Rodgers maintains lead at John Deere Classic

MEXICO CITY — The PGA TOUR released today the four featured groupings for Thursday-Friday at this week’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec. Starting times and day (Thursday/Friday) for the featured groupings will be announced when the official groupings and starting times for the entire field are released on Tuesday. To watch the featured groupings on Thursday-Friday, fans in the United States can tune into the Golf Channel telecast (2-7 p.m. EST) and stream PGA TOUR LIVE via subscription on NBC Sports Gold and Amazon Prime Video Channels. Here’s a look at the Featured Groups on Thursday and Friday (current FedExCup ranking in parentheses): Tiger Woods (139) — Woods, scheduled to play in his first-ever competitive event in Mexico, has won a record 18 World Golf Championships in nine different locations worldwide. Bryson DeChambeau (10) — DeChambeau has won four of his last 10 worldwide starts including two FedExCup Playoffs events. Abraham Ancer (42) — As Mexico’s top-ranked player, Ancer will compete at the Mexico Championship for the second consecutive year. The Presidents Cup hopeful captured the Emirates Australian Open last December and is currently No. 6 in the International Team standings. Rory McIlroy (36) — McIlroy, who has two World Golf Championships, comes into the week with top-fives in all three starts of 2019, most recently a T4 at the Genesis Open. Bubba Watson (71) — Watson, owner of two World Golf Championships titles, finished in the top 10 last year in Mexico City. He will defend the title at the third WGC of the season, the Dell Technologies Match Play in March. Brooks Koepka (14) — The reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year, Koepka is in search of his first World Golf Championships crown and second PGA TOUR win of the season (THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES). Rickie Fowler (11) — Fowler makes his first start since winning his fifth PGA TOUR title at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Jon Rahm (26) — Rahm has top-10s in all five PGA TOUR starts in the calendar year, including a T9 at the Genesis Open. Patrick Reed (51) — Reed became the youngest winner of a WGC event when he won this tournament in 2014 when it was staged in Miami. Phil Mickelson (7) — Playing in his 600th official PGA TOUR event this week in defense of his WGC-Mexico Championship title, Mickelson won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am two weeks ago for his 44th career TOUR title. Justin Thomas (6) — Thomas, who finished second in a playoff to Mickelson at the Mexico Championship last year, has two third-place finishes and a runner-up in his last three TOUR starts. The nine-time TOUR winner holds the course record at Club de Golf Chapultepec (62). Dustin Johnson (57) — Winner of all four World Golf Championships, including two WGC-Mexico titles (2017, 2015), Johnson has won at least one TOUR event in 11 consecutive seasons.

Click here to read the full article…

Will Brooks Koepka successfully defend his title? Or will somebody else claim the $2 million bonus? The second season of the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 race begins with this week’s season-opening event, A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. The top 10 players in the FedExCup standings after the final event of the regular season, the Wyndham Championship, will receive bonuses out of the $10 million total pool. Related: WYNDHAM REWARDS TOP 10: How it works, standings, more Koepka claimed first place last season to enter the FedExCup Playoffs as the top seed. Eventual FedExCup champ Rory McIlroy finished second, followed by Matt Kuchar, Xander Schauffele, Gary Woodland, Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson, Paul Casey, Webb Simpson and Jon Rahm in the 10th spot. We asked our PGATOUR.COM writers for their predictions for the 2019-20 season – the winner, the top 10 lock, and a surprise choice. Here are their responses: WHO WILL WIN? MIKE McALLISTER (Managing Editor): Justin Thomas. He finished second in regular-season points in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons before dropping to 17th last season while battling a nagging wrist injury. He showed in the Playoffs that he’s back to full strength. SEAN MARTIN (Senior Editor): Rory McIlroy. He’s coming off the most consistent season of his career, and there’s no reason to think he won’t have a strong follow-up to his FedExCup victory. BEN EVERILL (Staff Writer): Brooks Koepka. The sting of defeat to Rory in the FedExCup finale will fuel another regular-season rise for Brooks, leaving him as the winner of the first two Wyndham Rewards titles.  CAMERON MORFIT (Staff Writer): Rory McIlroy. Upon winning the FedExCup, McIlroy said it was a season in which he easily could have won more. I agree. It was almost a fluke that he didn’t, and I think that little edge, that little swagger that comes from being the only other multiple FedExCup winner besides Tiger, puts him over the top as your year two Wyndham Rewards winner.  TOP 10 LOCK? McALLISTER: Dustin Johnson. Yes, I’m aware he’s having off-season knee surgery. And yes, I’m assuming he’ll make a quick recovery. He’s finished in the regular-season top 10 in the last six seasons. I fully expect him to make it seven straight. MARTIN: Justin Thomas. A wrist injury and some of the worst putting of his career didn’t prevent him from finishing third in this season’s FedExCup Playoffs. He’s won nine times over the past three seasons, and I think he’s primed for another big season. EVERILL: Rory McIlroy. There’s no way McIlroy is going backwards in my eyes after his season. So that means he’ll either be second again or beat out my above choice, Brooks.  MORFIT: Brooks Koepka. It was no accident that Koepka was the inaugural Wyndham Rewards winner. He’s so good from tee to green, thrives on the big stage, and is a great putter, besides. There’s no way he won’t make the top 10.  SURPRISE TOP 10 PICK? McALLISTER: Sungjae Im. Don’t know if it would be a huge surprise, given that he was 23rd in points in his rookie season last year. Once again, he’ll likely play more events than anybody else (and thus, gives himself more opportunities for points). Unlike last season, I expect him to win at least one tournament this time. That should push him inside the top 10. MARTIN: Viktor Hovland. He’s a machine, and as a rookie playing out of the Korn Ferry Tour category, he’ll have inspiration to play a lot early. EVERILL: Cameron Smith. After a few seasons of peaks and valleys, the young Australian will finally figure out a way to play solid all season long. He will springboard into 2020 off the back of a great Presidents Cup performance.  MORFIT: Matthew Wolff. This guy is only going to get more comfortable and more dangerous as he gets used to playing the TOUR. And he’s already plenty dangerous.

Click here to read the full article…

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Adam Hadwin used superb ball-striking to shoot the lowest score on the treacherous Stadium Course and continue his strong play in the Desert Classic. Hadwin hit all 18 greens in regulation Thursday en route to a 7-under 65. He made five birdies and holed a 60-yard pitch for eagle on the par-5 16th. Hadwin called it “probably my longest hole-out in like three years.â€� His only bogey was a three-putt from 48 feet on the par-3 sixth hole. He played his final six holes in 5 under par. The Stadium Course is traditionally the toughest of the three courses in use this week, and that was true again Thursday. It played to a 70.9 scoring average, while the field averaged 69.4 strokes at La Quinta Country Club and 69.7 at PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament Course. “I basically have to shoot probably another three 7-unders to even have a chance,â€� Hadwin said. MUST READS: Round 1, Desert Classic He’s had no trouble going low at this event, finishing no worse than sixth in the past three Desert Classics. He’s 66 under par in his last 13 rounds at this event, including a 59 at La Quinta Country Club in 2017. Phil Mickelson flirted with Hadwin’s mark on Thursday, but came up one shot short. “I’m five back after shooting 7 under,â€� Hadwin said. “I was actually watching the leaderboard, thinking he’s going to try and pass my course record over there. That would be a Phil Mickelson thing to do.â€� Hadwin is 51st in the FedExCup standings thanks to two top-10s in five starts this season. He’s also seeking a spot in his second consecutive Presidents Cup. This year’s Presidents Cup will be played Dec. 12-15 at Australia’s Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

Click here to read the full article…