THE PLAYERS Championship, Round 1: Leaderboard, tee times, TV schedule

JACKSON, Miss. – Holding a Sunday lead on the PGA TOUR is hard enough, especially for a rookie. It’s even more difficult when the strongest club in your bag breaks minutes before your tee time. Cameron Champ was warming up for the final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship when he noticed a squirrely ball flight on one of his tee shots. After one more shot, the club’s crown cracked open. An old driver got the promotion from the trunk to the staff bag. A slightly different swingweight required compensations to keep the club in the fairway. “I just tried to hit as many balls as I could on the range, just to get used to it a little bit,â€� he said. Champ, 23, overcame the obstacle to win the Sanderson Farms Championship by four shots, shooting a 68 in the final round to finish four shots ahead of Corey Conners. Champ already has a reputation for drives that are longer than a Ken Burns documentary. His prodigious length landed him on the cover of Golf Digest before his second PGA TOUR start. His win Sunday at the Sanderson Farms Championship proved that he’s more than a sideshow. After losing a four-shot lead on the front nine Sunday, he sank several crucial putts to hold off Conners on the closing holes. Champ’s driver was important this week – he led the field in driving distance, averaging an incredible 334 yards on the two measured holes at the Country Club of Jackson — but the shortest club in his bag also played a starring role. He finished second in Strokes Gained: Putting. He looked discouraged on the front nine, letting go of the club with one hand on the follow-through of several tee shots. He took solace in the fact that he’d dominated the Country Club of Jackson’s inward nine all week, making 16 birdies and no bogeys. He let an easy birdie opportunity pass when he failed to get up-and-down from in front of the green on the par-5 11th, though. Two holes later, Champ was staring at a 10-foot birdie putt. He knew that if he missed, Conners could take the lead for the first time Sunday. Champ pumped his fist after making his putt. It was the strongest emotion he’d shown thus far in the final round, but it was just a taste of what was to come. Conners then sank his own birdie putt to stay tied with five holes remaining. “I just felt like it was big,â€� Champ said, calling it his first realistic birdie opportunity since the sixth hole. “It gave me a little momentum going into the par-5, as well.â€� Once again, Champ was just short of the green on a par-5. He opted for the putter this time and it paid off with a birdie. After Conners failed to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker, Champ sank his 7-foot birdie putt to take a one-shot lead. They matched birdies on the next hole, a drivable par-4, after Conners’ eagle putt slid by the hole. Champ got up-and-down from short and right of the green, pitching over a greenside bunker to a green that ran away from him. Conners called their halve the turning point. “I knew if I made that one it would give me a lot of momentum going into the last three holes,â€� Conners said. On the next hole, Champ was the one who holed a crucial putt. His approach shot to the 479-yard, par-4 16th, the course’s hardest hole, was 30 yards shorter than Conners’. It was Conners who had the shorter birdie putt, though. Champ pumped his fist when his 38-foot putt curled into the hole. It gave him a two-shot lead with two holes remaining. “That wasn’t a putt I was trying to make,â€� he admitted. “I was just trying to just have good speed and get it down there for an easy par. Obviously, it had perfect speed and read it perfectly and just dropped in there.â€� Champ holed a 12-foot par putt at the next hole to maintain his two-stroke lead. He closed the tournament with a 7-foot birdie putt after an impressive recovery from the left trees. He holed all five putts that he faced Sunday from 5-10 feet. He holed nine putts from outside 10 feet this week. He gained more than nine strokes on the greens this week, including seven in the final two rounds. He saved his best for last, gaining 4.02 strokes on the greens in the final two rounds. “That’s definitely been a part of my game I’ve worked extremely hard on,â€� Champ said. “I’m just trying to slowly [develop] other parts of my game … because my ball-striking has been so good.â€� Champ is more than a long driver. He proved that Sunday at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Click here to read the full article…

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Each day at U.S. Open, PGATOUR.COM’s staff writers will dive into the big issues and questions everyone is discussing. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas each admitted they hadn’t known the USGA changed the playoff format, from an 18-hole Monday playoff to a two-hole Sunday one. What else surprised you from the press conferences so far? Sean Martin, Senior Editor: I appreciated Jason Day’s boldness and honesty. “I think if I want to be the best player in the world, I’ll be the best player in the world,â€� is a quote that really stuck out to me from Tuesday. He definitely seemed inspired. Ben Everill, Staff Writer: Hearing Jason Day talk about Tiger Woods’ “MC Hammer pantsâ€� from 2004 at Shinnecock and then Bubba Watson’s messy burrito habits was something I was not expecting in the lead-up to this tournament. Jonathan Wall, Equipment Insider: Probably D.J. admitting he hit mid irons and even a couple long irons into some of the holes at Shinnecock. And here I thought he carried driver and a bunch of wedges.  Cameron Morfit, Staff Writer: Given the way the ’04 U.S. Open ended, I’m surprised that the only complaining has been about the traffic. But it’s early. Shinnecock’s greens are like upside-down cereal bowls, and once balls start landing in the wrong places and funneling 50 yards away, it’s on. Who is the one player almost no one is talking about who is nonetheless on your radar?  Martin: I don’t think enough people are talking about Tommy Fleetwood. He finished fourth in last year’s U.S. Open and remains very much one of the world’s best players. I think he’ll like Shinnecock Hills’ linksy characteristics. Everill: Lucas Herbert. The 23-year-old Australian dominated the Portland Sectionals and is a highly touted youngster out of Australia. Won’t be overawed and could easily replicate Cameron Smith’s U.S. Open debut from 2015 (T4). Wall: Tommy Fleetwood. He’s finished outside the top 25 three times in 10 TOUR starts this season. And did I mention he was fourth last season at the U.S. Open? He has the game to contend at Shinnecock. Literally no one is talking about him. Morfit: He got injured, so Brooks Koepka fell out of the conversation. Now he’s back. He’s posted 63s in two of his last three starts and said in his presser, “I feel like I always play well at U.S. Opens. I play very conservative, middle of the greens a lot of times, and I feel like major championships are kind of where I shine.â€� I’d be shocked if the defending champ doesn’t finish in the top 10. Dustin Johnson looked strong in winning the FedEx St. Jude Classic by six, but is Shinnecock a course that favors touch around the greens more than power off the tee?  Martin: I think the short game is going to be very important this week. Between the wind and the sloping greens, those chipping areas around the putting surfaces are going to get plenty of work. The last three U.S. Opens here were won by stellar short games. Raymond Floyd was one of the best chippers in the game. Corey Pavin hit less than half the greens when he won here. Retief Goosen hit only six greens in the final round. Everill: It is clearly a mixture of both but there must also be a premium on accuracy. At the end of the day the guy who gets up and down from trouble and makes the clutch par putts will hoist the trophy. Wall: I think you need to have an all-around game to contend. It’s important to find the fairway, but you can’t continually lay back and have mid and long irons into the greens. Even the best short game in the world won’t keep you from making a couple bogeys with that game plan. Morfit: I don’t think a bomber wins, especially as dry as it is this week. Shinnecock is a second-shot course (Goosen was a specialist with the irons), and being crafty and economical around those crazy green complexes counts for a lot, too. Phil Mickelson is making his 27th U.S. Open start, and says he loves the setup. He’s tried just about everything. How would you prepare if you were him?  Martin: I think take it easy and rely on your past work here. He’s played here twice and done well. And energy management is key for Mickelson at this stage in his career, as we saw at THE PLAYERS Championship. Everill: By renting a bigger yacht than Tiger’s and parking it right next door. Phil needs to be Phil – that is relaxed and trying to be funny. Forget all this career slam pressure. Just go out and play. Wall: What he’s doing right now: Resting. Phil played last week in Memphis and needed a recharge. Playing the course in advance of this week meant he didn’t need to grind out practice rounds. Work on the short game and conserve energy for what should be a 72-hole grind at Shinnecock.   Morfit: Golf Channel’s Tim Rosaforte has him practicing and playing off-site at nearby Friar’s Head with, among others, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. I hope they’re taking a cart, because he should do as little as possible to preserve his legs and (admittedly) sporadic ability to drill down and focus. It’s a long week.

Click here to read the full article…

Greetings, gang! As always, it’s an absolute pleasure to welcome you to the next installment of the PGA TOUR – the 2022-23 edition. This begins my 14th season in this chair. Thank you for your loyalty and for your community. I’m sincere in conveying that it means everything to me. Peace and love. By now you know that this is the last wraparound season before the TOUR resets for 2024. What transpires in the fall of 2023 is TBD, but however you experienced the most recent offseason won’t be replicated. RELATED: Horses for Courses, Statistically Speaking This will include a return to a natural launch of my full-membership fantasy ranking late in the calendar year. This season’s edition published last week, so if you haven’t dived in, please consider doing so. It includes ages, salaries (and bargains where noted), membership status and a comment for all 214 golfers. There’s also a printable Cheat Sheet for draft leagues. The opening page reviews the changes relevant to fantasy and much more. As explained, the entire project is a guide and it’s evergreen. Bookmark it. I’d ask for you to share with others, but that would mean that you think that it won’t give the edge that will assist in your quest for a league title. S’OK, I’m used to it! PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf also launches this week. The overall format essentially is the same – four Segments; league play; prizing for each and the overall season – but there’s one significant change in scoring: Every par will be worth one point. When the scoring system was modified for 2021-22, pars were zero to align with Modified Stableford scoring. Refer to Rules for more. Obviously, fantasy scoring now will rise. With it, the value of making cuts reemerges as a priority. (Veteran gamers of PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf are familiar with previous iterations that rewarded cuts made.) Segment 1 always is a soft open due to the construct of the fields, so you won’t have to concern yourself with rationing starts for pretty much anyone. However, building a foundation of golfers you believe have a greater chance of cashing is going to be the proper swing thought to separate from your opponents. Roster up, not down. The other significant news is that the stand-alone fantasy app soon will be discontinuing. It’s still active for Fortinet, but at some point, mobile users will need to enter the PGA TOUR app to access PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. It also will remain accessible via mobile browsing. It’s always parked on the FANTASY page of the desktop website and accessible directly via FantasyGolf.PGATOUR.com. Let’s go! POWER RANKINGS WILD CARD Hideki Matsuyama (-145 for a Top 20) … Injuries to his left wrist and neck interrupted playing time in July and August, but he walked off the 2021-22 season with a T11 at East Lake where he opened as the 17-seed. That’s enough of a reason to worry about extended health, but it’s a great sign that he’s committed to the Fortinet where he finished T6 a year ago. At the same time, it’s also (and maybe even more so) a test of his physical health in advance of next week’s Presidents Cup. If you’re feeling frisky, stow him on your bench in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf because the variables of his current snapshot present more reason to abstain. DRAWS Davis Riley (+140 for a Top 20) … Although he has a phenomenal rookie season, the best part is that inexperience is replaced with knowledge. This goes for everyone, but we always assume that guys value what they’ve learned and they don’t just show up and rely entirely on talent, even for a player like this who profiles well just about everywhere. That can pay off at times, but it’d be stressful to attempt to sustain that approach for a very high percentage. Of course, he presents none of that concern, but the test begins now. He missed the cut in his debut at Silverado last year, which means that he had two rounds under his belt. Roll Tide. Chez Reavie (+250 for a Top 20) … He’s the most recent winner of a PGA TOUR event nearest Napa, and the Barracuda champion has a perfect record at Silverado. He’s 8-for-8 with a T3 highlighting three top 25s. What more needs to be said about who and what this place rewards? Veteran ball-striker!! J.J. Spaun (+250 for a Top 20) … Hung up a T9 here two years ago and he reconnected with some form late last season. For a guy who keeps the ball in the best places to find it, he’s a brilliant option in DFS. Cam Davis Matt Kuchar Troy Merritt Patrick Rodgers Brendon Todd Odds sourced on Tuesday, September 13th at 7 p.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm FADES Stewart Cink … No conflict this year. The 2020 champ sat out his title defense so that he could attend his son’s wedding. He’s moved on since that career second wind but there’s still room for the 49-year-old deep in full-season rosters. Faith is down considerably, however. A top 25 is a genuine bonus now. Cameron Champ … So badly want to leave the doubt in the past, but there’s been no consistency for the 2019 Fortinet winner. Whether his wrist still is an issue or perhaps bad habits triggered by it have complicated matters, he’s not playing up to the projections. Webb Simpson … In any other sport (and hopefully again on the PGA TOUR come 2024), the offseason would allow for time to recover from injury and separate competitively. Even though optimists can cite a reset for all to zero FedExCup points, body and soul can’t be fooled into thinking that a true break has occurred. This is to say that his slump is more likely to continue than end despite the new chapter. Save a couple of glints of form in the last six months, the 37-year-old has done nothing to convince us that he’s overcome whatever lingered after returning from sitting out two months to rest for a herniated disc in his neck. Denny McCarthy … Sometimes, fit trumps form, even when a guy has rewarded us as often as he has. Fact is, Silverado exposes his weakness on approach, so he’s putting to save pars more than for par breakers, and that’s led to four missed cuts in as many tries. He’s broken par just twice in eight rounds. Gary Woodland … Making his debut at Silverado. Concluded last season by going MC-MC-T51, thereby extending his trend of trading forgettable weeks with thrilling performances. Alex Noren … Also a debutant at Silverado, but he was recently bothered by a sore neck. It knocked him out of the FedEx St. Jude, and then he finished T52 at the limited-field BMW. Joel Dahmen Jason Day Harris English Rickie Fowler Danny Willett RETURNING TO COMPETITION John Huh … A lower back injury forced him to walk off TPC Southwind a month ago. He was a co-runner-up the week prior at Sedgefield, but don’t lean into that hope. His history at Silverado is dreadful. He’s cashed only once in seven tries (T35, 2016). Nate Lashley … Opted not to give it a go in the Playoffs due to an ongoing issue with a toe. He can be a dynamic performer, so that slots him best in DFS and in deeper long-term formats. His track record at Silverado is a microcosm of his profile, too. Both of his paydays in five starts are top 20s. Finished T16 a year ago. Scott Piercy … After qualifying for the Playoffs with a late surge, he withdrew during the second round of the FedEx St. Jude with a sore back. That was a month ago, so the loyalist at Silverado is positioned to hit the ground running, or at least jogging. Since 2016, he’s 4-for-6 with a trio of top 20s, including a T11 last year. Brandt Snedeker … Hasn’t pegged it in earnest since missing the cut at the Deere more than two months ago. An explanation for his absence hasn’t been released, but he didn’t carry significant fantasy value, anyway. However, he could be worth a flier in salary games this season. He opens on a Minor Medical Extension for which he has five starts to earn 148.084 FedExCup points and a promotion to the Major Medical category. If he falls short, he will burn a career earnings exemption, so while the results haven’t been terribly helpful in a while, he’s in position to yield ~25 starts. And hey, maybe he finds the fountain of youth at Silverado. It was just four years ago when he lost in a playoff. He placed T17 in his last trip the following year. That he’s ready to get back after it immediately is a green light. NOTABLE WDs Dean Burmester … Hey, someone has to be the first out, and no one ever can take it away from him. While he’s a Korn Ferry Tour Finals grad, don’t be surprised if he follows a similar path of fellow South African, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who was a KFT grad last season and did just fine. Burmester is 67th in the Official World Golf Ranking, so he’s poised to earn opportunities that most of his fellow grads won’t. Stick with him long-term and you should be rewarded for your understanding and patience. RECAP – TOUR Championship POWER RANKINGS Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Patrick Cantlay T7 2 Scottie Scheffler T2 3 Xander Schauffele 4th 4 Jon Rahm T15 5 Rory McIlroy Win 6 Justin Thomas T5 7 Sungjae Im T2 8 Sam Burns 24th 9 Matt Fitzpatrick T15 10 Will Zalatoris DNP 11 Cameron Smith 20th 12 Tony Finau 9th 13 Jordan Spieth T13 14 Joaquin Niemann T11 15 Adam Scott 25th 16 Scott Stallings 29th 17 Max Homa T5 18 Corey Conners 26th 19 Brian Harman T21 20 Aaron Wise T13 21 Billy Horschel T21 22 Cameron Young 19th 23 Viktor Hovland T15 24 Sepp Straka T7 25 Collin Morikawa T21 26 J.T. Poston T15 27 Sahith Theegala 28th 28 K.H. Lee 27th 29 Tom Hoge 10th 30 Hideki Matsuyama T11 BIRTHDAYS AMONG ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE PGA TOUR September 13 … none September 14 … Tony Finau (33); Emiliano Grillo (30) September 15 … none September 16 … none September 17 … Byeong Hun An (31); Seonghyeon Kim (24) September 18 … Viktor Hovland (25) September 19 … Ryan Palmer (46); Michael Gligic (33)

Click here to read the full article…