The First Look: Palmetto Championship at Congaree

Spring Break in the Sunshine State concludes this week as The Honda Classic will be the fourth consecutive and final event of the Florida Swing. Jack Nicklaus and PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens will have the Champion Course dialed up and The Bear Trap ready to go. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks | The First Look Rest and the wicked rarely go together and this week will be another grinder. The backdrop of palm trees and glorious sunshine is fantastic but this will be, by my count, the fifth consecutive event on TOUR where par is a very solid score. From Riviera, to The Concession, to Bay Hill, to TPC Sawgrass and now the Champion Course, don’t be surprised if guys run out of gas this week. It’s never easy here. The last three seasons this Nicklaus/Fazio has ranked in the top three hardest tracks on TOUR. The layout here is only 7,125 yards but plays to Par-70 and the wind isn’t a factor. There’s plenty of room, as usual with Nicklaus designs, to swing it off the tee and the greens are massive targets (7,000 square feet) to land it. The challenge will come from 67 bunkers and water in play on 15 of the 18 holes. Finding the rough, only two inches of over-seeded Bermuda, will still give players a chance. Once on the greens, it’s the fourth straight week of TifEagle Bermuda running at 12 feet or better so everyone should be more than comfortable. Par is a very solid score this week and anything in red figures will be rewarded. The Bear Trap will test the nerves down the stretch but No. 18 is a Par 5 for a last chance saloon. The wind blowing provides the grind and so do the green complexes. Get on the green and find a way to get them in! Make pars and run to the next tee! A field of 144 will be chasing down a prize pool of $7 million with $1.26 million and 500 FedExCup points for the winner. Recent Event Winners Stats 2020: Sungjae Im (-6, 274) Picked up his first TOUR win in his 50th start at age 21. … Closed with 66, matching the low round of the day and the week, to win by a shot. … Sat three back after 54 holes. … Also posted 66 in Round 2. … Did not lead after any round until the final one. … Co-led after 36 holes on debut in 2019 after posting 64 in Round 2. … Won in his second attempt. … Posted the highest winning score on TOUR since the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship. … Becomes second consecutive first-time winner at fifth since the move to PGA National in 2007. … Entered the week making five of his last six cuts but his only top 10 was The American Express. … Youngest winner in history. Notables: Mackenzie Hughes (2nd) made the cut on the number (+3) then fired 66-66 to miss a playoff by a shot. … Byeong Hun An (T4) opened with 76 but played the final 54 holes 9-under for his second top 10 in three career events. … Daniel Berger (T4) picked up his second top four finish in six tries. … Brendan Steele (T4) led after 36 holes but closed 71-71. … Lee Westwood (T4), heard of him?, sat one off the 36 hole lead, but still added his fourth top 10 in seven starts. … Cameron Davis (T8) hasn’t MC in two tries. … 2014 winner Russell Henley (T8) also won here in his second attempt. … Defending champion Keith Mitchell (MC) could not join Jack Nicklaus as the only back-to-back winner. … Tom Lewis (T47) shared the first round lead with 66. … Cut was 3-over 143. … 66 was the low round of the week. … Only 5 bogey-free rounds. … Least amount of bogeys made for the week was NINE. … Course ranked third hardest on TOUR. 2019: Keith Mitchell (-9, 271) Posted a final round 67 to defeat Brooks Koepka (not entered) and Rickie Fowler by a shot. … First win on TOUR in his 40th start. … Sat one off the 54 hole lead. … Co-led after 36 holes for the first time. … One of five players to post all four rounds par or better. … Won in his second attempt at the event (MC). … Highest winning score on TOUR since the 2018 Honda Classic. … Entered the week MC-MC but opened the calendar with T16 at Sony. … First top 10 since 2018 John Deere Classic. Notables: 2017 winner Rickie Fowler (T2) closed 66-67 for his second podium in four years. … Lucas Glover (T4) opened and closed with 66. … Vijay Singh (6th) posted all four rounds at par or better including a 65 in Round 3. … 54-hole leader Wyndham Clark (T7) shot 72 from the final group on his debut. … Kyoung-Hoon Lee (T7), also on debut, posted 71 playing with Clark. … Jim Furyk (T9) hit the top 10 in his second event since 2012. … Justin Thomas (T30) couldn’t become the first player in forever to defend. … Brian Harman (not entered) and his course record of 61 wasn’t bothered as 63 was the low round of the week. … Jhonattan Vegas (T16) opened bogey-free with 66. … Cut was 2-over 142. … Just five bogey-free rounds. … Course ranked as the second hardest NON major of the season. 2018: Justin Thomas (Not Entered; -8, 272) Defeated Luke List on the first playoff hole to win for the eighth time on TOUR. … Fired 65-68 on the weekend to force playoff. … Sat one off the lead after 54 holes. … Posted career-best 65 at Champion in Round 3. … Started a streak of three straight winners here leading the field in Strokes-Gained: Tee to Green. … Won on fourth attempt. … First playoff at the event since 2015 (Harrington defeats Berger on Monday). … T9 week before at Riviera continued his streak of four consecutive top 25s on TOUR. Notables: Luke List (P2) picks up his career-best paycheck after holding the 54 and co-36 hole leads. … First round leader Alex Noren (3rd) played 12-under around his second round 75. … Byeong Hun An (T5) closed 69-65. … Jamie Lovemark (7th) shared the 36 hole lead with List. … Kelly Kraft (T8) posted 66 on Saturday to join the fight. … Defending champion and all-time money leader at Honda Rickie Fowler (MC) didn’t see the weekend. … Cut was 5-over 145. … Only six bogey-free rounds for the week. … Round 2 saw only 13 scores in the red. … First year for brand-new TifEagle Bermuda greens. … Third most difficult event on TOUR (all events) in 2018 season. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. * – Top 10 finish here since 2015 or past champion Horses for Courses

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Webb Simpson didn’t miss anything except the island green. On the verge of shattering the course record Friday at TPC Sawgrass — even a 59 was in play — Simpson hit sand wedge into the water on the notorious par-3 17th and made double bogey that ruined his round, but not his day at THE PLAYERS Championship. He still tied the record with a 9-under 63, and he had a five-shot lead, the largest in the 45 years of this tournament. “It wasn’t a mistake,” Simpson said. “Just the wrong club.” He was in no mood to let that sour his mood. Simpson simply couldn’t miss, whether it was a 35-foot eagle putt on his second hole or a 30-foot birdie putt up the slope and into the cup on the 15th . At that point, all he could do was laugh. And then he reached the 17th, playing 147 yards to a back pin, the light wind playing tricks with him. He kept backing off, trying to decide between sand wedge and pitching wedge. He said a few fans were telling him to hit it. The ball hit the wooden frame on the front of the green, caromed high in the air and landed on the back of the green with so much momentum that it rolled through the light collar of rough and disappeared into the water. “Everything is going in,” he said. “You feel like no matter what, you’re going to make it, and I grew up on an easy golf course so it reminded me of being back home, shooting low numbers. But at the same time, you’re at the TPC Sawgrass, so you know that trouble is everywhere, as you guys saw with me on 17.” And it will be there over the next two rounds. Simpson was the seventh player to shoot 63 on the Stadium Course — five since 2013 — and his 15-under 129 tied the 36-hole record set two years ago by Jason Day. Charl Schwartzel (66), Patrick Cantlay (68) and Danny Lee (66) were five shots behind. Tiger Woods at least gets to return on the weekend. He made the cut on the number (1-under 143) after a 71 in the easier morning conditions. Woods was outside the cut line until Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas each made bogey on the 18th. Spieth three-putted from 35 feet, though he shot 68 and ended three straight years missing the cut. Rory McIlroy wasn’t so fortunate. He was inside the cut line until hitting into the water on the 17th and making double bogey. Conditions were ideal for scoring for the second straight day. Simpson took that to another level. He ended the front nine with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth for a one-shot lead, and then he took off. Starting with an up-and-down at the par-5 11th, Simpson ran off six straight birdies — three straight from the 20-foot range, the most unlikely birdie with the one from behind the 15th green, and another up-and-down from left the of the green on the par-5 16th. Spieth was 5 under on his round through 11 holes and wondered if he had the low round of the day. And then he saw a leaderboard. “It was just amazing,” said Spieth, who played with McIlroy and Thomas. “We were talking about it throughout the round, all three of us. We were like, `Man, I hope he shoots 59.’ And at the same time, we’re saying if he shoots 59, can you imagine how hard the setup is going to be tomorrow?” The real challenge will be catching Simpson. Only three other players have led by as many as three shots through 36 holes at THE PLAYERS — Lanny Wadkins (3) in 1979, Greg Norman (3) in 1994 and Day (4) in 2016. All of them went on to win. “If you’re off a little bit, you make bogeys or double bogeys as easy as you can make birdies,” Simpson said. “I don’t think any lead is safe. … There’s no defensiveness in my game tomorrow.” Schwartzel never came close to a bogey, only missing two greens, and just barely. Cantlay only had one bad swing and one bad break, both on the par-5 ninth, that led to bogey. Lee shot a 31 on the back nine with a double bogey on the 11th hole. Simpson left them all in his wake. “The most entertaining golf in our group was watching Webb’s score,” said Justin Rose, who played behind Simpson and shot 72. “It’s a miracle round. To be 11-under par, it’s a shame he doesn’t finish it off. But 17 is a hard hole to get through. I’m sure he was nervous playing that hole. We’re all nervous playing that hole, but an 11-under par round, that green I’m sure looks even smaller.” Woods had wedges in his hand on his opening three holes and never got it close for birdie, and it was like that all day. He was in the feature pairing with Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler, and Woods was the only one to make the cut. Mickelson went 79-73 and missed the cut for the fifth time in the last six years. Fowler was in good shape until losing a ball in a tree on the sixth hole for the first of consecutive double bogeys. He shot 71 and missed by two shots.

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How much does Rafael Campos love Puerto Rico and his home Puerto Rico Open? He never missed a start in the first 11 editions of the tournament at Grand Reserve Country Club in Rio Grande, located roughly 40 minutes from his home outside San Juan, and wanted to extend that streak last February despite a torn muscle in his back so inhibitive that it would not allow him to even swing a club until six months later, in August. So Campos, 32, who owns a pair of top-10 finishes at the Puerto Rico Open (T8 in 2016, T10 a year later), made the wise decision not to compete, and not to risk making his injury worse. Yet he still was on site at the course every day, doing whatever he could to be the face of the event, making every effort to be an ambassador and to elevate the tournament. It means that much to him, because he knows it means so much to Puerto Rico. RELATED: The First Look | Puerto Rico Open tournament home "This tournament, it's absolutely huge," said Campos, who rejoins the 132-man field this week, hoping to build on momentum he gained tying for seventh at the Korn Ferry Tour's LECOM Suncoast Classic on Sunday. "We thrive on tourism, and the Puerto Rico Open is a time to showcase the island, one of the biggest opportunities we have. It hopefully makes golfers realize that we have some nice golf courses, and that Puerto Rico is a nice travel destination." Certainly Campos has seen the world through the game of golf, transitioning from learning the game as a youth on island to collegiate golf on the U.S. mainland at Virginia Commonwealth, then graduating from the LatinoAmerica Tour and Korn Ferry Tour (where he won in 2019) to the PGA TOUR. Campos has been genuinely mystified by how he has played these past few months, struggling to make cuts despite feeling completely healthy for the first time in a few years. "It's really the first time in about four years that I go to the golf course and not worry about having pain," Campos said from last week's event in Florida. "I feel great, and I'm having the worst results. I missed the cut in my last four starts on the PGA TOUR, and I really don't know how I did that. I'll be hitting good shots and all of a sudden make a double, or a couple bad bogeys, and it doesn't add up to what I think I should be shooting. I feel so, so close to having it click all of a sudden, and having a great stretch of golf." He knows this: In the past few months, despite being not able to figure out how to score better (eight starts, one made cut at Mayakoba), Campos has made an enriching discovery. He loves the game more than he ever knew. The six months he sat out, he yearned just to compete again. Golf can be tough, but he always has been at his best when he's had fun with the game, and he said he's ready to bring a lighter attitude to the course. The goal is fun. "I've had some really bad months in golf,” Campos said, "but at the same time, I'm really liking golf a lot lately. I feel like this is what I'm meant to do, and the reason why I'm here, to help kids out and put the face of Puerto Rican golf out in the world." Surely he'd like to rekindle some great memories at the Puerto Rico Open, such as 2016, when he went out in a steady breeze in the opening round and shot 64. He was the first Puerto Rican to be leading a PGA TOUR event since Chi Rodriguez at the Tallahassee Open in 1979. The round drew a small but spirited crowd of islanders (about 700-1,000) and brought tears to the eyes of Sidney Wolf, the president of the Puerto Rico Golf Association and former tournament director of the Puerto Rico Open. "My dream," Wolf said outside the clubhouse that day, "is to see a Latino win this event." Viktor Hovland won the tournament a year ago, and broke the "curse" in becoming the first champion (outside of Michael Bradley, who won twice in Puerto Rico) to win again (Mayakoba) after prevailing in Puerto Rico. The tournament probably has been better known for its deep roster of young up-and-coming players who have finished runner-up. The event played a pivotal role in Jordan Spieth earning his PGA TOUR playing privileges in 2013, for instance. Jason Day was a past runner-up at the Puerto Rico Open. Bryson DeChambeau was a runner-up in 2017, and a year later, so was Daniel Berger, the recent winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. This week's Puerto Rico field includes established Englishmen Matt Wallace and Ian Poulter (Nos. 55 and 59, respectively, in the Official World Golf Ranking), as well as some promising young players on the rise - among them, Will Gordon, Joohyung Kim, Davis Riley, Justin Suh, Kristoffer Ventura and Brandon Wu. There are major champions (Padraig Harrington, Lucas Glover) competing, too. Campos stayed in the mix throughout the tournament in 2016, thrilling the home crowds, eventually finishing three shots behind Tony Finau (to date, Finau's lone PGA TOUR triumph). The atmosphere really pumped up Campos, who knew his successful week not only was important for himself, but to inspire the Puerto Rico golfers of the future. Campos said he aspires to see 10 to 15 Puerto Rico golfers competing on the world's biggest tours. Right now, he is alone in doing that. He says there are times he looks around and feels he carries a heavy burden. "Just knowing that I'm the only one, I'm trying to do what I can to keep the face of Puerto Rico in golf at the highest level," he said. "It does affect me a lot. I just want to improve my game and help the kids here as much as possible, to help them play at the highest levels." Campos said he has been encouraged by a group juniors he has come to know in the 11-15 age range, with several promising players at each age in that spread. He says there are differences in how he grew up in the game and how current players in Puerto Rico are experiencing golf. When he came up, Campos said junior players in the Puerto Rico Golf Association enjoyed playing and practicing privileges across the island. He also had the chance to frequently compete in events. Whereas he might have played twice a month in tournaments on the island, he says sometimes youths today will play one tournament in six months. "I don't want to speak badly about golf in Puerto Rico, because they actually do a great job," Campos said. "But there has to be more tournaments. We had a lot more opportunities; it was fun, and you created a competitive edge. We had a lot of good players. This is crucial: Right now, the courses aren't allowing the play like they once did. Golf is an expensive sport. You need to promote it as much as you can that it's a sport that anybody can play. "You never know where the next Chi Chi Rodriguez, or maybe the next Tiger Woods, will come from. That kid right now might be in one of the poorest areas of Puerto Rico, and you'll never know that kid has the skills unless he has the opportunity." This is how much Rafael Campos loves Puerto Rico, and how much he wants to see the island's PGA TOUR event thrive. His dreams are big, and very ambitious, and the picture always includes more than just him and his game. It's tournament week in Puerto Rico, and Campos is ready. He always is.

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