Some Saturday Farmers Open Storylines To Watch...

/

The pairing taylor made for excitement fizzled: Tiger, world No. 1 Jason Day and Dustin Johnson are gone after an uninspired two days. However, the Farmers Insurance Open from sunny Torrey Pines still offers some intrigue and the chance for some young talents to have a breakthrough weekend.

As for Tiger, the performance paled compared to past play here, yet as Jeff Babineau notes for Golfweek.com, it was one stretch that ultimately prevented a chance to play on the weekend.

Woods will have the weekend off in SoCal due to a sloppy four-hole stretch on the South Course on Thursday that he played in 5 over par. He went from 1 under through 11 holes to 4 over through 15, and on a course that yields very little in return, barring a low round in tough conditions Friday, he basically was done.

Jason Sobel at ESPN.com considers whether Woods can take a page from his geezer peers Brady, Williams, Williams, Nadal and Federer.

It was Woods' 16th missed cut as a pro. That and other "By The Numbers" from GolfChannel.com are here.

I wrote for Golfweek about Ollie Schniederjans clicking with his ultra low ball flight. The ex-Georgia Tech star is two back of leader Justin Rose and one behind the red hot Adam Hadwin and defending champion Brandt Snedeker.

Bryson DeChambeau is one player not staying around long this week after coming from the PGA Show and getting in very little practice. Throw in squabbling with the USGA over his putter and all sorts of other fun insights, and, well, he's not dull. Ryan Lavner reports for GolfChannel.com:

Golf Channel goes live at 10 am PT and CBS takes over around noon ET with the traditional half hour graphics changeover.

Tiger's First Official Round Back: Fades To 76

/

The crisp ball-striking evident in Tiger's pro-am round did not show up Thursday. The follow-throughs looked a bit less natural compared to the back nine pro-am shots I saw Wednesday. Even the club slam on five looked ragged (reps!). It all suggests what few want to accept: an athlete who has been through too many back surgeries will have days that are better than others as he mounts his most daunting career comeback yet.

Given that Torrey Pines is wet, the weather cool and the pace slow, it was easy to see how he never gained much momentum during a Farmers Insurance Open first round 76.

Yes, a round ten shots worse than Adam Hadwin's South Course low 66 may look dreadful for a legend who has dominated at Torrey South, but Tiger's first official round back produced enough highlights and crowd buzz to hopefully buy some patience for the 41-year-old.

Tiger, however, was positive after the round, sensing he fought, notes John Strege at GolfDigest.com:

“I fought my tail off out there,” he said. “I fought hard. It was nice to put together a round when I wasn’t hitting it that great early."

The South Course can’t be played effectively from the rough in the aftermath of a series of storms and an unusually wet winter that have left it gnarly. Woods, who hit only four of 14 fairways, demonstrably proved that. He hit only nine of 18 greens in regulation.

Torrey South was a step up in offering a challenge, notes Bob Harig at ESPN.com.

His eight victories here came with him in top form. At 7,600 yards and playing longer due to wet conditions, it is a stern test for those in good form. It was also cool, causing Woods to go from a sweater vest to a sweater as the round progressed.

It didn't help that the round took 5 hours and 20 minutes; No. 1-ranked Jason Day shot 73 and No. 3 Dustin Johnson had 72 playing with Woods.

Tiger Tracker, an emerging GolfChannel.com talent, felt the round could have been worse if not for Tiger's excellent front nine scrambling. And his random observations from the round are quite fun.

Tiger drilled a fan off the 13th tee. Like, smoked him. Left a mark on the kid’s neck. Surprised I couldn’t see the Bridgestone logo. The kid stood behind the ropes, greedily rubbing his hands together, expecting a signed goodie. Only problem: He never spoke up. Tiger didn’t know. At least he got to take an illegal photograph of Tiger hitting his second shot.

Ryan Lavner for GolfChannel.com:

And, no, not entirely unexpected. Woods has played only four competitive rounds in the past 522 days. Torrey’s South Course was the second-hardest on Tour last year. Should we have anticipated anything different?

“Joey [LaCava] kept telling me all day today, ‘Just be patient with it,’” Woods said of his caddie. “I didn’t quite smile at him a few of those times he said that. But I was fighting out there trying to get my ball around the golf course and score.”

Jeff Babineau summed the round up this way for Golfweek.com:

On a long and difficult course, Tiger Woods simply got the icy reminder that golf doles to so many of us. This can be a cold, difficult and maddening game. He beat only 19 players in the field.
He’ll be back for more tomorrow, and from here, it will only get better.

Tiger finished things off with a birdie, at least:

His post round interview courtesy of GolfChannel.com.

Woods, Jason Day and Dustin Johnson tee off Friday at 9:30 am PT on Torrey Pines North's 10th tee.

Tiger On His Return: "It's been long enough."

/

Tiger Woods delivered his usual huge media turnout and intrigue while launching the reborn Genesis Open at Riviera. With his tournament operations folks running the show and the Woods Foundation benefitting from the tournament, Tiger seems full engaged in raising the profile of an event that has languished since the hometown hero last played in 2006.

From the accounts of those on-site, key takeaway lines revolved around his desire to get back playing after too long off, along with his admission of concern about a stacked start.

As I wrote for Golfweek.com, the common sense admission of vulnerability is actually a positive sign that will only win him more fans and sympathy should rust slow down his return to the top.

Steve DiMeglio's story notes Tiger's desire to get back at it after too long away from the game.

Ryan Lavner at GolfChannel.com noted highlights from the press conference, including this on Tiger's concern about so much golf out of the chute.

“My body is in a pretty good state where I feel like I can handle that workload,” he said Monday at media day for the Genesis Open, which his foundation now hosts, “but I’ve still got to go out there and do it.”

Bob Harig at ESPN.com noted Tiger's obvious ease in returning to a tournament we weren't sure he'd ever play again and the role he envisions for rejuvenating the LA stop.

"To come full circle and have an opportunity to run this event is really special moment in my life,'' said Woods, who will make the tournament one of three in four weeks that he is playing to start 2017.

A couple of other key moments from the press conference included the continuation, with Charles Sifford's name attached, of the annual special exemption to a minority golfer.

Tiger discussed that and his role in shaping the tournament.

Q. Tiger, question about the tournament operation, things like the Sifford exemption.

How much do you get involved in that? Would you get involved in helping pick the person who gets exempt, or in this first year do you kind of step back and see how things unfold and then give your thoughts?

TIGER WOODS: No, I'm part of all of it. I've been involved with running golf tournaments and my foundation for a very long time, since '99. So we've been doing it a very long time. So part of the operations and my staff, I'm very close with them, I trust them implicitly. But obviously I have my finger on some of the things that I want to have happen and how we can make this experience here at Riviera and with Genesis, how we can make it better for not only the players but for all the people that come out and are part of this event.

The Scotty Cameron fan club will enjoy this:

Q. Tiger, can you describe what it feels like to have the putter back in the bag that you have had so much success with over the years?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, well, it felt good there at the Hero in the Bahamas. I made a few putts there, made a few birdies and, yeah, you can hit the ball close but you've still got to hole the putts. I made quite a few putts that week. Over the years, I mean, Scotty has probably built me over a hundred putters trying to replicate this one. It just doesn't. For some reason this one just stands out. I think it's -- I mean, Bob Charles putted with his putter for 50 years, that Bulls Eye. Mark McNulty putted the same thing with his Bulls Eye forever, Jack with his George Low. I mean, for some reason you can find other putters, you may put it on the side or penalty box for a little bit, but for some reason it just keeps coming back.

For those who prefer to read in Tweets, the GCTigerTracker was busy today.

Here is Golf Central's condensed report from the event.

There were many other good bits from the day and I got a one-on-one with him that I'll share more of as we get closer to the Genesis.

Meanwhile, European bookmaker BookMaker.eu is pushing some attention-getting prices that suggest a lack of bullishness (or need for attention!). Tiger's prospects, given his attitude, body language, energy and play at the Hero World Challenge, would have me jumping at a few of these...

Will Tiger Woods finish in the top 10 at the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open?

Yes +350
No -500

How many birdies will Tiger Woods record during the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open?

OVER 6.5 (-110)
UNDER 6.5 (-120)

How many bogeys or worse will Tiger Woods record during the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open?

OVER 8.5 (-115)
UNDER 8.5 (-115)

Tiger Woods finishing position at 2017 Farmers Insurance Open

1st (+3000)
2nd-10th (+1500)
11th-19th (+900)
20th-30th (+550)
31st-40th (+400)
41st-50th (+350)
51st or worse (-120)

Whew!? There Won't Be Any 59s At Torrey Pines

/

We've been enjoying much-needed rains here in Southern California, much to the chagrin of media members hoping to get a crack at Riviera Monday. Tiger Woods will be there to kick of his foundation's operation of the Genesis Open and hoped-for rejuvenation of a historic PGA Tour stop.

Woods then heads to San Diego for the Farmers Insurance Open where rough has been high in recent years, and, according to this John Strege item at GolfDigest.com, is on steroids again. Mowers hit the thick stuff last Thursday but almost surely haven't been able to hit the overseeded ryegrass.

While I'm no fan of rough like that and fear it'll send some of the starpower home early, the tall thick stuff may arrive at a good time. Though I sit back with popcorn and a Coke watching the lamenting of 59s due to unregulated equipment, the conversation invariably misses some key points in the distance debate. Which is why this week's Torrey Pines reset, normally something to lament on Rees Jones' lamentable anti-strategic golf renovation, may land at the right time.

Not that I ever discourage questioning how the USGA and R&A have let this happen, but for this to be constructive to all, we have to offer solutions instead of bemoaning displays of skill.

We know this:

--Instruction and Trackman have made players better at repeating swings, repairing flaws and fitting equipment.

--Conditioning of courses has never been better, impacting scoring (though the suggestion that tighter mowing heights leads to more roll was nicely debunked).

--Equipment has never been better made or more effective for all skill levels, giving the players instruments to attack courses like never before.

--Course setup has become more fluid, democratic and interesting in recent years, leading to some thrilling moments and less par-protection.

--Players and caddies have rangefinders and other tools to better understand courses.

A 59 is still a magical score, especially on a par-72 course (13 birdies by Hadwin!). Lamenting these rounds hurts the cause of those pushing for a competition ball since a 59 is an incredible athletic achievement aided by human progress on many fronts.

Loyal longtime readers who know how long I've been venting about this know that the only genuine solution is a ball that better fits select courses. Because the governing bodies are not going to tell manufacturers to stop innovating and even when they do, the companies are too good at what they do. Players are not going to get less skilled and superintendents, caddies and instructors are not going to be getting worse at their jobs.

A ball that simply allows course architecture to ask a few more questions of players--in the form of longer approach shots to greens and more drivers off the tees--would do wonders for the pro game. Furthermore, I suspect elite players would actually enjoy employing such a ball at select classics--assuming they are real competitors and not placing themselves above the game. Such an introduction should also usher in a larger ball that goes longer and helps beginning and senior players enjoy the game more.

I point this out because harvesting rough, while helping to tamp down the current infighting and grousing over great achievements, does little to advance the best long term cause. Keep that in mind this week!

Video: Amateur Makes Careerbuilder Hole-In-One

/

Mercifully for David Colby, the NBC/Golf Channel crew was recording so he could see his ball go in the hole after not watching. He's playing No. 17 at the PGA West Stadium course in the Careerbuilder Challenge final round:

Hadwin (59): “I was thinking about it. I knew exactly where I was."

/

Golfweek's Dan Kilbridge with some of the fun comments from Adam Hadwin following his 59 at La Quinta Country Club. Hadwin takes a one stroke leading over Dominic Bozzelli into Sunday's Careerbuilder Challenge final round.

Hadwin's 13-birdie, no bogey round was played in a zone of sorts, but Hadwin knew what he was doing. His quote is fun:

“Everybody talks about kind of they were in a zone and I think that’s what happened out there,” Hadwin said. “I was thinking about it. I knew exactly where I was. I knew exactly what I needed to do. It just didn’t seem to matter.”

The 29-year-old Canadian knew he had a decent chance after a birdie on No. 11, which began a streak of five straight birdies on the back nine and followed a stretch of six straight on the front.

“After hole 11, I said to my caddie (Joe Cruz), ‘We need four more,” Hadwin said. “I’m not sure he knew what to respond to me at that point, because he knew I was playing well and he knew that clearly I was thinking about it. But we just went about our business and kept making putts.”

Kevin Casey with other notes from the day and another great quote from Hadwin about shaking over the final putt.

Mike Johnson with the clubs Hadwin used to shoot the 9th sub-60 score in PGA Tour history.

The final up and down for 59:

Whicker On Scoring, Distance And A Changing Game

/

Mark Whicker talked to players at the Careerbuilder Challenge about Justin Thomas' record scoring in Hawaii and what the increase in 59s all means for the game.

Many things stood out, so I'm just clipping the most intriguing. The entire piece is worth your time.

From Jason Dufner:

“Larry Nelson won the U.S. Open at Oakmont (in 1993),” Dufner said. “He told me that on the first hole, he’d hit four-iron into the green. Last year I hit pitching wedge three days, sand wedge the other day.”

William McGirt has many great insights about distance and Trackman.

In 1998, John Daly led the tour by averaging 298 yards. Last year, there were 27 pros who topped 300. This year, Smylie Kaufman leads with an impossible average drive of 322.

Any course with mundane par-5s is helpless. Luke List is already 50-under-par on the long holes this season.

“People will say the golf ball doesn’t go any farther, but they’re wrong,” McGirt said. “The drivers can’t get hotter. The ball is the only common denominator with all the shots.

“They’ve basically taken an old two-piece, hard-brick ball and made it spin. That benefits the bombers. They can get to the core and compress it better than anyone. I can’t do that, but I have a ball I know I can control.”

Oh boy, blaming the ball. That'll get you sleeping with Luca Brazi and the fishes!

But as I noted this week on Golf Central (below), Trackman is now an underrated element in the overall improvement of player skill and distance.

“It detects a flaw before it gets out of control,” McGirt said. “If your swing is a degree and a half steeper than it should be, you can fix it before it becomes four degrees. You look at it and scratch your head and say it looks the same, but it’s not. Video doesn’t pick everything up.

“Because of this, I don’t have to have my teacher (John Tillery) with me all the time. I can hit 40 shots and e-mail them, and he can pull the numbers and say, here’s what the problem is. But some guys get caught up in it. They might start playing numbers instead of playing golf.”

John Feinstein and I discussed this very topic on Golf Central, including the Trackman component in today's improved scoring.

More On Justin Thomas' Ascension, Stunning Sony Stats

/

Now that Justin Thomas has won both Hawaii events and moved into the world top ten, his backstory is probably a lot more interesting to most.

Brian Wacker does a nice job recapping how Thomas got to this point and highlighting the role of his golf instructor dad Mike.

The older Thomas said he often asked Justin if he wanted to go to the swimming pool or to play basketball. He was not interested.

“When he was 7 or 8 years old, he’d call me on his way home from a tournament and say, ‘I’ll be home by 7:30, do you want to play nine holes?’ ” Mike Thomas said. “We’d eat dinner at 9 or 9:30 every night. Selfishly, it allowed me to play more golf.”

The older Thomas taught his son the fundamentals, but he was cautious about pushing him too hard. Most of their lessons would last 10 or 15 minutes, in part because Mike Thomas had a busy schedule teaching and competing, but also because he did not want to be overbearing.

“I’ve seen it done wrong so many times,” Mike Thomas said. “It was more important that we were friends than he was a good player.”

The crack number-crunchers at ShotLink provided these stats from the Sony Open, which show a driving and putting performance that easily explains how the new PGA Tour scoring record occurred.

The divide between Thomas and his next closest competitor in approach distances is a real eye-opener.

Careerbuilder: Mickelson On Creating An Identity

/

Larry Bohannan talks to Phil Mickelson in advance of his new role as "ambassador" to the Careerbuilder Challenge, formerly known as, well, The Hope.

Mickelson says it's a three-year plan to build the tournament into a more stable and significant event.

"The idea is to create an identity. Our identity is a chance for players to build a foundation for the rest of the year. We want to get a few top players in the field as the year starts.”

As the desert tournament evolved in the 1960s and 1970s, it always had top-name pros from Arnold Palmer to Jack Nicklaus to Gary Player to Johnny Miller to Mickelson himself. Getting at least a few names like that back in the field could help push the CareerBuilder to bigger heights, Mickelson said, and maybe even bring back a little of what the tournament was decades ago.

“If we get a few top players, get some top amateurs and in the future some top celebrities out to the tournament, the tournament will be something fans want to come to,” he said.

It's interesting to see that Mickelson has singled out "top celebrities" given that Commissioner Finchem shifted the event away from celebs just as he did with the Wednesday pro-am here in Los Angeles. Whether Moonbeam was focused on squeezing more revenue out of paying customers over spectator draws, or just a general fan of watching briefcases play golf instead of celebs, I don't know.

Either way, tip of the cap to whoever secured Fitz and The Tantrums for the first Careerbuilder Challenge concert. Can't wait to see the fans free let go of their walkers to dance to The Walker!

Rory's HSBC WD Will Seriously Alter Pre-Masters Plans

/

Talk about a kickabout to Rory McIlroy's pre-Masters preparation plan.

While his beloved downtime activity of gym time is something Rory McIlroy credits for his ascension, his rib stress fracture was blamed on excessive club testing over the holidays. However, the gym work will be questioned after the almost-World-No.-1-again has WD'd from the HSBC Championship and perhaps other pre-Masters events.

Brian Keogh writes at the Irish Golf Desk:

The Northern Irishman underwent extensive clinical examinations on Monday after picking up the injury in South Africa last week and will now commence rehabilitation and return to golf when he is fully recovered from the stress fracture.

He said: “It’s bitterly disappointing to have to withdraw from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. I think everyone knows how much I love playing this tournament, which is one of the best on the European Tour thanks to the incredible support of HSBC and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council."

Last year, McIlroy discussed the injury-prevention intentions of his workout regimen, which was detailed here by Brian Wacker at PGATour.com, who sat in on the Men's Health cover shoot.

"I think from the start of 2011, the direct correlation between leading a healthier lifestyle and my performance on the course was the same.

"Obviously I'm trying to be strong, but the whole reason I started this is because I was injured."