Watson wins Match Play, denies Thomas No. 1

Opportunity knocks in beautiful Puerto Rico this week, as Grande Reserve Country Club once again hosts a bevy of PGA TOUR players looking to push their seasons to greater heights. Core golf fans know it is weeks like these where players often come of age. Sure they’re not in Mexico City at a World Golf Championship, but some of the 120 players in Puerto Rico certainly will be in the future. Those with an eye on the FedExCup Playoffs know a few points here in this vibrant Caribbean destination could make all the difference, not to mention the two-year winner’s exemption and a spot in the upcoming PLAYERS Championship (if not already exempt) that are both up for grabs as well. RELATED: Power Rankings | Trainer set for Puerto Rico Open defense | No joke: Trainer dabbles in sitcom writing THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER THE FLYOVER The par-5 18th was the third easiest hole at Grande Reserve last season, playing to a 4.830 average, including 4.4 on Sunday, meaning those pushing down the stretch know an opportunity awaits. At 630 yards, it’s no pushover, but it did yield three eagles and 120 birdies last season. The hole borders the “Ensenada” Bay, which plays downwind. The two fairway bunkers on the right are very much in play off the tee, so players favor the left side. The risk of going for the green in two comes with the risk of using too much club, as recovery shots from behind the green can be very costly. WEATHER CHECK From meteorologist Joe Halvorson: Thursday will be breezy once again, with moisture levels becoming a bit more enhanced. This will allow for an increase in the shower coverage mainly prior to sunrise and after 4 p.m., along with potential that a few of these showers produce brief heavy rainfall. Showers will remain a possibility on Friday and Saturday, but a drying trend should keep the coverage fairly sparse – especially Friday afternoon through Saturday. Shower chances are expected to return Sunday afternoon ahead of an approaching cold front. For the latest weather news from Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, check out the PGA TOUR Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK Just in time for Puerto Rico… it’s a great course for me as evidenced by me doing well there last year. It’s been a long 10 months of struggling, but I’m just happy to be hitting the ball straight again… now that I’m hitting the right shots and missing in a narrower window I have a chance. BY THE NUMBERS 16 – Number of PGA TOUR rookies in the Puerto Rico Open field. There has not been a rookie winner through 18 events in this PGA TOUR season, the longest stretch to start a season since 2009, when rookies went winless the entire season. Three of the last nine winners here were rookies, so perhaps the drought will be broken. 5 – Number of Australians in the field. Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Adam Scott have brought their country three wins in the last six weeks, so maybe it is worth keeping an eye on Cameron Davis, Rhein Gibson, Cameron Percy, John Senden and Robert Allenby this week. 22 – Number of missed cuts for Martin Trainer since he won last season’s Puerto Rico Open. Trainer is a great character and broke a long drought last week at The Genesis Invitational, having kept a great perspective despite going through a big slump since his win. He’s most definitely someone to root for. He also has designs on being a comedy writer! SCATTERSHOTS Springboard to Stardom: Since the tournament’s inception in 2008, the Puerto Rico Open has helped elevate the careers of several PGA TOUR stars with strong play, including the likes of Jason Day, Tony Finau, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka and Emiliano Grillo. In his second season on TOUR, Day finished T2 in Puerto Rico, his best finish in his first 39 starts. Now he holds 12 TOUR wins, including a PLAYERS Championship and PGA Championship. Finau won his lone TOUR event at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open; since then, Finau has accumulated 28 top-10s, including six runner-ups. Past sponsor exemptions include Spieth (2013) and Koepka (2014). Spieth earned Special Temporary Membership soon after his runner-up finish in 2013 and was named PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year thereafter; He has since won the FedExCup (2015) and accumulated 11 career PGA TOUR wins, including three majors; Koepka, currently No. 2 in the world, has seven PGA TOUR wins, including four majors. Bryson DeChambeau lost in a playoff at the 2017 Puerto Rico Open and went on to win his first PGA TOUR title later that season at the John Deere Classic, his first of now five TOUR wins. After finishing runner-up at the 2015 Puerto Rico Open, Emiliano Grillo won the 2015 Safeway Open and was voted PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year.  Keep an eye on University of Georgia junior Davis Thompson. He’s No. 4 in the world amateur golf ranking and finished T23 at the RSM Classic in the fall. He was the Medalist at the prestigious Western Amateur and recently won the Jones Cup by nine shots. He shot 203 to set the scoring record at a tournament where past champs include TOUR winners Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed, Kyle Stanley, Corey Conners and DJ Trahan. Thompson will be pulling double duty on the island, as he will play in a college event in Puerto Rico on Sunday and Monday before teeing it up in the Puerto Rico Open. Oh, and his father Todd – he’s the tournament director for The RSM Classic and will caddie for his son. The Puerto Rico Open and non-profit organization Good Sports delivered $1 million in sports equipment and monetary contributions to 33 non-profits that benefit thousands of kids in Puerto Rico. The contribution was achieved thanks to Kids Pro Fun, a tournament campaign to positively impact the lives in the community. The campaign, supported by individuals, corporate donors and friends of the PGA TOUR, exceeded its goal and reached the largest donation and delivery made by Good Sports. 

Click here to read the full article…

The PGA TOUR visits the home of the game’s greatest player for this week’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. A star-studded field has assembled at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, for the tournament Jack Nicklaus created more than four decades ago. This week’s winner will receive 500 FedExCup points, as well as a three-year exemption on the PGA TOUR. Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Jason Day, Hideki Matsuyama, PLAYERS winner Si Woo Kim and defending champion William McGirt are among the names that can be seen on PGA TOUR LIVE this week. PGA TOUR LIVE’s broadcast will begin at 7:30 a.m. Eastern on Thursday and Friday. It also will be available for free on Twitter from 7:30 a.m. until approximately 8:50 a.m. Three hours of Featured Holes coverage from the par-4 14th and par-3 16th will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. (Note: FedExCup ranking in parentheses) Thursday Kevin Kisner (7), Jordan Spieth (5), Justin Thomas (3): This group features three players who will likely team up at this year’s Presidents Cup. Spieth, Thomas and Kisner are Nos. 2-4, respectively, in the U.S. Team standings. The top 10 players in the standings on Sept. 4 will automatically qualify for the team that will play for Captain Steve Stricker at Liberty National Golf Club from Sept. 26 to Oct. 1. Thomas has three wins this season, while Kisner and Spieth have one win apiece. Kisner and Spieth finished 1-2 at last week’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational.  Tee time: 8:26 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee Dustin Johnson (1), William McGirt (60), Phil Mickelson (40): Johnson, the FedExCup leader, is playing alongside the defending champion (McGirt) and a World Golf Hall of Famer (Mickelson). Johnson finished third at last year’s Memorial, one shot out of the playoff won by McGirt. Mickelson has three top 10s in 16 starts at Muirfield Village. Johnson also leads the U.S. Team’s Presidents Cup standings, while Mickelson ranks 16th and McGirt is 22nd. Tee time: 8:37 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. Friday Rickie Fowler (10), Hideki Matsuyama (2), Jon Rahm (4): Three popular young players – Fowler is the eldest member at age 28 — highlight this group. All three of these players rank in the top 10 of the FedExCup, as well. Matsuyama, a two-time winner this season, ranks second in the standings. He could overtake Johnson for the top spot with a win this week. Rahm ranks fourth in the standings thanks to a TOUR-high seven top-10s in 14 starts, including a win at the Farmers Insurance Open and a runner-up at last week’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. Fowler, the winner of THE PLAYERS Championship 2015, won The Honda Classic earlier this season. He and Matsuyama also will be likely foes at this year’s Presidents Cup. Fowler ranks fifth in the U.S. standings, while Matsuyama is second in the International Team standings. Tee time: 8:26 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. Si Woo Kim (22), Jason Day (43), Adam Scott (65): These three can discuss strategy for this year’s Presidents Cup, as they’ll likely be teammates on the International squad. Day, a Muirfield Village member, leads the International Team standings, while his countryman Scott ranks third. Kim jumped to seventh in the standings after his impressive victory at THE PLAYERS Championship. Day, who was runner-up at the AT&T Byron Nelson, is looking for his first top-10 finish at the Memorial. Scott finished fourth at this event last year. Tee time: 8:37 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee.

Click here to read the full article…

The PGA TOUR heads to Delaware for the first time, as the BMW Championship tees off at Wilmington Country Club. FIELD NOTES: Only the top 70 in the FedExCup standings will earn their way to the BMW Championship… Scottie Scheffler, who entered the Playoffs at No. 1 in the FedExCup, is coming off a missed cut at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, just his fourth of the season… Other notables looking to bounce back after a missed cut in Memphis are past FedExCup winners Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth… The TOUR’s biggest stars will continue their quest for the FedExCup at Wilmington Country Club including world No. 1 Scheffler; defending BMW and FedExCup champ Patrick Cantlay; The Open and THE PLAYERS winner Cameron Smith and Sam Burns and Xander Schauffele, who each have three wins this season… Five TOUR rookies — Cameron Young, Davis Riley, Taylor Pendrith, Mito Pereira, and Sahith Theegala – advanced to the second Playoffs event with eyes on finishing their first TOUR season at East Lake… The BMW Championship field will be confirmed when the FedExCup standings are set after Sunday’s conclusion of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 2,000 FedExCup points. COURSE: Wilmington Country Club (South Course), par 71, 7,534 yards. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1959 (the original Wilmington Country Club, on a different site, was established in 1901), the course was re-worked by Andrew Green in 2021 after a tornado ripped through the area in August 2020. In just five minutes, 300 trees were felled by the tornado including a 250-year-old white oak, which allowed Green to move the 14th green back by 60 yards. The tournament routing will intertwine the front and back nines of the course (e.g. Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 are actually the 10th, 13th, 14th, and 15th, holes for the members). Green was originally contracted by the club to redesign its North Course, but following the tornado the club had Green work on the South Course as it prepared for the TOUR’s arrival, as well. The club has hosted six USGA events in the past, along with the 2013 Palmer Cup competition between Europe and the United States. That American team featured Justin Thomas. STORYLINES: A dramatic cut to the FedExCup field will occur after the BMW Championship, with only the top 30 in the FedExCup standings making it to the season finale at East Lake…The automatic qualifiers for the Presidents Cup teams will be determined after the BMW, as well, with six Americans and eight Internationals securing spots on their respective teams… Unlike the FedEx St. Jude Championship, there is no cut at the BMW Championship… No golfer has defended his title at the BMW Championship since it became a FedExCup Playoffs event in 2007… The last two, and three of the last four, BMW Championships have been won in a playoff… Olympia Fields, which hosted the BMW Championship in 2020, will return as host next year. 72-HOLE RECORD: 261, Patrick Cantlay/Bryson DeChambeau (2021 – Caves Valley Golf Club) WILMINGTON COUNTRY CLUB RECORD: N/A 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Jim Furyk (2nd round, 2013) WILMINGTON COUNTRY CLUB RECORD: N/A LAST TIME: Patrick Cantlay rode a hot putter to top Bryson DeChambeau in a dramatic and thrilling six-hole playoff to capture the 2021 BMW Championship en route to winning the FedExCup. Cantlay closed with a 6-under 66 on Sunday, making putts of 8 feet for par on 16, 8 feet for bogey on 17 after his tee shot found the water and a 20-footer on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with DeChambeau, who shot his own 66 on Sunday. Cantlay gained 14.6 strokes on the greens that week, the most at a single event since that statistic debuted in 2004. The pair finished at 27 under for the week, with DeChambeau becoming the first golfer in TOUR history to fire a score of 261 and not take home a title. Cantlay and DeChambeau made matching pars for the first four playoff holes before rolling in birdies on the par-3 17th, the fifth playoff hole. DeChambeau had a chance to win in regulation but missed a 12-foot birdie try on 18. He had three other birdie tries in the playoff and missed them all. Cantlay rolled in an 18-foot birdie on the sixth and final playoff hole for the win. It was a two-horse race through Sunday, as Sungjae Im, who finished third, was four shots out of the playoff. Rory McIlroy finished fourth while Erik van Rooyen finished fifth. HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 12 p.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.–7 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

Click here to read the full article…