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A tradition we sincerely hope is unlike any other: the October run-up to a rescheduled Masters culminates for most players with the ZOZO Championship final round at Sherwood Country Club.

Normally we get the West Coast and Florida swings to build up to Augusta. This year, we have a collection of fall events that are not the usual building blocks to Augusta, though at this week’s ZOZO, a fun test rewarding all types of player.

The leaderboard heading into Sunday’s finale features several expected Masters leading contenders and any number of possible upstarts with a shot. Eleven players are within four strokes of Justin Thomas’s one-stroke lead over Jon Rahm (63).

Adding to the intrigue: cooler and breezier conditions forecast for Sunday at Sherwood, which nobly stood in as the host venue for the Japan-based event. After three days of fairly benign conditions, players may face a bit more on top of hoping to capture a PGA Tour title so close to the Masters.

Key notes from the PGA Tour:

Phil Mickelson was seven-under through eight of his ZOZO Championship holes Saturday before posting 67 at Sherwood, but more noteworthy was the way he walked back his early week comments on Houston. Or was that some post-Commissioner-text-message breakdancing?

Anyway, a few days after questioning a pre-Masters Houston Open appearance because 2000 spectators were going to be allowed, Mickelson has had a change of heart. Maybe.

From Rex Hoggard at GolfChannel.com:

He told GolfChannel.com this on Saturday: “That’s not a deciding factor. I’m sure the Tour will do a great job of making it safe.”

He went on to mention a bunch of first world dilemmas he faces in this all important scheduling decision. They involve rye grass. Carts. Other things. In case you care.

Justin Thomas rounded into form late in the third round at the Zozo Championship at Sherwood on Saturday, giving him a one-stroke lead over Jon Rahm heading into Sunday.

Another strong month for rounds played, this time up 25.5% according to Golf Datatech.

From their summary:

Entering October, play was up 8.7% nationally versus the same period a year ago. That reflects a year-to-date increase of about 29 million more rounds, even with the loss of about 20 million rounds during the spring due to Covid-related shutdowns.

Every state in the continental U.S. has seen increases in play of at least 2% for each of the past three months. A major drop in precipitation helped fuel a 46% September rounds-increase in Minnesota, while other Midwest states also saw notable increases: Illinois (+35%), Wisconsin (+29%), Michigan (+27%), Indiana (+27%) and Ohio (+26%).

Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm will chasing the win. But Sunday will also see Tiger and Phil together ... though way, way, way off the lead.

Amid changes due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tiger Woods is happy that one Masters tradition, the Champions Dinner, is still scheduled to take place.

Ally McDonald will carry a one-shot lead over Bianca Pagdanganan into Sunday's final round of the LPGA Drive On Championship-Lake Reynolds Oconee.

Englishmen Laurie Canter and Ross McGowan share a three-shot lead entering the final round of the Italian Open.

U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau posted to Instagram story that he hit a drive that carried 401.3 yards and had a ball speed of 211 mph and a hang time of 8.2 seconds.

Tony Finau has returned to action after a positive COVID-19 test and what sound like the worst known symptoms experienced by a PGA Tour player since the pandemic has begun.

After carding a second round 64 at Sherwood to land T6 (-11) in the 2020 ZOZO Championship, Finau spoke to reporters about the experience.

I was present for much of Finau’s chat and he’s both a testament to the PGA Tour’s testing program, but also to the role players who have tested positive can play in spreading an enlightened message about mask wearing and distancing.

From Bob Harig’s ESPN.com story on Finau that is very much worth your time.

Finau, 31, said he started to experience flu-like symptoms on Oct. 3. Two days later, he drove from his Salt Lake City home to the tournament in Las Vegas. He was tested the following day, with the positive result forthcoming.

"For the first five days, it got worse," said Finau, who was required by the PGA Tour to quarantine in Las Vegas for 10 days -- with a $75,000 stipend provided. "I had massive headaches, body aches. I didn't feel like doing anything. It got me really good -- fatigue-wise. I'm very active. Work out quite often. Always playing golf or with my kids and quite active. It knocked me down. There's no question about it.

"For those 10 days, I didn't feel like doing anything. I obviously didn't get to practice. I lost my taste and smell after about four days. Still don't have it back. That kind of sucks; I'm quite a foodie. It was not the experience I thought I was going to have. Most guys are asymptomatic. They say if you're young and healthy, it's not a big deal. I think I gained some respect for the virus."

It was the coolest day in months around southern California but still comfortable enough for short sleeves.

Sherwood Country Club is immaculate.

There are five par-5’s.

The ball goes forever and there isn’t a snap hook in sight.

Oh, and the players have never been more athletic, intelligent, etc...

TT has he/she/it/they have been known—aka Tiger Tracker—has become a staple of GolfChannel.com’s presence on social media. The 8-year-old account had become the go-to for fans to track Woods’s every move and could even, at times, become a tad cultish as those who questioned the anonymous Tweeter’s wisdom.

Nonetheless, at 438,800 Twitter followers, it was Golf Channel’s second most-followed account but easily its most beloved. While not profitable, TT was quite good at the whole “engagement” thing MBA types mention as vital to their businesses.

But with the channel laying off most staff and sending a small number to Connecticut to put a bare bones channel on the air until an inevitable move of PGA Tour coverage to Peacock, layoffs have apparently eliminated those behind the beloved Twitter follow.

Tiger Tracker has not posted since September 23rd and sat out Tiger’s opening two rounds in his 20200 ZOZO Championship defense. Fans have been inundating both the official account and folks like myself wanting answers.

How revered is the Tracker? Even Golf Channel’s official account briefly wondered where TT was during Thursday’s opening round before the delete button was struck.

Some are counting down to the rescheduled fall Masters to savor a tradition most definitely not like any other we want to do again. Others, well, are looking forward to Bryson DeChambeau highlighting previously unknown design dimensions to Augusta National.

The 2020 U.S. Open Champion provided this Instagram story update on his rest, training and speed work in advance of the Masters (embed above).

Tony Finau feels better, and he is thankful for that. With his health and his game improving, he has his eyes set on the Masters.

Justin Thomas went from a fast finish a day ago to a fast start Friday in the Zozo Championship at Sherwood before closing with six straight pars for a 1-shot lead.

Tiger Woods matched his lowest score of 2020 with a 6-under 66, but he remained 12 shots behind leader Justin Thomas at the Zozo Champoinship.

Ally McDonald shot a 4-under 68 to take a one-stroke lead in the LPGA Drive On Championship-Lake Reynolds Oconee.

 

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Laurie Canter is eyeing a maiden European Tour title after adding a second-round 68 to his spectacular opening 12-under 60 to keep the lead at the halfway stage of the Italian Open on Friday.

As the PGA Tour visits Sherwood Country Club below, Wayne Gretzky has listed his Richard Landry-designed and Lenny Dykstra-redecorated estate for $22.9 million, reports the LA Times’s Jack Fleming.

Overlooking the course hosting this week’s ZOZO Championship, the home has quite a history.

It’s actually Gretzky’s second time selling the home. The NHL Hall of Famer was the compound’s original owner after having it built in 2002, but five years later, he sold it to former baseball star Lenny Dykstra for $18.5 million.

The sale kicked off a dramatic saga that saw Dykstra lose the property to foreclosure after declaring bankruptcy, at which point it sold at auction on the steps of the Ventura County Courthouse for $760,712 (with the winning bidder taking on about $12 million in debt owed on the property).

Then, two years ago, Gretzky reunited with the home, shelling out $13.5 million for the promontory estate. That’s $5 million less than the price at which he had sold it to Dykstra roughly a decade earlier; if he gets his price this time around, he stands to make $9.4 million in profit.