Spieth embraces shot to complete career Slam

Here are nine tidbits from the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. One & Done After a six-hour round, Jason Day, Alex Noren and Ryan Palmer had more work to do. The warm and breezy conditions inflated scores on Sunday as Day (70) had the only card better than par of three. Palmer was eliminated on the first playoff hole as Noren and Day circled birdies. After five holes, the sun finally gave up and went to bed and the competitors were forced to come back on Monday.      The first playoff hole on Monday saw Day collect his 11th win on TOUR with his birdie on No. 18. Day had an eventful 2017 that frustrated gamers but we have to remember these are human beings as well. His mother was sick. His wife had a miscarriage. His caddy, mentor and coach, Col Swatton, was removed from his bag. His back injury scared off plenty on Wednesday but that’s just part of it moving forward. He has issues with it and if he can play through it, he will. If he can’t, well…Not a bad way to start the season as he joins the list of multiple winners at the Farmers Insurance Open and both have come in a playoff. He’s now cashed four top 10’s in nine starts at Torrey Pines. He led the field in birdies with 21 will help from his GIR numbers (T11) and his putter (T4). Swedish Thing Since his return from wrist issues in 2014, Alex Noren has won six times in 63 events worldwide. He’s exempt this season as his cash earned last year as a non-member would have put him in the top 125. Last year he cashed top 10’s at THE PLAYERS (10th), WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (T5) and the Open Championship. The angle with Noren is just how many events he’s going to play but weekly gamers don’t have to worry about that! His P2 is the best of his bunch on U.S. soil and it’s obvious he has plenty of class to improve on that! Ryan’s Hope Ryan Palmer was first man out of the three-man playoff and his P2 was his best finish since T2 at the…2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open, the site of next week’s event. The Texan commented after the round that he’s in a really good place right now. His wife’s cancer is in remission and there’s obviously nothing wrong with his golf game. His monster up-and-down at the final hole to get into the playoff confirmed his sentiment. He finished in the top 10 in both driving categories and was third in putts per GIR.  Pick Your Horse Keegan Bradley followed his T4 from last year with fifth-place earnings this year. I don’t know what the rules on #NappyFactor might but he cashed solo second at the CIMB Classic a month before his son was born in November and adds another nice check this week. … J.B. Holmes made a business decision that took, er, some time on Sunday afternoon. On the final hole, trailing by two, he eventually decided to lay up. He eventually circled a birdie for solo fourth. This was his third top six in the last four years. … Charles Howell III posted one of the two rounds in the 60’s today (69) to claim his eighth top-10 finish in 16 tries. He’s never missed a weekend in those 16 years. Remarkable. It Ain’t Over Until It’s Over The other round in the 60’s on Sunday went to Hideki Matsuyama. His 69 matched Howell’s and moved him up 32 places to T12, his best finish in five tries. The Japanese star never threatened and the key to his success this week was his PUTTER?!?! He hit it all over the shop tee-to-green but when he found the putting surface he cashed in. He was T9 in putts per GIR. I won’t have to remind you he’s the two-time defending champion next week. Out of the Woods If more proof is needed that driving the golf ball accurately isn’t a requirement at Torrey Pines, please look no further. Tiger Woods has never driven the ball this poorly in an event. The large cat hit just 30.4 percent of the fairways this week but still beat Jon Rahm and finished inside the top 25 (T23). Imagine if he hit a few! He’s back at Riviera in a few weeks so gamers will have time to digest and over-analyze this week. Just how we like it! Familiar Names Harris English went three places better on the leaderboard this week with T8. He adds another top 10 to his playoff loss in 2015 and makes it six out of six at Torrey Pines. … Tom Hoge collected T12 after leading the South Course in SG: Tee-to-Green for the week. He’s now cashed in seven of eight starts this season and half have gone for top 25’s. … Brandon Harkins is a native Californian and is racking up the FedExCup points and cash in his home state. He opened the year T9 at the Safeway Open in Napa Valley. Last week he went one better with a T8 at the CareerBuilder Challenge. His T12 this week adds to the pile of top-25 finishes, six in eight events, this season. So Close Yet So Far Jon Rahm was a 7-4 favorite to win the tournament after 36 holes. The defending champion posted 75-77 on the weekend and couldn’t recreate his 65 from Sunday last year. … Michael Kim now has closing rounds of 80 in 2016 and 78 in 2018 when beginning the final round in touching distance of the lead. He began the day T3 and ended T23. … C.T. Pan went one better and signed for 79 to drop from T5 to T35. … Beau Hossler matched Pan’s 79 and matched his drop from T5 to T35. Hossler had a tough round last Saturday at the CareerBuilder Challenge to stall out but he keeps putting himself into position. … The Hunter Mahan experience continues to be a wait-and-see affair. Maybe I jinxed him after including him in Friday’s column. I try and only use my powers for good! He fired 78-79 on the weekend. He’ll be worth a look at TPC Scottsdale for those who love a long shot. More on that in The Confidence Factor on Tuesday! Study Hall Haotong Li played in the final group with Rory McIlroy Sunday at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. The 23-year old budding star from China matched him shot-for-shot until he birdied the final two holes to win by one. They both shot 69 but Li’s one-shot lead after 54 holes held up. He becomes the first Chinese player to enter the OWGR top 50. … Tommy Fleetwood bags his fourth top-10 finish in a row and fifth in his last six events. …Byeong Hun An played his final three rounds 16-under-par to finish T6. An was in the mix at TPC Scottsdale last year before 73 on Sunday saw him end up sixth. … Ricky Barnes tweeted that he’s received a sponsor’s exemption for the Waste Management Phoenix Open this week. Barnes was T20 at CareerBuilder two weeks ago.

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Round 3 of the Hero World Challenge takes place Saturday from Albany in The Bahamas. The 20-player field is stacked with stars such as Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland. Tiger Woods is the tournament host but will not compete as he works on rehabbing from injury. Viktor Hovland leads by one heading into the weekend. Leaderboard Tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30 p.m.-5 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 12 p.m.-1 p.m. (Golf Channel), 1 p.m.-5 p.m. (NBC) MUST READS Viktor Hovland leads by one, Scottie Scheffler making push for No. 1 at Hero Woods won’t seek surgery for plantar fasciitis, choosing ‘stretch and relax’ approach Tiger Woods’ new normal a balancing act of rehab, rest Top stats of the fall Collin Morikawa debuts new irons at Hero World Challenge

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SAN ANTONIO – Trey Mullinax didn’t make the FedExCup Playoffs last season, so he’s not fully exempt on the PGA TOUR. His conditional status – he finished 137th on the points list – limits his playing opportunities, as he’s made just two starts in the last nine weeks. That means lots of practice time back home in Birmingham, Alabama. Also lots of time to hang out with his family. “It’s been nice, to be honest,â€� he said. “Obviously I would like to play a little more, but the tournaments I get in, I’m really excited, I’m excited about playing golf.â€� Excited enough Saturday to set a course record at TPC San Antonio. Mullinax’s 10-under 62 on Saturday not only put him in the record books, it put him in position to chase his first PGA TOUR win. Having started the day tied for 25th, Mullinax is now in solo third at 12 under entering the final round of the Valero Texas Open. He’ll be in the final threesome with co-leaders Zach Johnson and Andrew Landry, one stroke ahead. Until Saturday, the lowest round since the tournament moved to TPC San Antonio in 2010 has been the 63s by Matt Every in 2012 and Martin Laird, who shot his in the final round to win in 2013. Mullinax set the record by setting another record, shooting 29 on the back nine – two eagles, four birdies and a bogey – for a new nine-hole mark. Mulinax wasn’t exactly sure what the course record was before rolling in his final putt, a 16-footer for eagle at the par-5 18th. After the ball dropped, he turned to caddie David Flynn and said, “I think that might be the course record.â€� Flynn wasn’t sure either. “No matter what,â€� he replied, “you still played pretty good.â€� Mullinax has played pretty well in his limited starts, a tie for sixth at the Valspar Championship, and a tie for 22nd his last start at Corales Puntacana. That was just about a month ago. He opened Thursday with a 2-over 74, doing well to prevent the round from getting away from him. He improved on Friday as his putter heated up, shooting a 4-under 68 to make the cut. That got him to Saturday. “Obviously I don’t think you ever walk onto a tee and think 62,â€� he said, “but I thought I had some low rounds in me. I thought I was rolling the ball well and felt really good with my irons on the range this morning, so got some stuff to happen.â€� He opened with birdie in three of his first four holes, then sandwiched two more birdies around his lone bogey on the 11th after the turn. At the par-5 14th, he chipped in from 95 feet for eagle. That’s when the round ceased looking good and started looking historic. “I knew I was kind of playing pretty well,â€� he said. Consider that an understatement. Mullinax chipped in again from 40 feet just off the green for birdie at the 16th, drilled his approach inside 6 feet at the 17th, and finished with that eagle putt after a terrific second shot from 257 yards with the ball above his feet. He aimed at the left greenside bunker and cut a 3-iron, letting it bounce toward the pin. Johnson, who shares the course record of 60 at the previous Valero venue at La Cantera, wasn’t surprised to hear about the new mark. Neither was he surprised to hear it was Mullinax who shot it. The two became friends when Mullinax used to live in St. Simons Island, Georgia. “I could see a guy that hits it hard, which he does,â€� Johnson said. “He hits it really, really hard. I could see that because the par 5s kind of become par 4s to some degree with this south wind. And you’ve got to putt, you’ve still got to hit good shots and putt. “62’s ridiculous but you can see it.â€� Despite the limited opportunities to showcase his skills, Mullinax has never worried about getting rusty or losing his competitive edge. “You never really lose how to play golf,â€� he said. “It’s just tournament golf, right? So you just go out and get back in the swing of things. Just another day on the golf course.â€� Saturday, though, was a day no golfer had previously experience at TPC San Antonio. And if Mullinax wins Sunday, his playing schedule will become a lot busier with the two-year exemption awarded to the champion.

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