Statistically Speaking: TOUR Championship

PACIFIC PALISAIDES, Calif. – Tournament host Tiger Woods will have to wait at least one more year for another chance to break his win drought at Riviera Country Club after a tough third round at The Genesis Invitational. After opening the tournament with rounds of 69-73 to sit 10 shots back of Matt Kuchar’s 36-hole lead, Woods left Friday night knowing he could ill afford any mistakes on the weekend if he was to make a charge up the leaderboard. But any thoughts of a vintage charge were thwarted early as he played his first seven holes in five-over par, including a disastrous four-putt for a double bogey on the par-4 13th, his fourth hole of the morning. Woods had a birdie attempt from 18-feet, four-inches but pulled it left. He then missed from two-feet, four-inches for par and three-feet, two-inches for bogey with power lip outs before finally getting it home from three-feet for a double. Related: Leaderboard | TOUR pros: My first time with Tiger | JT admits Tiger carried him at Presidents Cup No other venue has repelled Woods like Riviera – the 82-time PGA TOUR winner is in his 13th try in this tournament with a runner up in 1999 his best return. Riviera is where his PGA TOUR career began as a 16-year-old having grown up in nearby Cypress. Amazingly, it is the second time Woods has four-putted the 13th green at Riviera having also done so in the third round in 2000. It is the only green on record in his career that he has done so twice and comes one start after four-putting during the Farmers Insurance Open on the opening hole of Torrey Pines South. Four of his now 14 career four-putts have come since June 2018. “That was a lot of shots. I hit the ball quite a few times, especially on the greens, and it was a long day,â€� Woods said post round. “I didn’t putt well today at all. I didn’t have a feel for it, I didn’t see my lines, I couldn’t feel my pace and I was just off.â€� Woods finished the round with a 5-over 76 to drop to five over for the tournament and near the back of the pack of those making the cut. When asked of the positives, the 44-year-old could only wryly say, “Well, I’m done.â€� But then added, “It’s a new day tomorrow. That’s the way golf is, put it in the past and try to learn from what I did right and wrong. Obviously there wasn’t a whole lot I did right today, and figure it out for tomorrow. “I just need to… not throw away shots with wedges in my hand, not three-putt, four-putt. All the things that, you clean all that up, next thing you know, you add that up and I’m probably, what, 7, 8, 9 under, and that’s without doing anything great, just not doing any of the dumb things.â€� Woods did not commit to play in next week’s World Golf Championship – Mexico Championship and also is not sure of his next start after tomorrow’s final round. “That’s the fun part of trying to figure this whole comeback — how much do I play, when do I play, do I listen to the body or do I fight through it?â€� he said. “There are some things I can push and some things I can’t. “I feel stiff, but I have weeks like that, especially in the cold mornings like it was the other day. Don’t quite move as well and that’s just kind of how it’s going to go.â€�

Click here to read the full article…

PGA TOUR statement on Tony Finau: As part of the PGA TOUR's pre-tournament screening process this week at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, PGA TOUR member Tony Finau tested positive for COVID-19 and has been withdrawn from the event. Finau, who last competed at the U.S. Open, will have the PGA TOUR's full support throughout his self-isolation period under CDC guidelines. First alternate Bronson Burgoon will replace Finau in the field.

Click here to read the full article…

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – APGA Tour officials today announced the initial APGA Collegiate Ranking for the 2022-2023 season with Michigan State University’s Troy Taylor II holding the top spot. The APGA Collegiate Ranking was announced in October 2020 through a partnership between the PGA TOUR and the APGA Tour. Eligible players are black golfers from NCAA Division I or II programs – including HBCUs – who exhaust a minimum of four years of college eligibility. The APGA Collegiate Ranking is based on players’ Golfstat adjusted scoring average, designed to evaluate the top players positioned to qualify for APGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament access. Taylor II holds the top position in the standings while Howard University teammates Gregory Odom and Everett Whiten Jr. rank second and third, respectively. Whiten Jr. was No. 2 in the standings late last season before opting to utilize his final year of eligibility this season. The Class of 2023 Ranking includes Golfstat-ranked college tournaments played in Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022 and Spring 2023. The top five players in the final APGA Collegiate Ranking will receive: • Scholarship access to APGA TOUR events through the remainder of the 2023 APGA Tour season • Scholarship access into the Korn Ferry Qualifying School for the 2024 season • The final No. 1-ranked player will receive a sponsor exemption into the 2023 REX Hospital Open on the Korn Ferry Tour • Additionally, the No. 1 player as of November 18, 2022, will receive an exemption to play in the APGA Farmers Insurance® Invitational as an amateur at Torrey Pines in January 2023 Rankings as of October 5, 2022 • Any player who wants to be removed from the list because they have decided to come back and complete their last year of eligibility needs to inform the APGA no later than April 15 • Players interested in opting into the program can register here: https://registrations.pgatourhq.com/forms/apga/ • A player must complete a tournament in each of the last three semesters (Spring 2022, Fall 2022 and Spring 2023) to be eligible for the APGA Collegiate Rankings top five benefits Full rankings will be updated monthly at https://www.apgatour.org/apga-collegiate-ranking. At the end of the 2022-23 season, APGA Tour officials will determine the minimum number of rounds to qualify.

Click here to read the full article…