Emotional victory for Branden Grace at Puerto Rico Open

Steve Stricker provided the pep talk and Sean O’Hair delivered the shot to secure victory Sunday in the QBE Shootout.

Click here to read the full article…

Every shot counts. That old golf chestnut takes on extra significance on the final day of the Regular Season. This time it was Kevin Kisner who seized the day and emerged from a six-man sudden-death playoff to capture the Wyndham Championship, his fourth PGA TOUR title and first since the 2019 World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. Chesson Hadley was among the day’s other big winners, firing a fireworks-filled 62 to finish T15 and grab the 125th spot in the FedExCup and the final berth in the FedExCup Playoffs, which begin with THE NORTHERN TRUST at Liberty National on Thursday. Emotion poured out of him as he recounted his trials and tribulations of the last year, and how much he still cares. Here are five stories you may have missed from the Wyndham Championship. 1. Kevin Kisner gets off the bagel It made no sense that Kisner was 0-5 in playoffs on TOUR considering the mano-a-mano nature of the beast, and the fact that his last TOUR win was at the mano-a-mano 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, where he defeated none other than Ian Poulter in the final. But that’s golf, and he’s winless no more after his short-range birdie on the second extra hole of a six-man playoff at Sedgefield Country Club. He’d finally gotten into the win column. “To be honest, coming down with three or four holes to go, I really didn’t think I had a chance to win,” said Kisner, who jumped 40 spots into 29th in the FedExCup. “I wasn’t watching the boards all day. When I birdied 16, I looked up and saw that I was only one back and I knew that 17 was a birdie hole and if you could hit a good drive on 18 you could have a chance. “It’s a crazy way to break the no-wins-in-playoff streak,” he continued, “but it was a fun week, awesome week put on by everyone here in Greensboro.” For more on Kisner, click here. 2. Six for a playoff tied TOUR record A half a dozen players is a lot for a playoff. In fact, it was tied for the most in TOUR history. Robert Allenby beat Brandel Chamblee, Dennis Paulson, Jeff Sluman, Bob Tway and Toshi Izawa in a six-man playoff at The Genesis Invitational in 2001. Neal Lancaster defeated Tom Byrum, David Edwards, Yoshinori Mizumaki, David Ogrin and Mark Carnevale in a six-man playoff at the 1994 AT&T Byron Nelson. This time around even the participants themselves seemed amused by the spectacle. “I was just remembering Russell Crow and Gladiator: ‘Are you not entertained?’ said Canada’s Roger Sloan. “It’s so cool to be a part of this. Great finish and a lot of great players here in the playoff. Congrats to Kisner for pulling it out, but man, that was a lot of fun.” Added Kevin Na, when asked if he’d ever seen anything like this: “You know, the last time I saw one was 2001 Riviera, I watched it on TV when I was a kid, Robert Allenby. It was kind of fun being a part of it. I had my chance on 17 in regulation, I thought I made that putt, it horseshoed out and maybe just wasn’t meant to be.” 3. Roger Sloan lost playoff, but won Playoffs Roger Sloan saw the glass half full. While he didn’t win the playoff, Sloan (final-round 66) moved from 131st to 92nd in the FedExCup with his T2, moving from outside to inside the Playoffs. He was headed to Liberty National for THE NORTHERN TRUST and planned to stay with friends in Manhattan; Liberty National was the site of his only other Playoffs berth in 2019. “I was in a good place this week,” he said. “I was okay with no matter where the chips fell and I think that gave me a lot of power on the golf course. Just very thankful.” 4. Chesson Hadley had a crazy, great Sunday Chesson Hadley made his first-ever hole-in-one at the 160-yard 16th hole on the way to a 29 on the back nine, his opening nine of the final round, and carded a final-round 62. Then the skinny 34-year-old from Raleigh, North Carolina, had to sit around and wait to see if it would be enough to reach the Playoffs for the first time since 2019. “It will be close,” said Hadley, whose ace earned one million Wyndham Rewards points for Birdies for Backpacks, and one million for himself. “I mean, it will be really, really close.” When Justin Rose (67, T10) missed from 10, 14, 9 and 5 feet on the final four holes, Hadley slipped into the 125th spot and was in. He screamed into the phone when he got the news. It was a nice moment for a guy who had had a tough season, having missed 14 cuts in 26 starts and, when he did play well, let a four-shot lead slip at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree. For more on Hadley, click here. 5. Some big names will miss Playoffs Hadley (T15, 132 to 125), Sloan (T2, 131 to 92) and Scott Piercy (T15, 126 to 116) played their way into the top 125 and the Playoffs. Ryan Armour (MC, 122 to 127), Patrick Rodgers (MC, 123 to 128) and Bo Hoag (MC, 125 to 129) came up empty at the Wyndham and were out. Then there was Rose, who won the 2018 FedExCup and hadn’t missed the Playoffs since their inception in 2007. He wasn’t the only big-name player to falter and fail to make it to THE NORTHERN TRUST. Rickie Fowler (FedExCup No. 134) missed the cut and will miss the Playoffs for the first time, while 2018 Ryder Cup stars Tommy Fleetwood (137) and Francesco Molinari (142) also failed to advance. Ryan Moore missed the Wyndham cut to end his season at 144th, outside the top 125 for the first time in his career. Ditto for Charles Howell III, who skipped the Wyndham (139th). “Yeah, it sucks,” Fowler said. “I mean, I know what I’m capable of, I’ve been up there and played against the best in the world and been a top-5, top-10 player in the world for a number of years in my career. I’m not in a position where I’m comfortable or where I want to be.” For more on Fowler, click here. FINAL: COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 concluded at the 2021 Wyndham Championship. It highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

Click here to read the full article…

Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau posted back-to-back 66s and take a 36-hole co-lead into the weekend in the desert, where low scores have dictated the history. Fowler looks to avenge a playoff loss two years ago. Can he close or will someone else shine at TPC Scottsdale? Rount 3 tee times Round 3 leaderboard HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN TELEVISION: Saturday, 2-3:30 p.m. (GC), 4-7 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Saturday, 12 p.m.-7 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Saturday, 2-7 p.m. Sunday, 1-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com) LIVE NO. 16 VR EXPERIENCE: Saturday, 2-7 p.m. Sunday, 1-6 p.m.  NOTABLE PAIRINGS (All times Eastern) Brandt Snedeker, James Hahn, Patrick Reed 12:30 p.m. off 1st tee Justin Thomas, Bill Haas, Cameron Smith 12:40 p.m. off 1st tee Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Phil Mickelson 1:10 p.m. off 1st tee Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau, Daniel Berger 1:50 p.m. off 1st tee

Click here to read the full article…