Power Rankings: TOUR Championship

Masters champion Patrick Reed tees it up for the first time since slipping his arms into the green jacket, teaming with Patrick Cantlay as the PGA TOUR’s only two-man format returns to New Orleans for a second year. FedExCup leader Justin Thomas (with Bud Cauley) and Jordan Spieth (with Ryan Palmer) also begin their post-Masters schedule, each retaining their partners from a year ago. The format calls for best-ball play Thursday and Saturday, alternate-shot Friday and Sunday. FIELD WATCH: U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, idled by a wrist injury since the Sentry Tournament of Champions, starts his return at Zurich. Facing a shortage of potential partners, Koepka drafted Mark Turnesa, a winner 10 years ago and fellow South Florida resident. … Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson reprise their Olympic gold/silver pairing for a second year, one of three duos featuring both players among the world’s top 25. The others: Sergio Garcia/Rafael Cabrera Bello and Bubba Watson/Matt Kuchar. … In all, 18 of the rankings’ current top 30 are entered. … Wisconsin natives Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly, now 1-2 in Charles Schwab Cup points on the PGA TOUR Champions, return for a second year. They tied for 14th a year ago. … David Duval steps down from the Golf Channel booth to tee it up alongside U.S. Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk. … John Daly is another recent entry, bringing Rory Sabbatini as his partner. FEDEXCUP: Winning partners receive 400 points apiece. STORYLINES: Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith defend their title against a deeper field than in Year 1 of the two-man format. Garcia, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood are among those who added Zurich to their schedules this year. … FedExCup points are distributed as though partners tied. As an example, the champions split the 500 points usually given to a tournament winner and 300 for second place – coming out to 400 points each. … Weekend rounds will feature walkup music for each duo on the first tee, becoming the first PGA TOUR stop to employ that twist. … Stricker, Kelly and Daly come to New Orleans fresh from the Legends of Golf, giving them a head start on the team dynamic. … Five of the past six editions have crowned a first-time winner, including Smith last year. … It’s the last week for players to secure a berth in THE PLAYERS Championship by cracking the top 10 in FedExCup points or top 50 of the world rankings. That said, the rankings system does not award points for tandem events. COURSE: TPC Louisiana, 7,425 yards, par 72. Tucked amid some 250 acres of wetlands, the Pete Dye creation winds through cypress and oak trees that create a secluded setting just 15 minutes from downtown New Orleans. Though water looms throughout the layout, TPC Louisiana ranked among the PGA TOUR’s top third to go low even before the team format was introduced. Dye, with consultants Steve Elkington and Kelly Gibson, added more than 100 bunkers and five ponds to increase the difficulty, and several large waste bunkers also are featured early in the back nine. The Zurich Classic first played there in 2005 and has made it its permanent home since 2007. 72-HOLE RECORD: 261, Cameron Smith/Jonas Blixt (2017), Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown (2017). Individual record: 262, Chip Beck (1988 at Lakewood CC). ALTERNATE SHOT RECORD: 66, Jordan Spieth/Ryan Palmer (1st round, 2017), Kyle Stanley/Ryan Ruffels (1st round, 2017). BEST BALL RECORD: 60, Retief Goosen/Tyrone van Aswegen (2nd round, 2017), Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown (4th round, 2017). LAST YEAR: The Zurich’s first team edition needed an extra day to settle a playoff, before Smith’s best-ball birdie on the fourth extra hole locked up the trophy alongside Blixt. The duo appeared set to win in regulation before Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown pulled even in Sunday’s fading light with a Kisner holeout from 30 yards away. Thunderstorms had delayed play earlier in the afternoon, leaving no light for a playoff. Returning in the morning, the first three playoff holes saw nothing but pars before Smith stuck his wedge at the par-5 18th inside three feet for the decider. Smith notched his first PGA TOUR triumph at the age of 23, while Blixt recorded his third victory. The playoff loss was all too familiar for Kisner, who dropped to 0-4 in extra holes. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 2:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). Friday, 9:15 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-6:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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Korea’s Byeong Hun An always knew he was going to give back to the game of golf which had opened up new sporting horizons in his life. It finally happened through the creation of the Ben An Junior Championship which the inaugural event was launched successfully at Orange Tree Country Club in Orlando, Florida over the weekend. An, 29, used his charitable allocation presented to every team member of the 2019 Presidents Cup to fund his own junior tournament with the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), a non-profit organisation dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. “I’ve always wanted to do this,” said An. “As soon as I got into the Presidents Cup, AJGA was top of my list of where my funds would go.” An’s parents were Olympic medallists in table tennis but he grew up learning golf. When he was 15, they sent him to the IMG Academy at Bradenton and thus, began his junior career on the AJGA circuit which would shape his game and prepare him for life as a professional golfer. “The year I played in the Presidents Cup, some Korean juniors came over and spent a few days in my house (in Orlando) to practice and play together and it felt good to help the kids. I care if they do well and just to be able to help them, it meant a lot to me,” he said. “I played and practiced with them which was really fun. I really liked that I was able to give them information, give them little tips here and there and spent the whole day together from 7am to 8pm. If pros talked to me and helped me out when I was their age, it meant a lot. It’s good to be able to give back.” An said competing against kids his age and across different golf courses and states toughened him up as a junior golfer that he went on to produce a memorable win at the U.S. Amateur in 2009. “I started to play a lot of AJGA events, about 10 to 12 events a year. Back then, it was great fun. You see everyone who are your age and they are good golfers. It motivated me a lot as I wasn’t amongst the best ones. They were always better than me,” said An. “It helped as you play in different states, different courses. You learn a lot as you play against the best juniors. You learn so much, not just the golf but how to behave on the golf course and what you have to do. You also learn how to conduct interviews with the media. It helps overall, as a person and golfer. Definitely helped as I was able to win the U.S. Amateur.” As part of his overall support towards grassroot development, An, who won the BMW PGA Championship in Wentworth in 2015 and has played on the PGA TOUR since 2016, intends to bring several Korean juniors over to the U.S. to compete in his event in the near future so they too will have the opportunity to widen their perspective of the game. “Due to Covid, it was hard to arrange for it this year. Hopefully I can have this event for as long as possible, 10 years, 15 years, who knows,” said An, who conducted a clinic with the participants during the event as part of his involvement. “I obviously want to see them play well when they turn pro and see them on the tour but just giving them the playing opportunity in my event, I think that means a lot to me as well, and hopefully for them too. They may not know it now but by competing, it helps in the long term and hopefully they become better golfers and better people.”

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Branden Grace, who was tied for second after the second round of the Barracuda Championship, had to withdraw after testing positive for coronavirus, meaning he can’t play in the PGA Championship as he’ll be in self-isolation for 10 days.

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