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HARRY HIGGS

Here’s why an albatross is the rarest achievement in golf

While a birdie is 1-under par on a hole and an eagle is 2-under par, a step better than that is an albatross, which is 3-under par on a hole. In the four major tournaments, it has only happened 18 times since 1870, according to GolfLink. An albatross has happened the most times at golf’s oldest major, the British Open, which has seen an albatross occur eight times in its history. The U.S. Open and PGA Championship were the last to see three, by Nick Watney in 2012 and Joey Sindelar in 2006, respectively. Maggert has two of the 18 albatrosses at major tournaments, collecting one at the 1994 Masters and one during the 2001 British Open.

Johnson, Scheffler favorites for tour's top player, rookie

For the PGA Tour player of the year, the candidates were Johnson, Thomas, PGA champion Collin Morikawa (two wins), Webb Simpson (two wins) and Jon Rahm (two wins). Johnson won the Travelers Championship and The Northern Trust to go along with his FedEx Cup title he won at the Tour Championship. He also was runner-up to Morikawa at the PGA Championship. More interesting will be the vote for PGA Tour rookie of the year. ... Country singer Colt Ford, who once played professionally, is making his PGA Tour Champions debut on a sponsor exemption.

Nick Taylor takes lead on glorious day at Pebble Beach

Actor Bill Murray hits a tee shot on the third hole of the Spyglass Hill Golf Course during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, in Pebble Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Nick Taylor opened with an eagle, closed with two birdies and made a gorgeous day feel even better with an 8-under 63 at Monterey Peninsula that gave him the lead Thursday in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The iconic scenery is at Pebble Beach, especially when the surf turns a turquoise hue under so much sunshine. “A nice start,” Taylor said, referring to his 4-iron that set up eagle and the 63 that matched his low round on the tour. But we were very relaxed today, joked all day, and I felt like the mood was great.”He led by two shots to par over Patrick Cantlay (Spyglass) and Chase Seiffert (Pebble Beach), who each had a 6-under 66. “But I shot a 4-under par round and it's not going to hurt me.”The hurt belonged to David Duval, whose scorecard contained a 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Rahm takes the lead at Torrey Pines with McIlroy lurking

He was at his best Saturday at Torrey Pines, holing a chip for birdie and a full gap wedge for eagle to start his round. “It was nice to shoot a good third round here and get myself a little bit closer,” McIlroy said. The group another shot behind included Tony Finau, Patrick Reed and Brandt Snedeker, a two-time champion at Torrey Pines who birdied his last two holes to salvage a 72. McIlroy is playing for the first time since late November and didn't appear to pick up too much rust during his break. This is his second time playing Torrey Pines, and it feels suited for him, even if he struggles like everyone else on poa greens.

Koepka ready to get back to work after nearly 3 months off

During his short offseason, Koepka had stem cell treatment on his left knee because the patella tendon was partially torn. As Li Haotong of China was making his debut at the Presidents Cup, Guan Tianlang was preparing to qualify for the PGA Tour Series-China. Ishikawa showed signs of getting back to form last year when he won three times on the Japan Golf Tour, his first titles since 2016 and his biggest year in Japan since 2010. Otherwise, the Japan Golf Tour season doesn't start until a week after the Masters. The last seven rounds on the PGA Tour in Hawaii were played under lift, clean and place rules.