PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Sam Saunders was standing in the left rough at PGA National’s par-4 16th hole, the middle of the Bear Trap, staring at 195 yards over water to a back-right hole location. It was only his seventh hole of a windswept and rugged morning. He still was somewhat numb after encountering a triple-bogey 7 at the par-4 14th.
Saunders already was 4 over. It was then that he turned to his caddie, a smooth, veteran looper named Frank Williams, and boasted with some authority, “I got this.” It was a message not so much about the particular shot, but saying he had a grip on the situation.