The First Look: Zurich Classic of New Orleans

GREENSBORO, N.C. – As the leaders warmed up before the third round of the Wyndham Championship at the steamy Sedgefield Country Club, Mike Weir worked on his game with a green stretchy band around his torso and left arm. He’d shot a third-round 68 to get to 6 under, which was well back but most likely will make the 54-hole cut. Weir, 49 and awaiting his 50th birthday and PGA TOUR Champions eligibility next May, has been working hard on his game, but not getting much out of it. This season has seen him splitting time between the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA TOUR, where he missed the cut by one at the Masters Tournament, RBC Canadian Open, and Rocket Mortgage Classic. “I’ve missed the cut by one like eight times this year,� said Weir, who is 249th in the FedExCup. He laughed. “It’s the silliest thing. I’m playing fine. I’ve been feeling really good about my game since I started working with Mark Blackburn about a year ago.� Blackburn is an Englishman who has been recognized by Golf Magazine, Golf Digest and others as one of the top instructors in America. His Blackburn Golf Academy is located in Birmingham, Alabama, and in addition to Weir he has coached several other TOUR pros. Just as importantly, Weir is finally pain-free. “I got a new trainer,� he said, “and that’s really helped me gain my mobility again. I had so many back issues and neck issues for so long, I was just immobile, really. I wasn’t able to turn.� Weir has made 330 feet of putts over the first three rounds at the Wyndham, propelling him to his first made cut since he finished T58 at the Charles Schwab Challenge in May. When he was healthy, Weir was one of the game’s most potent point-to-point players. His accuracy and wedge game, plus a nerveless putting stroke, earned him eight TOUR wins, biggest among them the 2003 Masters Tournament. He beat Tiger Woods in an epic singles match at the 2007 Presidents Cup in Montreal, and won the Fry’s Electronics Open less than a month later. Injuries, though, wreaked havoc, and he hasn’t won since. Now, a dozen years later, he’s looking at a new lease on life on PGA TOUR Champions. “I think I’ll be competitive,� Weir said. “I feel good and I still have good enough length for out there. I’m excited. It’s invigorated me this last year to get ready for that. Every guy I’ve talked to, they’re like, ‘Mike, you’ve got to keep playing. If you take time off and go out there, you’re going to get lapped. You’ve got to stay sharp.’ So, that’s what I’ve tried to do.�

Click here to read the full article…

THE OVERVIEW Fairly or unfairly, Tony Finau has always been a player in which big things were expected. His talent is there for all to see. He hits it a mile and has finesse at times we all crave. Plus, he’s easy to root for – a nice guy with a big smile. TOP 30 PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2018: We’ll countdown our list with one new player each day in December. Click here for the published players . MORE: Top 30 explanation and schedule With a win already on the books at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open, the 28-year-old certainly has done more than many – but he promises so much extra. A breakout year is just waiting to happen, and given that he finished inside the top-26 in all four of his fall starts — including runner-up at the Safeway Open — this could just be it. Heading into the new year, he leads the PGA TOUR in driving distance (336.5) and is third in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, sixth in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green, 13th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and 20th in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green. If he can improve his putting performances (currently 154th in Strokes Gained: Putting), then we could really see some low numbers. Considering he found himself shooting in the 60s more than any other player last season, he clearly is just a tweak away from something incredibly special. Closing out tournaments is never easy but the experience Finau has garnered in his “failuresâ€� over the last few seasons are only going to steel him going forward. A devout family man, Finau has always kept his golf in perspective, and doesn’t take the losses as scar tissue. It should allow him to break the shackles soon and take his place amongst the best of the best. BY THE NUMBERS How Tony Finau ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR.   FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 9th Playoff appearances: 3 TOUR Championship appearances: 1 Best result: 19th (2017) INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Tony Finau in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Cameron Morfit One of the most explosive players on the planet, Finau led the TOUR in driving distance going into the six-week break, averaging 336.6 yards off the tee. That’s hardly surprising. He led the TOUR with 50 rounds in the 60s last season, and showed his mettle with a clutch, final-round 64 at the BMW Championship (T7), ensuring he would move on to the season-ending TOUR Championship at East Lake (T7). He finished 19th in the FedExCup, and started his 2017-2018 season with a runner-up at the Safeway Open, suggesting another win isn’t far away.     Click here to follow Cameron on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton He’s everything we want and he’s already off to a flying start at ninth in the FedExCup standings. The 28-year-old, father of four, averaged nearly 30 starts in his first three seasons on the PGA TOUR, so he doesn’t mind hitting the road. Even better, he survived the cut in nearly three-quarters of them. Because he checks all of the boxes to produce in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO and has natural athletic ability, he comps to Dustin Johnson analytically and physically. The wins should come in bunches for Finau, but even if they don’t, we’ll continue to embrace what we already accept him to be: a force. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall The former Nike equipment staffer recorded his best season on TOUR without an equipment contract. A majority of his setup is comprised of PING equipment, including a G400 3-wood and larger-profile i200 3-iron. Finau remains one of the few players using a custom Piretti putter — the same brand Henrik Stenson had in the bag when he won the season-long FedExCup title in 2013. Continues to play Titleist Pro V1x without a golf ball contract.  Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte Finau’s athletic build and explosive game are perfect fits for Nike’s sporty threads. The trim fit of his trousers is something all golfers should copy. Look for Finau to continue to bring many of the modern athleisure and streetwear looks to the course in 2018. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter

Click here to read the full article…

TRUCKEE, Calif. — Chez Reavie holed a long chip shot for eagle on the par-5 sixth hole and took a three-point lead Friday in the Barracuda Championship. Reavie had a 19-point round in the modified Stableford scoring system event at Tahoe Mountain Club, getting five points for the eagle and 14 for seven birdies. A point is deducted for bogey and three taken away for double bogey or worse. “It’s actually 2 1/2 birdies, so if you can make an eagle, you can kind of leapfrog guys on the leaderboard,” Reavie said. “I hit an OK tee shot kind of up the right side, so I had a little further in. Had to hit a 5-wood, so I kind of favored toward the right bunker side, and I just missed the bunker and had to chip across the green and was fortunate to knock it in.” Reavie played the back nine first in his morning round, making four birdies. He added birdies on Nos. 3 and 4, had the eagle on No. 6 and birdied No. 8 to take a 28-point total into the weekend in the event co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour. He’s the only bogey-free player after 36 holes. “I think really having control of the golf ball out here really helps you,” Reavie said. “You’ve got to be in the fairway. Once you get in the rough, with the greens being firm, you can’t really be aggressive with your irons, so you have to drive the ball in the fairway.” The 40-year-old from Mesa, Arizona, has two PGA TOUR victories, taking the 2008 RBC Canadian Open and the 2019 Travelers Championship. Mark Hubbard, tied for the first-round lead with Charley Hoffman with 13 points, was tied for second with Henrik Norlander at 25 points. Hubbard had a 12-point round, and Norlander a 14-pointer. The 33-year-old Hubbard is winless on the PGA TOUR. He was third last week in Kentucky in the Barbasol Championship, the first of two straight U.S. events co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour. “It was tough early, man, with the cold and the elevation,” Hubbard said. “It’s hard to know how far the ball is going, and it seemed like every pin on our front nine, the back nine, was front with water short, so you couldn’t really play with it. So it was just tough to get the ball close early. Once it heated up and started going another 10 percent, I started making some birdies.” Norlander had seven birdies in a bogey-free round. The 35-year-old Swede, also winless on the PGA TOUR, made a weekend cut for only the third time in his last 16 starts. He had missed five straight cuts. “I’m very pleased,” Norlander said. “It’s, first of all, nice to not make travel arrangements on Friday afternoon. I’ve been sort of used to that lately. Just a lot better attitude this week. ”There’s a lot of bad voices in there, I’m not going to lie. But I think the key for me is to like accept that and then move from there. When I get bad, I try to avoid those voices, but they’re there.” Kevin Tway had 21 points. He birdied the first five holes in a 15-point day. Maverick McNealy and Martin Trainer followed at 19. Hoffman had 15 after a two-point day.

Click here to read the full article…