What’s in Rahm’s new Callaway bag?

THE PGA TOUR has announced the featured groups for the first two rounds of THE PLAYERS Championship to be held at TPC Sawgrass. Fans will be treated to a showcase of the best players in the world, with defending PLAYERS Champion and world No. 1 Rory McIlroy to be joined by world No. 2 Jon Rahm and No. 3 Brooks Koepka. Other groupings include fan favorites and rising stars in the game. RELATED: The First Look | Inside The Field Full groupings and starting times for the first two rounds of the TOUR’s flagship event will be released officially at approximately 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 10. While subscribers to PGA TOUR LIVE on NBC Sports Gold will have the unprecedented ability to watch every single shot shot of the tournament thanks to Every Shot Live,some marquee groupings will get special attention. To watch the featured groupings on Thursday-Friday, fans in the United States can tune into the Golf Channel telecast (1-7 p.m. ET). In addition to PGA TOUR LIVE on NBC Sports Gold, you can stream on Amazon Prime Video Channels. Audio coverage is available on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (Sirius 208, XM 92), and streams free via PGATOUR.COM, as well as the TOUR’s official iPhone, iPad and Android apps. Here’s a closer look at the Featured Groups for THE PLAYERS Championship. Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka Notable: McIlroy is the defending champion at TPC Sawgrass in addition to the current FedExCup champion and PGA TOUR Player of the Year. The Northern Irishman sits atop of the world rankings, with Rahm and Koepka his closest challengers. McIlroy has contended in every start this season, taking five straight top-five finishes into the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard, including a win at the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions. Rahm has also been a serial contender, with four top-10s in five starts this season, including a runner-up at the Farmers Insurance Open and a T3 at the recent World Golf Championships – Mexico Championship. Koepka, a three-time winner last season, continues his return from a knee injury looking to assert the dominance he has displayed in recent years. Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Matthew Wolff Notable: The leaders of the youth movement on the PGA TOUR – all three have already won prior to their 23rd birthdays. Wolff won the 3M Open in just his third PGA TOUR start as a professional in July last year before Morikawa took the Barracuda Championship in just his sixth pro PGA TOUR start later that month. Hovland recently became the first Norwegian to win on the PGA TOUR with his triumph at the Puerto Rico Open. Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele Notable: Scott is a former PLAYERS champions who recently cashed in for a victory on the West Coast swing at The Genesis Invitational. Rose is a former FedExCup champion and Olympic Gold Medalist. Schauffele is in just his third PLAYERS Championship, but the former PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year already has a runner-up finish at TPC Sawgrass to go with his four PGA TOUR wins. Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson Notable: Mickelson suits up for his 27th PLAYERS Championship looking to add to his 2007 victory, despite missing six of his last seven cuts at TPC Sawgrass. The veteran contended not long ago in his title defense at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and can never be discounted. Simpson won THE PLAYERS just two years ago and comes in with confidence from his Waste Management Phoenix Open win last month. With 20 PGA TOUR wins to his name, Johnson’s record at the PLAYERS was a bit of an enigma until he posted a fifth-place finish a year ago with the move back to March. Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth Notable: It arguably does not get more fun than this trio of friends. TPC Sawgrass is one venue where Fowler gets bragging rights over his buddies, having won THE PLAYERS in incredible fashion five years ago. A birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie finish in regulation to join a playoff that he would win after four extra holes goes down as possibly the best PLAYERS ever. The other two can lay each claim to a FedExCup title and major championship success. Thomas is now heading to his sixth PLAYERS, with a T3 in 2016 his best finish, while Spieth’s best at TPC Sawgrass remains his T4 from his debut in 2014, an effort he hasn’t come close to since with four missed cuts and a T41. Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Cantlay Notable: Matsuyama has his sights firmly set on being the first player from Japan to win THE PLAYERS Championship. With a couple of top-10s to his name already at TPC Sawgrass, it is a not a dream beyond the young man. Reed is riding confidence from his recent win at the World Golf Championships – Mexico Championship and hopes to leverage that into, at very least, his first top-20 at TPC Sawgrass. Cantlay has two career wins, one from each of the last two seasons, and has knocked on the door for another this season thanks a playoff loss at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas and a fourth place finish at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Matt Kuchar, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia Notable: A salute to former champions at TPC Sawgrass. Garcia collected the trophy in 2008 and has five additional top-10s at THE PLAYERS, including runner-up results in 2007 and 2015 and a third-place finish in 2014. Kuchar was the winner in 2012 and also ran third in 2016. Stenson, a former FedExCup champion, won THE PLAYERS in 2009, was third in 2006 and fifth in 2013. Bryson DeChambeau, Sungjae Im, Gary Woodland Notable: Im, the reigning the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, is coming off his first victory at last week’s The Honda Classic. Woodland already has four top-10s this season and the experience of his U.S. Open victory last season in his back pocket. DeChambeau is trending towards adding to his trophy case after finishing runner-up at the World Golf Championships – Mexico Championship, his fourth top-15 result of the season. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 2 p.m.-7 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups and Featured Holes). Thursday-Friday, 7:40 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, 8:10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday, 7:55 a.m.-7 p.m. (Every Shot Live). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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The PGA TOUR has announced the four Featured Groupings for Thursday and Friday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, to be contested at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona. Full groupings and starting times for the first two rounds will be released officially at approximately 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Jan. 28. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-2:45 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:15 a.m.- 7 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday 10:45 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups and Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). FEATURED GROUPS Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Jon Rahm • Thomas, who has two wins this season (THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, Sentry Tournament of Champions) holds the No. 1 position in the FedExCup standings for the 30th week in his career, becoming the fourth player to reach that mark in the FedExCup era (others: Tiger Woods, Jimmy Walker, Dustin Johnson). • Matsuyama has two wins (2016, 2017) and two additional top-fives (T4/2014, T2/2015) in six career starts at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. • Rahm, a two-time Ben Hogan Award winner at nearby Arizona State, is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler • A five-time PGA TOUR winner, DeChambeau will make his first start on TOUR since the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Oct. (T4). • Coming off a T6 at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open, Finau has made one cut in five starts at TPC Scottsdale (T22/2015). • Fowler will make his fifth title defense on the PGA TOUR, with the best result among the previous four being a tie for 46th (2016 Dell Technologies Championship). Xander Schauffele, Cameron Smith, Gary Woodland • Schauffele has three top-10s in four starts on the season, including playoff losses at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and Sentry Tournament of Champions. • Smith earned his second career PGA TOUR title at the 2020 Sony Open in Hawaii and currently sits at No. 6 in the FedExCup standings. • The 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open champion, Woodland celebrates the one-year anniversary of his viral moment with Special Olympics golfer Amy Bockerstette, who sank an inspiring putt on the 16th hole while playing with Woodland, in a video that has since been viewed nearly 44 million times across TOUR platforms; the pair will reunite on Wednesday, Jan. 29.   Andrew Landry, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson • Landry will make his first start since winning his second career PGA TOUR title at The American Express. • At No. 51 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Jordan Spieth looks to move inside the top 50 on Feb. 10 or 17 to qualify for next month’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship; Spieth has two top-10s in three starts at TPC Scottsdale. • Watson’s tie for fourth at the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open was his fourth career top-five at the event; he comes off a T6 finish at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Dale Jarrett’s first golf club was a 2-wood that his father Ned broke when he hit a root trying to extricate his ball from an unfriendly lie in the woods. The mechanics in his dad’s garage, not the pro in the clubhouse — the men who made sure Ned’s Ford was running smoothly on race day — took what was left of the shattered club and fitted it to Dale, who was then about 8 years old.   Turns out, that early juxtaposition between golf and stock cars has continued throughout Jarrett’s life. He had enough talent to be offered a scholarship to play golf at South Carolina but Jarrett ended up following in his father’s footsteps at the race track. There he won three Daytona 500s and the 1999 Winston Cup title, eventually joining his father in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. But he still has that cut-down 2-wood in his office. “I love golf in so many ways,â€� Jarrett said in a phone conversation this week. “It’s a lot like racing, even though a lot of people probably think two things couldn’t be more different because you are driving 200 miles per hour.â€� Jarrett, who once had his handicap down to a plus-1 and currently plays to an 8, is now retired from racing and works for NBC. Before heading to Michigan for NASCAR’s next race, he planned to make the one-hour drive from his Conover, North Carolina home to Charlotte to attend the PGA Championship. Jarrett first got interested in the game when his father started playing. He loved whatever was in season, though – even getting special dispensation so he could play golf and baseball at the same time. He led the golf team to three straight conference titles and owned a one-stroke lead on the final hole of the state 3-A tournament only to see victory elude him when his approach to 18 hit a sprinkler head and careened out of bounds. “That is a memory that always sticks with me,â€� Jarrett says. The decision to turn down the scholarship to South Carolina was a hard one, made at the “12th hour.â€� Jarrett, who broke par for the first time at the age of 14, finally realized he was more interested in playing the game than going to class, though, so he respectfully declined. By then, his father was managing the Hickory Motor Speedway and Jarrett worked there, too. He built a driving range in the back parking lot “where I had to mow the grass anyway,â€� Jarrett says. He’d spend his lunch hours there, hitting balls and fine-tuning his swing – just in case. “It was still in my mind that even though I wasn’t going to college that if ‑‑ was I going to get the chance to drive a race car,â€� Jarrett recalls wondering. “We didn’t have the money to do it, and it takes money to do that at whatever level you start. “So when I was doing that I still had the ideas that maybe I could play golf for a living at some level.â€� Jarrett had been around stock car racing all his life. But it wasn’t until he was 20 – relatively late by today’s standards – that he drove in a race for the first time and he knew that was his calling, not professional golf. Two high school friends, one of whom became a team owner years later, built the car and the group decided Jarrett should drive it. It was a Limited Sportsman race, a circuit that Jarrett describes as similar to Double-A baseball, at Hickory. He started 24th in a 24-car field because the team didn’t get to the track in time to qualify. Jarrett ended up finishing ninth in the 25-lap. The “teamâ€� won $35 and went to a local pizza parlor to celebrate with slices and beer. Although his father had sold his stake in the speedway, he was in the stands to see Jarrett race. “I went up and told him, Look, I don’t know how I’m going to do this but this is exactly what I’ve been looking for and what I want to do,â€� he recalls. “That was from one 25‑lap race that I decided this is for me and this is what I want to do.â€�  Just like golfers do, Jarrett found sponsors to help him assemble a team and pursue his dream. He ended up winning 32 races on what is now called the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and had many memorable duels with the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jeff Gordon, among others. So Jarrett won’t ever know what might have happened if he hadn’t turned down that scholarship offer. Could he have turned pro? Maybe. Maybe not. He’s seen the game up close and personal – playing in numerous pro-ams with the likes of Arnold Palmer and Phil Mickelson, to name a few – and served as the honorary chairman of the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn on the PGA TOUR Champions. So, he knows what it takes and he’s realistic about his chances. “Don’t know that I would have gotten to that level because having the opportunity to play with a number of professionals throughout my career, I see just how good they are and the things that they can do that 99 percent of the rest of us can’t do,â€� Jarrett says. But he does know that playing golf made him a better stock car driver.  The decisions he makes on the golf course are his alone, not unlike what happens at top speeds with his hands on the wheel of his car. “Even though it’s a team sport, driving a race car, because you need everyone else around you doing their jobs, once you get in the race car, it’s still up to you to get the job done,â€� Jarrett says. “It’s not someone else’s fault if you crash and make a bad decision.  If you do the right things on the track, that’s the decision that you were making there.  “So I think without my golf exploits early in my life, I’m not sure that I would have been mentally prepared to drive a race car for the years that I did that.â€� Jarrett hasn’t spent as much time on his game in recent years as he did in the past. His strength has always been his putting, and it still is, although back in the day he hit it long and straight enough to take advantage of the par 5s. Nagging injuries from spending hours on end in a speeding car have taken their toll. Plus, Jarrett was focused on the baseball career of his son, Zach, who started 245 games at UNC-Charlotte and was drafted in June by the Baltimore Orioles. That, too, was a labor of love. “I spent tons of time watching him, working with him, helping him,â€� Jarrett says. “That became my passion, to try to get him and help him as much as I could to try to become a professional baseball player.  That took away some from my golf. “It was fun to know that at one time you played the game at a really high level. …  I can’t do the things I could do, but I still love the game.â€�

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