Spieth (65) in mix at Open: ‘Like where I’m at’

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Each day at THE PLAYERS Championship, PGATOUR.COM’s staff writers will dive into the big issues and questions everyone is discussing. Spoiler alert — there’s lots more talk about Webb Simpson, but some about Tiger Woods as well. The question is not “if,” but “by how much.â€� What will be Webb Simpson’s margin of victory? Cameron Morfit (Staff Writer) — I’m guessing he’ll win by five. The margin will go down to four or so, close enough to be tight, but he’ll settle down and finish it off. Ben Everill (Staff Writer) — I’ll go with five shots. He starts seven clear. He will play defensively to a 70 and it will be more than enough. Mike McAllister (Managing Editor) — Foot off the pedal for Simpson. Everybody else able to free-wheel it. Somebody will go low. Simpson to win by four shots. Sean Martin (Senior Editor) — Ten. I like round numbers. What thing has impressed you most about Simpson this week? Morfit — That par putt he drained on No. 18 spoke volumes. How can you beat a guy when he’s doing that all day? Everill — The easy answer is putting but I will say even more impressive has been the clutch shots or putts at the clutch times. His eagle hole out from the bunker on No. 11 today never looked like missing. Incredible. McAllister — The easy thing would be his putting – he’s made about 400 feet of putts if you include the ones from off the green. But really, it’s just that he’s not flinching on a course that never lets you relax. Seeing a player crank on all cylinders is a beautiful thing. Martin — The putting has been incredible. It’s very fitting on the one-year anniversary of the grip change that changed his career. He leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. Is this the most impressive performance of any PLAYERS champion? Morfit — No, no. I will still take Rickie Fowler going eagle, birdie, birdie to force the playoff in 2015. That was one of the most thrilling finishes I’ve ever seen in any tournament. Everill — Not yet. But it is heading that way. My bias is likely clouding me but Greg Norman went wire-to-wire in 1994 and finished 24-under. Steve Elkington won by seven in 1997. And Jason Day won by four in 2016 in brutally tough conditions. Those are the marks to beat. McAllister — Statistically, of course, it is — at least through 54 holes. His 7-shot lead obliterates the previous record held by Alex Cejka (who, by the way, did not convert his 5-stroke lead into a win). I’m still partial to Rickie Fowler’s finish in 2015, but simply for the ridiculous fireworks at the end. That’s a completely different perspective — and I wasn’t at TPC Sawgrass when Steve Elkington won by 7 in 1997. Martin — From start to finish, I say yes. This thing is a romp. Now for the biggest mystery: Who wins the “B flight?” Morfit — I’m going to take Jimmy Walker. He’s been very much under the radar all week, and he’s playing very well again. Everill — This won’t come as a surprise to many but I’ll say Jason Day. He’s driven to win the FedExCup and return to world No. 1, so he will play like every shot matters. McAllister — I kind of like Jordan Spieth (no surprise for anyone who knows me and my affinity for all things Texas). He’ll use Sunday to continue trying to solve TPC Sawgrass, and I fully expect for him to follow up his 65 with another low number. Martin — Jason Day. A strong season continues. How do you assess Tiger’s 65? What significance does it have? Morfit — Confidence is everything. That 65 won’t have much bearing on THE PLAYERS, but it will certainly be in the front of his mind in his next start. We might look back on that round as the start of a great summer for Tiger. Everill — It was awesome — and disappointing at the same time. He was 8-under through 12 holes but couldn’t find another gear coming in. Old Tiger would have and might have found himself in the final group Sunday … now THAT would have been something. It shows that maybe a win might come around the corner. McAllister — His lowest score since 2015? I think that’s huge. Sure, he’s not really in contention, but it’s got to be a confidence booster and could pay big dividends later this season. Martin — I think it shows that, despite some mediocre performances at Wells Fargo and the Masters, he’s capable of winning this year. It’s just a matter of putting all the pieces together.

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FedExCup and world No. 1 Brooks Koepka leaves no doubt as he fires a final-round 65 to pass Rory McIlroy and become the season’s first three-time winner at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Meanwhile, 22-year-old phenom Collin Morikawa notches his first career victory at the Barracuda Championship. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where Koepka not only won his first WGC, he also clinched first place and $2 million in the season-long Wyndham Rewards race, and all but wrapped up the $1 million Aon Risk Reward Challenge, for a total payday of $4.75 million. Cal product Morikawa, meanwhile, won in just his sixth start as a pro. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. There was a sense of inevitability in Memphis. Although he went into the last round behind by a shot, Koepka felt like the favorite to win, given his recent form. Not to knock McIlroy; it’s just that this was Koepka’s sixth PGA TOUR victory in the last two-plus years, and four of those have been majors. “Incredible,� he said more than once. That adjective held true for his consistency this season and his total take after winning the tournament, the Wyndham Rewards and, almost certainly, the Aon Risk Reward Challenge. “The year’s not done,� he said. “I’ve still got a few things to finish off and hopefully it will go my way.� For more on Koepka’s big win, click here. 2. Beware the sick golfer. Yeah, you’ve probably heard that one, but it bears repeating after the WGC-FedEx St. Jude. Koepka picked up a bug somewhere between Portrush and TPC Southwind, but it sure didn’t negatively affect his play. In fact, after his bogey-free 65 sent him straight to the top with room to spare, you could argue the sniffles somehow helped him. “Just get on with it,� Koepka said of his credo for the week. “People go to work sick all the time.� As it has throughout this season, his game looked terrifically healthy. In the next month, he’ll see if he can improve on his FedExCup finishes in 2018 (ninth) and ’17 (10th). It looks, ahem, rather likely. 3. Simpson had a funny highlight. What was the highlight for the runner-up, Webb Simpson (64, 13 under, three back)? His eagle at the par-5 third hole? His four back-nine birdies? The fact that this was his best result since his runaway victory at THE PLAYERS Championship last year? Nah. The highlight, Simpson said, was not making a complete mess of the first round, which began on the back nine and resulted in a very scratchy, 1-under 69. “I played so poorly the first round,� he said. “… Any normal first round for me, that would have been three or four shots higher, but I hung in there. I hit it terribly, but made some big par putts and birdied the last hole, No. 9, out of the rough. So, that for me was the key to the tournament, because if you go out and shoot three or four over, you kind of knock yourself out of it.� 4. Barracuda champ off to flying start. When Matthew Wolff won the 3M Open earlier this summer, he had broken through in just three starts after leaving college. Collin Morikawa, who finished T2 at the 3M, did it in six starts. Summer on TOUR has been a game of Name That Prodigy. “This proves that I’m ready,� Morikawa said after making birdies on four of the last five holes to overtake 54-hole leader Troy Merritt in the Modified Stableford format. Morikawa, who shot up to 46th in the FedExCup, finished with 47 points, three ahead of Merritt, who himself is up to 68th in the FedExCup. For more on Morikawa, click here.  5. Morikawa showed closing speed. Just as Koepka did not make a bogey in his closing 65 at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude, Morikawa saved his best for last at the Barracuda. He said he got mad-decisive after failing to birdie the reachable, par-5 13th hole, the kick in the backside he needed to birdie four of his last five. “I just wasn’t trusting myself,� said Morikawa, who, unlike Koepka, is only 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds. “I wasn’t taking my usual tempo; just a little out of rhythm.� Burying a seven-foot birdie putt on 14 got him right back in it, and he kept his foot on the gas pedal all the way home. Scored conventionally, he would have shot a final-round 65, like Koepka, and tallied 22-under-par. Morikawa has shot 15 of his last 17 rounds in the 60s. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. After struggling on the greens while finishing tied for fourth at The Open Championship the previous week, Koepka led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting for the week (+9.346) at TPC Southwind. 2. Koepka becomes the first player to win on TOUR after entering the week No. 1 in the FedExCup standings since Bryson DeChambeau at the 2018 Dell Technologies Championship. He also becomes the fifth player to win a WGC event and a major in the same season, joining Tiger Woods (1999-2002, 2005-2008), Geoff Ogilvy (2006), McIlroy (2014), and Dustin Johnson (2016). 3. The solo second finish for Webb Simpson (64, 13 under, three back) marked his best finish since winning THE PLAYERS Championship last year. He was seeking his sixth career TOUR title and notched his fifth top-10 finish this season. 4. Rory McIlroy (71, T4), the overnight leader, was one of only three players in the top 20 to post an over-par score in the final round. He leads the TOUR with 12 top-10 finishes in 16 starts this season. 5. As per my colleague Sean Martin, Morikawa, had he played enough, would lead the TOUR in scoring (67.9), greens (74.1 percent), birdies per round (4.9), and Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green (+1.42). He would be second in SG: Total (+2.29) and just 100th in SG: Putting (+0.19). WYNDHAM REWARDS The Wyndham Rewards Top 10 is in its first season and adds another layer of excitement to the FedExCup Regular Season. The top 10 players at the end of the FedExCup Regular Season will earn bonus payouts from the Wyndham Rewards Top 10. Brooks Koepka locked up the top spot after the WGC-FedEx St. Jude, while Rory McIlroy and Matt Kuchar swapped places and have secured the second and third spots, respectively. But there’s a lot to play for at this week’s Wyndham Championship, which ends the regular season. Paul Casey stands to make the biggest move, from eighth all the way to fourth in the final standings, with a Wyndham win.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – This time last year, Brandt Snedeker was back home in Nashville, nursing a nagging rib injury and wondering what his future held. He hadn’t played on the PGA TOUR since June, missing the final two majors of the season. And he couldn’t tee it up in the Wyndham Championship, the tournament which his long-time sponsor hosts and where he’d picked up his breakthrough victory, either. On the eve of that tournament at Sedgefield Country Club, Snedeker tweeted that he was going to shut it down until he was 100 percent healthy. “My sternum joint has become unstable and does not allow me to hit a golf ball without pain,â€� he explained. Small wonder, then, that Sunday’s win at the Wyndham Championship was so special. Snedeker knew he was completely back, and he proved it with a wire-to-wire victory that included a phenomenal 59 in the first round. “To be injured, to be away from the game for five and a half months, to not know what the recovery was going to look like, to not know if you’re going to be 100 percent again and still dealing with it to this day,â€� Snedeker said. “Still not 100 percent, but I’m way better than I was. “I guess it’s the facts of life as you get older out here, you’re going to have to deal with certain nagging injuries all the time.â€� Snedeker had to play 29 holes on Sunday. He came back in the morning – with former Wyndham CEO Steve Holmes picking him up at the hotel at 6:15 a.m. — and finished off a 68 in the third round, then shot 65 over the final 18 holes on a steamy afternoon for the three-stroke win. The victory didn’t come easily, though. C.T. Pan gave chase with a 66, taking the lead on the back nine, while Webb Simpson closed with a 62. At one point, all three were tied for the lead. But Snedeker came up with a clutch chip from a “horribleâ€� lie at the 15th hole to within 3 feet for birdie. Then he rolled in a 19-footer for birdie on the 18th hole, which Simpson bogeyed and Pan doubled, to seal the win. The comeback was complete. “When you don’t have your health out here and you’re trying to fight through it, it’s really tough because you know what you’re capable of and your body’s not letting you do what you think you should be able to do.,â€� Snedeker said. “Fortunately enough, I felt good enough to be able to practice and put the time in and it came through today. “Today’s when you find out, okay, am I going to hold up, is the stuff I’m working on working, is it TOUR-tested in a sense, and it was great to hit some quality shots down the stretch.â€� All in all, Snedeker, a nine-time TOUR winner now, called the week the “most stressfulâ€� he’s ever had as a professional golfer. The 59 in the first round, just the ninth ever shot on the PGA TOUR, sent his expectations “through the roof.â€� His wife and two young children decided to come in for the weekend and he didn’t want to disappoint. His father and brother were here, too. The Wyndham executives he’d grown so close to were rooting hard for him, as well. But he got it done. And he was able get that trophy – the Sam Snead Cup – that his kids have been clamoring for now that they finally understand what their daddy does for a living. “It means the world to me that I have not failed them finally,â€� Snedeker said. “It’s a great teaching lesson for them. They’ve seen how hard I’ve worked. They’ve seen the amount of time I’ve spent away from them trying to get to this point, so it’s good for them to see, hey, it works, pays off. “If you keep your head on straight and do stuff the right way and keep working your tail off, you do get rewarded. So I think more than anything else, I’m more proud of that fact.â€� NOTABLES Webb Simpson teed off 40 minutes ahead of Brandt Snedeker on Sunday afternoon, trailing by a formidable six strokes. But the reigning PLAYERS champion fired a 62 and was briefly tied for the lead at 19 under before faltering when he bogeyed the 18th hole after nearly hitting his drive out of bounds. As it turns out, the bogey was academic since Snedeker birdied two of his last four holes to win by three. And regardless, Simpson saw lots of positives in his performance on Sunday as he tried to win the Wyndham Championship for the second time. “I feel great about 62,â€� Simpson said. “I had a great time out there making a push. Wish I could have the swing on 18 back, but if you had told me I would play 18 holes and swing it great except for one tee shot, I would have taken it starting the day. So all in all, I feel great going into next week for the first Playoff event.â€� Simpson moved to No. 7 in the FedExCup with the tie for second, inching closer to the magic top 5 who can win the $10 million bonus with a victory at the TOUR Championship. “Pretty high,â€� Simpson said when asked about his confidence level heading into the Playoffs. “I’ve played just consistently, I feel like, pretty well for a while now. … It is a lot of golf, but excited to get the Playoffs started.â€� C.T. Pan admitted that a “voice in my headâ€� got him on the 18th hole Sunday when he hit his tee shot out of bounds. He was 20 under and tied for the lead at the time and ended up making a double bogey. Even so, the 26-year-old from Taiwan saw many positives in the week that saw him finish tied for second with Webb Simpson. “I love the feeling being in contention. That’s what I’m working for, what I’m striving for,â€� Pan said. “You know, obviously the nerves got me on the last tee shot, which is very unfortunate, but I think I can learn something from it. This is only my second year on the TOUR, I’m still trying to learn from the best players out there.â€� The tie for second, which matches the best finish of Pan’s career, sends the second-year pro into the FedExCup Playoffs with momentum. He moves from No. 108 to 63rd entering THE NORTHERN TRUST next week. “(This) helps me a lot in the FedExCup points. It helps me and helps my game, my confidence. … This tournament proves I can still go out there and shoot some low scores,â€� Pan said. QUOTABLES I forget how many I have, but it’s fun to see them out here.My wife told me it’s beginner’s luck. She’s caddying for her first time, I’m in contention, she’s getting the whole experience of being caddie, so I’m really happy for her. SUPERLATIVES Lowest round: Webb Simpson shot a 62 that included seven birdies, one eagle and a bogey at the 18th hole. Longest drive: Jonas Blixt hit a 386-yard drive on the fifth hole. Longest putt: Ryan Armour made a putt of 40 feet, 11 inches on the 14th hole Hardest hole: The 418-yard, par-4 first hole was the hardest with 10 birdies, 43 pars, 18 bogeys and one double bogey. Easiest hole: The 529-yard, par-5 fifth hole was the easiest with nine eagles, 44 birdies and 19 pars. SHOT OF THE DAY CALL OF THE DAY

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