Winner’s Bag: Justin Thomas, THE PLAYERS Championship

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Justin Thomas got a lot done in eight holes Saturday, leaving with a one-shot lead over Adam Scott and facing a marathon finish in the rain-delayed Genesis Open. Thomas, a former FedExCup champion, played six holes in the morning, nearly holing a 9-iron and then making par with a flop shot on the green and over the bunker on the par-3 sixth as he completed a 6-under 65 to share the 36-hole lead with Scott, who also had a 65. They started the third round in the afternoon with only about 45 minutes of daylight, and Thomas holed a 12-foot eagle putt to take the lead. Scott missed his eagle attempt on the par-5 opening hole. The final group hit tee shots on the third hole when it was too dark to continue. They were to resume at 6:45 a.m. local time to complete the third round, and then head back onto the course in the same groups to try to finish. Thomas was at 13-under par through two holes of the third round. Tiger Woods completed seven holes and they were loud. Woods made a 25-foot birdie putt from the fringe on his final hole of the second round that assured he would make the cut — he ultimately made it with one shot to spare — and then he made Riviera rock with his start to the third round. Woods made birdie on No. 10, hit 3-wood to 10 feet for eagle on the par-5 11th, holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the 12th and a 15-foot birdie putt on the 13th. Just like that, he was tied for 12th as the leaders were just getting going. Woods remained seven shots behind, and he stopped playing after his third shot on the par-5 17th came up short of the green. Patrick Rodgers, who completed a 67, opened with an eagle and was two shots behind Thomas. The start of the tournament was delayed seven hours by rain Thursday and has been trying to catch up, creating a disjointed feel to the week. Thomas said he could barely feel his toes when he warmed up Saturday morning in temperatures in the low 40s and darkness as he set out to finish the second round. He also was up before dawn on Friday to get ready to start his opening round. Imagine how he felt when told when the third round was to resume. “I’m still trying to get over that 6:45 a.m. start I just heard,” he said. “That’s in a couple of hours.” Conditions were so good that players wanted to get in as many holes as they could, so they launched tee shots on No. 3. But darkness sets in quickly off Sunset Boulevard, and they had no choice but to stop. Scott could hardly see the flag from 136 yards away. “I have no depth perception because I can’t see the flag,” Scott said. Michael Thompson, who didn’t get into the tournament as the first alternate until Sunday, was at 10 under. Rory McIlroy finished off a 63 in the morning to get back in the game, and he had one birdie through three holes in the third round. He was playing with Jordan Spieth, who had a 70 in the morning to finish four behind. Spieth three-putted for par on the opening hole, missing from 3 feet, and three-putted from the fringe on No. 3 for a bogey to fall six shots behind. He also missed a 10-foot birdie on his final shot of the day. But there is a long way to go. Saturday night usually feels like the end is near. Instead, the final group still has just under half the tournament to go. Woods, while seven shots behind, still had 29 holes to play. “All of us have to deal with it,” Woods said. “I’ve got to get in two solid rounds. They’re pushing us to get through it. Give us a bag lunch and we’re off.”

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With very little going on in terms of live sports, it stands to reason that the PGA TOUR has attracted new fans in the first two weeks after emerging from the three-month hiatus. Come Sunday, a few have to be wondering if only plaid jackets are awarded to the winners. Just like last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, this week’s RBC Heritage was relocated to an unfamiliar month due to the pandemic. In recent history, it’s served as the exhale in the week after the Masters in April. This year, it not only is contested for the first time in June, it also assumes the original slot traditionally occupied by the U.S. Open and will finish on Father’s Day. As of midday Monday, the 153-man field at Harbour Town Golf Links includes 117 who competed at Colonial Country Club last week. For what it faces on the par 71 stretching just 7,099 yards, scroll past the projected contenders. POWER RANKINGS: RBC HERITAGE Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama and defending champion C.T. Pan will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. In response to playing time missed as a result of the hiatus, 12 more spots were opened at the RBC Heritage. Customarily, it’s an invitational with 132 golfers, but even with the expansion to 144, the field is nine stronger than rescheduled. This is because all automatic qualifiers are allowed entry regardless of reserved space. Harbour Town will give the robust gathering all it wants. At just 3,700 square feet on average, greens are among the smallest everyone in the field will see all year. The biggest difference between April and June is that the putting surfaces no longer need to be overseeded. This will give the TifEagle bermudagrass planted in advance of the 2016 edition of the tournament the opportunity to really shine. Due to work done to reconfigure cart paths and trim trees, some fairways are wider, but finding the shortest grass off the tee isn’t necessarily the premium at Harbour Town. Not unlike the tee-to-green objective at Augusta National, placement for approach shots is key. That favors the thinking man and course management. Short of finding spot on the dartboards, including on each of the par 5s, shot-shaping under and around overhanging trees accentuates the challenge dimensionally. If the greens were larger, the approach game would have even greater value, but Harbour Town caters to the small ball. As all worthy courses yield so as to prove fairness, there have been exceptions, but the champion likely will have scrambled well, which is to say that he’s putted well. C.T. Pan slotted below the field average in fairways hit last year, and he was right at the field average in greens in regulation, but he was tidiest with his short game, slotting second in putts per GIR. He did hit it tight (seventh in proximity to the holes), but he also made the most of his modest opportunities by ranking fifth in par-breaker conversion percentage with the putter. He finished at 12-under 272 as the field averaged 71.170 for the week. The contingent that has played Harbour Town in April likely will feel more humidity this week. Daytime temperatures will climb into the 80s. A passing shower can’t be ruled out and wind probably won’t factor into club selection until Sunday, if at all. Incidentally, the last four who emerged victorious at the RBC Heritage were first-timers on the PGA TOUR. Wesley Bryan (2017) and Satoshi Kodaira (2018) were tournament debutants. The active streak matches the Barracuda Championship for runner-up honors behind the Sanderson Farms Championship where Sebastián Muñoz became the sixth consecutive first-time winner last fall. If you’re interested in more history of the RBC Heritage, please check out the all-time Power Rankings that published during the original week of this season’s edition. 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 * – 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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