Tiger Woods on shooting 85: ‘I didn’t want to have anyone watch me play’

Here are nine tidbits from the final round of the Dell Technologies Championship gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road in 2020. TPC Boston plays 7,342 yards to Par-71. Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 selected golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf game presented by SERVPRO. Those gamers riding THE STREAK galloped well up the leaderboard after DeChambeau matched Vijay Singh as the only two players to be victorious in the first two FedExCup Playoff events. It also reinforces the point that saving players for certain events is nothing more than having a chance to play them. This is a recording. Wash, Rinse, Repeat Bryson DeChambeau joined Vijay Singh as the only players to win back-to-back FedExCup Playoffs events. Last week’s champion posted a final-round 67 to post 16-under 267 for the week and secure his fourth PGA TOUR victory and third of the season. Justin Thomas was the last player to win back-to-back TOUR events last season during the Hawaii swing. After securing 2,000 FedExCup points and $1.62 million he’ll be the one of the favorites next week and at The TOUR Championship as the No. 1 seed. If he’s a man or machine isn’t up to me to determine. I thought I was clever using him earlier in the season and collecting solo fourth at the Wells Fargo Championship. Looking inside the numbers this week, nothing jumps off the page except his consistency across the board. I’ll point out he was sixth in both Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green and Strokes-Gained: Putting and that combination is usually tough to beat. There’s a reason both of those usually are in play in The Confidence Factor! People’s Choice Adam Scott probably helped a few who kept the faith in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf game presented by SERVPRO but his O&D investors won’t share the same sentiment after T49. A blistering front nine only needed 30 strokes but 1-over coming home crushed all of the momentum. Just when gamers think they have it figured out … golf, eh? This was a tough time of year not to have a premium player fire up. Back it Up Gamers were concerned, rightly or wrongly, when Justin Rose took a leave of absence before the PGA Championship with back spasms. His T19 at Bellerive suggested the rust was knocked off and it was all-systems-go before MC last week, his first in 18 starts, stifled that thinking. He picked up his fifth top-10 finish in his last seven events on TOUR this week so I’d suggest there’s nothing to worry about moving forward. Finally Enough? Tony Finau backed up his solo second at Ridgewood with another top five this week as he continues to shine. He adds four more rounds of red figures to run his streak to 17 in his last 20 rounds.  ABC, Easy as 1-2-3 … World No. 1 Dustin Johnson forced gamers to be patient but his closing-round 64 reinforced why it’s ALWAYS too early to give up on the big hitter. Sure, it’s another boring top-10 payday but he was T33 before the round started. … Brooks Koepka began the week at No. 2 and could have nipped DJ for the top spot with a premium finish. He posted nothing worse than 69 and nothing better than 68 so it appears he’s up for the closing stretch.  … Justin Thomas posted just two rounds in the 60s but saved his best for last with 65. Double circles on Nos. 2 and 18 helped him move into the top 25 but it wasn’t the defense gamers were hoping for. Remember, NOBODY defends here and previous champions rarely, if ever, hit the top 20 the following year. Sunday Silence Matt Kuchar dropped 27 places and will miss the BMW Championship next week after cashing T43. … I’m not looking up Beau Hossler’s scoring average on Sunday. He dropped 27 spots from T8 after a closing-round 75. I’m putting every dollar I have on him next year and will be expecting to cash. … Tyrrell Hatton’s wonderful volatility is worth the price of admission alone but over-par rounds on Sunday are tough to handle. Last Call The drama of advancing to the next event or dreaming about East Lake has been more interesting than watching DeChambeau close out the last two weeks. That’s a compliment, folks. Punching their tickets to Aronimink Golf Club next week include Keith Mitchell, Tyrrell Hatton, Brice Garnett, Peter Uihlein, Abraham Ancer and C.T. Pan. Those of you banking on long-shot selections will be disappointed to know that nobody slotted between No. 125 and No. 100 advanced to the third stage. Study Hall The Round 4 scoring average of 69.632 was the lowest of the week as the event finished almost a full shot below par at 70.097. … Uihlein (T12) led the field in birdies with 24. Congrats to those who were rewarded by playing the “hometown” angle this week. … Koepka led the charge for the bogey-free brigade in Round 4 but was the only one of the four to hit the top 15 for the week. … Phil Mickelson posted the round of the day with 63. His investors will lament his 72-72 first two rounds but enjoy a top-15 payday. … Hideki Matsuyama might make a wonderful late-season Christmas present next week for those who forgot to play him earlier this year. … Cameron Smith and C.T. Pan continued their scalding-hot play with top-five finishes. … Tiger Woods ran out of gas as he played his final three holes in 3-over to drop to T24.

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Mark Hubbard … When a course like Detroit Golf Club rolls over for eagles and birdies, anything can happen, but no on statistically is more familiar with going low than the 31-year-old who is making his 100th start as a PGA TOUR member this week. He’s 37th in the FedExCup on the strength of a co-runner-up in Houston and another four top-13 finishes baked into his 13-for-17 record. Contributing to whole is a TOUR-high 37 rounds in the 60s. That leads Sungjae Im by two and a trio in third by six. Hubbard cashed in each of the first three events coming out of the break, but he’s yet to put four rounds together. At 33rd in Strokes Gained: Putting and T26 in par-5 scoring, he could be lighting his own fireworks this weekend. Maverick McNealy … Suffice it to say that the 24-year-old’s decision to choose professional golf over a career in business has been a good one. After two seasons of grooming on the Korn Ferry Tour, he makes his debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic lurking in the Rookie of the Year race. Currently 58th in the FedExCup with a T5 among four top 20s and only three missed cuts in 16 starts, he’s fourth in his class in points. No question that his scoring club is the putter. Overall, he’s 22nd on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting, 31st in putting: birdies-or-better and 10th in scrambling. Peter Uihlein … With a T14 at Colonial to reopen the season, he proved that he was prepared to play again. It wasn’t the first time he’s enjoyed a solid week in Fort Worth, either, but last year’s T13 didn’t translate into success in the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic. He missed the cut on the number. This means that it’s time for second chance for the 30-year-old on conditional status. Nothing jumps off the page analytically over time, but he ranked T17 in greens hit at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Chesson Hadley … He missed the cut here last year during what largely was a long calendar-year 2019 inside the ropes with 14 MCs spanning 22 starts. He turned it around in the fall, but resumed the up-and-down form that must feel promising and demotivating all at once. That’s the life of a touring professional for ya, but his tee-to-green game is a place of encouragement. Sits 32rd in fairways hit, 28th in greens in regulation and T20 in proximity to the hole. He’s even 40th in converting GIR into par breakers, but when he’s missing his targets, there’s an elevated pressure on his putter that helps explain the inconsistency. Smaller greens like those at Detroit Golf Club benefit ball-strikers who don’t measure up on the greens, and he finished T23 on the similarly sized surfaces of Colonial just three weeks ago. Dominic Bozzelli … Saddled with conditional status this season, playing time is restricted, so he licks his chops at every opportunity. His form in 2020, albeit in only five starts, his last at the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass, is uninspiring, but he was more than comfortable on the greens at Detroit Golf Club last year. He made the most of finishing second-to-last (of 71) in greens hit by ranking ninth in holing par breakers on those chances. This has been his calling card throughout his young career. He’s currently second on TOUR in putting: birdies-or-better. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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