Why we should all be thankful this week for Alice Dye

LOS ANGELES — Sam Burns had the ideal start at The Riviera Country Club. His finish was even better. RELATED: Leaderboard | Willie Mack III holds his own at The Genesis Invitational Burns opened with an 18-foot eagle putt and closed with three straight birdies Thursday in The Genesis Invitational, giving him a 7-under 64, the third time this season he has shot 64 in the opening round. The 24-year-old Burns is still looking for his first PGA TOUR victory. On one of the best courses of the year, against another stacked field, it was a good first step. “This golf course at times doesn’t offer you a lot of opportunities,” Burns said. “So I think just with that mindset going in we were just going to take what we could get.” He had a two-shot lead over Matt Fitzpatrick and Max Homa, who grew up 30 miles away in Valencia and used to attend the PGA TOUR event at Riviera as a kid. Patrick Cantlay, coming off chances to win in Palm Springs and Pebble Beach, extended his run of good play with four birdies on his back nine and was in a large group at 67. Dustin Johnson, who has played Riviera as consistently well as anyone over the last 10 years, couldn’t take advantage of the par 5s and still scrapped his way around to a 68, mainly by taking five putts over the last six holes. “You can’t ask for a course in better shape,” said Johnson. “The greens are perfect. It’s firm and fast. This golf course plays really difficult when it’s firm and fast. You have to be in the right position or you’ve got no chance.” Also at 68 were Brooks Koepka, coming off a victory two weeks ago in Phoenix, and Jordan Spieth, who had at least a share of the 54-hole lead the last two weeks as he tries to end a slump that dates to the 2017 Open Championship. Riviera has a reputation of playing tough even as the game evolves. The 72-hole record, 20-under 264 that Lanny Wadkins set in 1985, has stood the longest of any PGA TOUR event. It was tough enough for Justin Thomas, wo opened with a 77 despite birdies on two of his last three holes. Thomas also had three double bogeys, two of them when he three-putted from inside 6 feet (one was a four-putt). Bryson DeChambeau had a 75. Tae Hoon Kim, who won the Genesis Championship on the Korean PGA last fall to earn an exemption, had the wildest day of all. He started by laying up on the short par-4 10th, which proved a smart play with such firm conditions, and made it pay off with a 10-foot birdie. He holed a bunker shot next to the green on the par-5 11th for eagle. Kim made another eagle with a hole-in-one on the 16th hole. He had another eagle attempt from 40 feet on the fringe at the par-5 first, just missing for a tap-in birdie to reach 5 under. And then he dropped four shots on his next three holes and wound up with a 69. Burns kept a steady hand, dropping shots only on the par-3 sixth when he came up short of a front pin, and at the tough 12th hole into a stiffening afternoon breeze when he found a front bunker. He made enough birdies in the middle of his round to atone for a few mistakes. And mistakes were never too hard to find. “It was one of those days where it’s just as easy to shoot 2 or 3 under as it is to shoot 2 or 3 over,” said Rory McIlroy, who had to settle for the latter after a 73. “There’s a couple of good scores out there, but you didn’t have to do too much wrong to be hovering around even par and be on the other side of it.” Fitzpatrick holed a 45-foot birdie putt on the par-3 14th, made birdie on the next par 3 at the 16th and after making the turn, holed a 25-foot eagle putt on No. 1, which has yielded more eagles than any par 5 on TOUR since 2004. “It’s a great start, couldn’t ask for any better,” Fitzpatrick said. “I feel like I struggle a little bit on poa annua, so to see them how they are this week, so firm and fast, they’re as true as I’ve ever seen. It’s a big advantage of me.” The 10th hole, among the best short par 4s in America, created plenty of challenges. In the morning, Cantlay missed his target by 2 yards and was in just a bad spot that he played some 60 feet away from the flag. In the morning, Spieth thought he was in a good spot until he saw a palm tree in his way. Going to the right was dangerous. So was going to the left. He thought about going under a tree. Ultimately, he went left and pulled it off to perfect. “Couldn’t do that again with a bucket of balls,” he told his caddie. “The shot of the day for me,” Spieth said. “That could have easily been a 5 and it turned out to be a 3.”

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Cameron Davis ... Although he missed the cut at Bay Hill and at TPC Sawgrass, he's had little trouble in sustaining the kind of form that goes with his cachet. The lanky 26-year-old from Australia has connected for a trio of top-15 finishes among nine paydays in 2020-21. At 61st in the FedExCup approaching the midpoint, he's a virtual lock to secure his fourth consecutive season with a PGA TOUR card. One more leaderboard appearance should do it, and it'd make sense for it to occur at PGA National. Placed T8 here last year and ranked T18 in greens hit, third in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, T8 in par-4 scoring and T4 in scoring on the pair of par 5s. Brice Garnett ... He knows how to pick his spots. Just 1-for-5 upon arrival but that includes a T5 at the Puerto Rico Open where he's perfect in five tries. He's 2-for-5 at PGA National with a T11 last year with a field-low-tying 66 in the final round. For the week, he ranked T11 in greens hit, 18th in proximity and second in par-4 scoring. He also slotted eighth in Strokes Gained: Putting, which reflects a commitment to improve that facet of his game. Originally reliant upon his ball-striking, he's evolved into a nice balance throughout his bag. Sits 17th in SG: Putting this season. Scott Stallings ... Conveniently slides into the narrative of who should play well at PGA National. He's a strong iron player with a knack of getting up and down for par. Ranks 38th in greens in regulation, third in scrambling and fourth in bogey avoidance. It's paid dividends here in the past. In six appearances, he's cashed five times, thrice for a top 30. Suffice it to say that for a guy who almost always figures out a way to nestle inside the top 125 of the FedExCup for the Playoffs despite missing quite a few cuts, he counts on this start to contribute to that objective. And don't overlook the birthday bump with No. 36 on the horizon on March 25. Cameron Percy ... The Aussie will turn 47 years of age on May 5 and he's playing like he's, well, in fact he's never played this well during any of his eight previous seasons on the PGA TOUR, none of which resulted in a position inside the top 140 of the FedExCup. He's currently 87th in points with a career-high-tying two top 10s. If that doesn't sound impressive, consider that he has just nine in 164 career starts since breaking on in 2010. Even hardcore fans might struggle remembering that he was among the victims to Jonathan Byrd's playoff ace at the 2010 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. (Martin Laird was the other.) Percy is 2-for-3 at PGA National and without a top 60, but he's projected to establish a personal best based on incoming form and the fact that he's fourth on TOUR in greens hit, 14th in proximity and third in par-3 scoring. Roger Sloan ... Just a good, solid fit for PGA National. Currently 32nd on TOUR in greens in regulation, 33rd in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, 32nd in scrambling and T10 in bogey avoidance. Where he struggles is connecting for par breakers, so with par poised to be a confidence-building score this week, the 33-year-old Canadian might be among the few licking their chops right back at The Bear Trap. En route to a T22 in his last start in Puerto Rico, he co-led the field in GIR. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, March 16 at 5 a.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. CO, IA, IN,MI, NJ, NV,PA, TN, VA or WV only. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-522-4700 (CO, NV, VA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, PA & WV), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), Call or Text the Tennessee REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN), or call 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN).

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