WATCH: Tiger Woods’ incredible eagle hole-out at the Memorial Tournament

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Thursday morning was supposed to bring an early wake-up call for John Rollins here at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Just not at 5:30. It was also supposed to bring an 18-hole walk inside the ropes, but at Spyglass Hill Golf Club, not Pebble Beach Golf Links. Oh, and he was supposed to be a caddie, not a competitor. The fact that it was all turned upside-down and Rollins was hitting golf balls for the first time in more than a week and competing in a PGA TOUR tournament for the first time since last August was as improbable an occurrence as he has ever been part of. “Crazy. What a roller-coaster day,� said Rollins, who at 43 has played in just 24 PGA TOUR tournaments since losing his full exempt status following the 2014 season. But if you think that accepting the spot in the field at 5:30 a.m. – about three hours before his tee time, by the way – was an easy one, think again. Fact is, “I had to really think about it. I asked myself, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’ Hunter (Mahan) is my friend and I was here to caddie for him, so I called him. Hunter (whose tee time was 10:01)  and his wife, Kandi were more than gracious. Hunter said, ‘There’s a reason you’re here, so go and enjoy.’ � Rollins laughed, because “I had done absolutely no prep work� back home in the Dallas area, but he took Mahan’s advice. He did enjoy himself and was overall pleased with his round of 1-over 73 at Pebble Beach – two bogeys and one lone birdie, at the par-4 11th. “I didn’t play terribly. Actually, I was OK, everything considered.� He played in just nine PGA TOUR tournaments last year and has made just eight cuts in limited appearances the last three seasons. So, there’s no wonder Rollins’ name was well down the list of alternates when he came here to caddie for Mahan. “I looked, just for the heck of it at the beginning of the week,� said Rollins, “but I was outside the top 20.� What he didn’t anticipate was the sequence of events. Most of those names ahead of him, for instance, were already committed to the Web.com Tour tournament in Panama or the PGA TOUR Champions Oasis Championship in Boca Raton, Fla., or confirmed they couldn’t fly to Pebble Beach in time. When Tommy Gainey had connecting flight problems and had to withdraw, Rollins’ name was called. “I looked at my phone and saw PGA TOUR headquarters and I thought, ‘What would the PGA TOUR be calling me at 5:30 for?� To find a caddie, Rollins got in touch with Daniel Chopra who provided the phone number of Kevin Hanssen, lead instructor at the Pebble Beach Golf Academy. Hanssen worked with Rollins last fall here at Pebble Beach, so it provided to be a seamless fit. As for being thrust inside the ropes with little preparation, Rollins thought it proved one thing. “My heart is still in the game. I know that and I know the success I’ve had out here.�

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This week’s RBC Heritage slots familiarly immediately following the Masters where Scottie Scheffler prevailed for the first time in a major. For the 42 who competed at Augusta National and are committed at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina (as of Monday afternoon), the tournament promises that – hang on one sec … checks field to confirm that Scheffler isn’t playing –someone else will win. Notwithstanding Scheffler’s historic surge, the tournament also is known for its heaters. In its first 53 editions dating back to 1969 – all contested at Harbour Town – there have been 10 golfers who have won it multiple times. Davis Love III headlines the club with five titles, while Hale Irwin and this year’s defending champion, Stewart Cink, have won thrice. Twelve former RBC Heritage champions are among the 132 in the field this week, including all of the last nine. Continue reading beneath the ranking of projected contenders for how Harbour Town tests, which boxes Cink checked en route to victory, what’s new this year and more. RELATED: Play Pick ‘Em Live | The First Look | Inside the Field POWER RANKINGS: RBC HERITAGE Jordan Spieth, Kevin Na, Jason Kokrak, Tommy Fleetwood and defending champion Stewart Cink will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Draws and Fades. DL3 scattered his Ws at Harbour Town over 17 editions (1987-2003) and in his 20s and 30s, but both Irwin (24) and Cink (22) stretched longer from the first to their last. What’s more, Irwin was 48 years old for his third; Cink was 47. That’s part of the magic of the place. It doesn’t discriminate against age. Or relative lack of muscle off the tee. Or putting. Ranging just 7,191 yards and with 18 of some of the PGA TOUR’s smallest greens on average (at 3,700 square feet), the par 71 rewards the shot-makers among the ball-strikers. It’s not as much about finding fairways as it is paying off finding the most strategic angles on approach. But with bermuda rough, which is overseeded, extending just three-quarters of an inch high, accuracy off the tee is secondary to piling up greens in regulation. Because targets demand precision, hitting it close is the default of getting it on. Cink ranked T57 in fairways hit last year, but he co-led the field in averaging 14 GIR per round. He also finished 11th in proximity, so it was no wonder why he paced the tournament in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. Cink also was T4 in scrambling en route to his four-stroke margin of victory. While the parlay of tidy into- and around-the-green work should be rewarded handsomely, the latter is the softest underbelly of Harbour Town. Small greens usually surrender high rates of salvaging pars after missing them in regulation. Furthermore, because the overseeded bermuda greens are ready to run up to 12 feet on the Stimpmeter, which essentially is the TOUR norm, talents who don’t profile as superior putters can circle this week as an opportunity to make a dent. The 2021 field averaged 70.332 on the scorecard. That’s second-lowest in recorded tournament history (1983-present) to the special June date of 2020 (when the course doesn’t require overseeding) and reflective of how a gathering worthy of a strength-of-field rating as determined by the Official World Golf Ranking of 481 can make a difference. (The SOF in 2020 was 712.) However, slightly higher scoring should be expected this week as the two easiest holes on the course are longer. New tees at the par-5 second and fifth holes have extended the pair. No. 2 is 48 yards longer at 550 yards; No. 5 now tips at 569 yards after a 20-yard increase. Also, for the record, after the new expanded tee box at the par-3 17th introduced an additional 22 yards last year, even newer modifications bumped it up again, this time by two yards to 198. The most challenging of the weather conditions will be the swirling winds that will blow a bit at least through the first two rounds and as energy threatens rain and storms that will linger into the weekend. Otherwise, comfortably cool air blankets the week as daytime highs extend into the mid-70s. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Draws and Fades WEDNESDAY: Pick ’Em Preview SUNDAY: Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Rookie Ranking * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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