Tiger Woods hopes to ‘keep progressing’ at Valspar Championship

Xander Schauffele has been sheltering in place in his apartment in San Diego with his girlfriend and their 5-month-old puppy. His brother, who lives eight minutes away, sometimes comes over to play Scrabble, Monopoly and Risk as they while away the time. Like so many other sidelined players, Schauffele is just trying to stay healthy and sane as the coronavirus pandemic rages across the globe. RELATED: Golf in these times: A series of reports from across the country “Haven’t really taken a deep dive in any card games yet,� Schauffele said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday. “… It’s been strange. I haven’t completely lost it, but speaking for myself I’ve lost a sense of purpose in terms of work.� Schauffele, 26, is a four-time PGA TOUR winner who was 12th in the FedExCup when the season was suspended. He came oh, so close to a successful title defense but lost a playoff at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (Justin Thomas), and was coming off a T24 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Now, though, he’s in the same boat as everyone else, waiting for the season to resume. He said he hasn’t touched a club since THE PLAYERS Championship was cancelled nearly three weeks ago. Sometimes he goes out on his balcony to look out at the bay, but venturing outside feels like “walking on eggshells.� He said authorities recently closed San Diego area parks to the public, and he didn’t want to tempt fate or step out of line. “I’m just trying to be a law-abiding citizen here and just do my part, I guess,� Schauffele said. He keeps a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer in his pocket, but has no masks. He sometimes hops on the cardio machine in his living room, and otherwise occupies himself with games, screens and the occasional news article. As it happens, he was already thinking about his health, having had a few more bouts with the flu than he’d like in recent years. He had blood work done at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, but now feels fine while hundreds of thousands worldwide battle the ravages of COVID-19. Schauffele has texted back and forth with Charley Hoffman, a fellow San Diegan who is Player Director on the PGA TOUR Policy Board, but otherwise hasn’t had much contact with his fellow pros. His parents, both in their 50s, are healthy. He’s healthy, too, as are his brother and girlfriend. “I have groceries here; I’m ready for the next two weeks,� he said. “Just waiting for news from the commissioner on how we’re going to adjust our schedule. “I could play in a TOUR event tomorrow,� he continued. “That’s just how I think, though, and what I believe. I feel like I can pick my clubs up and play whenever.�

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Opportunity knocks for short game wizards and first-time winners this week as the TOUR wraps up the 2022-2023 portion of the schedule on St. Simons Island, Georgia, at Sea Island Golf Club for The RSM Classic. After a week of navigating the difficult Memorial Park municipal course in Houston the TOUR will exhale to end the 2022 grind on the resort courses of Sea Island. Birdies better be on shopping list before the holidays as scoring returns to the forefront again this week. Barely stretching over 7,000 yards each, both Seaside (host) and Plantation will provide excellent scoring chances. As is usually the case with shorter courses, everyone is in with a shout when distance off the tee doesn’t factor. Of the last seven winners, only Kevin Kisner has started inside a 40 to 1 chance pre-tournament. Seaside’s par-70 was run over last year with the course record 60 posted twice. The tournament scoring record (22-under) was also equaled. Plantation provides two extra par-5s on its par-72 layout. Each course will be used once before Seaside hosts the weekend. The average winning score since the amalgamation is almost 20-under so rounds in the 60s will be the focus this week. Large TifEagle Bermuda greens provide excellent targets for wedged approach shots. Once on the surface the pure and true greens rolling upwards of 13 feet have no problem accepting well-struck putts. Sand and water frame the two courses and will cause a spot of bother if found. The good news is scoring opportunities abound so get up and down and move on. Key Statistics Only players listed are competing this week; click stat headline for additional players; Stats from 2021-22 completed season. Greens in Regulation Less yardage on the scorecard means more loft on approach! Tons of fairways get hit here (and so do GIR) because less than driver can feature from the tee box. The last five winners and six from seven have all ranked in the top 10 for GIR. Even if the fairway is missed two inches of Bermuda shouldn’t bother these guys. Big targets need to be hit to amass scoring chances! Rounds in the 60s Low scoring is paramount as the average winning score approaches 20-under. Going low can open the floodgates or increase the pressure. I’m looking for guys who embrace festivals of birdies. Scrambling Keeping bogeys off the card this week will take the pressure off of making birdie somewhere else. Of the last seven winners, six have ranked in the TOP FIVE in this category. Don’t compound the error of missing big greens in regulation! Birdie or Better Conversion Percentage Big greens should equal GIR, right? Now, who’s going to take advantage of those opportunities? Seaside is stingier on the greens than it appears, ranking in the top 15 annually in most difficult, but the winner will crack the code. Only one of the last seven winners has fallen outside of the top 17 and five were inside the top 10. Cash those chances! The Bottom Line It’s easy to see why longshots have prevailed here. The door is open for all shapes and sizes this week. Keith Mitchell (Win: +2800; Top 10: +260; Top 20: +120) pops after a top 10 last week in Houston so he’s on my radar as is Tom Hoge (Win: +2200; Top 10: +225; Top 20: +100) and Denny McCarthy (Win: +3300; Top 10: +260; Top 20: +130). I could even stretch for Davis Riley (Win: +4000; Top 10: +333; Top 20: +160). Good luck! Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – APGA Tour officials today announced the initial APGA Collegiate Ranking for the 2022-2023 season with Michigan State University’s Troy Taylor II holding the top spot. The APGA Collegiate Ranking was announced in October 2020 through a partnership between the PGA TOUR and the APGA Tour. Eligible players are black golfers from NCAA Division I or II programs – including HBCUs – who exhaust a minimum of four years of college eligibility. The APGA Collegiate Ranking is based on players’ Golfstat adjusted scoring average, designed to evaluate the top players positioned to qualify for APGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament access. Taylor II holds the top position in the standings while Howard University teammates Gregory Odom and Everett Whiten Jr. rank second and third, respectively. Whiten Jr. was No. 2 in the standings late last season before opting to utilize his final year of eligibility this season. The Class of 2023 Ranking includes Golfstat-ranked college tournaments played in Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022 and Spring 2023. The top five players in the final APGA Collegiate Ranking will receive: • Scholarship access to APGA TOUR events through the remainder of the 2023 APGA Tour season • Scholarship access into the Korn Ferry Qualifying School for the 2024 season • The final No. 1-ranked player will receive a sponsor exemption into the 2023 REX Hospital Open on the Korn Ferry Tour • Additionally, the No. 1 player as of November 18, 2022, will receive an exemption to play in the APGA Farmers Insurance® Invitational as an amateur at Torrey Pines in January 2023 Rankings as of October 5, 2022 • Any player who wants to be removed from the list because they have decided to come back and complete their last year of eligibility needs to inform the APGA no later than April 15 • Players interested in opting into the program can register here: https://registrations.pgatourhq.com/forms/apga/ • A player must complete a tournament in each of the last three semesters (Spring 2022, Fall 2022 and Spring 2023) to be eligible for the APGA Collegiate Rankings top five benefits Full rankings will be updated monthly at https://www.apgatour.org/apga-collegiate-ranking. At the end of the 2022-23 season, APGA Tour officials will determine the minimum number of rounds to qualify.

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