Winner’s Bag: Brooks Koepka, Waste Management Phoenix Open

Lexi Thompson carded a 68 on Saturday at the CME Group Tour Championship, and she will carry a 3-shot lead over Nelly Korda into the final round.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR released today the four featured groupings for Thursday-Friday at this week’s Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. To watch the featured groupings on Thursday-Friday, fans in the United States can tune into the Golf Channel telecast (2-6 p.m. ET) and stream PGA TOUR LIVE via subscription on NBC Sports Gold and Amazon Prime Video Channels. Featured Groups Thursday Afternoon (May 2) Justin Rose – Rickie Fowler – Webb Simpson • NOTABLE: Fowler won his first PGA TOUR event at the Wells Fargo Championship in 2012. • 2018 FedExCup champion Rose, who won the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this season, has top-fives in his last two starts at the Wells Fargo Championship (2014, 2016). • Fowler captured the Waste Management Phoenix Open in January and sits ninth in the FedExCup standings. • 2017 PLAYERS Championship winner Simpson’s home is on the course at Quail Hollow Club. Rory McIlroy – Tony Finau – Sergio Garcia • NOTABLE: McIlroy, winner of THE PLAYERS Championship in March, is the only two-time winner of the Wells Fargo Championship (2010 and 2015); currently third in the FedExCup standings. • Finau finished T5 at the Masters Tournament, his fourth top-10 in his last five major starts. • Garcia returns to the Wells Fargo Championship for the first time since 2013; has four top-10s in eight starts this season, including a runner-up with partner Tommy Fleetwood at last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Friday Afternoon (May 3) Phil Mickelson – Jason Day – Harold Varner III • NOTABLE: Mickelson has eight top-five finishes in 15 Wells Fargo Championship starts but looking for first title; the Wells Fargo Championship is one of seven PGA TOUR events Mickelson has played 15-plus times without a victory. • Day is the defending champion of the Wells Fargo Championship. • North Carolina native Varner grew up 30 minutes outside of Charlotte in Gastonia. Paul Casey – Patrick Reed – Hideki Matsuyama • NOTABLE: While Casey is fourth in the FedExCup, Matsuyama (44) and Reed (66) sit outside the top 30 in the FedExCup standings; both players have qualified for the season-ending TOUR Championship five straight seasons (2014-18). • Casey is the last player to successfully defend a PGA TOUR title at the Valspar Championship (2018-19). • Reed successfully Monday qualified for the Wells Fargo Championship in 2013 and finished T32; he finished solo-eighth in his last start in 2018

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On Friday, Julian Suri was two holes from beating Bubba Watson at the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play.   A win by Suri would’ve forced a playoff with Watson for a spot in the Round of 16. Watson birdied the final two holes to halve the match, then went on to dominate Kevin Kisner, 7 and 6, in the final. While Watson was celebrating his second win of the season on Monday, Suri was competing in the Houston Open’s qualifier. It’s exceedingly rare for a top-100 player to compete in a Monday qualifier, even those who aren’t PGA TOUR members. They usually wait for sponsor exemptions instead. Houston’s proximity to last week’s event in Austin, and the opportunity to earn an 11th-hour Masters invitation, likely contributed to his decision. Suri, who’s ranked 72nd in the world, showed Monday that he was a step above the competition at Woodforest Golf Club, firing a bogey-free 64 to win the Houston Open’s qualifier by two shots. Suri, who won on the European Tour last year, has competed primarily in the United States this season. Last week’s T29 at Austin Country Club, where he went 1-1-1, was his best finish in four PGA TOUR starts in 2018. Here’s a look at the four qualifiers for this week’s Houston Open: Julian Suri (64) Age: 26 Hometown: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Alma mater: Duke PGA TOUR starts: 5 Best PGA TOUR finish: T29, 2018 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Notes: Suri has made the cut in three of four PGA TOUR starts this season, but last week’s T29 was his only finish inside the top 60. He has earned 36 non-member FedExCup points. He won once on the European Tour and once on the Challenge Tour last year. Dawie van der Walt (66) Age: 35 Hometown: Kingwood, Texas Alma mater: Lamar PGA TOUR starts: 28 Best PGA TOUR finish: T17, 2015 OHL Classic at Mayakoba Notes: Van der Walt, who was born in South Africa, won two Web.com Tour titles in 2015. He played his lone PGA TOUR season in 2016, finishing 171st in the FedExCup. Zach Cabra (66) Hometown: McKinney, Texas Alma mater: Sam Houston State PGA TOUR starts: 1 Best PGA TOUR finish: MC, 2017 Valero Texas Open Notes: Cabra, whose alma mater is located an hour from Golf Club of Houston, also qualified for last year’s Valero Texas Open. He finished his career at Sam Houston State in 2015. Ryan Baca (67) Age: 35 Hometown: Sugar Land, Texas Alma mater: Baylor PGA TOUR starts: 2 Best PGA TOUR finish: MC, 2006 U.S. Open; MC, 2010 Valero Texas Open Notes: Baca won the 2002 and 2003 Texas Amateurs. LAST WEEK Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship qualifiers T19. Tyler McCumber, 67-70-67-75 T35. Ryan Brehm, 73-69-71-69 T50. Vince India, 73-70-71-71 MC. Zach Zaback, 74-76 THIS SEASON Qualifiers: 47 Made cut: 16 (34.0%) Top-10s: 2 (Scott Strohmeyer, T4 at Sanderson Farms; Trey Mullinax, T8 at Valspar) Top-25s: 4 Most times qualified: T.J. Vogel (3)

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