Tiger Woods, should you put your faith in the whispers, is expected to appear Sunday, and with him, the buzz, though this one would feel unlike the others the 15-time major winner stirs. It’d be more mutual. At the Genesis Invitational, an event Woods has fastened his name to, players would jones to see him, just days after the passing of his mom, and he’d jones to see players, especially at the finish. Big-timers such as …

Max Homa. And Jordan Spieth. And Viktor Hovland.   

And Collin Morikawa and Hideki Matsuyama. 

Hmm. Let’s see. Cut. Cut. Cut. Tied for 33rd. Tied for 13th. OK, surely he’d get Rory McIlroy, the world No. 3. And Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1. 

Hmm. Maybe. They’re both tied for eighth. McIlroy’s third-round Saturday saw him lose a whopping 3.9 strokes on the greens, while Scheffler made three sixes and finished with a 76, his worst score since the 2022 Players Championship. 

Who’s left then?

Potentially a player you might have unanticipated, should victories be your standard, which would feel ironic given Woods’ penchant for them.

Your leader after 54? Patrick Rodgers, he of zero PGA Tour wins. 

Your pro one stroke back, in second? Denny McCarthy, he also of zero PGA Tour wins. 

Then again, there’s a saying about assumptions. (Google it.). Rodgers and McCarthy aren’t donkeys. Golf is just fickle.

For Rodgers, it’s been a journey. Great things were expected from the 32-year-old flusher when he left Stanford in 2014. He’d been the No. 1-ranked amateur. He’d won 11 times with the Cardinal. Some dude named Tiger won the same amount. As a pro, Rodgers has been solid over the past 10-plus years. But unspectacular. Four seconds. Three thirds. No wins. In 2021, he had dipped all the way out of the FedEx Cup 125 and was needing a top 25 finish in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals to get back with the big boys, which he secured. 

And McCarthy? Dude can roll it. His strokes gained: putting numbers are as sublime as his stroke — fourth last season, third two seasons ago, second three seasons ago. (For what it’s worth, he’s also supposedly pro golf’s best jump shooter.) But, for whatever reason, he’s been stuck on that funky list of ‘best to have never won.’ Over the 31-year-old’s nine-plus seasons as a pro, he’s finished second twice and third once. 

But there they were Saturday. Outside of a hiccup on 18 that led to a bogey, Rodgers maneuvered around Torrey brilliantly, shooting a four-under 68. He hit 11 of 14 fairways, which tied him for first in the field. He hit 14 of 18 greens. He was third in strokes gained: putting. McCarthy, meanwhile, was steady. After a bogey on 3, he birdied four out of the next seven holes, before finishing with a 71. 

Woods would appreciate this maybe most, though.  

There’s belief. 

There’s Woods’ Sunday red. There’s Rodgers’ and McCarthy’s Sunday ready. 

“I mean, it’s clearly something I’ve battled in my career,” Rodgers said of not winning. “It’s the thing that whenever my name is mentioned, that’s the first thing that everybody says professionally so it’s something that I have to deal with. I think I’ve struggled with it for a long time, but I feel like I’m viewing my career from a different vantage point now and I’m excited about the opportunity to cross that finish line tomorrow.”

Of course, such stories like this have been written before. 

And right behind Rodgers and McCarthy are pros like … 

Ludvig Aberg. And Tony Finau. And Patrick Cantlay. All names. All winners. Count out Scheffler and McIlroy at your own risk, too. 

But if it’s buzz we’re after, that would be some scene on 18 should Rodgers or McCarthy be your winner. The GOAT, potentially alongside a player who’s monkey has found another back. 

“Yeah, instead of playing with a lot of expectation, I need to play to achieve,” Rodgers said. “That’s what I’ve always set out to do, and it kind of felt like early in my career with the amateur resume that I had, I felt like there was a lot expected of myself internally and it was something where when immediate success, immediate wins didn’t come straight away, it was kind of fighting who I saw myself to be, to be honest with you. 

“So instead of playing with a monkey on your back that gets bigger and bigger over time when it doesn’t happen, I’m trying to play from a perspective that feels fresh and new and exciting and full of opportunity because that’s what this game is, and I have a great one tomorrow.”

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