What happens when a golf tournament gets canceled — and what comes next

We head south of the border for this week’s PGA TOUR stop to see just who can keep their focus on work rather than relaxation in the gorgeous Playa Del Carmen region of Mexico. Perhaps the key to success at El Camaleon Golf Club is balancing the two to perfection, much like defending champion Pat Perez was able to do last year. Perez played sensational golf on the course and enjoyed the beauty of the region off it on his way to a great win. It started a career renaissance, which has also seen him win this season in Malaysia before his arrival ensuring he is the FedExCup leader up to this point. But he has some big stars standing in his way this time. Rickie Fowler is making his tournament and season debut. Patrick Reed, Charley Hoffman, Kevin Chappell, Si Woo Kim, Emiliano Grillo, Jhonattan Vegas and Anirban Lahiri all featured in the recent Presidents Cup and now find themselves in the Mexico field. There are five locals in the field: Abraham Ancer, Roberto Diaz, Carlos Ortiz, Jose de Jesus Rodriguez and Oscar Fraustro – who will all try to salute in front of the vocal home fans. Here are the featured groups. Playa Del Carmen falls in the same time zone as the East Coast. All tee times are Eastern Time. Rickie Fowler, Emiliano Grillo, Chesson Hadley: Fowler is making his debut on the season and in this event and will be hoping to start with a bang having already given up ground to plenty of his competitors. Grillo has already played three times this season and while he has made every cut he’s so fa failed to get things really going like he’d expect. Perhaps this is his week. The same could be said for Hadley who has been inside the top 5 the last three tournaments in a row. Is this the time he gets to the top? Tee times: Thursday 7:30 a.m. (ET) off 10 tee; Friday 12:00 p.m. off 1st tee Jhonattan Vegas, Kevin Chappell, Patrick Reed: An all Presidents Cup group this trio could certainly produce some fireworks. Expect Vegas and Reed to hunt aggressive looks at birdie while Chappell’s steady sublime ball-striking will ensure he’s not lacking chances. Vegas and Chappelll were winners last season… can they do it again? And will Reed return to glory? Tee times: Thursday 7:40 a.m. (ET) off 10 tee; Friday 12:10 p.m. off 1st tee Bryson DeChambeau, Si Woo Kim, Zach Johnson: DeChambeau is burning to get back out on course after making a run last week in Las Vegas only to fold late while Kim showed signs at the Presidents Cup that his PLAYERS championship victory was no flash in the pan. He’s looking to establish himself amongst the games super elite this season. Johnson comes in as understated as always. The two-time major champion is happy to let the others get the limelight – he will do his talking on the course. Tee times: Thursday 12:00 p.m. (ET) off 1st tee; Friday 7:30 a.m. off 10th tee Pat Perez, Charley Hoffman, Graeme McDowell: The last three champions of the event line up together. Perez comes in not only as the defending champion but also the FedExCup leader this season after his win at the CIMB Classic. He is the man with a target on his back. Chasing him down is Hoffman, who has good karma going for him after donating all his winnings from last week ($98,600) to the victims of the Las Vegas shooting. McDowell showed some sneaky form last week, coming home strong for a top-10… can he recapture his best at a happy hunting ground? Tee times: Thursday 12:10 p.m. (ET) off 1st tee; Friday 7:34 a.m. off 10th tee

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ATLANTA — Scottie Scheffler returned to East Lake on Sunday morning looking every bit like the No. 1 player, pulling away with four birdies in six holes to complete the third round with a 4-under 66 that gave him a six-shot lead in the TOUR Championship. Scheffler was delivering a steady diet of pars that put him in a tight battle with Xander Schauffele until a second stoppage due to lightning in the area Saturday. At the time, he was one shot ahead. And then he was gone. Scheffler holed birdie putts from about 5 feet on the 13th and 15th holes. He stuffed his approach to 2 feet on the 17th and then made a superb escape from the left rough over the water that left him a long pitch he nearly holed on the par-5 18th. He tapped in to reach 23-under par. That left him one round away from the $18 million prize for winning the FedExCup. Rory McIlroy birdied his last two holes for a 63 and will be in the final group with Scheffler. He was at 17 under along with Schauffele, who also had good looks for birdie and didn’t make any of them Sunday morning. Defending champion Patrick Cantlay (66) and Sungjae Im (66) were seven shots behind. Scheffler is the No. 1 seed in the FedExCup and was rewarded with a two-shot lead at 10-under par before the tournament started. He is 13 under for his raw score, which is tied for McIlroy for the best this week. McIlroy, however, was the No. 7 seed and began six shots behind. Schauffele missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole when they resumed the round. He sent his next tee shot so far to the right that he had to hit a provisional in case it was out-of-bounds. He found it, but wound up missing a 10-foot par putt to fall three behind. And then on the par-3 15th, Scheffler hit his tee shot to 5 feet to a front left pin over the water. Schauffele also hit a good one to 10 feet and missed again. Scheffler already has won four times this year, including the Masters, to reach No. 1 in the world and is considered a shoo-in for PGA TOUR player of the year. He won just over $14 million in the regular season — already a record, and not surprising given the steady rise in prize money. He won a $4 million bonus from the “Comcast Business Tour Top 10” for leading the FedExCup in the regular season, along with a $1 million bonus for winning the Aon Risk-Reward Challenge. A victory Sunday afternoon would equate to a $37 million year for the 26-year-old Texas grad.

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The second major of the calendar year will be played this week, in November, at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. The Masters hasn’t been cancelled since the days of World War II and the 2020 edition wasn’t going to be added to the list. The tournament committee decided during the early days of the pandemic that the Masters would be rescheduled to the fall. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks | Sleeper Picks As November arrives, this will be a different Masters. Patrons will not walk the fairways or fill the grandstands built around the greens and tee boxes. Roars won’t be heard on the back nine on Sunday. But, a champion will still be crowned and a Green Jacket will still be awarded and semblance of normalcy will return to golf, at least for a week, this week, in November! Dr. Mackenzie’s par 72 (7,475 yards) track laid over the grounds of the Fruitland Nursery usually produces a winner with five-plus appearances on the resume before slipping on the Green Jacket. Of course there are exceptions to that “rule” but after 83 tournaments, that’s a solid number. Augusta National is filled with decisions to be made and is not a “see it, hit it” golf course. Uneven lies are the trademark in the fairways. Undulation on the steep, sloping A-1 Penn Bentgrass greens mandates the ball to below the hole. Five water hazards will shape the leader board on the back nine. Experience will take on many shapes this week. Where to leave the ball when the lie is not perfect. Trusting the putt will break to Raes Creek. When to attack with opportunity presents itself. When to accept par and move on because the wind is swirling. How to handle the pressure of holding off the best players in the world as they clutter the first page of the leaderboard Sunday. And it sounds like Mother Nature will have her say as well as rain is in the forecast starting Tuesday night and continuing throughout the day on Thursday. The weekend is a 50-50 proposition as of this writing. Drainage conditions are “good”, but that will depend on how much rain arrives. Near record temperatures, in the good direction, should allow hands to stay warm and backs and muscles to remain loosened up. Tiger Woods has been the guest of honor in Butler Cabin five previous times, one behind all-time leader Jack Nicklaus, and will lead the field of 92 after his victory in April of 2019. The purse last year was $11.5 million with Woods taking home $2.07 million plus 600 FedExCup points. Sergio Garcia and Joaquin Niemann have both WD due to COVID-19. Recent Winners and Notables 2019: Tiger Woods (-13, 275) First winner in 14 events not to reside in the top 10 after Round 1 as he was T11. … Played from the final group on Sunday. … He was the only past champion in the final four groups. … Hit 80% GIR for the week. Notables: Dustin Johnson (T2) posted 12-under, his best four round tournament total and his fourth consecutive top 10. … Brooks Koepka (T2) picked up his first top 10 in four starts and has played his last six rounds in 16-under. … Xander Schauffele (T2), led the field with 25 birdies, opened with 73 but played the final 54 holes 13-under in just his second tournament appearance. … Jason Day (T5) claimed top 10 finish No. 4 after tying the low round on Sunday with 67. … Tony Finau (T5) played in the final group with Woods and Francesco Molinari after his 64 on Saturday, T-Low Round of the week. … Francesco Molinari (T5) led by two with seven holes to play yet also led the field in putting and scrambling. … Webb Simpson (T5) first top 10 included 64 on Saturday. … Patrick Cantlay (T9) closed the weekend 64-68 for his best finish in three trips. … Rickie Fowler (T9) is now 24-under the last two years, better write that down. … Jon Rahm (T9) is now 24-under in his last seven rounds here. … Only seven, bogey-free rounds. … Sunday tee times moved into the morning hours Sunday to avoid afternoon weather. … Bryson DeChambeau (T29) circled nine birdies to open with 66 to share the first round lead with Koepka. 2018: Patrick Reed (-15, 273) Seventh and final first-time major champion of the decade. … Was looking to become the first player ever to post all four rounds in the 60s but closed with 71. … Led by three after 54 holes over Rory McIlroy. … Played the Par-5 holes in 13-under (record is 15-under). … Only one top 10 in majors prior. … Entered the week on the back of three straight top 10 finishes. Notables: Rickie Fowler (2nd) closed 65-67 to miss a playoff by a shot. … Jordan Spieth (3rd) opened with 66 to lead by two and closed with 64 to post the low round of the week. … Jon Rahm (4th) opened with 75 and played the final 54 holes 14-under, including a 65, for his first top 10. … McIlroy (T5) fired 65 to get into the final group then posted 74 to only beat four players on Sunday. … Cameron Smith (T5) closed with 66 for his first top 10. … Henrik Stenson (T5) first top 10 in 14 starts. … Bubba Watson (T5) first top 10 since his two wins. … Marc Leishman (9th) picked up his second top 10 in seven starts. … Tony Finau (T10) closed with 66 in his first appearance. … Dustin Johnson (T10) picked up his worst finish in three years. … Four players double digits under-par. 2017: Sergio Garcia (-9, 279) – Not Entered (COVID-19) 74th major championship and 19th Masters for his first major championship. … Won the first playoff hole. Notables: Justin Rose (P2) led the field with 22 birdies, played in the final group and picked up his third consecutive top 10 (T10, T2). Led by one with two holes to play. … 2011 champion Charl Schwartzel (3rd) led the field in Par-5 scoring (12-under). … Matt Kuchar (T4) picks up his fourth top 10 in six years. … Paul Casey (6th) cashed in the top six for the third consecutive year. … Rory McIlroy (T7) and Adam Scott (T9) rounded out the top 10 of those entered this season. … Par-3 Contest was rained out. … Only 15 players under par. … Only two rounds in the 60s Round 1. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. Strokes Gained: Approach the Green 1 Justin Thomas 2 Collin Morikawa 4 Tyrrell Hatton 5 Hideki Matsuyama 6 Webb Simpson 7 Viktor Hovland 9 Paul Casey 10 Gary Woodland 12 Corey Conners 17 Dustin Johnson 18 Patrick Cantlay 19 Rory McIlroy 21 Tony Finau 27 Jimmy Walker Par-5 Scoring 1 Sungjae Im 2 Lanto Griffin 3 Collin Morikawa 4 Xander Schauffele 7 Scottie Scheffler 8 Hideki Matsuyama 9 Sebastian Munoz 12 Adam Long 12 Justin Thomas 15 Tony Finau 17 Dylan Frittelli 18 Corey Conners 18 Billy Horschel 20 Patrick Reed Bogey Avoidance 1 Webb Simpson 2 Jon Rahm 4 Xander Schauffele 7 Bryson DeChambeau 8 Justin Thomas 12 Abraham Ancer 15 Zach Johnson 18 Paul Casey 19 Tyrrell Hatton 21 Hideki Matsuyama 23 Brendon Todd 24 Adam Scott 26 Brandt Snedeker

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