Winner’s Bag: Tyrrell Hatton, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard

Round 4 of the The Genesis Invitational begins today. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Round 4 leaderboard Round 4 tee times HOW TO FOLLOW 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.-8 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) Sergio Garcia, Patrick Cantlay, J.T. Poston Sunday: 11:50 a.m. ET (No. 10 tee) Brooks Koepka, Marc Leishman, Cameron Tringale Sunday: 12 p.m. ET (No. 1 tee) Tiger Woods, Brendon Todd, J.J. Spaun Sunday: 1:14 p.m. ET (No. 10 tee) MUST READS Final act set for Hollywood finish at Riviera Woods’ woes at Riviera continue Scott, Kuchar, McIlroy share lead at The Genesis Invitational Scott starves himself of competition to stay hungry Win probabilities Champ reveals tribute to late Grandpa Mack Power Rankings Expert Picks TOUR pros: My first time with Tiger Will Tiger return as Presidents Cup captain? Home on the range: Tiny Westlake’s big impact Special week for the APGA Tour Tiger chases record 83rd win at Riviera The First Look: Storylines, field notes CALL OF THE DAY

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Marc Leishman left his golf clubs in his garage during his week break from the FedExCup playoff and it didn’t change anything. He made 10 birdies in the opening round of the BMW Championship for a nine-under 62 to build a two-shot lead. Jason Day made the biggest change of his career and had a 64, his best start in 16 months. The race to the FedExCup finale got off to a blistering start Thursday at Conway Farms, and no one could top Leishman. The Australian finished third at TPC Boston two weeks ago, did nothing last week except practice putting in the room above his garage, and then ran off seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch in the middle of his round and matched his best score on the PGA TOUR. “When you play golf and all you’re thinking about his making birdies, it’s a lot easier than trying to not make bogeys,” Leishman said. Day made five birdies on the back nine to atone for a sluggish start in a tournament where his expectations were up in the air. He decided last week that Colin Swatton, the most meaningful figure in his golf career, would no longer caddie for at least the rest of the year. Day instead used an old roommate from his school days in Australia, Luke Reardon. If that wasn’t enough, he also changed putters. That might not have been nearly as significant as the good vibes from a six-shot victory at Conway Farms two years ago. Whatever the case, he had no complaints about his lowest score since a 63 in the AT&T Byron Nelson in May, and his best opening round since a 63 at THE PLAYERS Championship a year ago, which was the last tournament he won. “A good step in the right direction, especially with having Luke on the bag,” Day said. “Obviously, not having Colin on the bag is something different and I just didn’t know how I was going to play. I think Luke did a fantastic job out there. We worked well together and hope we can keep that going.” Charley Hoffman, picked for the Presidents Cup a week ago, birdied his last two holes for a 64. Jamie Lovemark also had a 64 with a little more style, drilling a fairway metal over the creek to eight feet for eagle on the par-5 18th. Jordan Spieth, a runner-up in the last two FedExCup Playoff events to take over the No. 1 spot in the standings, turned a wild tee shot into a birdie on the opening hole, added a 30-foot birdie from off the green at No. 5 and settled down the rest of the way for a bogey-free 65. “I felt like I really stole a few shots out of this golf course, which is rare to feel like you scored better than you played,” Spieth said. Also at 65 was Rickie Flower, who showed a streaky side. Fowler birdied the first hole. He bogeyed the second hole. He followed with nine straight pars. And then he ran off six straight birdies, capped by a 65-foot pitch from short of the 17th green. Fowler had a chance to match a career best with seven straight birdies, but he chose not to take on the stream at the par-5 18th and laid up. He hit wedge to 12 feet and missed the birdie putt, with no regrets. This was only Thursday, and he saw no need in ruining a big finish with a shot he would have had to hit flush. “Come Sunday, if I’m in good position, that will be a go, and see what happens,” he said. Tony Finau, Keegan Bradley and Rafa Cabrera Bello also were at 65, while Phil Mickelson played bogey-free and opened with a 66. The top 30 in the FedExCup after this week make it to the TOUR Championship at East Lake for a mathematical shot at the $10 million bonus, with odds significantly higher depending on the position in the standings. The top five players — Spieth, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson already are assured that position — would only have to win at East Lake to claim golf’s richest prize. Thomas hit a tee shot into the water on the par-3 11th and made double bogey, though he still shot 67. Johnson had a three-hole stretch at four over early in his round and recovered for a 71. For players like Mickelson, Finau and Bradley, they need to play well over the next three days to get into the top 30. Mickelson found something a few weeks ago, whether it was medication or his diet as it relates to psoriatic arthritis, but it has given him great clarity of the shots he sees and more energy to keep his mind from drifting. He tied for sixth two weeks ago outside Boston and was sharp again at Conway Farms. Lefty already is assured of competing in his 23rd consecutive team competition as a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup. Now he’d like to make it back to East Lake.  

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Welcome to The Monday Finish where Webb Simpson took apart the best field in golf at THE PLAYERS Championship like it was 2012 when he won the U.S. Open. But to be fair the 2018 version of Simpson is probably even better. Here are five observations and insights from TPC Sawgrass where Simpson completed a remarkable resurrection to the top echelons of golf and stamped himself a man to watch going forward. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Simpson showed composure late Webb Simpson didn’t just win THE PLAYERS Championship – he dominated it. How can you not be impressed with his four-shot win? He was six in front on the 18th fairway on Sunday before playing one of the few loose shots of his four-day effort. No one had ever lost a seven-shot lead on the PGA TOUR – a record that would bring its own brand of pressure. So when he bogeyed a couple of holes around the turn at the same time Tiger Woods was eliciting huge roars with a birdie blitz, it could have been a moment to implode. Especially for a guy in the midst of a very long win drought. But Simpson stayed composed and steadied the ship, showing a steel reminiscent of his younger years when he won four times in just over two years. More wins could easily start flowing now. Read Mike McAllister’s column in the win here. And read Sean Martin’s in depth look at Simpson’s special relationships that helped him succeed here. 2. Putting lesson revives Simpson’s career The Simpson putting resurrection is nothing short of incredible. After being forced away from his preferred anchored putting style Simpson went from being ranked inside the top 53 players for Strokes Gained: Putting from his debut year in 2009 through the 2014 season to a basement ranking of 174th in 2015 and 177th in 2016. But after getting a tip from former PLAYERS winner Tim Clark it came to pass that Simpson found his comfort again. And after dominating the field in putting this week he moved his season ranking to fifth in Strokes Gained: Putting. With his accurate ball striking making up for a lack of length, Simpson is the real deal again. Read more about his putting here. 3. Woods well ahead of schedule Tiger Woods is ready to win. That’s the takeaway from TPC Sawgrass after he rallied brilliantly after making the cut on the number. His 65-69 weekend showed he has what it takes to go low, even if the late flame out still happened on Sunday to see him finish T11. Woods played Nos. 1-12 in 14 under on the weekend but Nos. 13-18 in 4 over. Once he marries everything up over a four-day period he could easily find himself lifting up PGA TOUR title no. 80. Read more on Tiger’s surge here. 4. Thomas makes big move We have a new world No. 1 in FedExCup leader Justin Thomas after his finish at TPC Sawgrass was enough to usurp Dustin Johnson. It has been a huge couple of years for Thomas with a FedExCup win and a maiden major amongst his triumphs. The back half of the PGA TOUR season is set to be sensational as Thomas, Johnson, Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy all try to lay claim on the top spot in the world and in the FedExCup. Read how Thomas reacted to the news of his ascension here. 5. Koepka back to form after injury It appears current U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka is over his wrist injury after his awesome course record equaling 9-under 63 in the final round. The highlight of the round was obviously the 208-yard 6-iron for albatross on the par-5 16th. It was just the fourth albatross in PLAYERS history and the second on the 16th. Having been limited to starts this season thus far thanks to surgery Koepka seemed destined to be a passenger in his U.S. Open defense. But now he is looking like he might be a genuine contender once more. Read about his record round here. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. With his win, Simpson moved to eighth place in the FedExCup and 20th in the world rankings. It is his first time back in the world top-20 since February 2014. Simpson improves to No. 3 in scoring average on TOUR in 2017-18 at 69.455; Dustin Johnson leads at 69.198. 2. Simpson gained 9.368 strokes on the field in the Strokes Gained: Putting category at TPC Sawgrass to be well clear at the top. It moved his season rank in the statistic to fifth. 3. Simpson led the field in driving accuracy (82.1%) but ranked last (71st) in driving distance at 280.5 yards. He had the most fairways hit (46/56) by a champion at THE PLAYERS since Fred Funk hit 48 in 2005. 4. There were 65 eagles made on the week, the most in THE PLAYERS history and most in the 2017-18 season. 5. Simpson set and tied multiple PLAYERS records: Set largest 36-hole lead (5 strokes; previous: 4, Jason Day 2016); Set largest 54-hole lead (7 strokes; previous: 5, Alex Cejka 2009); Set low middle 36-hole score (13-under 131; previous: 12-under 132, Ken Duke 2016); Tied low 54-hole score (19-under 197; tied Greg Norman 1994); Tied low 36-hole score (15-under 129; tied Jason Day 2016); Tied low 18-hole score (9-under 63 Round 2; tied now with seven others); Tied most consecutive birdies (6 – Holes 11-16 Round 2; tied now with nine others); Tied high finish by a winner at TPC Sawgrass (73; tied David Duval 1999).

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