Farmers Insurance tees up sponsorships for two Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour players

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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Round 1 of the Hero World Challenge takes place Wednesday (yes, Wednesday) from Albany. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Round 1 leaderboard Round 1 tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Wednesday-Thursday 1 p.m.-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday (final round), 10 a.m.-noon ET (Golf Channel); Noon-3 p.m. ET (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: None Radio: None. PAIRINGS (ALL TIMES EASTERN) Justin Rose, Jon Rahm Round 1: 10:40 a.m. (No. 1 tee) Kevin Kisner, Bubba Watson Round 1: 10:51 a.m. (No. 1 tee) Xander Schauffele, Gary Woodland Round 1: 11:02 a.m. (No. 1 tee) Bryson DeChambeau, Webb Simpson Round 1: 11:13 a.m. (No. 1 tee) Patrick Reed, Patrick Cantlay Round 1: 11:24 a.m. (No. 1 tee) Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas Round 1: 11:35 a.m. (No. 1 tee) Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau Round 1: 11:46 a.m. (No. 1 tee) Chez Reavie, Matt Kuchar Round 1: 11:57 a.m. (No. 1 tee) Henrik Stenson, Jordan Spieth Round 1: 12:08 a.m. (No. 1 tee) MUST READS Power Rankings Best of the decade: Players, moments, stats Sign-up and play Fantasy Golf

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GUYANCOURT, France – Newly minted FedExCup champion Justin Rose has put his celebrations on hold to concentrate on continuing home dominance for Europe in the Ryder Cup. He’s hoping for a double celebration come Sunday. Rose was rewarded for an extremely consistent 2017-18 PGA TOUR season last weekend at East Lake when his T4 result was enough to claim the FedExCup trophy. His year included wins at the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions and the Fort Worth Invitational and boasted 11 top-10s and 15 top-25s from his 18 starts. Rose stood tall in the final three FedExCup Playoff events, finishing 2-2-4 and culminated with a clutch birdie on the 72nd hole Sunday to claim the $10 million bonus. It’s a windfall his teammates have been reminding him of in jest. “Apparently all the drinks are on my tab this week and all that type of stuff. We’ve been having fun with it, so I guess there is that element,â€� Rose said. “The FedExCup for me, it finished on the plane. I enjoyed the plane ride over, but once I landed in Paris, I was one of 12 guys. I didn’t want it to carry over into this week. This week is about another job to do. “I can shelf the FedExCup for another week or so. I will certainly enjoy it. It’s kind of a season-long (achievement) that you really want to enjoy. But I’d like to maybe start that party on Sunday night.â€� While Rose obviously wanted to win the TOUR Championship claimed by Tiger Woods, the Englishman said the pressure of knowing what was needed to win the FedExCup – and actually executing it – puts him in a great frame of mind for his fifth Ryder Cup. “It does a lot for my confidence. I’ve been playing consistently well. Obviously, I think that’s ultimately the way I won the FedExCup was through my consistency season long, and that obviously does give you confidence coming into this week,â€� Rose said. “Specifically, if I boil it down to just having to play that last hole to win, the feelings that I faced there are going to be very similar to the feelings I’m going to face this week in order to try and close out a point and win a point. So there will be moments I can draw upon that this week when trying to deliver for Team Europe.â€�

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