Reed explains his last-minute switch to Titleist irons ahead of THE 2019 PLAYERS Championship

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Albin Choi always dreamed of winning on the PGA TOUR. He just hoped it would be as a player. Choi got his first PGA TOUR win Sunday, but it was as a caddie for The Honda Classic champion Sungjae Im. Choi was a fortuitous fill-in on Im’s bag. It was Choi’s first week caddying for his friend, whom he met during Im’s lone season on the Korn Ferry Tour. Ki Taek Lee, a former college teammate of Jon Rahm’s, will be Im’s caddie for the next two weeks. Lee, who has caddied for K.J. Choi, was on Im’s bag at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship but missed last week to attend a wedding. Related: Monday Finish: Im breaks through | Im withstands pressure to win The Honda Classic Now Choi hopes the experience – as well as the paycheck – can help him continue his professional career as an injury to his left wrist heals. “Just seeing what it takes to be a PGA TOUR winner and being there inside the ropes, it was really good,â€� Choi said Sunday. “I haven’t felt that in a very long time.â€� Im won The Honda Classic by one stroke over Mackenzie Hughes. Im and Hughes both shot 66, matching Sunday’s lowest score, while playing in the fourth-to-last group. Choi was a groomsman in Hughes’ wedding. “That was really crazy,â€� Hughes said about the pairing. “I thought it was kind of a dream come true because my caddie is a good friend of mine, and I get to walk with Albin who I’ve known since junior golf days. It was a lot of fun. We had a few good laughs out there.” Choi, 27, is a former Canadian Amateur champion and was the 2013 Atlantic Coast Player of the Year while playing for North Carolina State (he won the award one year after someone named Brooks Koepka earned that honor). Choi turned pro in 2013 and won two years later on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada. He finished sixth on the Order of Merit that year. He’s played the past four seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour, collecting five top-10s in 110 career Korn Ferry Tour starts. Choi, who lives in Jupiter, Florida, lost his status after finishing 117th on the regular-season points list last year. He started caddying at nearby Old Palm Golf Club about four months ago while nursing a wrist injury. This was his first time caddying on the PGA TOUR. He had experience at PGA National, though. Choi got his Korn Ferry Tour card with a T14 finish in the 2015 Q-School at PGA National. “I know how hard it is to navigate your way through this golf course. … I just felt like the experience kind of helped me today,â€� Choi said. “From a player standpoint, I kind of knew what he was feeling at certain times, and I felt like I could kind of draw upon my experiences to help him out today and to keep his head in the right place.â€�

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Round 1 of The Open Championship takes place Thursday from Royal St. George’s. Defending champion Shane Lowry is in the deep field, which includes Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson among plenty of other superstars. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 1:30 a.m.-4 a.m. (Peacock), 4 a.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-4 p.m. (Peacock). Saturday, 5 a.m.-7 a.m. (Golf Channel), 7 a.m.-3 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 4 a.m.-7 a.m. (Golf Channel), 7 a.m.-2 p.m. (NBC) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 2 a.m.-3 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 4 a.m.-2 p.m (SiriusXM 92) Live stream: For complete live stream coverage, visit THEOPEN.COM. MUST READS The First Look Nine things to know about Royal St. George’s As Shane Lowry returns the Claret Jug, a look back at his home club’s memorable celebration

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Scottie Scheffler almost made it through another round at Colonial without a bogey, this time with wind gusting through the trees at Hogan’s Alley. The world’s top-ranked player has the lead alone after the third round. Scheffler, whose only bogey at Colonial so far this week came at No. 17 on Saturday, shot a 2-under 68 with wind gusts of around 30 mph and temperatures in the upper-90s. His 11-under total was two strokes ahead of Brendon Todd, whose third-round 65 was bogey-free, and Scott Stallings (70). Consecutive birdies to start the back nine gave Scheffler a two-stroke lead. He had a 20-foot chip-in from the left edge of the green at No. 10, then hit a 357-yard drive and 250-yard approach at the 621-yard 11th before pitching to 6 inches. Scheffler’s bogey was a three-putt from 37 feet at No. 17, where his 5-foot par chance slid just left of the cup. He got that stroke back with a 31-foot birdie on his final putt of the day. The only bogey-free round other than Todd was a 68 by Harold Varner III, who was alone in fourth place at 8 under. After Scheffler missed the cut last week at the PGA Championship, his first cut since his season debut in October, the Masters champion goes into Sunday’s final round with a chance for his fifth career PGA TOUR victory — all in a span of 10 starts since mid-February. More gusty wind and high temperatures are in the forecast for Sunday The last PGA TOUR player with five wins in a season before the start of June was Tom Watson in 1980. Todd got to 9 under with a 31-foot birdie putt at the par-3 eighth hole that put him 5 under for his round. It was his second birdie of at least 30 feet — the other came at No. 2 after he opened with an 8-foot eagle putt at the 551-yard first hole. Beau Hossler and Stallings began the third round tied with Scheffler for the lead. Scheffler had also been part of the lead after 18 holes, when a Colonial-record eight players were tied atop the leaderboard. Hossler and Stallings had pars only through the first six holes, but fell out of the lead when both missed makeable par putts at No. 7. Hossler’s 8-footer was possibly pushed by the wind and skimmed the right edge, while Stallings lipped the hole from 3 1/2 feet. Stallings was quickly two strokes off the lead after bogey at the par-3 eight hole, where he missed a 5-foot par chance. He had another bogey at No. 10, but three birdies over his last seven holes got him even for the round after a finishing four-footer. Hossler ended with consecutive bogeys for a 73 that dropped him to 6 under and in a three-way tie for ninth that included Mito Pereira (68). Pereira finished with a 50-foot putt at No. 18 for his third birdie in the last five holes for a round of 68 to put him at 6-under 204. It comes a week after Pereira blew the PGA Championship lead and missed getting into the playoff with Justin Thomas and Dallas-area resident Will Zalatoris because of a double bogey on the 72nd hole. Thomas, the world’s fifth-ranked player, and Zalatoris both shot 3 over the first two rounds to miss the Colonial cut.

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