Austin

Cook

The Arkansas alum, who opened 71 and day-low, bogey-free 64, began solo 7th, two back. He was 4-under today thru 15, outpacing a 3-putt bogey at seven (from 62'11") with three birdies at 4, 10 and 11, each from between 13 and 24 feet, and an eagle-3 at 9 (9'2"), before ending on a sour note with back-to-back squares at 16 (missed par-saver from 41 inches) and 17 (failed scramble). On nine (of 13) fairways and 12 greens in regulation, the 31-year-old lost strokes off-the-tee (-0.079) and on approach (-0.679), but gained 2.077 with the flat stick, No. 1 in SG: Putting with a cumulative 7.668. This is his first time in the top 10 thru 54 holes since last season’s Shriners (Oct. 2020), where he was T3 before finishing T2 (63-65-67-66), and is vying for a second TOUR win in 129 events, first since the 2018 RSM Classic as a pre-tourney 80/1 outright during his rookie campaign 105 starts ago, where he was the 54-hole leader by three and won by four.

The Arkansas alum missed the cut by one in 2019 at Hamilton G&CC but recorded a T7 on debut in 2015 (Glen Abbey GC) as a non-member, in that field via a T6 as an open-qualifier the week prior at the opposite-field Barbasol. This round could not have come at a better time, arriving 192nd in the FedExCup standings with one top 25 in 17 events (T11, Fortinet) and off six missed cuts in his last seven, including five in a row. The 31-year-old puts an end to the slide after handing in rounds of 71-64, today’s trot featuring six birdies on 11 (of 13) fairways and 14 greens in regulation, and thru 36 holes, currently ranks 48th SG: Tee-to-Green (2.546) and No. 1 SG: Putting (5.589), including a 2.194 SGP today.

The Arkansas alum, fourth alternate into the field, records one of just two error-free laps from the late starters at the CC of Jackson, along with defender Sergio Garcia (70). Dating to a T11 at the Fortinet two weeks ago at the season lid-lifter, where he wrapped with bogey-free 69, he’s now bogey-free (12-under) for his last 52 holes played, last dropping a shot at hole 2/R3 in Napa. The 30-year-old ticked four birdies on 10 (of 14) fairways and 15 greens in regulation, two from between 21 and 29 feet, gaining 1.066 strokes with the flat stick and 1.538 tee-to-green. Besides the aforementioned T11, he also posted a T11 at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in the KFT Finals the start prior, which got him his full-playing privileges back at 46th in the KFT grad Priority Rankings (subject to the reshuffle), this after finishing 136th (conditional status) in last season’s FedExCup standings.

The Arkansas product lost nearly a stroke off-the-tee today (-0.837) but he made up for it with the rest of his game. He landed 14 greens in regulation, gaining 2.4 strokes on approach along the way. All of his scoring took place early in the morning before the winds picked up, rolling home five birdies on the outward nine, including a 20'4" bomb at the 4th. He eased his way home with eight pars and a bogey. Currently T7 on the live leaderboard, this will be his first time posting inside of the top 15 since round one of The American Express in January (eight starts ago). Since that event in the desert, he’s lost strokes to the field in 11-of-14 rounds played so gamers should watch closely the rest of the week to find out if today’s round was the outlier or if he’s found something in his game and ready to return to form.

This was the 29-year-old’s fourth Shriners and second cash, joining a T20 on debut in 2018, and his first career playoff appearance. He drops to 1-for-3 as a 36-hole leader/co-leader but does claim his first top 10 since T4 at the 2019 Barbasol 24 starts ago. Overall, the Arkansas alum records his second career top-3 finish in 85 events, first since his win at the 2018 RSM Classic during his rookie campaign 71 starts ago. For the week, he carded rounds of 63-65-67-66 and totaled two eagles and 22 birdies versus three bogeys. In the finale, the Arkansas native found eight (of 14) fairways and 16 greens in regulation, gaining 2.402 strokes approaching, 1.277 around and 3.717 tee-to-green. He squared a lone bogey-4 at 14 (missed par-saver from 6'2"), outpaced by six birdies at 6, 9, 12, 13, 15 and 17, three from between 12 and 39 feet. Cook, who missed his birdie try on the second playoff hole from 24'2", posted 1.717 putts per GIR and 0.556 SG: Putting, lowlighted by a 3-putt par at the par-5 16th from 64'9".

The 29-year-old is chasing his second TOUR title in 85 events, first since the 2018 RSM Classic during his rookie campaign, that maiden win coming 71 starts ago as the 54-hole leader by three. After opening with 63-65, he co-led with four others and hit nine (of 14) fairways and 15 greens in regulation. The Arkansas alum mustered a 0.158 SG: Off-the-Tee and 0.095 SG: Approach, but stayed in contention with a 0.757 SG: Around-the-Green. He went out in 4-under, circling birdie-3s at holes 1 (from 14'4") and 4, and a pitch-in eagle-3 at 9 from 61'9" away, but limped home in even-par, trading one birdie-2 at 17 with one bogey-5 at 12. Cook registered 1.667 putts per GIR and -0.495 SG: Putting with 29 total putts, saving par at 8 from 11'0" but missing three birdie chances from inside of 10 feet. Sunday, he’ll play out of the third-to-last twosome, a second straight lap with Brian Harman (67), who was also a 36-hole co-leader.

Play is still in progress but this should be the 29-year-old’s third 36-hole lead/co-lead in 85 events, previously 1-for-2 converting. His most recent was a T1 at the 2019 Valspar (69-67) before finishing T9 (72-72), and his one success was at the 2018 RSM Classic, where he led by one (66-62) and won by four (66-67) for his lone TOUR victory to date. The Arkansas alum hit 11 (of 14) fairways and 15 greens in regulation, losing strokes off-the-tee (-0.089) and around-the-green (-0.113), but gaining 0.474 on approach. He squared a lone bogey-4 at hole 5 (missed par-saver from 5'7"), camouflaged by seven birdies at 10-12, 14, 16, 3 and 7, five from between 10 and 35 feet. Cook, a pre-tourney 400/1 outright, registered 1.533 putts per GIR and 2.716 SG: Putting with 27 total putts, missing two other birdie chances from inside of seven feet.

The 29-year-old’s 63 is one shy of a career low (in 268 rounds), but it’s his best at TPC Summerlin, previously 67/R1 last year before missing the cut by one with a R2 71. He checked in this week 1-for-2 on the season and off a missed cut by two at last week’s Sanderson Farms (71-72). On 11 (of 14) fairways and 17 greens in regulation, the Arkansas alum gained 2.480 strokes off-the-tee, 2.299 approaching and 3.397 tee-to-green. He carded six birdies at holes 5-7, 9, 11 and 16, adding an eagle at the drivable par-4 15th from 4'5". Cook registered 1.588 putts per GIR and 1.334 SG: Putting, converting two scoring chances from between six and 14 feet, with a long of 13'4" at the par-3 fifth. His lone TOUR win in 84 prior events is the 2018 RSM Classic as the 54-hole leader by three.

Once ranked as high as 96th in OWGR (in 2018), the Arkansas alum has accelerated his decline this season, currently at 352nd. His rookie campaign in 2018, where he finished a career-best 38th in the FEC standings, was highlighted by his maiden TOUR win at the RSM as the 54-hole leader by three. In 61 starts since the W, the 29-year-old has added just four top 10s and no podiums, and in his last 36 events, has missed more cuts (19) than he’s made (17). So far this season, he’s 5-for-13 with a couple of top 25s, including a T17 at the Houston Open back in October as a first-round co-leader. Since the calendar flipped to 2020, Cook missed four straight cuts before a T44 at the opposite-field Puerto Rico Open, and a T61 on 10-over 290 in his most recent action at The Honda Classic four weeks ago (72-70-76-72).

Cook made his tournament debut two years ago and he put on a stripe show. He piped a remarkable 48-of-56 fairways that week en route to finding 60 greens in regulation. Cook swallowed just two bogeys that entire week while also adding 23 birdies. He returned last year to defend his title and carded three rounds of 66 or better but settled for a 73 in R2 which led to a T11 finish by week’s end. More recently, Cook enters the week with missed cuts in four of his last five starts but a T17 at the Houston Open just two starts ago. The Arkansas product is a great fit for the courses this week but his lack of steady form makes him a risky fantasy option.