Koepka wins again, captures St. Jude crown

In his first PGA TOUR start in nearly two months, Bryson DeChambeau said he will ease into his return to action at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. “No expectations,” DeChambeau told the Golf Channel. “A great week is being here.” This week will mark just the third start of the PGA TOUR season for DeChambeau, who has been beset by a fractured bone in his left hand and a torn labrum in his left hip. He missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in late January and hasn’t played on TOUR since. Despite hoping to be able to defend his title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, he said in a taped message to fans that he was still not at 100 percent. DeChambeau also missed THE PLAYERS Championship, and his return to the TOUR will come in match play, against England’s Richard Bland, 49, in the first round of pool play Wednesday. Lee Westwood and Talor Gooch are the other two players in their group. “People are going to say it’s off of speed training and all that and, sure, some of the things have been a part of that, just abuse and working really, really hard,” DeChambeau said. “But at the same time, I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. I’ve learned so much about my body as time has gone on and learned how to manage things and how important rest is.” An eight-time TOUR winner, DeChambeau, 28, entered the Professional Long Drivers World Championship in Mesquite, Nevada, last fall, and exceeded expectations by finishing seventh. He brought that power game to the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, driving the first green in his singles victory over Sergio Garcia. DeChambeau won’t be touching 400 yards at Austin Country Club, though, and won’t even try. He said he doesn’t plan to go after the ball at full speed, and likely won’t do so until the Masters Tournament next month. He hasn’t made it out of pool play in two starts at the WGC-Dell Technologies, going 2-4-0.

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2023 Sanderson Farms Championship, Round 2 Top 10 win probabilities: 1. Thomas Detry (T1, -10, 15.9%) 2. Mackenzie Hughes (T1, -10, 14.4%) 3. Scott Stallings (T4, -8, 10.3%) 4. Sepp Straka (3, -9, 10.1%) 5. Mark Hubbard (T4, -8, 4.9%) 6. Nick Hardy (T7, -7, 4.8%) 7. Davis Riley (T7, -7, 4.4%) 8. Sam Burns (T18, -5, 3.6%) 9. Stephan Jaeger (T7, -7, 3.3%) 10. Emiliano Grillo (T10, -6, 2.5%) Top Strokes-Gained Performers from Round 2: Putting: Trey Mullinax +5.0 Around the Green: Dean Burmester +3.0 Approach the Green: Mackenzie Hughes +4.6 Off-the-tee: Hayden Buckley +2.2 Total: Mackenzie Hughes +8.1 NOTE: These reports are based off of 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 Sanderson Farms 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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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – As the golf world gathers at TPC Sawgrass for THE PLAYERS Championship, it expresses its unified support for the people of Ukraine. PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan announced the TOUR’s support of Golfers For Ukraine, an industry-wide effort that is collecting donations for UNICEF, the United Nations agency that provides humanitarian and developmental aid to children impacted by the crisis. “Our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine and those caught in the crosshairs of the conflict,” Monahan said Tuesday. “We hope for an end to this senseless violence and a peaceful resolution. The game of golf has a way of rallying around important causes and this is one.” The PGA TOUR is among the golf organizations that has made donations to Golfers For Ukraine. Players, caddies and staff at THE PLAYERS will wear blue-and-yellow ribbons in support of the Ukrainian people, and Commissioner Monahan encouraged golfers to show their support by making donations at GolfersForUkraine.com. As of Tuesday morning, more than $225,000 had been donated to the website. UNICEF’s first shipment of humanitarian aid arrived in Ukraine last weekend and more are scheduled, the organization said. The shipment of an estimated 62 tons of supplies arrived in a six-truck convoy and included medical supplies such as medicine, first-aid kids, midwifery kits and surgical equipment. The supplies are desperately needed as the conflict has forced families to shelter underground, cutting them off from basic services, and hospitals have moved their patients to basements. UNICEF said in a statement that hundreds of thousands of people are without safe drinking water due to damage to infrastructure and the country is running low on critical medical supplies. “It’s hard. It’s hard to see, honestly,” said Jon Rahm, the world’s top-ranked player. “These people in Ukraine right now need help. … It’s a lot of innocent people that shouldn’t be going through this. I am at a loss for words every time I think about it.” An additional delivery, including 17,000 blankets and warm clothing, is en route to Ukraine. The organization also is working to meet the needs of children and families fleeing into neighboring countries, including ‘Blue Dot’ safe spaces along transit routes where children and mothers can access services. The organization is asking for $349 million for its response in Ukraine, and the golf world is determined to do its part. “I think what’s going on in Ukraine is absolutely horrible,” said Rory McIlroy. “It’s absolutely brutal. It’s sad. It’s heartbreaking to see what’s happening to that country and those people and the families. From a human side of things, it’s just horrible what is going on.”

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