Scott Piercy leads THE CJ CUP after Round 2

Brooks Koepka didn’t win a major Friday, but he did win bragging rights. Koepka made quick work of Bryson DeChambeau in their much-anticipated, mano-a-mano showdown from the Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas. RELATED: Top 5 moments in The Match’s history The Match was scheduled to go 12 holes, but Koepka needed just nine in his 4-and-3 win. Koepka birdied half of the first eight holes, DeChambeau didn’t win one and he conceded the match on the ninth hole. What’s next for this rivalry? It’s hard to say after Koepka was crowned king in Vegas. HOLE-BY-HOLE Hole No. 1 Par-4 Bryson DeChambeau handed out cupcakes on the first tee – a reference to the famous mispronunciation of Brooks Kopeka’s name – and then received a treat of his own on the opening hole. DeChambeau drove into a bush right of the fairway but got free relief because of a sprinkler system near his ball. “That’s another page out of my book,” said Phil Mickelson, who’s a commentator for today’s competition. DeChambeau hit his approach off the pine straw into a bunker but got up-and-down to match Koepka’s two-putt par. Match status: All square Hole No. 2 515 yards, par 4 Mickelson appears to be a graduate of the Tony Romo School of Broadcasting. Mickelson’s read of Koepka’s birdie putt – which Koepka could hear on the AirPod in his ear – earned Lefty a shout-out after Koepka drained the 10-footer. The birdie was good for a 1-up lead over DeChambeau who hit his approach shot into a greenside bunker on the second straight hole. Match status: Koepka, 1 up Hole No. 3 209 yards, par 3 Mickelson called it again. Koepka had the honor and, after Phil declared that Koepka’s tendency is a miss to the right, he did just that, pushing his tee shot right of the green. DeChambeau responded by knocking his tee shot close, his ball coming to rest just a few feet from the water guarding the left side of the green. Winning this hole’s closest-to-the-hole competition was worth a $50,000 donation to the charity of DeChambeau’s choice. DeChambeau misread the birdie chance, however, and he missed a bit low. We may have had out our first bit of controversy after Koepka sank a 3-footer to halve the hole, as he complained that the par putt hadn’t been conceded. Match status: Koepka, 1 up Hole No. 4 494 yards, par 4 Koepka has a case of the rights. Fortunately there was a parallel fairway for his tee shot to find. From one fairway over, Koepka hit the middle of the green. Meanwhile, DeChambeau flew the putting surface from the fairway. “That wasn’t good, guys. That wasn’t good at all,” DeChambeau told the commentators. He attributed it to the increased distance from his offseason workouts, which led Mickelson to quip, “As I lift, I find myself hitting it too hard also.” DeChambeau putted from behind the green, and the two players halved the hole in pars. Match status: Koepka, 1 up Hole No. 5 591 yards, par 5 Koepka rolled his eyes when DeChambeau said a far-off cameraman was in range off the tee. Then DeChambeau’s tee shot almost took him out on the fly. Mickelson called the big blast “so attractive.” Koepka, who nearly drove into the water, hit his second shot into the heart of the green, while DeChambeau was once again unable to take advantage of being in a better position off the tee. His second shot hit a tree and fell short of the green. DeChambeau failed to get up-and-down and Koepka two-putted for his second birdie of the day to go 2 up. Match status: Koepka, 2 up Hole No. 6 161 yards, par 3 Brooks went straight at it on this short par-3. Bryson used a slope past the hole, but sucked it too far back. Increased clubhead speed means more spin, DeChambeau moaned after watching his ball roll past the hole. By winning closest to the pin, Koepka had 500,000 meals donated to Feeding America on his behalf. DeChambeau misread another putt, opening the door for Koepka to take a 3-up lead at the match’s halfway point. Koepka’s 11-foot birdie putt went straight in the heart. His third birdie of the day meant a 3-up lead. “It’s the only sport they let you drink while playing it and there’s a reason why,” Barkley said. DeChambeau may need a cold glass of chocolate milk after losing half of the first six holes. Match status: Koepka, 3 up Hole No. 7 442 yards, par 4 The hole was halved with a generous gesture from Koepka, who gave DeChambeau a tricky par putt to halve the hole. Bryson had an opportunity to win his first hole of the day but blasted his 9-foot birdie putt through the break. Before the missed opportunity, DeChambeau seemed to be turning things around after a pep talk from Phil, with whom he bonded at the Ryder Cup. “Get your brain in theta,” Mickelson told DeChambeau before he hit his tee shot. What was he referring to? Brain waves, of course. DeChambeau described it as “that sweet spot between sympathetic and parasympathetic.” In layman’s terms, DeChambeau said he was trying to enter a flow state. Among the other hot takes – unrelated to anything happening on the course – Barkley declared that yoga is just stretching with a fancy name “so they can charge you more.” Match status: Koepka, 3 up Hole No. 8 464 yards, par 4 Koepka started the hole by telling a tale about how his caddie almost lost the U.S. Open trophy in Las Vegas. Then he all but locked this thing up. “You lost me at U.S. Open trophy,” joked Mickelson, who’s won every major but his national championship. Koepka trusts Ricky Elliott with his clubs, but Koepka’s longtime caddie left one of golf’s greatest prizes outside his hotel room overnight, forgetting to bring the trophy inside after he put it down to pull out his room key. A 4-foot birdie putt gave Koepka a 4-up lead with four holes remaining. And the best trash talking has taken place not between the two contestants but Koepka and Mickelson. Koepka gave Mickelson grief about his pre-match prediction of a DeChambeau win, to which Mickelson replied, “Let me tell you about the PGA Championship.” Mickelson beat Koepka at Kiawah Island this year en route to becoming the oldest winner in major championship history. Match status: Koepka, 4 up Hole No. 9 172 yards, par 3 It was scheduled to be 12 holes. Koepka needed just nine. A conceded birdie gave Koepka the victory. He’d hit his tee shot to 10 feet, and DeChambeau told him to pick it up after missing his own putt from long range. And it ended right after DeChambeau’s best attempt at trash talk. Unfortunately, it was too little too late. “Where is this on the PGA TOUR?” DeChambeau asked after Koepka hit his tee shot. Koepka, of course, has missed his last two cuts and finished no better than T38 in four starts this season. He is known for summoning his best at the biggest moments, and a match against his rival fit that mold. “It’s kind of like my major right now,” Koepka said of The Match. “I’m not going to lie. I just wanted to spank him.” He did. DeChambeau didn’t win a hole against Koepka. Match status: Koepka wins

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DUBLIN, Ohio – Five-time Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide champion Tiger Woods was trending nicely towards contention on Friday at Muirfield Village. He sat in the fairway on the par-5 15th hole within reach of the green, having discreetly moved to 4-under for the week, knowing an eagle or birdie would set his weekend up nicely. Related: Leaderboard | Rose blooms on Friday | Scott surges into contention But Woods pulled his 5-wood dead left and missed the putting surface in deep rough, leaving him short-sided. Two poor chip shots followed, and when he finally chipped it close to 4-feet, the 81-time PGA TOUR winner missed the putt. Double bogey seven. It was the 260th par-5 Woods had played in his career at the Memorial Tournament, and just his sixth double bogey. Five of them have come at the 15th. “The second shot, by far (was the most disappointing),â€� Woods lamented after his even-par 72 left him 2-under and seven shots off the lead in a tie for 33rd. “I could hit that ball 50 yards right of the flag and be fine. Anything inbounds right of the flag, I have a chance to make birdie. I just can’t afford to miss it left where that flag is. And I did. “At 14 I had a look to go to 5 and make birdie at 15, go to 6 and all of a sudden I’m three back, and now here I am seven back. So a round that could have flipped and gone in a positive way didn’t do that because of what I did on 15.â€� Woods hasn’t given up hope of making it six titles at Muirfield Village, the venue where he was also part of a winning Presidents Cup team in 2013, and a record tying 82nd TOUR win. “I’m going to have to (go low),â€� he said of Saturday’s third round. “Seems like everyone is bunched together. I just need to get something going in the front nine where the pins are definitely gettable tomorrow.â€�

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THE OVERVIEW By Ben Everill, PGATOUR.COM Timing can be critical in sports. Hideki Matsuyama had a sensational season in 2016-17, but his timing was just a little off. He hopes to get things more on point this season. He opened last season with a runner-up finish at the CIMB Classic, won the World Golf Championships–HSBC Champions, was runner-up at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and soon after won the Waste Management Phoenix Open. TOP 30 PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2018: We’ll countdown our list with one new player each day in December. Click here for the published players. MORE: Top 30 explanation and schedule He was also a winner in Japan (and also won the 2016 Hero World Challenge during the holiday break). It had him as one of the men to beat in the race for the FedExCup all season long — despite the fact he cooled off for a section of time. He fired back up again for the U.S. Open where he was second before a T14 at the Open Championship and then a third win of the season at the World Golf Championships–Bridgestone Invitational had him well and truly primed for the final major of the year. Come Sunday at the PGA Championship, Matsuyama appeared headed to becoming Japan’s first ever major winner, but instead it was American and eventual FedExCup winner Justin Thomas who claimed his first. In a case of bad timing, the loss hit Matsuyama hard and he became a virtual passenger in the FedExCup Playoffs despite opening the series as the top seed. By the end of the TOUR Championship, he had dropped to eighth. Why are we dragging the past back up? Because this season Matsuyama is focused on maximizing his energy. Can he maintain his peaks longer throughout the year or if not, can he time his peaks and valleys to coincide with the big events and the Playoffs? That’s his hope.  We easily forget he is part of the youth brigade at just 25 because he’s been playing majors since he was 19. His ongoing battles with Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Co. should be enthralling stuff. BY THE NUMBERS How Hideki Matsuyama ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 66th Playoff appearances: 4 TOUR Championship appearances: 4 Best result: 8th (2017) INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Hideki Matsuyama in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Cameron Morfit If he putts well, Matsuyama is close to unbeatable. Consider his 3-and-1 takedown of Justin Thomas at the Presidents Cup at Liberty National, where despite a deflating week for the International Team, Matsuyama had eight made or conceded birdies and an eagle. Who’s going to beat that? But that putter comes and goes, and Matsuyama can look strangely ordinary, as when he followed up opening rounds of 70-64 with rounds of 73-72 at the PGA Championship. No Japanese male player has won a major, and it will be interesting to watch Matsuyama take on that mental hurdle the next time around. Click here to follow Cameron on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton Despite three wins and as many runner-up finishes last season, the 25-year-old from Japan evolved into an enigma of sorts. It became comical at how often he duped television viewers with pessimistic body language as his ball flew to one terrific result after another. We can’t rule out a level of expectation with which we are not familiar and we’re not going to complain about it. However, when he cited in November that “there’s a huge gap between” Dunlop Phoenix champion Brooks Koepka and himself (after finishing a distant fifth), it’s fair to consider that rhetoric similarly as a visceral reaction to one of his flagstick-covering approaches. Yet, Matsuyama’s results accurately portrayed fatigue that he cited during a lackluster FedExCup Playoffs. All told, full-season salary gamers weren’t buying at $8.38 million, anyway, and the rest of us will assume that he’ll be just fine even though components of his self-doubt seem strange. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Matsuyama alternates between a TaylorMade M2 Tour 3-iron and Honma TW727 U19 hybrid depending on course conditions. Recorded wins last season with Srixon’s Z945 and Z965 irons. Swapped his “ace” Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS Timeless putter for a TaylorMade TP Collection Mullen at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational; he eventually went back to the Cameron (also used a Cameron mallet along the way).  Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte Matsuyama isn’t afraid of making a statement with bold color blocking, modern geometric prints, and bright colors. When executed well, he is one of the eye-catching dressers on TOUR. When his colors and patterns fall out of balance, though, his outfits can look confusing. A less is more approach will serve Hideki well in 2018. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter

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