THE OVERVIEW Based on pure numbers, none of the courses in the current CareerBuilder Challenge rotation are especially difficult — and yet, one of the three certainly is more challenging than the other two. The Stadium Course at PGA West joined the rotation two years ago and has played significantly tougher than either the Nicklaus Tournament Course or La Quinta Country Club during that span. All three courses are par 72s; the Stadium Course has played to a yearly stroke average of 0.797 under par, while the Nicklaus Tournament is 2.159 under par and La Quinta is 2.609 under par. In fact, in 2016, the Nicklaus and La Quinta courses were two of the three easiest on the PGA TOUR; last year, La Quinta was the second-easiest , behind only the Plantation Course at Kapalua. Thus, the theory is that players will need to go low this week on the two easiest courses while playing more defensive at the Stadium Course (players making the cut after the third round all play the Stadium Course in the final round). A year ago, Hudson Swafford took that approach in winning his first PGA TOUR event. He opened with a pair of 65s at La Quinta and Nicklaus, then shot 71 at the Stadium Course. He followed with a 67 in the final round on the Stadium to overtake Adam Hadwin. Hadwin, by the way, shot himself into the third-round lead by shooting 59 at La Quinta – 10 strokes lower than what he shot the previous day at the Stadium Course. “You need to go low on at least one, I think,â€� Swafford said of the La Quinta and Nicklaus courses. “… I don’t think you need to go out and you have to shoot for a 62 or 63, but I think you just need to play solid golf all week to have a chance. A lot of 4- and 5-unders, give yourself a chance on the back nine on Sunday.â€� Sounds like a solid plan. THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER Patton Kizzire – Ranked 292nd in the world at start of November; thanks to his two wins, he’s now 54th and leading the FedExCup. Phil Mickelson – Making his first start in 2018; based on his most recent starts, he’s showing signs of ending that pesky drought. Bill Haas – His last TOUR win came here three years ago, and he’s not trending well with MCs in his last two starts. THE FLYOVER Last year, there were 201 par-3 holes played on the PGA TOUR, and two of the toughest can be found at the Stadium Course at PGA West. The 223-yard sixth ranked at the 13th most difficult with a stroke average of 3.227. The 195-yard 13th ranked as the 30th most difficult. The common bond? Water is in play on both holes. THE LANDING ZONE Speaking of water, the closing hole at the Stadium Course has plenty. Water guards the entire length down the left side of the fairway at the 435-yard par-4 18th. No surprise that it was the fourth most difficult hole on the course. Here’s where all tee shots landed last year. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Stewart Williams: “A mix of sun and high clouds can be expected on Thursday, making for partly cloudy skies. Temperatures will remain warm with highs in the mid to upper 70s. A low pressure system will move inland into California on Friday that will bring windy and cooler conditions on Friday. Can’t rule out an isolated shower, but most areas will remain dry. Otherwise, clearing skies return Saturday with cool temperatures expected through the rest of the weekend. Highs each day will likely warm into the mid 60s with lows in the 40s and even upper 30s Sunday morning.â€� For the latest weather news from La Quinta, California, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK I truly believe that right now I’m a dreamer, I want to keep dreaming about achieving more things here as a professional golfer. And probably later on in my career I’ll sit back and say, well I maybe had a pretty good career. But right now there’s a lot of things that I want to achieve. BY THE NUMBERS 30 – Birdies made by Jason Dufner when he won in 2016 and Patrick Reed when he won in 2014. Since 2010, just two other winners of a 72-hole event have made 30 birdies (Justin Thomas at the 2015 CIMB Classic and Steve Stricker at the 2010 John Deere Classic). 67.92 – Phil Mickelson’s career stroke average at the CareerBuilder Challenge since 2002. He’s the only player with a stroke average under 68 in this event (minimum 22 rounds). 6,605 – Cumulative under-par score on the par 5s at the CareerBuilder Challenge since 2012. That’s 2,842 strokes easier than any other tournament’s par-5 holes during that span. Scattershots Palm Desert High School senior Charlie Reiter is playing on a sponsor invite. It’s his first PGA TOUR start and second in a professional tournament; he tied for 65th at the 2017 Emeritus Australian Open. Reiter will play golf at USC following graduation. … Another young player to watch is Maverick McNealy, also playing on a sponsor’s exemption. McNealy, the former top amateur player, made his pro debut last fall at the Safeway Open, where he finished T-52. … There have been eight multiple winners of this event – Arnold Palmer (five times) and Billy Casper, John Mahaffey, Johnny Miller, Corey Pavin, John Cook, Phil Mickelson and Bill Haas. Miller is the only back-to-back winner in 1975-76.
Click here to read the full article…
