• “So clean was Kuchar’s round that he only once had to stress over a par putt, and he made the 10-footer at the par-3 fourth.”

• “I think it’s one of the few courses that has truly stood the test of time,” Kuchar said. “It was a great test of golf 50 years ago when Ben Hogan was playing, it’s a great test today with Tiger Woods and all the young boys playing.”

• “The conditions were ideal once the morning chill gave way to mild sunshine, and Kuchar took advantage in the morning. As much as Kuchar loves the course, he has only one top 10 in his 13 previous appearances.”

• “Seriously. In Kobe Bryant’s city, in Woods’ first tournament since learning of his longtime buddy’s shocking death, Woods’ first putt of the day corresponded with both numbers Bryant wore during his Hall of Fame career.”

• “…Woods opened the first-ever Genesis Invitational with a two-under 69, getting his latest bid for a record-breaking 83rd PGA Tour victory off to a solid start. He’ll enter the second round five behind Matt Kuchar, who fired a bogey-free, seven-under 64 amid perfect scoring conditions early Thursday morning and is three clear of his closest chasers.”

• “The swing is far from classic. The shaft is almost vertical halfway up the backswing and her head swivels toward the target as, or even before, she hits the ball. It’s not a method you would teach, but nor it is one a wise teacher would seek to alter.”

• “It works and what more can you ask of a golf swing?”

• “Park split the opening fairway just as most in the clubhouse were beginning their lunch, -which was a pity because they missed her holing an opening wedge from a 100 metres for an eagle.”

• A morsel…”From there, they move to the green to putt and try to get the same feedback. Woods is looking at how long the ball sticks to the face and whether he notices any differences in the speed of the ball. From there, the team makes its way to the course, where Woods will hit driver, 4-iron, 7-iron and full wedge shots.”

• “Andrew Troutner is the head of Bridgestone’s test site and has experienced testing with Woods on numerous occasions. Troutner has seen firsthand the impeccable attention to detail Woods has, but also the accuracy and depth of knowledge Woods can provide. That happened as the company was testing its new line of Tour B balls that Woods would later put in use.”

• “With all those shots, he’s looking for how not only the ball reacts on his good shots, but he knows when he misses that ball slightly to the right or slightly to the left,” Troutner said. “How much does the spin increase or decrease based on those misses, he doesn’t want that number to be higher than a certain percentage. With the 7-iron, that window is probably most important, if it goes outside of his window, he’s going to kick that ball out.”

Full piece.

• “And that’s all it took for Couples to share his thoughts on the chances of the Premier Golf League coming into existence.”

• “I saw Jay Monahan’s quote. That’s how long I follow it,” Couples said Thursday from The Classics at Lely Resort, where the two-time Chubb Classic champion was practicing for this week.

• “You play there, you don’t play on the Tour,” he said in summarizing Monahan’s sentiments. “Your choice. You want to win one of these things or you want to win the L.A. Open?

Full piece.

• So: “It went 40 yards shorter than what it usually does,” he said.

• “Fast forward six holes. It’s warmer now, probably in the low-60s, and McIlroy had 289 yards left into the par-5 17th. The shot called for an all-out 3-wood … and he wound up pin high, 35 feet from the hole. He buried the putt for eagle, sending him on his way to a 3-under 68 that put him four shots off the early pace.”

• “He also paid homage to his late grandfather Mack with a new Nike polo patch dedicated to preserving Mack’s legacy.”

• “Champ repeated his footwear move from last season during Black History Month, following the lead of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James as a way to continue awareness, spark conversation and promote diversity and equality.”

• “The Tour has notified players who were slated to compete in the event. On pgatour.com, the effect on the rest of the 2020 schedule was explained this way:”

• “As a result of this decision, PGA TOUR Series-China will also postpone the first four tournaments of the previously released regular season schedule, aiming to play the two postponed Qualifying Tournaments sometime in the latter part of April or early May, with the regular season beginning in the latter part of May or early June. The Tour is planning on a 10-tournament regular season schedule, which will still include 2021 Korn Ferry Tour benefits going to the best-performing players.”