Kevin Chappell’s ‘surreal’ comeback from back surgery at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier

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OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – A week ago, Harold Varner III busted the bubble and made the top 125 advancing to the FedExCup Playoffs. Now he’s projected to do the same thing again with 18 holes left at THE NORTHERN TRUST. The situations seem the same. But they really aren’t. And neither is Varner’s mindset. “Last week was a little different,â€� he said. “My job was on the line. Now that we’re here, we can, not so much attack it but you can kind of let it go.â€� When he started the Wyndham Championship, he was 138th in points. But his tie for 10th – his only top-10 finish thus far this season — moved him to 123rd and secured his PGA TOUR card for next season. Now his goal is to keep advancing in the Playoffs and perhaps make the improbable push for a spot in the TOUR Championship. No player outside the top 70 at the start of the Playoffs has ever made it to East Lake, but Varner is in position to at least take the next step to TPC Boston. His 1-over 71 on Saturday leaves him at 2 under for the tournament and tied for 22nd. He currently is one of four players projected to bust the bubble, moving to 95th if he holds his position. He would reach the Dell Technologies Championship for the second straight year if he handles his business on Sunday. “It’s insane,â€� Varner said. “I have a great opportunity now and I’m just really excited about it.â€� He might even be excited enough to check out the FedExCup rankings on a regular basis. “My rookie year, I looked at it all the time and I played well,â€� Varner said of last season, when he had four top-10 finishes. “This year, I didn’t look at all. Maybe I should start looking at it more often.â€� BUBBLE WATCH Here are the players who are projected to move inside the top 100 that will advance to next week’s Dell Technologies Championship, along with the players who are projected to fall out. QUOTE OF THE DAY Last week I was clearly obsessed with the line but this week I’m trying not to be. Every bite of the cherry you get the more chances you obviously have to get to East Lake. Hopefully tomorrow is not my last bite of cherry. TOP 5 WATCH The Top 5 players entering the TOUR Championship will control their own destiny at East Lake. Here’s a look at how the current top 5 fared Saturday at THE NORTHERN TRUST. 1. Hideki Matsuyama (CUT). Sitting at home after missing the cut. Projected to drop to fourth. 2. Justin Thomas (69). Just couldn’t get anything significant going throughout the day and is 4 under and tied for 10th. Projected to fall to third. 3. Jordan Spieth (64). A 31 on the back nine to streak ahead of the pack and set up a three-shot lead at the top. Projected to first. 4. Dustin Johnson (67). Was leading to start the round but saw Spieth blitz past. Still, he’s alone in second at 9 under. He’ll move into first with a win but projected to second right now. 5. Rickie Fowler (74). Started the day tied for the lead and with big hopes. Then made bogeys on five of his first six holes on Saturday to tumble down the leaderboard. Ended the round at 2 under and tied 22nd. Projects to sixth. FEDEXCUP NOTES Seven players start Sunday projected to be eliminated from where they sit on the leaderboard. Scott Stallings and Ryan Blaum are currently projected to be just a stroke short of the position they need, giving them every chance to gain a stay of execution. It will be a tougher ask for Vaughn Taylor, who currently projects to be eight shots back of what he needs to advance. The new man currently projected inside the top 5 on the FedExCup list is Jon Rahm. Sitting in a tie for third at 7 under, Rahm projects to fifth on the standings. “I try not to think about it too much. I just try to focus on my game like I’ve been doing till now,â€� he said. “Certainly the closer we get to East Lake, I know the pressure is going to pile up and the more important it’s going to be. Hopefully I can get in that top-5 spot going into East Lake and be a little less stressed.â€� Patrick Reed (38 to 15), Justin Rose (32 to 20), Keegan Bradley (46 to 26), and Louis Oosthuizen (35 to 27) are players currently projected to move inside the top 30 of the FedExCup standings. While the Dell Technologies Championship and BMW Championship are still to be played, the top 30 make it to the TOUR Championship.

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MARATHON MONDAY AHEAD AT THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP Despite various weather delays across Thursday, Friday and Saturday competition, THE PLAYERS Championship made a 36-hole cut at 3:08 p.m. ET Sunday. Seventy-one players advanced to Round 3 at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course at 2-over or better. From there began a day-and-a-half race to crown the 48th PLAYERS Championship winner. Anirban Lahiri holds pole position overnight, standing 9-under total with seven holes remaining in the third round. Tom Hoge and Harold Varner III each stand a stroke back, with nine holes to play in Round 3. Sebastian Munoz, Paul Casey and Sam Burns stand two strokes back. The third round will resume at 8 a.m. ET Monday, and the field will be re-paired for the final round. With consistent winds in the 15 mph range expected for Monday on the water-logged Pete Dye track, the possibilities are endless for THE PLAYERS’ first Monday finish since Fred Funk’s triumph in 2005. TOUR VOYAGES TO VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP After the wacky week at TPC Sawgrass concludes, the PGA TOUR will head to Palm Harbor, Florida, for the Valspar Championship. Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead) will once again serve as the host venue, and the field is impressive with the likes of Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Kevin Kisner, Jason Day, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland and Bubba Watson. Sam Burns returns as the defending champion, and 500 FedExCup points will go to the winner. WOODS INDUCTED INTO WORLD GOLF HALL OF FAME It was an emotional Wednesday evening last week as the new class of the World Golf Hall of Fame was inducted. Headlining the class was obviously Tiger Woods, who was introduced by his 14-year-old daughter Sam, who brought the crowd to its feet with her charisma, storytelling and emotional connection to her famous dad. Tiger also showed some rare emotion during his speech, focusing mainly on how he was raised, the challenges he faced as a junior, the lessons his mother and father taught him, and avoiding any references to his remarkable professional career and 15 majors. Also inducted were retired PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem, three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion Susie Maxwell Berning and the late Marion Hollins, a visionary who became the first woman to develop prominent golf courses. VIDEO OF THE WEEK MIC CHECK “This is as tough as golf as you’re ever going to play,” Keegan Bradley said after shooting a 1-under 71 on Saturday, which he called one of the best rounds of his life. BY THE NUMBERS 10 – Shane Lowry holed the 10th ace all-time on the iconic island green and had an epic celebration with the fans. 43 – Hours it took the group of Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas to finish their first round at THE PLAYERS. Here’s how they handled the delays. 82 – Number of feet (plus another six inches) traversed by Jason Day’s par putt on 14. The second longest PLAYERS putt ever made (since ShotLink began in 2003) and second longest of this season behind Graeme McDowell’s 88-footer at the WM Phoenix Open. 349 – Millions of dollars that UNICEF is requesting for relief in Ukraine. The golf community is stepping up through GolfersforUkraine.com, and more than $600,000 had been donated through the site by Tuesday of last week. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 Note: Entering THE PLAYERS Championship The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

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