The First Look: WGC Mexico Championship

Rickie Fowler, who watched the first round of the Masters with Tiger Woods, says the former world No. 1 is “not lacking any fire” in his recovery from injuries suffered in a February car crash.

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Shane Lowry forever will celebrate his victory at The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2019, but even though the pandemic canceled last year’s edition of the oldest major, if all you remembered were images and stories of the after-party in his native Dublin, you’d understand why it could have taken two years to simmer down. Lowry’s title in Northern Ireland was just as popular a coronation as the lone major victory of Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke at Royal St. George’s in 2011, albeit for very different reasons. Indeed, both Irishmen would be prominently positioned in a Power Rankings consisting of blokes with whom you’d trade barbs over a pint or three, but Clarke was 42 years of age and still in the throes of life without his wife, Heather, who died of cancer five years prior. The 149th staging of The Open returns to Royal St. George’s this week. It’s the 15th time that it’s hosted. Clarke and Lowry are in the field of 156 that required the R&A to play every club in its bag to construct. For more on that, the backdrop, the weather – naturally – and other details, continue reading below the expanded ranking of projected contenders. RELATED: Nine things to know about Royal St. George’s | How the field qualified POWER RANKINGS: THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Webb Simpson, Sergio Garcia, Daniel Berger and Tommy Fleetwood will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. If you’re among the devotees who follows how fields are built, then you’ve witnessed one of the busiest turnstiles in history. Including past champions who have been returning regularly, as of Monday there have been 21 early withdrawals. Many but not all have been connected to complications caused by COVID-19, but the R&A has solved the puzzle on how to present the strongest field available, and an international smattering of talent at that. (For the entire field and the 21 who opted out, read Qualifiers. Of those committed, 30 competed in the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s. Like it did that year and will again this week, the track in Sandwich – as the seabird flies, the town in southeastern England is closer to France than it is to London – will test at a par of 70. The seventh and 14th hole serve as the par 5s. The course tips at 7,189 yards, down 22 yards from a decade ago. Averaging 73.018 in 2011, Royal St. George’s ranked as the hardest course in relation to par of all that season. When it was laid out as a par 71 in 2003 – the fourth hole was a par 5 – it was even more difficult at 3.802 strokes over par. This is expected in this tournament. Unpredictable lies are the backbone to the links experience, even on the shortest grass, and the uncertainty of ever-changing conditions atmospherically deliver 1-2 punches throughout. Unlike most links layouts, Royal St. George’s consists of a front nine that snakes out to the sea with a recoil on the inward side. There also is uncharacteristic separation in between holes, and six are adjacent to the coast, although, and of course, all 18 are subject to the wind. PGATOUR.com’s Ben Everill is on site and assembled a helpful guide in “Nine Things to Know.” Courses in The Open rota are as much about execution and experience as they are about patience and understanding. You take what it gives, you don’t force the issue and you walk away with a smile when you connect with the relative successes earned. Baked into all of that is a belief that reducing errors is more important than circling par breakers. Prevailing winds will push in from the north and are forecast to be sustained at 10-15 mph for the first and final rounds. They’ll freshen a bit in between. Daytime highs will open in the low 70s before retreating into the 60s for the remainder. Most surprisingly, rain is not expected. That is not a misprint. In addition to the Claret Jug, the champion will receive 600 FedExCup points, $2.07 million, exemptions into The Open through the age of 60, exemptions into the next five editions of the other three majors and a five-year membership exemption on the PGA TOUR. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers; Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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Minnesota is ready for just the second installment of the 3M Open which kicked off last season in fantastic fashion. The emergence of Matthew Wolff and his huge eagle to finish off victory will forever be folklore at TPC Twin Cities. RELATED: Featured Groups, tee times | Power Rankings | Expert Picks Now, with the FedExCup Playoffs fast approaching, the 3M Open takes on huge significance in this shortened season. Can Brooks Koepka make his mark? Is Tommy Fleetwood set to shock on his return? And can the Wolff bite again? Or will a new star step up and steal the limelight? THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER THE FLYOVER The 596-yard par-5 18th finishing hole at TPC Twin Cities is built for drama. Last season, Wolff needed a birdie to enter a playoff with Bryson DeChambeau and Collin Morikawa… so he made eagle and won outright instead. But while eagle is absolutely on the table, so too is a big number. Avoid the water on the right and find the fairway off the tee and it’s a green light to go for the green. But to do so you must fire right over a lake. Final round pin has water short and bunker long… you better be ready. LANDING ZONE The 502-yard par-4 ninth hole at TPC Twin Cities turned out to be quite the brute to finish the front side last season as the tournament made its TOUR debut. It played to a 4.279 average despite Dylan Frittelli’s incredible hole-out eagle in the third round. That made it the 25th hardest hole on TOUR. There were 116 bogeys, 26 double bogeys and five others on the hole that added just 51 birdies to Frittelli’s 195-yard hole out. Here’s a look at where tee shots landed last season. Hitting the fairway doesn’t guarantee anything… WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Joe Halvorson: “Dry conditions are likely to continue Thursday as surface high pressure begins to shift east while a warm front lifts into southwestern Minnesota. A complex of showers and thunderstorms is expected to be ongoing across northern Minnesota Friday morning, with precipitation chances remaining isolated around TPC Twin Cities as a warm front lifts through the area. As heat and humidity continues to build on Saturday, an upper-level disturbance is expected to push across the Northern Plains – likely setting off a complex of showers and thunderstorms. The precise timing and placement of Saturday’s shower and thunderstorm potential remains uncertain. A cold front is expected to bring another round of showers and thunderstorms at some point on Sunday, however, there remains large discrepancies in the forecast guidance for the timing of this boundary. Heat indices will be in the upper 90s to near 100F Friday through Sunday.” For the latest weather news from TPC Twin Cities, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK I don’t need to keep up with anybody, I’m good. BY THE NUMBERS 9 – Pat Perez is one of eight players with a current streak of at least nine consecutive rounds par or better. Perez is 19-under par in his last nine PGA TOUR rounds. 11 – Number of PGA TOUR winners from Minnesota. They have accounted for 30 wins with Lee Janzen’s eight being the best of the group. Tom Lehman (five) and Tim Herron (4) could add to their numbers this week. 22.3 – The average age of the top-three finishers at the 2019 3M Open. It was the lowest of any PGA TOUR event in the last 37 years. 24 – Number of top-eight finishes in the last four seasons for Tony Finau, the most of any player without a PGA TOUR win in that span. 196 – Number of career eagles from Charles Howell III on the PGA TOUR. In the last 40 years, only five players have made over 200 eagles in their PGA TOUR careers. Howell made three eagles last year at the 2019 3M Open, marking his fourth career PGA TOUR event to make three eagles. 260 – Number of balls hit in the water during last season’s 3M Open. It was the third most of any course on the PGA TOUR. SCATTERSHOTS Five-time PGA TOUR winner and 1996 Open Championship winner Tom Lehman is in the field via a sponsor invite. A local from Austin, Minnesota who played collegiately at the University of Minnesota, Lehman plays on PGA TOUR Champions these days where he has 12 wins. He is the only player in history to be named Player of the Year on the PGA TOUR, the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Champions. Lehman consulted on course renovations at TPC Twin Cities where he played the 3M Championship (PGA TOUR Champions) eight times with a T2 in 2011 his best result. FedExCup fight: With just five events and four weeks remaining before the start of the FedExCup Playoffs, a handful of stars need strong finishes to improve or secure their positions in the FedExCup standings. Brooks Koepka, who has finished among the top 10 in the standings the last three years and won the inaugural Wyndham Rewards Top 10 last year, is 154th in the FedExCup. England’s Tommy Fleetwood, in his first start since the Return to Golf, sits 81st in the FedExCup standings. Dustin Johnson – winner of the Travelers Championship in June – is 25th the FedExCup standings as he looks to extend his streak qualifying for the TOUR Championship to 12 years. Local imports: England’s Angus Flanagan, who recently was named a third-team All-American after his junior season at the University of Minnesota, makes his PGA TOUR debut. He recently shot a course-record 64 at Royal Golf Club to win the Minnesota State Open and he won the Big Ten individual title his sophomore year. South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen, who played his collegiate golf for the Gophers between 2009-13, is ranked No. 42 in the Official World Golf Ranking as a member of the European Tour. The Power of Community: The tournament’s 2020 charitable giving efforts will be directed largely toward local nonprofit organizations which are focused on supporting individuals impacted by COVID-19 and for social justice initiatives. Funds will be donated to: Urban Ventures, Lake Street Council, YWCA of St. Paul, YWCA of Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, VEAP, Greater Twin Cities United Way, and Science Museum of Minnesota. Frontline workers recognition: At the driving range, there will be a wall with 156 Extreme Post-in Notes where the field will be encouraged to write thank you notes to frontline workers. Players can sign to whomever they like or keep their messages generic. Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson will sign one Post-it each for two specific healthcare workers from Masonic Children’s Hospital, one of the 3M Open’s primary beneficiaries. Course Changes: In preparation for the event, the first tee complex was relocated approximately 20 yards left, a walk bridge was installed in front of the second green, bunker modifications were completed on holes 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 16, and 18, and fairways were narrowed on hole 6, 7, 10, 14, and 18.

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