Top 30 Players to Watch in 2020: Tiger Woods

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson simply peaked too early. Their best moments came in the days leading up to the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship. Their strong performances in the interview room didn’t carry over to the first tee, unfortunately. They traded barbs in their pre-tournament press conferences but didn’t trade birdies in the first round at TPC Sawgrass. On a day when low scores were plentiful at the Stadium Course, no one in the first round’s premiere pairing broke par. Mickelson shot 79, while Woods was the threesome’s low man after an even-par 72. Rickie Fowler shot 74. The trio of former PLAYERS champions was 9 over par on a day when the scoring average was 72.0. With his focus squarely on Sunday’s result, Woods said he wasn’t thinking about beating his playing partners. Everyone else was, though. Even if it was a Thursday, there were high hopes for the sort of mano-a-mano showdown that was a rarity during their primes. Both players had been playing well enough to make that seem feasible. Mickelson had won earlier this year and was coming off a fifth-place finish at last week’s Wells Fargo Championship. Woods is showing his best form in five years after fusion surgery. Woods saw the plethora of low scores before he teed off Thursday at TPC Sawgrass. Red numbers seemed easy to come by on a hot day that allowed the ball to fly far and made the Stadium Course play short. “We had to go out there and tear this place apart,� Woods said. He couldn’t, but plenty of players did. He will start Friday six shots behind the half-dozen players who shot 66: Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson, Alex Noren, Chesson Hadley, Matt Kuchar and Patrick Cantlay. In light of the struggles from this star-studded threesome, it may have been Mickelson’s attire that made the biggest news. He played Thursday in a button-down shirt similar to the one he wore during his Masters practice round with Woods. “I think nobody does kind of slightly overweight middle-aged guy better than me, and this says exactly who I am,� Mickelson said. But fans were hoping Woods and Mickelson could turn back the clock. This was their first time playing together in four years. The last time they played at the Stadium Course, it was one of the most historic days in the tournament’s history. They were paired in 2001’s third round, when Woods produced the “Better Than Most� putt. Previous generations were treated to memorable showdowns between the top players. Arnie and Jack were forever linked after Oakmont. Nicklaus and Watson had the Duel In The Sun. The Hall of Fame careers of Woods and Mickelson overlapped for decades, but there weren’t many memorable meetings. They were often paired on opposite ends of the draw on the weekdays and Woods was simply too dominant on the weekends. “If you grew up in my generation, that was the closest thing I ever saw in a rivalry in golf, but we didn’t see that pairing often,� said Charles Howell III. Time has leveled the playing field between Woods and Mickelson, though. Age has introduced a warmer relationship between the two longtime competitors. There is a mutual admiration instead of an obsession with beating the other. There was the post-victory hug at the Presidents Cup and their pre-Masters practice round, two events that once seemed as likely as airborne swine. The prelude to THE PLAYERS Championship was a more jocular version of the pre-fight banter between two heavyweights. Mickelson recommended a high-stakes match between the them, sending golf fans’ imaginations into hyperdrive. “Now, I don’t know if he wants a piece of me,� Mickelson joked. Woods silenced Mickelson with a quick reference to the history books. But they stung like butterflies and floated like bees once they stepped into the ring at the Stadium Course on Thursday afternoon. There were momentary highlights, but they were quickly erased by Pete Dye’s penal course. Woods made eagle at the ninth hole to return to even par with the easier back nine ahead. He could only manage two birdies and two bogeys on that side, though. Mickelson was even par after birdies at 11 and 12, but he played Nos. 14-17 in 7 over par after rinsing shots at both 16 and 17. Fowler was even par when he joined Mickelson by hitting into the pond surrounding the island green. “I was worried about energy this week, and I just kind of ran out at the end,� Mickelson said. Woods, Mickelson and Fowler should have even easier conditions when they tee off at 8:27 a.m. Friday morning, but it’s likely too late for Mickelson, who needs a minor miracle just to make the cut. Woods will start the second round on the cut line and will need a low number to enter the weekend in contention. This was Mickelson’s third-highest score in 81 rounds at TPC Sawgrass. He shot a final-round 82 in 1999, then opened the 2000 PLAYERS with an 83. He shot a third-round 78 in last year’s PLAYERS. He only beat two players Thursday. The Woods-Mickelson matchup must wait for another week.

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Will Americans’ dominance continue after latest convincing victory?

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The West Coast Swing continues this week as the PGA TOUR moves from the desert to the coast of California at Torrey Pines. The monstrous South Course (7,765 yards) will serve as host but all 156 pros in the field will get a breather with one round of the first two on the North Course (7,258). The top 65 at ties return for all-you-can-eat weekend on the South Course to determine their piece of the $7.5 million prize pool. The winner takes home $1.35 million and 500 FedExCup points for their troubles. Gamers will notice the field, like the host course this week, has bulked up as some of the big boys are making their 2020 debut this week. That’s hardly surprising as this is a proper test of golf and will also be the site of the 2021 U.S. Open. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks RECENT WINNERS 2019: Justin Rose (-21, 267) Became the third consecutive international winner and just fifth overall in 67 events as he won by two. … First winner since 2010 (Ben Crane) to open on the North Course (63). … Benign weather saw Rose equal the 36-hole (-15) and 54-hole (-18) scoring records. … Missed the tournament record by a shot (Woods, 1999). … Rose was second in Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green, Proximity, GIR plus led the field in Birdie-or-Better Percentage on the greens. … With similar weather conditions expected this year, this might be our best history lesson. Notables in the field this week: Hideki Matsuyama was the only player with a round above par in the top 12 but still cashed T3 (career best event). … Rory McIlroy T5 on debut. … Jon Rahm opened with 62 on the North Course, lowest round of the week, and cashed T5. … Top 24 players, including Tiger Woods (T20), were double-digits under-par. 2018: Jason Day (-10, 278) Won a three-man playoff on the sixth extra hole for his second title. … 64 on the North Course was lowest round of the week. … No players broke 70 on both days of the weekend and only two rounds in the 60s on Sunday. … Day joined the recent winners by finishing in the top 10 in Par-5 scoring. Notables in the field this week: Ryan Palmer was eliminated on the first playoff hole but led after 36 and played in the final group Sunday. … Keegan Bradley (fifth) was the only player in the field to post all four rounds under-par. … Tony Finau opened with 65 on the North before cashing T6. …  Oh, look! Charles Howell III in the top 10! 2017: Jon Rahm (-13, 275) Picked up his first win on TOUR in his first try at the event. … Closed with 65, which included two eagles and a birdie in his final six holes. … As with Rose last year, finished T34 at The American Express the week before. Spoiler Alert: nobody finished T34 this year. … Led the field in Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green and Off-the-Tee. Notables in the field this week: Charles Howell III and CT Pan shared second three back. … Justin Rose (T4) led after Rounds 1 and 2. … Brandt Snedeker (T9) and Patrick Rodgers (T4) played in the final group. … First year of new Weiskopf design (North Course). … Rose’s 65 on the North Course was lowest of the week by two shots. KEY STAT LEADERS  Top golfers in each statistic on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week.  * -  previous top 10 finish here since 2015 Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green  1  *Rory McIlroy  3  *Hideki Matsuyama  7  Byeong-Hun An 10 *Jon Rahm 11 Xander Schauffele 14 Jason Kokrak 15 Emiliano Grillo 16 *Gary Woodland 19 *Kevin Streelman (3rd, 2016) 21 *Tony Finau 23 Joaquin Niemann 25 Lucas Glover Birdie-or-Better Percentage  1  *Rory McIlroy  2  Jordan Spieth  5  *Gary Woodland  8  Wyndham Clark  9  *Justin Rose 12 *Jon Rahm 14 Dominic Bozzelli 18 *Hideki Matsuyama 21 Sepp Straka (T13 last year) 22 *Ryan Palmer 24 Bud Cauley 25 Xander Schauffele Par-5 Scoring  2  Wyndham Clark  4  *Gary Woodland  4  *Bubba Watson (2011 winner)  6  Sungjae Im  6  Bill Haas  6  Xander Schauffele 10 Denny McCarthy 12 Matt Jones 12 *Rory McIlroy 17 *Tony Finau 23 *Hideki Matsuyama 23 *Jon Rahm 23 *Martin Laird 23 Cameron Davis 23 Luke List 23 Kevin Tway Beachfront Tiger Woods: Seven wins plus the U.S. Open. Jason Day: Won two of the last five; T9, 2013; T2, 2014; T5, 2019. Brandt Snedeker: Played every year since 2007; two wins; eight top-10 paychecks. Justin Rose: Used to be his kryptonite but last three years are WIN-T8-T4. Cracked the code. Jon Rahm: Only player this century to win on debut; sat one off the 36-hole lead in his defense; T5 last year. Across the Street Charles Howell III: Never won but hasn’t missed in 17 tries (8 top-10 finishes); top 20 in six of his last seven J.B. Holmes: T6 or better in three of the last five years. Tony Finau: Hasn’t missed in five tries and has never cashed outside of top 25. Marc Leishman: Made nine of 11 with seven going for T27 or better. New to the Neighborhood Gary Woodland: A perfect 10 from 10 but his best payday was T9 last year. Hideki Matsuyama: T33 followed by T12 followed by T3 last year, his only top-10 result. Ryan Palmer: Played four times 2010 and earlier and his best finish was T35. Returned in 2018 and lost in a playoff and cashed T13 last year. Fixer-Uppers Phil Mickelson: Home game but his last win was 2001 and his last top-10 cash-out was 2011. Nick Watney: 2009 champ has played every edition since 2005. His last top-10 payout was T7 in 2015, his sixth in 15 tries. Jimmy Walker: Picked off big finishes here from 2012 thru 2016 before cooling off in his last three visits. Pat Perez: Everyone knows he grew up on these courses. If he’s healthy, he’s on the radar.

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