Patrick

Rodgers

Rodgers slept on his fourth career 54-hole lead or co-lead and that breakout win continues to elude him. He could do no wrong on the first two days but lost 3.1 strokes on approach today and another 0.9 strokes putting. “Disappointing day, but great experience, great to be in that environment. Honestly, hats off to Corey, he played amazing.” On a positive note, it was his third top 10 of the season, climbing from 52nd to 37th in the FedExCup race.

The Stanford alum has boom-or-bust results this season with five top 20s but also four missed cuts, in 12 events played. He’ll finally take a breather this week after playing four of the last five weeks. Rodgers has been a regular over the years at PGA National but has nothing better than a T21 finish in eight tries.

Rodgers was sleeping on the third 54-hole lead of his career, sharing that lead with Ben Martin. He is now 0-for-3 in converting those to wins (T4/2017 Farmers Insurance Open; 2nd/2017 John Deere Classic). His round was 1.8 shots worse than the field average today. While this could be considered another disappointing finish for someone that is still searching for their breakout win, you can always take something positive away from a week where you played yourself into the lead with 18 holes to go. Rodgers is now 17th in the FedExCup race, up three spots from last week. He’ll have the holiday break to think about this one and potentially learn from the experience heading into the 2023 schedule.

Rodgers lost this event in overtime four years ago to Charles Howell III, the closest he has come to lifting a trophy in 225 career starts. But a third-round 64 lifted the former Stanford standout to 14 under, tied with Ben Martin and one shot clear of three other players on a crowded leaderboard at the final official event of 2022. Rodgers has had a share of the 54-hole lead on two prior instances: the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open, where he finished T-4, and the 2017 John Deere Classic, where he finished second. Rodgers has made three consecutive cuts this fall, including a high water mark of T-3 in Bermuda last month.

Rodgers has come close to lifting a trophy on Tour, notably a playoff loss at the 2018 RSM Classic, and he’ll have another chance this weekend in Houston after a 7-under effort in the second round took him to 9 under for the week, alone in second and four shots behind Tony Finau. Rodgers made an eagle on the par-5 third to go along with six birdies and a bogey. While the late wave will return to complete their second rounds at 6:45 a.m. CT, Rodgers will get a little more sleep before likely taking a spot in the final group. The former Stanford standout continues to shine this fall, having finished T-28 or better in four straight starts including a T-3 result in Bermuda.

Rodgers went out in the eighth-to-last group today and took advantage of calmer conditions. The morning tee times averaged -1.91 RTP while the later groups played basically right at even par (-0.03 RTP). For Rodgers, he raced out to five front-nine birdies before trading three birdies with two bogeys on his way into the clubhouse. He walked off the course ranked 1st in putts per GIR this week, posting a T3 finish despite landing just 44 GIR (61%, T107). This will go in the books as his ninth career top-5 finish and second at Port Royal (solo 4th last year). He continues his search for a breakthrough win on the PGA TOUR.

The standout from Stanford remains one of the top talents without a win on the PGA TOUR. He’s certainly come close over the years with five podium finishes on his resume and 12 other top 10s. That includes a close call at Port Royal during last year’s Bermuda Championship. Rodgers found himself in solo second at the midpoint before settling in at fourth place by week’s end. He’ll be making his fifth start of the season this week with progressively better results each time out (MC, T54, T28, T16). Trending form combined with a close call at the course last year will likely make him a popular fantasy selection in weekly formats.

Playing in his 216th career PGA TOUR event, Rodgers remains on the hunt for his first victory. He’s come close with a trio of runner-up finishes and a pair of third-place podiums. He has three top 10s this season, in 24 events played. Rodgers currently ranks 83rd in the FedExCup race. His next appointment will be with Detroit Golf Club where he’s settled for finishes of T45 and T41, in two tries. The Stanford standout remains one of the top talents out on TOUR without a win under their belt.

The 29-year-old Rodgers, a Stanford product, opened with rounds of 69-68 at The Country Club but faded over the weekend with rounds of 75-74 to finish at 6-over 286. On the season, he’s made 14 cuts in 22 starts with three top 10s: finishing T-6 at the Fortinet Championship, solo fourth at the Bermuda Championship and 10th at the Mexico Open at Vidanta. Rodgers played in eight previous Travelers Championships, finishing T-3 in 2016 for his only top 10 at TPC River Highlands. Most recently Creel has missed the cut in his last two starts – at the Byron Nelson and Canadian Open – and this week will mark his debut at TPC River Highlands.

After opening with 69-68, the Stanford product improves to 4-for-4 in the event, posting progressively better results in each of his prior three, including a T31 at the 121st edition last season at Torrey Pines (70-71-77-70). After a three-birdie, one-bogey showing today, “I’ll definitely take two rounds in the 60s at a U.S. Open. Kind of plowed my way around, and I did an awesome job of that today. It was as stress-free of a U.S. Open round as you can have probably.” On 10 (of 14) fairways and 15 greens in regulation, the 29-year-old gained 1.53 strokes off-the-tee, 0.74 on approach, 0.48 around, and 1.22 on-the-green with 32 total putts. This is his fifth overall major with the above-mentioned T31 his best finish, and is chasing a first TOUR victory in 213 events, having finished runner-up three times, most recently a playoff loss at the 2019 RSM (to Charles Howell III), where he was T65 at the halfway pole (70-70-61-62). See link below to post-round comments.