The Players, which Woods won twice, put the pin in the same spot it was in 20 years ago on the famed island green at the par-3 17th. They also added the date and Woods’ initials.
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Keegan Bradley matched Tommy Fleetwood’s round of 7-under 65 to seize the co-lead after Thursday’s opening round.
The fourth week of the new PGA TOUR season brings us the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at 7,225-yard, par-71 TPC Summerlin, where Bryson DeChambeau is the defending champion. World No. 1 Brooks Koepka, a seven-time TOUR winner, will begin his season as he and his fellow 20-somethings look to continue their run of three straight tournament titles. Sebastian Muñoz (Sanderson Farms Championship), Cameron Champ (Safeway Open) and Joaquin Niemann (A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier) make up the top three in the FedExCup, respectively, and the oldest among them is Muñoz, 26. (Koepka is 29.) THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER THE FLYOVER The 341-yard, par-4 15th hole is one of the most exciting on the course, as the longer hitters can drive the elevated green, which is long, narrow and surrounded by bunkers. Desert runs down the entire left side of the hole, but it’s mostly defenseless otherwise. Players averaged 3.585 strokes there last year, racking eight eagles and 191 birdies compared to just 30 bogeys and three double-bogeys. The hole begins a stretch of the four best viewing holes at TPC Summerlin.  LANDING ZONE The 444-yard, par-4 18th hole is no pushover, especially not with the nerves that go along with trying to win. It’s long and slightly uphill, demanding a forced carry over a wash off the tee. The green is deep but protected by a lake to the left that has seen its share of golf balls. Players made 16 double-bogeys at the finishing hole last year to go along with three dreaded “others� and 43 bogeys. There were also 77 birdies. WEATHER CHECK From meteorologist Kyle Koval: “A quiet week of weather is likely for Las Vegas with no notable weather systems tracking anywhere near the region. Temperatures will gradually warm from the lower 80s Wednesday to near 90 degrees this weekend. Thursday and Friday have the best potential for any elevated winds with gusts over 15 mph possible. Winds look rather light for the weekend.� For the latest weather news from TPC Summerlin, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK At some point I just have to kind of give it a try. BY THE NUMBERS 1 – Number of players to win the Shriners in title defense. Jim Furyk won in 1995, ’98 and ’99. 7 – Largest come-from-behind victory, by Smylie Kaufman in 2015. 17 – Shriners aces since 2000, most recently by Chris Stroud and Joaquin Niemann last year. 102 – Bunkers on the course. SCATTERSHOTS DeLaet cautiously optimistic for comeback: Graham DeLaet, 37, still has the beard, but while he looks like the same guy, he’s coming off a nearly two-year injury layoff after a stem-cell injection and a second microdiscectomy on his back. His comeback plans have changed a few times, but he’ll give it a go at the Shriners. “You never know until you’re out here,� he told the Toronto Sun. “I’ve shot some good rounds at home with the boys, but it’s different out here and so I’m interested to see what happens, in all honesty.� DeLaet was a member of the 2013 International Presidents Cup and represented Canada at the Olympics in 2016, but that was the last year in which he played a full season on TOUR. He’s playing on a major-medical exemption. Hadwin eyes Presidents Cup pick: Adam Hadwin hasn’t given up on a Presidents Cup pick from International Captain Ernie Els. “Once the points were done and the team was set, I feel like it was an open ballgame,� Hadwin said at the Safeway Open, where his solo second was his best result since winning the 2017 Valspar Championship. “Obviously, he’s going to take into consideration your year and stuff like that, but I doubt that he’s afraid to go with the hot player, either. I believe that I’m a proven competitor, I’ve been there before. I know what to expect, I’ve played well in big situations. I certainly have some work to do to go out and prove myself before he’ll choose.�  Mickelson, Scott drop in: Phil Mickelson, whose Safeway start was marred by a quadruple-bogey 9 in the first round that led to a missed cut, will make his 13th start at the Shriners but first since 2005. The 49-year-old recently dropped 25-30 pounds and is playing more than usual this fall in hopes of getting a pick from U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Tiger Woods. Mickelson, a 44-time TOUR winner, has played on every U.S. Team, 12 in total, since 1994. Other potential American captain’s picks in Vegas include Tony Finau, Gary Woodland, Charles Howell III and Brandt Snedeker. Adam Scott, meanwhile, is making his tournament debut despite having attended UNLV in 1999-2000.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Big round numbers were the hot topic of conversation as Phil Mickelson met the media before the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Wednesday. That, and a little, black scooter he was presented to mark his 30th start in the event, one of his two hometown tournaments. Mickelson, 48, first played here as an amateur sensation out of Arizona State in 1989, and has since won it three times (1996, 2005, 2013). 
“I just can’t believe that it’s been 30 years,â€� he said. “It just has gone by so fast.â€� Mickelson is coming off a T2 at the Desert Classic two weeks ago, when he flirted with a 59 but settled for a 60 in the first round. He is enjoying a mini-career revival, which he credits in part to increased swing speed after leading the field in driving distance (302.5 yards on all tee shots) in the desert. The gain has been surprising given that he’s the oldest player in many fields. He also has enjoyed an uptick in his short game. He was around the lead in Strokes Gained: Putting for much of last season, when he broke a nearly five-year win drought with his playoff victory over Justin Thomas at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. It was in the afterglow of that win, Mickelson’s 43rd, that he issued a brash prediction: Q. You’re seven away from 50 PGA TOUR wins. Do you think you can get there? MICKELSON: Oh, I will, I’ll get there. Q. When? MICKELSON: I don’t know. Seven more wins and I’ll be there. I don’t have the month or the time, but I will get there. Today, not quite one year later, he’s having second thoughts. Asked at TPC Scottsdale whether he’s still sure he’ll get to 50, he dialed it back. The reason: The rest of 2018 didn’t go as planned. 

“I’ve got to be honest in my assessment of winning seven more times — is that realisticâ€� he said. “It’s certainly my goal and something I’m striving for and yet I know it’s not going to be easy. I don’t have the same, hundred percent I’m going to do this thing. I’m a little more realistic, because I really thought I was going to pick of off two or three more at the end of the year and I played terrible.â€� He made it to the season-ending TOUR Championship, but ran out of gas and finished last, then had a forgettable Ryder Cup in France. The good news, he added, was that he had a productive off-season in which he added speed and distance by stabilizing his core and retraining “the kinematic sequence of my golf swing.â€� He also has begun seeing a new nutritionist. “I think that I’m ready to start playing some of my best golf again,â€� Mickelson said. “I’ve had a massive jump in speed, which is a big thing, especially if you hit it crooked. If you’re going to hit it crooked you better not be short. That’s hopefully going to lead, along with the way I putted the last few years, it’s hopefully going to lead to a special year.â€�
