Paul Casey moves to 15-under to take a one-shot lead at Omega Dubai Desert Classic

The FedExCup Playoffs continue today with Round 2 of the BMW Championship from Medinah. Here’s how to follow all the action. Round 2 leaderboard Round 2 tee times HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 12-2 p.m. (GC), 2-6 p.m. (NBC) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:45 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday, 8:15 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday, 8:15 a.m.-2 p.m. (featured groups), 2-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 11:15 to 22:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 12:30 to 22:00. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). FEATURED GROUPS Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy (FedExCup Nos. 1, 2 and 3) Friday: 12:54 p.m. Matt Kuchar, Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay (FedExCup Nos. 4, 5 and 6) Friday: 10:48 a.m. Xander Schauffele, Abraham Ancer, Gary Woodland (FedExCup Nos. 7, 8 and 9) Friday: 12:43 p.m. Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Justin Rose (FedExCup Nos. 10, 11 and 12) Friday: 10:37 a.m. MUST READS Thomas starts strong, ties course record Kokrak wants to concentrate on scores, not scenarios Rookie of the Year race down to five Tiger still showing rust Furyk flashes old form FedExCup Playoffs primer, new format detailed Insider: New format at East Lake to bring drama Seven things to know about Medinah CALL OF THE DAY

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Even when the narrative of wind coming to the defense of a golf course is promoted into the headline, it’s still relative. Legitimate inclement weather tore the dome off last year’s CareerBuilder Challenge. Early-tournament rain was followed by moderate-to-gusty winds throughout the tournament. Daytime high temperatures settled in the low 60s. Yet, Hudson Swafford still manufactured 20-under 268 en route to his breakthrough victory and runner-up Adam Hadwin spun a 59 at La Quinta Country Club in the third round. This week’s field of 156 may need an additional layer of clothing in the morning, but it won’t be annoyed further. More on the forecast, the three courses in the rotation and other nuggets beneath the ranking. Power Rankings: CareerBuilder Challenge RANK PLAYER COMMENT Concluded 2017 with victory at the DP World Tour Championship and began 2018 with a runner-up finish in his debut at the Sentry TOC. Second appearance at CareerBuilder (T34, 2017). Knock knock! The red-hot lefty has four top fives and a solo eighth in five starts this season. Since 2016 at CareerBuilder, he’s finished a respective T11 and T3, both at 18-under 270. What’s not to love about his form? Atop the FedExCup standings with two wins and another two top 10s. Third appearance at CareerBuilder, so familiarity is another asset. Scored 63-65 on the weekend at Waialae and placed T4 for his fourth top 10 and seventh top 20 since August. Most recent of four top 20s at the CareerBuilder was a T17 in 2016. Bracketed holidays with a T4 at RSM and a T10 at Sony where he co-led with an opening 63. Seeking redemption at CareerBuilder. Sat T8 through 54 holes last year but finished T21. Won here in 2016 and finished T25 in his title defense. Opened 2018 with a T11 at Kapalua and T18 at Waialae, ranking a respective fifth and 18th in strokes gained: putting. Opened and closed a 4-for-4 fall with top 10s. Has seven top 10s since a career-best-matching T3 at last year’s CareerBuilder; placed T14 the year prior. Third on TOUR in strokes gained. The 2014 champ is in his sixth straight appearance; last year’s T12 is his second-best finish. Polished off 2017 with a T10 at DP World, a T5 at the Hero and the birth of his second child. Off since a T15 at the WGC-HSBC Champions in late October. Opened 2017-18 with a T3 at the Safeway. Two-time CareerBuilder champ; T3-T21 here on current rotation. Perfect in six starts this season with three top 10s. T4 at Waialae; led the field in fairways hit and ranked second in strokes gained: putting. Top 10s at CareerBuilder in 2013 and 2014. This event rolls around at a time when the scuffling 35-year-old can really use it. All-time earnings leader here has two wins among eight top 20s, including in each of the last four editions. Settled for a T32 at Waialae despite four red numbers. Launched into this season with a pair of top 20s and a T4. He’s gone T11-T12 at the CareerBuilder since 2016. The 36-year-old continues to glide in a groove. Last week’s T18 was his seventh consecutive top 25 and 12th in his last 16 starts. T17 (2016) and T12 (2017) at CareerBuilder. A 62 on Sunday at Waialae was just one round but it was impeccably timed. Now carries disappointment-fueled motivation of a P2 into CareerBuilder where he’s 3-for-3 with two top 20s. First start as a father after son was born on Dec. 22 and does so in an event where he’s 5-for-5 with a pair of runner-up finishes. Closed out the fall with a T17 at the RSM. Defending champion Hudson Swafford, Kevin Kisner, Austin Cook and Zach Johnson will be among the notables in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. For the third straight year, PGA WEST’s Stadium Course, PGA WEST’s Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta CC share duties as hosts of the CareerBuilder Challenge. They comprise the 13th combination of 12 courses used for the tournament since 1987. This is the seventh edition since the 90-hole competition was abandoned. Every golfer in the field pairs with an amateur. Together with another pro-am combo, the foursomes will play each course once until the 54-hole cut of low 70 and ties falls for the professionals. If more than 78 survive, only the low 60 and ties will play the final round held at the Stadium Course. (The leading three low-net and low-gross amateurs also will tee it up in the finale to determine their champion.) In 2016, the cut fell at 9-under 207, but in the more challenging conditions last year, those at 5-under 211 and lower advanced. Going back to the fourth edition of the tournament in 1963, all courses in the rotation have been par 72s. Each of the current trio features the standard four par 3s and four par 5s. La Quinta is the shortest at 7,060 yards, but length doesn’t distinguish one course from another. This tournament is always about piling up scoring opportunities and converting on those chances. However, La Quinta has undergone some enhancements that will toughen its test a bit. Fairway bunkering at the par-4 first and 17th holes have been updated; they should generate pause off both tees. Over four dozen trees planted across the property create new sightlines as targets and the potential for modified shot shapes into greens. And the green at the par-3 15th hole may appear the same to those who are returning, but it was rebuilt entirely since last year. Years ago, La Quinta usually yielded the highest scoring average among the tracks in the rotation, but the Stadium Course has assumed that role and with ease. Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will examine how scoring has evolved and advise how gamers should adjust. It also will include how the weather here shapes our strategy. After a Chamber of Commerce opening round, a bit of energy will impact play on Friday. Winds will kick up a bit before abating on the weekend, but daytime highs will be stuck in the 60s. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Columnist Rob Bolton will be filing his usual staples leading up to this week’s event. Look for the following columns this week. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider, Facebook Live WEDNESDAY: One & Done; Champions One & Done primer * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays  

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ORLANDO, Fla. – There was clearly a forward spin to the press conference Tuesday that brought Tiger Woods and Ernie Els together at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the icons having agreed to be captains for the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne in Australia. It will be the 13th edition of the biennial team golf competition, the sixth time on foreign soil, and the third trip to vaunted Royal Melbourne. But as you absorbed the presence of Woods and Els with a Presidents Cup backdrop, one couldn’t help but think back to that unforgettable day nearly 15 years ago at Fancourt in South Africa when the incomparable Jack Nicklaus offered an exclamation point of a quote: “Everybody’s comfortable that this is the most unbelievable event the game has ever seen.� Older and wiser, Woods and Els smiled when PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan invoked memories of that 2003 Presidents Cup. It ended in a 17-17 tie, even after the teams tried to settle it with an epic three-hole playoff between Woods and Els. “I still wonder how they got through it,� said the commissioner. “One of the greatest moments this sport has ever seen.� The introduction of the 2019 Presidents Cup captains brought levity and mutual respect – Woods and Els have been arguably two of the best players in the world since 1996 – but perhaps the most intriguing aspect was the admission by Woods that this captaincy was his idea, broached to Monahan in October. “Jay said, ‘Yeah, we might be able to work it out,’ � said Woods. Clearly, they worked it out, along with two other agreements: That each team will have four captain’s picks and that players will only be required to play in one match before singles. As for the possibility that there could be a playing captain, something that hasn’t happened in the Presidents Cup since the inaugural in 1994, there were emphatic reactions. “Yes, I have,� said Woods, with a smile, when asked if he has thought about it. But Els, 48 and surely in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career, indicated that he was focused more on leading the International Team, which is 1-10-1 and has lost seven in a row. Whether Woods’ career continues at its rapid improvement and affords him an opportunity to even consider being player-captain, Monahan cited the leadership of both these icons as having “a huge impact� on the competition in Australia. “These men will take the game deeper and wider than it’s ever been.� To many who were there at Fancourt in 2003, Woods and Els took competitive golf to rarified air. Tied after 35 matches, what followed was a half-hour of twilight golf where the American said he felt “the most pressure ever� and the South African conceded his “legs were shaking.� They tied all three holes, producing pulsating theater and must-make putts that demanded every ounce of the skills that had them Nos. 1 (Woods) and 3 (Els) in the world. The icons halved the 18th, a par 5. What followed was a sequence of riveting pressure golf. At the par-4 first, Els slipped home a 10-foot putt, but Woods tossed in a 3-footer on top of him. At No. 2, a beefy par 3 of 234 yards, Woods somehow coaxed in a 12-footer and Els, knocking knees and all, equaled it from 5 feet. As they sat together to make the 2019 announcement, Woods and Els smiled at the ’03 memory. Woods recalled seeing a sea of red shirts – American players, family and friends – “this entire team right in my line . . . so I know if I miss, we lose.� While Els still shakes his head. “I thought I had him beat for once. He had a left-to-right putt, 4 feet of break – and in darkness.� Woods being Woods, he made it and when the three holes left the teams tied, like cornermen for two big heavyweights, Nicklaus, the U.S. captain, and Gary Player, the International Team captain, agreed that enough was enough. Darkness and good sense prevailed. The Presidents Cup would be shared. Those who were there raised a toast to the mutual decision. Wrote John Garrity in Sports Illustrated: “Stop thinking, stop arguing and stop wondering. What Nicklaus and Player did at Fancourt was no different from what Michelangelo did when he stopped nibbling at his statue of David: They preserved a perfect outcome.� To this day, Woods and Els would agree with that sentiment. For all their individual success – 79 PGA TOUR wins for Woods, 66 world-wide triumphs for Els – this team play business ignites a passion which they promise to bring to Royal Melbourne.

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