Three drivable par 4s! Get to know Old Greenwood

Three PGA TOUR veterans go into the final round with a share of the lead, but only one, Adam Scott (70), manages to shoot an under-par round as he salts away his 14th TOUR win by two over Matt Kuchar (72), Scott Brown (68) and Sung Kang (69) at The Genesis Invitational. In the process, the 39-year-old Scott shoots from 108th to 16th in the FedExCup. He also becomes the third Australian winner (Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman) in the last six weeks on TOUR, and moves into a tie for third behind only Greg Norman (20) and Jim Ferrier (18) on the list of most career wins by an Australian. Welcome to the Monday Finish. THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS 1. He minimized the damage. Scott and Rory McIlroy, one of his two fellow 54-hole co-leaders (Matt Kuchar), did not distinguish themselves at the par-4 fifth hole. They both missed the fairway off the tee, both hit fliers over the green, and both failed to get their third shots up and over the hill, which meant suffering the indignity of their golf balls briefly pausing before rolling back down the hill toward their feet. They played the fifth in a combined 5 over par. The big difference, though, was that McIlroy missed his double-bogey putt from inside three feet, while Scott limited the damage to a 6 and birdied the next hole. McIlroy bogeyed it. Strange fact: Scott made a third-round quadruple-bogey and won The Honda Classic in 2016, and now has four wins with a double or worse in the final round, trailing only Tiger Woods (7) and Phil Mickelson (5). 2. He capitalized on Aussie momentum. Cameron Smith won the Sony Open in Hawaii, and Marc Leishman prevailed at the Farmers Insurance Open. They were teammates of Scott’s at the recent Presidents Cup in Melbourne, where the U.S. Team stormed from behind to win after trailing all week. They decided then and there to use the gut-wrenching loss as motivation to toughen-up for the important 2020 TOUR season ahead. “I’ve seen it before with some guys off the back of an incredible Presidents Cup experience,� Scott said, “where there’s pressure out on the golf course and guys really learning and elevating their games and then putting that into practice the next time they’re in a pressure situation.� For more on how Scott, Smith and Leishman capitalized on the Presidents Cup and were fueled by the successes of one another, click here. 3. He saved the best for last. Through three rounds, Scott was in negative numbers in Strokes Gained: Putting (-0.41). You wouldn’t have known that Sunday, though. On a day that was so difficult there wasn’t a single bogey-free round, Scott made over 109 feet of putts and suddenly outperformed the field by 2.03 strokes on the greens. “The putting has always been something that’s temperamental with me, certainly mentally,� he said. “But I think I’ve found what works for me in the way that I practice my putting, and also in the type of putter that I’m using.� OBSERVATIONS  McIlroy is still hot. The bad news was he didn’t win. The good news was that Rory McIlroy, in his first start after being reinstalled as world No. 1, notched his fourth straight top-five finish on TOUR and must be considered one of the favorites at this week’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. At The Genesis Invitational, which was in its first week as an elevated event, he was thwarted only by a shocking 4-over stretch at the fifth and sixth holes (triple-bogey, bogey). “Yeah, I caught it a little thin, so it came out a bit lower than I wanted it to,� McIlroy said of his third shot from behind the green at the fifth, which failed to climb the hill and came back toward him. He flopped his fourth onto the green but far from the pin, and three-putted. “Actually, apart from that, played pretty well,� McIlroy said. “Played the other holes in 1 under. So it was tough. Yeah, honestly, I didn’t expect it to be as difficult as it was, but everyone was finding it tough out there. Adam hung on well at the end.�       QUOTEBOARD “I’ve loved this place since day one.� – two-time Genesis Invitational winner Adam Scott (70), who broke a winless drought of 74 starts since his two-win season in 2016 “Definitely the toughest day of the week.� – Rory McIlroy (73, T5) on the wind and hole locations, after his fourth top-20 finish in as many starts at this event “I didn’t have my best stuff.� – Matt Kuchar (72, T2), who held the 54-hole lead/co-lead for the 10th time on TOUR but remained at four wins in those events  WYNDHAM REWARDS The Wyndham Rewards Top 10 is a season-long competition that offers a $10 million bonus for the 10 golfers who end the regular season at the Wyndham Championship inside the top 10 in FedExCup points. The player atop the standings will earn $2 million, with varying payoffs for the others through $500,000 for the 10th place finisher. There were no changes in the top four after The Genesis Invitational, with Justin Thomas still in pole position. Rory McIlroy (T5) moved from sixth to fifth, while Hideki Matsuyama (T5) was the biggest mover after a 64-69 weekend launched him onto the first page of the leaderboard at Riviera and from 15th all the way to seventh in the Wyndham Rewards Top 10. Here’s how the standings look heading into this week’s World Golf Championships – Mexico Championship. SOCIAL SNAPSHOT

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The old saying goes, “Never doubt a champion.” And Rory McIlroy is certainly a great champion. McIlroy can now add THE PLAYERS Championship before the descriptor, and it is very much deserved. Welcome to the Monday Finish where McIlroy proved he has been telling the truth all year. He really was pleased with his play and believed he was trending towards something big. Winning THE PLAYERS at TPC Sawgrass is certainly huge. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Rory McIlroy is stronger than a lot of people want to admit sometimes. Now look, we are not ignoring the fact that in the last nine times McIlroy has played in a final group in the last round of a tournament he has failed to win. This is a fair narrative for golf pundits to highlight. And it will remain a while longer given McIlroy was not in the final group on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass. But what Sunday’s one-shot win did prove is McIlroy can handle the heat. Not just the heat of an incredible number of challengers that emerged on a wild Sunday, but also the heat of the spoken and written word engulfing the now 15-time PGA TOUR winner over the last 12 months since his previous win at the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. McIlroy has an incredible resume. Amongst it are THE PLAYERS trophy, a FedExCup, an Open Championship, a U.S. Open, two PGA Championships and two World Golf Championships – all before he’s 30. However you slice it, it is impressive. Could he have won more? Sure. But you can say that about almost every golfer out here. Read more about McIlroy’s incredible triumph here. 2. Furyk might just have some new tricks left. Jim Furyk was one of the last guys into THE PLAYERS Championship. A local at Ponte Vedra Beach, the 48-year-old was certainly grateful to be part of the field, his spot only secured with a recent top-10 finish at The Honda Classic. His performance over the four days was once again an advertisement that experience can certainly help on the PGA TOUR. With the like of Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh all showing competitiveness heading towards and into their 50s. His runner-up finish, which included some great shots down the stretch showed the nerves of the old guys can still stand up when it counts. The result catapulted him into the World Golf Championships–Dell Technologies Match Play field and gives him a chance to push towards a Masters berth. Read more about Furyk’s awesome and emotional week here. 3. Rahm runs hot. Joh Rahm continues to be a fascinating case study. The Spanish star is full of emotion and flair. It is part of what makes him such a special talent. But on course outbursts were causing some to question his temperament. The 54-hole leader talked about how he was so proud of himself for keeping a lid on his emotions over the early stages of the tournament but in Sunday’s final round Rahm once again found himself bubbling over at times. It was almost as if it all finally came to the surface. A critical play came on the par-5 11th where he defied caddy advice to lay up and instead hit the ball in the water going for the green. At the end of the day he signed for a 76 and dropped well back. And so the debate continues. The management of emotion is certainly important on the golf course but is the focus on it helping or hurting a natural talent like Rahm? It’s going to be fascinating viewing going forward. 4. Fleetwood is not far away. England’s Tommy Fleetwood will win on the PGA TOUR soon. A lot is made out of the fact Fleetwood has yet to win a PGA TOUR event. But what is sometimes understated is he already has four European Tour titles and also claimed the 2017 Race to Dubai. In his last two starts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS Championship he has had chances to win only to settle for a top-5 finish. Already some are suggesting he’s struggling to close the deal when it counts. That’s ludicrous. When he appeared out of it at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday he hit a stunning shot into 16 to make eagle. And then knowing he needed birdie on 17 he took dead aim. His ball found the railway ties and bounced in the water. I don’t call that letting it slip, I call that a brave finish. Just like McIlroy trended heavily towards victory this season before winning, Fleetwood will do the same. 5. The move to March is a success. It’s a small sample size for sure but the move back to March certainly provided an exciting PLAYERS. There was concern the move would suit the bombers more than most – and yes McIlroy won and Dustin Johnson had his first top-10 in 11 tries – but Furyk proved TPC Sawgrass can provide any type of winner. You have to drive the ball well and you have to hit your irons well. You don’t have to be the best putter, but you still need to roll the rock. On Sunday throughout the final round there were 15 different players who had a legitimate stake in the championship. The twists and turns were incredible. The excitement and drama THE PLAYERS throws up certainly makes it a great start to the season of championships. See more on the final round here. And more on the move to March here. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. McIlroy now has 15 PGA TOUR titles in 156 starts at age 29 years, 10 months, 14 days. He moves to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings. 2. McIlroy is just the third player – with Tiger Woods and Henrik Stenson – to have won at least one FedExCup, THE PLAYERS Championship, major championship and World Golf Championship. 3. The win was McIlroy’s sixth consecutive top-10 on the PGA TOUR, which bests his previous streak of five in 2015: THE PLAYERS Championship (win), Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (T6), WGC-Mexico Championship (2), Genesis Open (T4), Farmers Insurance Open (T5), Sentry Tournament of Championship (T4) 4. McIlroy led the field in par-3 scoring average (2.69, ) and Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (13.262). Finished second in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (5.309) behind only Fleetwood. 5. Jhonattan Vegas’ birdie putt from 69-feet, 7-inches is the longest recorded made putt on the famous par-3 17th Island Green. Official records began in 2003. WYNDHAM REWARDS The Wyndham Rewards Top 10 is in its first season and adds another layer of excitement to the FedExCup Regular Season. The top 10 players at the end of the FedExCup Regular Season will earn bonus payouts from the Wyndham Rewards Top 10. McIlroy stormed all the way from outside the top 10 to the No. 1 slot with his victory.

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Spieth maintains lead after up-and-down round

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