TOUR pros adopt Smiley the Ball to support children with cleft lip and cleft palate

Saturday at The Honda Classic, the Bear Trap at PGA National awoke from hibernation. Even with the tee moved up to 154 yards at the 15th, where a hole location was cut a few paces off the right edge of the green, there were plenty of golf balls plunking into the water. On the par-4 16th, there were no birdies to be had. Not one. At the par-3 17th, there was one lone birdie yielded to Saturday's contestants. RELATED: Jones handles wind to regain lead | Affect of water balls on the Florida Spring Keegan Bradley was making a great early run on Saturday. He stepped to the 15th hole at 6 under on his round, and 8 under for the tournament, within earshot of the lead. But he rinsed his tee shot at the 15th, made double, and followed with a bogey at 16. He'd shoot 67. Denny McCarthy (74) was even par for his round and tied for third when he got to the tee at 15; when he walked through the tunnel from the 17th green to the 18th tee, he was 4 over, having rinsed his tee shot at 15 (double) and approach at 16 (he did well to make bogey). He tumbled to T18. The 15th hole featured more double bogeys (10) than birdies (8). In order of toughness in the third round, the Bear Trap holes would rank third, fourth and first, respectively, in difficulty. (The par-4 sixth hole ranked second). Leader Matt Jones said he really wasn't trying to hit the green at any of the Bear Trap holes. He played the holes in level par, getting up and down from short left of the green on 15 and 16, then making a beautiful bunker save for par from the left side at 17. "They’re not birdie holes at all," Jones said. "They’re just ‘Don’t-make-the-biggest-mistake' holes, and I managed to play them even par, which is great." J.B. Holmes, who enters Sunday in second place, three shots behind Jones, made birdie at 15 (one of only eight) but surrendered a shot to par at 16. Aaron Wise, who at one point Saturday possessed a six-shot lead, made bogeys at both of the par-3s in the Trap. His bogey on 15 cost him the lead. Sungjae Im, trying to join Jack Nicklaus as the Honda's only back-to-back champion, was 3 under on his round and making a nice move before plugging his tee shot in the left greenside bunker at 17. With water beyond the flagstick, he played well left, away from the hole, with his second, went long, and failed to get up and down. Double. Yes, Saturday was the day that Honda's feared Bear Trap stirred from its slumber. Which meant very little fun for those brave enough to take it on, but fun for those watching in person, and at home. Rest assured, the Bear Trap will have its say on Sunday. "Anything can happen coming down the stretch here in general, and especially with the holes playing all back into the wind it makes it that much tougher," Wise said. "... If you’re in the mix you’re going to have a chance coming down the stretch, because anything can happen." Anything, and everything. What more could we ask for?

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Like countless musicians, Jimmy Buffett loves himself some golf. He even caddied in a pro-am at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open this past summer. So, if the Mayakoba Golf Classic would have debuted oh, say, 40 years ago (instead of in 2007), he may have been persuaded to write “Ball-strikers in Paradise” instead of his timeless hit about a cheeseburger. While the song conveys a message of wanting to eat healthier, there is no such concern of overindulging on fairways and greens at El Camaleón Golf Club this week. In fact, it’s the objective more than usual. Scroll past the ranking for an explanation, what has defined the champions and more. Former champions Charley Hoffman (2014), Pat Perez (2016) and Patton Kizzire (2017) will be covered in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider along with Kevin Kisner, Zach Johnson and Billy Horschel among other notables. You may need to be of a certain age to appreciate Buffett’s music, but most of the winners of the Mayakoba Golf Classic qualify. Beginning with Fred Funk as a 50-year-old in the inaugural edition and extending through Patton Kizzire, 31, last year, the average age among the 11 winners is 34.45. Only John Huh (21) in 2012 and Harris English (24) in 2013 weren’t at least 30. Compare that against the first six winners of the 2018-19 season for whom the average age is 27.33. At 34 years of age at the time of his win at the CIMB Classic, Marc Leishman easily is the oldest. Indeed, El Camaleón is the closest thing to a governor on the youth movement in the fall. Two-inch primary rough guards fairways on a walk that is akin to a golf safari. It consists of jungle, mangroves and the seashore. The cenote in the middle of the fairway on the par-5 seventh hole is a bonus. The steady breeze off the Caribbean Sea on the Riviera Maya forces undulating greens to be capped at 11 feet on the Stimpmeter. The par-3 fourth and 15th holes are most exposed, but consistency is required throughout the course on which only paspalum is present. Yet, since the Mayakoba Golf Classic shifted to the fall when the wraparound season was launched in 2013-14, its par 3s have been the easiest on which to score four times. (They slotted second-easiest in 2014.) Managing one’s ball flight is secondary to dealing with adversity when an unpredictable gust of wind manipulates its direction. That’s one of the reasons why experience as a professional has carried elevated value at El Camaleón, a par 36-35–71 tipping at just 6,987 yards. Last year’s scoring average of 70.323 was a five-year high, so eagles and birdies are out there. En route to his title, Kizzire ranked T7 in greens in regulation and third in converting those chances into par breakers. He also finished fourth in putts per GIR and T3 in par-5 scoring. (ShotLink isn’t utilized for the tournament.) Inclement weather often cannot be ruled out in these climes. This is the reality again this week as rain and the threat of storms bookend the four-day competition. Otherwise, mostly dry, warm and humid conditions are expected. The wind should lay down, however. As it does, the expectation for red numbers rises. 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, Twitter live fantasy show * – 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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