Tiger Woods caps comeback year by leading emotional team win

The first anniversary of the Return to Golf is not without the irony that it’s also a reminder that not every tournament is all the way back. This position on the 2020-21 PGA TOUR schedule originally was occupied by the RBC Canadian Open, but it’s been tabled yet another season until it can be determined that all things associated with the tournament can be completed safely during and hopefully after the pandemic. In its place is the Palmetto Championship at Congaree. Situated in South Carolina’s Lowcountry near the small town of Ridgeland, Congaree will host 156 golfers for a traditional four-round competition. For details on the course, what’s at stake and more, scroll past the projected contenders. RELATED: The First Look | How the field qualified POWER RANKINGS: PALMETTO CHAMPIONSHIP AT CONGAREE Sungjae Im, Kevin Kisner, Tommy Fleetwood and Pat Perez will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. For the third consecutive month, the PGA TOUR finds itself in The Palmetto State. Its last visit crowned Phil Mickelson as the oldest champion in a major at the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. The first yielded then-47-year-old Stewart Cink’s second victory of the season and third career at the RBC Heritage. As the seabird flies, Congaree is about 35 miles north-northwest of Hilton Head Island. Like Harbour Town, Congaree is a par 71 that shot-shapers will find to their liking what with swerving fairways crisscrossing mature oaks. Unlike Harbour Town, which tips at just 7,121 yards, Congaree can stretch to 7,655 yards. The 645-yard, par-5 fourth is the second-longest hole on the PGA TOUR behind the 677-yard, par-5 18th at Kapalua, except it’s essentially at sea level as compared to the downhill finisher of the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Golf Digest declared Congaree the best new private course in the United States in 2018. Tom Fazio designed and built it to resemble what can be found across the Sandbelt region of Melbourne, Australia. There is no rough, which means that there is no transitional area between fairways, green and sand. Ah, yes, the sand. It’s everywhere. The hole-by-hole description of Congaree at PGATOUR.COM presents dazzling overhead images. Of course, the game is played on the ground, or at least that’s where the eyes are and on which many an attempt to escape from trouble around green complexes will be preferred, but golfers who manage distance and control from tee to green will factor, so the aerial attack will play. Bermudagrass greens have matured and they’ll be TOUR-quality speed, but because they’re unknown to most of the competitors, putting is a secondary weapon to irons and short game. Winds are forecast to be light and rain cannot be ruled out during any round – it’ll be hot and muggy throughout – so hole locations will serve as a primary defense against scoring. 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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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – A year ago, Brooks Koepka was at home, sidelined with an injured left wrist, while The Honda Classic was being played just a few miles away. His mood – and his diet – were both going through a dark period. “I was sitting on the couch, probably eating a bunch of food,â€� Koepka recalled. “I wasn’t doing a whole lot. I gained, I think, 15, 20 pounds. I was obviously upset. I just missed competition. It wasn’t fun for me.â€� The wrist injury kept him out for four months and prevented him from playing the Florida Swing in March. He didn’t return until the week before THE PLAYERS Championship in May. Of course, you know how the rest of the season turned out — two major victories and the PGA TOUR Player of the Year award. All’s well that end’s well, perhaps, but those four months of inactivity for a player who was obviously ready to take the next step was tough. “I didn’t watch any golf until Augusta, so I didn’t know what was going on,â€� Koepka said. “You make a lot of friendships, seeing a bunch of people out here, and you just don’t have that. You’re forgotten very quickly. That’s what it taught me.â€� Nobody’s forgetting Koepka now, of course. He’s now starting his heavy stretch, having made just two starts since the calendar flipped to 2019. The most recent was last week at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, where Koepka finished T-27. He’s among the favorites this week at PGA National, although his track record at this event is not something to celebrate – four starts, one missed cut, his best finish a T-27 in 2016. Before missing last year’s event, he missed the cut the year before. “I haven’t had the best memories here,â€� said Koepka, who was born in West Palm Beach and now lives in Jupiter, just a few miles north of PGA National. “I was going through a bunch of stuff off the golf course two years ago and then last year not being able to play, so I’ve tried to put that all in the past and tried to move on.â€� Despite the results, Koepka insists that PGA National is a course he likes. “I think it suits me really well, especially with the firm greens now. I think I’ve got a good chance.â€� That last sentence seems like an understatement – especially given the fact he’s won four times (three majors and THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in Korea) since he last played The Honda Classic. “I always had the confidence,â€� Koepka said. “I wasn’t lacking that. I feel like I’m borderline cocky when it comes to that, but everybody out here should expect to win. Everybody out here is borderline confident to cocky. “Everytime you win, you’re going to build confidence, and if you’re on a nice little run like I was, you’re going to have a lot of it, and I feel like I’m still riding high on that. I’ve just been waiting for this Florida Swing for a while.â€�

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Seeking to regain his PGA Tour card, Vijay Singh is on the entry list for the Korn Ferry Challenge and that’s drawn the disdain of Brady Schnell, who called Singh “selfish” in a series of tweets.

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