Doc

Redman

These guys share a coach, are members at the same country club (Atlantic Beach, FL), were former roommates, and teamed up last year for the first time for a T17. This week, they recorded rounds of 61-67-69-67 (24-under 264), Rounds 1, 2 and 3 bogey-free, and nearly ended the event error-free, their only dropped shot a bogey-5 today at hole 4, where Ryder missed a par-saver from 3'5". For Redman, this is his first top 10 of the season in 18 events and overall, a fifth podium in 81 starts, and for Ryder, this is his third top 10 of the season in 19 events and overall, a sixth podium in 126 starts. On Sunday, they began T9, 10 back, and out of the seventh-to-last group, outflanked the aforementioned bogey with six birdies, highlighted by a hat-trick at 7-9. See link below to post-round comments.

In their first go as teammates last year, they finished a respectable T17, where they were T16 at the halfway pole (66-71-66-71). Their best-ball scores of 66 in Rounds 1 and 3 were, okay, and the alternate-shot 71s in Rounds 2 and 4 were, okay, but this week they’ve improved significantly with rounds of 61-67, both bogey-free. Ryder on them becoming teammates (link below): "...when he (Redman) was turning pro we actually lived together for a little bit in Atlantic Beach (FL). We both are members at Atlantic Beach Country Club, play a lot of golf together, same coach, similar kind of games.” The former roomies will be in the penultimate group on Saturday, scheduled for 11:32 am local, and both are seeking their first PGA TOUR victories.

Ryder missed the cut in his 2018 Zurich Classic debut but teamed up with Redman last year to bag a T17 finish. That kept that momentum rolling today as they carded nine birdies and an eagle with the big bird splashed home by Redman (14'6" at the par-5 seventh). Ryder had this to say about their day, “He was putting the ball in the fairway consistently. I was putting it in the fairway. We just hit a lot of greens together, he was hitting some good shots on the par-3s, and it allowed me to be a little bit more aggressive with my shots.” Last year they alternated 66s with 71s as the week went on so this score shatters there previous best by five shots. They will now ready for alternate shot on Friday.

Redman made it look easy from tee-to-green today as he piped 10-of-13 fairways and landed 15 greens in regulation. As he walked into the scorer’s tent he was gaining 2.2 strokes on approach, 7th best in the field. From there, his putter contributed with four of his five birdies splashed home from outside of 12 feet. Redman has been hinting at a return to form lately as he’s been T31 or better thru 36 holes in four of his last five starts. He hasn’t turned in a top-20 finish since last year’s runner-up finish at the Palmetto Championship (mid-June).

This is the 24-year-old’s second appearance after a T50 in 2020 (73-67-72-74) as a first-time member on TOUR. He arrived this week off a T25 last week at the Farmers, highlighted by a bogey-free 63 in R2, which buoyed him to his first top-25 finish since a career-tying-best T2 at last season’s one-time Palmetto Championship 15 starts ago, where he was T2 after 18 holes (65-72-70-67). On 10 (of 13) fairways and 16 greens in regulation, the Clemson product was sleepwalking along on 1-under thru 11 holes (3 birdies, 2 bogeys), but awoke to a pair of eagle-3s at 12 and 16. He’ll move over to Pebble Beach GL for R2.

Making his second appearance at El Camaleon Golf Course, the 23-year-old missed the cut in his first outing on the Greg Norman design. Carding a two-day total of even-par 142, Redman will look to improve not only on his tournament history, but his current play. Ever since a runner-up finish to Garrick Higgo at the Palmetto Championship, Redman has lost any semblance of form. With only two made cuts in his last eight starts – not including a 75th-place finish at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP – the former Clemson Tiger will need to improve his iron-play if he has any hope of making it to the weekend at Mayakoba. Failing to gain strokes to the field on approach since the Travelers Championship in late June, if Redman can figure out said area of the bag, perhaps he can return to contention down in Mexico.

The 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic runner-up comes into this year’s tournament riding a wave of momentum. Most recently, the former Clemson standout finished runner-up in the Palmetto Championship the week before the U.S. Open. He has since followed it up with a made cut last week at the Travelers Championship, where he fell off the pace over the weekend. In form, Redman now comes to the Motor City where he finished in a tie for 21st last season. Hitting his irons beautifully, Redman has recently found his stroke on the greens as well. Gaining strokes putting in six consecutive starts, Redman should like his chances to contend at this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic if the putter continues to cooperate.

This is the Clemson product’s sixth career top 10 in 57 events and second runner-up, joining a solo 2nd at the inaugural 2019 Rocket Mortgage as a non-member open-qualifier 49 starts ago. He improves to 13-for-21 on the season with four top 10s and three top 5s, eclipsing a prior-season-best T3 at the Safeway Open in September, where he closed with a career-low and week-tying-low 10-under 62. For the week, the North Carolina native carded laps of 65-72-70-67, totaled 19 birdies against three bogeys and three doubles, and ranked 4th in SG: Approach (5.733), 4th in SG: Around (4.914), 4th in SG: Tee-to-Green (10.564), though 49th in SG: Off-the-Tee (-0.082). In R4, he camouflaged one bogey-5 at hole 8 with five circles at 1 (hole-out from 42'5" away), 2, 12, 15 and 16 (15'9"), and secured the co-runner-up with a par-saver at the last from 8'3". Redman, who is not in the field at this coming week’s U.S. Open, gained 3.060 strokes around-the-green and 0.812 on-the-green, but lost 1.032 on approach.

Four players will return early Sunday morning to complete their respective third rounds, each of the four on the par-4 last, including the leader on the course Chesson Hadley, who Redman currently trails by eight. He was bogey-free 3-under thru 12 holes, circling three at 2, 4 and 11, but stalled out with six pars and a double bogey-6 at 13 (watered tee ball). The Clemson product lost 1.024 strokes off-the-tee and 0.757 on-the-green, but gained 0.890 around-the-green and 1.365 on approach, No. 1 in the latter with a cumulative 6.773. This is the third time this season in 21 events that he’s in the top 10 at the three-quarter pole, first since T7 three starts ago at the Byron Nelson, where he finished T9 (64-67-69-70) for his first top 10 since T4 at the stand-alone Bermuda back in November as the 54-hole leader by one (65-71-67-69). The 23-year-old was T2 (one back) after an opening 65, but fell back with a Day 2 72 (4 birdies, 1 bogey, 2 doubles).