Why Has Tiger Woods’ Putting Slipped in Recent Years?

The first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge gets underway at Colonial Country Club. Here’s everything you need to know to follow Thursday’s action. Round 1 tee times Round 1 leaderboard HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 12:00 to 23:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 13:00 to 22:00. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). FEATURED GROUPS Bryson DeChambeau, Rickie Fowler, Max Homa: Round 1 tee time: 8:55 a.m. ET; Round 2 tee time: 12:55 p.m. ET Jordan Spieth. Kevin Kisner, Ryan Palmer: Round 1 tee time: 9:06 a.m. ET; Round 2 tee time: 1:06 p.m. ET Justin Rose, Francesco Molinari, Brandt Snedeker: Round 1 tee time: 1:06 p.m. ET; Round 2 tee time: 9:06 a.m. ET MUST READS Cancer scare gives Weekley big picture Power Rankings Expert Picks Burns quitting smokeless tobacco

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Josh Teater started the week off by throwing out the first pitch on Monday at the Greensboro Grasshoppers game. He has skills, too. The ball caught the right corner of home plate for a strike. “They let me go out to the rubber, which you usually don’t see,â€� Teater said. “Brought back some old memories from the baseball days.â€� “He definitely threw some heat,â€� the Grasshoppers posted with the video of the pitch on Facebook. On Thursday, Teater was still wearing the cap he got at the game when he shot 64 in the first round of the Wyndham Championship. The round of 6 under left him just two strokes off the lead. There’s a lot at stake at Sedgefield Country Club this week, to be sure. Teater, who came into the week ranked 165th in the FedExCup, likely needs a finish of solo third or better to make the Playoffs and secure his PGA TOUR card for the 2019-20 season. He’s been playing better of late, though, with a tie for sixth at the Barbasol Championship in his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, two weeks ago, where he shot 21 under on a course not unlike Sedgefield where you have to go low. He also shared 13th at last week’s Barracuda Championship. In fact, Teater has made the cut on seven of his last eight starts – after missing 10 of his first 15 starts through the AT&T Byron Nelson. The upswing started when he parlayed a sponsor’s exemption into a tie for 17th at the Charles Schwab Challenge that was his best of the year until the last two weeks. “Just trying to keep being patient,â€� Teater said. “I think after Byron Nelson I was kind of at a low point, like what am I going to do, and since then I’ve turned it around in a considerable way. Colonial was a huge tournament for me getting an exemption and playing well. “Yeah, just trying to not make too much of it, you know. These hot summer days, not staying out here practicing for two and three hours, going and getting off my feet and relaxing and trying to be fresh.â€� Teater, a big Kentucky fan who played collegiately at Morehead State, opened with three straight birdies on Thursday and ended up with a 30 on the front nine. He was resilient on the back nine, following a double bogey on the 14th with a 13-foot eagle putt at the next. “That’s probably the hardest hole, 14,â€� Teater said. “I mean, no reason for me not to make a bogey there, I just three-putted from the front fringe. “But we had a nice little break there, got to sit in one of the nice comfortable Wyndham chairs and kind of get it out of my mind. Obviously, a little bounce back.â€� Teater finished his round off with a flourish when he holed a bunker shot at No. 18 for a final birdie. Teater, who was a fully-exempt TOUR member from 2010-14, got his card back through the Korn Ferry Tour for this season. He needs to finish 150th or better in the FedExCup to be conditionally exempt and inside the top 125 to secure full playing privileges. This week, the 40-year-old Teater isn’t worrying about the numbers. He’s just trying to play his best golf and stay patient. “It’s the hardest part of the game,â€� Teater said. “We’re all capable of winning every week and rarely do we do it. I’ve been out here almost 10 years and haven’t done it, so it would be a good time for it.â€�

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The PGA TOUR announced today the four featured groupings for Thursday-Friday at The Genesis Invitational, to be contested at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. Full groupings and starting times for the first two rounds of The Genesis Invitational will be released officially at approximately 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 11.  RELATED: Preview: The Genesis Invitaional HOW TO FOLLOW (ALL TIMES ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-2:45 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (CBS).   PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:45 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 11:15 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (Featured Groups and Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). FEATURED GROUPS (ALL TIMES ET) Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Steve Stricker • Returning to the site of his PGA TOUR debut in 1992, tournament host Woods makes his second attempt at a record-breaking 83rd PGA TOUR win; The Genesis Invitational is the PGA TOUR event Woods has made the most starts without a win (13). • The FedExCup leader and a two-time winner this season, Thomas led the 2019 Genesis Invitational by four strokes entering the final round before falling to J.B. Holmes. • Stricker, winner of the 2010 Genesis Invitational, will make his 500th career start on the PGA TOUR. J.B. Holmes, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose • Defending champion Holmes won his fifth career PGA TOUR title at The Genesis Invitational in 2019 and enters the week with three consecutive top-20s. • Rahm has finished in the top 10 in each of his three starts during the 2019-20 season (10th/Sentry Tournament of Champions, 2nd/Farmers Insurance Open, T9/Waste Management Phoenix Open). • A 10-time PGA TOUR winner, Rose is making his first start at The Genesis Invitational since 2017 (T4). Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy • Cantlay, who played collegiately at nearby UCLA, has two top-fives in 2019-20 (P2/Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, 4th/Sentry Tournament of Champions). • In 12 starts at The Genesis Invitational, Johnson has one win (2017) and seven additional top-10s. • The defending FedExCup champion and top-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking, McIlroy is making his fourth start at Riviera Country Club in search of his second victory of the season (World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions). Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson • Koepka, who won three times last season, is making his first start on TOUR since withdrawing from THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES due to injury. • With a third-place result at last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Mickelson became the third player in PGA TOUR history with at least one top-10 in 30 consecutive seasons on TOUR. • Three-time Genesis Invitational winner Watson has finished in the top 10 in each of his last two starts, accomplishing the feat for the first time since winning the 2018 World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and a tie for fifth at the 2018 Masters Tournament.

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