Tiger Woods on his Practice Secrets

It’s the big 5-0! The 50-event super season concludes with this week’s TOUR Championship. If the playoff between Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau at the BMW Championship was the pregame for the final celebration of 2020-21, then we’re in store for quite a show at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. After surviving six holes of sudden death to prevail on Sunday, Cantlay rose to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings, so he will start atop the leaderboard on Thursday. You’ll find the explanation for that, how Starting Strokes influenced the first two editions of the Playoffs finale and much more beneath the ranking. NOTE: This full-field Power Rankings includes starting score for every golfer in the field. POWER RANKINGS: TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP Tabulation of FedExCup points ended at the BMW Championship, so only scores matters now. Starting Strokes was introduced at the TOUR Championship in 2019. It’s the compromise between rewarding bodies of work in the long- and short-term, and the promise to crown the winner of the tournament as the FedExCup champion. Unlike all other stroke-play competitions, the golfer with the lowest 72-hole aggregate at the TOUR Championship isn’t necessarily going to be the winner, but that’s how it worked out when Rory McIlroy captured the title in 2019. As the 5-seed, he opened at 5-under, and then scored 13-under (267). His 72-hole aggregate was three better than the second-lowest, but all that mattered was that his final score in relation to par of 18-under (5-under + 13-under) was the best in the field. In fact, the winner is determined on score in relation to par with Starting Strokes contributing, and that did matter in the second spin. Starting Strokes aided Dustin Johnson in emerging with his first FedExCup title last year. He opened at 10-under, shot 11-under during the tournament and posted 21-under for a three-stroke victory. However, his 72-hole aggregate was 269 was good for just T3 without Starting Strokes contributing. Xander Schauffele was lowest at 15-under 265 but opened at just 3-under as the 14-seed, so he settled for co-runner-up (with Justin Thomas) at 18-under. Unlike trends based on FedExCup points and positions, which are unique to every season, Starting Strokes has laid the foundation for an apples-to-apples comparison between TOUR Championships. Consider that in each of the first two editions, exactly six golfers seeded 12th or worse upon arrival finished inside the top 10 in relation to par at the conclusion of their respective events. (That’s a total of 12 among the combined 21 top 10s.) The highest climb to date belongs to 25-seed Chez Reavie in 2019. He opened at 1-under, shot 5-under and finished eighth at 6-under. Last year’s biggest riser was Tyrrell Hatton, who opened at 2-under as the 19-seed, and then shot 10-under for a combined 12-under and seventh place. Of course, movement occurs in the other direction as well. Coincidentally given Sunday’s duel, the top drops of the first two TOUR Championships with Starting Strokes were Cantlay (2019) and DeChambeau (2020). Cantlay opened as the 2-seed and finished T21. DeChambeau finished 22nd last year as the 8-seed. After the unknown of Caves Valley, the familiar backdrop of East Lake awaits. It remains a stock par 70 at 7,346 yards with bermudagrass greens ready to roll up to 13 feet on the Stimpmeter. Primary rough again is 2½ inches high. Essentially, for the 28 who have given it a go here before, it’s an open-book examination. Yes, that means that debutants 10-seed Sam Burns and 27-seed Erik van Rooyen are cramming, but they aced the first two tests, anyway. After East Lake held up for a historically average 70.033 in 2019, it proved to be vulnerable last year at 68.917. It was its lowest scoring average since 2007, the last edition before Rees Jones’ second of three renovations to the course. (Course scoring averages are not influenced by Starting Strokes.) Despite that dip, because the course is the same, the objective is the same – hit greens and sink putts. However, setting up scoring opportunities also remains the primary challenge. East Lake held firm in allowing a customary 11.6 GIR per round last year, 12th-lowest among all courses last season. Getting the ball onto the putting surfaces is harder than getting it into the hole. Last year’s field converted one-third of GIR into par breakers. That also aligns with recent history, but it connected in salvaging par 60.81 percent of the time, a record high at East Lake. The pair of par 5s – Nos. 6 and 18 – are most vulnerable and always have been. En route to his victory, DJ recorded six birdies and two pars on the set to rank T5 in par-5 scoring for the week. He also supported the theme of how the long game trumps the accurate at East Lake. He was T2 in distance of all drives but 28th in fairways split, yet still finished T5 in GIR, T11 in proximity to the hole and third in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. His putting was good enough to total 20 birdies against nine bogeys. What’s left on the backside of Hurricane Ida that will skirt northern Georgia will be long gone by the time the turf on the first tee box is pierced on Thursday. Outstanding conditions throughout the tournament will allow for East Lake to present as planned. Daytime temperatures will climb into the 80s and winds will be light. A few pillows passing in the sky won’t develop into anything. In addition to forever being known as the 15th FedExCup champion, the winner also will record an official victory and a five-year PGA TOUR membership exemption. By qualifying for the Playoffs finale, all 30 in the field receive exemptions into the 2022 editions of the Masters, U.S. Open and The Open Championship if not already eligible. All prize money distributed is unofficial but very real. The winner pockets $15 million. 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*: Fantasy Insider, Expert Picks SUNDAY: Qualifiers, 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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We all have different reasons we were drawn to the game of golf. That includes the celebrities competing in this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Celebrities, they’re just like us. Some followed a parent to the course. Others were seduced by that feeling of a solidly-struck shot. And some turned to the game after becoming famous, using it as a respite from the stresses of their careers. We took a look at a few of the high-profile names competing at Pebble Beach this week, from an NFL quarterback to a Grammy-winning rapper, and their relationship with the game we all love. JOSH ALLEN Buffalo Bills quarterback The Buffalo Bills quarterback won’t be competing in the Pro Bowl this week. He’ll be playing the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am instead. In turning down his Pro Bowl invitation, Allen said he needed to “allow my body to rest and recover from the harshness of the season.” No better place to do that than one of the world’s most picturesque places. Allen threw for 4,407 yards this season, the eighth-most in the NFL, to lead the Bills to their second consecutive AFC East title. The Bills’ season came to an end with a heartbreaking, overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Allen’s love for golf went viral late last year, when he dressed up as Phil Mickelson for Halloween, showing up to the Bills’ game wearing full golf attire, including a visor from Kiawah Island, where Mickelson won last year’s PGA Championship. Allen topped off the outfit by carrying a metal coffee container like Mickelson. It turns out that Mickelson had called the Bills in the preseason to offer an inspirational message. “It was right after he won the PGA and he was right there with his trophy and the golf cart,” Allen told reporters. “He was on the golf course, and he took about 30 minutes to talk to the team and it was really cool. I think it’s just self-knowledge, understanding who you are. I know I don’t play well when I’m frustrated, and again, hearing that from a Hall of Fame golfer, one of the best of all time, to say that type of thing, that resonated well with me, because that’s exactly kind of how I feel, too. It helped me today and hopefully it’ll help me in the future, too.” In 2020, after Allen became the first player in NFL history to record at least 4,000 passing yards, 30-plus passing touchdowns and at least eight rushing touchdowns in a season, he thanked his offensive linemen by buying them golf clubs and lessons. Allen has even used golf analogies to describe his play on the gridiron. “The type of throws where I struggle are kind of the underneath patterns where I’ve got to tone down my arm a little bit,” he once said. “It’s like I’m 100 yards out, and I have a 4-iron.” Golf Digest estimated in 2018 that he was an 11 handicap. MOOKIE BETTS Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Betts’ love of golf went viral four years ago during Spring Training, when he walked through his golf swing while mic’d up during an exhibition game. Another video showed him discussing how changes to his ball position fixed his short-game struggles on Florida’s Bermudagrass. The right fielder’s demonstration was interrupted when he had to chase down a ball hit into the corner of the outfield. Betts was with the Boston Red Sox when those videos went viral. He’s since become a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he appears to be taking advantage of Southern California’s strong lineup of courses. Betts was spotted at Riviera Country Club last week during media day for the upcoming Genesis Invitational. Betts’ appearance at Riviera was a thrill for Max Homa, the Genesis’ defending champion, who grew up in Southern California and is a diehard Dodgers fan. “That’s a living legend. That’s the coolest dude on the planet right there,” Homa gushed after meeting Betts at Riviera. “He’s literally not a human. He’s unbelievable. He’s good at everything.” Betts has a .296 career batting average and .890 OPS. He is a former MVP, five-time Gold Glove winner and four-time Silver Slugger. He led the American League in batting average (.346) and slugging percentage (.640) as a member of Boston Red Sox in 2018, the year he won the American League’s MVP award and led the Sox to the World Series title over the Dodgers. Golf Digest estimated in 2018 that Betts was a 12 handicap. Given his incredible hand-eye coordination – Betts also is an accomplished bowler who has bowled multiple 300 games – his handicap has likely dropped since then. “I haven’t seen him play (golf), but I’d be surprised if he’s not great,” Homa said. “He could probably make it on TOUR if he decided he wanted to do that, just judging by his athletic ability and skills. He’s incredible.” Hopefully Betts won’t be driving a golf cart this week. A 2016 tweet of his showed a fully-submerged golf cart with the caption “Yea no more driving for me.” MACKLEMORE Rapper and songwriter The Grammy-winning rapper and songwriter has a deep love for the game after getting hooked shortly after Thanksgiving 2018. “I hit a 5-iron out of the sand and I hit it pure and I have been very addicted ever since,” he said at last year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. “I just want that feeling. I play as much as I possibly can, which with two kids is not that often, but that often is at least two to three times a week. So I’ll take it.” He’s developed his game rather quickly. A Morning Read article in October said he was an 11 handicap. He’s even introduced his own line of golf clothing. His Bogey Boys line has a strong retro vibe. It looks like something Johnny Miller or Tom Watson may have worn in their primes. Macklemore looks through thrift shops and old golf magazines for inspiration. “I love that feeling of hitting a great shot. I love hitting a green in regulation, piping a drive,” he said. “I love even just the ups and downs, the humility that the game brings, the swing of emotion, the mental fortitude that it takes, the patience, the spiritual practice of accepting whatever you just did and letting it go, the exercise, the camaraderie. I truly love everything about the sport.” BILL MURRAY Actor and comedian Bill Murray’s biggest impact on golf will forever be his turn as disaffected greenskeeper Carl Spackler in the 1980s cult classic “Caddyshack.” But his second biggest impact has been as the most famous amateur at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Said to be a single-digit handicap, Murray never takes himself or his golf too seriously. When he first started playing in 1993, he connected with a spunky elderly woman for a dance in a bunker that ended with her tumbling into the sand. Although she was fine, it sparked a minor controversy. Soon, though, everyone realized he was good for the event, entertaining the masses and even donating his $14,000 from the Celebrity Challenge to the Salinas library system. For a long time, his pro partner was the mustachioed Scott Simpson, who said that Murray, recognizing that everyone comes out to have a good time, “amps it up a notch … or 10.” Murray switched to D.A. Points in 2011, and with Murray helping him stave off nerves, Points, then 35, shot 17-under to win for the first time on the PGA TOUR after 128 starts. What’s more, Points and Murray won the pro-am. Points, then the 166th ranked player in the world, said he would stick with Murray “for as long as he’ll have me.” Murray, who also has a golf clothing line and, with his brothers, Caddyshack restaurant, said, “I’m thinking of turning pro. I probably won’t. It’s really nice to play with a gentleman. He’s a good person. He’s from Illinois. He’s Lincoln-esque in stature and unfailingly polite.” SCHOOLBOY Q Rapper and songwriter ScHoolboy Q was in the studio, working on a record, when golf highlights appeared on TV. The rapper/songwriter remarked about golf’s lack of appeal, and a colleague issued a challenge. “I’ll bet you $10,000 that you can’t make a birdie within two years,” Q recounted being told. Within 10 rounds, Q cashed the bet, draining a 70-footer. The artist from South Los Angeles overcame a stint in jail by channeling his energies into the rap genre, collaborating with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock and Ab-Soul and also finding success in solo work, including his major-label debut studio album, “Oxymoron,” which debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200. While he’s not furthering his musical career or raising his two daughters, Q channels his energies into improving his golf game. This week, he makes his AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am debut, putting his skills to the test on the national spotlight. Q, who notes Rickie Fowler and Tony Finau as his favorite TOUR pros, credits the golf culture for fostering a positive creative mindset that he carries to the rest of his life. “Golf taught me patience,” he told GQ magazine. “You need that in the music industry, because this (stuff) is evil. Being in the house so much can drive you crazy. “You can always bounce back. Hit a good chip shot, get a good putt, save the day, par. That’s life!”

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SAN DIEGO – Tiger Woods WILL break the record of 82 PGA TOUR wins he holds with Sam Snead. It is not if, but when. That is a fact I am willing to put out there. It is an assumption for sure – and when you assume you often find it can make an “assâ€� out of “uâ€� and “meâ€� – but it is one we are going to run with anyway. Woods hits the Farmers Insurance Open this week for his first start in 2020, coming off a win at The ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Japan last October. While he has since played in his own Hero World Challenge (4th) and was part of the victorious U.S. Presidents Cup team as a playing captain in December, his trip to Torrey Pines represents his first chance to claim the all-time win record alone. When he played in Japan, Woods was given very little chance of winning in the lead up. Despite his incredible win at the Masters last April to get to 81, he was coming off knee surgery and had not really contended since Augusta. But Woods proved you can never count out a champion and earned No. 82 to join Snead at the top in impressive fashion. So now the question becomes: When will 83 happen? Woods himself says it is not a focus. “I really don’t think about it because I have to think about all the things I need to do to win the golf tournament,â€� Woods said. “There’s so many different shots I have to play and strategy and thinking my way around the golf course that I’m more consumed with.â€� Related: Preview: Tiger at Torrey Pines | Inside Tiger’s stunning loss at Torrey Pines in 1992 | Tiger eying No. 83 But expectations – as always – are high. Some of us are anticipating it as soon as a few days from now. Torrey Pines is, of course, the place Woods has eight career wins from seven Farmers Insurance Open titles and the 2008 U.S. Open. Others expect it could come later. A quick anonymous survey across the players at Torrey Pines gave us a multitude of answers, but ALL said it would happen this season. One multiple-time TOUR winner said, “it is likely wherever he tees it up. He’s always a chance.â€� Another believes if he plays at the World Golf Championships – Mexico Championship, he will find his way to victory there. “He is the game’s greatest thinker. So he can figure out the altitude and plot his way around. If he chooses to play there, by then he will be well warmed in to 2020.â€� What about THE PLAYERS Championship for a third time? “TPC Sawgrass for a third time, the home of the TOUR… I think that would be almost a Hollywood script for the people who run the TOUR,â€� a third player posed. Another thinks Woods might do an incredible double by winning the World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play before defending at Augusta National. “One on one, he can kill anyone if he wants to. And no one knows Augusta better.â€� Those who read our Expert Picks each week for fantasy golf already know I have slated Woods to win here at Torrey Pines. But here is a look at where some leading golf pundits believe Woods’ record-breaking moment will happen. Nick Faldo (Six-time major winner and CBS analyst) – the Masters “His last three victories were on golf courses when he has got minimal rough and pine trees left and right. So we have got to give him another shot of going back to Augusta (and winning), but I don’t know how he can recreate the emotion again of what it meant to win his 15th with his children there and coming back after 11 years.â€� Mike McAllister (Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM) – Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. “Of all the courses he’ll play in 2020, Bay Hill has given him the most success with eight wins. I think he has a ninth win in him, and the schedule sets up well for it to be No. 83. It would be extra-special to set the new record at Arnie’s place.â€� Bob Harig (ESPN) – the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide “As great of a story as it would be for Tiger to break that record at his own tournament, the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, it just seems too soon. There’s a transition period he will again go through this spring to build his game back to the level it was at the end of 2019, and while it’s more than likely he will contend several times, it would be more than fitting for him to do it at the Memorial, Jack Nicklaus’ annual tournament where victory No. 73 came in 2012. He’s won five times at Muirfield Village, so a sixth makes plenty of sense.â€� Jim Nantz (CBS) – The Genesis Invitational “The hardest thing in the world to do in sport in terms of trying to predict who’s going to win is trying to forecast a golf champion. Although Tiger in his prime was always the surest bet he could ever come up with. I’m always looking for context and he is signed up to play The Genesis Invitational at Riviera, where of course his foundation is tied to the running and the management of the event. Yes, he’s never won at Riviera, but I think that would be the coolest story … if he won at the site where he first competed as a 16-year-old high school kid in 1992.â€� Daniel Rapaport (Golf Digest) – Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard “I’ll say Bay Hill. Torrey hasn’t been too kind to him in recent years, and we know his history at Riviera. Mexico is definitely a possibility, but I think he gets it done in his home state at a course he’s dominated.â€� Geoff Shackleford – Genesis Invitational. In a cinematic, storybook career, only two options exist: this week at Torrey Pines and at Riviera where Tiger made his national debut. Torrey opens the debate up 1 after nine on the back of Junior Worlds, the sight of his one-legged U.S. Open win and in front of his adopted son fans. But Riviera? Where he’s never won, where it all started in earnest and now where he is the host? Easy 5&4 win for the 2020 Genesis as the place the Golf Gods will make it happen. Cameron Morfit . – Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. “Although I put him on my fantasy team, I hesitate to say Tiger will pick up No. 83 at the Farmers. The South Course is 7,765 yards, which means it got even longer after already ranking the longest course on the PGA TOUR last season. Also, he’s just getting going in 2020, and I’d like to give him at least a start or two to play his way into form. I’ll say he gets it done at Bay Hill.â€� Steve DiMeglio (USA TODAY) – The Genesis Invitational “Talk about storybook? Tiger Woods will win No. 83 at his own tournament, The Genesis Invitational, on a golf course that has gotten the better of him his entire playing career. Yep, Tiger is going to finally conquer Riviera Country Club, where he played his first PGA TOUR event as a 16-year-old amateur, and in the process, among all the duties he has as tournament host, pass Sam Snead.â€� Sean Martin . – Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. “I see it coming at Bay Hill. Long irons are key there and that’s what he does best.â€� Evin Priest (Australian Associated Press) – Farmers Insurance Open “I really believe it’s going to be this week at Torrey Pines. I watched him test TaylorMade’s new SIM driver on the range and he didn’t miss a tee shot for 30 straight minutes. Every trajectory and every shot shape. It was a masterclass. Combine that with his win at the ZOZO and his performance at the Presidents Cup, and all signs point to him getting a ninth win at Torrey.â€� Helen Ross . – Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. “OK, I know I’m not exactly going out on a limb here given his eight victories at Bay Hill. But he’s rarely out of contention here and — with THE PLAYERS on the horizon — Tiger always seems to be hitting on all cylinders during this stretch.â€� Only time will tell where it will actually come but one thing is for sure: It is going to be fun to watch it all unfold.

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