Tiger Woods the butt of player prank as US Ryder Cup team lighten the mood

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – To mark the PGA TOUR’s return to competition at the Charles Schwab Challenge, June 11-14 at Colonial Country Club in Ft. Worth, Texas, the TOUR and Twitter today announced a global live content execution that will be a first-of-its kind for the social media platform. “Twitter Multicast� will take place on Thursday, June 11, from approximately 1-2:30 pm ET and will showcase athletes, celebrities and other personalities creating their own live, audio/video commentary in conjunction with PGA TOUR LIVE Featured Groups coverage during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge. Twitter Multicast will feature the likes of Danny Kanell, Dude Perfect, Darren Rovell, Darius Rucker, Annika Sorenstam, Golden Tate and others. Learn more about Twitter Multicast “The PGA TOUR is proud to be among the first major sports leagues to return to competition,� said Rick Anderson, Chief Media Officer of the PGA TOUR. “With no spectators on site, we want to work harder than ever to connect our fans to the event, across numerous platforms and devices in addition to the PGA TOUR LIVE, Golf Channel and CBS broadcasts. Working with Twitter on this all-new fan engagement initiative is a nod to how important fans are to the TOUR and our players.� The Charles Schwab Challenge features the top-five ranked players in the world and 17 of the top 20 in the FedExCup Standings. The Twitter Multicast will offer nine versions of the live stream with distribution from more than 20 different Twitter accounts. The video streams will cover pre-game, practice sessions, and the first two holes of competition of players such as Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth. Each stream will carry PGA TOUR LIVE featured groups coverage complemented with live audio/video commentary from commentators who will provide their point of view on the return of the TOUR. A full list of the guest commentators across nine video streams: “This first-ever Twitter Multicast will give golf fans a viewing experience they won’t find anywhere else,� says TJ Adeshola, head of U.S. sports partnerships for Twitter. “By adding conversation and commentary from a range of Twitter notables to premium golf content, the Multicast will have something for everyone, regardless if you’re looking for real-time reactions, analysis or just some laughs to pair with live footage from Colonial. This is a prime example of how to create a richer, more customized fan experience through the power of Twitter.� The PGA TOUR and Twitter initially teamed up to live stream tournament coverage when portions of PGA TOUR LIVE’s premium window was streamed during the opening rounds of the first two events of the 2016 FedExCup Playoffs. The two companies formalized their live stream relationship in January 2017 when they began offering PGA TOUR LIVE coverage from select events during the 2016-2017 PGA TOUR Season, expanding the agreement in 2019 to include live daily coverage on Twitter during every PGA TOUR event.

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2019 BMW Championship, End of Round 2. Top 10 win probabilities: Patrick Cantlay (T2, -11, 18.6%) Hideki Matsuyama (1, -12, 18.1%) Tony Finau (T2, -11, 10.9%) Justin Thomas (4, -10, 10.8%) Rory McIlroy (T11, -8, 6%) Xander Schauffele (T5, -9, 4.8%) Rory Sabbatini (T5, -9, 3.3%) Jon Rahm (T15, -7, 3.2%) Chez Reavie (T5, -9, 3.1%) Tommy Fleetwood (T11, -8, 3.1%) Top 5 FedExCup Win Probabilities: Rory McIlroy: 19.2% Brooks Koepka: 15.6% Patrick Cantlay: 13.8% Jon Rahm: 8.1% Justin Thomas: 6.1% NOTE: These reports are based off the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live “Make Cut�, “Top 20�, “Top 5�, and “Win� probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 20K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of the BMW Championship, or to see how each golfer’s probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model’s home page.

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Brooks Koepka will be at Whistling Straits. That’s what the four-time major winner told Golfweek on Wednesday, ending speculation that he may miss the Ryder Cup due to injury. Koepka’s status was in question after he withdrew from the TOUR Championship on Sept. 4 with an injury to his left arm. “I’ll be there. I’m good to go,” Koepka told Golfweek in a text message. “I’m feeling good. Been doing my rehab, doing everything I need to do to be ready for the Cup. I’ll be there ready to play.” Koepka hit a tree root while playing a shot on East Lake’s 10th hole in the third round of the TOUR Championship. Unable to grip a club, he withdrew two holes later. “When I hit the root I thought it was a stinger and my wrist was feeling weird,” he told Golfweek. “I lost feeling to my elbow for a bit. Feeling came back from my elbow to mid-forearm two minutes later, but from mid-forearm to hand was kinda numb.” The winner of this year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open finished 30th in the FedExCup. He had an MRI after leaving East Lake that showed no broken bones. “The MRI showed us some stuff and just making sure it’s calmed down and got everything worked out,” he said. “Grip pressure has gotten back to normal. Some ice, some rest, some soft tissue work and some rehab and we’re good to go.” Koepka, a four-time major winner, has represented the United States in two Ryder Cups (2016, ’18) and one Presidents Cup (2017). He was the United States’ top qualifier in its last international Cup competition, the 2019 Presidents Cup, but had to withdraw due to a knee injury. He went 3-1-0 in the United States’ victory in the 2016 Ryder Cup and 1-2-1 in its loss three years ago.

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