he was mentally worn out. “I got two months (off),â€� Johnson told Golfweek. “I’m definitely excited about that.â€� Johnson struggled on the weekends, especially in the latter half of the season. The first sign of trouble came at the Valspar Championship in March. Johnson was one shot off the lead held by Paul Casey after 54 holes, but his final-round 3-over 74 left him tied for sixth. A 74 may not sound all that bad, but it was the highest Sunday score by the top 17 players on the final leaderboard – and it ended a streak of 14 consecutive sub-par rounds by DJ. The 6-over 77 on the Sunday at RBC Heritage was even more alarming, as Johnson blew a one-shot lead after three rounds to finish T-28. No player among the top 44 on the final leaderboard had a worst score. The weekend struggles were readily apparent during his non-top-10 stretch to finish the season. Of his last six made cuts – thus, 12 weekend rounds – Johnson had just three rounds under par, with two others at even par. Johnson ranked 10th in first-round scoring average, ninth in the second round, then T-92 for the third round and T-126 for the fourth round. In the previous two seasons, Johnson had a top-10 scoring average for both the third and fourth round. His T-126 ranking in the final round was his worst since 2010, and his T-92 ranking in the third round was the second-worst in that same span. Johnson also struggled to produce eagles, usually a big component of his power game. A total of 1,634 eagles were recorded in the 2018-19 season … and DJ had just two of them. Only one of those came on a par-5 hole (the 16th at TPC Sawgrass). His other eagle was recorded in the third round of his win at the WGC-Mexico when his tee shot at the 369-yard par-4 second finished inside 5 feet. The previous season, Johnson had 15 eagles. In 2017, nine. In 2016, it was 16 (tying him for most by any player). In 2015, it was 15. He ranked 184th on TOUR in eagles per hole this season. He ranked first in that category in 2010 and 2013, ranked second in 2016 and 2018, and ranked top five on two other occasions. He failed to post an eagle in his last 48 rounds this season.

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