Offense continues to boom, teams continue to use the “power kill” strategy, and there are fewer empty-net goals. We predict which changes will stick.
When the regular season resumes next month in Hawaii, nearly 20 percent of the schedule will already be in the books. Though it’s not impossible to overcome a slow (or restful) fall, the pre-Maui portion of the schedule offers a tremendous opportunity for players to get an early leg up in the FedExCup standings. Over the last three seasons, 44% of players to qualify for the TOUR Championship in Atlanta were inside the top 30 of the FedExCup standings at the end of the fall portion of that season’s schedule. This season, we have already seen a player make eight consecutive birdies (Nick Hardy), a pair of successful title defenses (Max Homa and Rory McIlroy) and six different players hit all 18 greens in regulation in a round. With a hefty chunk of the schedule already played, let’s hand out some hardware for the best performances of the fall on the PGA TOUR. Best player of the fall: Seamus Power With nine events this fall won by nine different players, this was a close race with several worthy contenders under consideration. How about Keegan Bradley? The current season money leader picked up his fifth career PGA TOUR victory at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. In three starts he did not record a single round over par, giving him the third-best scoring average among players with at least ten rounds played. After years of battling on the greens, he currently finds himself in the top 20 on TOUR this season in Strokes Gained: Putting per round. His current streak of 216 straight holes without a three-putt is the longest active run on TOUR. Rory McIlroy won the only tournament he teed it up in – it’s tough to beat that. Or what about Mackenzie Hughes? The Canadian took the Sanderson Farms Championship in a playoff and is currently third in the FedExCup standings. He’s been buoyed by the shortest clubs in his bag, ranking in the top 20 this season in both Strokes Gained: Around the Green and Strokes Gained: Putting. The honor goes to Power, though, who will carry the FedExCup standings lead into 2023. His closing run to the fall – win, T-3, T-5 – saw him beaten by a grand sum of six players across three events. In those tournaments, he shot under par in all 12 rounds, accumulating a combined score to par of -52. The 35-year-old Irishman is up to 28th in the Official World Golf Ranking this week, his best-ever position. Power has never previously qualified for the TOUR Championship, but the numbers say that will change in 2023: each of the last nine players to finish the calendar year leading the FedExCup standings had enough points to make it to East Lake later that season. Power’s story isn’t the only one worthy of sharing, though. So, we’ve elected to make a distinction between the best overall performer of the fall and the breakout star. Breakout player of the fall: Tom Kim The breaking-out, as it was, inarguably started in the closing weeks of the 2021-22 PGA TOUR season, when Kim won the Wyndham Championship by five strokes. But its crescendo wasn’t hit until the new season arrived in September: first, with a stirring performance at Quail Hollow for the International Presidents Cup team, then a few weeks later in Las Vegas, when Kim held off Patrick Cantlay for win number two. The age-related superlatives tied to Kim’s quick success are lofty. At just 20 years, 3 months and 18 days old, Kim became the youngest two-time winner on the PGA TOUR in 90 years. Since World War II, only Kim and Tiger Woods have won more than once on the PGA TOUR before their 21st birthday. Kim backed up his win in Nevada with a T-25 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP and a tie for eleventh at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina. Of the 167 players with 10 or more rounds so far this season, Kim’s scoring average of 68.55 is the best on TOUR. He’ll enter January ranked in the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Approach (5th), Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (6th) and scrambling percentage (9th). Best round: Adam Svensson, final round 64 to win The RSM Classic Entering the last official PGA TOUR round of 2022, Adam Svensson was amongst a logjam of 16 players at or within three shots of the lead at Sea Island. The 28-year-old Canadian was unflappable in the final round, missing only one green in regulation and racking up 4.24 Strokes Gained: Putting on his way to a closing 64 and his first PGA TOUR victory. Svensson’s 64 capped off one of the most remarkable closing 54-hole performances in recent PGA TOUR history. His closing three-round total of 190 (64-62-64) has only been bettered twice all time, and only once since 1960. After starting his week with a round of 73, Svensson sat in a tie for 108th place entering the second round. Over the last 40 years, only seven players have had a worse first-round position in any PGA TOUR event and still gone on to win. In terms of Strokes Gained: Total, Taylor Montgomery’s closing 62 at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina takes top honors, as he beat the field average that day by a whopping 8.73 shots. With that Sunday surge only pushing Montgomery into a tie for 13th place, though, we’ll give the nod to Svensson’s career-changing Sunday in Georgia. Speaking of Montgomery… Rookie of the fall: Taylor Montgomery A year after finishing as the first man outside of the top-25 cutoff for PGA TOUR cards in both the Korn Ferry Tour regular season and finals, Taylor Montgomery is making the most of a career-vaulting opportunity. In seven starts this fall, Montgomery has six top-20 finishes – most of any player on TOUR. He’s 11th in the early FedExCup standings, best of any rookie. He’s also tied for most birdies-or-better made this season, with 135. Keep an eye on Montgomery as we inch closer to spring. Craziest finish: Homa chip-in, Willett 3-putt ends Fortinet Championship Danny Willett held a one-shot advantage standing in the 72nd fairway at the Fortinet Championship in September. When he hit a stellar approach shot to 3 feet, 7 inches away – and Max Homa left his approach short of the green – the tournament looked all but over. What happened next was one of the least statistically probable finishes the TOUR has seen in ages. Incredibly, Homa would chip in for his birdie – his only hole out from off the green for the entire week. No problem for Willett, right? Over the previous two PGA TOUR seasons, Willett had made 97.1 percent of his putts inside five feet. And even if he missed his short birdie attempt, surely a tap-in par would follow, and send Danny and Max to a playoff. Of the 73 players to make the cut that week in Napa, 72 of them did not have a single three-putt inside five feet for the tournament. Willett’s three-putt on the last hole was the only one. How unlikely is it for a PGA TOUR player to three-putt from inside five feet? Over the last three seasons – a span of more than 101,000 attempts from that range – a three-putt happened just once in every 761 attempts.
November 29, 2022 – (Nassau, Bahamas and Orlando, Fla.): PGA TOUR stars Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm join Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy as golfers committed to play in the TGL, a new tech-infused golf league in partnership with the PGA TOUR that will begin play in 2024. The announcement was made by TMRW Sports co-founders Woods, McIlroy and founder and CEO Mike McCarley. “Justin and Jon are tremendous additions to join Tiger and Rory as the next PGA TOUR players announced as part of TGL. Both are major champions who have spent time as the number one player in the world and have represented their home countries in golf’s biggest team match-play events,” said McCarley. “They are well-respected among their peers as among the best players in the world and for the way they conduct themselves as professionals. World-class golfers, like Justin and Jon, are the cornerstones of TGL as we blend elements of the traditional game with a new, short-form format designed specifically for modern media consumption.” JUSTIN THOMAS: Thomas is a two-time major champion having won the PGA Championship in both 2017 and 2021. Owner of 15 PGA TOUR wins, Thomas spent five weeks atop the World Golf Rankings and was the 2016-17 PGA TOUR Player-of-the-Year, 2017 FedExCup Champion, and The Players 2021 Champion. A stalwart of U.S. Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup teams, his team golf success dates back to winning the 2013 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship with the University of Alabama in 2013. “Team golf events have always been highlights throughout my career, as the us vs them mentality fuels my competitive spirit,” said Thomas. “I am proud to be a foundational player of TGL and while I am eager to test my skills once the league launches, I am eager to be a voice alongside Tiger, Rory and Jon, in helping to shape the league, and help expand the audience for the sport I love.” JON RAHM: Rahm became the first Spanish golfer to win the U.S. Open with his triumph at Torrey Pines in 2021. Starting in July 2020, Rahm spent 43 weeks atop the World Golf Rankings, and has a total of 17 worldwide wins, including seven on the PGA TOUR. In addition, Rahm has played on two Ryder Cup teams (2018, 2021) and was the No. 1 golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a record 60 weeks. “As soon as I learned about TGL, I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of it,” said Rahm. “As an avid user of the latest tech in golf with launch monitors, simulators and virtual greens and my personal passion for gaming, I immediately recognized the potential for TGL to introduce golf to a broader global audience — especially younger fans. I’m proud to announce my commitment to compete and help shape the future of golf for the next generation.” About TGL: In August, following nearly two years of development, Woods, McIlroy, and McCarley announced the formation of TMRW Sports and TGL. TGL will showcase team competitions from a custom-built venue fusing advanced tech and live action in primetime on Monday nights. Woods and McIlroy are the first two golfers committed to compete, now joined by Thomas and Rahm, and the league’s inaugural season will kick off in 2024. TGL, the golf league of TMRW Sports, will feature: • Teams: Six teams of three PGA TOUR players in head-to-head, 18-hole match play; • Tech-Infused Venue: A first-of-its-kind venue for golf enabled by a data-rich, virtual course combined with a tech-infused, short-game complex; • Tech-Enabled Fan Experience: High-energy, greenside fan experience with every shot live within a 2-hour, primetime televised match; • Season: 15 regular season Monday night matches followed by semifinals and finals.
Dave McMenamin sheds light on the on-again, off-again trade talks and the looming impact of moving picks and players such as Russell Westbrook, Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.
Pittsburgh’s rookie QB turned in his best game while Indy’s offense continued to struggle, and fell short at the end.
Pittsburgh’s rookie QB turned in his best game while Indy’s offense continued to struggle, and fell short at the end.
Minnesota star Karl-Anthony Towns suffered a noncontact injury Monday night in Washington and had to be helped off the court.
Joel Embiid hit the game-winning shot and made a game-saving steal for Philadelphia in his return Monday night from a foot sprain.
The Mavericks intend to sign veteran guard Kemba Walker to address their glaring need for another creator in Luka Doncic’s supporting cast, sources confirmed to ESPN.
Brooklyn swingman Ben Simmons left Monday’s 109-102 home victory over the Orlando Magic because of left knee soreneness, and will be listed as day-to-day as the Nets assess his progress, coach Jacque Vaughn said.
