Kang in 3-way tie as field struggles at Inverness

How else are you supposed to celebrate your first major victory than by cranking some tunes and turning the trophy into a goblet?

Click here to read the full article…

Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond is itching to get back onto the tee and reignite his PGA TOUR dream. Fuelled by an unprecedented sporting shutdown which saw him seek refuge in Orlando over the past two months, the 39th-ranked golfer in the world will be amongst the stars returning to action at the Charles Schwab Challenge when the TOUR resumes play June 11. Janewattananond, 24, is slated to feature in other tournaments including the RBC Heritage, the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide and World Golf Championships-FedEx St Jude Invitational, appearances he hopes will help him secure membership on the PGA TOUR. He can also look forward to starts in three of the four majors in the reimagined schedule. “These next few events, it’s going to be great,� Janewattananond said in a recent interview. “I won’t really care what I shoot honestly. I just want to play tournament golf again. … I’m lucky we get to play golf again as every tour around the world is closed.� Janewattananond has been away from his close-knit family since late February after opting to stay in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has been living in Orlando, Florida, with former PGA TOUR winner Daniel Chopra and his family. “I’ve tried to keep the spirit up. It feels like you’re in a tunnel and I’m trying to get to the end of the tunnel. It’s tough when you’re far away from home,� he said. While he misses his family dearly, Janewattananond has found comfort through his ‘adopted’ family. Janewattananond and his caddie, Camp Pulit, have been staying with the Chopras since March. “When the shutdown happened, I didn’t want to go back to Thailand as we weren’t sure how long the break would last,� Janewattananond said. “And then, our country shut down and it was too late to get home. We had a hotel room booked for two weeks but (Chopra) made us stay with him. It was good to have some familiar faces around. It felt like family.� Janewattananond has enjoyed staying with Daniel, his wife Samantha and their two children. Janewattananond says he has found renewed vigor for the game and has so enjoyed Bay Hill that he took up a club membership. If he secures his PGA TOUR card, Janewattananond will not hesitate to consider setting up base near the iconic club. He’s spent his time with the Chopras playing basketball and wakeboarding. When golf facilities reopened, Janewattananond and Chopra participated in one-day events on local mini-tours to get the adrenaline flowing again. “I just miss the travelling and going out to play, meeting new people,� Janewattananond said. “One day, we got up at 5 a.m., drove for two hours to the course and teed up. I shot 1 ynder in the first event and didn’t make my money back and in the second one, I shot 2 under and tied Daniel for third place.� The 46-year-old Chopra, who is of Indian-Swede parentage, won his first PGA TOUR event at the 2007 Ginn sur Mer Classic and two events later claimed the season-opening 2008 Sentry Tournament of Champions, beating Steve Stricker in a playoff. “Daniel has a golf net at home and I’ve been grinding,� Janewattananond said. “We’ve played golf almost every day together and Daniel’s a great guy and a great golfer. He loves a side game and when he needs to make a putt, it just comes up for him. I guess that’s why he’s a PGA TOUR winner. Casper, who is 10, is a good golfer too. I wasn’t as good as him when I was his age and he would hit balls all day long. I consider myself a range rat but he’s out-practicing all of us. It kind of gives us a boost for our love towards golf. It’s a good reminder.� With international travel and requirements differing from one country to another, Janewattananond is looking at extending his visa to remain in the U.S. beyond its current expiration in August. With the U.S. Open slated in September and Masters Tournament in November, he is keeping his options open to staying on in the country for remainder of the year. “If I go back to Thailand, I don’t know if we’ll have to go through quarantine or if it’ll be easy to return to the U.S. I’m happy here so maybe it’ll be better to stay on. No one expected this to happen in our lifetime. You’re just moving along and then this happens. A lot of people are more united and helping each other out and I think humanity will come out on the better side of this. “For Daniel and Samantha to open up their home to me and my caddie, they have helped me out so much. You see the nicer part of people and the best of people coming out to help one another.�

Click here to read the full article…

Field for the RBC Heritage (How they qualified) Past champions of the RBC Heritage Wesley Bryan Glen Day Jim Furyk Branden Grace Matt Kuchar Davis Love III Graeme McDowell Winner – U.S. Open or PGA Championship playing 15 events last yr. Vijay Singh Winner – U.S. Open/PGA Championship (starting with 2005 winners) Jason Dufner Dustin Johnson Martin Kaymer Winner – THE PLAYERS Championship (Last 5 Years) Si Woo Kim Winner – The Open Championship (last 5 years) Zach Johnson Winner – THE TOUR Championship (last 3 years) Xander Schauffele Winner – HSBC Champions – Last 3 years Russell Knox Winners of the Arnold Palmer Inv. & the Memorial (Last 3 Years) Marc Leishman David Lingmerth William McGirt Winner – Prior Year U.S. Amateur Championship Doc Redman Winner – FedEx Cup – Last Five Years Billy Horschel Member of Last Named U.S. Ryder Cup Team Ryan Moore Brandt Snedeker Member of Last Named U.S. Presidents Cup Team Kevin Chappell Charley Hoffman Kevin Kisner Member of Last Named International Presidents Cup Team Emiliano Grillo Adam Hadwin Anirban Lahiri Charl Schwartzel Top 50 – World Golf Ranking – Graduate Decline System Paul Casey Tyrrell Hatton Brian Harman Francesco Molinari Patrick Cantlay Ross Fisher Matthew Fitzpatrick Webb Simpson Cameron Smith Satoshi Kodaira Dylan Frittelli Sponsors Exemptions – Web.com Tour Finals Jonathan Byrd Corey Conners Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt Darren Clarke Carl Pettersson Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted David Hearn Philip Knowles Dru Love Sam Saunders PGA Section Champ/Player of the Year Steve Scott Career Money Exemption K.J. Choi Top 125 on Prior Year’s FedExCup Points List Bill Haas Mackenzie Hughes Hudson Swafford Charles Howell III Lucas Glover Kevin Na Bryson DeChambeau Luke List Ian Poulter Stewart Cink Scott Brown Martin Laird Sung Kang Ollie Schniederjans Sean O’Hair Robert Streb Bud Cauley Grayson Murray James Hahn Kevin Tway Danny Lee Kelly Kraft Rod Pampling Jason Kokrak Jonas Blixt Chad Campbell Chris Stroud Kevin Streelman Cody Gribble Cheng Tsung Pan Whee Kim Harold Varner III Chris Kirk Nick Taylor Camilo Villegas J.J. Spaun Scott Piercy Patton Kizzire Michael Kim Scott Stallings Byeong Hun An Martin Flores D.A. Points Luke Donald Richy Werenski Ryan Blaum Geoff Ogilvy Robert Garrigus Brian Gay Vaughn Taylor Steve Stricker Derek Fathauer Tyrone Van Aswegen Harris English Dominic Bozzelli Nick Watney John Huh Blayne Barber Ben Martin Rory Sabbatini J.J. Henry Top 125 (Medical) Ryan Palmer Michael Thompson Current Tournament Winners Ryan Armour Aaron Baddeley Greg Chalmers Austin Cook Matt Every Brice Garnett Fabián Gómez Billy Hurley III Peter Malnati Ted Potter, Jr. Brian Stuard FedExCup Points – 5 players not otherwise eligible Chesson Hadley Beau Hossler Andrew Landry Tom Hoge Brandon Harkins Major Medical Extension John Senden Jon Curran Bob Estes

Click here to read the full article…