Presidents Cup: Day 1 match recaps

Justin Thomas, the fifth ranked player in the FedExCup standings and reigning PGA Champion, has committed to play in the 2018 Honda Classic, which will be held February 19-25 at PGA National Resort & Spa. Thomas, 24, is coming off a breakthrough season in which he won five PGA TOUR events and was named FedExCup champion and 2016-2017 Player of the Year. “It’s something I know how hard it is to do because of how the deep the TOUR is right now and how many great players there are and how guys are winning three, four, five times a year every year,” Thomas said. “It’s something that’s going to be tough to continue or tough to replicate in terms of last year. But I’m definitely going to give it my best.” Thomas’s five wins came at the CIMB Classic, SBS Tournament of Champions, Sony Open, PGA and Dell Technologies Championship. He joined Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth as the only players since 1960 to capture five wins in a season, including a major, before the age of 25. In 25 starts, he tallied a TOUR-best 12 top-10 finishes (tied with Spieth) with 19 made cuts and those performances led him to the Arnold Palmer Award as the TOUR’s leading money-winner ($9,921,560). Now the question is what Thomas will do for an encore. “I know I’m constantly going to get reminded of what I did last year versus this year and whether it’s better or whether it’s worse,â€� Thomas said. “The hardest part of the season is going to be staying in the moment and recognizing that it’s a new year. It’s a new opportunity for great things, and I just need to continue to work hard.â€�

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FACEBOOK WATCH: Morning Featured Groups | Afternoon Featured Holes As the first leg of the FedExCup Playoffs continues at THE NORTHERN TRUST, Facebook Watch will feature coverage of two Featured Groups. The coverage begins with Marc Leishman and Kevin Na who begin Round 3 at 7:40 a.m. ET. The pair made the cut on the number at even par and sit 10 shots off the lead held by Jamie Lovemark and Brooks Koepka. The second Featured Group of two-time FedExCup champion Tiger Woods and Ian Poulter tee off at 7:50 a.m ET. Woods was back in contention at the PGA Championship and will look to get the momentum rolling in the right direction. Ian Poulter, who won this season at the Houston Open, began the week 34th in the standings but currently projects to No. 41. A strong round on Moving Day could help secure his spot in the TOUR Championship. At 1 p.m. ET, the broadcast will transition to the Featured Holes portion. Coverage will start with the par-4 first hole and par-3 15th hole. Once play has completed at No. 1, coverage will pick up at the par-5 17th.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Following Sunday’s conclusion of the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup Playoffs, nominees for PGA TOUR Player of the Year and PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year were finalized by the PGA TOUR Player Directors and members of the Player Advisory Council (PAC). The nominees for the Jack Nicklaus Award as the PGA TOUR Player of the Year are (alphabetically) Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose and Justin Thomas. The nominees for PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year are Austin Cook, Satoshi Kodaira, Keith Mitchell, Joaquin Niemann and Aaron Wise. The Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards are determined by a member vote, with PGA TOUR members who played in at least 15 FedExCup events during the 2017-18 season eligible to vote. The voting will close on Monday, October 1, at 5 p.m. ET. The winners will be announced at a later date. Player of the Year nominees Bryson DeChambeau, 25 Clovis, California • Entered 26 events with victories (3) at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, THE NORTHERN TRUST and the Dell Technologies Championship. • Finished No. 3 in the FedExCup. • Recorded a total of nine top-10 finishes among 22 made cuts. Dustin Johnson, 34 Jupiter, Florida • Entered 20 events with victories (3) at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, FedEx St. Jude Classic and the RBC Canadian Open. • Finished No. 4 in the FedExCup. • Finished first in Adjusted Scoring Average (68.698). • Recorded a total of 12 top-10 finishes among 19 made cuts. Brooks Koepka, 28 West Palm Beach, Florida • Entered 17 events with victories (2) at the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. • Finished No. 9 in the FedExCup. • Finished ninth in Adjusted Scoring Average (69.444). • Recorded a total of six top-10 finishes among 15 made cuts. Francesco Molinari, 35 Turin, Italy • Entered 20 events with victories (2) at the Quicken Loans National and The Open Championship. • Finished No. 17 in the FedExCup. • Recorded a total of five top-10 finishes among 17 made cuts. Justin Rose, 38 London, England • Entered 18 events with victories (2) at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and the Fort Worth Invitational. • Finished No. 1 in the FedExCup. • Finished second in Adjusted Scoring Average (68.993). • Recorded a total of 11 top-10 finishes among 17 made cuts. Justin Thomas, 25 Louisville, Kentucky • Entered 23 events with victories (3) at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, The Honda Classic and the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. • Finished No. 7 in the FedExCup. • Finished third in Adjusted Scoring Average (69.118). • Recorded a total of 10 top-10 finishes among 21 made cuts. Rookie of the Year nominees Austin Cook, 27 Jonesboro, Arkansas • Entered 29 events with a victory at The RSM Classic. • Finished No. 38 in the FedExCup. • Recorded a total of three top-10 finishes among 24 made cuts. • 2017 graduate of the Web.com Tour. Satoshi Kodaira, 29 Tokyo, Japan • Entered 18 events with a victory at the RBC Heritage. • Finished No. 94 in the FedExCup. • Recorded a total of two top-25 finishes among eight made cuts. Keith Mitchell, 26 Sea Island, Georgia • Entered 29 events with four top-10s among 21 made cuts. • Finished No. 67 in the FedExCup. • 2017 graduate of the Web.com Tour. Joaquin Niemann, 19 Santiago, Chile • Entered 13 events with best result coming at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier (T5). • Accumulated 489 non-member FedExCup points to earn full status on TOUR for the 2018-19 season. • Recorded a total of four top-10 finishes among nine made cuts. Aaron Wise, 22 Las Vegas, Nevada • Entered 29 events with a victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson. • Finished No. 24 in the FedExCup. • Recorded a total of four top-10 finishes among 16 made cuts. • 2017 graduate of the Web.com Tour.

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