Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay open with 59 to lead Zurich Classic

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THE OVERVIEW By Ben Everill, PGATOUR.COM Viva Jhonny Vegas … Viva Jhonny Vegas … Viva … Viva … Jhonny Vegas! It was a memorable chant at the Presidents Cup in 2017 as the International Team representative from Venezuela became a crowd favorite. The experience garnered from the event – he bounced back from an 0-4-0 result in the first three days to beat Jordan Spieth in Sunday singles, albeit in an American rout — could prove a catalyst for the three-time PGA TOUR winner to jump ahead another level in class this season. We’ll countdown our list with one new player each day in December. Click here for the published players. MORE: Top 30 explanation and schedule And just what would that level be? It is consistency of performance and stepping up in the bigger events. It is playing like his International teammates Adam Scott, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama – almost always in contention when in a field.  Leading into his defense of the RBC Canadian Open last summer, Vegas had missed five straight cuts. He missed 10 on the year – not good enough for the high standards he wants to meet. He missed the weekend at THE PLAYERS Championship and all four major championships and it has him working harder than ever on his game. Already he has climbed one of his mini mountains by making the cut in all four of his fall starts. While he failed to contend in any of them, it was a step towards his consistency goals. Vegas is the type of player you can’t help but be drawn to. The emotion of his game is there for all to see. He plays with power, and usually precision. For his game to take the ultimate leap, his putter will need to cooperate. His best rank in Strokes Gained: Putting over the last five seasons in 77th; last season, it was 171st. If he can get the flat stick singing like his Presidents Cup fans, he will be a force. BY THE NUMBERS How Jhonattan Vegas ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 92nd Playoff appearances: 4 TOUR Championship appearances: 2 Best result: 23rd (2017) INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Jhonattan Vegas in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Cameron Morfit Vegas is a superstar when he’s on but continues to search for ever-elusive consistency. Last season, after missing five straight cuts, he successfully defended his title at the RBC Canadian Open. He went 0-4 in team play in his first Presidents Cup at Liberty National, then beat Jordan Spieth in singles. Vegas will likely look to improve his long game in 2018, as he was 134th in driving accuracy and 153rd in greens in regulation last season. FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton The Venezuelan sustained the kind of form to warrant attention here, but he doesn’t sniff a fantasy top 30. He’s too inconsistent amid a busy schedule. His value is in unexpected punches that have proven timely to yield sudden perks, which is one way of endorsing him primarily in longer-term formats. He grants that faith with a knack of lacing it tee to green often enough to wonder how he slumps from such a repeatable approach in the first place. EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Signed an equipment deal with Mizuno in 2017 after Nike exited the equipment industry last year. Was the first player on TOUR to use Mizuno’s MP-18 irons. Won the RBC Canadian Open for the second year in a row with an old set of MP-4 irons that replaced his MP-18’s in Canada. Scotty Cameron Newport 2 putter is made from a high-end German Stainless Steel reserved for Tour-only putters.  STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte Vegas’ sporty looks are examples of the state of golf apparel as we move into 2018. He is one of the few players who can dial up vibrant hues and pull them off with well-balanced setups. Expect him to be outfitted in the freshest styles and colors from Nike in the New Year.

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SAN DIEGO – Jon Rahm is the world’s second-ranked player, winner of the most recent PGA TOUR event and the defending champion of this week’s Farmers Insurance Open. Under normal circumstances, Rahm would be the center of attention at Torrey Pines. This, of course, is not a normal week. Tiger Woods is playing his first PGA TOUR event in a year, and this return is buoyed by his optimism about a successful back fusion surgery. Rahm is content to let Woods steal the spotlight. “The more attention you guys have on Tiger, the better for me, quite frankly,â€� Rahm said Tuesday. “Hopefully I keep playing good and give you guys something to talk about, but it’s not bad that the attention’s on Tiger. It’s good for golf, it’s good for all of us.â€� While Woods was playing a practice round with Jason Day and Bryson DeChambeau on the South Course’s back nine, Rahm was on the back nine of the North Course. Rahm, who’s ranked second in both the FedExCup and Official World Golf Ranking, is the highest-ranked player in the field according to both metrics. He can move to No. 1 on both lists with a win this week, as well. Seve Ballesteros is the only Spaniard to reach No. 1 in the world. Rahm’s win at last year’s Farmers Insurance Open, which was made possible by a back-nine 30 punctuated by a 60-foot eagle putt, was the first of his PGA TOUR career. His second came Sunday at the CareerBuilder Challenge, in a dramatic four-hole playoff with Andrew Landry. “It’s a lot of things to process in very little time,â€� said Rahm, who has two wins and a runner-up in his previous three worldwide starts. The only player to whom he’s lost in that stretch is the same player he’s trying to supplant atop the world ranking, Dustin Johnson. Rahm’s winning putt from last year’s tournament at Torrey Pines followed has been shown countless times. It has appeared in PGA TOUR commercials, and photos of his emotional reaction afterward are on banners promoting the tournament. For Rahm, it’s just the second-best shot of his remarkable 2017, during which he won three times worldwide and finished fifth in the FedExCup. “The No. 1 shot or moment of last season was the second shot out of the bunker on 13,â€� Rahm said. “If I don’t put that ball on the green, which is actually a lot harder than making that putt, the back-nine charge would have never happened and this year might have never happened, so that shot is the one that made everything possible.â€� He hit 4-iron to 18 feet from the fairway bunker on the par-5 13th for the first of two eagles in the final six holes. He finished three shots ahead of C.T. Pan and Charles Howell III. “I certainly know I can win here because I’ve done it, I think that’s the difference,â€� Rahm said Tuesday. “I think I have the confidence that I can win here, whereas last year I knew I could but I still had to do it. I hope I don’t have to shoot 30 on the back nine to win again.â€� And, he can’t help but think about a potential Sunday showdown with Woods. Last year’s Farmers Insurance Open was just the second time Rahm and Woods have played in the same field (2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open). “Tiger getting in contention, it would be absolutely amazing,â€� Rahm said. “And to be honest, I think a lot of us dreamt about having the opportunity to maybe walk the back nine with Tiger in contention and have a battle hand-in-hand. It would be something amazing for any of us. I hope it happens for somebody. I hope I’m the one, and quite truly I hope I come out on top if it happens.â€�

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