Johnson, Matsuyama hold two-shot lead at the BMW Championship

The final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard begins today from Bay Hill in Orlando, Florida. Lee Westwood leads by one with Bryson DeChambeau, Corey Conners, Keegan Bradley, Jordan Spieth and more close behind. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Sunday, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC) PGA TOUR LIVE: Sunday, 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Featured Groups); 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes) Radio: Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. FEATURED GROUPS Brandt Snedeker, Victor Perez Steve Stricker, Byeong Hun An Paul Casey, Matthew Fitzpatrick Richy Werenski, Rory McIlroy MUST READS Exciting Moving Day lands Lee Westwood in front at Bay Hill Defending champion Tyrrell Hatton continues charging up leaderboard at Bay Hill Rickie Fowler, Viktor Hovland: A tale of two Cowboys at Bay Hill Jason Day's tee shot gets stuck in tree, takes one-shot penalty Win probabilities: Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard Inside the boldest plays at Bay Hill Woods recovering, sends note of appreciation CALL OF THE DAY

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — The words on the back of his wedges remind Kamaiu Johnson that while nothing in golf has ever come easily, he is determined not to let that get in the way of his dreams. “Enjoy the process” is stamped on one of them. “Never give up” is engraved on the other. He had reason to break both wedges over his knee two weeks ago. Johnson, a 27-year-old Black man with a most serendipitous entry into the white world of golf, had done well enough on the Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour that he was awarded a sponsor exemption into the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, his first taste of the PGA TOUR. And then he tested positive for the coronavirus and had to withdraw. “I was talking to him that Tuesday and he was barely coherent,” said Ken Bentley, the CEO and co-founder of the APGA, which aims to develop minorities for careers in golf. “I talked to him the next day and he was all fired up.” The Honda Classic reacted quickly by offering him a sponsor exemption. The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was right behind, along with a Korn Ferry Tour event, the Emeral Coast Classic at Sandestin. Johnson makes his PGA TOUR debut Thursday. The first step. The ultimate goal is be a regular out here. “I can do it,” Johnson said. “For sure. I just have to keep grinding. I’ve come way too far to give up now. I’m in too deep. The biggest thing in life is to surround myself with good people.” Bentley is one of those people. He started the APGA in 2010 with Adrian Stills, who briefly played the TOUR. The hope was that it would not only groom Black players for tournament golf but open eyes and doors to opportunities in the industry. The PGA TOUR has invested enough in the APGA to make available some of its TPC network. Instead of going to public courses in hardscrabble conditions, the schedule this year takes the 60-man fields to Valhalla and the TPC Sugarloaf, TPC Louisiana and TPC Scottsdale, all of them with a history of hosting the world’s best. “We can play a tournament on a municipal course and it’s not going to prepare us for this,” Johnson said. “Just the PGA TOUR allowing that is going to go a long way. I guarantee you’re going to see more guys who look like me out here.” And now there is a chance for some real momentum. Willie Mack filled in for Johnson at Torrey Pines and already received the Charlie Sifford exemption for the Genesis Invitational next week at Riviera. Johnson is at Pebble and the Honda Classic. Pebble’s tournament director, Steve John, gave another spot this week to Kevin Hall, a former Big 10 champion from Ohio State who is Black and has been deaf since birth. Hall played the tournament 15 years ago. He was most recently was featured on CBS when it began coverage of the Masters as someone who knows what it’s like not to hear the roars. That’s four PGA TOUR stops over two months with APGA members in the field. “It is a chance for people to see how much talent there is on the APGA Tour,” Hall said in an email interview. “All those players need is a fair shake in being able to have access to everything they need to be able to get to the next level, and the APGA Tour is part of the maturing process of being a professional golfer. “The tour is only going to get bigger and better in the coming years.” For Johnson, it always has been about access and relationships. Only one of those has come easily. Johnson dropped out of school in the eighth grade, beaten down by being stuck in a class of slow learners. He was living with his grandmother in a cramped, two-bedroom apartment adjacent to a public golf course. One day, he was outside swinging a stick when Jan Auger approached. “She could have come up and said, `Hey, you’re trespassing,’ or `Get back in the house before you get hit by a golf ball.’ Instead, she gave me a 9-iron and a bucket of balls,” Johnson said. “When she did that, I found purpose in my life.” Unbeknownst to her supervisors, she charged him $1 a day to play all he wanted. Johnson helped out around the course that became a second home. By 18, he qualified for the Florida Open. He moved to New York with a friend to caddie and earned enough to qualify for tournaments in one of the strongest golf sections in America. He has won a dozen times on mini-tours, and his big one came last year at the APGA Tour Championship, which led to an exemption to a PGA TOUR event — not the one he thought, but Pebble Beach works just fine. “I wouldn’t be here without the APGA,” Johnson said. He told stories of Bentley covering his entry fees when he was low on money, all in the name of access and opportunity. He has ambassador roles with Farmers Insurance. Titleist provides equipment, which included the first time Johnson was ever fitted for golf clubs. “An eye-opener,” said Johnson, who for years bought clubs off the rack at discount prices. Bentley said along with access, members of the APGA are still lacking when it comes to equipment and top coaching. “We surveyed the players and were shocked to learn some had never been fitted for clubs, they were using wedges that were three or four years old,” he said. “We’re starting to give guys tools to level the playing field.”

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With a stated goal to return to No. 1 in the world, Jason Day reached the second position in the FedExCup with a two-stroke victory at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club on Sunday. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where Day became the fourth multiple winner on TOUR this season after Patton Kizzire, Justin Thomas and Bubba Watson. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Day: ‘I’ve obviously got a lot of work to do’ When was the last time the winner said that? Day, 30, knew better than anyone that he was saved by his otherworldly short game, taking a tidy 22 putts in the final round.   He was off the mark from tee to green. His driving accuracy (42.86 percent) was well off his driving accuracy for the week (48.21), and so was his greens-in-regulation percentage (44.44 compared to 56.94 percent). Such imprecise play may be hard to overcome at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, as THE PLAYERS Championship winner two years ago well knows. “Obviously, THE PLAYERS is such a huge event,â€� he said. “It feels like a major to me, and I’m sure it feels like a major to most guys. It’s really nice to be able to play pretty solid for the most part of the week [at Quail Hollow]. The short game is really nice; it’s rounding out nicely for next week. I’ve obviously got a lot of work to do over the next few days.â€� Trailing only Justin Thomas in the FedExCup, Day made big strides toward his stated goal of returning to No. 1 in the world. He moved from 14th to 7th in the Official World Golf Ranking. 2. Day touch draws raves from Mickelson Not all compliments are created equal. Considering the source, one can’t help but raise an eyebrow at short game wizard Phil Mickelson (69, T5) raving about Day’s short game. “He’s got a lot of parts of his game that’s impressive; obviously power off the tee, he’s a phenomenal driver,â€� Mickelson said. “And he’s a great putter; he’s got a very deft, soft touch. He’s one of the best putters in the game.â€� (Day’s strokes gained: putting in the final round, +3.498, was even better than his strokes gained: putting for the week, +2.061.) “So you put those two things together, and he’s not lacking in wedge play, either,â€� Mickelson added. “He’s a really good wedge player. So he’s got strengths in all the areas that he needs.â€� 3. Mickelson (69, T5) up one to third in FedExCup Lefty missed short par putts on the first two holes, but a quick tutorial from his brother, Tim, got him back on track. Now Mickelson returns to TPC Sawgrass and the site of one of the most significant victories of his career: THE PLAYERS Championship in 2007. How is he feeling about it? “It’s certainly hard to say because that golf course is very difficult, too,â€� Mickelson said. “The concern I have is that after grinding out so hard this week, that the energy level isn’t up for next week. But conversely, I’ve got a little bit of momentum from playing well after having not played for three weeks, and I’m excited to get in such a big event.â€� The World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship winner in early March, Mickelson, 47, has racked up six top-10 and nine top-25 finishes in 12 TOUR starts this season. His seven birdies in the final round at Quail tied T.J. Vogel for best in the field and gave him his eighth top-five at the Wells Fargo. No one else has more, although the Wells remains one of eight TOUR events in which he has made 10 or more starts without a victory. 4. Watney makes quantum leap Nick Watney was part of the TOUR’s elite when he made the 2011 U.S. Presidents Cup team. While the 37-year-old, former Fresno State walk-on saw his career stall due to injuries and poor play, his T2 at Quail Hollow represented a quantum leap both figuratively. Playing in the last group with Day, he looked more like the guy who won five times from 2007 to 2012, and made a giant leap up the FedExCup standings, climbing 68 spots to No. 66. “To be in the heat, last group, you know, it was really fun just kind of remembering feelings that I had in the past, and I absolutely love it,â€� Watney said. “I’m excited to try to get back again.â€� He won’t have to wait long; Watney is in the field for THE PLAYERS Championship this week. He shot an opening-round 64 and finished T4 at TPC Sawgrass in 2011. 5. Wise thrilled with T2 finish Rookie Aaron Wise has leaned on his former college golf coach, Oregon’s Casey Martin, for tips on playing the TOUR. (Tip one: Work on your short game.) The winner of the 2016 NCAA individual title, Wise also knew he had to work harder on his mental game. With his T2 at Quail, his first top-10 in 16 starts this season, he’s finally seeing the work start to pay off. “It means the world,â€� Wise said. “I’m going to gain so much confidence not only from being in contention, but being there at a place like this where you knew you were going to get a great champion. … I kept my head about me and pulled off some incredible shots.â€� Wise, 21, made four birdies and one bogey to move up 54 spots to 51st in the FedExCup. He was playing for not just his first victory at Quail, but also a berth in THE PLAYERS Championship. While he didn’t quite punch his ticket to TPC Sawgrass, he was reminded of his tremendous upside. He also said he drew inspiration from a surprising source: NBA star LeBron James. “Me and my caddie actually talked about it,â€� Wise said. “We made the turn going to 10; it’s that crunch time, it’s like second half with LeBron. It’s an attitude you have to carry with yourself that you can get it done, and I was able to do that today.â€� FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Day has now converted seven of 14 third-round leads/co-leads into victories, including THE PLAYERS Championship two years ago, and is six for his last seven at closing the deal. He led the field in strokes gained: around the green, thanks in part to his 15 sand saves in 16 chances. He also was second in the field in strokes gained: putting, needed 101 strokes on the greens for the week, and just 22 on Sunday. 2. No need to look far for the most pivotal moment of this Wells Fargo. The 231-yard, par-3 17th was the hardest hole of the final round (3.573), but Day, with just a 7-iron, clanked his tee shot off the stick. His deuce was one of just three birdies there Sunday. 3. Masters champion Patrick Reed (67-69 weekend, solo eighth) has now racked up six straight top-10 finishes on TOUR. 4. Bizarre stat of the week: Quail Hollow Club member Johnson Wagner eagled Nos. 14 and 15 in the first round to become just the second player to record back-to-back eagles this season. A few hours later, John Peterson (Nos. 7 and 8) became the third. 5. Justin Thomas (70-70 weekend, T21) participated in the marriage proposal of the year, but couldn’t wrest the No. 1 world ranking away from Dustin Johnson. Still, Thomas retains a 389-point lead over Day for pole position in the FedExCup.

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