Tiger Woods working for the weekend at Torrey

Emergency 9 Here are nine tidbits from the first round of the 50th RBC Heritage that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina plays to 7,099 yards (Par-71).  Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. Of the 10 players above, seven played the morning wave where scoring was 71.03. The other three (Casey, Smith and Grillo) slogged through the afternoon where scoring pushed up to 72.45 but Smith continued his excellent play with 68. The weather is expected to be similar in Round 2 but with both the temperatures and wind creeping higher. Saturday and Sunday the breezes turns into winds and severe weather could be in play.  Lonely at the Top Rory Sabbatini set the pace from the morning wave as his 64 was two shots better than the rest. After MC in three of his first four starts of the season he’s rattled off nine paydays in a row heading into this week. His bogey-free round was his best in 27 rounds at Harbour Town. It’s also his lowest round on TOUR since the Wyndham Championship last year when he finished T4. His last win on TOUR was 2011 but he has six victories to his name. Remember when he helped start the MASSIVE belt buckle craze? I do. Scarred. People’s Choice: Matt Kuchar  Koooooooooooooooooooch was the safety-first, bubble-wrap selection of the week and he’s doing exactly what gamers expected (66). The 2014 champ has four additional top-10 finishes so it’s hardly a surprise he’s firing on all cylinders. He led the field in SG: Tee to Green and Approach the Green and he was perfect scrambling. His low ball flight and tight short game can handle the breeze so keep your foot on the gas here. He only has three rounds over par in the last four years. Morning Show Billy Horschel continues to confound weekly players. His 66 matched his low first round score of the season as he matched this total at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He went on to finish T43 that week. The last time he fired 66 at HTGL was 2016 in Round 2 and followed that up with a 74-76 weekend. He was eighth in SG: Putting in Round 1 but is 118th on the season. Caution. Afternoon “Two Snaps” Edition Chesson Hadley rips off a pair of snaps, no, not Snapchats, regular ol’ snaps, when he holes a big putt. He had plenty to snap about since he was 90th in proximity and fourth in SG: Putting. Playing the afternoon wave, his 66 might have been the round of the day because of the course firming up and the breeze blowing. He began on the more difficult back and turned without a bogey in three-under. His round was two shots better than anyone else who went in the afternoon wave.  Native Son South Carolina (Myrtle Beach) native Dustin Johnson returned to Hilton Head for the first time since 2009 and posted 69 to open. It’s his first round in five in the red at this event even though he only got up-and-down twice in five tries and made only 57 feet of putts. Somehow he had time for six birdies, one off the lead for the day. He made nothing last week at Augusta and still hit the top 10 because he’s THAT good. Which week? Yes. Which major? Yes. Name a better wind player as well. Donald!? Duck! I argued earlier in the week that Luke Donald (76) will test gamers of all levels of how they value course form. The Englishman entered the week with 37 of 44 rounds at par or better on this track. He’s finished in the top two in this event three times in the last four years. BUT, there’s always a but! He limped into town with five MC in eight events with his biggest check cashing for T32. Remember, the only things that are “due” are taxes (April 17) and pregnant women. I’m not sticking around. Wide Awake Fantasy Big Boss, Rob Bolton, posts a weekly column of “Sleepers” that you all need to read, well, weekly. Of his five selections this week three of them are inside the top 10, one is T20 and one is Steve Marino. #Ballin. Study Hall Adam Hadwin was a late WD on Wednesday for personal reasons. Twitter suggested that he was not injured and his schedule will not be affected moving forward. … Branden Grace, the 2016 champ, was also a late scratch as his wife is due this week. … Tiger Woods committed to the U.S. Open today. It’s news because this is the last time he’s exempt into the national championship. I’ll bet you a cold beverage that he’s playing next year at Pebble Beach regardless of status. … Austin Cook shot even-par 71 and made 18 pars.

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“The Clambake” returns to its full glory in 2022 as it welcomes back amateur players and Monterrey Peninsula Country Club to the three course rotation. RELATED: Five Things to Know: Pebble Beach Golf Links | The First Look Pebble Beach serves as the host course as it has every year since 1947. Last year was the first since 2009 that Monterrey Peninsula Country Club was NOT included in competition. A field of 156 will be cut to the top 60 and ties after 54 holes. All will play each course once and the top 25 Pro-Am teams qualify for the final round at Pebble Beach. Because of the Pro-Am, the setup won’t have slick greens, deep rough or demanding pin positions a la the US Open’s held at Pebble. The last 10 winners have ranked in the Top 10 GIR and the last seven winners have ranked T2 or better in Par-4 Scoring. On the greens, five of the last six winners have ranked in the Top 5 in Birdie or Better Percentage. Official Scorecard Yardages – 2022: Pebble Beach – 6,972 yards, Par 72 Spyglass Hill – 7,041 yards, Par 72 Monterrey Peninsula Country Club – 6,957 yards, Par 71 Let’s find some horses for courses! Horses for Courses Odds sourced on Tuesday, February 1 at 3 p.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. Recent Event Winner Stats *Stats for Strokes-Gained are from Pebble Beach ONLY* Extra Credit (players entered this week only) 2021 Winner Daniel Berger played Pebble Beach 13-under and had FOUR eagles for the week; career event scoring average 68.33. … Local Maverick McNealy (2nd) T7 Fairways, T3 GIR. … Patrick Cantlay (T3) tied Pebble course record (62) in Round 1 and is trending here with T3-T11-T35-T48 in last four visits. … Jordan Spieth (T3) led after 36 and 54 holes. … Nate Lashley (T5) played Pebble 14-under. … Jason Day (T7) joined McNealy as only two players to post all four rounds in the 60s and has now cashed 8 of 9 T11 or BETTER. … Charley Hoffman (T7) T7 GIR. … Russell Knox (T7) co-led the field GIR and has cashed T28 or better in his five paydays. … Cameron Tringale (T7) has cashed in seven of his last eight with 2021 being the best. … Kevin Streelman (T13) picked up his sixth straight T17 or better. 2020 Nick Taylor became second player to go wire-to-wire this century. … Kevin Streelman (2nd) was only player with all four rounds in the 60s. … Jason Day (4th) was T3 GIR. … Daniel Berger (T5) was 3rd in Fairways. … Thru 2021, Matt Jones (T5) has cashed eight of his last nine. … Maverick McNealy (T5) posted only BOGEY FREE round in Round 4 (68). … Charl Schwartzel (T5) hit top five on debut. … Lanto Griffin (T9) opened BOGEY FREE (67) on Spyglass Hill. … Only four rounds in the 60s on Sunday led by Jordan Spieth (T9) and his 67. … Matthew NeSmith (T11) followed up with T26 last year in his first two appearances. 2019 Scott Stallings (3rd) cashed T7 in 2018 and T14 in 2017, his best three. … Jason Day (T4) only seven bogeys. … Si Woo Kim (T4) swished 31 of 35 putts inside 10 feet on PB. … Brian Gay (T7) T8 Fairways, T2 GIR and thru 2021 has cashed in eight straight. … Kevin Streelman (T7) posted 65, co-low round of Sunday. … Lucas Glover (T7) led field in Proximity. … Scott Piercy (T10) is on run of five straight thru 2021 with 2019 being his best. … Michael Thompson (T10) closed with a bogey free 66. Notes: • Pebble Beach has the smallest greens on TOUR. • Only 4 international winners, ever, including ZERO Europeans. • Dustin Johnson is the last player to defend (2009-2010). • The last first-time winner on TOUR was DA Points (2011). • Former winners Jimmy Walker, Ted Potter, Jr., and Brandt Snedeker have all MC in their last three visits. • Snedeker holds the tournament record at 22-under (2015). • Chez Reavie was T2 2018 and T3 at the 2019 US Open here. • Troy Merritt has cashed three straight events for T8-T25-T16. • Cal alum Brandon Harkins has T16 and T28 in two visits and won The Great Abaco Classic last week on the KFT. • Justin Rose cashed T6 and T39 in two visits pre 2018 but was T3 US Open in 2019. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2020-2021 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week.

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T.J. Vogel continued his impressive performance in Monday qualifiers, shooting 6-under 66 at Gentle Creek Country Club in Prosper, Texas, to qualify for his fifth event of the season. Vogel has been successful in four of his past six qualifying attempts. He’s made the cut in his past two starts, including a career-best T16 at the Valspar Championship. Here’s a closer look at the players who played their way into this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson. RYAN BACA (65) Age: 35 Hometown: Sugar Land, Texas Alma mater: Baylor PGA TOUR starts: 3 Best PGA TOUR finish: MC, 2006 U.S. Open; MC, 2010 Valero Texas Open; MC, 2018 Houston Open Notes: Baca won the 2002 and 2003 Texas Amateurs. He also Monday qualified for this year’s Houston Open. Baca has missed the cut in both his Web.com Tour starts this year, as well. T.J. VOGEL (66) Age: 27 Hometown: Hollywood, Florida Alma mater: USC/Florida PGA TOUR starts: 8 Best TOUR finish: T16, 2018 Valspar Championship Notes: Vogel has made the cut in two of four PGA TOUR starts this season. He credits advice from PGA TOUR winners Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau for helping him have success this season. He finished 10th on last season’s Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit. He also won the 2012 U.S. Amateur Public Links and played in the 2013 Masters. STEVEN IHM (67) Age: 26 Hometown: Plano, Texas Alma mater: Iowa PGA TOUR starts: 3 Best TOUR finish: T27, 2014 John Deere Classic Notes: Ihm’s biggest win came at the 2013 Sunnehanna Amateur, one of the country’s best amateur events. He also led Indian Hills Community College to the 2011 National Junior College Athletic Association title. He competed on the Web.com Tour and PGA TOUR Latinoamerica last year, making the cut in eight of 12 starts. He birdied the first hole of Monday’s 4-for-2 playoff to earn a spot in his first TOUR event since the 2016 John Deere. TOM WHITNEY (67) Age: 28 Hometown: Little Elm, Texas Alma mater: Air Force PGA TOUR starts: 2 Best TOUR finish: T67, 2018 CareerBuilder Challenge Notes: Whitney finished 89th on last year’s Web.com Tour money list. On Monday he birdied the second playoff hole to defeat Steven Allan and Logan McCracken for the final spot in the field. He also qualified for this season’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (MC). He turned professional in 2014 after fulfilling a four-year term of active duty as an Air Force officer. He was a nuclear-missile operator between 2010 and 2014. WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIP T59. T.J. Vogel, 69-75-71-72 MC. Carter Jenkins, 76-75 MC. J.T. Griffin, 79-74 MC. Mito Pereira, 81-73 THIS SEASON’S QUALIFIERS Qualifiers: 59 Made cut: 20 (33.9%) Top-10s: 3 (Scott Strohmeyer, T4 at Sanderson Farms; Trey Mullinax, T8 at Valspar; Julian Suri, T8 at Houston) Top-25s: 5 Most times qualified: T.J. Vogel (5)

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