Cantlay wins first PGA Tour title in playoff

SANDWICH, England — The majors finally had a degree of normalcy Thursday at Royal St. George’s. Louis Oosthuizen leading the way and Jordan Spieth contending at The 149th Open Championship felt pretty familiar, too. RELATED: Spieth sends message with opening 65 | DeChambeau, Rahm bitten by Royal St. George’s Cheered on by the biggest golf crowd since the coronavirus outbreak, Oosthuizen saved par from a fairway bunker on the final hole for a 6-under 64 to take the early lead. Spieth was only one stroke back by making putts like it was 2017 all over again. “It feels inside the ropes, from the first tee forward, the most normal of any tournament we have played thus far relative to that same tournament in previous years, pre-COVID,” said Spieth, whose run of four straight birdies in his round of 65 reminded him of his play at Royal Birkdale when he lifted the claret jug four years ago. Oosthuizen is coming off two straight runner-up finishes at majors — the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open — and is contending again after tying the lowest opening round at Royal St. George’s. Christy O’Connor Jr. had a 64 in 1981. That didn’t look as though it would be the case after the South African opened with seven straight pars. He followed with six birdies in his next nine holes. “I’ve learnt over the years playing major championships that patience is the key thing,” said Oosthuizen, who hasn’t won one of them since the British Open at St. Andrews in 2010. There have been six runner-up finishes in the majors since then. Patience already might be wearing thin for U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm, who slapped his thigh in frustration after making a double-bogey at No. 9 after taking two shots to get out of a pot bunker in the fairway. He shot 71. Bryson DeChambeau had the same score after spending much of his first round up to his knees in deep grass and unable to use his power to overwhelm Royal St. George’s. Shane Lowry, the defending champion from 2019, also shot 71 in front of a crowd that has a daily capacity of 32,000 this week. Not since Royal Portrush, where Lowry won, has a major seen so many spectators through the gates. There was plenty of good scoring on a course where soft fairways and greens — because of recent rain — negated the impact of its storied undulations. By halfway through the first round, 14 players had shot 67 or better. They included Justin Rose and three more of his countrymen looking to become the first English winner of golf’s oldest championship since Nick Faldo in 1992. Brian Harman was tied for second with Spieth after making five birdies in his first eight holes and finishing with another for 65. Stewart Cink, the 2009 champion at Turnberry, was in a three-way tie for fourth place with Dylan Frittelli and MacKenzie Hughes after 66s. Top-ranked Dustin Johnson hit 14 greens in regulation and said he was pleased with his round of 68 that had him in a tie for 15th. Spieth had not won since Birkdale until he ended his slump at the Valero Texas Open in April. He looked the happiest of anyone, saying he liked where his game was at after matching his lowest score at an Open. He also had a 65 on the first day at Birkdale. And he made reference to that victory while running off four straight birdies starting at No. 5, telling former caddie John Wood — part of the U.S. broadcast team — that it was just like 2017 the way he was making putts and Wood was watching him. Wood was caddying in the final round at Birkdale for Matt Kuchar, who was second. “Here I feel for the first time since then I’m at least coming in with a bit of form, a bit of confidence, and really my start lines off the tee,” Spieth said. The return of the spectators made it feel like a proper Open, especially on the hill overlooking the par-3 6th hole that attracted some of the biggest galleries of a day that started with a blue, cloudless sky and featured sporadic gusts. Just before midday, the group containing Cink, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer all hit tee shots inside 6 feet of the pin. As they walked onto the green to mark their balls, one spectator shouted: “You three should be professionals.” To which Kaymer’s caddie, Craig Connolly, replied back across the green: “You should be a comedian.” “I feel like the fans here are very knowledgeable about the sport,” Spieth said, “and they’re also having a great time.”

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Here’s everything you need to know for the TOUR Championship, the grand finale of the FedExCup Playoffs where the winner will earn $15 million. RELATED: FedExCup standings | FedExCup home Starting Strokes The top 30 in the FedExCup standings following the BMW Championship will advance to the TOUR Championship, where the final leaderboard will represent the final FedExCup standings for the top 30 players. Stroke play will be used to determine the champion of the PGA TOUR’s season-long points race. To recognize players for their Regular Season performance, there will be a staggered start to the TOUR Championship utilizing Starting Strokes. The FedExCup leaders will begin the event with a head-start on the competition. The player who finishes the four rounds at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club with the lowest score in relation to par will win the FedExCup. “As soon as the TOUR Championship begins, any fan – no matter if they’ve followed the PGA TOUR all season or are just tuning in for the final event – can immediately understand what’s going on and what’s at stake for every single player in the field,” PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan said when the changes were announced in 2018. “And, of course, players will know exactly where they stand at all times while in play, which will ratchet up the drama, consequence and volatility of the competition down the stretch.” Here’s how the leaderboard will look like going into Round 1 at East Lake. Payout First place in the FedExCup is $15 million. The runner-up will earn $5 million. Every player who makes it to East Lake will earn at least $395,000. Eight players will earn at least $1 million in FedExCup bonus money. Every player who qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs will earn at least $100,000, while Nos. 126-150 in the final FedExCup standings all earn $70,000. The FedExCup bonus money is the only money given for a player’s finish at East Lake. There is no longer a purse for the TOUR Championship. FedExCup bonus money is not considered part of a player’s official earnings for the season.

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