Brendon

Todd

The straight shooter had some question marks entering the week so shortly after a mid-tournament WD. He didn’t live up to his sharpshooter reputation today, finding just 8-of-15 fairways but his short game was sharp. He gained 1.4 strokes around-the-green and 2.7 strokes putting. Todd is well-positioned at 50th in the FedExCup race so his shoulder must not be a concern at all as he likely wouldn’t tee it up if there were any chance of making it worse. He’s just one shot off the pace heading into Friday.

Todd posted progressively better scores as the week went on (70-69-68) but saved his best for last on the two-day, weather-delayed final round. “I won a Monday finish in Mayakoba Mexico. I felt really good this morning. So there’s something nice about knowing when you start your final round that you might not finish it. So you play as hard as you can until the siren goes off. You get to go sleep, rewarm-up, make the adjustments you need and come out firing.” Gamers should perhaps make a note to use Todd next time they need a mudder. This will go in the books as his fifth career podium finish on the PGA TOUR (3 wins and one third-place finish). It’s also his third top 10 of the season, in nine starts.

Todd lived up to his reputation as a sharpshooter, splitting 11-of-14 fairways, tied for best in the field on day one. From there, he gained his ground with the flat stick (+2.7 strokes gained putting). Speaking on the firm conditions this week he added, “It’s fantastic for a shorter hitter like me, for anybody really, but this is a dream setup where the fairways are running as fast as we’ve ever seen. We were seeing some drives going through 30, 40 yards out there.” The Georgia Bulldog arrived with a 7-for-8 record at the Sony Open but is still searching for his first top 10 at the event (T13 in 2012).

After opening with 68-68 and day-low, bogey-free 65, the Georgia alum began T2, two back of overnight leader, playing competitor and eventual playoff loser Scottie Scheffler (72). On nine (of 14) fairways and 12 greens in regulation, he lost 0.282 strokes around but gained 0.547 off-the-tee and 0.678 on approach, outbalancing two birdies out the gate at holes 1 and 2 (from 19'11") with three squares at 4 (missed par-saver from 5'3"), 11 and 12, also failed scrambles. The 36-year-old, who only had one birdie look inside of 15 feet over his final 16 holes, does record his third top 10 at the Schwab in seven visits, second straight (T8/2021), and his second of the season in 19 events, joining a T8 at the Texas Open in San Antonio five starts ago. It’s also his fourth career podium in 243 career events, first since his third TOUR win 65 starts ago at the 2020 Mayakoba. For the festivities, the Pennsylvania native totaled one eagle and 14 birdies versus eight bogeys, and ranked 4th SG: Putting (5.321), including 0.333 SGP on Sunday, and 8th SG: Off-the-Tee (2.635). See link below to post-tourney comments.

The Georgia alum won his first TOUR title in nearby Irving, Texas, at the 2014 Byron Nelson as a 54-hole co-leader in his 77th career start. One hundred starts later he added the 2020 Bermuda Championship, where he came from two back (solo 2nd) with a day-low, week-tying-low 9-under 62 to win by four, and his most recent came 65 starts ago at the 2020 Mayakoba as the 54-hole leader by one. After today’s error-free effort, one of only two bogey-free laps on a windy day in Fort Worth, he had this to say (link below): “When I won the Byron Nelson in 2014 it was hot and firm and windy, and that seems to be my favorite conditions. Hopefully we get more of it tomorrow.” The 36-year-old, who finished T8 here last year and T5 in 2015, is in the top 10 thru 54 holes for a third time this season in 19 events, first since the Valero Texas Open five starts ago, where he was T7 and finished a season-best T8 (68-69-72-70), and will be in the final pairing on Sunday with World No. 1 and Dallas resident Scheffler, scheduled for 1:15 pm local.

The straight shooter lived up to his reputation with 11-of-13 fairways hit and from there he steadied 16 greens in regulation. The most notable approach came at the par-4 fourth hole where he attacked from 235 yards to give himself a 13-inch birdie bump. That started a four-hole birdie train to make his lunch taste quite tasty. There is still a chance for someone to pass him in the afternoon but if this co-lead holds then it would be just his second career first-round lead or co-lead on the PGA TOUR (T17/2020 PGA Championship).

This was the 36-year-old’s sixth Valero, first since a missed cut in 2016, and second top 10, augmenting a T6 in 2014 where he made the cut on the number (71-76-68-68). He improves to 9-for-14 on the season with four top 25s and one top 10, and records his first top 10 since a back-door T10 at last season’s Wyndham 15 starts ago. For the week, the Georgia alum handed in laps of 68-69-72-70, totaled 17 birdies against six bogeys and one double, and ranked 37th in SG: OTT (0.275), 30th SG: Approach (1.988), 32nd SG: Around (1.079) and 8th SG: Putting (4.389), including a 2.914 SGP on Sunday. He is not qualified for this coming week’s 86th Masters, missing the event for the first time since 2019.

The Georgia alum, not yet qualified for any of the four majors this season, has stumbled on lean times, not recording a top 10 this season in 13 events and mustering just one in his last 21, barely (T10, 2021 Wyndham). He does own one top 10 here in five prior visits, a T6 three tries ago in 2014, where after making the cut on the number (71-76), closed with a pair of 68s. On 10 (of 14) fairways and 10 greens in regulation, the 36-year-old posted a pedestrian 0.204 SG: Tee-to-Green but a tidy 2.776 SG: Putting, offsetting two bogey-5s with five birdies, two from between 10 and 12 feet. His most recent of three TOUR victories in 237 events came 60 starts ago at the 2020 Mayakoba, while his maiden win came at the 2014 Byron Nelson (TPC Four Seasons) in Irving, Texas, as a 54-hole co-leader.

The Georgia alum, winner here two tries ago, followed that up with a T8 last year as defender, so definitely in line for a third consecutive top 10. In his three TOUR victories to date, he’s been no worse than 2nd thru 54 holes and he trails defender Viktor Hovland (62) by eight, so we’re not talking about another win, but can record his first top 10 of the season in four events and first since ending the regular season with a T10 at the Wyndham back in August, where he was T15 at the three-quarter pole (69-67-65-66). The 36-year-old has posted laps of 67-69-66, totaled 15 birdies against two bogeys and a double, and ranks T23 in both driving accuracy (28/42; 66.67%) and putts per GIR (1.632).

The 36-year-old Todd captured his third career title in the second half of a back-to-back win streak at El Camaleon Golf Club in the 2020 event, where he shot 20-under 264 to beat Adam Long, Carlos Ortiz and Vaughn Taylor by one stroke in a Monday finish. After darkness suspended play on Sunday, Todd – who also won the week prior at the 2020 Bermuda Championship -- returned to the course Monday to make birdie on the 15th hole and took a one-stroke lead that he held to the end. He’s made three cuts in five starts in Mexico with a T-8 last year, and he’s recorded eight straight rounds in the 60s. So far this season, Todd has made two cuts in three starts, finishing T-22 in the Fortinet and T-62 at the Zozo Championship (MC at Sanderson Farms). Last season, he was 101st on the FedExCup standings, making19 cuts in 28 starts with three top 10s and qualifying for the PGA Tour Playoffs for the fourth time.