Tiger Woods Friday live blog: Tiger plays 30 holes on marathon Friday at Riviera with ups and downsâ€"including highlight eagle

With the Korn Ferry Tour season behind us and the end of the PGA TOUR offseason rapidly approaching, graduates from The 25 and The Finals 25 are gearing up for the first event of the 2019-20 season, A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier. Rookies from this graduating class should feel confident in their games translating to the next level, as last season saw three rookies win on TOUR after graduating via The 25 or The Finals 25. Last season’s The 25 winner, Sungjae Im, parlayed his fully exempt status on TOUR into a spot in the TOUR Championship and eventual T19 finish on the FedExCup. Here are the top-10 PGA TOUR rookies to watch, after successfully earning 2019-20 TOUR membership via the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour. 1. Viktor Hovland. The star-in-the-making out of Oklahoma State was one of the top storylines this summer after turning professional. Along with Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa, Hovland became a household name over the last six weeks of the PGA TOUR Regular Season, highlighted by a fourth-place finish at the Wyndham Championship. Unlike his compadres, Hovland failed to earn a TOUR card prior to the FedExCup Playoffs and proceeded to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. It didn’t take the 21-year-old long to join Wolff and Morikawa, however, as he finished T11-T2 in the first two Finals events to solidify his TOUR status. BEST 2019 RESULT: 4 (Wyndham Championship) 2. Scottie Scheffler. There was no player on the Korn Ferry Tour who played as high-level, consistent golf in 2019 as Scheffler. The University of Texas graduate racked up two wins, 10 top-10s and missed just four cuts over the course of the season. He also led the Tour in birdies and scoring average during his rookie campaign, taking the No. 1 spot on both The 25 and The Finals 25 to earn fully exempt status on TOUR next season. BEST 2019 RESULT: WON (Evans Scholars Invitational, Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship) 3. Kristoffer Ventura. Ventura began the season with conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour after playing poorly at Q-School as a result of an appendectomy. He made only one start prior to June, before a T3 finish at the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation set up his season. After that, the 24-year-old went on a tear, winning twice in a four-week span and adding another third-place finish at the Regular Season finale. Now the Norwegian reunites with his former college teammates Wolff and Hovland for his rookie PGA TOUR campaign. BEST 2019 RESULT:  WON (Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank, Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Chevrolet) 4. Tom Lewis. Lewis’ time on the Korn Ferry Tour was short lived, but he made it count. The Englishman decided at the eleventh hour to play in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance — his first and only start on the Korn Ferry Tour –  and proceeded to win the event by five strokes. The win secured the No. 63 player in the world a PGA TOUR card and leaves him with plenty of options for the 2019-20 season as he also has status on the European Tour. BEST 2019 RESULT: WON (Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance) 5. Harry Higgs. The affable Higgs picked up where he left off after winning the PGA Tour Latinoamérica Order of Merit in 2018. Armed with a silky putting stroke, deft touch around the greens and his signature Wayfarer sunglasses, Higgs had an excellent rookie season on the Korn Ferry Tour in which he only missed four cuts (just one coming after May) and culminated with a win at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper. Higgs’ consistency will serve him well at the next level. BEST 2019 RESULT: WON (Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper) 6. Doug Ghim. Ghim provided one of the lasting images of the Korn Ferry Tour season as he unleashed a huge fist pump after making a putt on the 72nd hole of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance to secure his first PGA TOUR card. The former Masters low amateur played steady golf all season, ranking 14th in scoring average, but struggled to lock up his card coming down the stretch of the Regular Season. But three-straight solid weeks during the Finals were enough to get Ghim to the next level. BEST 2019 RESULT: T3 (Country Club de Bogota Championship) 7. Maverick McNealy. McNealy had a solid season in 2019 after an up-and-down 2018 rookie campaign on the Korn Ferry Tour. The Stanford alum hovered around a spot in The 25 all season before a third-place finish at the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae propelled him solidly into The 25. A made cut was all he needed at the Regular Season finale to earn a spot on the PGA TOUR. BEST 2019 RESULT: 2 (LECOM Suncoast Classic) 8. Michael Gligic. The 29-year-old has been a professional for 11 years, but in 2019 Gligic finally broke through and got to the PGA TOUR. On the strength of a win in Panama early in the season, the Canadian was able to lock up his card several weeks before the end of the Regular Season. BEST 2019 RESULT: WON (Panama Championship) 9. Scott Harrington. Was there a better story in golf in 2019 than Harrington securing his first PGA TOUR card at his hometown event, the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz? The hug he shared with his wife Jenn — who was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 — on the 18th green at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club will be replayed for years to come. After taking time off in 2018 to be with Jenn, the 38-year-old Harrington came back in 2019 with a strong campaign that included four top-10s. None proved more important than the second-place finish in Portland, however, as he locked up his first TOUR card. BEST 2019 RESULT: 2 (WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz) 10. Ben Taylor. After coming up short of a TOUR card in 2018 despite an early-season win, Taylor was able to get the job done in the Finals with a T2 finish at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. Taylor had a solid showing on the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour with nine top-25s, and he ranked inside the top-50 in putting average and birdies. BEST 2019 RESULT: T2 (Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship)

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JEJU ISLAND, South Korea — India’s rising star Shubhankar Sharma is keen to maintain his push for a PGA TOUR card and a spot on the Presidents Cup’s International Team when he tees up at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES starting on Thursday. The young Indian finished T10 at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia last weekend after entering the final round as the joint third-round leader, but the disappointment was quickly forgotten when South African legend Ernie Els, who  is captain of the Presidents Cup’s International Team, invited him for a nine-hole practice round here on Tuesday. It brought back great memories for Sharma, who was hand-picked by Els to hit shots during a golf clinic in New Delhi in 2008. He is now fired up to launch another strong run in this week’s event, which is the only PGA TOUR tournament in South Korea. “We were just chatting a lot about his life on TOUR,â€� said Sharma of his day with Els. “He said he’s so happy that kids like me are coming up now and that the International Team is actually looking really strong. I think he’s a great captain and definitely we’ll have a great team together.â€� He recalled travelling to Delhi Golf Club to watch the Indian Masters and remembers vividly what Els, a four-time major winner, told him during the clinic.  “I traveled a long way just to get to Delhi,â€� said Sharma. “I walked with Ernie in the first round and I think after the second round was when he had his clinic. I was one of the lucky ones to go up to him and say hi and then obviously hit a few shots with his 9‑iron. There was like a 100-yard board on the range and I hit both my shots, landed right next to the board. The crowd was clapping and it was quite a good moment for me.  “There were two or three kids before me who tried to hit it and they couldn’t really connect. It was his club, it was like a heavy 9-iron, so just to hit those two shots was very special and that made my day.â€� “And then Ernie gave me his card, he signed his card and gave it to me and he said, ‘You’ll be a good player one day, just keep working hard.’ So we were talking about it yesterday, and it’s always nice when I remember that day.â€� Els, who has competed in eight Presidents Cups, believes Sharma will contend for a place on his International Team.  “I played with Shubhankar, who’s had an incredible year. He’s won a few times around the world in one year and he’s only 22 years old,â€� said the 49-year-old.   “I wasn’t familiar that he was right behind me when we were hitting balls and we were talking about it. Those kind of stories doesn’t normally happen. You watch your hero play and you want be like him. It’s not many times (that) it comes to fruition,â€� added Els. “I had the same situation with Gary Player where I asked him for his autograph when I was a kid and he doesn’t even remember. But it made such an impact in my life, and it’s amazing how it translates in your mind and changes your life. It’s amazing how you can touch lives without even knowing.â€� With countryman and close friend Anirban Lahiri having played the last two Presidents Cups, Sharma has made it a goal for him to get to Royal Melbourne. “The next Presidents Cup is going to be huge with Ernie and Tiger (Woods) being the captains,â€� he said. “The International Team could have pulled off a great win in Korea (in 2015). It definitely ranks in the top three (goals) with the majors and with the WGCs. Playing the Presidents Cup would be a huge honor.â€� “Anirban has done it, and if both of us can make the team, that will be the icing on the cake. Obviously we’ll have more fans back home in India. We have more than a billion people in India, and maybe a few percent will follow the Presidents Cup if we do make it. I think it will be great for our country and for golf back in Asia.â€� Sharma contended in Malaysia last weekend before slipping back with a closing 72. As he is in the field at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES and also in next week’s World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, both with no halfway cuts, he is hoping to take a big step towards earning his PGA TOUR card via the non-member FedExCup points category. “Only good things, positives to take away from last week,â€� said Sharma, who got into this week’s field as the highest ranked player from the Asian Tour. “It’s always good when you’re in contention at a PGA TOUR event and I’ve been lucky enough to be in contention twice this year, leading after three days in both the tournaments. So I just want to take positives. “A top‑10 finish is never bad on the PGA TOUR even though I would have liked to be slightly higher than that, but I just want to take positives out of last week. I feel like my game’s in a good spot and I have two more weeks, this week and next week as well, so (I’ll) try and do my best and we’ll see how it goes,â€� said Sharma who finished T9 at the WGC-Mexico Championship in February.

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Both of this week’s tournaments are treated with stand-alone columns for PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. Look for the edition for the Barracuda Championship on the FANTASY page. Also, if you play PGA TOUR Champions One & Done presented by SERVPRO, the 3M Championship begins Friday. Review the notables at the bottom of the page to assist you in determining your pick. With the conclusion of the season on the horizon, it’s that time of the year when gamers express gratitude for how my insight and analysis have assisted in success to date. You’re always welcome, but hang on for just a minute. Before we hug it out, there’s a not-so-insignificant task of actually breaking the tape. Many in pursuit of you are exactly where they expected to be entering the PGA Championship. Playing from behind can be a better mental motivator in reality because all fantasy gamers should prefer front-running, but in a One & Done, all that matters is the aggregate result. Too many of you who have reached out citing a contending position in earnings-based formats are essentially out of chalk. You’re hoping to hang on, but you know you’re gasping for air despite whatever margin you’re maintaining. Meanwhile, many of us plugged into PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO have end-weighted our master plan with powerhouses in the FedExCup Playoffs, myself included. The only problem with it is that Jason Day, who I have penciled in for the BMW Championship, isn’t guaranteed to get to Conway Farms. At least not yet. He’s 52nd in the FedExCup standings entering the PGA Championship; the top 70 after the Dell Technologies Championship advance. And even if he does, the Aussie hasn’t been performing well enough consistently to warrant selection for contending gamers. J-Wall has already burned Rory McIlroy, who I have slotted for TPC Boston. It’s tempting to exhaust the surging 28-year-old from Northern Ireland, but since FedExCup points are basically quadrupled in the Playoffs, I’m within striking distance right now and I can wait him out unchallenged, patience is the play at the PGA. The winner at Quail Hollow will earn 600 points. Compare that to a three-way T3 in the Playoffs worth 580 and the decision is easy. However, if you use earnings, consider yourself hurtled into McIlroy. Hideki Matsuyama, who J-Wall selected, is No. 1 in my Power Rankings, but McIlroy is really a 1a instead of No. 2. Both are premium picks this late. As I consider potential relief for Day, the 2015 BMW champion at Conway Farms, which also hosted in 2013, Zach Johnson (2013 champ) and Daniel Berger (2015 runner-up) are in my crosshairs. Both are still on my board and both are worthy of consideration at Quail Hollow. In fact, ZJ is No. 4 in my Power Rankings, but because Conway Farms is some 400 yards shorter, and Quail Hollow boasts Bermudagrass greens, I’m going to attempt to strike while Berger’s irons are hot. Since every gamer’s situation is unique, my perfect world would involve tackling yours one-on-one as I often do on Twitter, email and in discussion threads, but we settle for broad-stroke endorsements at worst. This is to say that if any of these additional options are still available to you in either method of measuring performance, give him a long look for the PGA: Paul Casey, Kevin Chappell, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Charley Hoffman, Brooks Koepka, Charl Schwartzel, Adam Scott, Webb Simpson, Henrik Stenson. Non-members aren’t eligible for the Playoffs, so this is probably your last opportunity to use Thomas Pieters, who is No. 6 in the Power Rankings. If you’re currently contending, here are the guys I’d advise holstering for usage in the Playoffs: Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Jordan Spieth. I’ve omitted advice for two-man gamers the last two weeks because of the depth of the fields at Firestone at Quail Hollow, but that subsection will return for next week’s Wyndham Championship. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2016-17. All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … BMW Keegan Bradley … Dell Technologies Paul Casey … TOUR Championship Kevin Chappell … Dell Technologies Jason Day … PGA Championship; Dell Technologies; BMW; TOUR Championship Luke Donald … Wyndham; BMW; TOUR Championship Jason Dufner … TOUR Championship Rickie Fowler … BMW Jim Furyk … BMW; TOUR Championship Sergio Garcia … TOUR Championship Branden Grace … PGA Championship Bill Haas … Wyndham J.B. Holmes … BMW Billy Horschel … TOUR Championship Dustin Johnson … BMW; TOUR Championship Zach Johnson … BMW; TOUR Championship Kevin Kisner … Wyndham Russell Knox … Dell Technologies Brooks Koepka … PGA Championship Hideki Matsuyama … PGA Championship; BMW Graeme McDowell … Wyndham William McGirt … Wyndham Rory McIlroy … PGA Championship; Dell Technologies (defending); BMW; TOUR Championship (defending) Phil Mickelson … PGA Championship Ryan Moore … TOUR Championship Kevin Na … Wyndham Louis Oosthuizen … Dell Technologies Patrick Reed … Wyndham; Dell Technologies Justin Rose … PGA Championship; TOUR Championship Charl Schwartzel … BMW Adam Scott … Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship Webb Simpson … Wyndham Jordan Spieth … PGA Championship; TOUR Championship Henrik Stenson … PGA Championship; Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship Jimmy Walker … PGA Championship (defending); Dell Technologies Bubba Watson … TOUR Championship Gary Woodland … PGA Championship; Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship

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