Twenty professional golfers answer the call of the Puerto Rico Open Charity PRO-AM

SILVIS, Ill. – Some have called him a mad scientist and plenty have scoffed at his unorthodox methods – but perhaps in the end, Bryson DeChambeau is just pure genius. For all his quirkiness, the former U.S. Amateur winner and college standout, proved the wacky way he does things can win on the PGA TOUR with his breakthrough performance at the John Deere Classic. Dressed in his customary Ivy cap, a tribute to Ben Hogan and his fellow SMU alum Payne Stewart, DeChambeau has never been afraid to be different. And when he buried a birdie on the 72nd hole, his celebration was clearly a sign he felt vindicated in a world where all one needs is a Twitter account to throw barbs at someone different. DeChambeau does not walk the rank and file. He rocks a set of single-length irons and wedges. His swing stays on a single plane. He talks in complex physics terms as he dissects every little piece of data he can. Golf to him, is a science. And while no one has ever really figured the sport out, he is certainly going to keep trying. “There has been a lot of talk,â€� DeChambeau said of the doubters. “(This) is vindication I think. It’s definitely nice to have me win under such conditions.â€� The 23-year-old, who became the 19th player to make the John Deere Classic his first career win, admitted some people routinely give him grief. While there is also an outpouring of support at most venues, an event doesn’t go by without someone suggesting he should go back to more traditional shaft lengths. “I just throw it to the side and say, don’t even worry about it,â€� he says. “You’re going down the road you’ve chosen and you’re comfortable with it, and you know it’s going to in the end be the right thing.â€� To hear DeChambeau describe the road he is traveling can sometimes require being a physics major, as he is. But the essence is to try to simplify a complex game using the available data. “I try to understand every single variable in this whole game of golf,â€� he says. “It’s very, very difficult. But as time goes on, the more you can understand the variables the more consistent you can become just by understanding them. That’s what we’ve tried to accomplish.â€� DeChambeau believes the only player who may have come close is Tiger Woods. Yet for the 79-time PGA TOUR winner it was more of an art than a science. Woods, at his best, played with incredible feel. “Tiger figured it out, how to hit certain wedge shots into certain flags with a certain spin, certain trajectory. He just knew it. He could do it with his hands. He trained his hands. It was unbelievable,â€� DeChambeau adds. “I’ve always wanted to try and accomplish that, but I just go about it in a very methodical, scientific method research kind of a way.â€� Not only does DeChambeau believe his methods will prove great for his career, he claims his motivation is also for the rest of us out there. The average amateur. Even the hackers amongst us if you will. He wants to be part of bringing new players to the game. Showing people you don’t have to swing with the precision of an Adam Scott, or putt with the aplomb of Jordan Spieth. You should do what works for you. And here is his method that might just be good for you. He hit 14 of 14 fairways in the opening round at TPC Deere Run. On Sunday, he hit 17 of 18 greens. With less moving parts in the swing comes more consistency. And every one of us could use more consistency, right? “I want to make it easier for the amateurs. I think there is an easier way out there and people just haven’t figured it out. I hope I’m on the right track. I really believe I am,â€� he says looking as confident as Woods did in his prime. “People may think my golf swing is really weird and funky, but I think it’s one of the most consistent swings out here. If you look at in its entirety in slow motion, there are not very many moving parts. “I’m super confident with it. It makes it easy to repeat every single time.â€� But there were times where he started to doubt himself. Not that long ago in his continued efforts to find the perfect swing, things had gone awry. As the other 20-somethings continued to dominate the TOUR, he missed eight-straight cuts from mid-April to mid-June this season. In his own words, he thought he should be “killing itâ€� but he was far from doing so. After the eighth missed cut in a row at the U.S. Open, he decided to tinker a little less with his swing and his putting and try to get back to his basics. His personal testing had him swinging longer. And trying to hit it a little harder. It wasn’t working. On the greens, he’d tried a few things, including side saddle putting for a while, but nothing was getting the ball in the hole like it should. He sat 195th on the TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting prior to this week. At TPC Deere Run, he was second in the field. By the Travelers Championship, DeChambeau was back to the swing from his college years where he became just the fifth golfer to win the U.S. Amateur and NCAA Championship in the same season. He finished T26. A week later at Quicken Loans National it was T17. The upward trend continued at the Greenbrier Classic (T14) and then of course his victory has followed. “Through that little transition, I gained immediate confidence back and I was able to perform nicely through the last four weeks and get the win this week,â€� he says. “I went into a bit of a low – a lull as well – trying to understand my golf swing a little bit more and was messing around with some things. “Unfortunately took me off track, but I realized quickly what I needed to do to get back on track.â€� It might not be the conventional track … but one gets the feeling he won’t be riding it alone in the future.

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Would you like some cheese with your whine? It’s only week three of the 2019-20 season, but gamers are already grumbling as the TOUR has already crowned a pair of first-time winners in the first two events. It’s back to Bent/Poa and hilly terrain this week, as the North Course at Silverado Resort & Spa in Napa Valley hosts for the sixth year running, so we’ll have an angle on past performance. This will be the first time in six years that the TOUR is not kicking off the new season in Wine Country, so gamers will have a better point of reference with two previous events to analyze. A full field of 156 will have a chance to cash 500 FedExCup points (winner) and grab part of the $6.6 million purse ($1.188 winner). Silverado’s North Course was redesigned by Johnny Miller (yep, that one) after his purchase in 2010. This track has played host since calendar 2014, so any results from previous host tracks are irrevelant this week. Stretching to just 7,166 yards and playing to Par-72 (36-36), the North Course plays almost 50 yards shorter than it did during the inaugural visit. The Bent/Poa greens, which are usually in perfect condition, will run just below 12 feet on the Stimpmeter. Bluegrass and ryegrass combine to make a thick, healthy rough, but it will only stand at two-and-a-half inches. Recent Winners 2018-19: Kevin Tway (-14, 274) The 30-year-old rallied from a three-shot deficit in the final group with Brandt Snedeker to force and win a three-man playoff which also included Ryan Moore. … Became the fifth consecutive winner to rank in the top three in bogey avoidance (T1) and top seven in scrambling (No. 1). … Ranked third in Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green – the fourth-worst ranking out of five winners! Notables: Ricky Barnes matched the course record with 61 in Round 2, but didn’t break 75 in his other three rounds (T69). … Sepp Straka posted 63 for the first round lead. … Sungjae Im made his first TOUR start and played in the penultimate group on Sunday (T4). … Snedeker led the field with 23 birdies. … Phil Mickelson, who was T2 after 36 holes, circled 21 and cashed T17. … There were only nine rounds above par from the top 24 players. … For the third consecutive year, the cut was 141 (-3). 2017-18: Brendan Steele (-15, 273) Only man to defend and the only man to raise the barrel twice since the move to Silverado, as he made up a two-shot deficit on Sunday by posting 69 (-3) to win by two. … Dominant performance as he was top four in fairways, GIR, SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Approach-the-Green, SG: Tee-to-Green, bogey avoidance, Par-4 and Par-5 scoring. Notables: Chesson Hadley (T3) set the new course record with 61 in Round 2. … Rookie Tyler Duncan (T5) co-led after 18 and had the solo lead after 36 and 54 holes. … Hadley and Mickelson led the field with 23 birdies. … Massive wind gusts allowed for only nine rounds in the 60s on Sunday. 2016-17: Brendan Steele (-18, 270) Posting the co-low round of the day, 65, Steele chased down a tournament record four-shot lead and posted a tournament record of 18-under to win by a shot. … His ball-striking wasn’t as clinical as his 2017-18 edition but his timely putting was the difference. … Only winner to finish in the top 10 in Birdie-or-Better conversion percentage (No. 1). … Only winner to finish in the top 10 SG: Putting (6th). Notables: Scott Piercy (T3) opened with 62 and led after 18 and 36 holes. … Patton Kizzire (2nd) held the 54-hole lead over Piercy and carded 64 to open. … Mickelson (T8) and Mackenzie Hughes (T13) only two players with all four rounds in the 60s. … Justin Thomas (T8), in his last visit, played his final 54 holes in 17-under-par. Cool, rainy conditions made for optimum scoring conditions. Key stat leaders Golfers around the top 30 or so 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 Bogey Avoidance  3  Patrick Cantlay  4  Charles Howell III  7  *Scott Piercy  8  Jim Furyk  9  Lucas Glover 10 Vaughn Taylor 13 Matt Jones 14 *Sungjae Im 14 *Hideki Matsuyama 16 *Justin Thomas 17 *Bud Cauley 19 Denny McCarthy 20 Cameron Tringale 22 *Aaron Baddeley 26 *Sam Ryder 27 Nate Lashley SG: Tee-to-Green  2  *Justin Thomas  3  *Hideki Matsuyama  4  Adam Scott (first appearance)  5  Patrick Cantlay  7  Byeong-Hun An  9  Corey Conners 15 *Emiliano Grillo (2016 winner) 19 Kevin Streelman 25 Lucas Glover 26 Jim Furyk 27 *Jhonattan Vegas (T10, 2016) 28 *Ryan Moore 29 Chez Reavie Par-5 Scoring (of five winners, three co-led the field)  1  *Justin Thomas  2  Wyndham Clark  2  Adam Scott  6  *Sungjae Im 10 Denny McCarthy 12 Bryson DeChambeau 12 Matt Jones 12 *Troy Merritt 17 Patrick Cantlay 17 *Jhonattan Vegas 23 *Hideki Matsuyama 23 *Martin Laird 23 *Kevin Tway Sommeliers Brendan Steele: The only man in the field this week with three top-10 paydays and multiple victories at Silverado. He’s 53-under over 20 rounds, including a 76 and 75. Four of his five paydays are T21 or better. Justin Thomas: Getting better with age, Thomas MC in his first trip in 2015, but is 28-under in his last two visits (T8, T3). Phil Mickelson: 34-under in his last three visits have collected T17, T3 and T8 riches. This will be his fourth consecutive season-opener here. Ryan Moore: Playing three of the last four here, the Washington native is 32-under with three rounds of par-or-worse and has a pair of top-10 paychecks for his trouble (P2 and T10 ’16). Kevin Na: He was on track for three straight top-10 checks before a 77 derailed his last visit to T37 in 2017-18 season. He was 30-under in his previous two visits. including a playoff defeat to Grillo and a solo seventh in 2017. Fermenting Brandt Snedeker: Spot the trend: T57, T17 and P2 in his last three visits. Martin Laird: Never missed in five tries and owns a pair of top-10 results in addition to a T17. Sungjae Im: Seems like he’s in this discussion every week he’s in the field. Luke List: 26-under the last three seasons. All inside T37, with T4 last year the big highlight.

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Round 3 of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans takes place Saturday. The two-man team event features plenty of stars, including defending champions Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups); Friday, 9:15 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups); Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes); Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. FEATURED GROUPS Tyrrell Hatton/Danny Willett & David Hearn/Zack Sucher (tee times) Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay & Michael Kim/Brandon Hagy (tee times) MUST READS Two teams share 36-hole lead McDowell holes brilliant ace Rose, Stenson combine well in ‘tricky format’ Smith entrusts mullet cut to Leishman How the format works Champ, Finau react to Chauvin verdict More on the line than long drives for Champ, Finau CALL OF THE DAY

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