Jason McCourty jokes he’ll give Tom Brady ‘a hard time’ for pants mishap in ‘The Match’

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Justin Rose enjoys an annual trip to Philadelphia, usually in the fall when the weather is cool and sweaters are a necessary article of clothing. “That’s my favorite time of year to play golf,â€� he said. “It reminds me of how I grew up playing golf in the U.K.â€� The yearly trip serves as a reminder of his biggest triumph. He takes friends to Merion Golf Club, where he won the U.S. Open in 2013. The club cuts the hole in the same back-left location that was used when he won five years ago. On Rose’s first return, all his companions wore his outfit from the U.S. Open’s final round. They forced him to change into matching clothes. “Slightly embarrassing, but it was fun,â€� he said. Merion is closed this year to undergo a Gil Hanse renovation, so Rose’s trip has undertaken a different context. Instead of playing with friends, he’s among the top contenders for the FedExCup. He’s third in the FedExCup standings with just two events remaining. If he remains in the top 5 after this week, he can clinch the Cup with a victory at the TOUR Championship on Sept. 23. Rose is playing on familiar territory at this week’s BMW Championship. Aronimink, which is less than eight miles from Merion, is on the list of historic venues where he has hoisted a trophy. He won the 2010 Quicken Loans National here. He’s also won at Colonial, Congressional, Muirfield Village, Valderrama and Royal Aberdeen. Aronimink underwent a restoration since the TOUR last visited here in 2011. Hanse, one of the top architects of this era, oversaw the work, which returned the course to its original Donald Ross design. Trees were removed, fairways were widened and bunkers were added. The greens were expanded, as well, to add hole locations. “It’s may be slightly more gentle, a bit more room out there than when I last played in 2011,â€� said Rose, who won the gold medal at the 2016 Olympics on a Hanse design. Rose arrives in good form, as well. He birdied four of his final six holes Monday to finish runner-up to Bryson DeChambeau at the Dell Technologies Championship. It was Rose’s fifth top-3 finish of the season. He has qualified for the TOUR Championship in seven of the past eight seasons, but just once has he been in the top 5 of the FedExCup entering the TOUR Championship. He was third in 2011 (after winning the BMW Championship). He finished T20 at the TOUR Championship as Bill Haas won at East Lake to claim the FedExCup. East Lake, site of the season finale, is a historic venue that would fit in nicely with Rose’s other victorious venues. He has finished second at the home course of Bobby Jones on two occasions (2012, ’15). Even in the midst of golf’s youth movement, the 38-year-old Rose is still having one of the best seasons of his career. His nine top-10s are third-most on TOUR, trailing only Dustin Johnson and Tony Finau. Johnson and Rose are the only players to finish in the top 10 in more than half their starts this season (Rose is 9 for 16). Rose also finished in the top 10 in all four of last season’s FedExCup Playoffs events, giving him 13 top-10s in his last 20 TOUR starts. The biggest improvement in his game has come on the greens. He ranks ninth in Strokes Gained: Putting (+0.51), an improvement of more than 100 spots and 2.3 strokes per tournament from last season. “Sometimes people are afraid to change what they do or how they do it,â€� said Rose’s long-time instructor, Sean Foley. “His lack of satisfaction in what he’s doing has really pushed us to look under every rock.â€� Many players suffer a fall-off in other parts of their game when making such a large improvement in another. They spend so much time practicing their weakness that they neglect their strengths. That hasn’t been the case for Rose, though. He’s remained one of the TOUR’s best ball-strikers while becoming an elite putter. He ranks ninth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green this season. He’s also in the top 15 of Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green, a testament to the well-rounded game that has made him one of this season’s best players. Rose started using the claw grip in the fall of 2016 and has improved areas like green-reading and alignment. Rose said he employs “three or fourâ€� different strategies, including AimPoint, to read putts. “You can have a perfect stroke and not make putts,â€� Rose said. “The green-reading, the speed control, all of that is a huge factor.â€� This is just the second multiple-win season of his career. The other came in 2010, when he earned his first two PGA TOUR titles in a three-event span. He sandwiched a ninth-place finish at the Travelers Championship – where he shot 75 after starting the final round with a three-shot lead – between wins at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide and AT&T National. The latter was played at Aronimink. Rose started the final round with a four-shot lead. He led by five strokes after eagling the par-5 ninth hole with a 5-wood that stopped inches from the hole. Three-putts on the back nine’s first two holes put the title in tenuous position, though. He made par on the final seven holes to finish one shot ahead of Ryan Moore. Moore’s 65 matched Sunday’s low score. “I knew having not closed out last week, it was important for me to do it today,â€� Rose said after that win. He knows what it takes to win at Aronimink. That experience could help him hoist the FedExCup for the first time.

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Round 4 of the Mayakoba Golf Classic takes place today from Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Round 4 leaderboard Round 4 tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m.-5 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: None.  Radio: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 12 p.m.-5 p.m. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). NOTABLE PAIRINGS (ALL TIMES LOCAL) Zach Johnson, Carlos Ortiz, Mark Hubbard 1:55 p.m. (No. 1) Alvaro Ortiz, Chris Baker, Pat Perez 2:05 p.m. (No. 1) Danny Lee, Adam Long, Robby Shelton 2:15 p.m. (No. 1) Harris English, Vaughn Taylor, Brendon Todd 2:25 p.m. (No. 1) MUST READS English looks to cement comeback with win Henley misses cut after One Ball Rule violation Tringale, Seiffert make rare back-to-back aces Power Rankings The First Look: News and notes What to expect during the fall schedule Sign-up and play Fantasy Golf CALL OF THE DAY

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AVONDALE, La. – Based on their previous history at TPC Louisiana, neither Peter Malnati nor Billy Hurley III should be among the contenders at this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Malnati had made three starts in this event. He’s missed the cut each time. Hurley has made four starts here. He’s also missed the cut three times. The one time he did make the cut, he finished T-80 and failed to get past the second cut into Sunday. No surprise that a year ago, in their first time as partners in the team format, they did not reach the weekend. “In general, I don’t think either of us would say this was the greatest course for us,â€� Hurley said. And yet here they are, at the end of play on Friday, atop the leaderboard at 14 under, having followed their morning 9-under 63 in Foursomes with a 5-under 67 in afternoon Fourballs. Yes, the second round has yet to be completed. There’s still plenty of golf left. But it’s evident through their 36 bogey-free holes that neither Malnati nor Hurley are letting the frustration of past outcomes determine how they will fare this week. “You’re right, my record here is terrible,â€� Malnati said. “I’ve never seen Saturday here, and I don’t think he’s ever seen Sunday. I didn’t come into this week thinking, ‘Oh, man, oh, man, it’s such a hard course.’ I just came in thinking, ‘Oh, man, I’ve played lousy here every year but I’m not going to this year. “I’m ready. I think I was due – and we were collectively due.â€� Credit goes to a different team mindset this year. Last year, they took the attitude of simply doing their own thing, just like they do for every other event on the PGA TOUR schedule. “We do this 51 weeks a year,â€� Malnati explained. “Let’s not change too much. I’ll work with my caddie, you work with your caddie.â€� It obviously didn’t work. So they’ve now embraced the team concept. They talk about shots together. They game-plan their strategy together. They’re trying to operate as a single entity. Related: Tee times | The secret ingredient to success in New Orleans | How International partners fared in Round 1 | Sabbatini, Gay find right formula “Anytime two players can talk about a shot, you’re going to come up with a better solution than just one player,â€� said Hurley, who is making just his fifth start of the season while playing out of the Past Champion category. There was a moment early in Friday’s Four-balls that stood out for them. Malnati’s sand wedge into the first green hit the pin and shot back 36 feet from the pin. Hurley’s approach, however, landed 7 feet away. But after reading the putt together, the ball did not break as expected, and they settled for par. On the par-5 second, each had birdie putts inside 15 feet. Malnati missed his, but Hurley followed by draining his 13-footer. It was the first of nine team birdies in a 12-hole stretch. “If we come out of the first two holes as good as shots as we had hit and didn’t have a birdie, I think we would’ve been like, oh, geez,â€� Malnati said. “For him to make that putt – I was so glad I had a partner. I was so glad he made that putt, and I think that got our day going.â€� The question now is: Can they keep it going? After all, they’re entering the weekend in unchartered territory at TPC Louisiana. A late tee time in the Four-balls third round. Certainly they’ll tee off in contention, if not leading, once the second round is completed Saturday morning. The pressure will increase. They’ll need to keep leaning on each other. “It’s so much fun,â€� Malnati said. “One week a year we’re actually rooting for someone else out here other than just ourselves.â€�

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