Xander Schauffele making first start as a married man in Scotland

Tiger at Torrey Pines – yes, that’s enough to make any golf fan salivate. But the Farmers Insurance Open includes plenty of other one-name notables in its stellar field this week. Rory. Rickie. Jason. Jordan. And while we’re at it, throw in last year’s FedExCup winner (Justin Rose) and this year’s leader (Xander Schauffele). Should be a big week in SoCal. THE FLYOVER Two years ago, the 570-yard par-5 18th at Torrey Pines South yielded 11 eagles. A year ago, no birdies were recorded on the hole. Yet the stroke average remained relatively the same (4.766 in 2017, 4.768 last year). Finding the fairway isn’t all that easy at the 18th, and bunkers on either side of the fairway often gobble up the loose shots. Here’s a closer look at the 18th. LANDING ZONE For the last four seasons, the 504-yard par-4 12th at Torrey Pines South has ranked inside the 10 most difficult of all holes played on the PGA TOUR. Last year’s stroke average of 4.435 ranked it as the seventh toughest. Uphill … into the wind … long-iron approach … awkward angles – it’s no wonder that four pars at 12 this week will leave players smiling. Here’s a look at where all tee shots landed last year. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Wade Stettner: “A high pressure ridge will influence the weather through this weekend resulting in dry conditions and above normal temperatures. High temperatures are forecast near 70 degrees through Sunday with winds out of the north/northwest each day. An off-shore gradient will keep the marine layer away from the coast over the next few days, although the marine layer may get close to the coast on Sunday as the gradient turns neutral.â€� For the latest weather news from San Diego, California, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK This is the first PGA TOUR event that I ever attended with my dad when this was the old Andy Williams tournament. To have won on this property and had the success I’ve had, it’s been a lot of fun and looking forward to getting out there this week. BY THE NUMBERS 48.82 – Percentage of fairways hit at Torrey Pines South last year. It was the only course played on the PGA TOUR with less than 50 percent success rate. 51.01 – Percentage of fairways hit at Torrey Pines North in the first two rounds last year. That made it the fourth most difficult course in which to hit the fairway. 14 – Wins in California by Tiger Woods. That’s the most of any player since 1997. Another native Californian, Phil Mickelson, ranks second during the time period with 11 wins. -166 – Score under par since 1998 by Tiger Woods at the Farmers Insurance Open. Mickelson ranks second on that list at 99 under. SCATTERSHOTS Eight again? If Tiger Woods wins this week, it will be his eighth Farmers Insurance Open victory. He already has eight wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and eight at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, tying the TOUR record for most wins at a single tournament set by Sam Snead at the Wyndham Championship. Woods, of course, already has eight wins at Torrey Pines, having captured the 2008 U.S. Open there. But that first hole: Tiger’s nemesis at Torrey Pines South lately is the opening hole. In his last 19 rounds played at that course, he has four double bogeys, including three at the 2008 U.S. Open). He’s played the hole at a stroke average of 4.38. Prior to 2008, he didn’t have much of a problem, playing the 450-yard par 4 No. 1 at a stroke average of 3.79 with zero double bogeys. Big points: Defending champion Jason Day has accumulated 1,268 FedExCup points at the Farmers Insurance Open since 2009 (two wins and two other top-10 finishes will do the trick). That’s the second-most points of any player at Farmers in that span; Brandt Snedeker has been even more productive with 1,681 points. Tourney debut: Rory McIlroy is making his first career start at the Farmers Insurance Open. McIlroy’s lone win in a tournament debut came at the 2010 Wells Fargo Championship. He has four other top-10 finishes in tourney debuts, including a T-4 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions earlier this month. Pro debut: Braden Thornberry, the 2017 NCAA champion, is making his first start since opting to skip the spring portion of his senior season at the University of Mississippi. This isn’t his first PGA TOUR start, though – he made four of them as an amateur, including a T-4 at the 2017 FedEx St. Jude Classic. Long layout: At 7,698 yards, Torrey Pines South was the longest course played on the PGA TOUR last season.

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KAPALUA, Hawaii – One round is not a great sample size but for now Bryson DeChambeau is a genius. As he had indicated he would in the months leading up to golf’s new rule changes, DeChambeau took advantage of one of the much talked about alterations – being able to putt with the flagstick in. The five-time PGA TOUR champion alternated between leaving it in and taking it out throughout his opening round at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and drained a number of putts that rattled off the flagstick. After he signed for a 4-under 69 one stat stood out – he led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting at +3.868. While Justin Thomas said he couldn’t take himself seriously if he left the stick in earlier this week, DeChambeau’s results are as serious as they come. “I feel like I maximized my potential on that, especially on 16 today, where it’s kind of blowing downwind, five percent slope, straight downhill you want that pin to help. So that’s what I kind of did and utilized it to my advantage,â€� DeChambeau said. “I felt like for the most part I needed the pin to be in and it went in and it was a very nice help.â€� One of the concerns was playing partners may be inconvenienced but Dustin Johnson said there was no issue. “It was definitely weird, well not weird, but different looking watching somewhat putt with the flag in but it actually worked out where it wasn’t a big deal today,â€� Johnson said. “It didn’t really slow us down or anything. There were a couple of times where if we were close and the flag was out I would just putt it because I knew he would put in back in.â€� The two spoke briefly before the round about the issue with Johnson just advising DeChambeau’s caddie to grab the flag on the greens so as it wouldn’t be an issue. DeChambeau, who is currently running eighth in the FedExCup, will continue to monitor how it works for him over time. “It’s so situational and I don’t know when it’s actually going to hurt me, if it is going to hurt me. So that’s why I got to understand that, when it does hurt me I’ll know and that I won’t do it anymore,â€� he said. “But as of right now it seems like it’s a pretty nice benefit. “On 14, I kind of pushed it a little bit and it went in the right side and if I hit it a little harder it may lip out, but instead it hit the flag and went in easily. So it’s totally situational, still liquid, I’m still learning, under competition, when it’s the right thing to do.â€� DeChambeau wasn’t the only player to leave the flag in on a few occasions, but they were not for strategic purposes. Marc Leishman tapped in his first eagle of 2019 from three-inches and couldn’t help but laugh at himself as he had left the pin in.  “I thought I could just lag it in the front edge and make sure it didn’t hit the pin and bounce out,â€� he joked. “It was the first one I’ve done, probably the last, but I thought I better get one out of the way.â€� MUST-READS    Tway taps in to Kapalua memories Mid-round interviews a hit

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