
Because the PGA Tour begins its Florida swing on the Cognizant Traditional within the Palm Seashores on Thursday, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Daniel Berger are among the many names vying for a redeeming victory.
A pair of fan favorites, Spieth and Fowler, have dropped to Nos. 70 and 95, respectively, within the Official World Golf Rating amid tough stretches. Spieth remains to be working his approach again from August wrist surgical procedure and made his season debut earlier this month.
After tying for fourth on the WM Phoenix Open, he missed the minimize on the Genesis Invitational, a signature occasion that solely minimize 18 gamers. This will probably be his first time competing at PGA Nationwide Resort in Palm Seashore Gardens, Fla.
“It was very nice to get again after which even to get into rivalry one week,” Spieth stated. “So my objective now, as we glance in direction of the Masters, is to attempt to play tough golf programs and work my approach into rivalry and simply see what I can enhance upon by the point we get to Augusta.”
Spieth hasn’t received on tour since April 2022, whereas Fowler’s 2023 Rocket Mortgage Traditional is his solely victory this decade.
“Recreation-wise, positively trending and on track,” Fowler stated. “Clearly final yr was again to taking part in some poor golf or not essentially profiting from some alternatives. Performed poorly on the weekends.
“Not a terrific begin this yr, however I really feel like I’ve seen a variety of good issues, and I do know that I am no less than trending. That is a constructive.”
This event is a “residence sport” for the numerous gamers like Fowler who stay in close by Jupiter, Fla. That goes double for Berger, a Florida native and Florida State alum.
As soon as ranked as excessive as No. 12 on the planet, Berger missed a few of 2022 and all of 2023 as he rehabbed a again damage. He ended a quiet 2024 season with a T2 end on the RSM Traditional and has gotten off to a nice begin this yr, tying for second in Scottsdale and putting twelfth on the Genesis.
“It took me legitimately a yr to really feel like I used to be the identical golfer that I used to be pre-injury,” Berger stated. “I truly really feel like I am a extra educated golfer, as in like I perceive what I must do. I do know my physique higher. I feel that is going to make me a greater participant sooner or later.”
PGA Nationwide was as soon as often known as one of many harder tracks on tour, however the pattern lately has been successful scores within the double digits below par, the place it as soon as had been within the single digits. When Austin Eckroat received final yr with a 17-under 263, it was the bottom rating since 2003.
“They overseeded the golf course so it isn’t Bermuda anymore. The greens are improbable; they’re the most effective I’ve ever seen them,” Berger stated. “Chipping is noticeably simpler now. … You are not going to see guys duff balls like they’d when it was pure Bermuda. It is quite a bit simpler.”
The course nonetheless has its challenges, specifically the “Bear Entice,” the fifteenth via seventeenth holes with loads of water in play.
–Area Stage Media