Tiger Woods finds success with familiar putter back in the bag

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NASSAU, Bahamas – News and notes from Friday’s second round of the Hero World Challenge, where a young European star (Jon Rahm) and an older one (Henrik Stenson) share the lead by one stroke. RAHM’S GROWING UP Jon Rahm won twice in the 2018 calendar year – first at the CareerBuilder Challenge on the PGA TOUR in January, and then later in his native land at the Spanish Open. But what he accomplished in his golf game wasn’t nearly as important as what happened outside the ropes. “This year was a big year of personal growth more than my golf game,â€� Rahm said Friday after shooting a sizzling bogey-free 9-under 63. “I was actually quite surprised on how well I played compared to what I had going on in my personal life … like I said, personal growth.â€� Rahm didn’t get into details, preferring to keep those things limited to family and friends. But certainly a big step in his life was his engagement in August to longtime girlfriend Kelley Cahill. They’ve set a date for the wedding, but he wasn’t ready to share it. Actually, make that two ceremonies. “We’re really thinking of doing a small ceremony in Spain just because a lot of my family members can’t fly all the way to the U.S. …,â€� he said. “So do something small in Spain and then a couple months later, do a ceremony in the U.S.â€� Cahill was on hand Friday to congratulate her future husband on the lowest round of the first two days. Rahm hit 14 of 18 greens, was solid off the tee, and was usually playing with a short club for his approach. “The best way to describe it, having five par 5s and two relatively short par 4s – out of those seven holes, I got six birdies,â€� said Rahm, who is making his Hero World Challenge debut this week. “So I capitalized on the easier holes today … Didn’t seem like much could go wrong.â€� MR. NOVEMBER? Pro golfers are usually winding down this time of year, but Henrik Stenson has made it a habit of winning in the month of November. He’s done it three times on the European Tour. Once on the Challenge Tour. And in 2008, he teamed up with Robert Karlsson to win the World Cup for Sweden. Now he’s 36 holes away from another November win, and perhaps he has a couple of advantages over most other players in the field. He’s spent the Thanksgiving weekend with his family here, and after they returned home, he had an extra day of practice at Albany. Or did he? “If you think boating is working on the game,â€� he said, “then I did a lot of practice.â€� Actually, it may be a bit of a surprise with how well Stenson’s game is going this week (he shot a 6-under 66 on Friday), considering he’s been out for five weeks while rehabbing from an elbow injury. He hasn’t shown any rust, though, and in fact the time off may be helping him this week. “I guess I should be a little bit fresher than some of my colleagues who call me from Hong Kong or somewhere else at this point,â€� Stenson said. “I’m feeling all right. Just keep it going.â€� NOTABLES TIGER UPDATE: It took a while for Tiger Woods to sign his scorecard (click here for the full story DESK please add link here) but he eventually signed for a 69 that was clean until the double bogey at 18. His iron play was better but his putting has yet to kick in through two rounds. “I finally hit my irons the way I normally do,â€� Wood said. “Other than the last tee shot, I felt I really hit the golf ball well.â€� FINAU’S EAGLE: Tony Finau shot a 64 mostly by taking advantage of the five par 5s. He had three birdies and an eagle at the ninth when he chipped in from the off the green. “I was only 12-13 yards from the hole but I was in matted-down sand,â€� Finau said. “It one-hopped on the green and rolled in like a putt. Pretty cool.â€� At 8 under through two rounds, Finau is in solo fifth, two shots off the lead. ONE SHOT BACK: Dustin Johnson and first-round co-leader Patrick Cantlay are tied for third at 9 under. Johnson shot a 67, making four consecutive birdies on his back nine. Cantlay shot a 70 in a round that included four birdies and two bogeys. TOUGH DAY FOR REED: Patrick Reed was in the final group Friday after sharing the first-round lead with Cantlay. Things didn’t go as well for him in the second round. Reed opened with two bogeys, suffered a double-bogey on the par-4 seventh and failed to make a single birdie while posting a 5-over 77 that left him at 2 under and hear the bottom of the leaderboard. BIRDIES FOR CHARITY: Jon Rahm and Patrick Cantlay are donating $500 for each birdie this week for California wildfire victims. Rahm had nine on Friday and 13 overall; Cantlay had four on Friday and 11 overall. The 24 birdies through the first two rounds equals $12,000. SHOT OF THE DAY

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Due to COVID-19 precautions, the WGC-Mexico Championship will not be played in Mexico this season. Instead, the TOUR will start the Florida Swing one week early and add another course in the Sunshine State at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla. The tournament's name will also change to the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession, and the course will play as a par 72, measuring 7,474 yards and be putt on Bermuda greens. This week will be the first time Concession Golf Club will host a PGA TOUR event. This Jack Nicklaus design is aptly named after the famous 1969 Ryder Cup concession on the last hole of competition between him and Tony Jacklin, the first time the Ryder Cup ended in a tie. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1M Flop Shot [$250K to 1st] STRATEGY Paying homage to their Ryder Cup match, both Nicklaus and Jacklin teamed up to design this course, which opened back in 2006. Even though the course is new on TOUR, it hosted both the Big 10 Match Play in 2012 and the 2015 NCAA Division I Golf Championship. Bryson DeChambeau (+1850, $9,900) won the individual title while playing at Southern Methodist University (SMU) and should find more comfort here than last week, where he missed the cut at Riviera CC. Akin to most Nicklaus courses, there will be tricky green complexes, which will require accuracy with the approach. When designing the Concession, both Nicklaus and Jacklin agreed on making the greens challenging, and they are. These undulating greens are smaller than average, quirky, fast and sport difficult runoff areas. Meandering streams, wetlands and a myriad of bunkers, Concession will test the golfers with every shot. The course is on an expansive layout with no parallel fairways. Both Jack and Tony wanted each hole to run in different directions, so golfers have to play in various wind conditions on every hole. There are a few par 4s over 450 yards and the same amount of par 5s between 550 and 600 yards, but three of the four par 3s are over 200 yards. Long iron proximity and Bermuda putting are a few additional statistics we should be looking closer at when figuring out who to roster. The field consists of a minimum of 72 players based on the Official World Golf Rankings and will be a no-cut event. With a smaller field and guaranteed four rounds of golf, roster percentage will concentrate on certain players, and it'll be necessary to "zig" when other rosters "zag." Every golfer will have some level of popularity with the reduced field, so trying to find a golfer you like with little-to-no roster percentage is probably not going to happen. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Justin Thomas (+1850 to Win, $10,500 on DraftKings) Last week wasn't great from the World's No. 3-ranked golfer, whose mind was most likely elsewhere with the tragedy of his grandfather's passing. We should treat his outing at The Genesis Invitational as an outlier given how elite his game has been over the longterm, ranking first in approach over his previous 50 rounds and sixth with his irons over the last 24 rounds on Jack Nicklaus designs. Last season at Muirfield Village, Thomas nearly won the Workday Charity Open and followed it up with a top 20 the following week. Not only does Thomas play well on Nicklaus designs, but he's gained an average of 8.98 strokes tee-to-green in his past five WGC events, winning the most recent at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Tyrrell Hatton (+2250, $9,600) is also someone to consider near the top. Hatton is playing the best golf of his career and loves teeing it up in Florida, finishing fourth at The Honda Classic in 2017 at PGA National and winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational last season at Bay Hill Club and Lodge. Sungjae Im (+4500 to Win, $8,800 on DraftKings) Back-to-back third-place finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard over the past two seasons and a win at last year's The Honda Classic should be proof enough to consider Sungjae this week. Im's irons have been a little shaky of late, but he still ranks top 20 in approach over the previous 50 rounds. He should feel comfortable on the greens with how comfortable he's been on Bermuda, ranking top 10 in Strokes Gained: Putting over his last 50 rounds. Sungjae's already registered a top 20, a top 15 and a top 5 this calendar year and could add to his stellar record in Florida. Also, don't forget about Ryan Palmer (+5500, $7,200), who's gaining six strokes total, on average, over his previous five tournaments and plays well on Nicklaus designs. Justin Rose (+7000 to Win, $7,700 on DraftKings) This week will be Rose's first start on TOUR since The RSM Classic back in November, but he's been playing well on the European Tour, recently finishing runner-up at the Saudi International. Rose is one of the best tee-to-green players on TOUR and has a fantastic record in Florida with three top 5s at the Honda Classic since 2010, a top 3 at the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational and a win a while back at the 2012 WGC-Cadillac Championship (Doral). Rose also plays Jack's courses exceptionally well, ranking inside the top 12 in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green on Nicklaus designs over the last 24 rounds. If you're looking to venture further down the board, Bernd Wiesberger (+20000, $6,700) should be a consideration with two top 10s in his past five starts. Wiesberger has been great with his irons on the European Tour, ranking 27th in approach and ninth in Greens in Regulation percentage. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1M Flop Shot [$250K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. For sports betting, head over to DraftKings Sportsbook or download the DraftKings Sportsbook app. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL). Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ/WV/PA/MI), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (NH/CO), 1-800-BETS OFF(IA), 1-888-532-3500 (VA) or call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN). 21+ (18+ NH). CO/IL/IN/IA/NH/NJ/PA/TN/VA/WV/MI only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions. I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is reidtfowler) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. 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