What’s in the bag: Tiger Woods, 2020 Farmers Insurance Open

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BLAINE, Minn. — Scott Piercy went on a late birdie binge en route to a 9-under 62 and the first-round lead at the inaugural 3M Open on Thursday. Adam Hadwin and Hideki Matsuyama are each two shots back after a 7-under 64 at the TPC Twin Cities. Seeking his fifth career TOUR win and first since the 2018 Zurich Classic, Piercy birdied one of his first seven holes and eight of his final 11, including a nearly 30-foot putt on No. 16 to get to 8 under. Brian Harman, Sungjae Im, Patton Kizzire and Sam Saunders are among a group three back after shooting 6-under 65. Bryson DeChambeau is among nine players who shot 5-under 66 and are four shots back. Brooks Koepka is among more than a dozen players that shot a 4-under 67. Nate Lashley, who won last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, finished 2 under. The 3M Open is the first regular TOUR event in Minnesota since 1969; however, the U.S. Open and PGA Championship have each twice been contested at Hazeltine National Golf Club. The 2016 Ryder Cup was also played there and is to return in 2028. The tournament replaces a PGA TOUR Champions event held in the Land of 10,000 Lakes for 26 years. A 36-minute weather delay occurred shortly after Piercy teed off, and showers fell briefly a couple of times during the rest of his round. The winds also picked up at times in the afternoon. Playing in the calm morning, Matsuyama and Hadwin found better success on the soft greens. Matsuyama entered the day ranked 93rd on TOUR, averaging 28.95 putts per round. He had 26 Thursday, including making 13 of 14 from inside 10 feet and four of five from 10 to 15 feet. He did not three-putt a hole. Starting on No. 10, Matsuyama, a five-time tour champion who last won at the 2017 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, had four straight birdies around the turn to get to 6 under before back-to-back birdies on Nos. 5 and 6, the first an 18-foot putt. His lone bogey was his final hole. Playing two groups behind Matsuyama, Hadwin, 40th in putts per round, was 3 under through nine holes, and birdied four straight holes among his final nine. He made all 15 putts from inside 10 feet and made two of three from between 20 and 25 feet. “Hideki and I are kind of taking out the Fourth of July celebration for Americans so far,” joked Hadwin, a Canadian whose wife is from the United States. “I’ve got a green card, so it’s home for me.” Phil Mickelson had seven penalty strokes, including two on the par-5 18th, and finished 3 over. Minnesota native Tim Herron aced the 208-yard eighth hole.

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SCHEFFLER GETS REDEMPTION AT WGC-DELL MATCH PLAY, MOVES TO WORLD NO. 1 For the better part of two years, Scottie Scheffler held a prominent spot in the conversation of best player yet to win on the PGA TOUR. Pundits opined that once the 25-year-old University of Texas alum hoisted one trophy, more would follow. They were not wrong. Scheffler followed his breakthrough TOUR title at the WM Phoenix Open on Super Bowl Sunday with another win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard earlier this month. He arrived at this week’s World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play as the FedExCup leader and with redemption on his mind, as he fell to Billy Horschel in the 2021 championship match at Austin CC. The group stage wasn’t easy on Scheffler; after compiling a 2-1 record, he needed six extra holes against Matt Fitzpatrick to advance to the Round of 16. From there, though, it was full throttle. The New Jersey native extracted revenge against Horschel with a 1-up win in the Round of 16, then followed with a 3-and-2 triumph over Seamus Power in a Saturday afternoon Quarterfinal. Scheffler took down Dustin Johnson in a Sunday morning Semifinal matchup, and he polished off a sparkling week with a 4-and-3 victory over 2019 Match Play champion Kevin Kisner in Sunday afternoon’s Final, highlighted by a bunker hole-out birdie to tie the par-5 12th hole and maintain momentum. Scheffler closed out the match with a two-putt par on No. 15. He accrues 550 FedExCup points to extend his lead in the season-long standings, and he moves to No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking. Mississippi native Chad Ramey earned his first TOUR title at the Corales Puntacana Championship, recording four birdies in his final six holes Sunday at Corales GC for a 17-under total and one-stroke victory over Alex Smalley and Ben Martin. Ramey, who learned the game at a nine-hole public course in his hometown of Fulton, Mississippi, entered the week at No. 120 on the FedExCup standings and now moves to No. 34, earning 300 points for his efforts in the Dominican Republic. From thoughts of perhaps grinding this summer to keep his card, the TOUR rookie is suddenly exempt through 2023-24, and he earns a spot in the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions and THE PLAYERS Championship. TOUR HEADS TO TPC SAN ANTONIO FOR VALERO TEXAS OPEN It’s the 100th anniversary of the Valero Texas Open and the big-time milestone will feature a big-time field led by former FedExCup champions Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth. Spieth is also the defending champion at TPC San Antonio. His win here last season marked his first victory on TOUR since 2017. McIlroy will tee it up the week prior to the Masters for the first time in eight years. McIlroy finished second behind Martin Laird at this event in 2013. Bryson DeChambeau is set to play the Valero Texas Open for the first time since 2017, when he missed the cut. Twenty golfers who are in the Masters field are playing at TPC San Antonio. TPC San Antonio plays host to the Valero Texas Open for the 13th time. Featuring just 100 feet of elevation, the Oaks Course boasts a traditional design that balances wider fairways with narrower tree-lined fairways for strategic options to the greens. If the winner of the Valero Texas Open is not yet qualified for the Masters, he will earn the final spot in the field. Spieth is looking to become the first back-to-back Valero Texas Open winner since Zach Johnson in 2008-09. The winner will pocket 500 FedExCup. VIDEO OF THE WEEK MIC CHECK “Even when I lost my card in 2018, I always kind of thought one year doesn’t make you a bad player, you don’t become a bad player overnight. Not when you’ve played on the European Tour for 15-plus years.” – Richard Bland on never doubting himself as he made his way into the knockout stage of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. BY THE NUMBERS 22 – It took Will Zalatoris 22 holes to defeat Kevin Na in the Round of 16 on Saturday. 4 – Consecutive seasons that the final match in Austin featured two Americans. 63 – Final round score for Trevor Werbylo to get into a playoff and win the Lake Charles Championship. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

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