Tony Finau, Taylor Pendrith share lead at Rocket Mortgage Classic

Round 2 of the 3M Open takes place Friday from TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota. Sungjae Im and Scott Piercy share the lead after the first round of play with a score of 6-under-par. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and newly expanded and extended coverage on ESPN+. Click here for more details. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Friday, 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Radio: Friday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes FEATURED GROUPS FRIDAY Marquee Group Tony Finau, Jason Day, Davis Riley Featured Groups Cameron Champ, Michael Thompson, Chez Reavie J.T. Poston, Cam Davis, Adam Long Featured Holes: No. 4 (par 3), No. 8 (par 3), No. 13 (par 3), No. 17 (par 3) MUST READS 3M lead shared by Im, smooth-putting Piercy after 1st round Jeff Overton makes emotional return at 3M Open Joohyung Kim accepts Special Temporary Membership

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The Teddy Bear Trap? The launch of the Florida Swing is supposed to coincide with gusts of wind that separate the mettle from the meek, but The Honda Classic is forecast to be contested under tame conditions for once. Whether Camilo Villegas’ tournament record of 13-under 267 at PGA National’s Champion Course – a stock par 70 – is in jeopardy remains to be seen, but it’s a reasonable target. For more on how PGA National usually plays, what’s new on the course this year and much more, scroll past the ranking. Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Zach Johnson, Emiliano Grillo, Charl Schwartzel, Jason Dufner and Puerto Rico Open champion Martin Trainer will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. Every course requires a level of shotmaking in the context of the strike itself and/or its timing during the competition. Then there’s PGA National. It presents nothing but pressure essentially throughout the entire walk of 7,125 yards. Its scoring average last year landed at 72.303, highest in relation to par of all non-majors in the last two completed seasons. It also was a seven-year high for the course. Furthermore, PGA National has been the most difficult par 70 among all non-majors in four of the last six seasons. As noted at the top, that’s because the wind is usually howling. When Villegas prevailed in 2010, breezes were sustained at 10-20 mph throughout. In fact, he’s an outlier. His margin of victory of five strokes equaled the tournament record first established by Jack Nicklaus at Inverrary in 1977. That convenient truth brings us back to PGA National, a track with Nicklaus’ paws all over it. It includes renovation and enlargement of all 18 greens. The putting surfaces are still TifEagle bermuda, but it’s new grass in advance of this week’s edition. Meanwhile, greens on average now measure approximately 7,000 square feet, an increase of more than 25 percent. In theory, bigger targets assist in battling the wind, but with relatively calm conditions expected, hole locations and green speeds will have to play greater roles in defending the course. Undulating greens are prepped to touch 12 feet on the Stimpmeter, but they may not hit that mark until the weekend since midweek rain and storms will soften all turf. Daytime highs around 80 degrees will accompany humid air. The Bear Trap, as it’s dubbed officially, consists of the par-3 15th hole, the par-4 16th and the par-3 17th, the last of which is now only 175 yards, down 15 yards since last year thanks to an updated and adjusted tee box. Of 204 par 3s played during the 2017-18 season, No. 17 was the hardest at +0.533 strokes to par; No. 15 slotted third-hardest at +0.391. And with No. 16 ranking T36 among 551 par 4s, all three holes finished inside the top-50 hardest holes on TOUR all season. None had cracked that bubble since both par 3s in 2011. 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: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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MEXICO CITY — Shubhankar Sharma held his nerve to the end and held a two-shot lead going into the final round of the WGC-Mexico Championship. Now the 21-year-old from India has to hold off a few of golf’s biggest names. Sharma holed a 15-foot par putt on the final hole at Chapultepec Golf Club for a 2-under 69, leaving him 18 holes away from capping off his amazing rise. Three months ago, he had yet to win a tournament and was ranked No. 462 in the world. A victory would likely put him in the top 25. Two shots behind were Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia, along with Rafa Cabrera Bello and Tyrrell Hatton. Another shot back was Dustin Johnson, the defending champion and No. 1 player in the world.

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