Tiger receives Medal of Freedom at White House

Matthew Fitzpatrick wants to rebrand his 2019 before it’s too late. The 25-year-old is certainly happy with his efforts rounding out the decade, one that saw him earn PGA TOUR membership, but the theme of his year has also had a tone of frustration. Fitzpatrick has notched up three runner-up results on the European Tour in 2019 – including his last start at the Italian Open – and had another on the PGA TOUR at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Related: Leaderboard | Late eagle sees McIlroy flying in China | Scheffler leads Bermuda Championship But a win has eluded the five-time European Tour winner. That might change this weekend after rounds of 66-67 at Sheshan International saw him take the 36-hole lead at the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions. Fitzpatrick is no stranger to this position. In fact, he held the same spot at the World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational in July. On that occasion, he let Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka reel him in during the third round, and he’d eventually settle for fourth place on Sunday. Koepka, who won in Memphis, isn’t in China. But McIlroy is. And he’s just a shot behind the young Englishman. It took a late flourish for Fitzpatrick to surge to the top. He notched four of his five birdies over the final seven holes of a bogey-free day. The key was his putting. He is a flagstick in-player when it comes to the greens. “The back nine I struggled with the driver a little coming in. (But) I putted fantastic, as good as I’ve putted all year,â€� Fitzpatrick said. “I think (the flag in) focuses me a little better. Just see the line (when) stood over it better and from there you feel comfortable. That’s the big thing in putting and certainly did it on the back nine.â€� If he is to continue to lead the way, Fitzpatrick knows he must find some more accuracy off the tee. With just six of 14 fairways hit on Friday, he knows he pressed his luck. “It’s so important to find the fairways here, because you miss them, you’ve either got a terrible lie and hacking out, or you’ve got a good lie and getting a flyer,â€� he said. “It’s a big key to hit fairways around here and if you can keep doing it, you’ll give yourself more chances.â€�

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Bay Hill Club & Lodge was an absolute bully at last year's Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Facing fierce winds on the weekend, the field averaged more than 2.1 strokes over par for the tournament, making it the most difficult course on the PGA TOUR for the 2019-2020 season. It was the first time Bay Hill had yielded a scoring average over 74 since 1983, and the highest winning score in relation to par (-4, Tyrrell Hatton) at the event since '83, as well. Approach play was especially perilous, with the field recording an average proximity to the hole of 54'4", the largest number all season on TOUR. They hit only 50.5% of greens in regulation for the week, the lowest number in any non-major since the 2005 RBC Canadian Open at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club (49.8%). While last year's conditions made for a tougher test than players normally face in Orlando, there is one statistic about Bay Hill that reveals itself every year, regardless of the weather. Bay Hill annually ranks among the courses with the most approach shots by the field from outside 200 yards. Last season, there were more than 1,800 approaches from that range - most of any course all season. Since 2016, there have been 9,926 approach shots hit from 200 yards out or farther - nearly 3,000 more than the next-closest course in that span (TPC River Highlands at 7,007). Part of the source of this are the long par 3s at Arnie's place: the quartet of holes have an average length of 216.5 yards on the scorecard. That was the longest average length for par 3s on TOUR last season, and ranked second-longest each of the previous two years - the par-3 holes at Corales Golf Club, host of the Corales Puntacana Championship, averaged 230.5 yards on the card in 2018 and 2019. So how have recent winners at Bay Hill fared on these long approaches? Since 2012, they are a combined 44 under par when hitting approach shots (on all holes, regardless of par) from outside 200 yards. In that span, the winner at Bay Hill has a proximity to the hole 4'9" better than the field average that particular week. Three tournament winners in that span beat the field average by 6 feet or more - Tiger Woods in 2013 (6'1"), Matt Every in 2015 (9'9"), and Rory McIlroy in 2018 (16'9"). McIlroy's performance on these particular shots was especially remarkable. In his 2018 win at Bay Hill, McIlroy led the field in approach shot proximity from outside 200 yards. When McIlroy is at his best, this is a pervasive theme. Only eight times in the ShotLink era (a collection of more than 600 tournaments) has a winner averaged less than 35 feet away on approach shots outside 200 yards (minimum 15 attempts). McIlroy has four of those wins. So which of the players in this week's field show promise in this particular statistic? There are more than 180 with 100 or more approach shots from outside 200 yards on TOUR the last 2 seasons. Of that group, you don't have to look far to find a familiar name: this week's defending champion, Tyrrell Hatton, ranks second in average proximity to the hole (44'2") when facing that length of an approach shot. Bryson DeChambeau, who has finished in the top five twice in the last three years at this event, ranks third (44'10"). The leader in this statistic is Will Gordon (43'2"), who makes his Bay Hill debut this week. How about scoring from that distance? Gordon ranks fourth in score to par per attempt (-0.29), best in the field in Orlando. Talor Gooch is another under-the-radar name who performs well in these situations: his score to par per attempt (-0.27) ranks eighth since the start of the 2019-20 season. Sungjae Im is a remarkable 106 under par when faced with these approach shots the last two seasons, 12 shots better than any other player. In a statistical testament to how often he plays, though, he's also had 38 more attempts than anyone else in that span (Im ranks 24th of 185 players in score to par per attempt, at -0.25). Almost every course in professional golf has its own defining characteristics, whether visually, architecturally, or when diving into the numbers. Longer approach shots into greens are a trend to keep an eye on this week at Bay Hill.

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HONOLULU, Hawaii - Brendan Steele, Joaquin Niemann and Kevin Na can all smell a little redemption as they gear up for the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii. But they can't all have it. The trio each have demons to bury at Waialae Country Club on Sunday and are in great position to do so. Steele and Na produced stunning 9-under 61s, while Niemann posted a 63 in Saturday's third round to become the players to beat. Steele has a two-shot lead at 18 under with Niemann and Na sharing second at 16 under. They won't be the only ones with a shot as five players share fourth at 15 under and four are just a shot further back at 14 under. RELATED: Full leaderboard But they'll start Sunday with the best chance. Steele has demons from a year ago, Niemann has his from a week ago, while Na has them from the last two years. Steele lost to Cameron Smith 12 months ago in a playoff - a result that still stings given he had a two-shot lead with two holes to play. On that day he bogeyed the 17th and then as Smith made birdie, Steele produced a wild hook from the fairway on 18 that made making the necessary birdie to win near impossible. After Smith drove his ball in the playoff into the rough, Steele looked in great shape in the fairway, but Smith punched a beautiful shot to 10 feet forcing him to go flag hunting. His wedge sailed over the green and when he failed to get up and down, it was an easy two-putt win for the Australian. "You hope that you come back and you play well and erase whatever negative memories there are, but all the memories are pretty positive. Playing great here last year was good, and I’m excited for the challenge tomorrow," Steele said. "I know it’s going to be really tough. Guys are coming after me. But I’ll just do my best and hopefully it will be enough." Steele kept a positive demeanor despite being asked about his failure a year ago multiple times. But the three-time TOUR winner admitted to getting a little annoyed earlier in the week. The last player to win a tournament after losing it in a playoff a year earlier was Ryuji Imada at the 2008 Atlanta Classic. "The first practice round we played was on the back nine and I was remembering some shots, some good and some bad, kind of kicking myself a little bit," the 37-year-old said. "I would have liked to hit a better shot into 18, but Cameron had a really tough up-and-down and made a great putt, and then hit a great shot in the playoff and forced my hand on the second shot there. I was very happy with everything I did, and I don’t feel like I did anything differently last year than the times that I’ve won. I would like to do the exact same thing tomorrow and hopefully it’s good enough." For 22-year-old Niemann, Sunday is a chance to shake off a playoff loss at the Sentry Tournament of Champions last week in Maui. Niemann failed to birdie either of the back nine par fives at Kapalua on Sunday and it proved costly. When he failed to birdie the 18th again in the playoff, it allowed Harris English to pounce and take the title. But on Saturday in Honolulu, Niemann hit two towering 7-woods on the last hole to set up a close-range eagle to finish off his round and bring him within two shots of the lead. The last player to lose at Kapalua and win the following week at the Sony Open was Jimmy Walker in 2015. "The eagle was huge. I wasn’t really satisfied on my first 16 holes. I thought I was playing great. I thought I could put myself in a better position, and then finishing that way and making eagle on 18 made me really happy and gave me a bit of motivation for tomorrow," Niemann said. "I took a lot of experience from last week. I’m just going to try to put everything I took from last week into this week and hopefully try to win it. I’m playing great. Just need to keep doing the same stuff I’ve been doing these two weeks and hopefully get a good round tomorrow, and you never know." Niemann is now 41 under in his last seven rounds on TOUR with a 37.3% birdie or better percentage so far in 2021 (47 of 126 holes). For Na, it's just good to be playing at all. Two years ago he had to miss the tournament after breaking his finger in the lead up to the Sentry Tournament of Champions. A year ago, he hurt his neck, and once again was forced out of the field. "I actually pulled my rib Wednesday before the Pro-Am and was like, here we go again, but I’m just happy to be playing. Maybe that’s the attitude I need," Na said of how he almost found himself sitting out again. When he made his fourth consecutive birdie on the 14th hole - his sixth of the round to go with an eagle - Na needed to play the final four holes in 3 under to shoot 59. He made life tough by missing a 10-footer on the 15th and the dream was over when he missed a seven-footer on the penultimate hole. "I played great. I made my share of putts. But on 17, you’re thinking, OK, I make birdie here, eagle the last and I have a 59 and how often do you get a chance for that magic number," he said. "And it’s definitely in your head. If you’re a professional golfer, it’s in your head. It was fun and exciting. Unfortunately, we misread that putt totally." He'll have a chance to atone on Sunday. They all will.

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