Garcia, Akins work in concert with major aspirations

The RBC Canadian Open returns to the PGA TOUR schedule after two years of cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FedExCup leader and world No.1 Scottie Scheffler headlines the field with Rory McIlroy returning to defend his title from 2019. FIELD NOTES: Scottie Scheffler, a four-time winner already this season, will make his RBC Canadian Open debut… Sam Burns, who topped Scheffler in a playoff to win the Charles Schwab Challenge, will also make his Canadian Open debut… Rory McIlroy returns to defend… Justin Thomas is making his second-straight Canadian Open appearance… Cameron Smith, winner of THE PLAYERS Championship, returns to Canada… Other notables include Tony Finau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry (who finished tied for second in 2019), Justin Rose, Tyrell Hatton, and Patrick Reed… Corey Conners, the top-ranked Canadian in the FedExCup standings, leads a contingent of 21 Canadians in the field… Taylor Pendrith hopes to make his return after being on the shelf since THE PLAYERS due to a broken rib… Mike Weir makes his 29th appearance at the Canadian Open, the third-most all time… David Hearn will make his 18th start at his country’s national open… Sponsor exemptions include Albin Choi and Stuart MacDonald off the Korn Ferry Tour, plus Jared du Toit, who tied for ninth as an amateur in 2016, when he played in the final group Sunday. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: St. George’s Golf and Country Club, par 70, 7,014 yards. The Stanley Thompson gem, first constructed in 1929, is consistently ranked as one of Canada’s top courses – if not its best. Located just 11 miles from the CN Tower, St. George’s has hosted the Canadian Open five times – most recently in 2010 – along with the CP Women’s Open five times. Playing up, down, and across valleys, golfers will have to contend with uneven lies, thick rough, and slopey greens (which were all re-worked in 2014 after an ice storm caused turf damage in the winter of 2013). Due to the location and size of St. George’s practice area, Islington Golf Club (just down the road) will be the home of the tournament practice area. Golfers will be shuttled from Islington to St. George’s and will tee off No.’s 1 and 9. STORYLINES: The RBC Canadian Open was the only North American-based TOUR event to miss both 2020 and 2021 and returns with plenty of excitement for the Canadian crowds. The Chief Commercial Officer of Golf Canada, John Sibley, calls this year’s effort the “largest operational undertaking” in the organization’s history… Haskins Award winner Chris Gotterup will make his debut on TOUR as a professional. Gotterup had a standout collegiate career and finished seventh in the PGA TOUR U rankings. The last golfer to make his TOUR debut as a pro at the RBC Canadian Open, in 2019, was Collin Morikawa, who tied for 14th… “The Rink” returns. The hockey-themed fan experience on the par-3 16th hole features boards along both sides of the hole… Five of the world’s top-10 golfers will be in the field. This will be the fourth consecutive TOUR event with at least three of the top five… A Canadian hasn’t won the RBC Canadian Open since 1954. Brooke Henderson won the CP Women’s Open in Regina, Saskatchewan in 2018. 72-HOLE RECORD: 258, Rory McIlroy (2019) 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Carl Pettersson (3rd round, 2010 at St. George’s G&CC) LAST TIME: Rory McIlroy captured the 2019 RBC Canadian Open by seven shots after firing a 9-under 61 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club – flirting with a 59 for most of the day before making bogey on No’s 16 and 18. McIlroy, who was 5-under through his first seven holes Sunday, held the 54-hole lead after firing a Saturday 64 and never looked back. It was his 16th win on TOUR. Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson tied for second at 15-under while Brandt Snedeker and Matt Kuchar were two shots further back and tied for fourth. Adam Hadwin finished sixth and was low Canadian. He also earned a spot in The Open Championship with his top-8 result. The last time St. George’s Golf and Country Club hosted the RBC Canadian Open, in 2010, Carl Pettersson won by one shot over Dean Wilson. Pettersson made the cut on the number but shot a tournament-record 60 in the third round. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes

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Round 4 of the Wells Fargo Championship takes place Sunday from Quail Hollow. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS) PGA TOUR LIVE: Sunday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes) Radio: Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. FEATURED GROUPS Johnson Wagner/Pat Perez (tee times) Justin Thomas/JT Poston (tee times) MUST READS Rory McIlroy and Wells Fargo: that old, familiar feeling Keith Mitchell leads by two shots at Quail Hollow Bryson DeChambeau makes hasty exit, expensive U-turn Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz tame windy Wells Fargo Win probabilities: Wells Fargo Championship A closer look at Bryson DeChambeau’s low-lofted fairway wood Insider: Inside Max Homa’s mind CALL OF THE DAY

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PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – On the eve of The Open, the discourse was dominated by the tournament’s greater significance. The Open’s return to Royal Portrush was a significant step for a country that suffered through decades of sectarian violence. But golf became the focal point once Darren Clarke hit the first tee shot a little after 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, and Royal Portrush is playing the starring role. Related: 5 Things to Know about Royal Portrush | O.B. could be a factor at The Open “The course is special,â€� Eddie Pepperell said after shooting 70. “This is hopefully going to build into, progress to a historic Open. I’m confident it will be.â€� Rory McIlroy’s Open chances may have ended on his first hole. Graeme McDowell’s sterling round was spoiled by a lost ball on his last hole, and Clarke faded after a fairy-tale start, but the locals will still get to see one of their own shine this weekend. Harry Colt’s design did exactly what a golf course should. It was fair in doling out rewards and punishments. The doglegs require players to commit to a distance and line off the tee. Webb Simpson said he hit drivers and hybrids off the tee Thursday, and everything in between. He is 156th on the PGA TOUR in driving distance, but used his longest club just five times Thursday. First-round leader J.B. Holmes, on the other hand, is one of the TOUR’s longest players. Royal Portrush allows a variety of players to succeed. There’s a myriad of ways to play the course, but the penalties are high for a miscue. Royal Portrush may have the fewest bunkers of any course on The Open rota, but the rough is thick after recent rains and lost balls are a possibility whenever a shot strays from the fairway. “They’ve done such a great job setting this course up, where you have fairway, first cut and then about 7 or 8 yards of light rough,â€� Simpson said. “So a shot that’s not that bad is still okay. And then a really bad shot is super penal, which I think is the perfect way to set it up, because a bad drive, you’re going to have a pitch out. “It’s one of the few courses that every player who’s played it that I’ve talked to this year, they all loved it. Usually you’ll have both sides. But everybody loved it.â€� This is a much different test than the crispy Carnoustie that players faced last year. The lush conditions, combined with Royal Portrush’s elevated greens, mean players must take an aerial route on many holes. The slopes around the putting surfaces repel wayward strikes. Players lauded Royal Portrush for being tough, but fair. “He really will only penalize you if it’s a poor golf shot,â€� Paul Casey said about Colt. “Nothing is random with what he did. That’s the best way to put it. You can see a lot of randomness in links, a lot of why on earth is that there?â€� Casey said he puts Portrush, which is hosting The Open for the first time since 1951, in his “top coupleâ€� among courses in the Open rota. “This has everything,â€� Casey said. “This is an unbelievable golf course.â€� Ireland’s Shane Lowry is the only player within a shot of Holmes, but the crowd at 68 is as large as the one that’s gathered each night this week outside Portrush’s Harbour Bar. Among those contenders are links aficionados Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Tommy Fleetwood, and the game’s dominant force in majors, Brooks Koepka. As proof that the course rewards good play, last week’s winner, Dylan Frittelli, continued his fine form with a first-round 68. But Royal Portrush shouldn’t be accused of impunity. It punished plenty, and it was impartial to the names on the caddie bib. McIlroy shot 79. Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman were just one shot better. Phil Mickelson shot 76. Among the players who shot 74 were Gary Woodland, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and defending champion Francesco Molinari. The field’s scoring average on the par-71 track was approximately 73 strokes. “You couldn’t rely on getting (shots) back,â€� Scott said after making just one birdie Thursday. “There wasn’t birdie opportunities out there unless you hit a really great shot.â€� Throw in some trademark Open weather and Thursday offered a thorough examination. “We had a true Irish day today,â€� said Jordan Spieth, who shot 70. “It was all the seasons in one day, which is kind of cool to play The Open in that situation on such a beautiful track.â€� The claret jug isn’t handed out until Sunday, but Royal Portrush won on Thursday.

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