With the American rout on, too soon to talk tweaks?

Newly elected World Golf Hall of Famer Retief Goosen tees it up for the first time since getting the call, while Ryan Armour defends a title for the first time as the PGA TOUR comes to Mississippi for the 33rd consecutive year. Lucas Glover, fresh from retaining his card via the Web.com Tour Finals, joins Goosen to give the Sanderson Farms Championship two former U.S. Open winners. The roster also includes former FedExCup champion Bill Haas, trying to lock down full TOUR status as he plays out a medical extension. FIELD NOTES: Sungjae Im, fourth at the Safeway Open after winning the Web.com Tour earnings title, tees it up in a short turnaround after playing THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in his native South Korea. Im, Armour and J.J. Spaun are the only entrants to take on the trans-Pacific turnaround. … Jhonattan Vegas, unable to compete on the Asia Swing while dealing with passport issues in his native Venezuela, resumes his season in Mississippi. He tied for 53rd at the Safeway Open. … With the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking qualified for the WGC-HSBC Champions in China, Dylan Frittelli (No. 73) is the highest ranked player in the field. … Im and Glover are among 49 graduates in the field from the Web.com Tour Regular Season or Finals. The only absentee: Finals money leader Denny McCarthy. … Dicky Pride is set to make his 20th start in Mississippi, extending his own longevity mark. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 300 points. STORYLINES: Mississippi has become a haven for first-time winners, with five of the past seven champions making it their first. Armour’s victory followed Cody Gribble (2016), Peter Malnati (2015), Nick Taylor (‘14) and Chris Kirk (‘11). … In all, 11 players have made the Sanderson Farms Championship their first PGA TOUR triumph. … Haas, who missed a chunk of the spring after injuries in a fatal auto accident near the Genesis Open, has two starts left to earn 68 FedExCup points that would lock up full TOUR privileges for 2018-19. A top-10 finish in Napa earned him an extra start. … Goosen tees it up for the first time since a missed cut at the Wyndham Championship in August. He’s seeking his first top-10 finish since the FedEx St. Jude Classic last June. … U.S. entrants have won 21 of the past 23 editions in Mississippi, including 13 of the past 14. Canada’s Nick Taylor won in 2014, snapping a run of 10 straight U.S. winners, and England’s Luke Donald captured the 2002 edition. COURSE: Country Club of Jackson, 7,421 yards, par 72. Utilizing the Dogwood and Azalea nines from a 27-hole complex built by Dick Wilson in 1962, CCJ now enjoys its fifth year as Sanderson Farms host. Six Mississippi State Amateurs have been contested at CCJ, most recently in 2015, and the Southern Junior Amateur made an appearance in 2014. The club, which dates back to 2014, also played a key role in Mississippi history as a 1962 raid on the Carnival Ball turned up gallons of illegal liquor and prompted legislators to end the state’s prohibition. 72-HOLE RECORD: 263, Dan Halldorson (1986 at Hattiesburg GC). CC of Jackson record: 268, Cody Gribble (2016). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Keith Clearwater (2nd round, 1996 at Annandale GC). CC of Jackson record: 62, Roberto Castro (1st round, 2015). LAST YEAR: Armour finally captured that elusive first PGA TOUR victory, pulling away with a 4-under-par 68 for a five-shot triumph. The 41-year-old Ohio native was the only man to break 70 all four days, opening with a 66 and carding nothing worse than a 68 for the entire week. A third-round 67 opened a five-shot gap heading into the final day, and six birdies kept any challengers at bay. Victory came in Armour’s 105th career TOUR start, dating back to 2007, and he had just four top-10 finishes during that decade. It also came just a month after regaining his card via the Web.com Tour Finals, where a runner-up showing at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship secured his status. Chesson Hadley led the chase pack, his second top-three finish of the new season after earning his card back via the Web.com Tour Finals. Jonathan Randolph, from nearby Brandon, Mississippi, was third after a closing 67. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Sunday, 2:30-5:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: None. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-5:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-5:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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LAS VEGAS — Sam Burns won the Sanderson Farms Championship last week and is trying to put it behind him. He’s playing as though it never ended. RELATED: Leaderboard | Inside the Field: THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT Burns made a pair of 6-foot par putts on the only two greens he missed in regulation, ran off eight birdies in the morning for an 8-under 63 that left him a shot behind Sungjae Im and Chad Ramey on Friday in the Shriners Children’s Open. Not only has Burns won twice in the last six months, he also lost in a playoff at a World Golf Championships event and finished one shot out of a playoff at Riviera this year. The 25-year-old is comfortable at the top, and it’s showing. Key to this week was not to let last week linger. “What we tried to do is just last week is last week,” he said. “This week is Shriners and preparing for this week, trying to make sure Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday that we are giving ourselves the best opportunity to play well this week. “Obviously, incredible honored that I won last week and such a fun time, but just trying to kind of leave that there.” Im and Ramey each closed their afternoon rounds with birdies on the par-5 ninth, with Ramey making a 13-footer after hitting his approach into the right greenside bunker. They were at 14-under 128 at the TPC Summerlin, each opening 63-65 on a course that was doused with rain. Im won the Honda Classic last year for his first PGA TOUR title. “There’s two days left to play, so I like to try to keep focused on my game and try to take it one shot at a time,” the 23-year-old South Korean player said. “It’s going to be difficult if it’s windy. I have to be more strategic to the course management.” Ramey is making third start of the year and fifth in his PGA TOUR career. The 29-year-old former Mississippi State player earned his tour card this year through the Korn Kerry Tour. “The first tournament of the year I didn’t drive it very good and didn’t putt it very good,” Ramsey said. “So, the last few weeks I’ve kind of been hitting those points pretty hard, and I’ve kind of feel like I got it back under myself a little better right now. I hit it really well off the tee and I’m making putts. You can’t ask for much more.” Adam Schenk had a 65 to match Burns at 13 under. Aaron Wise was another stroke back after a 62. Matthew Wolff (67), who lost in a playoff last year, was 11 under with Honda Classic winner Matt Jones (67), Adam Hadwin (64), Andrew Putnam (64), Slovakian silver medalist Rory Sabbatini (66), Harry Hall (65) and Talor Gooch (67). Sung Kang followed an opening 61 with a 73 to fall six shots back at 8 under. Four-time major champion Brooks Koepka shot a 67 to get to 7 under. While Burns remained hot, that wasn’t the case with some others who contended last week at the Country Club of Jackson. Cameron Young, a runner-up last week, and 54-hole leader Sahith Theegala missed cut by a stroke, each shooting 70-68. They had company. Rickie Fowler managed a 66, but also fell a stroke short of the weekend as he tries to find his game. Scottie Scheffler, unbeaten in three matches in his Ryder Cup debut two weeks ago, also dropped out. Burns played well in the opening round, too, except for the par-3 17th when he slightly pulled his tee shot into the water and made double bogey. There were no such issues in the second round. He was efficient as ever and remained dialed in with his irons. Only two of his eight birdies were outside about 6 feet. He two-putted his final hole, the par-5 ninth, from 35 feet.

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Marc Leishman is rounding back into form just in time for his title defense at the Farmers Insurance Open, but he'll be playing with two others who have enjoyed uncommon success at Torrey Pines: Jon Rahm and Jason Day. PGA TOUR LIVE's streaming broadcast from Torrey will begin at 12 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday. Related: Tee times | The First Look, How to Watch The Featured Groups will include stars like Farmers ambassador Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, plus former Farmers winners Jason Day (twice), Phil Mickelson (twice), Jon Rahm, Bubba Watson and Leishman. They will be competing at Torrey North (one round) and the tougher Torrey South (three, for those who make the cut). The Featured Groups, which will tee off at 1:30 and 1:40 p.m. ET each day at Torrey Pines, are listed below. To prepare you for PGA TOUR LIVE's coverage, our roundtable of writers convened to answer a burning question around each group. Enjoy. THURSDAY Marc Leishman, Jason Day, Jon Rahm – Call this the Clash of the Titans group, with the threesome of Day, defending champ Leishman, and Rahm accounting for four Farmers victories - Day having won it twice. What happens when strength meets strength meets strength? CAMERON MORFIT: I'll go straight chalk and pick Rahm. He's not only the highest ranked player in this power group, but he also has the lowest scoring average (69.31) of the three at the Farmers. A win, a runner-up and a T5 in just four starts? Not too shabby. SEAN MARTIN: I'll be curious to hear what Rahm has to say about the injury that forced him out of The American Express. Leishman has turned things around just in time for his title defense, coming off a T4 at the Sony Open in Hawaii and 13th-place finish at Augusta National. He has five top-10s in 12 starts at Torrey Pines, including last year's win and two runners-up. BEN EVERILL: I'll have to check with our stats gurus, but I wonder if the same three players have played in the same group in all four rounds while comprising the final group in the final round. It might sound completely implausible, but I would not be surprised to see all three there when the whips are cracking on Sunday. Day is the mystery - how will he go with his new mixed bag of clubs and altered swing under Chris Como? He has a happy hunting ground to test it all out at least. Leishman is a great chance to go back-to-back. Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Matthew Wolff – It's been more than a year since McIlroy, making his 2021 debut, won on TOUR. Koepka is coming off an injury-riddled 2020 and didn't win, either, and nor did Wolff. Which player is most overdue for a bounce-back? MORFIT: McIlroy looked good in Abu Dhabi last week and has a T3 and T5 in his only two Farmers starts. On the other hand, Koepka hasn't played the Farmers since missing the cut in '17, and Wolff opened with a 76 last year on the way to a T21. I'll take Rory. MARTIN: After what we saw last week in Abu Dhabi - where he was lapped by Tyrrell Hatton in the final round — it's definitely Rory. Brooks was injured. Wolff is still just 21 and he had his chances, including in a couple majors. They have their reasons why they weren't in the winner's circle. Rory's drought is inexplicable. EVERILL: I have to tack on with the other guys here. Rory McIlroy is capable of winning every tournament he plays, and last week's form is important. Koepka and Wolff will be better for the run in the desert last week also - particularly Wolff who was rattled by an unfortunate Rules incident. FRIDAY Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed – Fowler is still waiting to see the full fruits of his most recent swing change, while his friend, Watson, has famously never had a lesson. When it comes to knowing about the swing, are you a knowledge-seeker or an ignorance-is-bliss guy? MORFIT: I'm with Watson on this one; the less I'm thinking about mechanics, the better I play. And on those occasions where I tried to fix my swing to be more technically sound, it never really worked. Of course, I'm not extravagantly talented like these guys, either. MARTIN: I'm in the worst possible place, right in the middle of those two extremes. I'll see something on TV, check out how it looks in front of my bathroom mirror and then commit to the change without ever hitting a ball. By the time I make it out to the range, I'm in the middle of an overhaul on par with Tiger's transition from Harmon to Haney. EVERILL: Those who know me know the swing I turned up with when working on the PGA TOUR was as homemade as Watson's just not on the same planet in terms of skill. After much friendly ribbing from Australian players, I was sent to be fixed and was on my way before having children cut into my time. So now, it's a combo of both, and I would NEVER win a pretty swing contest. It does however win a bit of match play cash. Funnily enough I recently introduced a Bubba taught deliberate slice into my repertoire as my grip only usually allows for right to left ball flight. Xander Schauffele, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth – Schauffele and Mickelson are both San Diego guys, while Spieth is a former world No. 1, but this group has struggled here of late. Schauffele has missed the cut in four of five starts, two-time Farmers champion Mickelson (2000-01) hasn't seen the weekend in three of his last five, and Spieth's best in five tries is T19. Who is most overdue at Torrey Pines? MORFIT: Mickelson never warmed to the redesigned Torrey South, and Spieth isn't his best on poa annua greens. The fluke is Schauffele. There's no reason why his record should be so poor, except that it's his hometown tournament. Maybe he needs to want it less? No way he doesn't start to improve. MARTIN: I think it has to be Xander, who seems to have a knack for playing well anywhere. Since the start of last season, he has 21 top-25s in his 23 starts. But his best finish in five trips to Torrey Pines is T25. Shrug emoji. EVERILL: I wish Xander was Australian. There. I said it. Schauffele is one of my favorites on TOUR because he is gritty and fights for everything. He loves punching above his weight class. His record at Torrey is nothing other than trying too hard like Cameron suggests. If he can relax into the week, he can win. It happens a lot on TOUR. We haven't had a local win THE PLAYERS in ages, Jason Day struggles at Memorial. Some guys just feel the home pressure a little too much. Phil can't keep it straight enough here, sadly, and Jordan is on the improve, but not sure Torrey is where we will see the fruit.

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