Opposite Field, No Joke

“People are always going to have that opinion, but I mean, the depth on the PGA Tour, if it's ever been higher, I would be surprised,” Seamus Power said after his opening 64. “Here you've got 132 in the field. You've got so many good players. “Everyone is trying to get into the elevated events. Obviously, I get that, but it's a good golf course, and at the end of the week I will say it's going to be someone with a two-and-a-half-year PGA Tour exemption. That's going to be the big thing. You have a ticket to Maui sitting here, too. You have all that stuff.”

It’s a nostalgic field in some ways, with former FedEx Cup Champion Bill Haas playing with his father Jay on the bag.

Former Open Champion Francesco Molinari and recently named President’s Cup Captain Brendt Snedeker are also in the field.

In some ways, this week in Myrtle Beach is an amnesty of sorts from playing against the best in the world week in and week out and getting a chance to compete at the Triple-A level with hopes that your game is good enough to make a serious dent in the leaderboard.

For some, this week is all about just getting a chance to exhale.

“I just want to play as good as I can play, and I know it's in there,” Haas said after an opening 69. “I shoot good scores at home. I shoot bad scores at home, too. I'm not perfect. I'm the opposite of what Scottie Scheffler is now. I'm just trying to find it, but there were shots I hit today that I was very proud of that I'm, like, if I can do that more and more, then I think I can shoot better scores.”

Whatever the reason, each of the 132 players here this week has an opportunity to make a significant change in their future, which is a big part of why opposite-field events are so important.