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.

PGA In May Could Come Down To Data Points

Rex Hoggard considers the pros and cons of schedule changes that would annually send The Players to March in exchange for a May PGA and a pre-labor day FedExCup. That deal is on the table from PGA Tour Coommissioner Jay Monahan, but whether the PGA of America pulls the trigger will come down to golf courses and "data points."

Hoggard points out the big agronomic issues with northern courses that host four of the next seven PGA Championships.

“When you run a major championship it starts and ends with the quality of the golf course, it starts and ends with the quality of the competition,” Bevacqua said.

But for every Hazeltine, Whistling Straits and Oak Hill, there will be southern courses that could replace them in May. So won't this, like most things, come down to the numbers?

Bevacqua explained it’s not a single factor that could see the PGA move to a new spot on the calendar, but instead a collection of data points – from golf course availability to how a May vs. August date could impact TV viewing.

“What would it mean to the quality of the broadcast, what would be a more powerful timeframe to broadcast the PGA?” Bevacqua asked hypothetically.

Since the PGA is now usually the second highest-rated major, August would seem more logical. But clearly there is a piece in this puzzle luring the PGA to consider a move to May and Mothers Day weekend. Only time will tell what that piece is.

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.

Bernhard Langer: A Friend Told Me A Story, I Told My Friend Who Told His Friend, The President Of The United States!

The following is a statement issued by the PGA TOUR on behalf of Champions Tour member Bernhard Langer, currently to blame for an impending voter fraud investigation demanded by President Donald Trump.

"Unfortunately, the report in the New York Times and other news outlets was a mischaracterization by the media. The voting situation reported was not conveyed from me to President Trump, but rather was told to me by a friend. I then relayed the story in conversation with another friend, who shared it with a person with ties to the White House. From there, this was misconstrued. I am not a citizen of the United States, and cannot vote. It’s a privilege to live in the United States, and I am blessed to call America my home. I will have no further comment at this time."

So to recap, Bernhard Langer heard a story about shady goings on at the polls, who told his friend, who told Donald Trump.