The First Look: The RSM Classic

SCOTTSDALE. Ariz. — Tony Finau and Webb Simpson crashed golf’s biggest party with some back-nine fireworks. Finau shot a 9-under 62 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Simpson in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, making an eagle on the par-5 13th and then, switching to a Kobe Bryant jersey for one hole, a birdie on TPC Scottsdale’s stadium par-3 16th. Related: Leaderboard | Amy paying it forward | Spieth misses cut, continues search for his best “I had a perfect number for a sand wedge and go ahead and fire right at the pin,” Finau said. “Damn near made it. That would have been pretty sweet with the Kobe jersey on. But I like that shot. That was pretty nice.” Simpson had a hole-in-one on the par-3 12th in a 64. Second-round leader J.B. Holmes and Hudson Swafford were two strokes back. Holmes shot 70 and Swafford had a 66. Holmes won at TPC Scottsdale in 2006 and 2008 for the first of his five PGA TOUR titles. Xander Schauffele (66), Adam Long (66) and Scott Piercy (68) were another shot back. Finau began his back-nine charge with a birdie on 12, ran in a 20-footer for the eagle on 13, then settled for birdie on the par-5 15th after missing a 6 1/2-foot eagle try. After the birdie on the rowdy 16th, he three-putted for par from the fringe on the short par-4 17th — missing a 4-foot birdie attempt — and saved par on the par-4 18th after driving left into the first section of the church pew bunkers. “I missed the one on 15 where I stuffed it in there and another one on 17,” Finau said. “It would be nice to have those back, I would have had the low round of my career. But it was a beautiful round of golf.” The 30-year-old from Utah won the 2016 Puerto Rico Open for his lone PGA TOUR title. “I look forward to tomorrow, my game’s in a good place and I always tell myself, `Whatever happens, you’re going to learn from it and get better and stronger as long as it doesn’t kill you,'” Finau said. “I’m still standing here punching and I’m going to do that for the rest of my career. So, I got 18 holes to try and win this golf tournament and my expectation is exactly that.” Simpson used a 7-iron on the 196-yard 12th. The ball bounced and rolled, turning slightly to right as it lost speed. “We figured with all the adjustments and everything, playing 180 yards, which is a perfect 7-iron for me and as soon as I hit it I knew I hit a good shot,” Simpson said. “I quit watching it because I can’t see the green. I can’t really see that well, to gauge how far it was from the hole. I was looking at the crowd and they got more excited and then their hands went up. And at first my first thought was, `That couldn’t have gone in.’ And then it dawned on me they were really excited, so it was fun.” He birdied 14 and 15, then saved bogey on 17 with a 20-foot putt after driving short and right into a bunker and taking three more shots to get on the green. He also scrambled on 18, making a 10-footer for par after driving into the right rough. The 2012 U.S. Open champion has five PGA TOUR victories, the last in 2018 at THE PLAYERS Championship. He lost a playoff to Hideki Matsuyama at TPC Scottsdale in 2017. “The golf course has gotten more firm every day, so it’s going to be challenging tomorrow,” Simpson said. “But guys, I think, are still looking at it as plenty of birdie opportunities. This course is playing shorter, so we’re having shorter clubs in, even though the greens are more firm.” Jon Rahm was tied for 11th at 10 under after a 68, playing alongside Finau. “Can’t make a putt. If I could make a putt, I would be happier,” Rahm said. “But six back, hitting it good, I just can’t seem to roll it in and at this point it just seems like it’s a little bit too far to be able to make it up. This course, it isn’t as easy to make up distance.” Billy Horschel, a shot behind Holmes entering the round, had a 73 to drop seven strokes back. Wyndham Clark, the first-round leader after a 61, also was 9 under after a 74 in the final group with Holmes and Horschel. FedExCup points leader Justin Thomas shot 69 to get to 8 under. Defending champion Rickie Fowler was 5 under after a 69.

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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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